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July 22, 2010
Index to
Editorials, Opinions
& Letters
July 22, 2010
Buying Zoning
Run Away! Run Away!
Media Got Facts Wrong on Jazz Festival
July 15, 2010
Win-Win-Win
Mayor Nutter: Get Tested!
How About a ‘Peoples Congress’ for Northwest Philadelphia?
22nd Ward Republican Election Was Fair
No Child Need Go Hungry This Summer
July 8, 2010
When
Commonsense Ways to Improve Elections
Don’t Take Away Productive City Gardens
Nelson Mandela Peace Demonstration
Thank You
July 1, 2010
Independence Day
The Will to Be Free
22nd Ward Must Have Responsible Leadership
Chess Fever at Lovett Library
June 24, 2010
... Except for all others
Five Ways to Deal with Sibling Rivalry
Help Haiti Rebuild
Town Hall Could Change Avenue Climate
Congratulations to Biddle, Mt. Airy Baseball
Annie Wheeler Still Going Strong at 104
Community Doesn’t Want Penal Facility
June 17, 2010
Stimulus Rejected
‘Smart’ on Sentences, Just Not Tough
On-line Networking Lifestyle No Substitute for Real Life
Be Patients, Fathers, Your Day is Coming
June 10, 2010
Let’s End Machine Politics
Opinion: The Sestak ‘Job Offer’ Scandal
‘Legacy of Love’ at 2010 Dean White Awards
Peace Groups to Protest
June 3
A Simple Message
Chestnut Hill’s Identity Crisis
Time Running Out for Tax Amnesty
Settlement Bankruptcy an Opportunity for Germantown and the City
Big Changes for Eagles with Kolb at Quarterback
Alexander Seeking Support in Ward Leader Bid
May 27
An Icon for Germantown
Why Specter Lost
No Time for Comfort in the 198th District
Instant Runoff Voting a Better Way
May 20
Serving Northwest Philadelphia
Tentative Budget Deal a Sham
Shaping Our Community
Mt. Airy Teachers Fund
May 13, 2010
Not Voting is a Vote
Opinion: Killings Escalate in Germantown
Shakespeare at Sedgwick
9th Ward Democrats Give Primary Recommendations
Fairness, Inclusiveness Missing on Diamond
Thanks for Support of Poetry
‘D-Day’ at Mishkan
Site Index
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Items of Interest in Philadelphia History - Rick Vinson - Updated June 11
![July 22
Editorial
Buying Zoning
The Nutter administration told us that an ethical and reform approach to city government was first and foremost in the goals set and the practices we would witness when it took office, as new administrators and department heads would ensure openness, balance and fairness for all citizens. “Ethics Czars” were also appointed.
Recently, the director of the Redevelopment Authority, Terry Gillen, wrote an extensive commentary printed in the Inquirer outlining a fresh approach to its obligations and goals, going so far as to state that “The old days of deals based on political connections are over.” (One could assume from that statement that their had been plenty of it in the past)
However, a recent development in Chestnut Hill on a local zoning matter seems to fly in the face of this new “clean city” philosophy in a manner that is so blatantly unjust, if not outright illegal, that it needs to be addressed.
An international company wanted to add an unused commercial property in Chestnut Hill at Moreland Avenue and Winston Road to its chain of dialysis treatment centers. A variance would be required to make necessary changes and set-up for the regular arrival and departure of ambulances and related modifications in order for this enterprise to function.
The long-established process of community participation in zoning decisions through the Chestnut Hill Community Association prior to meeting with zoning officials at the formal hearing went forward. The two committees - Land Use Planning and Zoning, and Development Review - and the Community Board heard from the developers of the project. Neighbors did not object in principle to the dialysis center but were interested in preserving community participation in determining the hours of operation within the largely residential setting of the neighborhood. The neighbors then discussed the importance of knowing what the hours of operation would be. A petition was drawn up, signed by 75 near neighbors, and sent to the Zoning Board of Adjustment prior to the scheduled hearing.
The required hearing date was set, notices posted, and the process of requesting a variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) began as usual. Neighbors, particularly near neighbors, and their perspectives were an integral part of the zoning variance process. Several appeared and made detailed written presentations of their position. The corporation, Fresenius, did the same.
There was no “NIMBY” (not in my backyard) approach from the neighbors in this mostly residential community, but they did request that specific hours of operation would be outlined and included in the written document that the ZBA would prepare in granting the variance. The ZBA, in a unanimous decision, agreed. That document was prepared and put into the public record on June 9, 2010 in a written Notice of Decision. The immediate conclusion was that a balanced approach to an active commercial enterprise in a residential community had been reached and that all parties were satisfied.
Apparently not, however. Although Fresenius had never stated that night hours were a part of their business plan, and that even early evening hours were to be limited as per their own attorney, after the hearing and decision, feedback came to the community through the Chestnut Hill Community Association that the corporation had a serious problem with the written proviso setting hours of operation and would end the arrangement to operate there unless it was withdrawn.
The normal process in these situations is to file an appeal to the ZBA ruling and allow the process to restart through the appropriate legal channels. Apparently there is another way, or at least one can pay for a more aggressive process that might just get instant results, and it seems that is exactly what happened to ZBA Case # 10863.
Fresenius hired crackerjack zoning attorney Carl Primavera of Klehr Harrison, and he began the process by contacting well- known and politically-connected individuals to support the position that a hardship had been imposed on his client, and that allowing this variance to stand with its proviso was not in the city’s best interests. The neighbors’ best interests were not in the equation from this point forward.
Almost instantly letters appeared directed to Lynette Brown-Sow, chairperson of the ZBA, from Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Alan Greenberger, Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller, and PIDC Chairman Sam Rhoads in total support of Fresenius’s position.
What happened next was astounding: without so much as a hearing the ZBA reversed itself, threw out the proviso restricting hours of operation, and then notified the neighbors that they can “appeal” this “reconsideration” of their decision. That notice was dated July 6, 2010 with 30 days to appeal. The loss of the proviso opens the door to 24/7 hours of operation if Fresenius so desires.
So now, the neighbors, at their own expense, will have to bear the burden of making the case in the court system that they had won with a unanimous decision at the ZBA. Now it will be their burden against a well-financed and likely endless appeal battle with one of the highest-paid and well-connected zoning attorneys in this city .
How does a city’s legal system allow a reversal of decision from a body whose very purpose is to protect the interests of the citizen and the community against runaway and unstructured development? It seems those bad old days of influence trumping justice are not quite over.
Phone calls were made to the following individuals asking why they would support a situation where a ZBA decision would be reconsidered and altered in the dark, and the appeal process would be reversed to burden the neighbors only because of requests from Carl Primavera:
Lynette Brown-Sow, chairperson, Zoning Board of Adjustment; Andrew Ross, chief of the city’s Law Department Zoning Unit; 8th District City Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller; Alan Greenberger, the mayor’s deputy managing director for Economic Development; Sam Rhoads, Pennsylvania Industrial Development Corporation; and Ralph Pinkus, attorney for Fresenius and Renal Enterprises, LLC.
Make no mistake about the political connections of the above-named individuals who were not a part of the process until after the ZBA’s original decision.
Only Pinkus answered. He said, “I had nothing to do with the ‘reconsideration’ made by the ZBA. That was handled by new co-counsel Carl Primavera. As to what was considered and said at the ZBA hearing I suggest you get a copy of the transcript.”
How does Chairwoman Brown-Sow so readily allow a vote to reverse without a hearing with all parties present? Reportedly all ZBA Board Members were not in favor of the reversal or “reconsideration” as it has been termed.
It reminds you of the The Who’s song We Won’t Get Fooled Again: “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”
Jim Foster
Publisher
Opinion
‘Run Away! Run Away!’
By TOM FERRICK JR.
The big news about the state budget this year was that it wasn’t big news.
Unlike last year, when we went 101 days before it finally, mercifully passed, this year the legislature met the June 30 deadline. Which everyone proceeded to treat as a great accomplishment.
It goes to show that if you lower expectations enough people will applaud you just for showing up on time.
As to the document itself, no one paid much attention. When Gov. Rendell finally signed the $28 billion operating budget for state government last week, the press spent much more ink on two items in the $268 million state capital budget - money Rendell had added to partially fund libraries for the Sen. Arlen Specter and the late U.S. Rep. John Murtha.. It was like fixating on a small wart spotted on the thumb of a large and profoundly ugly ogre.
Ladies and gentleman, the wart is not the problem. This ogre of a budget is the problem.
The irony of Ed Rendell’s second term is that this expansionist Democrat has spent four years contracting government operations and programs. The budget for 2010-2011, Rendell’s last, continues that trend with a vengeance.
Since 2007-08, virtually every department and program in the Commonwealth has taken a hit - some of them serious hits. A partial list: arts and culture subsidies (-42 percent), adult literacy programs (-16 percent), Agriculture Department (-23 percent); Community and Economic Development (-46 percent), state parks and forests (-29 percent), Environmental Protection (-34 percent), Health Department (-22 percent); Historical and Museum Commission (-46 percent), state aid to local libraries (-9 percent), state colleges (-8 percent), state-related universities (-12 percent).
Only a few programs were spared: prisons (because the population keeps going up); state welfare and Medicaid payments (because of federal mandates), and the state subsidy to basic education. The last item rose three percent (to $5.4 billion) at Rendell’s insistence. He was committed to being known as the education governor and darned if he wasn’t successful. It’s a bit like a kid whose house was wrecked by a tornado but who managed to save his favorite teddy bear.
Rendell really had no choice but to cut. When the recession hit with a gale force in late 2008, state tax revenues tanked. The only thing that kept the state from sinking was the infusion of about $8 billion in federal stimulus funds.
This year, Rendell tried to convince the legislature to raise taxes in order to replenish the state’s Rainy Day Fund (emptied during the recession). He rolled out a new version of the sales tax, which actually lowered the rate (to 4 percent), but started taxing services, such as lawyer and accountant bills. It was a non-starter. How about a tax on smokeless tobacco? The legislature said no. How about closing loopholes in the sales tax law dealing with payments (No, again). Taxing the natural gas now flowing from the Marcellus Shale? (Maybe later, the legislature said.)
If there was a frantic quality to these proposals it was because Rendell was frantic. He knew - in fact, everyone in Harrisburg knows - the worst is yet to come. The next governor is likely to face a $5 billion budget deficit when he takes office - this time without any federal money available to fill the hole.
It is a looming crisis. But the legislature doesn’t do looming crises. It follows tradition and will not approve tax increases in an election year. Since 2010 is an election year for all 203 House members and half the 50 senators, the no-tax rule applies.
It’s not as if legislators actually have any opposition. In any give year, less than a half-dozen incumbents face real opponents. This year, for instance, 10 of the 25 state senators standing for re-election have no opponents - none - in the primary and general election.
Which raises a clinical question: When does neurosis become psychosis?
At what point does the legislature’s unwillingness to deal in a real way with taxes and spending migrate from being merely irrational to a destructive form of madness?
One final medical question: Is there a clinical name for pathological cowardliness?
This year, the legislature was confronted with an admittedly difficult situation. It had tough decisions to make. And what did it do? It went home.
It is almost surreal, even comical. Which reminds me of the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
As you may recall, whenever the band of daffy knights was confronted with even the slightest hazard, their leader would yell: “Run away!” And they would ride away. As you may also know, they actually didn’t have horses. They mimicked riding horses and had retainers follow behind them clacking coconut shells together to mimic the sound of horse hooves. It, too, was a comical and surreal moment.
Of course, Monty Python’s role in life was to make us laugh. The legislature’s role is to serve the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. And what do they do when confronted with a difficult situation that requires a measure of responsibility?
