Creativity

Chef Gabrielle Hamilton finds pretension incredibly distasteful, in food and otherwise. Hamilton, who rules the kitchen at her own critically acclaimed restaurant Prune in New York's East Village and recently published a memoir, Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef (Random House, $26), says the quality she can always appreciate in both cooking and storytelling is honesty - and she puts plenty of it in both. "I really don't know much about food," Hamilton admitted, referring mainly to the culinary minutiae held to a high esteem by those who inhabit the world of chinoises and crème fraîche . Yet Hamilton, a Bucks County native who discussed her memoir over a sold-out brunch Sunday at the intimate Pumpkin Restaurant as part of First Person Arts' "Edible World" series, clearly knows how to cook food that simply tastes good.

Just about everything hurts in a bad economy, and nowhere can this be more apparent than in public schools, most of which are barely getting by on shoestring budgets. Consider these things: English books that are held together with rubber bands. Sports teams that are barely able to buy uniforms. Reduced staff and larger classes. The Wallingford-Swarthmore School District in Delaware County typifies how many schools around the country are trying to meet the demands of educating, while at the same time making tough choices in order to operate within their means.

For weeks, City Council chambers have been packed every Thursday with people lined up to speak out about a controversial proposal to require Philadelphia employers to provide paid sick leave. Those business owners, workers and advocates were empowered by a state Supreme Court ruling last year that required Council to start allowing public testimony at their weekly sessions. But Council has figured out a way to shut them up. Already, the city's legislators have been restricting public testimony to pending legislation.

Louis F. Cimino, 93, of Roxborough, a creative computer expert, died of heart failure Thursday, March 17, at home. Mr. Cimino joined General Electric's space division in Philadelphia in 1954. By the 1960s, he was in charge of the GE computer center in Valley Forge as director of information systems. Under his supervision, GE initiated a service establishing time-sharing access to what were then large mainframe computers. He established time-sharing programs with companies at area high schools and several colleges, including Villanova, Lehigh, and Harvard Universities.

MAHIMAHI WITH WHITE BEAN RAGOUT AND TOMATO SUGO 4 8-ounce portions mahimahi Sea salt White pepper 1 cup raw navy beans soaked for 24 hours 4 cups water 1/2 Spanish onion 1 celery rib 1 small carrot 1 sprig thyme 1 fresh bay leaf 1 pint cherry tomatoes 5 cloves garlic 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon butter 5 basil leaves For the sugo: In a stainless steel...

Heritage Conservancy executive Clifford C. David Jr. has a no-nonsense commitment to land protection. That makes all the more unusual his new strategy for maintaining the 10,000 acres under his agency's stewardship. Part of it involves soaring through a forest canopy attached to a harness and a high-tension cable. Not David, mind you, but those thrill-seekers and outdoors-lovers he hopes to better acquaint with the woodlands that are part of the portfolio Heritage Conservancy administers from its headquarters at the venerable Aldie Mansion outside Doylestown.

"Let's get creative" with the budget, Camden City Council President Frank Moran said in Tuesday's public hearing. Wage taxes. More concessions from the unions. Going after the corporations that owe the city money. Those were some of the ideas Moran offered after the proposed 23 percent municipal property-tax increase, which has been the talk of town the last few days. On Friday, the state Local Finance Board approved the city's request to raise municipal taxes 23 percent over last year's property-tax rate of 2.55 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

Even for its staunchest admirers, the Crossing choir can be daunting, with its many new composers and idioms to parse. But at Sunday's Crossing@Winter concert at Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, one felt a pleasant accumulation of past concerts with the group's recurring circle of composers - David Lang, Eriks Esenvalds, Paul Fowler, and others - who are now more like friends than strangers. Pieces that push boundaries or consolidate experimentation are now more easily differentiated, as well as works written spontaneously or after deep consideration.

   I would have thought that we'd plowed the faddish field of the creative economy enough by now.    But no. Judging by the data released Monday by the city's Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy , we've only begun to document whether the creative sector can become a growth engine for the city.    With a three-year, $75,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation, the office bought data from the Western States Arts Federation to benchmark where the city and region stand using an index.

One of the highlights of the holiday season is the theater, concerts and new movie releases. I've always disliked (probably along with my server) rushing through a meal to make the show. It's a waste of calories and dining dollars. Barbuzzo, the highly touted latest restaurant addition to the Marcie Turney/Valerie Safran 13th Street empire, has an alternative. Go to the show and follow it with their Late Night menu. Besides their full menu, Sunday through Thursday from 10:30 p.m. to midnight, Barbuzzo offers three chef-choice specials plus a dressed-up burger served at the bar, kitchen counter or the tables.