Philadelphia Public Record

3ol. II No. 161 (321)

Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia

October 14, 2011

Philadelphia Daily Record

Ro Ro Row Your Boat HYUNDAI AND KIA automobiles, seen here at the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority’s Pier 98 Annex Automobile Processing Facility, have been major cargoes at the Port of Philadelphia since they began arriving in 2010. This “RO/RO” (roll on, roll off) shipping traffic is one of many success stories at Port despite recession. Story page 10.

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Oct. 14State Rep. John Sabatina Golf Outing at John F. Byrne G.C., 9550 Leon St., 4-Man Scramble, registration, registration 12 m., shotgun 1 p.m. $125 includes entry to all events, 18 holes of golf, lunch, dinner, awards and after-party at 3 Monkeys Café, 9645 James St. For info Steve Campanile (215) 4604697 or Sabatina Assoc. (215) 7428600.

Oct. 15W. Poplar NASC hosts Fall Fashion Show & Luncheon at Zoar United Methodist Ch., 1204 Melon St., 2 p.m. Donation $20. For info (215) 765-0960.

Oct. 15“Deep Roots – John Myers and Germantown” celebration honoring State Rep. John Myers’ birthday at 5547 Germantown, 6-9 p.m.

Tickets $50. For info Cornelia Swinson (215) 740-8493.

Oct. 15State Sen. Anthony Williams walks through Bartram’s Garden, 54th & Lindbergh Blvd., 10-11:30 a.m., as part oip f his health and fitness program.

Oct. 16Sheriff Barbara Deeley and Team Jewell Williams, Democrat candidate for Sheriff host Eagles vs.

Redskins Fundraiser for Sheriff candidate Jewell Williams at Finnigan’s Wake, 3rd & Spring Garden Sts., 1 p.m. Beer, wine, hot and cold foods. Tickets $50. Make personal checks only out to Citizens for Jewell Williams, 2343 Smedley St., Phila. PA.19132. For info (215) 919-1120.

Oct. 16State Rep. John Myers celebrates his Birthday at 5547 Germantown THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

Ave., 6-9 p.m. Appetizers, drinks, music and dancing. Tickets $50.

For info Cornelia Swinson (215) 740-8493.

Oct. 16St. Mary Cyclefest to benefit St. Mary Medical Center Emergency Dept. at Brian’s Harley Davidson, 6009 S. Flowers Mill Rd., Langhorne, Pa. Registration 9-11 a.m.; ride ends at Core Ck. Pk., Langhorne, Pa. Advance tickets $25/rider, $20/passenger; event day $30/$25. For info (215) 752-9400.

Oct. 16-22 Mt. Zion Baptist Ch. hosts 97th annual Church Anniversary kickoff Concert at 50th & Woodland Ave., 3 p.m. Revival will be held Oct. 19-21, 7 p.m. All events free and open to public. For info (215) 7240619.

Oct. 17State Rep. Michelle Brownlee hosts Older & Wiser workshop for seniors on health care at University Sq., 3901 Market St., 10 a.m.-12 p.m. For info (215) 684-3738.

Oct. 19Reception in honor of Council Ma Marian B. Tasco, Majority leader of City Council, at Estia, 1405 Locust st. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Gold $1,000, Silver $500, Bronze $250. RSVP 215-4373294, Ext, 209.

Oct. 20Fundraiser for State Rep. Rosita Youngblood at Finnigan’s Wake, 3rd & Spring Garden Sts., 7:00-9:30 p.m. Dinner & open bar. Tickets $75. For info (215) 745-4306.

Oct. 2126th Ward GOP Fabulous Fall Festival at Waterfall Rm., 2015 S. Water St., 7 p.m. For info (215) 468-2300.

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Toomey Lobbies EPA To Save Refinery Jobs Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) met Wednesday with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 3 Administrator Shawn Garvin.

The Senator spoke to Garvin about a number of matters of importance to Pennsylvania, including the future of three refineries in Philadelphia, Marcus Hook and Trainer, whose owners have announced within the last month that they plan to sell and, if no buyers are found, close down.

Some of the biggest expenses facing the facilities are related to environmental compliance. At the Trainer facility, the EPA may mandate the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection to require

the installment of new cooling towers, which will likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The EPA has also proposed new rules on water intake structures that may cost millions more.

