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•Temporary Tax Increase? Brett Mandel
Jan. 17, 2013 - “What, me worry?”
The City of Philadelphia has certainly had its share of mayors with cavalier attitudes and strange behavior patterns going back to our last Republican Mayor, Bernie Samuels, through Jim Tate, John Street and now as Mayor Michael Nutter winds down his second term the only phrase that seems to be applicable to the fiscal and managerial chaos he leaves behind is that famed cliché from Mad Magazine, “What, me worry?”
Mayor's Office Responds to Editorial
Jan. 28, 2013 - In response to your Jan. 17 editorial:
Facts matter, even when you’re opining, and facts are in desperately short supply in this editorial. Instead of a fact-based essay, Mr. Foster treats readers to a series of unsupported, specious assertions that in no way serve or enlighten readers in northwest Philadelphia.
Mayor's Office Puts Germantown Newspapers Observations On Broad Street
Jan. 28, 2013 - Germantown Chronicle, Northwest Independent cited, Chief of Staff challenges published above.
Reacting to an article this newspaper printed on failed cities in Pennsylvania, Mark McDonald, Press Secretary to Mayor Nutter, recently requested that this newspaper provide him with our sources on an article we printed relative to the condition of our city employee’s pensions and how they stacked up against other major cities. We had stated it was considered the worst underfunded in a study of 3 major cities; Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia. After McDonald was sent the information that the nationally circulated study was done by Northwestern University, he told us it was a flawed analysis, but never documented how it was flawed. In a more recent article on the performance of Mayor Nutter in this past issue, we cited a Pew study that reached similar conclusions.
More on the Reasons Behind the Critique
Judge orders liquidation of Germantown Settlement subsidiary -
Philly.com
Emanuel Freeman: The Man Who Duped City Hall | Philadelphia
Magazine Articles http://www.phillymag.com/articles/emanuel-freeman-the-man-who-duped-city-hal
Betty Turner: Setting Aside Egos for a Better Germantown
By QUEEN MUSE
Guest Writer
She’s been likened in looks to a younger Rosa Parks. And while she’s fought her share of battles for civil rights, Germantown native Betty Turner has now turned her attention to another challenge.
By CONSTANCE GARCIA-BARRIO
Correspondent
Laura Holbert, a member of the Cliveden Brewers, empties a mash tun in the brewing area at Earth Bread and Brewery, 7136 Germantown Avenue.
She and other Cliveden Brewers have been busy brewing up a special beer that will be introduced on January 13 – and that will support the community engagement programs at Cliveden of the National trust.
Photo courtesy David Muff.
“In my opinion, most great men of the past were there only for the beer,” an Englishman once said. One could have fun speculating on how beer may have shaped the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and key moments in our country’s past.
The Cliveden Brewers Guild has created “Cuvée de Cliveden,” a dark delicious beer to be featured at Earth Bread and Brewery, 7136 Germantown Avenue, to help provide a more inclusive view of that past. “Cuvée de Cliveden is a unique collaboration between the Brewers Guild and the restaurant,” said Phillip R. Seitz, Cliveden’s curator of history and fermentation. “Each glass purchased helps to support new programs addressing history and racial equality at Cliveden.”
Decisions, Decisions
Learn Your Options When Choosing Power Company
By SUE ANN RYBAK
Correspondent
Only about ten people braved the snow to attend the Community Energy Workshop held at Calvary Church, 5020 Pulaski Avenue on January 8 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. But those who did were rewarded with valuable information regarding the recent changes in PECO’s electric delivery rates.
As of Jan. 1, the prices of electricity and gas are being based on market prices. For the last ten years, electricity prices were capped to protect customers during deregulation.
What does this mean for PECO customers? A higher electric bill. Prices for residential customers are expected to increase about five percent, according to PECO. On average, this is about $5 a month for most customers.
Under the Electricity Generation and Customer Choice and Competition Act, Pennsylvanians can choose the electrical company that generates their electricity. Before deregulation, electric utility companies - like PECO - provided the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. Consumers had no choice but to buy their electricity from the monopoly in their region. Now, consumers can shop for the generation portion of their electricity.
So, how do you decide which electric company is right for you?
Rising Sun Talent Search
Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation (OARC) has announced that the final competition of the 2011 Rising Star Talent Search will kick-off the West Oak Lane Jazz and Arts Festival, taking place June 17-19, 2011. The event celebrates Philadelphia arts and culture and the revitalization of the West Oak Lane neighborhood that has been home to the festival for more than seven years.
The winner of the Talent Search will return to perform on Sunday, June 19th at the Festival, and will receive a $5,000 grand prize. In addition, participating sponsor Fanwave Media will supplement the first place cash prize with recording, mixing, and digital distribution of the prize winner’s song. The second and third place finalists will each receive a $1,000 prize.
Each night of the competition, the audience will be voting for their favorite performer. To boost audience participation, OARC is featuring cell phone text message voting for the competition. The cell phone capability will enable judges to immediately gauge the views of the audience and tabulate votes more quickly. Standard text message rates will apply. WDAS FM radio personality Mimi Brown will return as host of the Talent Search and also serve as a judge, along with a different guest judge each week.