In the distance, I hear the sound of coconut shells clacking.
Editor’s note: this piece originally appeared in Metropolis on July 15 and is reprinted by permission.
Tom Ferrick Jr. is senior editor of Metropolis, a news and information web site for the Philadelphia region at www.phlmetropolis.com.
Letters
Media Got Facts Wrong on Jazz Festival, NXNW
To the editor:
When nonprofit organizations such as OARC, the Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corp., accept taxpayer-supported funding from the Commonwealth, they have an obligation to comply with the terms of the grant agreements as well as an independent audit process at the grants’ expiration. Nonprofit organizations that do not submit the required closeout documents to the Commonwealth are deemed ineligible for further funding. Additionally, nonprofits are obligated to file tax return form 990 on an annual basis. The federal Sarbanes Oxley Act fundamentally changed the depth and scope of nonprofit financial reporting for the 2009 fiscal year, all of which OARC has fully complied with.
So the suggestion in the media that OARC, through events such as the West Oak Lane Jazz and Arts Festival, has wasted taxpayer dollars in a shadowy fashion is simply wrong. The media have their own obligation to be fair and balanced in reporting and to be certain their “facts” are correct. Reporters have a responsibility to check facts published by their peer publications. Reporters should not simply tweak what they’ve read and blame any factual errors on the original source.
With regard to OARC and the Jazz Festival, many articles have been written that are simply inaccurate and appear to evolve in “whisper down the lane” fashion. The photos and reporting in the July 4 issue of the Inquirer was misleading and incorrect. This can be substantiated by visiting the festival website and viewing this year’s pictures at: www.westoaklanefestival.com
The same holds true with an editorial in the July 9th issue of the Mt. Airy Independent and Germantown Chronicle. The statement that OARC used $500,000 of public funding for the acquisition of the establishment North by Northwest is incorrect!
Not one dollar of public funding was used in the acquisition or renovation of the North by Northwest property. While there is ongoing litigation involving this venture, the lawsuit has not kept the owners from leasing or using the building.
In 1983, the Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corp. was formed to deal with a dilapidated and vacant Ogontz Plaza Shopping Center. 27 years later we still own the Plaza and over the years have acquired a fair sized portfolio of real estate that produces revenue for the organization. Over the years we have developed a very solid reputation with lenders, and even in these tough economic times are still able to obtain funding for initiatives that make bottom line sense.
OARC is seen as a good investment of state and private dollars because we have a demonstrated record of success. In 2010, we see a vastly improved residential and commercial market in West Oak Lane.
Families are moving in and the majority of the previously vacant properties are again on the tax rolls. New businesses continue to open in the area. The newcomers purchase real estate, lease apartments, invest dollars, hire workers and pay taxes. All of which serve to stabilize and strengthen the neighborhood economy.
Jack Kitchen
President/CEO
Ogontz Avenue Redevelopment Corporation
July 15
Editorial
Win-Win-Win
It’s not often that a true “win-win” situation – everybody gains, nobody loses – comes to pass. It’s even less common for what might be called a “win-win-win” event.
That, however, is the case for the Recycling Rewards Program from RecycleBank, which is operating the program for the city.
The idea couldn’t be simpler: encourage recycling by awarding incentive points for each load of papers, cans and bottles a household sets out to be recycled. And it’s simple to sign up, too.
For a household to participate, it needs only to sign up through the website, www.phillyrecyclingpays.com or to make a phone call to 888-769-7960. Once a home is registered, a barcode sticker will arrive within three weeks. This sticker is placed on the recycling container. Each time recycling is collected, the barcode is read and points are assigned. Points can be redeemed for merchandise at participating businesses and retailers.
Where does the “win-win-win” part come in? “The more folks recycle, the more they save money, landfill space, and the environment,” said Robert Milligan, Recyclebank’s vice president and general manager for the Mid-Atlantic Region at last Saturday’s official kick-off in the Northwest for the program.
More than 200 local businesses have already partnered with the program, said Milligan, as well as national chains like Bed, Bath and Beyond and Home Depot.
So what are you waiting for? Make that phone call or visit the website. How often do you have the chance to really “win-win-win” ?
Karl Biemuller
Editor
Opinion: Mayor Nutter, Get Tested!
By ANY NUNN, GARY J. BELL,
AND ROBERT K. BURNS
Some 30,000 global AIDS activists, scholars and people living with HIV/AIDS are gathering together at this week’s International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria. While the conference focuses on the global AIDS epidemic, it’s also important to remember that nearly 1.1 million individuals in the United States live with HIV, and one in four HIV-positive people are unaware of their status. HIV-positive individuals aware of their status tend to reduce numbers of sexual partners and increase condom use. However, the CDC estimates nearly 70 percent of new sexually transmitted HIV infections are unintentionally spread by people who don’t know they’re infected.
Philadelphia is among six major US cities with the highest HIV infection rates in the nation. Philadelphia’s HIV infection rates are five times higher than the national average and one and a half times those of New York City, which historically been considered the epicenter of the US HIV/AIDS epidemic. The face of the local epidemic has changed: what began in the 1980s as a disease that disproportionately affected white gay men has become a heterosexual epidemic; more than half (55 percent) of Philadelphia’s new infections are among heterosexual individuals. Nearly 70 percent of new infections are among African Americans.
In spite of these high infection rates and shocking health disparities, too few Philadelphians have tested for HIV. This can be attributed to several factors.
First, most Philadelphians underestimate their own HIV risks, in spite of studies that document high rates of high-risk behaviors. Secondly, in recent years there has been little local media coverage about HIV/AIDS, which contributes to lack of awareness about the severity of the local epidemic and the community’s perceived HIV risks. Perhaps most importantly, there is still an overwhelming amount of stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, particularly in the African American community.
Young people are increasingly at risk for HIV infection in Philadelphia; 15 percent of all new infections are among individuals age 13-24. In spite of these alarming trends, sexual education is not routinely offered in Philadelphia public schools. One thing the city must do to address these trends is to integrate comprehensive, routine sexual education into health curricula in public schools, starting in junior high school. High-risk sexual behavior among high school students, documented in the CDC Youth Behavior Risk Survey, prompted the Department of Health to offer gonorrhea and chlamydia screening to Philadelphia high school students. This program is now recognized as a national model. The same high-risk behaviors that put young people at risk for gonorrhea and chlamydia also place them at risk for HIV; the city should add HIV testing into its routine high school STD screening programs.
The city urgently needs to expand HIV testing in high incidence zones. Historically, CDC interventions to address the AIDS epidemic have focused largely on behavior and how people become infected, including heterosexual sex, homosexual sex, and injecting drug use. However, behavioral interventions alone have failed in stemming the widening racial disparities in HIV infection, both in Philadelphia and nationally. Moreover, a mounting body of evidence suggests that social and structural factors are driving racial disparities in HIV infection more than behavioral factors.
For example, geography and sexual networks, or people connected directly and indirectly through their sexual partners, may be equally, if not more important, than behavioral risk factors. The importance of sexual networks in HIV transmission in Philadelphia is illustrated in the geographic clustering of new HIV infections in North Philadelphia, Southwest Philadelphia and Germantown, all of which are underserved communities. We call on the city to address the critical role of sexual networks in the city’s HIV prevention strategy. A good start would be undertaking new efforts to dramatically expand HIV testing in high prevalence zones in partnership with community-based organizations based or already working in those areas.
In recent years, public officials in New York City and Washington DC have taken extraordinary measures to address their local AIDS epidemics, launching media campaigns and massive HIV testing programs in the hardest hit areas. These programs help raise awareness and de-stigmatize HIV/AIDS. We believe Philadelphia should also launch an aggressive media campaign to address alarming rates of HIV infection. This campaign should be culturally tailored to address the populations most affected in Philadelphia, including African Americans, heterosexual men and women, men of color who have sex with men, and increasingly, children and senior citizens. An AIDS media campaign should use conventional media outlets, including television, newspapers, billboards, buses and radio, but should also employ “new media” such as social networking websites and cell phone messaging.
Thirty years into the AIDS epidemic, we cannot sit idly by while our communities are devastated by HIV/AIDS. Washington DC, our nearby neighbor, now has HIV rates on par with parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of inner-city Philadelphia have similarly high rates of infection. The time to act is now, before our city-wide infection rates reach pandemic proportions. This week, we join the rallying cry of global AIDS activists and call on Mayor Nutter to declare a state of Emergency about Philadelphia’s AIDS epidemic. We also call on Mayor Nutter, elected officials, and clergy to publicly take an HIV test, which will go a long way to help destigmatize HIV and raise awareness about the gravity of Philadelphia’s AIDS epidemic.
Amy Nunn is an assistant professor at Brown University Medical School and conducts HIV prevention research in Philadelphia. Gary J. Bell is the executive director of BEBASHI and Robert K. Burns is the executive director of COLOURS.
How about a ‘Peoples Congress’ for Northwest Philadelphia?
To the editor:
We’ve all been witness to the stimulus package for the economy. How about a stimulus package for the mind?
I’ll tell you what I like about the Tea Party. They are out there espousing what kind of America they envision. They are organizing. On July 4th, they were at Independence Plaza talking their talk. The liberals, progressives, the left were nowhere to be seen.
This is not to say I agree with their “revision” of our country, blindsided as it is to their own selfish, parochial interests. But they are there.
And for those of us who have a different vision, where were we on July 4th? Where are we now? Still grasping for straws from a president who continues to let the air out of the high hopes he held up for so many after his nomination in Chicago. Just look at his dropping the ball on the “public option” and his “Bush- branded surge” in Afghanistan. And his “withdrawal in ‘11” is a joke.
Well, it’s high time we who live in the most progressive section of the city—the northwest—stop grasping at those illusions and deal with reality. As the brilliant writer Paul Krugman said recently, “Our government is dysfunctional ominously.” And Laurence Lessig, Harvard law professor, stated, “There will be no change until we change.”
There is obviously so much to criticize in this nation from a progressive point of view. But we still have the freedom to organize in this country. Let’s use that freedom.
So, we in the northwest should be espousing our vision of a cooperative democracy, the kind of America we would like to live in, in contrast to “taking back” a dysfunctional one a la the Tea Partyists.
A mechanism whereby to do that would be to form our own congress—The People’s Congress of the Northwest. Here’s a skeletal outline… very skeletal. And by this I do not mean the beginnings of a political party. That is NOT what this idea is about.
The congress would be made up of the many organizations strewn across the northwest. After a founding meeting, each representative would go back to their members, to come come back some weeks later to the congress and discuss their vision along with the other visions so represented.
Issues would be hammered out and taken back to each member organization to discuss, agree/disagree, revise, whatever. They would again come back to the congress, and little by little, a declaration, a vision of an “America to be” would take form.
Once agreed upon, the congress would announce it via flyers in supermarkets, coops, civic groups, community centers, churches and the media. We are so lucky in these days of papers disappearing to have healthy, thriving community newspapers in the northwest. They would most certainly publicize our formation and provide coverage.
This declaration would be a “stimulus document” for the people to read, reflect upon, discuss and consolidate…. a progressive vision of a more advanced form of democracy than the one we live in now. Without a vision, without dreams, yes and struggle, there is no progress. People are looking for something other than what we have.
And, finally, for those of you who are infected with the cynicism that permeates our society, take hold with what Margaret Mead said. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
She had it right, still has it right, and it will always be right.
Lawrence Geller
Philadelphia
22nd Ward Republican Election Was Fair
To the editor:
I was requested to chair a meeting of the 22nd Ward Republicans three weeks before the ward election. Nine people showed up at the ward meeting.
