Inqlings: Looks like the end for Taquet

The Wayne Hotel closed July 6 for an extensive renovation, and now the owner says the landmark Restaurant Taquet will not return when the hotel reopens in late August.

Taquet, which chef-owner Jean-Francois Taquet relocated from the Radnor Racquet Club to the historic hotel in 1992, was the height of brass-button Main Line dining.

Taquet moved to New Zealand about 10 years ago. Earlier this year, he said he was selling the restaurant, but a sale was not completed.

Charles Czworkowski, director of administration for building owner S. W. Bajus Ltd., says Bajus learned earlier this week that Taquet had decided not to renew the lease after several months of negotiations.

The renovations would have expanded Taquet's bistro and bar area, a must in this economic climate. "We're sorry to see it go," said Czworkowski, who is seeking a new tenant. Taquet did not return an e-mail message before deadline.

Organizers of a fund-raiser for South Philly's Tasker Street Fountain had hoped to raise $2,500 on Tuesday night. Then

Vincent J. Fumo

showed up. The former state senator, awaiting the start of his prison sentence, offered to match any amount raised, up to $5,000. Organizers brought in $4,500, so it was a $9,000 evening.

Last month, Clear Channel Communications cited economic matters when it canceled this year's Unity Day, which for 30 years was the signature public event on the Parkway for WDAS-FM (105.3).

That left the door open. Kyle Davis of West Philly, who works in 3-D animation and multimedia, says he wants to stage an event called Unity Day on the Parkway on Aug. 23.

But he says he's seeing unity - as in forces united against him.

The Fairmount Park Commission has not granted a special-event permit to Davis' group. Melanie Johnson of the City Rep's Office said yesterday that the city was reviewing the application; she noted that Clear Channel paid more than $300,000 last year for city services.

Davis' second challenge is legal. A Clear Channel attorney sent him a cease-and-desist letter last week claiming that the use of "Unity Day" violated Clear Channel's trademark. Davis posted the letter on his Web site, unitydayontheparkway.org.

Davis says he's preparing a writ of mandamus to compel the issuance of the permit and will file suit in Common Pleas Court to claim that Clear Channel is interfering with his business. A Clear Channel attorney directed my call to WDAS, which did not return a request for comment.

Power 99 (WUSL-FM, 98.9) needs a morning show. The week of Aug. 3, the hip-hop station will give one-day tryouts to assorted personalities, including Power 99's

Shamara

,

Golden Girl,

and the

Hot Boyz

; the public will pick the winner. Power, which was No. 1 in mornings among young adults in the 1990s but last month was 10th in the Arbitron ratings, has been playing music since it bagged the syndicated show

Big Boy's Neighborhood

.

Expect more noise from Now 97.5 (WNUW-FM), now that the adult-contemporary station has hired John Cook as program director. Now's aim is women in their 30s. "We see a huge opportunity between [hit] Q102 and [soft rock] B101, and John's the guy to do it," says his boss at Greater Media, John Fullam, who worked with Cook in Dallas. Cook, son of WFIL "Boss Jock" Jay Cook, has nowhere to go but up as Now finished 23d among young adults in the June ratings. John Cook spent a little more than a year here in 2007-08; he was fired from the PD job at WYSP (94.1) in the fallout over Kidd Chris' airing of a guest's racist song parody.

Michael Smerconish, the morning talker on WPHT-AM (1210), will be heard in Atlanta starting next week; it's his 46th station since his program started syndication five months ago.