Now in its third year, the Rising Star Talent Search gives budding singers, musicians and bands from all over the region an opportunity for real exposure. Auditions began last month, and the competition opens on Wednesday, January 12, 2011. Musical categories include R&B, Jazz, Blues, and World Music. Performers under a recording or talent management contract are not eligible. There is a $20 non-refundable registration fee. Performers will not be compensated for their participation in the competition.
For more information about the Talent Search or to schedule an audition, please contact Ty Holland at 215-927-5455 or at tholland@oarcphilly.org. The Rising Star Talent Search is part of the annual West Oak Lane Jazz & Arts Festival, OARC’s signature event. It all takes place at Relish Restaurant, located at 7152 Ogontz Avenue in the heart of the bourgeoning Ogontz Avenue Business District.
Health Care Speech by President Obama
Editor’s note: the following is a transcript of President Barack Obama’s address on health insurance reform delivered Monday, March 8 at Arcadia University, Glenside. The transcript was provided by the Media Affairs Office at the White House.
11:23 a.m., EST
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, Pennsylvania! (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. This is a nice crowd. (Applause.) Thank you very much. Thank you. Well, what a wonderful crowd.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: I love you!
THE PRESIDENT: Love you back. (Applause.) I am -- I'm kind of fired up. (Applause.) I'm kind of fired up. (Applause.) So, listen, we -- this is just an extraordinary crowd and I –
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you!
THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. (Applause.) I want -- there's some people I want to point out who are here who've just been doing great work. First of all, give Leslie a great round of applause for her wonderful introduction. (Applause.)
Somebody who's been working tirelessly on your behalf, doing a great job -- the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius is in the house. (Applause.) One of the finest governors in the country, Ed Rendell is in the house. (Applause.) Everybody notice how good Ed is looking, by the way? He's been on that training program, eating egg whites and keeping his cholesterol down. (Laughter.)
Your senior senator who has just been doing outstanding work in the Senate, Arlen Specter is in the house. (Applause.) One of my great friends, somebody who supported me when nobody could pronounce my name, Bob Casey is in the house. (Applause.) Your congressman, the person who gave me confidence that I could win even though nobody could pronounce my name -- Chaka Fattah is in the house. (Applause.) I figured if they could elect a "Chaka" -- (laughter) -- then they could elect a "Barack." (Laughter.)
A couple other outstanding members of Congress -- first of all, from Pennsylvania, Allyson Schwartz is in the house. (Applause.) Somebody who rendered outstanding service to our nation before he was in Congress, Joe Sestak is in the house. (Applause.) One of the sharpest members of Congress -- technically not his state but he's just from right next door, New Jersey, so he's practically -- (applause.) See, we've got some Jersey folks here. (Applause.) Rob Andrews is in the house. (Applause.) And the great mayor of Philadelphia, Mike Nutter. (Applause.)
It's a little hot, I think. (Applause.) And to Arcadia University -- (applause) -- thank you, thank you guys for hosting us. (Applause.)
I was asking about that castle on the way in, by the way. (Applause.) That's a -- I thought the White House was pretty nice, but that castle, that's -- (laughter.)
Well, it is great to be back here in the Keystone State. It's even better to be out of Washington, D.C. (Laughter.) First of all, the people of D.C. are wonderful. They're nice people, they're good people; love the city, the monuments, everything. But when you’re in Washington, folks respond to every issue, every decision, every debate, no matter how important it is, with the same question: What does this mean for the next election? (Laughter.) What does it mean for your poll numbers? Is this good for the Democrats or good for the Republicans? Who won the news cycle?
That’s just how Washington is. They can’t help it. They’re obsessed with the sport of politics. And so that’s the environment in which elected officials are operating. And you’ve seen all the pundits pontificating and talking over each other on the cable shows, and they’re yelling and shouting. They can’t help themselves. That’s what they do.
But out here, and all across America, folks are worried about bigger things. They’re worried about how to make payroll. They’re worried about how to make ends meet. They’re worried about what the future will hold for their families and for our country. They’re not worrying about the next election. We just had an election. (Applause.) They’re worried about the next paycheck, or the next tuition payment that’s due. (Applause.) They’re thinking about retirement.
You want people in Washington to spend a little less time worrying about our jobs, a little more time worrying about your jobs. (Applause.)
Despite all the challenges we face -- two wars, the aftermath of a terrible recession -- I want to tell everybody here today I am absolutely confident that America will prevail; that we will shape our destiny as past generations have done. (Applause.) That’s who we are. We don’t give up. We don’t quit. Sometimes we take our lumps, but we just keep on going. That’s who we are. But that only happens when we’re meeting our challenges squarely and honestly. And I have to tell you, that’s why we are fighting so hard to deal with the health care crisis in this country; health care costs that are growing every single day.
I want to spend some time talking about this. The price of health care is one of the most punishing costs for families and for businesses and for our government. (Applause.) It’s forcing people to cut back or go without health insurance. It forces small businesses to choose between hiring or health care. It’s plunging the federal government deeper and deeper and deeper into debt.
The young people who are here, you’ve heard stories -- some of you guys still have health care while you’re in school, some of you may still be on your parents’ plans, but some of the highest uninsurance rates are among young people. And it’s getting harder and harder to find a job that’s going to provide you with health care. And a lot of you right now feel like you’re invincible so you don’t worry about it. (Laughter.) But let me tell you, when you hit 48 -- (laughter) -- you start realizing, things start breaking down a little bit. (Laughter.)
