Vol. I No. 127
Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia
December 29, 2010
Philadelphia
Daily Record
Taxpayers Paid $1 Billion For These
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Philadelphia Senators Refuse Pay Increase tate Sen. Shirley M. Kitchen (D-N. Phila.) announced the members of the Philadelphia delegation will not accept the automatic 1.7% cost-of-living increase that went into effect this month. Speaking as the leader of the delegation, Kitchen pointed to the tough economy and large number of struggling families across Pennsylvania as the main reason for not accepting the salary adjustment.
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people who are doing everything they can to find work, pay the bills and feed their families. Many of those who are lucky enough to have jobs have not received a boost in pay,” said Kitchen. “Furthermore, retirees, the disabled, and veterans receiving Social Security benefits will not see a cost-of-living increase in their checks for the second year in a row.”
deficit, which could climb upwards of five billion dollars,” added Kitchen. “We are going to have a tough road ahead and be forced to make some difficult choices. Returning this money was something we all agreed we should do.” For the first time in more than three decades, Social Security recipients did not receive an increase in 2010, and they will not see an increase in 2011. Although President Obama and Democrats in Congress pushed to give an additional $250 to Social Security recipients as part of the tax cut package, that plan was rejected. COLA is determined by a formula set by federal law, and it roughly parallels the consumer price index, though the two formulas are not identical. Senior citizens can get a ballpark estimate of their likely annual benefit increase from the consumer price index’s rise.
“Pennsylvania faces a budget
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29 DECEMBER, 2010
Lt. Guv-Elect Cawley Visits The Arc
LT. GOV.-ELECT Jim Cawley visited The Arc of Phila. and Phila. Developmental Disabilities Corp. As he toured facility and learned about programs, he came upon this elephant mural in Cultural Arts Center. Seen here from left are Bruce Hulick, executive director of The Arc and PDDC; Linda Price, associate director of Cultural Arts Center; and Cawley, who admired mural by Dwayne Boone. Photo by Bonnie Squires
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Waters Announces Scholarships ennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus Chairman State Rep. Ronald Waters (D-W. Phila.) said the PLBC will continue its scholarship program for seniors graduating from Pennsylvania schools in the spring of 2011.
attend a Pennsylvania college, university or career school full time. To qualify, students must have a 3.0 grade-point average, display leadership and commitment to their community, and exhibit financial need. Applicants are also expected to submit an essay stating their career and perWaters said the scholarship prosonal goals. gram supports the PLBC's mission to help minorities achieve Waters also said he encourages their educational and career teachers and school-district offigoals. cials to help identify students who meet the above criteria to “It is important that we, in the apply. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, encourage our children and Applicants can download an apyoung adults to pursue college plication from the PLBC website. and graduate degrees,” Waters Completed applications, along said. “Education is vital to one's with a current and complete transuccess and our children are our script of grades, must be mailed future. We must invest in them.” to the Scholarship Management Services, One Scholarship Way, The scholarship will be awarded Saint Peter, MN 56082. Only the to 10 minority students in the first 250 applicants will be conamount of $1,000 each. The prosidered and the application postgram is open to college-bound mark deadline is Feb. 18. high-school seniors who plan to
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The selected students will be awarded their scholarships on May 10 in the Main Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg. The PLBC Scholarship Program is administered by Scholarship Management Services, a division of Scholarship America. Scholarship Management Services is the nation's largest designer and manager of scholarship and tuition reimbursement programs for corporations, foundations, associations and individuals. The scholarship program is funded by corporate donations and through the PLBC foundation, a nonprofit organization founded exclusively for charitable, scientific and educational purposes, to serve underprivileged communities across Pennsylvania. More information is available on the PLBC website or you can call the office at (717) 772-6955.
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Penna. Spent More Than $1 Billion On Sports Centers by Jim Panyard pecial from the Pennsylvania Independent – Whether professional sports corporations could survive without subsidies for their playing fields, courts, rinks and diamonds is a legitimate question for the taxpayers providing those subsidies.
