Philadelphia Daily Record

Vol. III No. 46 (414)

Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia

March 12, 2012

Philadelphia Daily Record

Saints Alive ST. PATRICK took a breather before start of his parade yesterday on Parkway.

Historic march enjoyed fair weather and large turnout.

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Mar. 15Commissioner Al Schmidt hosts fundraiser at Tír na nÓg, 1600 Arch St. Donations $100.

Mar. 15Councilman Jim Kenney’s St. Patrick’s Day Party at Galdo’s, 20th & Moyamensing Ave., 6-8 p.m. Tickets at door, $35 each.

Mar. 16State Sen. Michael Stack hosts St. Patrick’s Day celebration at Brookside Manor, 50 Bustleton Pike, Somerton Springs, Feasterville, Pa., 8 p.m-12 a.m. Tickets $40.

For info Rosemary Rubino (215) 964-3140.

Mar. 16-17- Programs for Teaching Educational Conference sponsored by Phila.

Federation of Teachers Health & Welfare Fund at Sheraton, 17th & Race. 50 topics. State Rep. James Roebuck, special guest speaker. For info (215) 5612722.

Mar. 17Pentecostal Clergy holds 12th Anniversary Breakfast at View, 800 N. Broad St., 7th fl., 7:30 a.m. Tickets $25. Full tables $250. Call Dorothy Sturgis (215) 991-9830.

Mar. 17Judge Jimmy Lynn hosts St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast at Plough & Stars Restaurant, 2nd St. south of Chestnut, 7:30-11

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a.m. Kids eat free. Traditional Irish breakfast and entertainment. Tickets $25 made out to Plough & Stars. For info (215) 6868330.

Mar.17Wreath Laying Ceremony, Irish Memorial, Front & Chestnut Sts. 11:00 AM, Contact: John Donovan 215-605-8845 jdonovan@compas-inc.com Mar. 17State Rep. Mark Cohen, NAACP and AARP host Health Fair at Zion Baptist Ch., 3600 N. Broad St., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Screenings, workshops, pharmacist’s advice and more. For info Lenise Miller (267) 582-9489.

Mar. 17Democrat 42nd Ward Leader Elaine Tomlin hosts Primary Community Potluck Dinner Dance at Local 6 Bakery Hall, 5416 Rising Sun Ave. (enter on Lima St. through parking lot), 7-11 p.m. Music, food, dancing, open bar. Tickets $25 ($30 at door). For info Elaine Tomlin (215) 4574024 or Sharon Vaughn (215) 329-0462.

Mar. 18State Rep. W. Curtis Thomas hosts 52 women over 90 and 114year-old Genoveva Rodriquez for breakfast at William H. Gray III Youth Ctr., 1601 N. 12th St., 10 a.m.

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Green Presidential Candidate Comes To Town The need for the people to resist the power of the 1%, who adversely affect the economic, educational, and cultural lives of the 99%, will be the topic of a meeting this evening at 6:30 p.m. at Calvary Church, 801 S. 48th Street, West Philadelphia.

Cynthia McKinney, former six term Congresswoman from Georgia and the 2008 Green Party candidate for President, will speak on building a people’s-power movement, in the second stop of a national tour.

The first African American woman to have represented Georgia in the US House of Representatives joins a panel with Dr Anthony Monteiro, Distin-

guished Lecturer in African American Studies at Temple University, where he teaches courses on African American social and political thought. He is well known for his work on W.E.B. Du Bois and the building of political institutions in the Black community in North Philadelphia.

Larry Hales, organizer of the national tour, who previously was one of the main organizers of the nationwide March 1st 2010 student protest, will also be speaking.

Pam Africa, of International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and Berta Joubert-Ceci of the Philadelphia

Chapter of the International Action Center complete the agenda.

“States across the country are destroying our educational system, replacing it with a for-profit mess. Prisons, war and joblessness await us after we graduate. I want to hear what the former Georgia Representative has to say about all this,” said Temple student Michael Ladson.

Along with stops in New York, Baltimore, Los Angeles and dozens of other cities, the tour seeks to open a nationwide dialogue on a People’s Power program to demand jobs, housing, and education and for an end to racism and attacks on the rights of women, gays and immigrants.

