Inqlings | A.C. pub sues over 'dive' review

A

dive

, you say?

The operators of the Irish Pub & Inn in Atlantic City are suing Metrocorp, which publishes Philly Mag, in federal court over a blurb in last winter's edition of A.C. Now, a Metrocorp publication that contained reviews of about 80 bars, eateries and clubs.

The claim: The Irish Pub - in business since 1972 and with two outposts in Center City - was harmed by A.C. Now's dubbing it a "dive bar," lumping it with Tony's Baltimore Grill and the Chelsea Pub.

"Defendant characterizes the customers . . . as likely to be 'broken-down blackjack addicts' and 'self-professed black sheep of the family,' " the suit says, adding that the label will hurt the pub's chances at further expansion. Pub attorney

Michael J. Malloy

included with the filing a statement from a consultant who opined that the "dive" tag was "dangerous and life-threatening to this business."

Asked for comment,

Larry Platt

, Philly Mag editor and A.C. Now's editorial director, said: "This is a case of a place that can't take a compliment."

Told of Platt's response, Malloy said: "Then maybe I should describe them as a dive magazine. That's not a compliment at all."

Jonesy

is coming back to "The Beat." I hear that WPHI (100.3) will announce tomorrow that it's picking up a newly syndicated show hosted by the radio loudmouth also known as Miss Jones. The hip-hop station is shuffling its lineup.

In 2003, Jonesy (

Tarsha Jones

) parted company with The Beat - then at 103.9 - after an 18-month career during which she was suspended twice and sued once on a slander allegation. Radio One settled the case out of court.

But there's a new regime at Radio One, and Jonesy is starting to syndicate out of her New York radio station, Hot 97, where she has also raised a fuss.

Beat operations manager

Elroy Smith

declined to talk about the morning choice pending the 5 p.m. announcement. He tossed out the names

Sam Sylk

and

Carter & Sanborn

- two former radio shows in town - as other candidates.

To make room for Jones, the current morning duo of

Laiya & Pooch

will be split up. Laiya will move to middays, while Pooch will join

Touchtone

at nights. Program director

Colby Colb

will remain on afternoons.

WYSP (94.1) has put

Kidd Chris

to work, cutting recorded bits that are being heard to herald the station's relaunch with him in the morning. When will that be? Nov. 26, perhaps; not sooner. One hire is

Spike

(

Brett Eskin

) for middays/assistant program director/music director.

WPEN (950) will pick up

Dan Patrick's

new sports-talk show starting tomorrow. It will air on tape, from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays.

Bob Craig

, who used to host a

Frank Sinatra

hour on WPEN, will host a noon-to-1 p.m. block of Ol' Blue Eyes daily on WHAT (1340), which now plays standards.

Upstart rock station WRFF (104.5) has hired its first on-air talent:

Wendy Rollins

, last in Charleston, S.C. Her time slot has not been announced.

Two high-profile developer brothers are backing two high-end steakhouse projects.

Joe Grasso

is behind Union Trust, an independent eatery under construction in his building at 719 Chestnut St. And

David Grasso

, his little brother, is helping the chain Del Frisco's occupy the Grande, his building at 15th and Chestnut. They're on great terms, David Grasso confirms. But Del Frisco's bigwigs are not happy that one of its top former chef-managers,

Terry White

, is a partner in Union Trust.

Philly-born

Paige Davis

is coming back to the TLC home-makeover series

Trading Spaces

- two years after she was let go. (Word in '05 was that the show, at the time produced by Philly's Banyan Productions, needed to go to a host-less format; it was speculated, though, that TLC was not happy with Davis' public antics, including posing for TV Guide wearing nothing but strips of wallpaper and for doing a comedic striptease during an AIDS fund-raiser.)

Brant Pinvidic

, TLC's senior vice president for programming, says he doesn't know the specifics behind the perky Davis' firing, but called it "shortsightedness."

Trading Spaces

will resume in January.

Mike Driscoll

, who has donated tens of thousands to police-related causes through his Finnigan's Wake bar at Third and Spring Garden in Northern Liberties, will host a Thanksgiving eve fund-raiser for the Police Survivors Fund. Wednesday's promotion, 5 to 8 p.m., costs $10 a head for food and music by Paddy's Well.

Wednesday's

Police

show at the Wachovia Center was canceled Tuesday because

Sting

had the flu. That day - by coincidence, I hear - center operator Comcast-Spectacor gave free flu shots to 175 employees.

Where Hugs for Puppies goes, growling follows. The animal-rights group has been picketing Philly restaurants that serve the duck-liver dish known as foie gras. During a Nov. 10 rally outside the Standard Tap in Northern Liberties, a protester was splashed with coffee by a man believed to be an employee of Johnny Brenda's, a nearby eatery owned by the Tap crew. In a phone chat last week, Tap owner

Paul Kimport

declined to give the man's name but said the man hadn't been trying to hurt anyone. Kimport said foie gras was not a big part of his menu, adding that he supported foie-gras provider Hudson Valley Farms and thought its methods were humane.

The screenwriters' strike has hit this weekend's Kennel Club of Philadelphia Dog Show. Because

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno

is in reruns, tennis pro

Justin Gimelstob

won't get to do his backstage shtick, which had been set to air on Wednesday's show.

While emceeing the Musser Award ceremony Thursday at Temple University's Fox School of Business, CNBC's

Tyler Mathisen

displayed a red henhouse. He introduced honorees

Richard and Robert Fox

, and the stage prop's meaning grew clearer - when a woman walked in carrying a live fox. Next year, maybe Rhino Records will win.