And the insurance companies continue to ration health care based on who’s sick and who’s healthy; on who can pay and who can’t pay. That’s the status quo in America, and it is a status quo that is unsustainable for this country. We can’t have a system that works better for the insurance companies than it does for the American people. (Applause.) We need to give families and businesses more control over their own health insurance. And that’s why we need to pass health care reform -- not next year, not five years from now, not 10 years from now, but now. (Applause.)
Now, since we took this issue on a year ago, there have been plenty of folks in Washington who’ve said that the politics is just too hard. They’ve warned us we may not win. They’ve argued now is not the time for reform. It’s going to hurt your poll numbers. How is it going to affect Democrats in November? Don’t do it now.
My question to them is: When is the right time? (Applause.) If not now, when? If not us, who?
Think about it. We've been talking about health care for nearly a century. I’m reading a biography of Teddy Roosevelt right now. He was talking about it. Teddy Roosevelt. We have failed to meet this challenge during periods of prosperity and also during periods of decline. Some people say, well, don't do it right now because the economy is weak. When the economy was strong, we didn’t do it. We’ve talked about it during Democratic administrations and Republican administrations. I got all my Republican colleagues out there saying, well, no, no, no, we want to focus on things like cost. You had 10 years. What happened? What were you doing? (Applause.)
Every year, the problem gets worse. Every year, insurance companies deny more people coverage because they’ve got preexisting conditions. Every year, they drop more people’s coverage when they get sick right when they need it most. Every year, they raise premiums higher and higher and higher.
Just last month, Anthem Blue Cross in California tried to jack up rates by nearly 40 percent -- 40 percent. Anybody’s paycheck gone up 40 percent?
AUDIENCE: Nooo –
THE PRESIDENT: I mean, why is it that we think this is normal? In my home state of Illinois, rates are going up by as much as 60 percent. You just heard Leslie, who was hit with more than a hundred percent increase -- 100 percent. One letter from her insurance company and her premiums doubled. Just like that. And because so many of these markets are so concentrated, it’s not like you can go shopping. You’re stuck. So you’ve got a choice: Either no health insurance, in which case you’re taking a chance if somebody in your family gets sick that you will go bankrupt and lose your home and lose everything you’ve had -- or you keep on ponying up money that you can’t afford.
See, these insurance companies have made a calculation. Listen to this. The other day, there was a conference call that was organized by Goldman Sachs. You know Goldman Sachs. You’ve been hearing about them, right? (Laughter.) So they organized a conference call in which an insurance broker was telling Wall Street investors how he expected things to be playing out over the next several years, and this broker said that insurance companies know they will lose customers if they keep on raising premiums, but because there’s so little competition in the insurance industry, they’re okay with people being priced out of the insurance market because, first of all, a lot of folks are going to be stuck, and even if some people drop out, they’ll still make more money by raising premiums on customers that they keep.
And they will keep on doing this for as long as they can get away with it. This is no secret. They’re telling their investors this: We are in the money; we are going to keep on making big profits even though a lot of folks are going to be put under hardship.
So how much higher do premiums have to rise until we do something about it? How many more Americans have to lose their health insurance? How many more businesses have to drop coverage? All those young people out here, after you graduate you’re going to be looking for a job. Think about the environment that’s going to be out there when a whole bunch of potential employers just tell you, you know what, we just can’t afford it. Or, you know what, we’re going to have to take thousands of dollars out of your paycheck because the insurance company just jacked up our rates.
How many years -- how many more years can the federal budget handle the crushing costs of Medicare and Medicaid? That’s the debt you’re going to have to pay, young people. When is the right time for health insurance reform?
AUDIENCE: Now!
THE PRESIDENT: Is it a year from now or two years from now or five years from now or 10 years from now?
AUDIENCE: No!
THE PRESIDENT: I think it’s right now. And that’s why you’re here today. (Applause.)
Leslie is a single mom -- just like my mom was a single mom -- trying to put her daughter through college. She knows that the time for reform is now.
Natoma Canfield -- self-employed cancer survivor from Ohio -- she wrote us a letter. Last year her insurance company charged her over $6,000 in premiums; paid about $900 worth of care. Now they’ve decided to jack up her rates 40 percent next year. So she’s had to drop her insurance, even though it may cost her the house that her parents built. Natoma knows it’s time for reform.
Laura Klitzka -- this is a friend of mine, somebody I met when I was campaigning in Wisconsin -- Green Bay, Wisconsin. She’s a young mother; she’s got two kids. She thought she had beaten her breast cancer but later discovered it had spread to her bones. She and her husband had insurance, but their medical bills still landed them with tens of thousands of dollars worth of debt. And now she spends her time worrying about that debt when all she wants to do is spend time with her children. I just talked to Laura this past weekend, and let me tell you, she knows that the time for reform is right now.
So what should I tell these Americans? That Washington is not sure how it will play in November? That we should walk away from this fight, or do something -- do something like some on the other side of the aisle have suggested, well, we’ll do it incrementally; we’ll take baby steps; we’ll do –
AUDIENCE: No!
THE PRESIDENT: So they want me to pretend to do something that doesn’t really help these folks.