Casey Warns On China’s Role In Trade Deficit US Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chairman of the US Congress Joint Economic Committee, released the following statement after yesterday’s announcement from the US Dept. of Commerce that the US trade deficit for goods and services increased by $2.2 billion to $52.6 billion in January 2012:

“For far too long, China has been allowed to disadvantage US manufacturers though unfair trade practices. We need measures that will help crack down on China to level the playing field for our workers. That is why I was an original cosponsor of bipartisan legislation to prevent the repeal of trade remedies that help Pennsylvania companies

compete against unfair imports from countries like China that passed both the House and Senate this week by wide margins.

This is a bipartisan solution that will help more protect more American jobs and keep them here at home.

“Congress should also pass legislation, such as the Currency

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act of 2011 that will crack down on currency manipulation. Currency manipulation costs millions of US jobs, continues to interfere with the economic recovery, and takes a significant toll on manufacturers and workers across the United States.

“We must continue to make sure American workers and manufacturers have the protection and stability they need in order to remain internationally competitive and contribute toward our economic recovery.”

Today, the US Census Bureau reported the US trade deficit widened to $52.6 billion in January, up from $50.4 billion in December. Exports of goods and services increased by $2.6 billion to $180.8 billion in January while imports rose even more, by $4.7 billion to $233.4 billion. Over half of the January increase in the US trade deficit reflected a rise in petroleum imports. The trade deficit with China, which reflects bilateral trade in goods on a not seasonally adjusted basis, was up $2.9 billion from December but remains below the level seen in previous months.

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Fattah Gets Award For Neuroscience Work Congressman Chaka Fattah (DPa.), the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice, Science and related agencies and the lead neuroscience-research advocate in Congress, has been selected to receive the 2012 Leadership Award from the Biological and Ecological Sciences Coalition.

The award recognizes Fattah’s leadership in neuroscience, scientific and biological research.

In November, the Philadelphia representative won bipartisan Congressional approval to designate neuroscience research as a

top federal priority. The Fattah Initiative – signed into law – calls on the White House “to establish, through the National Science and Technology Council, an interagency working group to coordinate Federal investments in neuroscience research.”

In response, the White House has named Dr. Philip Rubin, Chair of the National Academies Board on Behavioral, Cognitive & Sensory Sciences and a Professor Adjunct at Yale’s University’s School of Medicine to lead the efforts of the federal Neuroscience Working Group.

Under the working group all federal research on the brain - including brain development, brain injury and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress, will for the first time be coordinated under one office. A new report this week from the Alzheimer’s Association supports the need for investment and coordinated research for treatment and a cure. The report finds that treating and caring for people with Alzheimer’s and related diseases of the brain will cost the United States an estimated $200 billion in 2012.

Prison Workers Oppose Privatized Health Care As Gov. Tom Corbett pushes the idea of privatizing health-care services in Pennsylvania prisons, those who work behind bars say it could compromise security, jeopardize public health, and invite more inmate lawsuits.

Frank Smith, a national expert on for-profit prison privatization, says this situation has already played out in many other states, where a private company promises quality management and big

savings, and delivers on neither.

“If I were to describe their business model in one word, I’d say it was larcenous; corporations that hire people at the lowest possible rate, high turnover.

They have gotten their business through campaign contributions, through bogus research. It’s extremely disturbing.”

Michele Harker is a registered nurse who works in the State

Correctional Institution at Huntingdon. She says proper medical treatment keeps inmates from spreading diseases behind bars and to the public after they’re released. She adds prisoners are quick to threaten legal action when they don’t feel they’re getting adequate care.

“If you have somebody coming in there that isn’t aware of how this all works, and they’re not providing that health care, I

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD think that the amount of lawsuits we’re going to see is going to keep going up and up.”

Neal Bisno, president of the labor union SEIU Healthcare PA, predicts hundreds of jobs around the state will be at risk, unless Gov. Corbett comes to terms with what Bisno says many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle already realize.

“There really is a very strong, bi-

partisan consensus that, when it comes to corrections and it comes to security, we can’t risk putting those services out to the lowest bidder, and to entities whose fundamental obligation is not the people of Pennsylvania, but to their bottom lines.”

