By Lynn Riley

To an appreciative Drexel community crowd including students, faculty, friends, alumni and family, the Drexel Fusion Band held a CD release party celebrating their new album “Cold Duck Sauce: The Best of Drexel Fusion Band” Nov. 11 in the lobby of Creese. 

Recorded last spring by Drexel Music Industry students, the performers are former and current members of the Drexel Fusion Band.  It includes 12 original arrangements by Director Lynn Riley (Adjunct Instructor in the Performing Arts Department) of Jazz, R&B, Latin and Rock songs such as “Summertime,” “What’s Going On,” “Ran Kan Kan” and “Moondance.”  On this festive night with pizza for all, the Band performed cuts from the new CD as well as some newer arrangements. 

The title “Cold Duck Sauce” derives from a recording session of the Eddie Harris jazz standard “Cold Duck Time,” another of the tracks on the CD, accidentally labeled as Cold Duck Sauce by a probably hungry engineer who performs in the group. 

The CDs are available for $10 by contacting Lynn Riley at mcr27@drexel.edu or calling 215 895-2451.

***Media courtesy Michael Donnella

Drexel Votes will hold an election watch party in the Great Court of the Main Building at 8:00 p.m. lasting until the next President is chosen, according to the Drexel Digest.

Activities such as presidential trivia will go on while the live election results are shown on a flat-screen TV, according to Drexel University Relations.  Food will also be served.

According to MTV, by noon today 574 people had already voted at Drexel, compared to the 425 total in 2004.

Media Credit: Drexel University Media Relations

Two separate reports of burglaries and one robbery have been reported to Drexel Department Public Safety on Oct. 27 and Oct. 28, according to DPS.

The burglaries occurred Oct. 27 between 1:00 p.m and 3:00 p.m.on 36th Street and Spring Garden street and the 500 block of 35th Street.  They both were forced entry and electronics were stolen, according to DPS.

Both burglaries occurred on Monday, October 27 between the hours of 1:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., in the areas of 36th and Spring Garden Streets and the 500 block of 35th Street.  Both burglaries were forced entry, electronics stolen, and no injuries, reported the DPS website.

The robbery occurred Oct. 28 around 4 p.m. at a house on 32nd and Summer Streets.  Two computers and a camera were stolen after the perpetrators entered the house through an unlocked door.  There were no injuries, according to DPS.

The suspects were described as approximately 5’11” tall, black males, average build, wearing black hooded sweatshirts and armed with a black and silver handgun.  .

Philadelphia Police are investigating these crimes.  DPS asks that If anyone observes any suspicious activity or suspects fitting the above description to immediately call 911 and Drexel Public Safety at 215-895-2222.

Safety Tips provided by Public Safety:

• Do not prop-open exterior doors.
• Make sure all doors and windows are kept locked, even during brief periods of time.
• Do not leave cash and/or valuables in plain sight.
• Be aware of your surroundings and activity occurring around you.
• Report any suspicious activity or persons to Drexel Public Safety and Philadelphia Police.

Josh Lucas and Al Shearer stormed Caneris North, Kelly Hall, Van Rensselaer and Myers Hall Sunday night, according to John Lloyd Chairman of the Drexel Democrats.

“Everybody is rockin’, rockin’ for Obama,” said Shearer.

“We have been going to colleges all over the Philly area and getting people to register to vote, hopefully registering to vote for Obama,” Lucas said.

They have gone to six schools and have three left, according to the Obama campaign.

“There is such a sense of excitement on campus,” Lucas said.  “Everyone here is registered to vote.”

Drew Barrymore and Zach Braff are coming to Drexel Sept. 29 to help the Drexel Democrats register students to vote, according to drexeldems.org.

They will be on campus from 10:25 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. to raise awareness of the Oct. 6 deadline to register to vote, according to an email from the Obama campaign.

Media Credit: drexeldems.org

Ecco Qui will be closing this week and a new restaurant will be moving in.

Yardhouse American Grill and Sports Bar is shooting to open in early October, according to Matthew Ray, publicist for Yardhouse.

Two brothers, Steve Sotland and Jeffrey Sotland will be opening the new restaurant.

The space will be closed for approximately four weeks and the interior will be gutted, according to Ray.

