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Recovery from super-storm Sandy continues moving forward, but for those who weren’t spared her savage cruelty, there’s still a long way to go before things even begin to resemble “back to normal.” With that in mind, there are some fund-raising and donation efforts being organized around town, including some that involve chefs and restaurants. Right below, you'll find a list of benefits and donation drop-offs, arranged by date so that you can plan your calendar accordingly. We will continue to update this list as we hear about more benefits and events. As always, if there's an event you know about, by all means let people know in the comments section below.

Looks like Bart Blatstein has some competition in his bid to become a casino mogul. Parx Casino owners, Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment Inc., have partnered with Cordish Cos., which owns Maryland’s top-grossing casino, and co-owns Xfinity Live! with Comcast-Spectacor, has thrown its hat into the ring for Philly’s second gaming license. Today’s Inky reports that the group’s plan is to transform the Holiday Inn on Packer Avenue near the sports complex into a sprawling, multi-million dollar hotel-casino and entertainment zone. The group announced this week that it reached an agreements to acquire the 10-story hotel.

How's this for timing? Executives at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia — the company that puts out all things Martha — announced this week that they'd lay off 70 people from its 600-person staff. Additionally, they'll kill the recipe-focused Everyday Food as a stand-alone magazine and instead wrap it into Martha Stewart Living. The company will also try to sell another of its magazines, health-heavy Whole Living, to someone else. The moves are expected to save the struggling company between $33 and $35 million per year. [Adweek, Daily Intel]