We have debated health care in Washington for more than a year. Every proposal has been put on the table. Every argument has been made. I know a lot of people view this as a partisan issue, but both parties have found areas where we agree. What we’ve ended up with is a proposal that’s somewhere in the middle -- one that incorporates the best from Democrats and Republicans, best ideas.
Think about it along the spectrum of how we could approach health care. On one side of the spectrum there were those at the beginning of this process who wanted to scrap our system of private insurance and replace it with a government-run health care system, like they have in some other countries. (Applause.) Look, it works in places like Canada, but I didn’t think it was going to be practical or realistic to do it here.
On the other side of the spectrum, there are those who believe that the answer is just to loosen regulations on insurance companies. This is what we heard at the health care summit. They said, well, you know what, if we had fewer regulations on the insurance companies –
AUDIENCE: Boo!
THE PRESIDENT: -- whether it’s consumer protections or basic standards on what kind of insurance they sell, somehow market forces will make things better. Well, we’ve tried that. I’m concerned that would only give insurance companies more leeway to raise premiums and deny care. (Applause.)
So the bottom line is I don’t believe we should give government or insurance companies more control over health care in America. I believe it’s time to give you, the American people, more control over your own health insurance. (Applause.)
And that’s why my proposal builds on the current system where most Americans get their health insurance from their employer. If you like your plan, you can keep your plan. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. But I can tell you, as the father of two young girls, I don’t want a plan that interferes with the relationship between a family and their doctor. So we’re going to preserve that.
Essentially, my proposal would change three things about the current health care system. Listen up. First, it would end the worst practices of insurance companies. Within the first year of signing health care reform, thousands of uninsured Americans with preexisting conditions would suddenly be able to purchase health insurance for the very first time in their lives, or the first time in a long time. (Applause.)
This year, insurance companies will be banned forever from denying coverage to children with preexisting conditions. (Applause.) This year, they will be banned from dropping your coverage when you get sick. (Applause.) And they will no longer be able to arbitrarily and massively hike your premiums -- just like they did to Leslie or Natoma or millions of others Americans. Those practices will end. (Applause.)
If this reform becomes law, all new insurance plans will be required to offer free preventive care to their customers starting this year -- free check-ups so that we can catch preventable illnesses on the front end. (Applause.) Starting this year, there will be no more lifetime or restrictive annual limits on the amount of care that you can receive from your insurance companies. There’s a lot of fine print in there that can end up costing people hundreds of thousands of dollars because they hit a limit.
If you’re a young adult, which many of you are, you’ll be able to stay on your parents’ insurance policy until you’re 26 years old. (Applause.) And there will be a new, independent appeals process for anybody who feels they were unfairly denied a claim by their insurance company. So you'll have recourse if you're being taken advantage of. (Applause.) So that’s the first thing that would change and it would change fast –- insurance companies would finally be held accountable to the American people. That's number one.
Number two, second thing that would change about the current system is this: For the first time in their lives -- or oftentimes, in a very long time -- uninsured individuals and small business owners will have the same kind of choice of private health insurance that members of Congress get for themselves. (Applause.) If it’s good enough for Congress, it should be good enough for the people paying Congress its salary -- that's you. (Applause.)
Now, the idea is very simple here, and it's one -- (audience interruption) -- I'm sorry, go ahead. (Applause.) Let me explain how this would work, because it's an idea that a lot of Republicans have embraced in the past. What my proposal says is that if you aren’t part of a big group, if you don't work for a big company, you can be part of a pool which gives you bargaining power over insurance companies. It's very straightforward. Suddenly, just like the federal employees -- there are millions of them so they can drive a harder bargain with insurance companies -- you, as an individual or a small business owner, could be part of this pool, which would give you more negotiating power with the insurance companies for lower rates and a better deal. (Applause.) Right?
Now, if you still can’t afford the insurance that's offered -- even though it's a better deal than you can get on your own, but you still just can't get it, then what we're going to do is give you a tax credit to do so. And these tax credits add up to the largest middle-class tax cut for health care in history. (Applause.) Because the wealthiest among us, they can already afford to buy the best insurance there is; the least well off are already covered through Medicaid. It’s the middle class that gets squeezed. That's who we need to help with these tax credits. (Applause.) That’s what we intend to do. (Applause.)
Now, I want to be honest. Let’s be clear. This will cost some money. It’s going to cost about $100 billion per year. Most of this comes from the nearly $2.5 trillion a year that America already spends on health care. It’s just that right now a lot of that money is being wasted or it’s being spent badly. So with this plan, we’re going to make sure that the dollars we spend go to making insurance more affordable and more secure.
So I'll give you an example. We’re going to eliminate wasteful taxpayer subsidies that currently go to insurance and pharmaceutical companies. (Applause.) They are getting billions of dollars a year from the government, from taxpayers, when they’re making a big profit. I'd rather see that money going to people who need it. (Applause.)
We’ll set a new fee on insurance companies that stand to gain as millions of Americans are able to buy insurance. They’re going to have 30 million new customers; there’s nothing wrong with them paying a little bit of the freight. And we’ll make sure that the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share of Medicare, just like everybody else does. (Applause.)
