Examples.

One of Philadelphia's premiere entertainment arenas is on the path of renovation. As a part of Comcast Spectator's $300 million rejuvenation efforts for Wells Fargo, a $50 million update is scheduled to be completed in the fall. According to the Philadelphia Business Journal , a new version of the club level is coming. The new club level will be have features like life-size holograms, heated seats, an exclusive shopping area and four new bars to the public arena. The club level's traditional multi-box structure is changing to an open layout featuring 13,000 square feet of open space. The change was supposed happen in 2020 but of course COVID-19 halted those plans for a later date. Valerie Camillo, president of business operations for the Wells Fargo Center and Philadelphia Flyers, sees the upcoming renovations will excite visitors of the arena. When the doors open on a new season of events at Wells Fargo Center, we want our guests to be blown away by the transformation. Whe...

 Original Post:  https://classixphilly.com/664312/facebook-store-meta/ Source: Facebook / Mark Zuckerber Announces Meta[/caption] Meta, formerly known as The Facebook Group, is opening their first retail store. Much like many tech giants have done in the past, i.e. Apple, Meta wants to experiment with pushing its physical products in a physical space. The Meta Store is set to open at Meta's company lots in Burlingame, California on May 9th. Expect Meta to showcase products like Portal and VR capable products like Quest 2 and the Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses. Meta wants customers to get familiar with the "metaverse" that they are very focused on building for the foreseeable future of technology. Martin Gilliard, head of Meta Store, believes the metaverse to be key for the future. The Meta Store is going to help people make that connection to how our products can be the gateway to the metaverse in the future. We’re not selling the metaverse in our store, but hopefully pe...

  Source: KiddNation / Kidd Nation[/caption] Villanova University's Men's Basketball is changing immediately. In a surprise announcement, under the shadow of the Embiid's game-winner, Villanova head coach Jay Wright announced he is retiring from his position. He took to Twitter to shock and thank 'Nova Nation for 21 years of service. Jay Wright Tweet Villanova Tweet In Jay Wright's 21-year tenure with the Wildcats he has held a school record of 520 wins and 197 losses. That's an excellent winning percentage of .725. Since Jay's induction as the head coach back in 2001, Villanova has played a part in almost every postseason tournament. There was only one year where the Wildcats were not invited. Jay Wright has coached several NBA talents throughout the years including Kyle Lowry, Randy Foye, Dante Cunningham, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson and many others. He may have only two NCAA National Championship trophies to his Villanova career, but he has gained notor...

Source: Great Hope Baptist Church / Great Hope Baptist Church[/caption] One of the largest cash settlements involving the Catholic church within the United States just happened in Camden, New Jersey. The Diocese of Camden is agreeing to pay $87.5 million to an alleged 300 victims within a sexual abuse case that spans 40 years. Survivors of sexual abuse from the 1950s through the 1990s are going to be receiving compensation for the horrors they've endured within the Catholic church. The Diocese of Camden represents South Jersey's Catholic near 500,000 following within 62 parishes. That following resides in Gloucester, Salem, Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Camden counties. The settlement was first brought up in 2020, when the Diocese of Camden filed for bankruptc y. It was right after a new law allowed New Jersey victims of sexual abuse to sue the Catholic church. The law gives child victims time to sue up until they turn 55 or within seven years of their first realization t...

 Original Post:  https://classixphilly.com/650496/allyson-felix-retiring/ Source: Paul Gilham / Getty[/caption] One of track and field's most accomplished runners is looking to call it quits after 20+ years. Allyson Felix announced that she is retiring the sport after the 2022 track and field season. The seven time Olympic gold medalist made the announcement via her Instagram. In the post she expressed wise words towards her gratitude for the sport. Allyson Tweet   This season isn’t about the time on the clock, it’s simply about joy. If you see me on the track this year I hope to share a moment, a memory and my appreciation with you.   Allyson Felix was nicknamed "chicken legs" because of her infinitely skinny legs back in the ninth grade. At 15 years of age she had won her first international gold medal at the 2001 Debrecan World Youth Championships. Despite her slender frame, by her senior year she had so much strength she could deadlift 270 lbs.  The 200 met...

 Original Post:  https://classixphilly.com/656156/leslie-marant-philadelphia-police-officer/ Source: SOPA Images / Getty[/caption] As of today, the Philadelphia Police Department is taking new strides on the path to inclusivity. They have just announced that Leslie Marant is going to be the first-ever Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. Philadelphia Police Department Commissioner Danielle M. Outlaw took to Twitter to announce the news. Commissioner Outlaw Tweet According to a conversation with 6ABC, Leslie Marant believes the Philadelphia Police Department should reflect the diversity of the city. To make sure that we have policies, practices, procedures, benchmarks and accountability measures that include not only diversity, equity and inclusion efforts but also accessibility. The racial and the gender and LGBTQ and disability numbers of the department should also look like what it looks like in Philadelphia in general. Commissioner Outlaw believes Marant is more ...

