daily Record

Vol. II No. 23 (182)

Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia

March 16, 2011

Philadelphia Daily Record

Sotomayor Special

PHILA. BAR ASSOCIATION honored US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor at a standing-roomonly luncheon. Bar Chancellor Rudy Garcia, first Hispanic to lead PBA, presented diversity award to Justice Sotomayor, which he announced they were renaming in her honor. Photo by Bonnie Squires

Milton Street Petitions Challenged Yesterday the Nutter for Mayor campaign helped file a challenge against the petitions of T. Milton Street. All candidates for office must meet certain requirements to be allowed on the ballot, including a basic residency requirement and the collection of a minimum number of valid voter signatures.

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“We believe Mr. Street failed to meet these two requirements, which are clear and long-standing. The decision on this challenge lies with the court,” said Michael Nutter’s Campaign Mgr. Sheila Simmons.

Lawsuits Abound In This Primary Councilman Frank Rizzo has company. Despite a ruling by two City solicitors elected officials can retire, collect their DROP, and assume office again, City Councilwoman Marian Tasco and City Commission Chair Marge Tartaglione face court challenges similar to Rizzo’s by petitioners seeking to force them to accept the DROP and quit.

It’s a moot question, but the Ethics Committee has ruled you can’t be candidate for City Council at Large and for District Council at the same time. That’s what Karen Brown had done. The City’s campaign-finance law proves a candidate for City elective office may have no more than one political committee and one checking account for the City office being sought.

It doesn’t matter now. She’s running as a Republican candidate for Mayor along with John Featherman. No doubt she has filed a new party, superseding her old Council filing. Brown entered into an agreement to open the books of all her committees and sort all their payments into the appropriate accounts.

Casey Will Face Candidate From His Backyard In 2012 Translation/Interpretation Arabic, Hebrew, English, French For more information, call William Hanna

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Despite polls showing he is unbeatable, US Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) will be up against a candidate from his home turf, the Anthracite Region, in the form of Scranton Tea Party founder Lauren Cummings, according to PoliticsPA. Must be something in the water they drink.

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President Up A Bit, Congress Down Pollster John Zogby reports President Barack Obama’s approval has moved up to 47%, highest since last October. Congress has slipped to 25%, a seven-point drop since February. Republicans, who started at 42%, have dropped to 35%.

Philly Moves Up In ‘Energy Star’ Ranking The US Environmental Protection Agency ranked Philadelphia 14th in its 2010 list of US cities with the most ENERGY STAR certified buildings. Buildings that earn the EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification perform in the top 25% for energy efficiency when compared to similar buildings nationwide. ENERGY STAR certified buildings use an average of 35% less energy than other buildings and include buildings such as commercial offices and warehouses. This ranking further contributes to the City’s Greenworks Philadelphia commitments to lower citywide building energy consumption by 10% by 2015. Philadelphia’s certification rate has risen up from 23rd place ranking in 2009.

“For three years, the City Administration worked hard with stakeholders and governmental partners to encourage energy efficiency through Greenworks Philadelphia

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and our many groundbreaking initiatives and partnerships. I will continue to advocate for energy savings as part of our effort to make Philadelphia the greenest city in the United States,” said Mayor Michael A. Nutter.

Philadelphia has undertaken several efforts to promote energy efficiency as part of Greenworks Philadelphia. In November, Mayor Nutter and the Metropolitan Caucus launched EnergyWorks, a comprehensive, regional energy solutions program that encourages individuals and businesses to make energy investments by offering low-interest loans to pay for energy-efficiency improvements.

This innovative and nationally recognized program is supported by a $25 million US Dept. of Energy’s Better Buildings Program fund.

Additionally, Nutter was appointed

by DOE Secretary Dr. Steven Chu to serve as a member of the Energy

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Efficiency and Renewable Energy Advisory Committee. The Committee’s role is to advise the Secretary of Energy on issues related to energy efficiency and renewable energy, and to provide recommendations on long-term planning, priorities, strategy and funding.

