Party people hoop it up for charity

IT'S PROBABLY safe to say that a good time was had by all at this year's Zarwin Baum March Madness-a-thon at the Crystal Tea Room (100 E. Penn Square), where day drinking among socialites helped raise almost $200,000 for Philabundance.

The 13th annual nine-hour affair was a slam dunk, with appearances by Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin, comedian Joe Conklin, state Sen. Larry Farnese, former state Sen. Tony Payton Jr., mayoral candidates Lynne Abraham and Jim Kenney, and several City Council electeds and hopefuls, including Allan Domb, Derek Green and Paul Steinke.

More than 1,000 guests throughout the day nibbled on tasty bites from Bank & Bourbon (1200 Market St.), Smith's (39 S. 19th St.) and chef Chip Roman's The Treemont, all the while enjoying nine hours of nonstop NCAA game-day action displayed on huge projection screens.

I heard that Fox 29's Alex Holley schooled co-host Mike Jerrick at pop-a-shot hoops.

Kevin Smith appeared as a guest in the studio at 93.3 WMMR on Saturday morning. When Casey Foster suggested that he film "Clerks III" at the Granite Run Mall (1067 W. Baltimore Pike, Media), Smith revealed that he would be shooting somewhere between "City Center and King of Prussia."

Film-office details are often kept under tight wraps, but keep your eyes peeled for a Smith sighting in our area. According to the Philadelphia Business Journal, Smith also was able to secure a $2 million tax credit from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to shoot here.

Looks as if the filming will start in May.

I believe that Michael Klein from Philly.com broke the news first, but restaurateur Georges Perrier is the focus of a new documentary. "King Georges," which is set to debut next month at a film festival in Durham, N.C., is dedicated to the complex and sometimes cantankerous Perrier.

It documents the history, climax and closure of his landmark French brasserie, Le Bec-Fin.

Did City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson accuse his challenger in the 2nd District of being "the white man" having a "plantation mentality"?

That's what it sounds like in a video (ph.ly/Johnson) posted over the weekend by Chris Sawyer's Philadelinquency.

Johnson spoke to a group of constituents recently at Myers Recreation Center (5803 Kingsessing Ave.) and is heard referring to "a little petty threat" of $1 million - the figure that sources say IBEW Local 98 business manager John Dougherty allegedly promised he'd spend to unseat the councilman.

Johnson also clearly says that "the white man tell you you can't run for office . . . " and "he don't run this city . . . "

I'm not quite sure what he's referring to, but real-estate developer Ori Feibush, his challenger for the 2nd District, declined to comment on the video.

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