Everyone was supposed to have both certificates, one white and one blue, to certify that they are able to vote at the ward meeting.
Two people came without any certificate. One person came with only a white certificate. This person only had one write-in vote, his own, on election day.
Five people came with both certificates. They got the ten required signatures necessary to get onto the primary election ballot.
Kevin Kelly got three of the five votes for ward leader of the 22nd Ward. He is the ward leader. This was a fair and just election.
So what’s the problem? The Philadelphia City Committee is not recognizing him as ward leader.
I have been a committeewoman for 46 years without any recognition and have lived next door to a vacant house for 14 years. Not one politician has reached out to solve that problem.
I supported the previous ward leader for eleven years but I’ve been thrown under the bus. It’s time to move on.
Carol Mack
Mt. Airy
No Child Need Go Hungry This Summer
To the editor:
I would like to announce the start of this year’s free summer meals program in Philadelphia.
Please spread the word: No child should go hungry in Philadelphia this summer, with more than 1,000 sites serving free meals, including rec centers, playgrounds, schools, churches, public housing complexes, WIC offices and PAL sites.
To find a summer meals sites in your district, visit www.hungercoalition.org and
1) Download a directory of more than 1,000 sites, organized by ZIP code
2) View an online Google map of summer meals sites
Residents can also call the city’s 3-1-1 information help line to find their nearest site.
If you have any questions about summer meals in Philadelphia, please contact Ronna Bolante at the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger at 215-769-0659 ext. 110 or rbolante@hungercoalition.org. The Coalition can also provide you with additional resources to help your constituents, including information on food stamps (SNAP) and food pantries.
Donna Reed Miller
8th District Councilwoman
July 8
Editorial
When?
On Sunday, July 4, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a front page story of how more than a million dollars – the entire budget - was allocated for the West Oak Lane Jazz Festival this year, at a time when city and state budget shortfalls are keeping legitimate vendors from being paid and curtailing vital services with massive layoffs threatened by the Governor.
The story detailed how OARC, the Ogontz Avenue Revitalization Corporation, justified using those tax dollars (which included $150,000 for consultants alone) based on projections that more than 500,000 people would attend. However, photos showed only a scattering of attendance even during what should have been the peak hours, with some claiming less than 3,000 at any one time. Although this has been an annual event for years, no one has made the case that attendance has ever reached anywhere near six figures.
State Representative Evans, chair of the PA House Appropriations Committee, brushed off the spending by saying it was “all about jobs.” One might ask whose jobs and how long did they hold them? A million well-spent dollars could fund some critical continuing programs working through state and city agencies.
Last year this newspaper outlined in some detail the use of more than $500,000 taxpayer dollars in Mt. Airy where a twice-failed bar and night club named North by Northwest was refinanced by OARC. This business venture was owned by politically-connected individuals and for all practical purposes barely opened after the funding paid off previous debt. It remains closed and reportedly tied up in litigation.
Just last Thanksgiving, the Inquirer broke another front page story about our Northwest community and government dollars being spent recklessly. This was a $1.2 million city funding program that bought the former YWCA facility in Germantown for Germantown Settlement. Having paid 110 percent of the asking price, the Redevelopment Authority holds the mortgage until this day, but not one payment has ever been made to it. In point of fact, the building was left open and unsecured from 2006 until just a few months ago when this newspaper and the Inquirer reported that situation. Then, within days, the City’s Department of Licenses and Inspections secured it at taxpayer expense. Then and only then did the city begin foreclosure proceedings.
Germantown Settlement and its affiliates, which are now in bankruptcy proceedings, operated extensive real estate and taxpayer funded service providers with funding from city, state and federal sources. According to their own internal documents, at one point in 2002 one arm of Germantown Settlement’s approximately 30 corporations owned or controlled $100,000,000 in Germantown properties. Now in bankruptcy, the ownership of many of these properties is uncertain, but what is certain is that many went into foreclosure, a good number of projects were never completed, and multi-millions in judgments, liens and unpaid taxes and debts fill the dockets at City Hall. Hundreds of millions in expenditures using federal, state and city dollars await an audit - and more importantly an explanation. Only a few months ago the city cut off funding to all Settlement-related affiliates.
In other words, state dollars in the Northwest seem to be available for unjustifiable vanity projects while others suffer.
When will the voters of this city, and more particularly Northwest Philadelphia, say “enough is enough” and demand transparency and accountability in how tax dollars are spent and these vital Northwest assets are utilized? There is only one way to stop the bleeding. Elections are not that far away.
Jim Foster
Publisher
Opinion: Commonsense Ways to Improve Elections
By THE COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY
Zachary Stalberg, President and CEO of the non-partisan Committee of Seventy, on June 24 challenged Philadelphia’s three independently elected City Commissioners to immediately take five simple and commonsense steps to improve city elections. Stalberg said the Commissioners’ continued failure to make city elections better for voters was especially troubling given their refusal to take voluntary pay cuts, “as virtually every other elected official has done to help out in these tough economic times.”
Seventy’s “Five Easy Ways to Improve Local Elections May 18, 2010 Primary Election Report” was delivered to City Commissioners Margaret Tartaglione, Anthony Clark and Joseph Duda on Friday, June 18.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the commissioners are the only elected officials who have refused to cut their salaries or send dollars to charity to help the city close its budget deficit. Stalberg said this was “a slap in the face to voters whose property taxes are being hiked by nearly 10 percent.”
Seventy’s report, which is based on incidents from the May 18, 2010 primary election and many prior elections, urges the Commissioners to:
• Bring its Elections Website into the 21st Century
• Clamp Down on Electioneering
• Take Charge of Finding Polling Place Officials
• Mandate Training of Polling Place Officials
• Invite Public Feedback – and Take it Seriously
“The Commissioners conduct elections exactly as they have for decades,” said Stalberg, whose organization sends hundreds of non-partisan volunteers to polling places every Election Day to answer voters’ questions, resolve problems and report serious incidents to law enforcement. “They had to be dragged into releasing election results online. They refuse to correct recurring problems at the polls caused by untrained election officials. They don’t stop voter intimidation. And people who take the time to attend their meetings to seek help are routinely ridiculed.”
The Committee of Seventy recommended replacing elected City Commissioners with a professional and modern elections office in its March 2009 report, “NEEDLESS JOBS: Why Six Elected City Positions Should Die.” Eliminating the three elected City Commissioners, which would result in immediate cost savings, requires amending the City Charter. Legislation to do away with the Clerk of Quarter Sessions and Sheriff, two other independently elected offices whose elimination was also recommended by Seventy, has been introduced in City Council.
“The Commissioners should view the recommendations in Seventy’s report as a way to prove why they deserve to stay in office and keep their six-figure salaries,” Stalberg said.
The next election for City Commissioners is in 2011. Commissioner Chair Tartaglione was enrolled in the city’s controversial DROP retirement system and expected to retire before the 2007 municipal elections. However, she was given the go-ahead by the city’s Law Department to run for reelection, retire for 24 hours in January 2008 to take a nearly $300,000 lump sum retirement payment and then return to office the next day. Tartaglione, Clark and Duda have not announced their intentions to run for reelection.
The Committee of Seventy is a non-partisan organization fighting for clean and effective government, fair elections and informed citizens in Philadelphia and throughout the region. The Committee of Seventy’s report on abolishing the City Commissioners and three other independently elected offices is available at www.seventy.org/OurViews_Needless_Jobs.aspx.
Don’t Take Away Productive City Gardens at SCCG
To the editor:
The Schuylkill Center Com-munity Garden is Philadelphia’s third largest community garden, containing approximately 480 plots (just over five acres in total) nestled at the foot of a rolling field adjacent to the fertile bank of the Schuylkill River in Roxborough. This tract of land has been in agricultural production since William Penn’s time. For the last three decades, the community garden in particular has grown more food than most individuals can probably imagine.
With hundreds of gardeners in this space, there are many admirable pursuits. Moms bring their kids to teach them about nature and growing food; ethnic families plant those vegetables and fruits they can’t find in Philadelphia supermarkets to remind them of their homeland and heritage; older folks faithfully tend the plots they’ve had since the garden was created, having waited so patiently for their peach or apple trees to mature and now bear bushels of fruit; at least one man grows thousands of pounds of fresh produce each season to donate to an organization that prepares meals for homebound seniors; a few business owners have market gardens to supply restaurants and City farmers markets with locally grown produce and flowers; and beekeepers have set up a small apiary to bolster the fading honeybee population.
In addition to feeding themselves and their families, many gardeners are also purposefully providing habitat for the diverse wildlife that lives in and around the garden, putting up bluebird nesting boxes, planting native flowers for the bees and butterflies, and keeping shallow ponds for toads and frogs.
In short, the community garden plots at The Schuylkill Center are full of wonderful diversity that is, at times, difficult to see through its maze of fences, but it becomes quite clear when you step inside the gate and get to know the dedicated gardeners there. I am one of those gardeners.
Earlier this year, a new project was proposed by the City, one that would create a handful of half-acre urban farms in a collective grouping on the historic Manatawna Farm property that surrounds the community garden. This project proposes to convert approximately five acres of the field that is currently being used for hay production into sustainably managed farming endeavors that would go a long way to putting Philadelphia on the “green city map”.
Various points of contention have been raised as the City staff in charge of the project work diligently to get it off the ground. Several neighbors, the most vocal group in opposition to the Manatawna Farm project, have recently proposed a “solution” to their concerns: take away the existing community garden, at least in part, to put in these new half acre farms.
As a gardener in the community garden, I am outraged at the idea of losing the land I have worked so hard to cultivate and the perennial plantings that are just now becoming productive. But this outrage is tempered with a hefty dose of irony. You see, I also submitted a proposal earlier this year to be part of the new Manatawna Farm project. That was before I knew that it might threaten the garden in which I and so many other people have invested so much.
My own story aside, I am baffled as to how those individuals that have proposed taking away the community gardens to turn over to small urban farms rationalize this in terms of food justice and general old-fashioned logic. Why take away tremendously productive gardens that are feeding hundreds of families (a good number of whom truly depend on their harvests to reduce grocery bills) just to turn it over to a handful of emerging urban farmers? Especially in light of the fact that there is a hay field right there that is already in agricultural production, making for a notably easier and certainly more logical transition in land use.
While I would like to be one of those urban farmers at Manatawna, morally I take issue with even the mention of removing productive community gardens (it is estimated the gardens generate over $400,000 in produce each season) simply to move a new food production project forward.
To be clear, the City staff involved with the Manatawna project are not in favor of taking over the community gardens. It appears that this idea has been born from the neighbors surrounding the area and perhaps some local politicians. I would urge anyone concerned about food justice and the well-being of the City’s community gardens as a whole to withstand the assault of commercial pressures to pay attention to what transpires at The Schuylkill Center Community Garden. There is most certainly a way to have all these noble and necessary projects (the existing community gardening, new urban farming, and wildlife conservation) work in harmony within the expansive 76 acres of this historic farm.
Jennie Love
Mt. Airy
Nelson Mandela Peace Demonstration
To the editor:
Members of 26 peace organizations will hold a Nelson Mandela Peace Event near Senator Arlen Specter’s home from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, July 18. They want Specter to cut off funding for the U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and to bring the troops home now.
The Nelson Mandela Peace Event will take place on West Schoolhouse Lane (at Vaux Street) in Germantown, one block from Senator Specter’s home. On this date in 1918, Nelson Mandela was born. Mandela would become president of South Africa in 1994, following a life dedicated to ending apartheid (segregation) for which he spent 27 years in prison.