“It’s gratifying to see building owners in the region are increasingly taking advantage of the Energy Star program, which helps to promote the smart steps they are taking to save on energy use and costs,” said Katherine Gajewski, Philadelphia director of Sustainability.

Commercial buildings that can earn ENERGY STAR certification include office buildings, bank branches, medical offices, supermarkets, retail stores and warehouses. For more information, please visit www.energystar.gov.

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Report In, Mayor Appoints New Community Oversight Board Members

Mar. 16Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown hosts Rising Stars VIP Reception at 5 p.m. in Mayor’s Reception Rm. & Conversation Hall, City Hall, 5 p.m.

Honorees include Cynthia Figueroa, Rebecca Foley, Kat Houston, Cyrstal Jacobs, Nikki Johnson-Houston, Esq., Yian Liu, Florcy Morisset, Desiree Peterkin Bell, Rebecca Quinn-Wolf, Roslynn Sample-Greene, Fon S. Wang, and Tia Watson. For info Katherine Gilmore (215) 6863438.

Mar. 17Judge Jimmy Lynn’s Salute to St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast at Plough & Stars, 2nd & Chestnut, 7:30-11 a.m. Tickets at door $25.

Mar. 17Public Record invites all to join as it marks its 12th year in existence and its selection of Samuel Staten, Jr., as “Public Servant of the Year 2011” at Galdo’s Catering, 20th & Moyamensing Ave., 69 p.m. Expect a merry good time!

Open bar, international buffet.

For info John David (215) 7552000 or (267) 259-6654.

Mar. 17- State Rep. Louise Williams Bishop hosts an workshop from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at John C. Anderson Cultural Center, 5301 Overbrook Ave. For more information, contact Rep. Bishop’s office at 215-879-6625.

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Mayor Nutter received the Community Oversight Board’s 2011 report and announced the appointment of five new COB members. The COB is charged with monitoring the progress of reforms at the Dept. of Human Services. The report notes the Department’s steady progress toward implementing the 37 reforms recommended by the Child Welfare Review Panel.

The COB, which was reestablished

by Mayor Nutter in January of 2008, provides annual progress reports to the Mayor that detail DHS reform initiatives. The COB’s 11 members include two appointed by the Council President and nine appointed by the Mayor. All members are recognized for their child welfare expertise or represent critical stakeholder interests. The COB is responsible for monitoring DHS progress in its reform efforts and for making recommendations to improve policy and practice. At least twice a year, the COB provides the Mayor and the public with a report outlining its findings on DHS’ progress on reform implementation.

Of the 37 recommendations made in the 2011 COB Report, more than half of the recommended reforms outlined in the report have been implemented or are ongoing initiatives. DHS is moving toward THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

full implementation of an additional ten COB recommendations that are currently in-progress.

“The COB has been vigilant in its efforts to improve DHS’ ability to ensure the safety, permanency and well being of Philadelphia’s vulnerable children and youth,” Mayor Nutter said.

In the report, the COB noted “DHS has significantly increased its compliance for conducting monthly visits with children younger than five years old” and that in September 2010, DHS attained 95% compliance. Since that time, DHS has continued to maintain compliance at 94-95%.” The report shared highlights from COB focus group studies that were conducted in June, 2010 to better understand the impact of reforms practices at DHS. The feedback from focus group participants noted DHS’ transparency efforts: “we observed that DHS had become a more open Agency at the administrative level, with more emphasis on communicating and coordinating with their service partners.” The report notes, “DHS reforms of the last three years had led to increased child safety and to improved fairness in the decisionmaking process for families.”

COB Chairman, David Sanders said, “We commend the strong 14 MARCH, 2011

leadership of Commissioner Anne Marie Ambrose and Mayor Nutter.

The report documents the consistent improvements to keep the children of Philadelphia safe, however, the work continues.”