If these refineries are forced to close, more than 2,600 people will lose their jobs. Another 5,000 to 6,000 workers – largely employees of contractors and suppliers – indirectly rely on these facilities for their paychecks and would be impacted by their closures. In addition, local townships and school districts would be hurt by the loss of tax revenue.

with my office, the Pennsylvania DEP and stakeholders to play an appropriate role in this issue. Past refinery sales, including one in Delaware, were made possible because the EPA was willing to work with State regulators and potential buyers to find reasonable regulatory solutions that made those sales feasible,” Toomey said.

Toomey has introduced the Employment Protection Act which requires the EPA to release a publicly available jobs analysis on all proposed actions that will displace more than 100 jobs or more than $1 million in economic activity.

“I stressed to Mr. Garvin how important it is that the EPA works

Casey Announces $20 Million For SEPTA Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) announced two grants totaling $20 million from the US Dept. of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration going to SEPTA. Casey sent letters of support urging the Dept. of Transportation to approve the grants, which will go toward restoring the historic 33rd & Dauphin bus facility and the replacement of aging buses in SEPTA’s fleet.

“These grants will go a long way toward helping SEPTA continue to serve communities in Southeastern Pennsylvania,” said the Casey.

“These funds will help revitalize the 14 OCTOBER, 2011

Strawberry Mansion neighborhood of Philadelphia and provide SEPTA riders with more reliable buses.”

“Improving the 33rd & Dauphin Bus Facility has long been a priority for SEPTA and the Strawberry Mansion community, and we are pleased to have secured the resources necessary to move forward with the planned improvements,” said SEPTA General Mgr. Joseph M. Casey. “We look forward to breaking ground and transforming this facility into a welcoming transit gateway for our riders and the residents of Strawberry Mansion.” He THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

continued, “The FTA’s State of Good Repair program funds will allow SEPTA to replace buses that have exceeded their useful life.

SEPTA’s current fleet of nearly 1,400 buses already includes 472 diesel-electric hybrid buses, and we welcome the opportunity to continue improving our fleet – with more reliable and cleaner operating vehicles – on behalf of our riders and the communities we serve.”

SEPTA will get $5 million to restore the bus facility and to $15 million to replace vehicles.

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Port Makes Gains From ‘Progressive, Proactive’ Stance With newly-released cargo statistics showing a healthy 12% gain in cargoes handled at the Port of Philadelphia during the first eight months this year compared to last, cargo activity was only the latest highlight among many successes this year at Pennsylvania’s international seaport.

Another notable advance has been the acquisition of significant acreage and facilities at the former Philadelphia Navy Base, which can be used immediately for various port projects as well as become a future component of the

Port’s ambitious Southport project, the first major expansion of the Port of Philadelphia in more than 50 years.

The port has also started a comprehensive capital program to make significant improvements to virtually all Philadelphia Regional Port Authority facilities along the Delaware River, based on the recommendations of a 2009 Strategic Facilities Assessment, a report commissioned by PRPA to assist the agency in charting its future.

The release of $15 million in State funds by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom

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Corbett last month to permit continued work on the Delaware River Main Channel-Deepening Project was a major coup. This mammoth undertaking will permit larger, more modern vessels to reach the Port.

But it was recent cargo figures that have provided the most immediate good news for the region. With 1,424,710 metric tons of containers handled this year through August compared to 1,302,386 metrics tons handled during the same period in 2010, container tonnage was up over 9%. Counted as individual containers, the 205,221 containers handled yearto-date in 2011 was a sizable 15% gain over the 178,250 containers handled during the same time in 2010.

Breakbulk cargoes, which include palletized cargoes and other products not shipped in bulk or containers, also showed a healthy gain year-to-date in 2011 compared to the same period last year. Comprising cargoes such as steel, fruit, forest products, cocoa beans, and project cargo, breakbulk cargoes were up over 7%, with 753,346 metric tons of breakbulk cargoes handled at the Port in 2011 yearto-date compared with the 701,936 metric tons handled during the same period last year.

Particular highlights among breakbulk cargoes included cocoa beans (with 91,410 metric tons handled,

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14 OCTOBER, 2011

up 15%), forest products (with 297,313 metric tons handled, up 19%) and project cargoes (with 32,565 metric tons handled, up 63%).

Virtually absent from Philadelphia’s working waterfront for many years, automobiles returned to the Port in spectacular fashion in late 2010 with the arrival of Hyundai and Kia, and their logistics partner Glovis. Now regularly offloading at PRPA’s Packer Avenue Marine Terminal thousands at a time via modern, sophisticated auto-carrying vessels, Hyundai and Kia automobiles are now familiar sights at both PAMT and the Pier 98 Auto Processing Facility located across the street from the sprawling South Philadelphia terminal.

