Philadelphia Daily Record

Vol. II No. 30 (190)

Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia

March 28, 2011

Philadelphia Daily Record

The Mighty 1st

JOHN J. DOUGHERTY, gracious host of powerhouse Democratic 1st Ward Committee fundraiser, welcomed fellow Ward Leader Jewell Williams, a candidate for Sheriff, and Maria McLaughlin, candidate for Judge of Common Pleas.

More pictures page 4.

Photo by Maria Merlino

Farnese Intros ‘Bath Salts’ Bill State Sen. Larry Farnese introduced legislation this morning that would ban substances commonly known as ‘bath salts.’

The legislation would add the following chemical compounds to Schedule I of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act: 3, 4—Methylenedioxymethcathinone (Methylone), 3, 4—Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), 4— Methylmethcathinone (Mephedrone), 3— Methoxymethcathinone, 3-Flouromethcathinone, and 4-Fluoromethcathinone.

“This is a matter of public safety,” said the Senator Farnese. “We need to act now.”

Bath salt is a white, powdery substance made up of derivatives of the aforementioned chemicals. The form of speed that is produced by mixing the chemicals induces pharmacological effects similar to those

obtained through cocaine use.

The products go by names like White Rush, White Girl, Blizzard and others. The labels say they are not “for human consumption,” which keeps them legal.

Numerous crimes have been reported due to the use of this drug including one last weekend in W. Pittston, Pa. According to reports, a couple hallucinating from bath salts nearly cut their 5-year-old daughter with the knives they were using to stab “the 90 people living in the walls” of their apartment. At least one suicide has been reported due to the use of this drug and in another case; a man broke into a church monastery and stabbed a sleeping priest.

Bath salts are available over-the-counter from convenience stores, head shops and the internet. Its use is on the rise in Pennsylvania and across the country.

Fumo’s Old Community Group Is Back, Under New Name The Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corp. (formerly known as Citizens Alliance for Better Neighborhoods) is pleased to announce the resumption of its neighborhood sidewalk cleaning program. Following a competitive bid process, a cleaning contract was awarded to ABM Janitorial Services. ABM will be responsible for managing the cleaning crews, hiring all personnel and running the day-to-day operation of the cleaning services.

A primary focus of cleaning activities will be E. Passyunk Avenue, from Federal Street to Broad Street, the location of the majority 2|

of the real estate that PARC owns and leases for commercial and residential uses. This commercial corridor will be cleaned six days a week, twice per day.

In addition, a surrounding residential area, bounded by 9th Street (east), Snyder Avenue (south), S. Broad Street (west) and Federal Street (north), will be cleaned two times a week.

PARC has also launched a Greening Initiative for E. Passyunk Avenue and the surrounding neighborhoods. To kick-start the initiative, 17 trees will be planted on the avenue with a concentration of trees planned for the fountain THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

located at E. Passyunk Avenue and Tasker Street. PARC has also committed to match up to $2,500 each for the four surrounding community groups and civic associations who are in the process of raising or who have raised funds targeted toward neighborhood greening activities for a total $20,000 investment

by PARC toward “greening” the neighborhood. The community groups include the Passyunk Square Civic Association, E. Passyunk Business Improvement District, Lower Moyamensing Civic Association and the E. Passyunk Crossing Civic Association.

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PARC is also in the final stages of completing the renovation of 1737 E. Passyunk Avenue. The building contains one ground-floor retail space and apartments on the second and third floors. The building is completely leased with the first tenants moving in on Apr. 1.

In December 2009, Commonwealth Judge Dan Pelligrini appointed Paul R. Levy as interim

conservator of the former Citizens Alliance to make recommendations about its future. On September 10, 2010, Judge Pelligrini approved a new name, PARC, and a new, more-focused mission for the organization concentrated primarily on the service area on the attached map. On Jan. 17, 2011, after a two-month search process, Sam Sherman was selected and started work as the new executive

director for the organization.

PARC will continue to manage its existing inventory of mixed-use properties, primarily along Passyunk Avenue, with the goal of maintaining a balanced mix of retail tenants who provide services and amenities for the surrounding neighborhoods, as well as to customers from across the region.

Hughes Joins Local Officials For Bakers Square Groundbreaking State Sen. Vincent J. Hughes (DW. Phila.) joined the groundbreaking for Bakers Square in the Hunting Park West section of Philadelphia at the former headquarters of the famed Tasty Baking Co. on Friday.

“In the midst of a tough budget season for Philadelphia and the State, the development of the future Bakers Square shopping center is a perfect example of why we need to make investments in our communities,” the Senator said.

“Such community and economic development brings about significant, positive changes for the residents, local businesses and the neighborhood for years to come.”

Bakers Square is a 220,000square-foot shopping complex located at Fox & Roberts Streets.

