Philadelphia Daily Record

Vol. II No. 73 (233)

Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia

June 1, 2011

Philadelphia Daily Record

The Cops’ Rep

15th POLICE DIST. Advisory Board President Mike Tait, along with Capt.

Frank J Bachmayer, presents State Rep. Kevin Boyle with appreciation award.

The award is for support he gave men and women of 15th Police Dist. throughout year. Photo by Harry Leech

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The Philadelphia Public Record Calendar June 2Paul “Earthquake” Moore hosts young people and all concerned residents at a vigil for peace, at 4 p.m. today at the Woodland Village Plaza, 61st Street and Woodland Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia.

Jun. 3Fundraising Banquet to purchase Asian Service Bldg. at Ocean City Restaurant, 234 N. 9th St., 6:30 p.m. For info Chairman Mohan Parmer (215) 317-8262.

Jun. 3Southwest Coalition hosts Jazz Concert featuring Stickman Tony Trio at Kingsessing Rec. Center, 50th & Kingsessing Ave., 6-8:30 p.m. Cost $10 including light refreshments. For info Tom Henry (215) 901-5639.

Jun. 4Badges of Honor 5 K Run in Fairmount Park at 9 a.m. kicked off

by Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers, Prison Commissioner Louis Giorla and Mayor Michael Nutter.

Jun. 4— Green Night Out for Cheri Honkala at Singapaore Chinese Restaurant.For info call 215-2437103.

Jun. 5thRep. Curtis Thomas at Stop Violence Rally and Show at 10 a.m. at intersetion of 12th Street and Cecil B. Moore Av. Police motorcade. Followed by Fashion show and other events from 3 to 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Community Center, 1018 Wallace St.

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

1 JUNE, 2011

Study Shows Huge Shifts In City Population Over 20 Years A new report from The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Philadelphia Research Initiative finds that Philadelphia has experienced significant changes in its ethnic and racial composition over the last two decades, with many neighborhoods undergoing sweeping transformations.

The city’s white population has fallen by nearly a third. The Black population, while changing little in size, has shifted to new parts of the city. The Asian population has more than doubled. And the rapidly growing Hispanic population has expanded far beyond its traditional home in eastern North Philadelphia, mostly into the Lower Northeast.

In some ways, the increasing diversity of Philadelphia has tracked the broader, national trends. For instance, the city’s Hispanic population grew by 110% over 20 years; the rate for the nation as a whole was 125% The Asian population grew 127% locally, 114% nationally.

“Throughout the latter half of the 20th century, Philadelphia was a city that could be understood in terms of whites and Blacks,” said Larry Eichel, project director of Pew’s Philadelphia Research Initiative. “Looking at this Census data from a 20-year perspective shows the degree to which this has changed.”

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The report findings are based on an analysis of 1990 and 2010 Census data for the city as a whole and for each of the city’s residential zip codes.

The changes were particularly striking in Northeast Philadelphia, which went from 92% white in 1990 to 58.3% white in 2010. Despite losing one-third of its white residents during the period, the Northeast grew in population by 5.4% overall, thanks to an array of new arrivals.

In 1990, Northeast Philadelphia was only 3.4% Black, 2.3% Hispanic and 2.1% Asian. By 2010, it was 18% Black, 13.9% Hispanic and 7.3%Asian. The Lower Northeast neighborhoods that experienced the largest decline in white population – among them Frankford, Fox Chase, Mayfair and Oxford Circle – gained population overall, recording 20-year growth rates in excess of 10%.

“In some parts of the city, the transformation in racial and ethnic makeup has been remarkable,” Eichel said. “And some of the areas that have changed the most have grown the fastest.”

The biggest change has been the decline of the white population.

Over the last two decades, the number of non-Hispanic whites in Philadelphia fell by 31.9%. The total number of white residents lost by the city, 263,254, is larger THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

than the entire population of Buffalo, N.Y. More of the drop (181,444) occurred in the 1990s than in the 2000s (81,810). In five zip codes – ones that include such neighborhoods as Oak Lane, Elmwood, Overbrook, Eastwick and Olney – the white population fell by more than 75%. At the same time, though, the white population was growing in Center City and nearby areas, 11 zip codes in all.