So far, 85,785 automobiles have moved through the Port this year compared to virtually none moving through the Port during the same period last year. PRPA, with the assistance of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, made substantial improvements to both PAMT and Pier 98 Annex to prepare for and properly accommodate this substantial new labor-intensive cargo by Hyundai and Kia. These improvements for the Port’s auto cargoes complemented, in fact, another major initiative at the

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Port in recent months: the implementation of a major capital program to upgrade and improve PRPA’s maritime facilities, both to enhance their safety and to improve their cargo-handling efficiency.

PRPA Executive Director James T. McDermott, Jr. said, “This process would suggest a budget and timeline for the State’s investment in the maintenance and improvement of the Port’s facilities.”

Another piece of big news has port officials, maritime industry professionals, and members of the Port’s labor force looking with excitement into the future: the recent acquisition by the Port of Philadelphia of significant new lands on the Delaware River waterfront.

Located adjacent to the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, PRPA will use this new land to construct, in conjunction with the Commonwealth and private sector investors, a new state-of-the-art container terminal. The Southport Marine Terminal will be the first major expansion of the Port of Philadelphia in over 50 years. It has the potential to double the amount of container traffic at the Port of Philadelphia – if the channel-deepening project is completed.

THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

This project, which began in March 2010 and is currently underway to deepen the Delaware River from 40 to 45 feet, will permit larger, more modern vessels, with their increased loads of containers, to travel to and from the Port of Philadelphia. The current expansion of the Panama Canal, which will also allow a wider variety of vessels to travel to and from Philadelphia, will also create the potential for significant new container traffic at the Port. With the addition of Southport, the Port of Philadelphia’s facilities will be especially primed to take advantage of this new cargo.

“In response to the challenging national economic downturn of recent years, the Port of Philadelphia chose to not simply wait things out, but to become more aggressive and proactive,” said PRPA Chairman Charles G. Kopp. “Our senior executives and our marketing team, working with our terminal operators, worked hard to attract new cargoes to Philadelphia, cargoes like the Hyundai and Kia automobiles that now regularly move through the Port.

Kopp concluded, “There is still much work to be done for the port to truly fulfill its potential. But I’m very optimistic that the best days for the Port of Philadelphia are still in front of us.”

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Brady: Save The Olympia With A Coin

This week, Congressman Bob Brady (D-Phila.) introduced a bill which would permit the US Mint, at no cost to the taxpayer, to design and offer for sale to the public a commemorative coin honoring the Cruiser Olympia. The proceeds from the sales of the coins will be utilized by the Friends of the Cruiser Olympia for dry-docking and preserving the Cruiser Olympia as a ship museum. This legislation is one of many efforts to restore and preserve the Cruiser Olympia. “This is a worthwhile project that will help to ensure that this naval treasure remains afloat,” the Congressman said.

The Cruiser Olympia is an iconic and national historic treasure berthed at Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia. It is the world’s only ship museum from the early 20th century beginnings of the United States as a world power. The Cruiser Olympia is a National Historic Landmark, a National Historic Engineering Landmark, and 6|

is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Cruiser Olympia is perhaps best known in history as the Flagship of Commodore George Dewey in his 1898 victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War. In 1921, the Cruiser Olympia was directed by the President to carry an AmeriTHE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

can Unknown Soldier from a French battlefield cemetery honoring American dead in WWI, bringing the first Unknown Soldier to Washington, D.C. The Congressman is urging his colleagues to cosponsor the bill and support its passage, “so that this national naval treasure can be saved and restored.”

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Fattah Congratulates Philadelphia NAACP On Its 100th Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Phila.) has extended hearty congratulations to the NAACP Philadelphia Branch as the third-oldest chapter of the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights organization celebrates its 100th anniversary.

Fattah issued a proclamation that cites the Philadelphia NAACP’s “long and productive history” including the integration of Girard College and the Chester City schools.

The NAACP Philadelphia Branch, established in 1911, two years after the national organization was founded, will “celebrate 100 years of activism, moral vision and impact” with a gala reception on Oct. 14.

The Fattah proclamation states that “as Congressman for the 2nd Dist. of Pennsylvania and a native Philadelphian, sharing the goals of racial justice and full rights of citizenship, I salute and congratulate the NAACP Philadelphia Branch upon its night of celebration and for a century of leadership and success as the civil rights game-changer of Philadelphia.”

