Philadelphia Daily Record

Vol. III No. 92 (458)

Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia

May 31, 2012

Philadelphia Daily Record

Hail To The Chief

STEPHEN AICHELE, ESQ. Stephen Aichele, Esq., currently General Counsel to Gov. Tom Corbett, moved up to Chief of Staff on May 29. Aichele, a prominent Philadelphia attorney before being drafted by Corbett to come to Harrisburg, is seen here at Barnes Foundation Opening Gala with his wife Carol Aichele, who is currently serving as Secretary of the Commonwealth. Photo by Bonnie Squires

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Jun.2- State Rep. Cherelle Parker sponsors legal workshop on Your Right to Know at Finley Recreation Ctr., 7701 Mansfield Ave. For info (215) 242-7300.

Jun. 3Italian National Day, La Festa Della Repubblica, in S. Phila. on E. Passyunk Ave. between Mifflin and Moore Sts., 12-6 p.m. Rain or shine. For info (215) 334-8882.

Jun. 3Congregations of Shaare Shamayim marks 50th anniversary at 9768 Verree Rd. Event will honor David L. Cohen, Exec. VP, Comcast, with Highest Honor Award (Kol Hakavod) for his service, especially in the Jewish community.

Honorary Co-chairs are Gov. Ed Rendell and Hon. Jonathan Saidel. Entertainment by “Broadway Sings”. Event starts at 2:30 p.m. For ticket info and to place ad in Souvenir Commemorative Journal (215-6771600) or Dr. Ruth Horwitz, Tribute Committee (215) 9131991.

June 5Phila. Republican Happy Hour at Paddey Whacks, 1509 South St. hosted by 5th, 8th and Philly Republicans of Color first Tuesday of every

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molnth 6 to 9 p.m. Joe DeFelice, State GOP Director, guest speaker.

Jun. 9Republican State Senatorial candidate Mike Tomlinson fujndrasier at CHickie and Petes, 11000 Roosevelt Blvd. Tickets at door $40, two for $75. For info contact Kathny Lombarfdi, 215-519-7553 or kimb157@comcast,eet, Jun. 10St. Edmond’s Parish Centennial Dinner at Penn’s Landing Caterers, 1301 S. Columbus Blvd., 2-6 p.m.

Ticket $65 with a cash bar. For info (215) 334-3755.

Jun. 14Fundraiser for Councilwoman Cindy Bass at Tavern 17, Radisson Warwick Hotel, 220 S. 17th St., 5-7 p.m.

Ticket levels $50 to $1,000.

RSVP by Jun. 7 to Fran Fattah at RSVP@CindyBass.com or (215) 370-9883.

Jun. 15-16-7- Annual St. Maron Church Lebanese Festival on Ellsworth St. between 10th and 11th. Friday from 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.

Admission free. All welcome.

Authentic Middle East cuisine and entertainment.

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Fattah Announces AmeriCorps $$ For 3 Three local nonprofit organizations are the beneficiaries of AmeriCorps grants totaling $3.4 million dollars. Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Phila.), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and a leading advocate of programs for young people who commit themselves to national service, made the announcement, saying more than 600 AmeriCorps members will be supported by the grants.

These grants are the result of the 2012 AmeriCorps State and National funding competition and advance the priorities of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act and Corporation for National and Community Service Strategic Plan. The Philadelphia grants will support programs with a focus on educa-

tion and health.

Fattah said, “These grants will continue high-impact interventions for our students, getting them on the right track to graduating from high school and strengthening our city and will provide critical services to educate and empower HIV-positive Philadelphians to reduce the impact of the disease.”

The 2012 grantees are: • City Year, Inc. - $2,932,500 for 255 AmeriCorps member positions. AmeriCorps members with City Year will tutor and mentor 6th- through 12th-graders in Philadelphia schools.

• The Philadelphia AIDS Consortium - $374,070 for 60 AmeriCorps member positions.

These AmeriCorps members will provide health education and support services for HIV-infected individuals through direct service and volunteer recruitment. They will target low income minorities in the Philadelphia area and other cities. Their service will result in reduced HIV infection and better outcomes for HIV-positive individuals.

• Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania - $50, 712 to support 287 AmeriCorps member positions. The AmeriCorps members will be placed at nonprofit organizations to increase capacity and enrich relationships between higher education and surrounding communities.

Corbett Signs Death Warrants For 2 City Men Governor Tom Corbett has signed execution warrants for three men, each of whom were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Two committed their crimes in Philadelphia. All are incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at Greene.

Darien Houser, 49, is scheduled to be executed on Jul. 24. In March 2004, Philadelphia Warrant Offi-

cer Sgt. Joseph LeClaire was attempting to serve a warrant on Houser for failing to appear at his trial on rape charges. Houser opened fire, killing LeClaire and wounding two other officers. Houser was arrested a short time later. In March 2006, Houser was sentenced to death.

Willie Clayton, 65, is scheduled to be executed on (Cont. Page 5) • PHILADELPHIADAILYRECORD.COM

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Daily Waffles From Joe Sbaraglia (The Waffleman) CLOTHES-PROP VENDOR He sold 1" x 3" x 8' boards that were notched at one end. They were used to prop up clothes lines, heavy with wet clothes attached to them with wooden clothes pins. The clothes lines needed this extra support. The clothes prop prevented the clothes from touching the

ground while drying.