The demonstrators will ask Specter (who remains our Senator until January 2011) to endorse a bill which will cut off Pentagon funding in Afghanistan and Iraq except what is needed for the safe return of all U.S. troops. They also want the closure of all Pentagon bases there.
The Nelson Mandela Peace Event has been endorsed by Brandywine Peace Community, Bryn Mawr Peace Coalition, Bucks for Progress, Catholic Peace Fellowship, Code Pink Philadelphia, Delaware Valley Veterans for America, Granny Peace Brigade Philadelphia, Green Party of Philadelphia, Military Families Speak Out, Northeast Philly for Peace and Justice, Northwest Greens, Peace Action of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Philadelphia Regional Anti-War Network, Philadelphia War Resisters League, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Saint Vincent’s Peace and Justice Ministry, Suburban Philadelphia Greens, Turn Around America, Veterans for Peace, Chapter 31, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and others.
For more information, please contact nwgreens@yahoo.com and 215-843-4256.
Chris Robinson
Germantown
Thank You
To the editor:
We at Geechee Girl Rice Café would like to thank all of our friends who attended the 4th of July barbecue in memory of our mother, Jessie Erwin.
Your presence made it a warm and wonderful community event that would have made our mother proud. We also want to thank you for your support of Vivienne Lawrence, this year’s recipient of the proceeds of the barbecue.
Vivienne, a recent St. Joe’s graduate, will be using the money to pay filing fees for her to become a permanent resident of the United States.
Valerie Erwin
Alethia Erwin
July 1, 2010
Independence Day
The Will to Be Free
22nd Ward Must Have Responsible Leadership
Chess Fever at Lovett Library
Editorial
Independence Day
I can recall the first time I saw the family photograph shown here of three of my uncles, all brothers, in a classic portrayal that to me captures the optimism and certainty that the path being forged by the pre-World War II United States was destined to redirect history in most positive way.
It was probably 1947 on family visit to my aunt’s home in Westville, New Jersey, when I stared for at a color-tinted large version of those proud Army, Marine and Navy members of one family taken “right out front.” This was no choreographed airbrushed recruiting poster. These were the children of a factory worker doing what 12 million others did during that era. From my memory almost all of the fathers of my schoolmates had been in the service and a photo of them in uniform stood in most neighborhood homes long after the war was over.
We had not yet downgraded the event to a date. Independence Day was the reference more than “The Fourth of July” and parades commemorating all those who defended this country and its independent spirit were part of the reflection. There were some who had strong opposition views on how decisions were made to participate in the wars of the 19th and 20th centuries, but no one had to be reminded that the soldiers who did the fighting had nothing to do with those decisions except pay the price.
For a large segment of our society that changed in the later 1960s. I am still not sure that the decisions made after Vietnam to eliminate the “military obligation” was in our best interests, but I have no doubt how I feel about how those who were in uniform were treated by those who opposed our country’s political decisions. It was cowardly, despicable conduct. No amount of revisionist history will erase or minimize how the wrath of anti-war groups was focused much more heavily on 18-year-olds in uniform than Johnson, McNamara and the politicians. There is far too much film footage for that to be denied.
Wars should be the absolute last resort, but preparedness cannot be. Part of that process of being prepared is not just the equipment and technology but the mindset of the society and the respect and support required for those who may be called on short notice to make the sacrifices.
I believe there is too much effort to live in a pretend world where “out of sight/out of mind” has replaced respect for commitment and patriotism.
By the way, two of my three uncles came home.
Jim Foster
Publisher
Opinion
The Will To Be Free: “We The People” Must Choose
By ANNA M. CLARK
Each year, we celebrate July 4th as the birth of our nation. However it should be noted that Independence Day marks not the date we obtained our actual freedom but rather our nation’s collective choice to be free.
Remember, it would be seven long years of fire, death and deprivation before British tyranny was dealt the final, mortal blow at Yorktown. But we choose to date our independence from the day “We The People” summoned our national will and published that resolve to the world in our Declaration of Independence. It was our united choice to be free that counted most.
Many patriots had called for that liberty before 1776. However, the will for real revolution came only when it became “self evident” that reason and prudence could no longer tolerate the status quo — regardless of the risks.
Today, “we the people” face another kind of tyranny — the dependence of the United States on foreign oil. Love him or hate him, George W. Bush said it best when he told us “America is addicted to oil.” But President Nixon said it first, over 40 years ago. The status quo was a concern then — today it has become a dire emergency.
Back then, we imported 24 percent; today we import over 70 percent, much of it from countries the State Department calls “dangerous and unstable.”
And, as we try to reduce those levels, the recent events in the Gulf of Mexico offer evidence that energy independence is not easily won via domestic drilling, and certainly cannot be guaranteed by our federal government.
So perhaps it’s time for another revolution, based again on our collective will. We must all recognize, at last, that if we are to be free — energy independent — we must again summon a national resolve that translates into the combined effort of multiplied millions of concerned Americans. This war must be won in our own lives—daily, in a hundred different and creative ways. Reason and prudence offer us no other recourse.
Washington cannot make the problem go away because, in truth, we are the problem. We are the most voracious consumers on the planet, conditioned by fifty years of mass marketing that set consumption as the highest ideal. Yet, we whine for a leader to do what no one president or government can — make us truly energy independent. This too has become self-evident.
But the more insidious problem is the lack of leadership coming from within us. It begs the question, when did We the People become so weak willed, and why? Could it be rooted in our own slavery to personal comfort?
I call to mind the words of Alexis de Tocqueville, that famous French observer of the new American Republic. Way back in 1835, he said this about the mollifying effects of materialism: “It does not break wills, but it softens them, bends them, and directs them; it rarely forces one to act, but it constantly opposes itself to one’s acting; it does not destroy, it prevents things from being born.”
He also observed that failing to take individual responsibility feeds the problem. “In the United States, the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of ready-made opinions for the use of individuals, who are thus relieved from the necessity of forming opinions of their own.”
Today, propaganda and politics from both sides of the aisle cloud the debate. Frankly, as long as sustainability is perceived as a partisanship issue we will remain in gridlock. What we need now is neither a Democratic voice nor a Republican one. We need an American voice.
As the stalemate over energy policy continues, other countries are gaining a foothold in clean technology manufacturing. In allowing this to happen, We the People are the author of our own demise. That, we must not allow.
Each of us as Americans must heed the call to energy independence by reducing our individual impact on petroleum consumption. We must begin to see our selves fundamentally no longer as consumers but as sustainers.
That change of self-perception will fuel us to learn wise and creative choices in how we eat, travel, work, build our homes and more. It will shape everything our life touches, as it must. And the big surprise is that it’s not about giving up what’s good — just having the wisdom to choose the best.
Happy Birthday America! And may wise personal choices by your sons and daughters sustain you through many more.
Anna M. Clark is the author of the new book Green, American Style. She is the president of EarthPeople, LLC and blogs on Eco-Leadership for Greenbiz.com. For more on all things green, visit www.annamclark.com.
Letters
22nd Ward Must Have Responsible Leadership
To the editor:
Recently I made a trip of a lifetime to the cradle of mankind in Ethiopia. This was the first time in my 18 years being out of the country by myself without my parents. For a month I was able to be a volunteer journalist with the capital city Addis Ababa’s popular newspaper The Reporter. I also was a teacher of English to students wanting to learn a second language. All of these were experiences I will cherish for all my life.
I wrote for a newspaper in the country to share my opinions on their culture and lifestyle. One thing I was told not to write about was the government. At that time I didn’t really know why. I quickly learned about the current government, whose dictator-like ruling is keeping the people from freedom of speech. No place is perfect, but when freedom of speech is limited by the power of the government, it sends off many messages to me about what troubles the outside world still has to deal with.
To Americans, most of our media lives off bashing the current government 24/7. Some people even make a living out of it. But in Ethiopia, seeing the images of the have-nots and the powerless in the society, you wonder how much does the government play into all of this?
When people are continually left out in making an impact on their community because the power to be tells them they cannot, that’s definitely a major problem. Also, when people continue to use corrupt methods to intimidate their opponents, it makes for no growth for the people of Ethiopia. I came back to America sad about the corrupt government in Ethiopia, and how the people of Ethiopia are affected. But I was even sadder to find out what was happening in my own backyard in Mt. Airy.
Being a resident of Mt. Airy, I want the best for my community. This was my first election, and even though I was abroad I wanted to make my first initiative by voting with my absentee ballot to show I’m a part of the community. I envision one day being in the political or government arena in some capacity to help my community. A recent committee meeting that was held the day I came back from Ethiopia showed me how some people in my own community act in a similar fashion to that of the political leadership of Ethiopia.
One incident in Ethiopia of a man being beaten by some government officials for speaking out against how the government addressed poverty was similar to the incident of a man being forcefully removed from the committee meeting for voicing his opinion. When I read and heard of the simple barbaric behavior happening in 22nd Ward by Ward leader Rondal Couser and his “sergeant of arms” I was simply appalled. Is this America? Is this our democracy? Is this our Mt. Airy?
We need honorable leaders in our community, not people who act simply immoral. And when you think the saga started there with the committee meetings, wait to you hear what happened on Election Day a few week before the meeting by our Ward leader. Couser continued his tactics by harassing people like ex-councilman Ed Schwartz while he is voting, stealing literature (Cindy Bass’s) from a neighboring polling place, and yelling slanders about his opponents to voters at his polling place or simply treating anyone who disagreed with him like sworn enemies. These are all incidents that I do not like to see and defiantly should not represent our ward.
Every leader has their ups and downs. Some leaders will go down as some of the best in this world due to something great they have done for their people. But also there are bad leaders, people such as Hitler whose behavior caused the genocides of many different groups of people who were opposed to his thoughts. I surely did not want to come back home hearing stories of such Hitler-esque type behavior occurring here in the 22nd Ward led by Rondal Couser and his loyal followers. This third world-like politics is something I do not want to see in Mt. Airy anymore.
When has opposition become your enemy? It seems that is what is happening in Mt. Airy: a clear divide between people in position of power, and the others who oppose them. I was once told by a friend “politics is a dirty game and are you sure you want to be a part of that?” I told him yes, because I knew how problematic and cutthroat politics can be in our nation and I was prepared to handle it. But I never expected to see in this country, let alone in my own neighborhood, such immoral behavior portrayed by community members who refuse to acknowledge their community’s needs. With their immoral tactics to retain their positions and verbal and physical harm to their opponents it really proves how there needs to be change in our community.
At the end it’s not about the winners or the losers of any election, it’s about the community. If people continue to think about a win for themselves then the community will never see a future of greater success for its people. The real winners should be the community. Our community must demand that we have a voice and that everyone in our community with our diverse opinions and thoughts are welcomed at the table to have a peaceful and intelligent discussion about making our Mt. Airy a better place.
My message to my fellow neighbors, Mr. Couser, George Howell (sergeant at arms), and to any of the people in our community continuously going along with these un-democratic tactics of fear, intimidation, and brute aggression against people of this community, is to simply stop! We must all bring peace into this community and come together to help build this community for the next generation. As people who really want change in this community and are not afraid of the dictator-like behavior by the Couser machine in the 22nd Ward, we must unite and bring a peaceful solution to this ugly conflict. The time and energy spent pushing people out of meetings and slandering people in our community can be spent to welcome the next generation of leaders and providing them a neighborhood that is livable for all and welcoming to all who want to leave a positive impact.
Malcolm Cain Jr.
Mt. Airy
Chess Fever at Lovett Library
To the editor:
There was some excitement Wednesday night, June 23, at Lovett Library, when renowned chess player Stan Vaughan dropped by. The library’s weekly chess club was meeting, and was thrilled to pick up some pointers from a pro.