Mayor Urges Citizens To Sign Police Commr.’s Petition Mayor Michael A. Nutter sent the following letter early last week to members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns regarding HR 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011: “Right now, Congress is debating a law that would eviscerate the ability of individual states to decide who can carry a hidden, loaded gun. It would force every state to honor concealed carry permits from every other state, no matter how low they set their standards.

“We need the Obama administration to send a strong signal that it will side with America’s Mayors and po14 OCTOBER, 2011

lice chiefs in preserving our ability to protect our local communities.

“That’s why Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey just launched a public petition on the White House’s “We the People” website asking the Obama administration to weigh in. If our petition gets 25,000 signatures, the administration has guaranteed a response. Our opponents have already gathered thousands of signatures on a petition in favor of this dangerous law, so we must act immediately.

“Please join Commissioner Ramsey in telling the Obama administration to preserve our states’ rights to decide who can carry hidden, loaded guns.

“Note: You’ll be asked to create an account on the White House website and confirm your registration via email before you can sign the petition.

“This law (HR 822) would override the standards of individual states and set a new standard at the “lowest common denominator.” Dangerous people, including sex offenders and domestic abusers, could get a permit in one state and then carry hidden, loaded guns nationwide.

“Commissioner Ramsey has worked in law enforcement for the past 42 years, serving Chicago, Washington, DC, and now my home city of Philadelphia. He knows as well as anyone in law enforcement that HR 822 would only make it harder for police to protect their communities — and themselves.

“Here in Philadelphia, we’ve made too much progress on tackling homicides and gun violence to have it undone by this law. It makes no sense for Washington to make things easier for criminals, and harder for cities that are trying to keep their streets safe.

“But this isn’t just about my city. This law puts us all at risk, no matter what big city or small town we live in. And that means it’s up to all of us to stand against HR 822.

“Sign Police Commissioner Ramsey’s petition to the Obama administration and help keep hidden, loaded

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guns out of the hands of criminals.

“The gun lobby and their allies in Congress think they can bully their reckless bill directly into law, and

we won’t notice or fight back.

Let’s give them the fight of their lives.

“Michael A. Nutter Mayor of Philadelphia”

“Thanks for taking action,

4 Goode Bills Pass Council On Jobs, Economic Opportunity City Council has approved Councilman W. Wilson Goode, Jr.’s Earned Sick Leave Standard Bill by a 15-2 margin to add an earned sick leave requirement to his Living Wage & Benefits Law. Covered employers shall provide to each full-time, non-temporary, non-seasonal covered employee at least the number of earned sick leave days that the employer would have been required to provide to such employees if the provisions of Bill No. 080474-AA, as passed by Council on Jun. 16, 2011, had been enacted into law rather than vetoed by the Mayor.

All City agencies, departments and offices are covered. So are forprofit service contractors, which receive or are subcontractors on contracts for $10,000 or more from the City in a 12-month period, with annual gross receipts of more than $1 million. Nonprofit service contractors who do up to $100,000 a year of City business are covered.

Recipients of City leases, concessions, or franchises, or subcontractors thereof, which employ more than 25 employees, are covered, as are City financial aid recipients.

Public agencies which receive con8|

tracts for $10,000 or more from the City are in the net as well.

“The health and livelihoods of all Philadelphians are compromised when working people are forced to go to their jobs when they’re sick,” said Marianne Bellesorte, senior director of policy at PathWays PA. She said studies in other cities show both businesses and employees benefit from earned-sick-days policies. Businesses save money from higher productivity and lower turnover, and workers use paid sick leave responsibly and often do not use all of the time offered to them. A study of San Francisco’s paid-sick-days law shows many business concerns about job loss were unfounded, with six in seven employers saying that paid sick days have had no negative effect on their profitability.

In June 2011, City Council passed a bill that would give all Philadelphia workers an opportunity to earn paid sick days at work. Mayor Michael Nutter vetoed that bill at the Chamber of Commerce. A second bill is planned to be introduced next year.

Law already requires those Citysupported employers to pay at least 150% of the federal minimum wage to its employees. It also mandates if the employer provides health-care benefits to any of its employees, the employer shall provide equal benefits to all other fulltime employees. There is an exemption for small businesses.

Another Goode bill sets up a review committee to oversee enforcement of the Living Wage & Benefits Law. A third measure, the Economic Opportunity Transparency Bill, requires contractors, developers and recipients of financial assistance shall submit copies of an economic-opportunity plan for posting on the City’s website.