So the bottom line is this: Our proposal is paid for. All the new money generated in this plan goes back to small business owners and individuals in the middle class who right now are having trouble getting insurance. It would lower prescription drug prices for seniors. (Applause.) It would help train new doctors and nurses to provide care for American families and physicians assistants and therapists. I know there are -- got great programs here at Arcadia. (Applause.) I was hearing about the terrific programs you have at Arcadia in the health care field. Well, you know what, we’re going to need more health care professionals of the sorts that are being trained here, and we want to help you get that training. And that’s in this bill. (Applause.)
So I’ve mentioned two things now: insurance reform and making sure the people who don't have health insurance are able to get it.
Finally, my proposal would bring down the cost of health care for millions -– families, businesses, and the federal government. (Applause.) As I said, you keep on hearing from critics and some of the Republicans on these Sunday shows say, well, we want to do more about cost. We have now incorporated almost every single serious idea from across the political spectrum about how to contain the rising cost of health care –- ideas that go after waste and abuse in our system, including in programs like Medicare. But we do this while protecting Medicare benefits, and we extend the financial stability of the program by nearly a decade.
Our cost-cutting measures mirror most of the proposals in the current Senate bill, which reduces most people’s premiums and brings down our deficit by up to $1 trillion over the next decade because we’re spending our health care dollars more wisely. (Applause.) Those aren’t my numbers. Those aren’t my numbers --they are the savings determined by the Congressional Budget Office, which is the nonpartisan, independent referee of Congress for what things cost.
So that’s our proposal: insurance reform; making sure that you can have choices in the marketplace for health insurance, and making it affordable for people; and reducing costs. (Applause.)
Now, think about it. I think -- how many people would like a proposal that holds insurance companies more accountable? (Applause.) How many people would like to give Americans the same insurance choices that members of Congress get? (Applause.) And how many would like a proposal that brings down costs for everyone? (Applause.) That’s our proposal. And it is paid for, and it’s a proposal whose time has come. (Applause.)
The United States Congress owes the American people a final, up or down vote on health care. (Applause.) It’s time to make a decision. The time for talk is over. We need to see where people stand. And we need all of you to help us win that vote. So I need you to knock on doors. Talk to your neighbors. Pick up the phone. When you hear an argument by the water cooler and somebody is saying this or that about it, say, no, no, no, no, hold on a second. And we need you to make your voices heard all the way in Washington, D.C. (Applause.)
They need to hear your voices because right now the Washington echo chamber is in full throttle. It is as deafening as it’s ever been. And as we come to that final vote, that echo chamber is telling members of Congress, wait, think about the politics -- instead of thinking about doing the right thing.
That’s what Mitch McConnell said this weekend. His main argument was, well, this is going to be really bad for Democrats politically. Now, first of all, I generally wouldn’t take advice about what’s good for Democrats. (Laughter.) But setting aside that, that’s not the issue here. The issue here is not the politics of it.
But that’s what people -- that’s what members of Congress are hearing right now on the cable shows and in the -- sort of the gossip columns in Washington. It’s telling Congress comprehensive reform has failed before -- remember what happened to Clinton -- it may just be too politically hard.
Yes, it’s hard. It is hard. That’s because health care is complicated. Health care is a hard issue. It’s easily misrepresented. It’s easily misunderstood. So it’s hard for some members of Congress to make this vote. There’s no doubt about that. But you know what else is hard? What Leslie and her family are going through -- that’s hard. (Applause.) The possibility that Natoma Canfield might lose her house because she’s about to lose her health insurance -- that’s hard. (Applause.) Laura Klitzka in Green Bay having to worry about her cancer and her debt at the same time, trying to explain that to her kids -- that’s hard. (Applause.) What’s hard is what millions of families and small businesses are going through because we allow the insurance industry to run wild in this country. (Applause.)
So let me remind everybody: Those of us in public office were not sent to Washington to do what’s easy. We weren’t sent there because of the big fancy title. We weren’t sent there to -- because of a big fancy office. We weren’t sent there just so everybody can say how wonderful we are. We were sent there to do what was hard. (Applause.) We were sent there to take on the tough issues. We were sent there to solve the big challenges. And that’s why we’re there. (Applause.)
And at this moment -- at this moment, we are being called upon to fulfill our duty to the citizens of this nation and to future generations. (Applause.)
So I’ll be honest with you. I don’t know how passing health care will play politically, but I do know that it’s the right thing to do. (Applause.) It’s right for our families. It’s right for our businesses. It’s right for the United States of America. And if you share that belief, I want you to stand with me and fight with me. (Applause.) And I ask you to help us get us over the finish line these next few weeks. (Applause.) The need is great. The opportunity is here. Let’s seize reform. It’s within our grasp. (Applause.)
Thank you very much, everybody. God bless. (Applause.)