The Lovett Library Chess Club was started in the fall of 2009 by Lovett librarian Russell Cooper and Mt. Airy parent Luke Prendergast. Dozens of people show up each week; kids, teenagers, adults, people who’ve never played chess before and people who’ve played all their lives.
Stan Vaughan, who lives in Las Vegas but was visiting relatives in Germantown, heard about the club and stopped in.
He chatted and played anyone and everyone. Prendergast noted Vaughan’s “easygoing manner.” Vaughan stayed the whole evening and was kind enough to sign a chess board for the club.
The chess club enjoys a great camaraderie, as players share strategy, ask for advice, and replay moves. Everyone takes their losses in stride and learns from them.
But this week’s meeting was special, as everyone was able to watch Vaughan teach them, among other things, about positioning. In his play, he was willing to sacrifice any piece to get the position he wanted. This lulled his opponents into a false sense of security!
Visits from such an expert might be rare, but the Lovett Library Chess Club meets every Wednesday, from 7:00 to 8:30, in the upstairs meeting room. All are welcome to attend.
Camilla Okamoto
Mt. Airy
June 24, 2010
Editorial
… Except For All The Others
No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.
Those words of wisdom were spoken by Winston Churchill in 1947 and he was in a position to know what he was talking about. He’d had almost a half-century in elected office when he delivered them.
Northwest committeepeople went to their own version of the polls earlier this month and as can be seen from the story that begins on page one of this issue, the processes and the results were not without controversy.
But no matter how untidy it can sometimes get, democracy is a precious jewel that we all too often take for granted. Its two most important attributes are voice and feedback.
A leader of a totalitarian dictatorship may embark on a path that will lead his country to disaster but he will never hear a dissenting word. Everyone is too afraid to speak up. When do you think was the last time that Kim Jong Il, for example, had someone tell him that his policies had brought North Korea to famine and ruin? Never, that’s when.
But here, we can speak up and make our voices heard. But that only works if we take part in the process, if we advocate for positions whether of change or the status quo, if we vote for the candidates of our choice.
Don’t think it doesn’t matter whether or not you pay attention to politics, because believe me, politics is paying attention to you.
Karl Biemuller
Editor
Opinion
Five Ways to Deal With Sibling Rivalry
By JANE ISAY
The bane of many parents’ existence is the rivalry that exists among their children when they are young and when they are adults. There seems no end to it. Children count the number of potato chips on every plate, and adults keep track of the value of gifts their siblings receive. Being evenhanded and fair with a pack of kids takes more energy and patience than most of us have, and we hope they will grow out of their competition. Understanding the root of rivalry—which is a small child’s belief that there isn’t enough food, or sweets, or love to go around—may make it easier to think through the situations as they come up. Here are some tips for downplaying sibling rivalry.
1. If you didn’t see it happen, you can’t decide who did it. Staying out of your kids’ fights is a powerful tool in helping them resolve their conflicts on their own, even though things may get out of hand regularly. Encourage them to settle disputes among themselves, and intercede only to avoid physical harm. Stay neutral whenever possible. Always telling the older child, for instance, to give in to the baby isn’t fair, and they both know it. It’s better to make them both sit in a big old chair until they’ve made up. It may take more patience to do this than to side with one of the kids, so don’t blame yourself when you lose it. Kids know your limits and they can’t expect more from you.
2. Steer clear of favorites. Every child wants to be the favorite, and if there is a favorite, all the others are jealous of him or her. They feel that they’ll never get enough of your time and attention, and they often blame the favorite for the rest of their lives. It’s natural for a mom or a dad to feel a greater kinship with one of the kids. He or she may look like you, or resemble somebody you love. Or you may share temperaments or ways of thinking. That’s natural, but there are plenty of ways you can make the others feel special. Also, beware the favoritism of relatives. That can make the competition more serious. Explaining to an aunt that the un-favorite is feeling bad can usually do the trick.
3. Be flexible about how you characterize your kids. If one child is “the smart one,” and another “the pretty one,” or somebody is the bad child and another the perfect child, kids feel pushed to fit that role, and that makes for mutual hostility. Since the pretty one may be smarter than you think, and the quiet one may grow a good social intelligence, let those stereotypes float away. The kids who get along best in their families are the ones who don’t feel boxed in.
4. Encourage your kids’ differences, and don’t compare them. This helps to downplay rivalry. If they all want to play musical instruments, help them to choose different ones, and the same goes for sports. Of course if you have two tennis stars, that’s great (how could we live without the Williams sisters?), but you can praise their strengths in different areas, too. Spending alone time regularly with each of the kids will go a long way to helping them deal with their competition over your time and attention.
5. Whenever you can, level the playing field. Give your clumsy girl dancing lessons and the one with unruly hair a good haircut. Then you can focus on the strengths that make each child different.
At the end of a long day, it’s almost impossible to keep these tips in mind, so try to actively deal with sibling rivalry only when you are fresh and have the energy. Children who feel that they are known and appreciated for themselves are less likely to be so competitive with others. Kids are very smart, and they know what you’re thinking most of the time. And since you love them all (most of the time), these tips may start coming naturally to you. The energy you spend now will repay you when they grow up. Seeing your grown kids like each other and get along is one of life’s joys.
Jane Isay is the author of “Mom Still Likes You Best: The Unfinished Business Between Siblings.” You can find her online at janeisay.com.
Letters
Help Haiti Rebuild
To the editor:
You are warmly invited to be part of the rebuilding process in Haiti by supporting the Peasant Association of Fondwa (APF). We at First United Methodist Church of Germantown (FUMCOG) have had a winning relationship with the APF for sixteen years and are honored to have their visionary founder, Fr. Joseph Philippe, speak on June 26 at 2 p.m. at our Festival For Haiti. There will be music, food and film, plus Haitian art for sale. Tickets are $10 at the door.
Fondwa is located in the mountains above Leyogan and was at the epicenter of the earthquake that destroyed their community center, school for 600 students, medical clinic, radio station, orphanage and the University of Fondwa. All were destroyed. Rebuilding work has already started, but they need a lot of help now.
Our speaker, Fr. Joseph Philippe, has a degree in accounting and was just chosen entrepreneur of the year by the World Economic Forum for his work in transforming Haiti. In 1988 he co-founded the APF; in 2004 he started the University of Fondwa, the only peasant university in Haiti. Then in 2008 he and the APF organized the National Peasant Congress to petition the government to set up a Ministry for Rural Peasant Development. What most people in Haiti know him for is FONKOZE, the micro-credit bank that he established in 1994. FONKOZE has played a major role in disaster relief with 42 branch offices and over 200,000 members. For information visit www.fonkoze.org.
If you want to know what can be done in Haiti, this is the person to come and hear.
If you would like to help but cannot join us on June 26, you can send a check made out to FUMCOG with “Haiti” in the memo line. Mail it to FUMCOG at 6001 Germantown Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19144 Then visit the websites: www.fumcog.org where Fr. Philippe’s speech will be posted, www.apfhaiti.org, and www.unif2004.org. All donations are tax-deductible and will go directly to support the APF.
We hope to see you on the 26th.
Bill Ewing
Mt. Airy
Town Hall Could Change Avenue Climate
To the editor:
With the recent publication of an article in the Philadelphia Daily News covering school dismissals, Germantown High School has been exposed once more on a regional level. It’s a shame that our neighborhood continues to get such negative press, but it is not without reason.
When searching for reasons as to why we continue to struggle with these issues, perhaps we should recognize “broken window theory.” In a nutshell, it says that people respond to their environment both positively and negatively. A factory blighted with broken windows will attract more negative activity while a street kept clean will be less likely to have people litter on it.
When surveying Germantown Avenue between Chelten Avenue up to Walnut Lane, there is a lot going on. Organizations such as the First United Church, Wyck, and some private businesses uphold their end of the bargain by maintaining their areas well. Some businesses do what is needed. Other private enterprises and deadbeat property owners don’t seem to fully understand the impact they have on all of us.
The worst, though, may be what has been done by the City. For whatever reason, both Germantown Town Hall and the YWCA building have been mismanaged very badly for years. That the City and RDA continue to stay off the hook for these two properties is baffling.
This all ties back to Germantown High School because it’s not hard to make the connection that the state of the Avenue affects the students who walk it every day. This is in no way a stretch. Seeing Town Hall in its condition is not only sad, but we must be cognizant that every day it lies fallow and weathering is another missed opportunity. If business and property owners see that the City is finally willing to make a commitment to us and take lead, they will be likely to follow. This will only improve the surrounding area and perhaps inspire the students to use their time more positively.
Looking forward, Town Hall can be used for District Attorney Seth Williams’ regional justice center idea and also serve as an anchor for the redevelopment of our local downtown.
We cannot afford to waste more time than we already have. Please take the time to sign the petition for Germantown Town Hall whether online or in-person. The time to act is now and we must do what we can to affect change.
Nicholas Covolus
Germantown
Congratulations to Biddle, Mt. Airy Baseball
To the editor:
Congratulations to Jesse Biddle for being drafted by the Phillies and signing with them.
Also, congratulations to Mt. Airy Baseball for the training and channeling of Jesse’s talent.
The people of Mt. Airy deserve congratulations for coming out to wish the young talent good luck and success in his baseball career. Thank you, Mt. Airy!
As a baseball aficionado, I wish to add my thanks to all of the people who made this event real and heartwarming. Furthermore, I wish to express my special thanks to the person(s) who saw this older man in line for autographs, and used their influence to move me to the head of the line. Whoever you are, I am extremely grateful for your interceding. I do not believe I could have made it without your assistance.
Again, thank you all for your kindness and your spirit of neighborhood.
John M. Dallam
Mt. Airy
Annie Wheeler is Still Going Strong at Age 104
To the editor:
Annie Lucille Wheeler, formerly of the unit block of West Johnson Street, who I visited recently, wants all her friends to know that she is doing well, especially after having been feted recently at the Mayor’s Centenarian Celebration honoring Philadelphians 100 years old and over.
Annie, 104, resides at the Ivy Hill Nursing Center, 1401 Ivy Hill Road, Wyndmoor.
Lawrence Geller
Philadelphia
Community Doesn’t Want Penal Facility
Editor’s note: the following is a copy of a letter sent to 8th District Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller.
Ms. Miller:
I am a resident of Germantown and a life-time resident of the city of Philadelphia. I am writing to you today on one specific topic with one simple question. Let me explain.
For the first time on Saturday, June 19 I learned of the approved zoning of a penal facility at the location of 4969 Wakefield Street in Germantown. A young man was walking around handing out flyers about a meeting in Wister Playground to discuss the city’s approved zoning for this address. I went to that meeting and I, along with about 25 others, learned of your approval for such zoning. A letter from your office was read stating your approval of such and how it would create “job opportunities.” I also learned about how there were about three different meetings in the community on this and that even a representatives from Wister Neighborhood Council was in attendance to such meetings. I searched past recent articles in this paper for any type of notification on these meetings and I saw none. I even checked my mail box again to see if you had sent out a letter to us, the community you represent. Nothing, nada!
All of this brings me to one question for you. What information have you received, as a representative of the citizens of the eight ward or any other ward, that supports your support for a facility of this nature, in our residential neighborhood?
Perhaps in your answer it will clear up for me just who you represent. I know of no one in support of your support for this. Of course that does not mean you do not have supporters for this…but one will argue, how that could be so? Some say that you survived your tenure this long based on a wide community support. A community that put you …kept you in…and had your back. Argumentatively, this is not the same community that you supposedly serve now.
