Philadelphia Daily Record

Vol. II No. 207 (367)

Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia

December 27, 2011

Philadelphia Daily Record

Shining City

CHRISTMAS AND HANUKKAH have passed. Yet Phila.’s neighborhoods still glow with festive lights displays on houses great and small, like The Gables here, a bed-and-breakfast in University City, where they seem to float magically in winter darkness. On a larger scale, Broad Street in Center City remains ambitiously lit up for the season. Story page 8.

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Ave. & N. Horticultural Dr., 6 Dec. 29p.m. For tickets, etc. Arthur Friends of Council Majority (215) 988-9341.

Leader-Elect Curtis Jones hosts “Black Out Party” at 4130 Main St., next to Manayunk Brewery, 8 p.m.-1 a.m. Dress in black. VIP Cocktail 6-8 p.m. $1,000 host, $500 sponsor, $250 VIP, $50 general admission, guest. For info Dorian Stanley (732) 6422163.

Dec. 30Kwanzaa Dinner & Show fundraiser to send 50 students to Africa at Imhotep Charter HS, 6201 N. 21st St.,7-11 p.m. Tickets $40; seniors and children under 12, $30. For info Maisha Sullivan (215) 385-0214.

Jan. 2Inaugural celebration for Jewell Williams, Sheriff of Phila., at Horizons Rooftop Ballrm., Sheraton Hotel, 17th & Race Sts. Attire: boots and denim, and party gear. RSVP JewellWilliams2011@gmail.com .

Jan. 3S. Phila. Tea Party meeting at Prudential Savings Bank, entrance from parking lot in rear, 1834 Oregon Ave., 7 p.m. Guest speaker. All invited.

Apr. 262012 Centennial Pk. Celebration honoring Joseph Manko, Ryan Howard and Vanguard at Phila.

Horticultural Ctr., Montgomery

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Governor Announces $41.3 Million Federal Education Grant Gov.Tom Corbett announced Friday Pennsylvania has been awarded $41,326,299 under the federally-funded “Race to the Top” grant program.

intermediate units. It will also provide the necessary means to develop a new principal evaluation, which is planned to be piloted during the 2012-13 school year.

“The focus of our grant application is to improve public education for every student,” Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis said. “The funds awarded to Pennsylvania will support the work already being done by Gov. Corbett and the department to ensure that, regardless of ZIP code or socioeco“I know, from my time spent as a teacher and with my own two chil- nomic status, every child receives an education that provides them dren, that a one-size-fits-all approach to education does not create with the opportunity to be successful.” a successful learning environment,” Corbett said. “Our students The new teacher and principal need quality options that fit their academic abilities and their aspira- evaluation is a cornerstone of Corbett’s education reform agenda. tions for the future. We must have Once developed, the evaluations educators who are prepared and will give parents, taxpayers and capable of meeting the needs of school leaders the ability to assess our diverse student population.” the quality of individuals tasked with educating students. EvaluaPennsylvania joins 22 other states that have received Race to the Top tions will also provide individual grants. The grant will be allocated teachers and principals with meaningful feedback to help them to over the next four years by the better serve students and increase Pennsylvania Dept. of Education. achievement.

A significant focus of this grant “The State House of Representawill be used for the statewide imtive’s Education Committee replementation of a new teacher cently voted out legislation that evaluation, which is currently would base a significant portion of being piloted in more than 100 an educator’s and a principal’s asschool districts, charter schools, sessment on multiple measures of career and technical centers, and The funding will be used to supplement the State’s support of student-specific educational choices in grades K-12, and the current efforts to increase the number of outstanding teachers working in Pennsylvania classrooms.

student achievement,” Tomalis said. “This is an important piece of legislation that will benefit all students across the state.”

In addition, funding will also be directed to further develop Pennsylvania Standards Aligned System, which provides educators with valuable tools and resources to improve student achievement.

Funding will also be allocated to provide students with greater access to quality charter schools and online curricular options that may not be available in their district, especially science, technology, engineering and math courses.”

Half of the grant funding will be appropriated to local education agencies, such as school districts and intermediate units.

In addition to the new Race to the Top grant, Pennsylvania was awarded $38 million in September as part of the Striving Readers Grant Comprehensive Literacy Program grant. Under this initiative, Pennsylvania is pursuing a broad approach to improving literacy outcomes for all children.

In total, nearly $80 million has been awarded to Pennsylvania to improve educational opportunities for students.

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School District Kitchen Calls For Public Hearings Late On Payroll Checks Thousands of teachers, principals and administrators didn’t receive paychecks as scheduled. They were told call the payroll office today.

The fact this was the first paycheck to be issued by a new bank the day before the holiday did not disturb expected check recipients.

What has bothered many of them was the fact no one at the District was available to answer their concerns.

