As we reported earlier, our favorite human wrecking balls, Snookie and JWoww, were denied permits to shoot their spin-off show in Hoboken, New Jersey. Although Jersey City eventually welcomed them with open arms, some local bars (a.k.a, 95% of where the show will most likely be taped) weren’t as enthusiastic about the reality show’s invasion.

At least three Jersey City bars, including Skinner’s Loft, Barcade, and LITM, have refused to sign contracts that would permit MTV to use their establishments to film. Managers and owners stated that filming would be “intrusive” to their customers and that the “Jersey Shore culture” wouldn’t work well with the bar. LITM has even posted an anti-meatball (Snookie) message above their bar.

The lush’s weren’t completely unlucky, however. Other bars in the area were thrilled to host the Jersey Shore stars. Despite many residents and business owners’ concerns that the tattooed drama queens may trash Jersey City’s already non-existent image, the owner of Pint hosted a “Night of 1,000 Snookie’s,” welcoming his new neighbors and publicly demonstrating that he doesn’t see their presence as a detriment to the area.

We’ll see how long that lasts.

Source: NJ.com | Photo: Dislocations

Since Monday was Presidents Day, City Council’s next official meeting was scheduled for March 1st. But this was apparently news to Council President Darrell Clarke, “I was under the impression we were having a council session this upcoming Thursday.”

Traditionally, when there is a holiday that falls on a Monday, the City Council postpones its Thursday voting session until the following week. But this practice as well as City Council’s precious summer recess may be in jeopardy. “We are reviewing Council’s meeting schedule and will make adjustments so it better enables us to conduct the business of the city,” Clarke said.

According his spokeswoman, Jane Roh, Clarke hopes to hold more public budget hearings throughout the city. “We are going to actually make some additional meetings in the public in the neighborhoods, because we think it’s important for people to attend an actual session of council and not come downtown in the middle of the morning.”

Hear, hear!

Source: NewsWorks

Mostly known for shoving things up his butt and pulling pranks on his parents, Jackass and Viva La Bam star Bam Margera was arrested yesterday in New Orleans during a Mardi Gras soiree.

Considering his past, you’d probably assume that Bam was nabbed for a crime such as indecent exposure, or perhaps attempting to staple an unsuspecting stranger’s scrotum. Instead, Bam was arrested for something much less sinister- swimming in a pool whilst wearing his clothes.

Margera told TMZ, “Yeah, I was swimming in a pool with my clothes on at Mardi Gras… not a very good story..but that’s what happened.”

Going a little soft in your old age, eh Margera?

Source: TMZ

Gus the Groundhog, the second most popular groundhog in Pennsylvania, was actually the state’s most expensive marmot, costing tax payers around $400,000 for yearly ads that were somehow more unbearable than your average lottery commercial- sans the rodent pageantry.

Thankfully, someone at the the PA Lottery was also disturbed by Gus’ beady eyes and penchant for cross dressing, as the group recently announced that they’re going shelf one of the creepiest and most unnecessary mascots since “Hip Hop.”

Yesterday, at a hearing on the Department of Revenue’s budget, Todd Rucci, the PA Lottery Executive Director, announced that his group will take their marketing in a new direction. A new plan should be revealed around March, and assuming it doesn’t involve another anthropomorphic pest, it will be a welcome improvement.

Gus was birthed from Hell in 2004, and since then, he’s been annoying the general population with his untoward promiscuity and reckless gambling addiction. Seriously, the thing was unsettling, never mind the fact that we, the taxpayers, had to pay for its cruel and inexplicable existence. Just take a look and see for yourself.

Last year the PA Lottery contributed around $900 million to state funding, but they also spent around $70 million on advertising and operating fees.  And while that may be a paltry figure compared to its $1.8 billion in total revenue, I’m more than confident that the citizens of Pennsylvania would be perfectly happy just to have our old commercial back. You know, the one that makes you feel all warm and cozy inside.

There, that feels better.

Here’s hoping Groundhog Gus “keeps on scratching”- the inside of a freshly-buried coffin.

We spotted this news earlier today on Reddit and now Philebrity posted about it, so we’re just going to go ahead and assume that Little Bar has closed for good… maybe.

It’s been just under one year since Little Bar took over for the previous bar and restaurant Vesuvio, and I’d wager that no one remembers its original incarnation, Cafe Lido, which had some pretty heady Italian food; you just had to wait five hours to get it (I spent every Easter/post-funeral feast there as a kid).

There’s no official statement from Little Bar yet, but, as Philebrity points out, their Facebook page has been taken down and there seems to have been some rather shady stuff going on there, at least, according to this “review” on Yelp.

We’ll keep you posted, but we get the feeling this won’t turn out to be a false alarm

Source: Reddit, Philebrity

While the rest of our city copes with incessant murder and rape, Society Hill is facing its own poisonous blight… in the form of dreaded door-knocker bandits. A total of 16 historic door-knockers have been stolen from the neighborhood in the past two weeks and the persistent crime spree is starting to take its toll on locals. Well, not really, actually.

“I could appreciate the fact they thought they were beautiful. But, if they’re stealing a beautiful knocker just to melt it down, it’s annoying,” says Kathleen Stephenson, a concerned resident of Pine Street.

Authorities assume that the sinister thieve(s) are most likely scrapping the door-knockers for some quick cash. But 6th District commanding officer Captain Brian Korn speculated that the criminal geniuses may be  “… waiting to get quite a few en masse to have a heavy weight, rather than just bringing them in one or two at a time.” Devious fiends!

Additional officers have been assigned to the neighborhood and residents have been asked to keep an eye out for really lazy burglars.

Source: CBS 3 | Photo: City Data

A few weeks back, we had an idea for a recurring column where we’d announce one Philadelphian as “Aroundphilly’s Worst Person of the Week.” Sure, Keith Olbermann does the same thing, but he’s currently hiding on Current TV, which no one watches… probably because it’s in like the upper 800s on Comcast.

There have been plenty of good contenders since we first conceived our master plan, but this latest story has prompted us to pull the trigger on the column… and it’s only Tuesday.

Here’s a little background for you: In 2010, 13-month-old Joshua Bateman died from Hurler Syndrome, which is an rare genetic disorder that affects only one in 100,000 people worldwide. So Joshua’s parents, Karen and Wilbert, decided to adopt a stretch of Main Street in Maurice River Township, Cumberland County. They cleaned the street once a month and put up signs to commemorate their son’s life, which was tragically cut short.

But on Sunday, some jerk-box-shmohawk of the largest proportions sprayed red paint all over the memorial signs. Karen and Wilbert are offering a $100 reward for information leading to a suspect, but we’d like to have a few words with the culprit(s) as well.

Got a candidate for AP’s next Worst Person of the Week? Tweet @Aroundphilly with the hash tag #APWP and let’s crack some skulls for the greater good.

,Source: NBC 10