Perhaps you were thinking that after supporting such a cause you’ll use your influence as chair of the Public Safety committee to get us more beat officers that will patrol the area after the 35 or so “residents” move in. Or maybe as a member of the Committee on Streets and Services you will push to fix all the broken street lights, add more street and alley lights, and clean up the area so we easily see our new “neighbors.” Ms. Miller…to be honest… I don’t know what you where thinking! And neither do a lot of people. So I’m now asking… Where does your support really lie?
Linda Scott
Germantown
June 17, 2010
Editorial
Stimulus Rejected
Philadelphia is a city that certainly could use an economic shot in the arm. After 50 years of chasing business from this city, and the only “remedy” touted by the political class being gambling casinos, one would think that putting this city on the map and taking advantage of its unparalleled heritage would be an opportunity the Mayor and city leaders would not miss.
We learned back in January from widely published reports that the Democratic National Committee was anxious to consider hosting the 2012 Democratic National Convention, with Congressman Bob Brady leading a group of civic and business leaders in the direction of making it happen. Mayor Nutter was quoted as saying, “It was an honor to be considered,” and reports were that the DNC so wanted this city to be chosen that it extended the deadline to formalize a reply, with the DNC chair and the White House preferred a Philadelphia bid over the others in consideration.
The last major political convention we hosted was the 2000 Republican Convention, which reportedly brought in $345 million in business revenue. While it may be hard to measure the ripple effect of something this significant, one would think that with all the history of the founding of the country, the Constitution Center, and possibly more concentrated historical buildings that can be visited than anywhere in the nation, that making this work in a recession would be a no-brainer. This is not to mention the convention center itself and our hotel and restaurant industries that would gear up and benefit.
But it is not to be. Very quietly, Mayor Nutter sent a letter to the DNC chair in late May saying in essence “thanks, but no thanks, maybe we will consider you in 2016.”
Not enough funding for the extra police is the excuse, as if there were no way to find money in Ed Rendell’s state.
Is there anything our city government can do right? Failed fiscal policies abound with remedies that enrage the citizens and push debt further down the road. Pensions go unfunded and are run outside of legal requirements, and battles between the mayor and city council continue while ethics reform and other administration claims of better governance become a joke even with some of the party faithful.
All of this is reminiscent of the famous old joke about this city. First prize in a contest is a week’s vacation in Philadelphia — second prize is two weeks!
Jim Foster
Publisher
Opinion
‘Smart’ on Sentences, Not Just Tough
By PAUL SCHLUETER III
Several years ago, the Pennsylvania Legislature made Resolution S.R.149, to study the data from all states and evaluate some options for the handling of geriatric and long-term inmates in the state prisons. After two years, the bipartisan committee, including top experts in criminology and related fields, filed a report including several recommendations. Among them was to enact a provision for “Compassionate Release” of deathbed inmates to outside hospice care for their final weeks of life; this provision was enacted, and has very recently begun to be used to release high-expense dying inmates to outside facilities (paid for by far-cheaper Medicare) and spend their terminal period among family. It has opened no dangerous floodgates, but provides a minimal measure of good fiscal sense, along with a token tip of the hat to the idea of mercy.
Another recommendation made in the S.R. 149 report was a draft bill providing for “25/50 Parole Eligibility for Lifers.“ Though never yet submitted as an actual bill, this well-developed concept recognized that inmates who have served at least 25 years, and reached at least the age of 50, statistically hold an extremely low risk of returning to prison for any further offense. How low? A fraction of one percent, compared to the routine recidivism rate of some 66 percent of paroled prisoners, overall!
It was also recognized that the cost of incarcerating inmates beyond middle age is as much as three times higher than that of housing younger, healthier inmates (the latter group of which presents a far higher risk to others for serious injury due to prison violence.) Since Pennsylvania law prohibits lifers from being paroled (except after being granted an extremely rare commutation), the best available expertise recommended that PA adopt a 25/50 parole eligibility policy, to reduce the aging prisoner population and save taxpayer dollars, while also protecting the security interests of society.
It is unfortunate that state legislators have placed themselves in the political position of being unable to enact such highly-recommended suggestions, for fear of being ridiculed by opponents at the next election for being “soft” on crime. To date, no legislator has dared to sponsor the 25/50 Parole for Lifers bill (though a few have said that, if someone else would only propose it formally, they would co-sponsor and support it).
PA has recently transferred some 1,500 prisoners to MI and VA, at the cost of over $100 million taxpayer dollars over the proposed three-year duration because PA prisons are now operating at some 8,000 inmates over capacity. Many of the inmates sent to other states were lifers who the PA Department of Corrections has determined were “low risk, non-violent” prisoners, suitable to the terms of the contracts with these other states. Those states are keeping prisons open at PA’s expense, money that PA desperately needs right here within its own borders.
Perhaps it’s time for PA taxpayers to tell their elected representatives that they support “Smart On Crime“ measures, rather than prohibitively expensive “Tough on Crime” policies which have created this unmanageable juggernaught of a prison system. It is still possible for legislators to sponsor and enact the 25/50 Parole for Lifers bill, as well as other serious, responsible legislation which will keep PA’s tax dollars here at home, while protecting citizens from risk from released felons. Mature inmates with much time served in productive pursuits are a far better parole choice than the low level gangsta drug offenders who haven’t learned much of anything from only a few years of incarceration. A critical thinker might see a safer, cheaper, more rational way to manage criminal justice in Pennsylvania. A responsible citizen might see fit to insist that legislators act with good sense, rather than simply out of the mentality of terror they themselves have inflated with mud-slinging political campaigning.
Editor’s note: the author is serving a life sentence in the state prison at Dallas, PA.
Letters
On-line Networking Lifestyle No Substitute for Real Life
To the editor:
The Internet is an amazing tool and it’s done amazing things to bring the world together but in the process it’s created distances also. In the next 20 years there will be all kinds of studies and reports telling that this or that is caused by Internet addiction. Addiction is addiction, and no matter what it is, it’s ultimately on us to take responsibility.
In the beginning the Internet fostered quicker communication that was flexible. I really think it was meant to be an adjunct to normal telephone (once considered high tech) and good old face-to-face communications. It got out of control and became the focus of communication.
Remember when you felt that first shame of not having an email address when people started asking for them. You probably went and fixed that, and somewhere along the line keeping up with the technology Jones’s just took hold of us all.
We used to come home and hug our families and say hi and talk about our days. Then we shortened that because we talked during the day. Following that we came home and grunted at each other and checked the answering machine for messages. Then we came home and checked email. Now we check to see how our virtual worlds are doing. We check Facebook, Second Life, and all the others, losing our true personal relationships to the glow of the box.
We are slaves to new technology and once it got a foothold in communications it took over. We are more accessible than any generation ever has been yet we’re barely reachable. We have access to more knowledge but barely know anything worth conversing about. We don’t converse. We talk at people just like we type into the box.
Social networking sites tried to bring us together, make the world better and all that. It created a huge digital version of high school but with no Vice Principal. It’s like the Wild West but we’re not really policing ourselves.
The problems are already manifesting themselves in withdrawn children and adults. There are people traveling the world to be with people they have never actually met because they have the digital illusion of happiness as bait. And there’s that dark and bad side that hurts people through all types of exploitation.
This is not to say that the Internet and social networking is all bad. It’s just to say that we tend to take the path of least resistance and lower the bar. This means we’ll wreck it unless we do something about it.
Experience life. Experience people. Unplug yourself to save yourself. Social networking is supposed to be part of your lifestyle and not your lifestyle alone.
Mark Hopkins
Mt. Airy
Be Patient, Fathers, Your Day is Coming
To the editor:
Yes, I know, Father’s Day is coming, that special day for all good and half-way decent men to be spoiled and treated with honor, and treated to the biggest piece of chicken. Meanwhile, Mother’s Day isn’t even cold yet. That’s the one day no one rushes you out of bed.
The one day no one hovers under the community blanket like a ninja with the remote control, while you’re thinking a poltergeist has entered your television because the TV will not stay on one station and you keep hearing whispers, as the kids are changing channels and texting while cuddled up next to you asking for movie money.
But on Mother’s Day your bed is all yours. Your room is an all-inclusive vacation with the television remote included. And the love of your life protects you from the Lounging Lizards, I mean beautiful children. It works in hubby’s favor for the kids to force you out of bed in the morning and wheel and deal with the kiddies, but that day is your day, so all day he is keeping them at bay.
I am talking about the all-mighty, all-knowing teenagers. who still need so much attention and love from us, even if we do not know what we are doing (LOL!). They will eventually understand that I have my own identity and my life evolves around me too.
Anyhow, for one day, Daddy is the Go-To. He must address all “can I’s” and “why can’t I’s.” There is no sidebar or assistant coach, it’s figure-it-out, Poppa Bear, ‘cause Momma Bear has left the building as I am still quietly lounging in my room with full control of the television remote in the late morning.
So on this God Love the Queen Day, they all walk the line until after dinner. By this time, my first love is exhausted and cranky, not just from cooking because he enjoys cooking, but the fact that he had to talk to the “all knowing” all day without a buffer, which can be a bit challenging at times.
He has had a full workday without pay and this levee is about to break.
No kisses or spontaneous pats on the back for a job well done, no immediate thank you’s or “you’re the best dad” emails, either. They will come, just not when he expects. Perhaps before one of the kids goes to bed they will say, “Hey, Dad, the food was good today.”
So, Mothers’ Day, be it special and also humbling, is also about those who acknowledge and honor you. When the day moves into night, my husband kisses me and says “I love you and thank you for the kids.” I replied, “Thanks, honey, I needed that and I need you.” Yes, I said that out loud, too.
So for every man who treated his baby’s momma well, on Mother’s Day, keep up the good work and your day is coming. Until next time – peace and Happy Father’s Day to all.
Sandra Thomas
Germantown
June 10, 2010
Editorial
Let’s End Machine Politics
There have been so many jokes about Philadelphia politics over the years that they could fill volumes. However, the one that most describes our political history is that we change parties every 60 years or so. In between, patronage and corruption reigns supreme. We wait so long and tolerate so much that there must be a better way.
A national trend makes the case that Pennsylvania and Philadelphia must move out of the dark ages of machine politics and give the voters the choice and opportunity denied them for so long. The Gallup Pole now tracks that Independents are the largest group of voters in the country with 40 percent of registrations, with Democrats and Republicans nearly tied at 30 percent and 28 percent respectively. In nine of the 48 states unaffiliated voters outnumber either of the formerly major parties. Nearby New Jersey is one of them.
Our state of Pennsylvania is a throwback. We still have closed primaries where independents can’t vote at all. Those who can vote are restricted to those whom the machine “allows” to have their name on the ballot.
California is leading a challenge to this kind of restriction with Proposition 14 which would open primaries to all voters regardless of party, with the top two vote getters having a run-off at the general election. Yes, you could wind up with two Democrats, two Republicans, or two Independents, but look how many more individuals with dedication and experience could run without it becoming a contest of money and entrenched power.
A York County state representative, Eugene DePasquale, has proposed that Independents in this state be allowed to vote in either majority party primary but the political machine leadership has allowed his proposal to stall in committee for over a year.
There has been no moment in this country’s recent political history where dissatisfaction with how politicians and political systems operate has been more intense. We are liable to see a complete reversal of power at the national and state levels in November, but not because either party has a particularly engaging platform or track record. It seems that a “throw the bums out” mentality will challenge all incumbents to make the case why they should not be thrown out.
If those in power, including parties that seem to be invincible in a given area, want to face reality they should back the trend to open primaries and end a divisive process that dials out the majority of those who are committed to public service.