This development is a part of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission Redevelopment Initiative.

Bakers Square will be anchored by a 71,000-square-foot Brown’s ShopRite supermarket owned and 28 MARCH, 2011

operated by Brown’s Super Stores.

Brown’s Super Stores operate several ShopRite supermarkets in Philadelphia and are known for their efforts to increase the availability of affordable, healthy foods in under-served, urban communities. The mixed-use urban redevelopment project is being developed

by Metro Development.

“Powerful and visionary forces for community improvement are joining for a groundbreaking that says a lot about the vitality of our city,” said Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.). “Once again, Jeff Brown and Brown’s Super Stores are stepping up and voting ‘yes’ for Philadelphia by anchoring Bakers Square with their newest ShopRite supermarket. The developers at US Realty Associates and Metro Development Co. are showing the way with bold investment in the former Tasty Baking site.”

Bakers Square along with the over 61,000 households in the area, encouraging further commercial development for Hunting Park West,” Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. (D-W. Phila.) added. “Furthermore, this brand-new Brown’s Super Stores ShopRite will create over 300 jobs directly impacting Hunting Park West while also enhancing community life for Philadelphia as a whole.”

Jones added there are several projects proposed to join Bakers Square and these projects will join the reviving business community of not only Brown’s ShopRite, but Temple University Health Systems and Pep Boys Corporate Offices behind the reestablishment and development of this area.

“Projects of this nature are essential to create and maintain neighborhood revitalization. I foresee THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

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One And All Seek Dem 1st Ward’s Support

2011 Mar. 29Mayfair Civic Ass’n Meet the Candidates Night at Perzel Community Ctr., 2990 St. Vincent St., 6:30-9:30 p.m. For info Joe DeFelice mayfaircivicassociation@yaho.com or (215) 292-3926 Mar. 29Kappa Omega Zeta Chapter and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority honor Dr. Joi Spraggins as Woman of the Year Award, at Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1800 Market St. Tickets $55. RSVP Drjoi.eventbrite.com.

Mar. 2912th Ward Candidates Forum, 6 to8 p.m. at PA School for Deaf Early CHildhood Apr. 19-Education Center, 243 W. Coulter St. Lot parking.

Mar. 31Democrat 39B Ward hosts Spring Fundraiser at Chickie’s & Pete’s, 1526 Packer Ave., 5:30-8:30 p.m. Tickets $50.

For info Matt Myers (215) 467-4643.

Mar. 31Sen.Shirley Kitchen hosts Energy Conservation Workshop at 2 p.m. at St. William’s Church, 6200 Rising Sun Av in Parish Hall, Argyle and Robbins Av. Apr. 3Congregation Beth Solomon CC and European Immigrant Benevolent Ass’n’s 25th annual gala honoring Rabbi & Rebettzin Solomon Isaacson at Hilton Hotel, 4200 City Line Ave., 5 p.m. Single $250. Featuring famous Ed Goldbertt & Odessa Klezmer Band and mentalist and illusionist David Blatt.

Gov. Ed Rendell and David Cohen, Event Chairs.

Apr. 7Dr. Norman Finkelstein will discuss Palestinian situation at Walk Auditorium, Ritter Ha., Temple University, 13th & Montgomery Ave., 6-9 p.m. For info Razi Fareed (215) 692-3396.

Apr. 8- State Rep. Rosita Youngblood sponsors Career Fair at 1st Presbyterian Ch., 35 W. Chelten Ave., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

For info Dayne Cofer (267) 593-9156.

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GATHERED AT 1ST WARD’S main event at Edward O’Malley Club in Pennsport last week were, from left, Sheriff Barbara Deeley, 1st Ward Leader John J. Dougherty, Sheriff candidate Jewell Williams, attorney Sharif Street Esq. and Common Pleas candidate Carolyn H. Nichols.

Photos by Maria Merlino.

FROM LEFT are political consultant Tommie St. Hill, Deputy campaign director Felisha Harris, “Johnny Doc” and 1st Dist.

Council hopeful Jeff Hornstein.

CANDIDATES from across city, like Council atLarge aspirant Andy Toy, troop to this keystone ward to seek good graces of its leader.

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In The ‘Other 1st’, Brown’s On A Roll

Meat & Deli Prego Pizzelle Baker $29.99 $39.99 Uno Panini Grill

CITY GOP CHAIRMAN Vito Canuso, left, and a host of supporters turned out with Republican mayoral candidate Karen Brown and a host of supporters at Republican 1st Ward event.

2024 S. 10th St Philadelphia PA 19148

215-468-5363

10th Ward Powers Funds, Rains Awards When You Want Your Roof To Be Done Right The First Time

215-464-6425

CANDIDATES • POLITICIANS News You Can Use! Boost Your Popularity, Win On Election Day! Tell Your Constituents To Read About All the Work You Do For Them On the

Philadelphiadailyrecord.com Email them a copy of this Publication!