The city’s African American population grew by 3.3% from 1990 to 2010, a percentage that suggests relative stability. But during that period, there was a significant shift in the Black population, away from the core areas of North and West Philadelphia to Southwest Philadelphia, Overbrook, the Lower Northeast and elsewhere.

For instance, the number of Blacks in the Frankford zip code (19124) grew from 5,204 to 26,230.

Philadelphia’s Hispanic population moved beyond the N. Fifth Street corridor, that community’s longtime social and commercial focus.

In fact, the number of Hispanics in the neighborhoods along the corridor barely grew during the 20-year period. The big surge occurred elsewhere, throughout the lower parts of Northeast Philadelphia and sections of South Philadelphia. In the zip code that includes Mayfair and Oxford Circle, 19149, the Hispanic population went from 955 to 9,303.

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The expansion of the Asian population was comparatively uniform citywide, with the largest increases recorded in parts of Northeast Philadelphia (4,904 in Fox Chase, for example) and South Philadelphia (6,581 in zip code 19148) as well as the University City section of West Philadelphia (4,252).

Several neighborhoods, defined in this report by zip code, were all but remade in ethnic and racial terms:

Port Richmond (zip code 19134) had 7,112 Hispanics in 1990; two decades later, it had 26,807.

The Elmwood section of Southwest Philadelphia (19142) saw its Black population rise from 6,586 to 22,518 and its white population fall from 21,144 to 2,598.

In Fairmount North (19121), which includes Brewerytown, the white population nearly quadrupled, going from 1,490 to 5,524, while the Black population dropped from 44,646 to 28,683.

In these 20 years, the city as a whole lost 3.8% of its population, despite gaining 0.6% in the 2000s.

The headcount in Center City rose 42.9%. Neighborhoods along the N. Broad Street corridor – from Susquehanna Avenue north to the city line – declined by 17.7%.

More-modest reductions were recorded in West Philadelphia, Southwest Philadelphia, Northwest Philadelphia and South Philadelphia.

Casey, Toomey Invite Applicants For Federal District Court US Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) announced yesterday the process to be followed by persons interested in being considered for appointment to the position of Federal District Court Judge for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania.

In the Eastern District, which governs Philadelphia, the Senators invite all persons interested in being considered for appointment to the position of Federal District Court Judge to obtain and submit an application that can be found on Casey’s website (http://casey.senate.gov/) or by request from Toomey’s office (judgeappEDPA@toomey.senate.gov). This question-

naire must be completed and returned to both Senators in Microsoft Word or PDF format by email to judicial@casey.senate.gov and judgeappEDPA@toomey.senate.gov no later than 5 p.m. Friday Jul. 15, 2011. Applicants will be contacted to arrange for interviews.

Casey and Toomey will be advised and assisted in this process by judicial-selection panels consisting of leading members of the bar and other respected Pennsylvania citizens. Please note that all applicants must complete this process, regardless of whether they have participated in previous judicial selection processes.

Casey Unveils Report On Veteran Unemployment US Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, released a JEC report yesterday detailing the high unemployment rate among Post-9/11 veterans and examining ways to help veterans bridge the gap between military service and civilian employment.

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“The unemployment rate among veterans is unacceptably high, especially among those who served our country after 9/11 and have returned to civilian life,” said the Senator. “This report underscores the need to improve and strengthen programs designed to guide our servicemembers toward successful THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

careers after their brave service in the Armed Forces.”

Casey unveiled the report, entitled Meeting the Needs of Veterans in Today’s Labor Force, at the Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania Workforce Development Center in Pittsburgh. He was joined by rep1 JUNE, 2011

resentatives from the Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania, Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board and Community College of Allegheny Co. The report found that the unemployment rate among Post-9/11 veterans in April was 10.9%, compared to the overall veteran-unemployment rate of 7.7%.

According to the report, nearly 2.5 million men and women have left active duty in the Armed Forces since September 2001. Of the Post-9/11 veterans who are employed, over two-thirds work in

the private sector. Skills and experiences these veterans receive while on active duty make them good matches for employment in industries that experienced significant drops in employment during the Great Recession, including the mining, construction, manufacturing, transportation and utilities, information and professional and business services industries.