“The space will have a fun, warm, & inviting atmosphere w/ a sophisticated, chic edge by using industrial materials that include exposed brick, polished concrete floors, with wood & steel accents,” Andrew Pletcher, architect with Patridge and Associates who is doing the plans, wrote in an email.

Yardhouse is also working with Drexel to get Dragon Dollars (previously known as Ultima Funds) accepted at the restaurant, according to Ray.

For details of the new restaurant click here.

Photo Source: Eccoqui.com

Drexel University’s recently hired Director of Police Operations Michael Sinclair will not be taking the job due to “unexpected personal reasons”, James Katsaounis, executive director of communications for the Division of Student Life and Administrative Services said Sept 9.

Drexel will go back to the original applicant pool to search for someone to fill the Director of Police Operations post, Katsaounis said.

Sinclair told Drexel he regretted informing the University so late into the process because he was looking forward to joining the Drexel Public Safety team, Katsaounis said.

CLARIFICATION: A post on this blog labeled Sinclair as the “former Nazareth Borough Chief of Police.” Sinclair never resigned as Chief according to the Express Times.  The original information came from an official press release issued by Drexel University.

Michael Sinclair is the first Director of Police Operations at Drexel

A veteran Philadelphia Police commander and former Nazareth Borough   Police Chief has been hired as the first ever Director of Police Operations at Drexel University, according to a Sept 4 press release.

The new director, Michael Sinclair, will help to build Drexel’s campus police  department and oversee its daily operations said Domenic Ceccanecchio, senior associate vice president for Public Safety.

Although Sinclair’s most recent post was outside the City, he spent 29 years in the Philadelphia Police leading units ranging from Special Victims to Narcotics.  Sinclair was commander of the 18th District which includes parts of Drexel and the 22nd District which includes Temple University.

Sinclair also commanded the Southwest Detective Division which handles investigations for areas including Drexel and the University of Pennsylvania.

“We were looking for someone who had command level experience, particularly within an urban setting,” said a statement from James Tucker, senior vice president for Student Life and Administrative Services.

Sinclair examines a crime scene alongside UPenn VP for Public Safety Maureen Rush

In a statement Sinclair said he would be focusing on hiring police officers and ensuring that high training standards are maintained.

Drexel has announced plans to have a 28 to 30 member sworn police department over the next two years.  The campus police department was recently authorized by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, according to the press release.

The Sept 18 issue of The Triangle will have more info about Sinclair and the campus police.

Top photo source: Drexel Student Life and Administrative Services
Bottom photo source: Daily Pennsylvanian

Drexel student Claudio Innocenti, 20, was arrested Sept. 2 at the Deptford Mall in South Jersey for allegedly selling fake New Jersey driver’s licenses, The Inquirer reported.

A fake license with Innocenti’s name and picture were found in his possession when arrested, according to The Inquirer.

“We’re serious about fighting underage drinking and protecting the integrity of the New Jersey’s digital driver’s license system,” state Attorney General Anne Milgram told The Inquirer. “We charge this defendant was counterfeiting driver’s licenses and assisting underage people to drink, putting them and the public at risk.”

State detectives have seized seven fake ID’s that are allegedly made by Innocenti, The Inquirer reported.

He was held in the Gloucester County Jail and released Sept. 3 on a $75,000 bail, according to The Inquirer.

TheTriangle.org will have more information.

Private student loan provider Education Finance Partners will no longer offer student loans and students with EFP loans will be required to find a new lender, according to Drexel and EFP.

Drexel University’s Office of Financial Aid sent a letter to the affected students Aug 18 informing them they would need to find a new lender.

“EFP will not be able to process any of the loan applications submitted,” read the letter from Drexel.

For the 2008-09 academic year, 56 Drexel students had already been approved for loans through EFP said Melissa Englund, assistant vice president for enrollment planning and retention services at Drexel.

Englund said Drexel suggests students visit http://www.simpletuition.com/drexel/home for help finding a new loan. They should also contact the Financial Aid Office at 215-895-2537, she added.

EFP is the company that was cited by NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in 2007 for having a “revenue sharing agreement” with Drexel. The agreement led to a threat of a law suit against the University.

EFP paid a 2.5 million dollar settlement as a result of the AG investigation.

A spokesman for EFP could not be reached at the time of this post.