On DPW’s Actions To Cut Costs Outraged by a recent newspaper article on the purging of a staggering number of Medical Assistance recipients, State Sen. Shirley Kitchen (D-N. Phila.) today said she will call for public hearings to investigate the Pennsylvania Dept. of Welfare’s process for cutting costs and rooting out so-called “fraud and waste.” “We are in the worst economic times of our lifetime, and instead of strengthening our resources for the vulnerable, DPW seems to be kicking them to the curb,” said Kitchen, who is the Democratic chair of the Senate Public Health & Welfare Commit-

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tee. “It is the committee’s responsibility to ensure citizens are receiving access to the assistance they deserve, and this news demands a closer look by the committee. DPW must show accountability for its recent actions.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Dec. 15 that 150,000 people – including 43,000 children – have been cut from Medical Assistance since August. Medical Assistance provides health care services for 2 million eligible Pennsylvanians, the majority of whom are elderly or disabled. “We need to see a clear, concise breakdown of who exactly is being cut from Medicaid and why,” Kitchen said. “The Corbett Administration claims it is dropping enrollees who died, moved, or are ineligible, but we don’t know how accurate this is because the administration has not provided any numbers.”

The 2011-12 State budget mandated DPW make more than $470 million in cuts. “In the administration’s attempts to cut costs, I fear too many seniors, children and individuals with a disability are being denied the access to care they require,” Kitchen said. “Medicaid is supposed to be a safety net, but instead our most vulnerable citizens are falling through. It is inexcusable.”

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City Offers Natural Hazards Plan The Managing Director’s Office of Emergency Management invites the public to learn about the Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan being developed for Philadelphia. The plan will be rolled out this Saturday at 10:00 a.m. through noon at the Federation Housing Inc., Rieder House, 10102 Jamison Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia.

Between 10:30 and 11:00 a.m., residents will view a series of poster displays featuring the natural hazards. OEM will provide a brief presentation about the development of the Hazard Mitigation Plan at 11:00 a.m. After the presentation, residents will have more time to review the poster displays and provide their feedback and concerns about natural hazards in their community.

OEM will continue to hold a series of meetings through mid-February around Philadelphia to rollout the various components of the Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan. Deputy Managing Director for Emergency Management Liam O’Keefe encourages the public to the attend meetings.

tion Plan public meetings will be held Jan. 24, from 6 to 8 p.m., at Mercy Eastwick Wellness Center, 2821 Island Avenue; Feb. 8, from 6 to 8 p.m., at Free Library Central Branch Skyline Room on the 4th floor; and Feb. 16 at Salvation Army, 3150 N. Mascher Street, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Additional Natural Hazard Mitiga-

Sen. Williams Hosts Christmas Party

The Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan will address a comprehensive list of natural hazards – droughts, floods, extreme temperatures, earthquakes, wind storms and tornadoes, hurricanes and tropical storms, Nor’easters, and severe winter storms – that may impact Philadelphia.

In addition, OEM will provide a risk assessment, which includes prioritizing the natural hazards that have the potential of impacting Philadelphia. The purpose of the Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan is to reduce or eliminate long-term risks to human life or property from natural disasters through cost-effective and sustained mitigation actions.

AMONG families attending Sen. Anthony Williams Gifts for the Holidays party at Simeone Auto Museum was Thomas family.

Here Denean Thomas, in wheelchair, is joined by his siblings as he awaits arrival of Santa.

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STATE SEN. Anthony Williams greets these youngsters at his annual “Gifts for the Holidays” Party prior to Christmas Day. Co-hosted by Lincoln Day Educational Center and Keystone Mercy Health Plan, event at Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in S.W. Phila. drew over 300 youngsters and families.

JORDAN HARRIS, of Lincoln Day Educational Center, and candidate for 186th Legislative Dist. Seat, checks over lists of those who were arriving at Williams’ Gift for the Holidays Party.

Sen. Farnese Finishes Strong Year-End Fundraising Drive As the year comes to a close and Political Action Committees prepare to file their year-end “Cycle 7” campaign finance reports, many are taking note of the impressive 6|

finish to 2011 for Friends of Farnese, the Political Action Committee of State Sen. Larry Farnese (D-S. Phila.).

During the Senator’s first three

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years of his freshman term, he was immediately, each year, among the top 10 non-election-year fundraisers in the city – out of hundreds of elected officials. However, Farnese

THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD has never gotten his due as a hardworking fundraiser because he continued to pay, over those three years, the hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt he had from his 2008 campaign. While this approach to paying his debt may have kept him from accumulating impressive cash-on-hand totals, it allowed him the steadily incoming funds to pay for staff for Friends of Farnese, lend financial support to at least a dozen other political campaigns, as well as donate to literally hundreds of community causes and groups in just his first 36 months.

As the end of 2011 approached, the Senator began to build his war chest for his 2012 reelection campaign. In the last 100 days, Farnese held 11 events, drawing on a di-

verse and deep pool of supporters, including private events held by law firms and business leaders; an event hosted by Philadelphia labor leaders, including AFL-CIO head Pat Eiding; a breakfast reception with Harrisburg power brokers, and numerous other public events at restaurants and bars throughout his diverse district.