But work is needed to improve the several federal programs currently helping servicemembers transition to the civilian workforce, the report finds.

Two bills currently in Congress would expand and strengthen the government’s ability to help veterans find work. Senator Casey introduced legislation last week to modernize the Dept. of Labor’s Veterans’ Employment & Training Service program.

Earlier this month, Casey cosponsored the Hiring Heroes Act to provide new job-skill training to all servicemembers and create a new direct hiring authority so that more servicemembers have jobs waiting for them when they leave the military.

Dems For School Choice Now Can DISCO While the problem of violent and failing schools exists statewide, it predominately affects low-income, urban, African American neighborhoods. The statistics in Philadelphia are truly frightening. In 2009 only 38% of the city’s 11th-grade students were proficient in reading and only 32% were proficient in math. Of the country’s 50 largest school districts, Philadelphia ranks 41st in high-school graduation rate and only 10% of the city’s 9th-graders will graduate from college. Even worse, as a recent Philadelphia Inquirer investigative series chronicled, violence is rampant in our city’s schools. Not only are our children not being educated, they are being terrorized.

Yet many Democrat legislators oppose school choice legislation. Several years ago, when then-Gov. Tom Ridge attempted to enact school vouchers, most Democrats decried the proposal and argued for more time and more money to fix the failing schools. The voucher debate is being relived and again most Democrats are again on the wrong side.

“Given the statistics and the inability of the system to fix the problem of chronically failing schools, low-income families simply cannot wait any longer for a so1 JUNE, 2011

lution that may never arrive,” said Shirley Randleman, founder of Democrats Impatient for School Choice Organization. “I founded DISCO because every Democratic legislator needs to support school choice to give these children a real chance at a quality education that so many take for granted. If legislators really want to help needy families, there is no better opportunity than supporting school choice.”

SB1 is pending in the Pennsylvania State legislature.

The bill would allow the poorest families whose children are trapped in violent, failing schools to redirect existing state spending to allow their children to attend safer, quality schools. Philadelphia has 91 of the State’s 144 worst performing schools; Pittsburgh and Harrisburg each have 9. “The failing schools are overwhelmingly African American and overwhelmingly in Democratic districts,” said Randleman, “and the Democratic legislators need to be accountable to help these kids.”

“I’m a lifelong Democrat, as are all of DISCO’s board members, but we have to put our children’s futures above partisan politics. DISCO will be active in the school choice debate and is dedicated to convinc-

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ing Democrat legislators that they must reject the status quo, stop favoring teachers unions over children

and immediately pass SB1. We owe it to the kids,” said Randleman.

Brady Picks Kensington Student’s Art For Contest

CONGRESSMAN Bob Brady with artist Juan Delgado.

Brady has selected artwork of Juan Delgado, a 10thgrade student at Kensington Business & Finance HS, to represent 1st Congressional Dist. in 30th annual Congressional High School Art Competition. Pastel medium drawing is a portrait of leaders, including Presidents Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln, who were and are important in Black struggle for human and civil rights in America. It will be displayed with the work other students from across the nation in a ten month exhibition in the US Capitol. Delgado is a resident of Fairhill section of N. Phila.

Stack, McGeehan Announce Cottman Ave. Lane Openings Near I-95 State Sen. Mike Stack and Rep. Mike McGeehan announced today the two westbound lanes of Cottman Avenue were opened as part of the ongoing project to improve the Cottman/Princeton interchange of Interstate 95 in Northeast Philadelphia.

“This is good news as the unofficial start of summer begins,” Stack said. “This latest phase of the project will help improve the flow of traffic, especially during rush hour and on the weekends when folks are out and about.”

Most of the curb, sidewalk and utility work is already finished on Cottman Avenue between State Road and Torresdale Avenue.

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Cottman Avenue is being rebuilt and widened to three lanes, two westbound and one eastbound, to improve traffic flow to and from the busy interchange between State Road and Torresdale Avenue. It will be converted to a two-directional roadway at the completion of work later in 2011, according to the Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation.