As part of the ongoing reform effort, Mayor Nutter issued an Executive Order terminating the Child Welfare Advisory Board and transferring its regulatory functions to the COB. The Mayor also announced the appointment of five new members to the COB: Rev. Dr. W. Wilson Goode, Sr., Linda M. Mauro, Judith Silver, Ph.D, Charles A. Williams III, PhD and Phyllis Stevens.

Rev. Dr. W. Wilson Goode is director and organizer of the nationally acclaimed Amachi Program, a national faith-based mentoring model for children of incarcerated parents. Because of his innovative and ground-breaking work, in 2006, Dr. Goode received two prestigious awards: the Civic Ventures $100,000 Purpose Prize, and the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Citizen of the Year. He is an ordained Baptist minister with 54 years of service at

the First Baptist Church of Paschall located in southwest Philadelphia.

Linda M. Mauro is a professor of Social Work at Temple University College of Health Professions/School of Social Work. Mauro has a doctorate of social work from the University of Pennsylvania, School of Social Work and has researched and published extensively on child welfare issues.

Judith A. Silver, PhD is a pediatric psychologist at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she is Co-Director of Safe Place: The Center for Child Protection and Health, which integrates pediatric child abuse and foster care initiatives at the hospital in clinical care, assessment, education, advocacy, and research. Between 19932007 she directed the Starting Young Program, a pediatric developmental evaluation program for young Philadelphia children under 3 who had open DHS cases.

member of the American Psychological Association, American Counseling Association, and the Association for Assessment in Counseling in Education. He is currently employed at the Goodwin College of Professional Studies at Drexel University, where he is an assistant clinical professor in the School of Education and director of the Center for the Prevention of School-Aged Violence.

Phyllis Stevens is founder and Executive Director of Together as Adoptive Parents, Inc., a nonprofit, multi-racial adoptive, foster and kinship parent group in Montgomery and Philadelphia County.

Phyllis and her husband Derek adopted four children from foster care with special needs. She conducts numerous trainings and presentations on issues such as parent leadership, adoption subsidies, post-adoption/permanent services, special-needs adoption, cultural competency, recruitment and retention, and support-group development.

Charles A. Williams III, PhD, an educational psychologist, is a

New Playground Dedicated Add more green space to the city’s infrastructure is what Mayor Michael Nutter and City and State officials did when they dedicated Hawthorne Park at 12th & Catherine Streets early this morning. The park will reflect the initiatives of the City’s Green 2015 Plan to add 500 acres of public green space to communities.

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City Agrees To Fund Octavius Catto Statue Mayor Michael Nutter and Councilman James Kenney announced the City’s commitment of $500,000 ($250,000 per year, over the course of two years) to support a memorial statue to Octavius Valentine Catto.

The O. V. Catto Memorial Fund, a 501(c)3 corporation with a Board of Trustees, will support the design, fabrication and installation of a memorial on the southwest corner of Dilworth Plaza. The City’s commitment is aimed to spur additional support for the fundraising effort’s goal of $2 million.

“Each generation has a fiery advocate who pushes for equal rights and fair treatment for all. Octavius Valentine Catto was his generation’s advocate,” said the Mayor.

“I am honored to announce the City of Philadelphia’s support for a memorial to this great leader who

OCTAVIUS CATTO was a fearless, trailblazing 19th-century civil-rights campaigner who died a martyr in Phila. made his home here in our City.

All Philadelphians, and particularly the young, should understand that the rights we have today were only won through struggle and sacrifice.”

Kenney, a longtime advocate for the Catto memorial, said, “Every Philadelphian should know about

the contributions of our greatest citizens who sacrificed their own lives for the greater good. Octavius Catto was one of Philadelphia's greatest citizens, yet he is rarely, if ever, mentioned in our city’s history. Today we remedy that omission by establishing a fitting memorial to honor Catto’s bravery and his fight for social justice in the face of unrelenting opposition.”

