daily record

Vol. III No. 35 (403)

Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia

February 24, 2012

Philadelphia Daily Record

Jim Reps ‘Eds”

WISHING State Rep. Jim Roebuck happy birthday at his party at Warmdaddy’s was Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. Roebuck is Minority Chair of House Education Committee while Blackwell chairs City Council Education Committee. More pictures page ?????

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Feb. 24State Sen. Vincent Hughes hosts Veterans Benefits Seminar, presented by Richard M. Gordon III at Park Avenue, 4952 Parkside Ave., 10 a.m.-1 p.m. RSVP (215) 879-7777.

Feb. 25Mothers in Charge holds Flapjack Fundraiser at Applebee’s, 9141 Roosevelt Blvd., 8-10 a.m.

Donation $10, $5 for kids under 11. For info (215) 228-1718.

Feb. 26St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Phila. Fundraiser at Insulators’ Ha., 2014 Hornig Rd., 3-7 p.m. Beer, wine, soda and buffet.

Music and Celtic Flame Irish Dancers. $35. Contact Mary Frances Fogg (267) 228-0418, Kathy Fanning or Joe Fox at St. Patrick’s Day Observance Ass’n, www.philadelphiastpatsparade.com.

Feb. 26Congressman Bob Brady Bunch Winter Party at Finnigan’s Wake, 3rd & Spring Garden Sts., 3-7 p.m. Tickets $35. For info, reservations Tom Johnson (215-423-9027).

Feb. 26Fundraiser for State Rep candidate Numa St. Louis at Nina Ahmad’s

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house, 405 E. Gowen Ave., 3:30-5:30 p.m. Contribution levels $50-$500. Mail checks payable to Numa & Friends for a New Direction at 5322 N. Carlisle St., Phila., PA 19141.

RSVP (215) 621-8957 or Natalie@vote4numa.com.

Feb. 27W. Phila. Coalition of Neighborhoods & Businesses meeting at Phila.

Business & Technology Ctr., 5070 Parkside Ave., 1st fl., 1 p.m. Thomas McDade, director of Permit Services, Dept. of L&I. For info Lee Tolbert (215) 476-0600.

Feb. 27Philadelphia Tea Party Patriots-S. Phila.

Chapter invites all to hear Publisher Jim Foster of Germantown Courier. For info Barbara Dahdah Anderson (609) 634-4584.

Mar. 1State Reps. Kevin and Brendan Boyle kick off reelection campaigns at The Hop Angel, 7980 Oxford Ave., 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Buffet, open bar and 50/50 raffle $30 per person.

RSVP (276) 988-6257 or send checks payable to Friends of Kevin Boyle, 8035 Burholme Ave., Phila., PA 19111.

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Casey Reports 2 Community Investments US Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) announced two community-development organizations in Philadelphia will receive over $91 million in tax credits to encourage investments in real-estate projects in low-income communities to spur job creation and economic development.

Pennsylvania communities facing economic challenges.”

“These tax credits will create jobs and generate goods and services critical to reinvigorating Philadelphia’s communities,” said the Senator. “I have long supported this program because of its proven track record of bringing jobs to

Funding is available through the Treasury Dept.’s New Markets Tax Credit Program. It attracts investment capital to low-income communities by permitting individual and corporate investors to receive a tax credit against their federal in-

PIDC - Regional Development Corp. will receive $50 million in tax credits and The Reinvestment Fund, Inc. will receive over $41.9 million in tax credits for real-estate financing.

come-tax return in exchange for making equity investments in specialized financial institutions called Community Development Entities.

Casey has supported the program in numerous meetings with and letters to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Casey specifically highlighted the success of PIDC and TRF with the Secretary in a push for Pennsylvania organizations to receive support through the program.

Stack, Danza Seek A Teaching Moment

STATE SEN. MIKE STACK, left, joins Northeast HS teacheractor Tony Danza to discuss plight of city’s schools.

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD As proposed state budget cuts and a budget shortfall bring financial turmoil to the School District of Philadelphia, State Sen. Mike Stack (D-Northeast), along with actor and former Philadelphia high- school teacher Tony Danza and school advocates, discussed the ongoing detrimental impact on the city’s 146,000 public-school students.

“The true victims of all of this School-District drama are the children in our public schools. If we continue to deny students of op-

portunities to succeed, we cannot say that they failed; rather, we have failed them,” Stack said. “We must put an end to the turmoil that has turned the School District of Philadelphia into a mess that keeps getting worse every year.”

