A Million Stories

When Gov. Ed Rendell pulled the plug on a Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board plan to begin installing automated "wine kiosks" in grocery stores — it seemed like the Gov had lost his mind. Usually, Rendell is gung ho for questionable revenue schemes offered up by special interests and endorsed by state entities.

But Rendell appears to be his old self again: Last week, he changed his mind and endorsed a "test" of the machines. It's certainly good news for Bala Cynwyd-based kiosk provider Simple Brands, the sole bidder — and whose owners, Pittsburgh's WTAE-TV recently reported, gave some $400,000 in campaign contributions to Rendell.

But this isn't about money. It's about "customer service," says the PLCB. And what service: In order to buy the wine, according to current plans, the customer would merely have to insert his or her driver's license into the machine ... OK, and blow into a Breathalyzer ... and be taped by video cameras hooked up to live operators in Harrisburg. Oh, and they only take credit cards. —Isaiah Thompson

The University of Pennsylvania's intensive two-week Junior Fencing Camp at which I worked is now over, and a hundred aspiring fencers, aged 13 to 17, just went back home. The kids were only vaguely aware of the caliber of staff that had taught them, a mini-United Nations of fencing talent. Among them was Iosif Vitebskiy, 71, UPenn's assistant fencing coach for the past 11 years and a force to be reckoned with. Vitebskiy was the head coach of the Ukraine's national and Olympic fencing teams for 13 years before coming to the United States in 1998 to coach at Penn, bringing his old country work ethic. This summer, for example, I told Vitebskiy that I had injured my hand and couldn't fence.

"Back in Russia, hurt horse with bad leg ... kkkccchhhttt," he said drawing his hand across his throat.

I asked Vitebskiy what he thought of the American teenagers he'd been coaching this summer, how they measured up.

"These guys do not feel responsibility for fencing, for the sport." he noted. "They study every motion well, only don't like to fulfill whole job. If we work at technique, we must many times repeat every motion. ... They do not repeat."

Nonetheless, Vitebskiy says, America's youth show promise.

"We will beat everyone," he says, "because American potential very good and very strong — if we will work." —Laura Paragano

On Monday, Chris Wright, former chief of staff for Councilman Jack Kelly, was sentenced to four years in federal prison on charges of selling his services to local developers and their lawyer, Andrew Teitelman. During the trial this February, City Paper took a close look at the pile of e-mails between Wright and his co-defendants that made up a large part of the government's evidence. Reading about the sentence this week, I remembered one in particular, written about a year before the allegations surfaced. It was from Wright's ex-wife, Marcianne — who eventually informed on him — regarding a dispute over their house. "I understand Andy [Teitelman] is giving you free legal advice," she wrote, "and in exchange you provide [the developers] with political access ... you really need to be careful here." Even coming from an enemy, it was good advice. —Isaiah Thompson