VETERAN Committeeman Ronald Drayton, center, receives award from 10th Ward Chairwoman Isabella Fitzgerald and Leader Ron Howard at well-attended banquet at Imhotep Charter School in WE. Oak Lane. Throngs of activists and candidates turned out for this professionally run ward fundraiser.

Translation/Interpretation Arabic, Hebrew, English, French For more information, call William Hanna

267-808-0287 28 MARCH, 2011

THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

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Tasco Dubbed A ‘Legend’

CITY COUNCIL MAJORITY LEADER Marian Tasco (D) received Living Legend Award from Teenshop, Inc. during its annual Women’s History Month Luncheon. Scholarships were given to essay contest winners. Teenshop is an empowerment program for girls founded by Elleanor Jean Hendley in 1985. From left, Elleanor Jean Hendley; Ariel Parker, Mt. Carmel Teenshop; Tasco; LaShaya Rogers, Zion Teenshop; and Morgan Lloyw, Grace Teenshop.

Cohen Snags AFL-CIO, TWU Backing Sherrie Cohen, an attorney and social activist running for a Democratic at-Large City Council seat, announced this morning she had received the endorsement of the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO and the Transport Workers Union Local 234. These add to her recent endorsements by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund; Philadelphia NOW; the Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local Union No. 1; and Philadelphia’s three Service Employees International Union affiliates, Local 32BJ, Local 668 and Healthcare PA. The Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO is comprised of more than 100 labor unions representing 150,000 union members in Philadelphia in the public sector, private industry, and the building and construction 6|

trades. Local 234 of the TWU represents 4,700 workers employed by The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority.

“I am humbled and honored to be endorsed by the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO and by Local 234.

The Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO has been a leader for over 50 years in the fight for social and economic justice for working families on the job, in politics and in the community. I look forward to continuing that fight with them as a member of City Council,” Cohen said. “As a daily SEPTA rider, I am pleased to stand with the hard working members of the TWU and join them in their fight for equality and justice for all workers.”

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Money Gives Parent A Favorable Review

FORMER PHILA. FLYERS great Bernie Parent, right, signed copies of his book Journey Through Risk and Fear: Face Fear. Find Your Purpose on Friday at Holy Family University in the Campus Center Lower Lobby. With him are Republican Council-at-Large candidate Elmer Money, MBA, health-care management, Holy Family and Linda DiGennaro. Motivational book promises readers to “live optimally as you learn to face your fears and cultivate your dreams to find your purpose. You will find yourself more successful in business and personal life when you take your own journey, through risk and fear.”

Savage Leads Deni Playground Repairs Budget cuts have limited services across the city, but thanks to the diligent work of Danny Savage, at least one public space got needed maintenance Saturday morning. Workers from the Operating Engineers Local 542 donated time to recut the baseball field at Deni Playground in Frankford, organized by Savage.

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Even after leaving his City Council post, Savage has taken time each year to ensure the children in the 7th have well-maintained spaces to play. Youth sports’ teams as well as families from across Frankford gather at Deni Playground to enjoy the open space.

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Henon Boasts More Endorsements, Hits $300 Grand In Funds The campaign of Bobby Henon, Democratic candidate for City Council in Northeast Philadelphia’s 6th Dist., today announced several new major endorsements and a stunning fundraising total of more than $300,000 in political contributions. The new endorsements include those of State Sen. Mike Stack (DNortheast), State Reps. Michael McGeehan and Kevin Boyle (both D-Northeast), the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Councils of the Service Employees International Union and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Transport Workers Union.

endorsements, volunteers, and contributions to our campaign – has been amazing,” said Henon. “The extraordinary level of financial support will enable us to broadcast our positive message of more jobs and greater public safety to every voter in 6th Councilmanic Dist.”

The Henon campaign says it has now canvassed in each of the District’s 160 divisions, made several thousand phone calls to registered voters, and attended 27 town-hall, senior-citizen, and civic meetings in the District.

“The level of support we have received thus far – in

Uliho, New Minority Business, Wins State Cert For Workforce Development Uliho, Inc. is a newly proclaimed State- and locally-certified minority business enterprise under the provisions regulated by the Pennsylvania Dept. of General Services and the City Office of Economic Opportunity. Uliho Inc is better known in the wayfaring of local communities as United Low Income Housing Opportunity, Inc. The company has received support and acknowledgment by State Rep. Kenyatta Johnson (D-S. Phila.) and Claudia Sherrod, executive director of South Philadelphia HOMES. Uliho was founded in 1996 by social entrepreneur and civic-engagement leader Keith Mungin, whose notoriety includes being the recipient of a 2009 citation by City Council and Mayor Michael Nutter for his work in processing sustainable

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communities.