 Original Post:  https://classixphilly.com/641303/blm-patrisse-cullors-six-million/ Source: Kevork Djansezian / Getty[/caption] Leaders of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation are in a bit of trouble. A recent New York Magazine article , accuses the Black Lives Matter of several allegations of money mismanagement. The accusations stemmed from the foundation using funds for inappropriate purchases including a $6 million house in Studio City, California. One of the founders, Patrisse Cullors, responded to the accusations in a lengthy nine-page post on Instagram. Yesterday's article in New York Magazine is a despicable abuse of a platform that's intended to provide truthful information to the public. Journalism is supposed to mitigate harm and inform our communities. That fact that a reputable publication would allow a reporter, with a proven and very public bias against me and other Black leaders, to write a piece filled with misinformation, innuendo and incendiary...

 Original Post:  https://classixphilly.com/648183/the-national-urban-league-2022-state-of-black-america/ Source: Dean Anthony ll / Dean Anthony ll[/caption] The National Urban League is one of America's oldest civil rights organizations. Each year since 1976, the organization has analyzed and reported on the affairs of African Americans. The yearly report presented is called the State of Black America, and for this year the results haven't been good. According to The Associated Press , the racial inequality in America across economics, employment, education, health, housing, criminal justice and civic participation couldn't be more obvious. In this year's findings, NUL used the Untied States various informational entities to chart the differences between white and Black people. The Equality Index in the report found that Black people only get 73.9 percent the American Dream that white people get. The Equality Index has been in place since 2005, and findings show while...

  Original Post:  https://classixphilly.com/647051/jussie-smollett-song-in-jail/ Source: Bernard Smalls / @PhotosByBeanz[/caption] Jussie Smollett served six days of his 150-day sentencing before the Smollett family posted a whopping $150,000 individual bond for his release. Since the release, his attorneys have been in talks with higher courts to overturn his conviction. As of Friday, Jussie has further taken matters into his own hands to clear his name and this time with the tune of new music. Jussie Smollett released a new single titled "Thank You God...". The single dropped nearly a month apart from his pre-trial release from Cook County Jail for allegedly staging a crime outside of his apartment in Chicago. The nearly six minute track features Jussie rapping and singing over a downtempo gospel beat, with lyrics that discuss the trial that he labels as injustice. It’s like they’re hell-bent on not solving the crime / Taking out the elements of race and trans and homopho...

Original Post:  https://classixphilly.com/playlist/the-sterling-affairs-fx-laurence-fishburne-doc-rivers-donald-sterling/ Source: ROBYN BECK / Getty[/caption] The misadventures and demise of Donald Sterling will be televised. The former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers is going to be at the center of FX's "The Sterling Affairs". "The Sterling Affairs" will be a six-episode limited drama series that is actually based off a podcast of the same length and name. "The Sterling Affairs" podcast was ran by ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, and her reporting around the scandal was partly responsible for getting one of the NBA's most ruthless and racist owners out the league. The series will build upon Shelburne's podcast and further flush out the backend details of the scandals that proceeded. According to Deadline , the show will of course focus on Donald Sterling, but will also focus on three leads within the Clippers organization. Shelley Sterling, Do...

 Original Post:  https://classixphilly.com/639016/jazmine-sullivan-philly-grammy/ Source: Myesha Evon Gardner / Myesha Evon Gardner[/caption] On Sunday, at the 64th Annual Grammys, representatives from Philadelphia were collecting their things and going home with a smile. Jazmine Sullivan has been nominated for a Grammy 12 times prior to Sunday's proceedings. The singer/songwriter phenom was nominated for Best R&B Performance and Best R&B song for “Pick Up Your Feelings”. She was also nominated for Best R&B album,  Heaux Tales . Jazmine Sullivan's winless streak ended as she took home Grammys for Best R&B Performance and Best R&B album. In the Best R&B Performance it was actually a tie between Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars' smash hit “Leave The Door Open”. The historic tie is actually the 22nd tie in Grammys history. Heaux Tales has given Jazmine plenty of awards and acclaim including Album of the Year awards at the BET Awards and the Soul Tr...

 Original Post:  https://classixphilly.com/635599/andrew-jackson-elementary-fanny-jackson-coppin/ Source: kali9 / Getty[/caption] Andrew Jackson Elementary in South Philadelphia has been officially renamed as the Fanny Jackson Coppin Elementary School. Back in July 2021, The School District of Philadelphia unanimously voted for the school to undergo a name change. The many events that occurred during another social reformation of America changed the community of the formerly named Andrew Jackson Elementary. After witnessing social justice unrest around the world the past two years, the South Philly community wanted their mark in making a change. The school having the name of man who was a slave owner, and who was responsible for forcing indigenous Americans to give up their land, wasn't going to cut it anymore. It took months of negotiating, surveying and meetings with the School District of Philadelphia to discuss several candidates for the school's newest honoree. In fact, ...