The fourth measure, the New CDC Tax Credit Agreement Bill, offers up to 35 businesses that enter into a contribution agreement with the City under which the business agrees to contribute $85,000 in cash per year for 10 consecutive years to a qualifying CDC designated by the business.

Goode’s Living Wage & Benefits THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

14 OCTOBER, 2011

Council Calls For Lawsuit To Stop Fracking All 17 members of Philadelphia’s City Council voted in favor of a resolution which joins the City of Philadelphia as a Friend of the Court, together with lawsuits already filed by the Attorney General of the State of New York, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, and other parties, in suing the Delaware River Basin Commission. Philadelphia is joining these lawsuits to require, according to the resolution passed yesterday, “that no drilling of Marcellus Shale take place until a full environmental analysis is completed.”

The resolution, sponsored by Councilman Curtis Jones and Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, and co-sponsored by Councilwoman Maria Quiñones Sánchez, passed unanimously after a physician, a rabbi, a landowner with property in “shale country” and two activists testified in favor.

About 30 supporters inside City Hall held up signs affirming, “Protect Our Water” and “Don’t Drill the Delaware.” Councilman O’Neill, the only Council Member not present for the vote, had cast his “aye” vote before leaving the chambers.

“Today was a great day for democracy, science and human health in Philadelphia,” said Alex Allen, associate director of the lobbying group Protecting Our Waters, after the vote. “Our representatives in City Council chose to unanimously look out for the interests of 14 OCTOBER, 2011

the people while resisting the persistent lobbying of the industry.”

Dr. Walter Tsou, President of Physicians for Social Responsibility, past president of the American Public Health Association and former health commissioner of Philadelphia, also testified. “As a public-health physician, I have grave concerns about public health and environmental consequences of hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale region,” he said. “A cursory list of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing includes known carcinogens like diethyl enzene, ethyl benzene, formaldehyde, petroleum distillate (paint remover) and ethylene glycol, otherwise known as antifreeze. Add to that methane [migration into groundwater] and flowback [drilling wastewater] contaminated with radioactive isotopes.... Politicians have explicitly avoided the public health question because if they were really confronted with it, they would stop hydraulic fracturing.”

The resolution demands both a Delaware River Basin-specific cumulative impacts study and the EPA national study of the risks high-volume hydraulic fracturing poses to drinking water, includes a clause which appears to lay the groundwork to do just that for the Delaware River Basin, which supplies Philadelphia with 100% of its drinking water (the Schuylkill River is also in the Basin).

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“Whereas, If the combined results of both a national EPA study and a Delaware River Basin-specific cumulative impacts study, show the potential for catastrophic risk, potential costs, and the inherent and cumulative risks to water, air, climate, farms, food, economy, fish and wildlife, human health, scenic value, and the tourism base, the City of Philadelphia will determine whether it is advisable to call for the entire Delaware River Basin to be kept off limits to unconventional gas drilling techniques,” the resolution states.

Aaron Birk, a resident of West Philadelphia, commented, “Jannie Blackwell made several really moving comments; she made a prayer for the occupiers, the sick and homeless and struggling people, and spoke in praise of the Occupy movement. She encouraged Council to respond to their constituents who are out in the street with serious concerns.” Birk said Council did just that, standing up to the fracking industry because, he said, “even if dollars did flow into the city, they’d dry up from public-health costs and we’d be left with poisoned water.”

Late in the day on Wednesday, several Council Members indicated they’d been hearing a great deal from constituents in favor of passing the resolution to forbid fracking and sue the DRBC. A spokesman for Green said, “We are receiving a lot of calls in favor, |

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and we are documenting everything.” A spokesman for Councilman Frank Rizzo said, “We’ve gotten a lot of calls about that ... I believe he’ll go that way [a yes vote].”

The Delaware River Basin Commission has stated that they expect to vote on Nov. 21 on ending the current moratorium and opening the Delaware River Basin to fracking, the controversial technique

used in deep shale using large volumes of water mixed with “mystery” chemicals, which the industry is not obliged to disclose due to exemptions from federal law.

Schmidt Pledges Personal Pay Cut, Refuses Taxpayer-Paid Car Al Schmidt, Republican candidate for City Commissioner, pledged yesterday to take a voluntary 10% pay cut for the duration of his term if elected, and to increase that cut to 25% in election years when Commissioners are not allowed by law to perform all their duties as they are seeking reelection.

“Taxpayers across Philadelphia are hurting and our leaders should set an example,” said Schmidt. “I am happy to join those in City government who have reduced their salaries and to do my part to help our great City.’