This end-of-the-year blitz has garnered some impressive results.

Friends of Farnese eliminated all of its debt, paid for additional campaign staff to be hired and campaign materials to be purchased, and still maintains well over $100,000 cash on hand in reserve.

Farnese’s campaign-finance report will show a high number of individual donations from members of

the Philadelphia region’s business community, as well as list large showings of support from a number of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate, Mayor Nutter and outgoing Council President Anna Verna. The report will also show an impressive array of labor support, including large donations from public sector, building-trades unions and service-industry unions.

In addition to all his fundraising work, last month Farnese was elected unanimously as the 8th Ward Leader. With the time for circulating petitions less than a month away, Farnese seems poised, financially and politically, to fend off any would-be challengers.

Brownlee Brunches With Voters

STATE REP. Michelle Brownlee, center, treated residents of her N. Phila. district to an informational holiday brunch at her office on W. Girard Avenue. Representative answered their questions on PennDOT and other State services as they partook of a buffet.

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Let It Glow! Holiday Lights Add Delight To Center City!

Since Dec. 24, the Center City District has cast a festive array of holiday hues on a dozen historic buildings along the Avenue of the Arts. These handsome facades are attractively lit all year long, but during the special celebrations of December, the lights will dazzle with blue, white, green, gold and red! And on Dec. 31, they will be transformed into an orange, blue, magenta, green and red rainbow that will punctuate the countdown to the New Year of 2012.

Across Center City, colorful accents to the skyline will add joy to the spirit of the season. The Cira Centre, on the west side of the Schuylkill River, delighted with candy-cane stripes on Dec. 23, switching to red, green, and gold on Dec. 24 and 25. The nearby PECO building added words of holiday cheer with messages that flash across its crown. Two Liberty Place is twinkling with red and green, a popular combination that also lights up the Hyatt Regency at Penn’s Landing and Symphony House on the Avenue of the Arts.

At 777 S. Broad, just down the street, the popular apartments have donned the color of Santa’s famous suit, while the BNY Mellon Center at 1735 Market Street opted for a starry white.

The Benjamin Franklin Bridge spanning the Delaware River will put on quite a show. From Dec. 19-

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25 and Dec. 28-30, the bridge will light up with red and green. On Dec. 26 and 27, the bridge is glowing with red, green and yellow.

And for New Year’s, you’ll see another rainbow of color offering hope and happiness for the New Year.

“Property owners throughout Center City are helping to spread holiday cheer through the festive lighting and messaging on their building facades, creating an air of excitement throughout the holiday season,” said Paul R. Levy, president and CEO of the CCD. “As visitors, residents and workers walk from place to place, they can enjoy the unique experience of celebrating the holiday season in the downtown.”

Many of the participating buildings use color-changing LED lighting, due to its energy efficiency, long life, its effectiveness in highlighting distinctive architectural details and its ability to provide programmable light shows for holidays and citywide celebrations at a much lower cost.

Participating building managers/property owners include American Real Estate Partners; Brandywine Realty Trust; Delaware River Port Authority; Dranoff Properties; Hyatt; PECO; REIT Management & Research; and the Center City District.

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What Was Santa’s Carbon Footprint?

by Tom Joseph Santa has come and gone, making Christmas magical for boys and girls around the globe – but what else has he left behind? A big carbon footprint. New research shows St. Nick’s operation could be more “eco-friendly” with some fine-tuning.

According to an infographic created by Ethical Ocean, an online marketplace for ethical products and services, Santa’s 122-millionmile trip around the world produced more than 69 million metric tons of carbon emissions.

gifting toys or giving toys made from recycled plastic or other recycled materials.”

While Santa’s mode of transportation could use an upgrade, Hancock points out Rudolf and his friends are to blame for more than 40,000 metric tons of carbon emissions.

“We recognize the sleigh is run on Christmas cheer, but the reindeer actually were emitters of methane, which is 21 times as potent as carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.”

Tony Hancock, president of operations at Ethical Ocean, says with production, assembly and packaging (and its disposal), the biggest impact comes from all the toys.

Next year, Hancock asks moms and dads and everyone celebrating Christmas to make a mental note to seriously consider gifts made from recyclable materials, as opposed to adding more new, shiny “stuff.”

“One of our biggest recommendations was for Santa to switch to a recycled-toy-only policy: either re-

“If you can avoid buying new products, or at least think about the impact that every product you buy

has, we could take things a lot farther on just a personal basis.”

Other ideas to help Santa become greener include using solar technology to power his toy workshop and creating a redesigned sleigh that reduces wind resistance and ice build-up. And instead of leaving behind coal for the naughty children, Hancock suggests giving them an alternate form of energy generation, such as a tiny wind turbine or pinwheel.

The Santa Claus exercise is a great way to look at the real environmental impact of just one holiday, Hancock says. He hopes people can learn from Santa’s mistakes and make similar changes in their daily lives.

The infographic is available at http://bit.ly/santagraphic.

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