Let’s advocate for democratic elections to replace the anachronism of the closed and manipulative machine politics we have suffered with for generations.
Jim Foster
Publisher
Opinion: The Sestak ‘Job Offer’ Scandal
By VICTORIA A. BROWNWORTH
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has, appropriately if belatedly, become the lead story in all news media. The scenes from the Gulf are heart-breaking, the stories increasingly disturbing and tragic.
It’s understandable, then, that the issues of government accountability and the transparency promised and lauded by Candidate Obama but dismissed by President Obama have been relegated specifically to the administration’s role in the oil spill and subsequent environmental disaster.
But for Pennsylvania voters, there’s an issue that has been buried on the back pages, but which can be neither ignored nor dismissed.
According to Joe Sestak, the Democratic candidate for the Senate and a current member of the House, he was offered a job by the Obama Administration through former President Bill Clinton to stay out of the Pennsylvania Senate race. The administration backed Sen. Arlen Specter and did not want a primary fight.
Sestak first raised the topic in an interview in late February where it seemed to fizzle and die, although he repeated the accusation as an example of how he was not a Washington insider when his numbers were in the single digits.
But with his win against Specter, the story resurfaced. Democrats waved their hands as if it was just so much gnattery, Republicans said it was an example of the corruption of the Obama Administration and legal scholars on both sides squirmed at the harsh reality: there’s an actual federal code prohibiting just such quid pro quo actions.
The squirminess transferred to the President himself when in a press conference two weeks ago – his first in ten months – a reporter went off the topic of the oil spill to ask about the Sestak story.
Instead of being up front and transparent as he should have been from the outset, Obama said that a response would be “forthcoming” on the subject, which was, he said, being reviewed internally.
Oh.
The answer finally came on May 29, over two months after Sestak first made the claim. Yes, the offer had been made. But it was not improper and no big deal.
Wrong.
It doesn’t take an anti-Obama conservative to understand the law. Consider the response from a well-known legal expert who is not a conservative: law professor and constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley.
Turley was stunned by the revelation and said so in a column mere hours after the White House finally released its months-in-coming “yeah, we offered him a job, so what?” response.
Turley noted: “It is remarkable how quickly Democrats have forgiven such abuses and condemned those who object as simply naive. This is precisely what moral relativists in politics want of voters: to treat all political corruption as a fixed reality of government.”
Turley went on to say, “The White House is not allowed to trade government positions for political advantages. It is particularly abusive to hand out positions in the intelligence field - particularly with the continued intelligence failures of the last year. What makes this even more outrageous is that Sestak did not even qualify for the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board [the position offered to Sestak].”
What Turley didn’t know when he wrote those words was that Sestak was not the only candidate to be offered a job to stay out of a primary.
On June 2, Andrew Romanoff, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Michael Bennett in Colorado, said he had been offered one of three positions by Obama’s deputy Chief of Staff. Romanoff said he was told two high-ranking positions at USAID and the director’s position at the U.S. Trade and Development Agency “might be available to me were I not pursuing the Senate race.”
Sestak should feel undersold: The U.S. Trade and Development Agency director’s position has a $55 million budget and a staff of 78 people. It also requires Senate confirmation.
There have been numerous unanswered questions about what job Sestak was really offered. Most insiders agree he was actually offered the job of Secretary of the Navy because the current SoN is considering leaving. Given the choices offered to Romanoff, it’s difficult to believe that Sestak would have been offered so much less.
The Romanoff revelation only serves to raise more questions about the Sestak debacle. It also raises serious questions about what role the President has been playing in the primaries.
For Pennsylvanians, the questions need answers. Sestak made the offer public in an effort to raise his own numbers in the polls. But Sestak is a Democrat and if elected would answer to the current president – also a Democrat—as well as to the people of Pennsylvania. The Obama Administration was wrong and possibly criminal in offering the job to Sestak.
The blowback for Sestak is that he now looks sleazy. Sestak has a history of not answering questions. Pennsylvanians still want to know why he was forced to resign from the only job he ever had, the Navy. Sestak says what he said when pressed for details about Obama’s job offer: it’s not relevant.
This surly attitude that both the Obama White House and our own candidate have toward voters is more than a little disconcerting.
We expected it from the likes of Bush and Cheney, but this was supposed to be a new day in government and a new era of transparency. Sestak himself said his election was a “victory for democracy.” So why does it look so much like old-school Beltway politics?
The fact is, the right shouldn’t be leading the calls for an independent investigation of these quid pro quo offers. The Democrats should.
Think about it for ten seconds – never mind who you supported in the Pennsylvania primary. Who do you want to choose who runs or doesn’t? The President of the U.S. or the voters?
This isn’t a monarchy. We choose our politicians by voting, not by presidential fiat. And it would seem that if any more such scandals are revealed about this White House, voters are going to choose someone else come 2012, no matter what Mr. Obama might have to say.
‘Legacy of Love’ at 2010 Dean White Awards
To the editor:
Several hundred people came together to remember the victims of the Pier 34 tragedy ten years ago that took the lives of three young women including DeAnn White, a resident of Germantown. The event, organized by White’s family, was a festive celebration of the legacy of one very special G-town girl who grew up on Greene Street with four sisters and a dog. Neighbors John and Terry Trudeau, long time residents of Germantown, attended the event with all of their grandchildren. There was something for everyone at the outdoor barbeque held at the ACE Conference Center on Ridge Avenue in Lafayette Hill on May 22.
The 2010 DeAnn White Awards - A Legacy of Love was seen on every local TV broadcast and an impressive list of corporate, community and political sponsors including Kline & Specter, PECO, Tierney Communications, Walnut Lane Tax Services, Philadelphia Black McDonald’s Owners Association, Chef Ken’s Cafe, Away We Go! Youth Travel Camp and Brown’s Family ShopRite, among others, helped make the day a special day to remember in Northwest.
The “wow“ factor was in every detail of the day. For some, it was the prayer offered by the First Lady of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, Ellyn Jo Waller, or the songs and dances of praise offered by youth talent. DeAnn’s mother Blanche White-Toole spoke of how triumph can come from tragedy and New York Times best-selling author Ann Hood, agreed to have an excerpt of her latest memoir, Comfort: A Journey through Grief, about the death of her five-year old daughter Grace, included in the event’s creative program book. Recognizing that tragedy is not unique to any one particular family, those in attendance were inspired by the words of noted speaker and authority on trauma Dr. R. Dandridge Collins and invited to release a colorful-array of biodegradable balloons in memory of loved ones as DJ Darryl Taylor played, Wind Beneath My Wings.
The day was filled with face-painting, arts and craft, music, line-dancing and even karaoke by popular local songbirds. Still, others cheered when Mayor Michael Nutter addressed the audience and shared how the family and fiancé of DeAnn White has shown remarkable grace to establish the DeAnn White Scholarship Fund to honor her memory.
The DeAnn White Scholarship Fund is administered through The Philadelphia Foundation and supports educational goals of students at St. Martin de Porres who love to read, and Temple University and Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church students majoring in communications.
The recipient of the 2010 DeAnn White Temple Award was announced, and Brittney Miller took the stage as her father looked on with obvious pride. DeAnn was a joy and pride of our family, and the scholarships are our way of creating little DeAnns in the world because we love her.
For more information or if you would like to contribute a tax-deductible donation to the scholarship fund, please visit www.deannwhite.com or call The Philadelphia Foundation at 215-563-6417.
Gail Ramsey
Lafayette Hill
Peace Groups to Protest
To the editor:
Members of 26 peace organizations have held monthly vigils near Senator Arlen Specter’s home for the last five years. They want Specter to cut off funding for the U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and to bring the troops home now.
Specter did not listen to the voters. He went into the Primary Election with a new label (Democrat) but with the same old politics. He did not turn toward peace, as his constituents wanted. Specter also did not turn toward single-payer healthcare or any other progressive political precept which would have earned him votes. By remaining an arch-conservative and by continuing to espouse the same, old chicken-hawk policies, Specter assured his own loss in the Primary.
On June 20, the same 26 peace groups will hold a Muhammad Ali Peace Event from 2-4 p.m. near Specter’s home on West Schoolhouse Lane (at Vaux Street) in Germantown. On this date in 1967, Muhammad Ali, Olympic Gold Medalist and World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, was convicted in Houston of violating Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted for the U.S. occupation of Vietnam.
The demonstrators will ask Specter (who remains our Senator until January 2011) to endorse a bill which will cut off Pentagon funding in Afghanistan and Iraq except what is needed for the safe return of all U.S. troops. They also want the closure of all Pentagon bases there.
For more information, e-mail nwgreens@yahoo.com or call 215-843-4256.
June 3, 2010
Editorial
A Simple Message
District Attorney Seth Williams came to the Northwest on Tuesday to give his views on how crime prosecution should be brought up to date in Philadelphia and, as can be seen from the story about his appearance on page 1 of this issue, there’s a lot to be done. He’s trying to bring the District Attorney’s Office into the 21st century by adopting innovative programs and approaches and encouraging the 318 attorneys on his staff to work smarter, not just harder.
Williams went to great lengths to explain his perspective on crime and what he’s trying to do about it - how to prosecute it, how to prevent it. But there’s one thing that he said could do more than just about anything else to reduce crime in Philadelphia, and it has little or nothing to do with the D.A.’s office. That’s increasing the educational level of the city’s young people.
Williams noted that the best predictor of whether a person will become a law-abiding productive citizen is his or her education level. Repeat offenders are heavily high school drop-outs.
On first glance that’s not good news for Philadelphia, which has a 50 percent high school drop-out rate. On second glance it looks better because it’s something that we as citizens can do something about: by volunteering with youth programs and literacy groups, by helping those who have dropped out get their GEDs, and most of all by encouraging our children to stay in school and get their diplomas and doing whatever we can to help them succeed.
It’s a simple message – and a vital one. Nothing is more important to the future of the city and its youth. And it’s doable. Remember that the next time someone tells you that nothing can be done about crime, that we “just have to live with it.” We don’t.
Karl Biemuller
Editor
Chestnut Hill’s Identity Crisis
You would have to be among the areas oldest citizens to remember that the business district of Chestnut Hill seemed to be on its way out by 1950. After 18 years of depression and war much of the vitality was gone, with at least 25 percent of the Avenue stores closed up and another 25 percent open but paying rents that were actually below cost of operation. Like many U.S. community business districts, it seemed headed for replacement by the newly- emerging mall concept. However, some very clear thinking and coordinated efforts reversed the trend and made this the city business district a model for modified urban thinking. But it was the community organization, not the business association, that saw opportunity and planned the future in a manner that breathed in new vitality.
The Chestnut Hill Community Association (CHCA), brainchild of Lloyd Wells and others, used the talent and ability of this area’s professional and activist citizens to craft a well-structured organization that was as much development focused as it was transparent and participatory. By-laws and financial documents written by the leadership of some of this city’s most recognized law firms backed up an organization with membership that at one time exceeded 2,500.
Guided by a board of 50 with functioning committees, they created standards and promoted a fresh face that by the late 1950s had virtually every store filled, parking lots created, and kept balance and information flowing with their own newspaper, one that respected all points of view and printed news and opinion in a manner that kept the spirit alive.
Today, much of that spirit has been diminished, and mostly from within.
Now we find that CHCA membership has declined substantially to the point that there were no new candidates for board election this year and the last board election saw a turnout of only 400 (1,800 voted as recently as 2007). Major restrictive by-law changes are passed with under 30 votes. The leadership is now merged (for all practical purposes) with that of the Business Association and other formerly independent but coordinated subsidiary entities (like the Parking Foundation); all appearing to be run by central planning.