Uliho seeks to serve as a trendsetter in workforce development and as an employment opportunity provider. The company currently provides internship and practicum experiential learning to a clientele recruited by the EARN Center.

The prospectus for upcoming projects include financial-literacy and money-management skills facilitation with Beneficial Bank. Mungin has become an ardent proponent of neighborhood revitalization and strategist for community preservation. His efforts led to his election as president of the Point Breeze Business District Alliance, formerly known as the Point Breeze Avenue Business Association.

Mungin is preparing for a rescheduled meeting on the Promise Plan-

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ning Grant with Kenny Gamble and A. Rahim Islam, executives from Universal Cos. who have received strategic-planning funds to rebuild the underprivileged economic corridors of South Philadelphia. Uliho’s sister organization the House of Reconciliation is seeking potential sponsors for its planned July 2011 public-affairs programing banquet fundraiser and honoring ceremony for Johnson, State Sen. Larry Farnese (D-S. Phila.) and Officer Williams from the 17th Police Dist, among others.

Appointments can be made for career development and low income housing directives by calling (267) 639-2110 or (267) 971-0958 or email Ulihoinc@aol.com or FamilyCourtTV@yahoo.com.

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‘Prep’ Goes To State Mock-Trial Championships The mock-trial team from St. Joseph’s Preparatory School is one of four statewide which advanced to the semifinal round of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Statewide Mock Trial Championships on Saturday at the Dauphin County Courthouse in Harrisburg. The outcome was unavailable as the Daily Record closed this morning.

The St. Joseph’s Preparatory School Mock Trial Team is composed of Dante Alessandri, P.J. Brogan, Brian Carden, Nick Centrella, Rob Denault, Kevin Dlugos, Phil Pasquarello and Dan Sulvetta.

The teacher coach is Thomas Johnson. The attorney advisors are

Charles Gallagher and Joseph McNelis.

by Jonathan A. Grode and Paul W. Kaufman of Philadelphia.

The four teams advancing to the semifinals competed with teams from eight other schools in Friday’s quarterfinal rounds, including Central High School. The winning team of this year’s state championship will represent Pennsylvania in the national mock-trial finals to be later this spring in Phoenix.

During the competition, eightmember student teams are given the opportunity to argue both sides of the case in an actual courtroom before a judge. The students, who play the roles of lawyers, witnesses, plaintiffs and defendants, are assisted by teacher coaches and attorney advisors in preparing for competition. Volunteer lawyers and community leaders serve as jurors in the trials. The juries determine the winners in each trial based on the teams’ abilities to prepare their cases, present arguments and follow court rules.

This year’s hypothetical trial case is a civil action involving a pathologist who enters into a contract with a dying and impoverished elderly woman to obtain mutated cancer cells. The case was written

Nero Won’t Fiddle When Philly Pops’ ‘Music And Comedy’ Program Opens

by Adam Taxin Comedian, singer and actor Robert Klein joins the Philadelphia Pops later this week for four performances of a program titled “Music and Comedy.” The concerts, for which tickets are still available, will be held on Wednesday (Mar. 30) at 7:00 p.m., Friday (Apr. 1) at 8:00 p.m., Saturday (Apr. 2) at 3:00 p.m. and Sunday (Apr. 3) at 3:00 p.m.

CONDUCTOR Peter Nero.

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The Philly Pops orchestra performs a wide variety of musical genres, with musicians coming from throughout the Philadelphia region. The Pops is conducted by its Artistic Director, Peter Nero THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

(for whom “fiddling while Rome burns” jokes do not particularly work, given that the instrument for which he has won two Grammys for performance of is the piano, not violin).

Nero has stated: “We’ve learned audiences want an eclectic mix, a mix they can’t get anywhere else.

That’s the success of our concerts — quality, variety and a great orchestra that can play anything!

Pops concerts run the gamut — from classics to big band, Broadway to rock ’n roll. Our concerts are for people who love all kinds of music.”

Bronx-born Yale Drama School |

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graduate Robert Klein has been in the public eye as an observational comedian since the early 1970s. His popularity grew in the 1970s in part due to his extensive routines about the Watergate scandal. Klein was nominated for a Tony Award for “Best Actor in a Musical” in 1979 for his role in Neil Simon’s They’re Playing Our Song. Klein has had a number of successful comedy albums, and he has hosted Saturday Night Live twice.

As for the specific musical details of its program, the

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Pops prefers to keep those close to the vest.

“Music and Comedy” is the Pops’ second-to-last concert program of the 2010-2011 season. In mid-May, the Pops will present “Big Numbers,” at which the Pops will play its most requested songs and feature Nero on piano.

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

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