“I appreciate the patience of the motorists and local residents as this project continues,” said McGeehan.

“Soon, we will have a better flow of traffic and better access to and from I-95. It will be a rewarding payoff for PennDOT’s hard work and the temporary inconvenience in the community.”

THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

1 JUNE, 2011

Summer Hours At Free Library Beginning the week of Monday, Jun. 6, 2011, Saturday service at the Free Library of Philadelphia’s neighborhood branches will come to a close. The branches will operate on a Monday-through-Friday schedule from Jun. 6 through Oct. 1. Parkway Central Library will open on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. All three Regional Li-

braries will also offer Saturday service from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. In addition, the Northeast Regional Library, 2228 Cottman Avenue, and the Parkway Central Library, 1901 Vine Street, will offer service on Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

So before you hit the bridge and head for the shore to relax and un-

wind, check out the Free Library’s bestsellers, newly released DVDs and featured CDs, and ask about the Library’s extended summer loan program.

For questions regarding Library hours, please contact your local branch, visit our website at freelibrary.org, or call (215) 686-5322.

Alter Egos Of The Importance Of Being Earnest Lead To Hilarious Broadway Farce BRIAN BEDFORD and Cecily Cardew ham it up in Oscar Wilde’s outrageously silly classic.

by Adam Taxin This time of year, the number of new Philadelphiaarea theatrical productions begins to dwindle, and people have a greater tendency to take trips to outside our region. Thus, it is appropriate to pay a bit more attention than usual to worthwhile theatrical offerings in Manhattan.

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For those inclined to make a trip to New York City in the next five weeks, the Roundabout Theatre Co.’s revival of Oscar Wilde’s once-scandalous classic play The Importance of Earnest provides a delightful two hours and twenty minutes filled with laughter, if not necessarily with a life-changing sense of deep mean-

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ing. The classic British farce, which had its opening night on Broadway in mid-January, has recently been extended to run through Sunday, Jul. 3 at the American Airlines Theatre at 227 W. 42nd Street in Manhattan.

The elegant sets and costumes with which one might idealize late-19th-century upper-class British life are eye-catching in themselves, but they also provide a useful starting-off point for Wilde’s parodying of that upper-class lifestyle. This parodying, achieved via ridiculousness rather than viciousness, has as its plot backdrop the way the wooing attempts of one young man, then his friend, become complicated by their assumption of alter egos. In general, the action on stage can be characterized by a line early in the play that “a high moral tone is hardly conducive to either one’s health or one’s happiness.”

Brian Bedford, an American Theatre Hall of Fame member who has won a Tony (for Molière’s The School for Wives) serves not only as the play’s director but also goes into drag to assume the rule of stuffy Lady Bracknell. Earlier this month, Bedford’s performance in Earnest earned him a Tony nomination for “Best Actor in a Play.” The play was also nominated in the “Best Revival of a Play” and “Best Costume Design of a Play” (Desmond Heeley) categories.

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Besides Bedford, other principal characters all contribute to the humor in their own ridiculous ways. As John (Jack) Worthing, who assumes the first name “Ernest” when coming into London from the country with libertine endeavors in mind, David Furr manages cleverly to combine wryness with the sense of being stifled which has led him to the point that he feels a need to pursue an alter ego. The character Algernon Moncrieff, played by Santino Fontana, is giddier and more spontaneous than his friend, whom he only knows as “Ernest”; Fontana’s energy and dynamic spoken voice stand out, even for a top production on Broadway. As the ingénue Cecily Cardew, Worthing’s ward, Charlotte Parry provides ideal levels of charm and dim-wittedness.

Audience members not previously familiar with the play will appreciate its “how-exactly-do-they-get-outof-this?” ending. Throughout, the play contains various sorts of silliness which should cause audience members to think for a while, e.g., of handbags and muffins as containing much more than their usual inherent comic value. In the end, The Importance of Being Earnest is, more than anything else, a lot of fun.

Note; a slightly different version of this article also appears in the author’s “Philadelphia Jewish Culture Examiner” column on examiner.com.

THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

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