Tastykakes

U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware is said to have sent hoagies to Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev during the 1985 Geneva summit. Sid Mark, host of WWDB's "Friday with Frank" and "Sunday with Sinatra," reportedly sent Frank Sinatra a Philly cheesesteak. And in time for Christmas, WPEN's Joe Niagara just sent a package of Tastykakes to Doris Day, who "loves the cream filled cupcakes," according to Fred Catona, president of USA Food. Goldenberg's Peanut Chews to the Kremlin, soft pretzels to the White House, Bookbinder's Snapper Soup to Upper Volta - it's all in a day's work at the Media company.

While it's difficult to see Philadelphia lose another corporate headquarters, there's good news in the sale of Tasty Baking Co. to a robust competitor committed to keeping hundreds of jobs at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Saving those jobs vindicates a high-risk business strategy promoted by a former Chamber of Commerce booster - Tasty chief executive Charles P. Pizzi - and embraced by then-Gov. Edward G. Rendell and other power brokers with whom Pizzi partnered to land taxpayer financing to help build a state-of-the-art bakery.

  Tasty Baking Co. delivered bad news to employees Friday, announcing the elimination of 32 positions at its former headquarters at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The job cuts had been expected after the company's acquisition by Flowers Foods Inc. in May for about $165 million, most of which went to repay debt taken on to pay for the move to a new, $78 million bakery last year. "As is often the case when two publicly traded companies merge, we found overlap and redundancy in office functions," said Paul Ridder, president of the Philadelphia operation and former Tasty senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Brad Pitt could be coming back here to work. If the stars align - and that means celestial bodies, even more than Hollywood big shots - Philly is in line to host shooting of the film adaptation of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War , the horror novel by Max Brooks. I hear that Paramount Pictures is considering a summertime start with Marc Forster ( Quantum of Solace ) directing and Pitt - who starred here 15 years ago in Twelve Monkeys - as star and producer.

If Hostess Brands dies, it will be bad news for cupcake lovers, but at least some of its baked products may survive. The nearly century-old company last week announced plans to shut down its bakeries, including one in Northeast Philadelphia, and lay off 18,500 employees. But late Monday, Hostess and one of its major unions agreed to a last-ditch mediation session. Hostess had planned to begin a bankruptcy liquidation sale in New York this week. It said it could take up to a year to sell its assets, which include the rights to such iconic brands as Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes, Ring Dings, and Wonder Bread.

The things that Philadelphians take for granted. Imagine you're a college student strolling across campus at the University of Miami or UCLA and a bone-shaking craving for a Chocolate Junior or a Butterscotch Krimpet overtakes you. More than ever, your mouth is watering for a Tastykake, because, of course, "no one bakes a cake as tasty as a Tastykake. " But then it hits you like an anvil in your gut, and you realize that you're not on Broad Street anymore. Same gut feeling when you get a jones for cheesesteak.

Philadelphians and the mayor's gab about flab It was a bittersweet day for me as I read the front page of The Inquirer (Jan. 20). How could Mayor Street think for one moment that I would give up my beloved Tastykakes for a cardboard tasting, sandpaper-like rice cake? As a retired surgeon, I am the first one to advocate a healthy lifestyle. And at 73 and 160 pounds, I'm proud to say that I have consumed jelly Krimpets and lemon pies every day of my life since the age of 12. Do I have aches and pains?

As sports becomes increasingly commercialized, advertisers are seeking new ways to draw attention. The latest method? It's actually a new twist on an old idea. Work the commercial right into the flow of the game's broadcast. In Philadelphia, a Flyers goal becomes a "score for a case of Tastykakes. " In New York, a Yankees home run is termed "a Getty goner. " In Houston and St. Louis, a long-ball hitter is toasted with "This Bud's for you. " The practice is not new, but industry experts say it's growing.

At the Franklin Institute - make that the Phranklin Institute - administrators found a unique way to honor the Phillies: They've put one of Jayson Werth's game-used bats in the hands of the plastinated, baseball-playing specimen in the "Body Worlds 2 and the Brain" exhibit. Which gives a whole new meaning to "the dead-ball era. " "Body Worlds" is the controversial show that displays real corpses, their skin removed to show internal organs. Wear Phillies garb on World Series game days and get $2 off the admission fee. P as in 'pretzel' or 'Phils'?

Another year, another 85 columns, which raises the question: Where are they now? Keith Fenimore's efforts to own the world's most recognizable face have not netted success, if you measure his mug against that of, say Muhammad Ali or Angelina Jolie. Or even James Fenimore Cooper. But the New Hope-Solebury High grad figures his yearlong experiment in manipulating social and traditional media has reached two million people. "All this," he notes, "without a sex tape or scandal.