One of the biggest players in prison privatization, Corizon Health, says it offers staff expertise, cutting-edge technology and safeguards to optimize per-

formance and accountability.

Still, in 2010, the company’s contracts weren’t renewed in neighboring Delaware or Maryland.

Later this week a State House Majority Policy Committee has a hearing on the issue, spearheaded by Republican State Rep. Mike Fleck (R-Huntingdon). He is the sponsor of HB 1985, which would ban privatizing nursing services in state prisons.

PLCB Backs Battle As Athletic Commissioner In a letter to Gov. Corbett, State Rep. Ronald G. Waters (D-W. Phila.) and members of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus recently proclaimed their support for Rudy Battle to continue his role as a Commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission.

“Commissioner Battle has done a superb job in oversight of boxing and mixed martial-arts events,” Waters said. “His knowledge in the ring provides the appropriate level of constructive critique of referees and judges’ performances necessary 6|

to maintain proper professionalism, including implementation of a uniform dress code for officials at all events.”

efforts of inclusion and is responsible for the recruitment of the first minority Mixed Martial Arts judge in Pennsylvania.

Battle is lauded by many athletic professionals throughout the world. He is a world champion, having been awarded championship belts from the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Organization and the World Boxing Union. He is a 1998 inductee of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame.

The SAC operates under the Dept. of State and is responsible for oversight of over 900 professionals and sporting events including professional boxing, mixed martial arts, kickboxing and wrestling.

In addition to his athletic accomplishments, Battle has pioneered

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Waters serves as Chairman of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus.

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Josephs: Gay-Marriage Opposition ‘Cruel’ State Rep. Babette Josephs (D-S. Phila.) is calling for the defeat of a bill perpetuating marriage discrimination which is on the agenda for the Mar. 13 meeting of the House State Government Committee.

“Why the Republicans are focusing on same-sex marriage when Pennsylvanians are facing high unemployment, an economic recession, and the lack of job-creating businesses is beyond me,” Josephs said. “We have a crisis in transportation funding; we are leading the race to the bottom in public education; we are ruining our natural resources – and perhaps our multi-billion-dollar farming industry – by allowing unrestrained drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation. Voters are very angry about the Republican failures, so I have to believe the majority party is only trying to distract the citizens. It seems they are only satisfied when they are picking on populations that don’t have the numbers or clout to defend themselves,” Josephs said.

“No one is calling for HB 1434, a biased, unjust, and discriminatory proposal. It runs counter to the favorable view a majority of Pennsylvanians have of non-traditional unions, including samesex marriage, because of their

sense of fair play and justice.

This bill would serve only to make lesbian and gay voters second-class citizens. The only purpose of HB 1434 is to allow Republicans to avoid addressing the real problems impacting Commonwealth residents.”

HB 1434 would place into the State Constitution the definition of marriage as the union between one man and one woman. As a result, the Commonwealth would refuse to recognize any other kind of legal union, including

common-law marriage or a partnership between a heterosexual couple. Same-sex couples legally married outside of Pennsylvania would find themselves single when they entered this state.

“In addition, under this constitutional amendment, a court would not be able to help a victim of domestic abuse if she is not married to her abuser – even if she faced death. This has occurred in states that have adopted similar measures. Innocent children will be hurt,” Josephs said.

City Sales-Tax Revenue Up Controller Alan Butkovitz issues special economic update that shows February was record-setting month; highest sales-tax collection ever recorded.

City Controller Alan Butkovitz issued a special economic update that indicates February’s salestax revenues totaled $23.9 million, marking the highest one-month sales-tax collection ever recorded by the City.

According to data collected from the City’s online FAMIS ac-

counting system, February’s total amount was $1.14 million more than sales-tax collections from February last year, which suggests the City realized a strong holiday shopping season. February’s sales-tax collections are a good reflection of the holiday shopping due to a delay in the time it takes the City to record monthly sales-tax collections remitted from the State.

Sales tax revenues for February have increased every year since

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD FY10, which is the first year the City’s eight percent sales tax went into effect. The City re-

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ceives 2% of the tax and the State keeps the remaining 6%.

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