While every other elected official and other highly-paid City officials throughout city government have taken voluntary pay cuts to help address the City’s fiscal woes, the three current Commissioners are the only elected officials who have refused to reduce their six-figure, taxpayer-paid salaries.

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In addition, the three current Commissioners continue to take their full salary even in election years when they are limited in their activities because they appear on the ballot. Good government advocates in Philadelphia have called on them to change this practice to no avail.

Asked about his pledge to reduce his taxpayer-paid salary by 25% in election years if elected, Schmidt stated, “If you don’t do a full day’s work, you shouldn’t get a full day’s pay. The fact our current Commissioners are prohibited from performing 100% of their duties but still take 100% of their salary is wrong. I won’t do that.”

Schmidt also pledged he would not take a city-owned, taxpayerpaid vehicle (and the gas that comes with it).

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14 OCTOBER, 2011

PHA: Let The Auction Begin!

MAX SPANN REAL ESTATE & AUCTION CO.’S CEO Max Spann, Jr., PHA Executive Director Michael Kelly, State Rep. Michelle Brownlee and Councilman Darrell Clarke raise the gavel to formally announce PHA will auction off more than 400 scattered-site properties on Nov. 16.

More than 400 properties owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority are being put on the auction block in November, the first time the agency has taken such a step.

The announcement came on the 3000 block of Cambridge Street in North Philadelphia, where five PHA houses will be included as part of the auction.

Max Spann Real Estate & Auction Co., the nation’s premier auction 14 OCTOBER, 2011

house, has scheduled the auction for 1 p. m. on Nov. 16 at Philadelphia Housing Authority Greater Grays Ferry Estates Site, 1800 S. 32nd Street in South Philadelphia.

A wide range of properties is available, from town homes and building lots to multi-unit buildings. The properties are being offered individually as well as in groups of up to 25. A THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

detailed listing of the properties is available at www.maxspann.com.

“There is something for everyone at this auction,” said Bob Dann, COO of the firm. “This is a great opportunity for homeowners, builders and investors to invest in Philadelphia. These are affordable opportunities to rebuild and renovate.”

The properties are the Housing |

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Authority’s Scattered Sites. They are located throughout the city on blocks from Rocky Balboa’s neighborhood to the great Northeast. “We are excited to be chosen by the Housing Authority to manage the sale and be a part of the revitalization of Philadelphia. Putting these properties in the hands of individuals that can return them to productivity will put people to work, provide housing, and get the City and the country back on track,” said Dann.

Auction information sessions have been scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Greater Grays

Ferry Estates office building on Oct. 19, the Warnock Village Community Center on Oct. 26 and Greater Grays Ferry again on Nov. 2. Lists of the properties, how to bid instructions and the terms of the sale will be distributed.

The auction is being ordered by the PHA, the nation’s fourth- largest housing authority, providing housing for more than 81,000 residents of Philadelphia. It is the biggest landlord in Pennsylvania.

“These properties are part of a large inventory not being used and we felt that an auction was the best way to put these homes and

lots into the hands of those who can make productive use of them, and return them to the City’s tax rolls,” said PHA Executive Director Michael Kelly. “By using an auction we will sell the parcels for what the market is willing to pay for them.”

Those interested in learning more can visit Maxspann.com for an entire list of the properties and a property information package, attend the auction and bid. You can also follow Max Spann on Facebook/MaxSpann and Twitter/MaxSpann or call (888) 2991438.

School Dist. Chief Hails Labor Agreement Dr. Leroy Nunery, Acting Superintendent OF THE Philadelphia School District, released the following statement on the vote by teachers to endorse the PFT collective-bargaining agreement: “The School District of Philadelphia would like to thank the members of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers for approving modifications to their collective bargaining agreement. I would also like to thank PFT President Jerry Jordan

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for his leadership through this process. In response to reductions in state and federal funding, and as part of the District’s budget gap closing plan, the District sought necessary concessions from each of its bargaining units. This agreement with the PFT represents a significant step towards achieving needed savings for this fiscal year.

“The agreement with the PFT extends the collective bargaining agreement for an additional year through Aug. 31, 2013. During the

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2012-2013 school year, there will be no across-the-board increases in salary or changes in benefits. In addition, the PFT and the District have agreed to substantially restructure payments to the PFT’s Health and Welfare Fund, which will allow the District to address the current budget shortfall without adversely impacting the quality of benefits to PFT members.

“The School Reform Commission is scheduled to act on the proposed contract extension at its Oct. 26

14 OCTOBER, 2011