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Between 1999 and 2009, State taxpayers in Pennsylvania coughed up more than $500 million for sports performance arenas, while County and Municipal taxpayers - who also pay the State taxes – were saddled with a similar amount for those facilities in their regions.
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More than $1 billion in taxes went into the stadiums, arenas and other facilities built in Pennsylvania during the administrations of Govs. Tom Ridge (R) and Ed Rendell (D). But taxpayers will actually pay more, because much of the tax financing for both professional sports teams and community facilities came in the form of bond issues of between 20 and 30 years in duration. A bond issue, like a home mortgage, is spread out over two or three decades and the homebuyer, in this case the taxpayer, winds up paying back 2.5 to three times the amount of money originally borrowed.
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Dec. 30Friends of Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr., host year-end fundraiser “Curt Ain’t Crying the Blues” at Le Cochon Noir, 5070 Parkside Ave., Suite 5100E 7 p.m.-12 a.m. Dec. 30Breakfast fundraiser in honor of Cindy Bass hosted by Congeressman Chaka Fattah, Shulick Law Offices at 8:30 am., 100 N. 18th st., Suite 1900. 215-844-5443. Jan. 27Edward J. Lowry, founder of Phila. Veterans MultiService & Education Ctr., will be honored on retirement at Waterfall Rm. in Plumbers Local 690 Union Hall, 2791 Southampton Rd., Cocktails 6-8 p.m., followed by Tribute Program. Tickets $65. Order by phone (215) 238-8050. Event Chair Ed Keenan, Board Chair Jim McNesby and Exec. Dir. Marsha Four.
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New York’s Relatively Hot Broadway Tickets Available At Surprising Discounts: Here’s How
operated by the Theatre Development Fund since the first of them o one needs me to exopened in 1973, provide sameplain the precariousness day tickets for plays and shows at of the current economic discounts ranging from 20% to times. It goes without saying 50%. The best-known booth is at plenty of people are understandthe heart of the Theater ably forgoing what they have District/Times Square, on 47th come to realize are luxuries. Street (between Broadway & 7th TKTS booths, which have been Avenue). The other two locations Others may be “compromising” by Adam Taxin
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vacations: the 2010-2011 version of a week in Florida may well be a day or two in Manhattan. For those of you for whom that description fits, I have a tip that makes it possible to see a Broadway (or off-Broadway) show or play a bit more affordably:
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are at Manhattan’s South Street Seaport and at the Jay St. and Myrtle St. Promenade in downtown Brooklyn. The latter two locations, unlike the Times Square location, sell tickets for next-day matinees. At the Times Square location, the booths are open generally open 10 a.m. (11 a.m. on Sunday) until 2 p.m. for matinees, then from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m. The other two locations are generally open from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. (4 p.m. on
Sundays). Last Thursday night at least, discounted tickets were indeed available to current “hot” plays and shows, including Lombardi, The Pee-Wee Herman Show, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. The most in-demand productions of all, such as Spider-Man and The Merchant of Venice (starring Al Pacino) were, predictably enough, not available. I opted to see Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, featuring Broadway legends Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch. Given the approximately two feet of snow New York City just received on Sunday and early yesterday, tickets are likely to be more widely available and cheaper during the next few days than they might otherwise be.
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Other useful ways I suggest for making one’s trip to New York City as economical as possible involve taking New Jersey Transit trains or Bolt, Greyhound or New Century Travel (Chinatown) buses to avoid heavy tolls and exorbitant parking costs. I also highly recommend, for those thinking of spending the night, using Priceline.com to “negotiate” a hotel room. More specific guidance is available at http://www.tdf.org/ TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=56 or by contacting me directly via Facebook or adamtaxin@gmail.com. Over the next few days, Adam Taxin will be using TKTS and sharing thoughts on various current Broadway shows, starting tomorrow with A Little Night Music.
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