Danza, who taught sophomore English at Northeast HS for the A&E reality show “Teach”, was in Philadelphia to participate in a talent show fundraiser for the high school.

“I’m here to tell the kids we do

care and we need to help mitigate the cuts that have been made,” Danza said. “The kids have to take responsibility but we need to send the right message to them.”

Gov. Tom Corbett’s 2012-13 statebudget proposal would create a new line item, the Student Achievement Education Block Grant, which consolidates basic education, the Accountability Block Grant program, transportation and school-district Social Security allocations.

“What is happening to our schools

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD and our children was not some kind of unavoidable natural disaster,” said PSEA VP Jerry Oleksiak.

“This situation is the result of policy decisions made in Harrisburg.

And just as this situation was created, it can be fixed. We need to fix it now, before it’s too late.”

“We can’t cut our way to an educated workforce or citizenry – yet this budget would require us to cut and with it dash the hopes of tens of thousands of children and their parents,” said Shelly D. Yanoff, executive director of Public Citizens for Children & Youth.

The School District of Philadelphia would see a $21 million cut if the Governor’s budget is enacted.

“This Governor is fixated on ideol-

ogy and block grants that he actually believes will help our schools by making cuts,” Stack said. “He has simply shifted funds around to make it seem like schools received a funding boost, but in reality, our schools are facing more deep funding cuts this year. The result will be larger classrooms, fewer programs, less services and more layoffs.”

The School District is already in financial distress. It currently faces a $71 million shortfall that it must resolve by Jun. 30. District officials have filled nearly half of that gap, but still must cut an additional $39 million.

Last December, the district laid off 141 employees, including dozens of school nurses. Tracie White, a nurse who was laid off, said the

cuts have put students at risk.

White said school nurses are the only access to health care for thousands of school children. In addition to administering medication and caring for students who get sick, school nurses, in partnership with the Philadelphia Dept. of Health and other local agencies, also give health screenings and immunizations and find affordable health coverage for children.

Stack said the School Reform Commission’s should have had been more proactive in planning and responding to district’s financial turmoil. He has authored legislation that would abolish the commission and replace with a school board comprised of nine members elected by the citizens of Philadelphia.

Babette To Corbett: Fix What’s Broken State Rep. Babette Josephs (D-S. Phila.) is criticizing Gov. Tom Corbett for his plans to use $55 million in taxpayer funds to improve the state Capitol Complex and related state buildings.

“So the Governor and his Republican friends want to feather their own nests,” Josephs said. “It’s difficult for them to see day after day the offices where they work subjected to deterioration and decline.

I understand that.

“And I suppose it’s pretty hard for motorists who have to drive over one of Pennsylvania’s 5,000 structurally deficient bridges to proceed with confidence or parents who are sending their kids to buildings that are crumbling to feel secure. But the Governor and his buddies don’t have to deal with that, so they use our money to fix up their offices. Very nice.”

“Doesn’t Mr. Corbett see how utterly outrageous this is? He’s putting his needs before the millions

of Pennsylvanians and others who use our transportation infrastructure every day or send their children to school. Perhaps the Governor and his Republican cronies think Pennsylvanians like driving their children to a disintegrating school building over a failing bridge?

“Gov. Corbett should reconsider his funding priorities and fix what’s really broken: our disintegrating infrastructure and deteriorating education system.”

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Taylor’s Land Bank Bill Passes House Legislation sponsored by State Rep. John Taylor (R-Kensington) that gives cities a new tool in the fight against blight has passed the House.

HB 1682 would allow Pennsylvania’s municipalities to create public land-bank authorities in order to efficiently acquire, manage, and develop tax-foreclosed properties.

“Properties that are vacant and decaying are a major drain on our city and neighborhoods,” Taylor said. “They lower property values, attract vermin, and their owners are often tax-delinquent, forcing the rest of us to pick up these added costs. With this bill, the City would be able to reclaim these

properties.”

Land banks are a creative way for communities to fight blight. The legislation, which has received support across the state, enables any County, City or Borough with a population of 10,000 or more to form a land bank to acquire and manage tax foreclosed and abandoned properties for the purpose of preparing them for reuse. A grouping of two municipalities with populations less than 10,000 would also be permitted to establish and maintain a land bank under the bill.

In addition, the bill, which passed Feb. 15, establishes the framework by which a land bank must oper-

ate. Properties acquired by a land bank would be used to promote and encourage local growth and community development.

“Among the benefits, land banks would keep tax-foreclosed properties on the tax rolls through revitalization, and that is a direct investment in our neighborhoods,” Taylor said.