Decisions now seem to be made by a narrow cadre operating without the transparency and participation that kept the local economy alive with citizen approval and participation at the forefront. Previously the organization always debated diverse views and challenges, with newspaper accounts showing hundreds of residents filling the meetings in support or opposition to new concepts or development plans, and decisions made under some very democratic perspectives. Today participation is nil and no one wants to run for the board election, once a very important community event. An investigation by the State Attorney General over internal financial practices and Trust Fund irregularities with fines and sanctions certainly did not help.
What appears to be dereliction of duty from within the CHCA and its Trust Fund has given rise to a new grass roots organization known as the Chestnut Hill Residents’ Association (CHRA), formed by some of those officers and directors who resigned or were jettisoned by the CHCA’s current revisionist practices. Created with the expressed purpose of representing the interests of the community from a perspective they feel is closer to the broad intent the CHCA formerly served, it challenges the concept of a few power-brokers who “arrange” things. A more energized Business Association also emerged, has made itself known to the community and elected political leaders, and added structure in attempts to redirect the City’s efforts and stem the tide of vacating businesses.
But the jury is still out as more stores are vacated, and even newly renovated ones are without tenants. For some time over 30 prominent business locations have been standing empty, with two of the largest commercial properties being emptied in the last year as Magarity Ford and Borders closed.
The reputation and the effectiveness of CHCA support took a huge hit recently when a new business they backed lost to the opposition of the CHRA faction, through denial of variances at a zoning hearing. One can argue the relative merits of how that support was garnered, but it seems that the perspective of a significant number of near neighbors was clearly outlined and despite structured Association support, the Zoning Board of Adjustment ruled against them.
The business in question opened without the variance for specific take-out food, and has since closed. Back channel and very visible and audible blame-game rhetoric has filled the Chestnut Hill Local, city blogs, the streets and Chestnut Hill coffee shops ever since.
There are not enough residents in Chestnut Hill alone to support every storefront and free-standing business enterprise, so the business district has to garner its customers from nearby communities. That is what Mr. Wells and the CHCA founders realized early on. They focused on ease of access, standards for development, and created a unity of purpose that made Chestnut Hill the exceptional destination it was. However, it is important to understand that this was not one person’s design, but the efforts of a committed group with recognized goals. One can see a much-later model of the same thinking in Media, PA, where they took an old narrow-street business district, carved out nearby multiple parking lots, combined civic and business interests and created viability and energy that seems to have succeeded.
For the moment Chestnut Hill seems mired in its own self-destructive patterns, some of which are an outgrowth of a major fracture within the CHCA a few years ago that opened it up to takeover by narrow interests who to this day support policies that eliminate transparency and larger participation from the process. Sadly, much of the membership in the once-vital community association walked away from participation and transparent reform, and in the same process may have walked away from their future.
It looks like someone tore up the formula for success.
Jim Foster
Publisher
Former Board Director, CHCA
Former Chairman, CHCA Oversight Committee
Opinion
Time Running Out for Tax Amnesty
By C. DANIEL HASSELL
Pennsylvania Secretary of Revenue
PA Tax Amnesty – which waives all penalties and half of the interest for anyone who pays Pennsylvania back taxes by June 18 – is now more than halfway over.
June 18 is a hard deadline set by law, and it will not be extended. People who owe back taxes should act quickly to take advantage of this generous, yet limited, opportunity to settle their debts to the state. At midnight on June 18, the offer expires and an additional 5 percent penalty will be tacked on to all outstanding tax delinquencies.
Through May 25, the PA Tax Amnesty program received nearly 30,000 completed, or in-process, applications to pay more than $58 million in previously unpaid Pennsylvania back taxes. PA Tax Amnesty is intended to net $190 million in much-needed revenue for the current fiscal year budget, and we have a way to go before meeting that goal.
During the last PA Tax Amnesty 14 years ago, 74 percent of payments were submitted in the last two weeks of the program, so we know that many, many more taxpayers will be coming forward shortly.
Taxpayers should avoid the last-minute rush and apply now. Online applications must be completed and submitted electronically by midnight, Friday, June 18, and full payments for all outstanding tax liabilities must be made electronically or postmarked by midnight, Friday June 18.
People and businesses that owe back taxes should visit www.PATaxPayUp.com today to explore the program and apply online. Assistance is available by calling 1-877-34-PAYUP (1-877-347-2987) weekdays between 7:30 a.m. and 7 p.m., or by visiting a Revenue district office, listed in the blue pages of local phone directories.
More than 800,000 delinquent taxpayers across Pennsylvania owe back taxes and have only a few more weeks to settle up and pay their fair share for the programs and services that benefit all Pennsylvanians.
More than 62 percent of the back taxes eligible for PA Tax Amnesty are owed by businesses in delinquent corporation taxes, employer withholding and sales tax. Personal income tax delinquencies, which also include many small businesses, account for 33 percent of the total.
Those who duck their tax obligations are breaking the law, plain and simple, and they increase the tax burden for the 97 percent of Pennsylvanians who do the right thing in paying state taxes on-time and in-full.
PA Tax Amnesty ends June 18. Tax delinquents should avoid the last-minute rush and apply now, taking advantage of this rare opportunity to settle back taxes with no penalties and half off the interest, before time runs out.
Letters
Settlement Bankruptcy an Opportunity for Germantown and the City
To the editor:
Note: The following letter was sent to Mayor Michael Nutter on behalf of the Germantown Community Connection (GCC) and its concern about the impact of Germantown Settlement’s bankruptcy filing on programs and services in Germantown designed and funded to meet the needs of individuals and families in Germantown. GCC is requesting that citizens have a voice in the discussion related to the continuing provision of services. To date, there has been no response.
Dear Mayor Nutter:
Germantown Community Connection is the new umbrella nonprofit organization representing neighborhood groups, institutions, businesses and citizens of Germantown. We are also the local community representative for the Classic Town Germantown designation awarded by Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia, a program of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. We are writing to you about the recent bankruptcy filing of Germantown Settlement and about the impact of the bankruptcy on Germantown.
Settlement has, for a long time, been the dominant provider of social services and housing in this community, while also dominating development activity and accumulating extensive land holdings. Its rapid decline has caused us great harm. Settlement’s cancelled contracts, foreclosures, and failed projects have accelerated neighborhood deterioration and our loss of services. As our confidence in Settlement’s leadership dissolved, we have also grown disillusioned with our local political leaders—in city, state and federal positions—who, long after the evidence against Settlement became clear, continued to provide the dollars and political support Settlement requested.
To us, the bankruptcy filing offers an opportunity to turn a new page and forge a transparent and responsible relationship between the City of Philadelphia and the citizens of Germantown. We are writing to ask for your help in making that happen. Because a bankruptcy reorganization by Settlement’s existing management is, in our view, not only undesirable, but also highly unlikely, given its track record and the magnitude of its financial obligations, creditors will have considerable say over what, if any, new organization emerges and over the disposition of the assets in the bankruptcy estate. As Settlement’s principal creditor, the City will wield significant power over those issues.
As taxpayers, we do care that the City is owed millions of dollars, but we also believe that the long-term interests of the City go beyond extracting what it can from the bankruptcy estate. The City also has a financial stake in facilitating responsible development in Germantown and developing new institutional capacity in Germantown to deliver needed services to our citizens. We are looking to the City to take a position in the bankruptcy that reflects all of those various interests.
The debtors’ schedules and financial statements are due to be filed by tomorrow. Those filings are supposed to include, among other things, a complete inventory of all assets and contracts. After we have all had a chance to review this material, we would appreciate the opportunity—as a collaborative membership organization of neighborhood groups, institutions, business and citizens—to sit down with representatives of the Administration to discuss formulating a joint strategy. We are especially concerned that the citizens have a voice in the continuing provision of services and in the disposition of properties such as the YWCA. We would like reassurance that this bankruptcy does not become a pathway for further decay and lack of services in this community.
Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward, with hope, to the proposed discussions.
Betty Turner, President
Germantown Community Connection
Big Changes for Eagles with Kolb as QB
To the editor:
The 2010 NFL season for the Philadelphia Eagles will feature Kevin Kolb as their quarterback for the entire regular season.
For this to occur, the Eagles traded their franchise quarterback, Donovan McNabb, to the Washington Redskins. After more than a decade of McNabb and Reid, it’s now called Kolb-Reid.
Kolb has been with the Eagles for three seasons. He made his first appearance in the NFL in 2007. Since then, he has played in 10 games, starting two. In the two games he started he threw for more than 300 passing yards against both the Saints and the Chiefs. His lone win came in a 34-14 win against the Chiefs.
At the University of Houston in 2006 he had a terrific year, throwing for 30 touchdowns and just four interceptions. The Eagles are counting on him to be just as productive this season as a starting NFL quarterback.
This season for Kolb and the Eagles’ offense, it will be a big change after McNabb’s departure. It is important for Kolb to show that he can be the quarterback of the future. Kolb has a tough act to follow, since McNabb was arguably the greatest quarterback in Eagles’ history. Let’s face it, it will take time for Kevin Kolb to adjust and then take the Eagles to the Super Bowl.
Christopher Saxon
Mt. Airy
Alexander Seeking Support in Ward Leader Bid
To the editor:
I have lived in Germantown for 37 years and have witnessed the changes in our community both positive and negative. On May 18, I was elected committee person for the 59th Ward, 8th Division. I have declared my intent to become Ward Leader in the 59th Ward. I am asking for the vote and support of the committee people to become Ward Leader of the 59th Ward.
In 2002, I lost my only child to violence. I am concerned about crime and lack of jobs in our community. I am concerned about what is being done, or not being done, to revitalize our business district, make affordable housing available and to improve the quality of life for all people in Germantown.
During the past 30 years, I have worked at Philco-Ford, the Mayor’s Office of Community Services and City Council Eighth District. In that position, I was responsible for constituent services and special events. I also worked on the Wilson Goode, Sr. campaign for Mayor. I believe my experience and skills will serve the people in the 59th Ward well.
Ward Leaders are elected by the committee people and are also members of the City Committee which represents the organization and management of the party in all Philadelphia elections. Committee people are members of the Ward Executive Committee and serve as the point of contact between constituents and elected officials.
On June 7, committee people will elect Ward Leader for their Ward and I believe together, we can make a difference.
A few years ago, there were 62 houses in Germantown intentionally built for low-income and single parent family ownership. I purchased one of these houses from the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC). These houses had many problems with the lighting and water systems rendering some of them almost unlivable. In order to get the houses fixed, as a purchaser of one of these homes I organized a group of owners to meet with PHDC and City Controller Jonathan Saidel to discuss the problems and their resolution. The outcome of these meetings was a $100,000 check to get the houses repaired. The Greater Germantown Housing Development Corporation (GGHDC) did the repair work. This is just one example of people coming together and making a difference.
I believe our elected representative to City Council, the ward leader and committee people can work together to resolve these and other types of problems in our community. Quite frankly, I am dissatisfied with the way things are handled in the 59th Ward. I think we can do better. I think there are opportunities to improve the quality of life in our community and I think more can be done to benefit the whole community, not just a few. Our community needs some tender loving care and attention by our elected officials and ward leadership that can be seen. Communities all around us are growing. You can see new business, affordable housing, jobs, etc. in the surrounding communities – what is the problem in our community?
Again, I believe we can work together in an open and respectful way to make the kind difference that revitalizes Germantown. I believe I can help make that happen as the Ward Leader in the 59th Ward.
Joyce Alexander
Germantown](Opinions_files/shapeimage_1.png)