February, 2010
Pennsylvania state agency point persons on federal stimulus funds include:
Office of Administration
Rosa Lara at 717-214-7949 Ra-oastimulus@state.pa.us
Aging
Ray Prushnok at 717-783-1550 rprushnok@state.pa.us
Agriculture
Dennis Hall at 877-475-2686 denhall@state.pa.us
Arts Council
Phillip Horn at 717-787-1530 phorn@state.pa.us
Or
Brian Rogers at 717-783-2539 brogers@state.pa.us
Banking
Paul Wentzel at 717-787-2112 pwentzel@state.pa.us
Community & Economic Development
John P. Blake at 717-720-1346 johnpblake@state.pa.us
Or
Bryce Maretzki at 717-720-1379 bmaretzki@state.pa.us
Conservation and Natural Resources
Susan Felker at 717-772-9087 sfelker@state.pa.us
Corrections
Timothy S. Ringler at 717-975-4897 tringler@state.pa.us
Commission on Crime & Delinquency
Michael Kane at 717-705-0888 mikane@state.pa.us
Education
Mike Walsh at 717-214-5972 ra-stimulus-pse@state.pa.us
Emergency Management Agency
Robert Anspach at 717-651-2379 roanspach@state.pa.us
Environmental Protection
Kelly Heffner at 717-783-8727 kheffner@state.pa.us
Fish & Boat Commission
Brian Barner at 717-705-7902 bbarner@state.pa.us
General Services
James Creedon or Beverly Hudson 717-787-5996 gs-secretary@state.pa.us
Health
Michael Huff at 717-783-8804 Healthstimulus@state.pa.us
Office of Health Care Reform
Amy Kelchner at 717-346-8379 akelchner@state.pa.us
Historical & Museum Commission
Jason Gerard at 717-346-3351 jgerard@state.pa.us
Insurance
Randy Rohrbaugh at 717-783-5079 rrohrbaugh@state.pa.us
Labor & Industry
Neil Cashman at 717-705-5866 RA-LI-PolicyPlanning@state.pa.us
Miliatary & Veterans Affairs
Shannan D. Zerance at 717-861-8479 szerance@state.pa.us
PennVest
Paul Marchetti at 717-783-4496 pmarchetti@state.pa.us
State Employment Retirement System
Brain Carl at 717-720-4690 bcarl@state.pa.us
Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency
Holly Glauser-Abel at 717-780-3994 hglauser@phfa.org
Public Utilities Commission
Karen Moury at 717-772-8883 kmoury@state.pa.us
Public Welfare
ML Wernecke Or Bethann Smetak 717-787-2600 ra-stimulus-dpw@state.pa.us
Revenue
Dan Hassell at 717-783-3683 Chassell@state.pa.us
State, Department of
Thomas J. Weaver at 717-787-3796 thomweaver@state.pa.us
State Police
Jon D. Kurtz at 717-783-5567 jonkurtz@state.pa.us
Transportation
Nov. 19
Editor’s note: “Mostly Nothing Happens” was sent to publisher Jim Foster in response to his editorial “Quite a Few Good Men” which appeared in the November 5, 2009 issues of the Germantown Chronicle and Mt. Airy Independent. It originally appeared in Beautiful Wreckage: New & Selected Poems, published in 1999 by Adastra Press. Dr. William D. Ehrhart, a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War and a longtime Mt. Airy resident, teaches history and English at the Haverford School.
Mostly Nothing Happens
By W. D. EHRHART
East Mt. Airy,
Philadelphia
Walking home on Upsal Street,
I saw a group of young black men
gathered on the sidewalk up ahead.
What now, I thought, heartbeat
rising in a hearbeat, eyes
instantly attempting to assess
intentions, weapons, routes of egress,
do I just keep walking, do I
take a detour to avoid them, if I—
Shame arrived before an answer:
what would Harris think, I thought,
what would Harris think of me
for fearing who when we were young
was him?
Harris’s girlfriend was pregnant
when we were young, and every night
the two of us would read her letters,
flashlights pressed against the floor.
God help us if our drill instructors
caught us, but gentleness was rare
and we were very much in need
of gentleness on Parris Island,
so together we would read
those gentle letters.
She’d write about the baby’s kicking,
how she’d guess what sex it was,
and if it was a boy they’d name him John.
“That’s my name,” he’d say each time.
“I know,” I’d say, too embarrassed
to admit I didn’t know a thing.
I’d touched a girl’s secrets only twice,
and only with my hand,
and here’s a guy who’s really done it—
done it and she’s pregnant, and he’s
neither married nor abandoned her!
All of this a wonder to a small town kid
who’d never heard sex talked about
in proper conversation, get a girl pregnant
and you marry her, no questions, no debate.
Furthermore, a town where Negroes didn’t live,
and terms like jungle bunny, nigger, coon,
if seldom heard in proper conversation,
were seldom far from lips.
But I was scared to death
of drill instructors huge as houses,
mean as pit bulls, psychopathic maniacs
out to keep the Viet Cong from killing me
by killing me themselves, or so I thought.
Who at seventeen could understand
how terrifying war would be,
how much more obscene? This place
was worse than any place I’d ever been.
I thought I’d never leave alive.
To my surprise, so did Harris.
Urban, street-smart, soon-to-be-a-father
Harris, just as scared as I was.
And his voice so soft, his hand
upon my wrist when we were reading
softer still, a heart so big
I thought that mine would burst.
Through all those lonely southern nights,
through all that frightened Carolina summer,
those two boys from Perkasie and Baltimore
stuck together and survived.
Harris is the reason why I’m here:
I chose an integrated neighborhood
because I didn’t want a child of mine
to reach the age of seventeen
with no one in her life
who isn’t white.
But something isn’t working right:
the neighborhood’s got crack cocaine
and dirty needles lying in the gutter,
muggings, robberies, burglaries,
guns more prevalent than basketballs
and people willing to use them.
