NEWS BRIEFS
That's Penntertainment
Entertainment Weekly's annual power players list in the entertainment industry includes Penn alum Sylvia Rhone (W'74).
Described as the "most powerful female exec in music biz" in 1997, Rhone, 45, gets credit for "another solid chart year, with rappers like Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliott." She is chair-CEO of Elektra Entertainment Group.
Nursing number 1
The School of Nursing rocketed to first place among the nation's nursing schools in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for research, with grants totaling $6.3 million in 1997. That's 80 percent more than four years ago, when Nursing was ranked third with $3.5 million.
To the rescue
An award for "extraordinary" neighborhood preservation efforts went to the offices of Community Housing and of Community and City Relations, and others for their "heroic" efforts in November to stop the demolition of a property at 4620 Spruce St. and thereby "preserve the architectural integrity of one of University City's most magnificent Victorian blocks."
The Preservation Initiative Award from the University City Historical Society also named City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and local Realtor Lindsay Johnston for their efforts to preserve the circa 1913 building.
ENIAC rules
When President Bill Clinton spoke at the American Association for the Advancement of Science convention in Philadelphia last week, he looked to the future with the administration's increased support for science, and he looked to the past, specifically 50 years ago, when "Mauchly and Eckert had recently powered up the seminal ENIAC computer right here in Philadelphia." Go Penn.