Dan Gross: Lauren Cohn to leave Fox 29

FOX 29'S LAUREN COHN will be leaving the station around the new year, sources tell us.

Cohn, a reporter/anchor, joined the station in September 2010. She had been a weekend anchor at NBC 10 for about three years, from 2004 to 2007 before going to work for Fox in Chicago.

The New York native did not return a request for comment Tuesday. A Fox 29 spokeswoman also did not get back to us by deadline.

In other Fox 29 news, the contracts of "Good Day" reporter Jennaphr Frederick and investigative reporter Dave Schratwieser have been renewed for several years.

The Roots leaders Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson and Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter will attend a public event unveiling the design of the Mural Arts Program's mural honoring the hometown hip-hop heroes.

From 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday the guys will join program director Jane Golden, Mayor Nutter, lead artist Ernel Martinez and Bank of America's Pennsylvania president, Tom Woodward, at the World Communications Charter School (512 S. Broad). Dice Raw, part of the Roots crew, Chill Moody and DJ Statik will perform at the event.

"Extra" host Maria Menounos will emcee the Philadelphia Zoo's annual Global Conservation Gala Nov. 1 at the Westin hotel. Betty White has recorded a video to be shown at the event, which honors innovators in conservation. For more info, visit PhiladelphiaZoo. org.

Judy Shepard, whose son Matthew Shepard was slain for being gay in a hate crime in 1998, delivers the keynote address Wednesday at a Hate Crime Conference at the National Constitution Center in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI and the Anti-Defamation League. Shepard also spoke Tuesday at the ADL's Youth Conference at the University of Pennsylvania's Irvine Auditorium.

* Sixers forward Lavoy Allen surprised two local high-school seniors with $5,000 college scholarships on behalf of Sun Life Financial on Tuesday afternoon at City Hall.

Allen, who participated in a basketball shooting contest with students, presented Saaiba Newton of Samuel Fels High and Anthony Thai of Episcopal Academy with the Rising Star awards, and two local nonprofits, Steppingstone Scholars and Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, both received $50,000 grants from Sun Life.

* Steve Ward of VH1's "Tough Love" and 95.7 BEN-FM's Marilyn Russell will attend a benefit for fallen Plymouth Township Police Officer Bradley Fox from 8 to 11 Saturday night at the Westover Country Club in Jeffersonville. Ward's brother Brian Ward works for Axis Construction, which sponsors the fundraiser along with Rotation Records.

Next Best Thing and the Jewelz Ray Band will perform. Tickets are available for $15 at the door.

* Veteran radio personality Rhonda Fink-Whitman, now with Tango Traffic, will launch her new book, 94 Maidens, at the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center's 51st annual auction and fundraiser at 7 p.m. Saturday at the JC Melrose Country Club in Elkins Park. Tickets are $75 for the fundraiser and available by emailing holocaustmuseum@verizon.net or calling 215-474-4701. For more info, visit 94Maidens.com.

Warby Parker, the fashionable, vintage-themed eyewear brand launched in 2010 by Wharton students Neil Blumenthal, David Gilboa, Andrew Hunt and Jeffrey Raider, is touring the country in a school bus-turned-showroom.

The company gives a pair of glasses to someone in need for every pair it sells. The eyeglass bus, called Warby Parker Class Trip, will be parked in a few spots around Center City and Northern Liberties from Wednesday until Nov. 4. Details at warby parkerclasstrip.com.