Two teenaged kids, a couple on a date,
were shot two blocks from here
for two dollars, and just last week
a man was taken from his car
at gunpoint, shot, and left for dead
a football field’s length from my front door.
How much longer will it be before
the victim’s me, my wife or daughter?
And if and when it happens,
odds are high the perpetrator’s
going to be a young black man.
I hate to say those words out loud.
I hate the world that’s made them true.
I hate distrusting men
before I even know their names, and so
I chose to trust those men on Upsal Street,
and this time got away with it.
But every time I trust a stranger
just might be the time I’m wrong.
What then?
What would Harris do, I thought,
what would Harris tell me I should do?
Why not find him? Why not ask?
You’d think it would be hard to find a friend
you haven’t seen in twenty-seven years,
but I found him faster than I ever dreamed
or ever cared to: Panel 26E, Line 105.
John Lee Harris, Jr., born September 12th, 1947,
killed in Vietnam September 21st, 1967.
Damn.
You’d think that on the day he died,
an angel might have come to me.
A heron, or a raven.
But no. Only the day came
and went away again like other days
in Vietnam, and then my tiny piece of that
obscenity was over, so I thought,
and I too went away, wanting to forget.
I didn’t think of Harris for a long time,
but I never forgot what he taught me,
and now I want to pound my fists
against that stupid granite wall:
“Come out of there, John Harris!
I need to know if what I am is cautious
or hysterical, a realist or just a racist,
how the world is, how am I to live in it.
I need answers,” but instead
I get that war again,
still taking friends and giving only
wounds that never heal.
And now I’ve got this other war as well.
Last summer someone tried to force
my daughter’s bedroom window open.
This was on a Tuesday afternoon.
Did Harris and his girlfriend ever marry?
Did they have a son and name him John?
Or did they have, like me, a baby girl?
And did he get to hold his child
and wonder at the tiny life he’d made
before he went away and died, fighting
yellow people in a white man’s war?
Would he understand I’m not afraid for me?
That son of his would be a man
about the age of the men I passed
on Upsal Street last week,
the pounding in my chest so loud,
surely they could hear it.
I don’t want to leave this neighborhood.
I want to think we’ll be okay
if only we can touch the best
in others and ourselves.
I still don’t keep a gun around
because I’m through with guns,
but every day is like a day at war:
mostly nothing happens,
but you never know what’s waiting
when or where or how.
The first black friend I ever had
died one day when something happened.
Every day I’m always on patrol.
Property Woes Raise Questions of Settlement’s Financial Stability
On July 29, the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (RDA) moved to foreclose on the former Women’s Y building at 5820-5824 Germantown Avenue, over its owner Germantown Settlement. It is the most recent in a string of actions against the non-profit organization, which is currently under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Meanwhile, though the combined amount of loan defaults verified through court filings for Settlement properties is over $8.8 million, its president, Emanuel Freeman, insists that things are under control. As for the Women’s Y building, a recent agreement with the RDA and a new private developer, who Freeman declined to name, would keep the property in Settlement’s hands, Freeman said in a phone interview this week.
“The YWCA has been resolved,” he said.
But the RDA looks at it a bit differently. In response to Freman’s comments, Teresa Gillen, RDA executive director, said that the RDA has agreed to give Settlement more time to develop the property, but that comes to about three or four months, she said, to “make the numbers work.” And the agency has reserved the right to proceed with its takeover if those numbers don’t work out, she said.
The Women’s Y property is also subject to $881,000 in federal tax liens for Settlement’s alleged failure to pay the employer’s portion of federal withholdings including Medicare for its workers. In addition, the state departments of Revenue and Labor & Industry have assessed $217,000 in liens on the property due to missing payments for unemployment compensation and other state employee compensation obligations.
In fact, since 2008, Germantown Settlement and its subsidiary, the Greater Germantown Housing Development Corporation (GGHDC) have been assessed a total of $1.6 million for missed tax payments. In addition, the organization’s non-profit status is currently “pending,” according the Pennsylvania Bureau of Charitable Organizations, because of missed fees and failure to file required federal 990 tax forms.
To most of these points Freeman’s response was one of calm – the Settlement empire is not beginning to crumble. It is only a patch of rough water resulting from the same thing most are suffering from in these slow economic times.
“We, like others, are experiencing a period of difficulty financially,” he said.
Yet his responses to some issues contradicted statements by other agencies. He insisted the 990s were up-to-date and that Settlement’s non-profit status was fine. At the same time, he acknowledged the state and federal tax liens, saying many of them have already been paid off and that the rest would be settled once Settlement got a new loan to refinance the Women’s Y, building, a strategy Gillen said the RDA had not approved yet.
And on the $8.8 million in defaulted loans, Freeman claimed that for the majority of them, at least, Settlement was in fine shape. Even though the $7 million loan to refinance Freedom Square at Germantown Avenue and Wister Street, and the Melvin R. Burgess Building at Chelten and Wayne Avenues expired without payment, his organization was not in default, he insisted.
“It’s what they refer to as technical default, not default due to payment,” he said.
More Settlement troubles include last month’s closure of the Germantown Settlement Mature Adult Center (MAC) when the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging pulled its funding due to financial concerns relating back to Settlement. According to Freeman this was a result of mounting financial pressures due to limitations in funding through the city. Because money was short, certain city requirements had to be delayed, he said.