Pennsylvania has about 300,000 vacant and abandoned properties.

Of these properties, 35,000 are in Philadelphia, 19,000 are in Pittsburgh, and the remainder are scattered throughout the state.

The legislation is now in the Senate.

Dem Committee Mulls Refinery Job Losses Members of the House Democratic Policy Committee heard from labor leaders at a public hearing yesterday in Philadelphia to consider the potential impacts to the communities around southeast Pennsylvania’s oil refineries pending their closure.

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State Rep. Maria Donatucci (D-S. Phila.) requested the hearing and served as its chair.

The hearing looked specifically at the consequences the closures may have on jobs in the Commonwealth’s southeastern communities.

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“As our economy recovers, it is as important to retain jobs as to create them,” State Rep. Mike Sturla (DLancaster) said. “Rep. Donatucci has been a strong, vocal and effective advocate for her community, especially in regards to protecting jobs at Southeastern Pennsylva-

THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD nia’s oil refineries.”

“In this whole process, the people most affected by the closings and possible sales are being left in the dark, not just by the owners, but by the Governor,” said Donatucci.

“They don’t know what’s being done to try to avert further closings, what the prospects are for them to be reopened by new owners and when, or even if, they could be rehired by new owners.”

She added, “The Governor, who should be leading the fight for the jobs being lost, is being almost as mysterious as the owners. We’ve got 2,000 workers and their families and merchants and municipalities that depend on those jobs.

They’re left in the dark and the Governor’s treating it like it’s no big deal.”

cluded Nancy Minor, VP, United Steelworkers 10-1; Dave Miller, executive VP, United Steelworkers 10-901; Denis Stefano, president, United Steelworkers 10-234; John Clark, business manager, Boilermakers Local 13; Tom Gallo, business manager, Steamfitters Local 420; and Pat Eiding, president, Philadelphia AFL/CIO.

Those testifying at the hearing in-

Payton To School Dist.: Release Budget Details State Rep. Tony Payton Jr. (D-Kensington) said the Philadelphia School District should release detailed financial information to city and state officials as it works to bridge the 2011-12 budget deficit.

The information requested includes debt payments, personnel costs, utilities per facility, cost breakdown per school, copies of union contracts, potential cost escalators, and expense breakdowns for teachers, support staff, administration, engineers, janitors, and more.

“We need to see the whole picture before we can start prioritizing and determining what cuts are necessary to get the school through the fiscal year,” Payton said. “I am formally requesting the school district and Chief Recovery Officer Thomas Knudsen share that information to protect the interests of the students, taxpayers and School District’s solvency. It is my responsibility as an elected leader in this city to pro-

pose potential solutions and offer tangible ways in which the district can save money.”

The School District is facing a $38.8 million budget gap by the end of June and a shortfall of at least $269 million for next year.

Payton said that just yesterday, Philadelphia nonprofit Research for Action announced both certain district-run and charter schools are outpacing similar city schools in student achievement and attendance through the Renaissance Schools effort.

“These are the kinds of efforts that are making a difference,” Payton said.

“Programs like these should not be in jeopardy when they are proven to help students learn and achieve. Elected officials need every detail on how the School District is budgeting money so that the waste is actually cut, and innovative programs continue.”

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Boyle Funds EMS STATE REP. BRENDAN BOYLE is flanked by Responder Lou Maldonaldo, left, and BEMS Managing Director Tim Hinchcliff as Boyle presented $5,679 in funding to Burholme Emergency Medical Services.

“Burholme EMS bravely provides life-saving services to our Northeast Philadelphia communities,” Boyle said. Grant was funded by Office of Penna. Fire Commissioner. Commissioner is tasked with addressing the diverse training, operational and informational needs of the Commonwealth’s fire and emergency-services community.

Roebuck’s Birthday Draws Education Guns

WARMDADDY’S was packed with education leaders as band Mozaic Flow gave an “education” in classic soul.

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JOINING State Rep. Jim Roebuck at his birthday bash were Drew School Principal Hughie Douglas and retired teachers Elsie & Ted Irwin.

HIGH-POWERED educational leadership at Roebuck’s affair included PFT doyen Jack Steinberg and current President Jerry Jordan.

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(631-04-8553) OTHER LABOR LEADERS showed their support for Roebuck and his ally Blackwell, such as United Food & Commercial Workers’ political maven John Meyerson.