The Board of the O.V. Catto Memorial Fund is chaired by Carol Clark Lawrence (PNC Bank) and vice-chaired by Jim Straw and Councilman Jim Kenney. A fundraising committee is chaired

by Robert Bogle and will include Frank Giordano (The Union League), Dr. Patrick Oates, and Bernard Smalley Sr., Esq. (Anapol, Schwartz, Weiss, Cohan, Smalley, PC).

Superior Donuts Leaves A Sweet Taste At Arden Theatre

by Adam Taxin There was little mistaking how enthusiastically and positively the audience responded at the Arden Theatre’s production of Superior Donuts this past Sunday afternoon.

The standing ovation at the end of the play was relatively universal among audience members, and “edge of one’s seat” took on literal meaning as the play reached its de- FROM LEFT, James Ijames as Franco Wicks and Craig Spidle as nouement.

Arthur Przybyszewski in Arden Theatre Co.’s production of SupeIn sum, the Arden, playwright Tracy rior Donuts. Photo by Mark Garvin 6|

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Letts (Pulitzer-/Tony-winning August: Osage County, Pulitzer-finalist Man from Nebraska; Bug), Director Edward Sobel and the various actors and members of the production team have produced a real winner which should appeal to all segments of traditional and nontraditional theater audiences. Superior Donuts at this point seems likely to receive much deserved attention at the next edition of the Barrymore Awards.

Because I so strongly encourage Daily Record readers to see the play, I am purposely leaving out plot details I might otherwise include. The essence of the play is conveyed accurately (and sufficiently vaguely)

by Edward Sobel’s “Director’s Notes” section in the printed program: “It looks at race, at class, at generations, at the legacy of American liberalism, at American optimism and the forces that oppose it.

It shows us choices for our future and interpretations of our past. It asks us to look searchingly, and with good humor, at who we are and who we can be.”

In terms of Philadelphia audiences in particular, I agree fully with the following assessment of Producing Artistic Director Terrence J. Nolan: “The play is set in a very recognizable donut shop in an all-toofamiliar neighborhood. Though located in Chicago, you can cer-

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tainly find many places like Superior Donuts under our own El tracks on many a Philly street corner.”

Beyond that, the present time of course is one in which many smalltime business owners, whether in urban or other settings, are feeling an economic squeeze. As main protagonist Arthur Przybyszewski, veteran stage actor Craig Spidle really makes audience members empathize with the Sisyphean daily frustrations of a donut owner who, although not really depressed in a true psychological sense, sees little point in conducting his life with any sort of verve.

As Franco Wicks, the young, optimistic African-American who works at the donut shop, James Ijames (previously at the Arden in Romeo and Juliet, James and the Giant Peach and An Empty Plate in the Café du Grand Boeuf) creates stage energy as a defiantly optimistic contrast to Arthur. The seven other cast members give nuance to characters who, if portrayed less deftly, might be seen as somewhat conventional. For example, the performance of Jennifer Barnhart (original Broadway cast member of Avenue Q) as Officer Randy Osteen helps create a “settling”-but-notreally-“settling” romantic situation which reminded me of a middleaged version of the 1955 Oscar Best Picture Marty.

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It is worth noting that although the two main characters are an aging white boss and a chipper black employee, the play does not fall into what I’ll call “The Cliché Zone,” which was also (thankfully) the case recently for the Philadelphia Theatre Company’s gripping production of David Mamet’s Race. Franco is a unique character, and any “magical Negro” archetype that might be suggested when he first enters the stage turns out to be a red herring. Arthur turns out, despite first appearances, less like a male version of Sandra Bullock’s and Michelle Pfeiffer’s benevolent white angels in The Blind Side and Dangerous Minds respectively. If anything, Arthur suggests the way All in the Family’s Meathead (Rob Reiner) might have turned out given a couple more decades of interaction with Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor).

In the end, the play is simply great and should appeal to anyone with even minimal interest in drama. The only caution I have is not to procrastinate going to the play, since the relatively short run is scheduled to end on Sunday, April 3.

-------------------Adam Taxin, a Center City attorney, can best be contacted via Facebook or at adamtaxin@gmail.com.

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