“We were not able to provide audits in a timely fashion,” he said. “We now have a relatively complicated organization so to ask for financial audits is more than just a notion.”
The complexity of Settlement’s finances draws mostly from its real estate activities, Freeman said. Yet he indicated that a large portion of its new strategy in these tougher times will rely on that aspect of the organization in particular. It will be a reprioritizing according to the most viable projects for cash flow.
But complex accounting has gotten Settlement in trouble before. The June closing of Germantown Settlement Charter School following an October, 2008 order by the School Reform Commission, cited in part similar concerns over financial practices that included delayed audits.
But if authorities got wind of potential troubles in 2008, local rumors caught on far sooner, fueled by the visible decline of Settlement’s real estate holdings, the very thing Freeman now wants to prioritize.
The Women’s Y for example has sat vacant since 2006. Scarcely a window is unbroken in the historic structure, and the basement and rear entryways are left open to the wind - and whatever else might want to go in.
In addition, a July 27 judgment against Settlement subsidiary GGHDC highlights how some feel the organization has taken to creating blight, rather than fighting it.
“I like to say, ‘they built abandoned homes,’” said a nearby neighbor of 200-206 East Penn Street.
The four nearly-complete town homes he referred to the corner of Penn and Wakefield Streets have sat boarded up, hidden by overgrown scrub brush, for several years. They were part of a Settlement plan to renovate or build 12 homes in that area of Lower Germantown. But GGHDC stopped making payments on the project loan in August of 2003, right around the time when work ground to a halt. A recent judgment awarded $987,529 to the lender, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, and the right to sell the nine unfinished properties at Sheriff’s Sale.
“The job kind of ran out of money and it was stopped,” said Don Matzkin, owner of Friday Architects, which designed the homes. “It’s really a shame… it was going to be a really terrific project. They were good modular units, good solid units.”
Matzkin made a trip to the area recently and was sad to see how the homes have sat unused. He said problems on the project started when GGHDC and the builder, Berrian Associates, could not work together.
To be fair, the first projects went well, said Matzkin. They completed three renovations on East Seymour Street and sold them to private owners in 2002. But a legal battle set in over finances, according to Matzkin. And in addition to the new abandoned homes on Penn Street, the fallout now includes two open foundations filled with heaps of trash at 5016 and 5018 Wakefield Street; an open, weed-filled cellar hole at 5212 Wakefield; two vacant lots next to that; and another vacant lot at 25 East Clapier Street.
Freeman said the project’s failure was the exception for Settlement, not the rule. And it came about because Berrian Associates went bankrupt and took all the project funding with it. Matzkin’s view was slightly different.
“Financial mismanagement is what it was… on both sides,” he said. “The contractor was not reined in and that’s GGHDC’s fault.”
Representatives from Berrian Associates could not be reached for comment.
In all, Freeman thought Settlement and its subsidiaries have done a good job of serving Germantown. And if there are any difficulties now, he said that each of them was being addressed through re-structuring the organization and selling off “non strategic” holdings.
But even the best of Settlement’s properties may have problems that hold the area back, some believe. A peek into the way GGHDC manages these properties might hint at why.
Burgess Building Problem
“I’ve had Germantown Settlement in court since I’ve been here,” said Gerald Young, owner of Temptations Gourmet Restaurant at the Burgess Building.
According to Young, he was supposed to move into the newly renovated Burgess Building at Wayne and Chelten in 2006 but the space was not ready on time. It sat empty for so long he finally agreed to do the work himself at a final cost of $175,000, he claimed. And he never got repaid for any of it, he said.
So now he refuses to pay any rent, except into an escrow account. And he hasn’t paid rent for the entire two-year period he has been in the space.
“This is the worst experience I have ever had,” he said.
At best, what the trouble all comes down to from Young’s perspective is gross mismanagement.
Local developer Ken Weinstein might agree with him on that.
“I think Germantown Settlement and GGHDC are acting against the interests of the Germantown community at this point,” Weinstein said.
At about the time when Young was waiting to move into his new space at the Burgess Building, Weinstein was renovating six formerly-vacant properties close by on Chelten Avenue. And because the large storefronts at Burgess stayed empty for so long Weinstein had a terrible time convincing tenants to invest in the area, he said.
“What spurs economic development is seeing properties renovated and occupied,” he said. “And when a non-profit group doesn’t do that, then it deters private investment from coming in.”
Complicated Relationships
Because of his business, Weinstein says, he tries to stay attuned to many vacant and blighted properties Settlement holds. He has attempted to buy some of them without success, and his partners have too. And harkening back to SRC comments about confusing business relationships, Weinstein said a simple but effective way Settlement has slowed Germantown development comes from the difficulty of determining the true path of ownership for its properties.
One example of this is 5007 Germantown Avenue, a three story building at the corner of East Seymour Street that is owned by the Lower Germantown II Limited Partnership.
Emanuel Freeman is connected to this for-profit company and three others of similar names, Lower Germantown II Development Inc, the Lower Germantown Limited Partnership, and Lower Germantown Development Inc. They are subsidiary holding companies for tax credit funded developments, he said, but they haven’t been that active in about 15 years.
The registered address for each company is a long-vacant building at 48 East Penn Street. But Freeman said that, under the new Settlement strategy, that property would start to be transformed into a day care within 90 days.