UNIVERSITIES swing weight in Roebuck’s district. From left are Mark Hass of PECO; Roebuck; Drexel VP Dave Wilson; Yeadon Mayor Dolores Jones-Butler; University of Penna. VP Jeffrey Cooper and his colleague Hugh Allen.

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MARY GOLDMAN, legendary leader of Democrat 27th Ward, paid her respects to Blackwell and Roebuck.

Manayunk Towpath Project Is Finished Mayor Michael A. Nutter announced the completion of $645,000 in renovations to the Manayunk Canal Towpath. The project was funded by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Conservation & Natural Resources and the City of Philadelphia.

city” said the Mayor. “The renovated Manayunk Canal Towpath will benefit thousands of cyclists, joggers, runners and pedestrians who rely on a safe and functional recreational trail network. I would like to thank DCNR for their support of this project.”

The Manayunk Canal Towpath is a key linkage in Fairmount Park’s multi-use recreational trail system.

It is also part of the larger Schuylkill River Trail, which will ultimately connect Philadelphia to Pottsville in Schuylkill County via a multi-use trail extending the entire length of the river—a distance of approximately 130 miles.

The project includes restoration of 2.2 miles of trail with crushed stone on path, improvements to drainage, gateways, re-decking/repairing four bridges, fencing for safety of trail users, paving approaches to bridges and boardwalks with porous paving for stormwater management, bollards and gates, new retaining wall construction at the Leverington Avenue parking lot and tree removal.

“The improvement and beautification of our trails and natural lands are vital to the livability of the

“The trail helps keep children and

youth safe, active, and healthy by connecting them to the park and the natural world along the Manayunk Canal and the Schuylkill River” said Michael DiBerardinis, Deputy Mayor for Environmental & Community Resources. “The collaborative approach used on this project represents a new way of working at Parks & Recreation; leveraging partnerships and community engagement to create and accomplish bold and innovative projects” “I can’t emphasize enough the importance of the partnerships that led to the completion of this project,” said DCNR Deputy Secretary John Giordano. “Like many of our projects across Philadelphia, the teaming together of the city, the state and regional organizations are

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD what made this project possible.”

The Manayunk Canal Towpath is one of several capital projects underway in Manayunk: The Philadelphia Water Dept.’s Lower Venice Island project, which will include a brand new multi-million dollar performing

arts center to be managed by Philadelphia Parks & Recreation.

A joint project between Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and the Philadelphia Water Dept., which will restore flow to the Manayunk Canal.

project, sponsored by Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, constructing a new portion of Schuylkill River Trail from Shawmont Avenue to Port Royal Avenue and widening the existing trail from Port Royal Avenue to the Montgomery Co. line.

A federally funded (TIGER) trail

CCP Calls Its Contract Offer ‘Best And Final’ Following 14 months of negotiations to deliver a fair and affordable contract that avoids a major tuition increase, Community College of Philadelphia yesterday presented a best and final offer to its unionized workforce and urged union leaders to reach an agreement that keeps the College’s 39,000 students on track for successful completion of the Spring semester.

Faced with reduced public-sector funding and declining enrollment, the College nonetheless is offering a five-year contract that includes pay increases in four of the five years while also providing health benefits that are as good or better than those offered by any public employer in the Greater Philadelphia region. The offer, presented today to the Faculty & Staff Federation of Community College of Philadelphia, also includes generous retirement benefits and continues free tuition for employees and their families who attend the College.

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“We value the contributions of our faculty and staff, and we want to reach a fair and equitable agreement with the Federation that recognizes their hard work on behalf of our students,” said Stephen M. Curtis, president of CCP. “We think the offer we presented today reaches the limit of what the College can reasonably afford without requiring an unrealistic tuition increase, something that the College absolutely cannot support.”

Negotiations between the College and the Federation, which represents 1,167 full-time and part-time faculty as well as 232 classified or hourly staff, began in January 2011and have continued since the expiration of the current contract in August 2011. The College’s offer includes a wage freeze in the first year of the contract, plus pay hikes totaling 10.5% over the next four years for full-time and most part-time faculty, and 10.95% for classified employees.

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“The reality is the College cannot go beyond these overall financial limits,” said Dr. Curtis. “We’re willing to negotiate within these parameters, but as far as the College’s ability to pay, this is as good as it gets.”

To achieve critically needed savings, the College has adopted the recommendations of the union’s health-insurance consultant by proposing insurance deductibles of $300 per individual per year, capped at $900 per family per year. In practice, the deductible component works much like an auto-insurance policy: in other words, it is incurred only when used to cover major expenses, not normal visits to the doctor’s office, and only up to the limits of the cap in any single year. Employers all across the nation have adopted similar reforms, as well as requiring that employees share the cost of insurance premiums, though the College is not proposing premium sharing.

THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD By contrast, the Federation has sought more-significant wage increases and increases in healthcare benefits for part-time employees. Its proposals to date would cost approximately $7 million than the College’s best and final offer over the life of the proposed term, and the College has been steadfast in its opposition to them.

“In the midst of the worst economic recession of our lifetime, and at a time when government funding support continues to be re-

duced and student enrollment has started to trend downward, there is simply no way to justify proposals that call for major new wage and benefit increases,” said Dr. Curtis.

“The Federation’s proposals would require an unrealistic increase in tuition, and the College absolutely will not ask students to bear that burden, especially at a time when students are paying a greater share of our operating costs than ever before.

Today, approximately 57.5% of the College’s operating budget

come from student tuition, the highest level in the College’s history; in the coming year, that figure is expected to reach 60%.

“Asking students to underwrite unreasonable new raises and cost benefit increases is not fair,” said Dr. Curtis. “Our mission at Community College of Philadelphia is to provide quality education and access to opportunity. We are an educational and economic ladder to a better life for our students, many of whom come from the inner city.

PSP Hires Mike Wang As Managing Dir. The Philadelphia School Partnership announced Mike Wang, senior VP at Teach For America and former education-policy advisor to Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster, will join the educational nonprofit as managing director. Wang will help lead the organization as it works to fulfill its mission of investing in the creation, expansion and sustainability of high-performing schools in the City of Philadelphia.

Also joining PSP, and reporting to Wang in the role of manager-communications & public affairs, is Kristen Forbriger.

“This is an exciting time in the transformation of education in the City of Philadelphia, and I look forward to driving efforts to ensure that every student has access to one or more great school choices,”

Wang said. “PSP, through the Great Schools Fund and its work as a facilitator of the Great Schools Compact, is participating in a crucial and collective effort to ensure a bright future for the City and the region, and the students who one day soon will be leading the way into that future.”

PSP is a nonprofit organization founded in October 2010 that invests in the creation, expansion and maintenance of great schools in the City. PSP is raising a $100 million “Great Schools Fund” in support of education reform in Philadelphia and invests those funds as growth capital to support the transformation, expansion and startup of high-performing schools in the charter, District and private sectors.

PSP has worked closely with Mayor Michael Nutter, state Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis, the School Reform Commission, charter-school leadership, and other educational leaders on the formation and implementation of the Great School Compact, which represents a collective commitment to collaboratively transform or replace the worst-performing schools in the city, representing 50,000 students, by 2016-17. To date, PSP has invested $3 million to support operators of seven turnaround schools in the City, with combined enrollment of more than 5,000 students.

Mike Wang brings to PSP his experience working in education reform both locally and nationally.

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD He has worked with Teach for America – a national organization that recruits, trains, and supports recent college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools in under-resourced com-

munities – since 2006 in a variety of capacities. He has a degree from Tufts University and studied at University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Since 2009, Kristen Forbriger has

worked as communications and development associate at YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School.

She graduated from Villanova University and is studying for a master’s in public administration at Penn.

SEIU Backs Murphy In Race For AG SEIU Pennsylvania State Council, one of the Commonwealth’s largest and most-influential labor organizations representing nearly 80,000 workers, endorsed Iraq War veteran and former prosecutor Patrick Murphy for Pennsylvania Attorney General. SEIU made its endorsement based on Murphy’s record of fighting for working families and his vision for an Attorney General’s office that will enforce the law fairly, protecting the middle class and seniors from financial scams and defending the rights of all The

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Pennsylvanians. The endorsement of SEIU, which is highly organized and politically engaged, gives Murphy a significant electoral advantage in the April primary.

“Patrick Murphy is always there when we need him to protect the rights of workers. In Patrick, our members always know they have a friend and a champion for middleclass families. Patrick has a vision for this office of Attorney General.

He will stand up for working families, which is exactly what we need in elected officials today. He rec-

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ognizes we need to have an aggressive Attorney General that is not afraid to stand up to the lobbyists and shape public policy to create a better Pennsylvania,” said Neal Bisno, president of SEIU Healthcare PA. “Our members and former members are ready to hit the street for Patrick. We represent 80,000 workers across Pennsylvania. We’re ready to mobilize our grassroots network like never before to support Patrick for Attorney General. The stakes in this election are just too high.”