COAL - Overheard in the mall: “Mom, Santa said that if I were naughty, the only thing in my stocking this Christmas would be coal. What’s coal?”

By the way, did you ever get any coal in your stocking for Christmas?

3 BIG SALES WEEKLY

COAL BIN - is what water inlets or storm drains were called. Many a ball, top or marble was lost in them. Those who dared to retrieve their lost object, removed the cover and were held by a strong friend or friends head-down, by their feet, in the inlet. They then attempted to retrieve whatever they could reach. They usually emerged, covered with a black smelly slime on their clothing, therefore, their names, coal bins. We rarely had clogged coal bins. Every coal bin was maintained by the coal bin cleaners.

COAL BIN CLEANERS - Men who used rakes and bent shovels on long poles to remove the debris from the water inlets.

These poles were about eight feet long. They piled the extricated debris nearby for the street sweepers to remove. Coal bin cleaners were eagerly awaited by those who lost a ball in the coal bin. Since they had the right tools and did not mind, they usually helped in the recovery efforts. They prevented you from getting filthy in retrieving a lost ball or whatever from the coal bins.

To buy a copy of this book E-Mail Dwaffleman@aol.com

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD (Cont. From Page 3) Jul. 26. In 1980, two Philadelphia men, Eric Grice and Jack Summers, were shot and killed during separate robberies inside their apartments, two months apart. According to trial testimony, the victims were known drug dealers and Clayton had been seen with both men.

Also during the trial, an acquaintance testified that

Clayton had confessed to him that he had killed Grice and Summers so that people would fear him and he could increase his influence over the drug traffic in Philadelphia. In February 1986, Clayton was sentenced to death for killing both men.

Executions in Pennsylvania are carried out by lethal injection. With these three warrants signed May 29, Corbett has now signed 14 execution warrants.

Williams Scorns Attempt To Amend Voter-ID Suit The ruling from Judge Robert Simpson in last week’s hearing decided against State Rep. Tom Killion (R-Chester) and others in their attempt to intervene and insert their complaint into the voter ID lawsuit filed by the ACLU, NAACP, League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania and others.

State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams commented to latest development in the Pennsylvania voter ID lawsuit: “I’m pleased the court is focusing on the

merits of the arguments and not outside distractions by those who would dismiss or distort the severity of the issues posed by this hastily enacted, fundamentally flawed voter-ID law. We need to put every effort into ensuring that every legal citizen has free and full access to the ballot, not waste time and dishonor our democracy by devising unnecessary restrictions in efforts to manipulate specific outcomes.”

McGeehan: Coney’s Group Proves Feds Are Needed State Rep. Michael P. McGeehan (D-Northeast) said he is flabbergasted to learn of a Philadelphia Housing Authority plan to award a $510,000 contract to a resident group headed by an embattled ally of deposed PHA Executive Director Carl Greene.

McGeehan said the planned deal with the Resident Advisory Board, whose president is Asia Coney, ignores the controversy that has swirled around the last PHA-affiliated organization that she headed.

“The harsh reality – which amazingly appears lost on the PHA – is federal prosecutors have subpoenaed emails and financial records of Tenant Support Services Inc., a nonprofit corporation Ms. Coney once headed with a $108,000 yearly salary,” said McGeehan. “Given the federal government’s deep and apparently unrelenting probes into PHA corruption, it boggles the mind why anyone would want to bring her back into the financial mix until these investigations run their course.”

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McGeehan said reported abuses at Tenant Support Services Inc. were the driving force behind his amendment to SB 1174, which would ban the PHA from funding any nonprofit that employs a member of the housing authority.

“I am not the only one who found it particularly reprehensible that while making a salary in excess of $100,000, Ms. Coney paid only $654 a month in rent to live in Philadelphia public housing, plus was driving a PHA-supplied SUV,” said McGeehan. “These things are an abuse of public money – and an affront to the public trust. They must be rooted out and corrected if we are to restore public confidence in the PHA.” Based on the revelation that a half-million-dollar contract with another Coney-affiliated organization was in the works, McGeehan said he was renewing his push to ensure that the PHA remain under federal control until all pending criminal investigations run their course. He and other Philadelphia legislators staked out that position at a press conference last week.

“At this crucial and delicate juncture, the PHA should not revert back to city control,” said McGeehan, who repeated his call for State Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) to withdraw his bill that would give the Philadelphia mayor power to appoint a new local PHA board.

Firefighters Assert Nutter And Ayers Lied The leaders of the Philadelphia Firefighters Union today contended that Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers lied last week when they gave statements to the media that a collapse zone was established and maintained on the site of the five-alarm, Apr. 9 Kensington warehouse inferno that killed Lt. Robert Neary and Firefighter Daniel Sweeney.]

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At a press conference last week, the Firefighters Union flatly stated a collapse zone – an area extending horizontally from the base of the wall to 1½ times the height of the wall - was never established by PFD leadership during the warehouse blaze, even though Deputy Commissioners Ernest Hargett and John Devlin were both on site. Today, Firefighter Union officials produced what they contend to be the “smoking gun” that proves a collapse zone was never established and that Nutter and Ayers covered up the truth to protect themselves and Deputy Commissioners Hargett and Devlin.

The union previously called for the resignations of Ayers, Hargett and Devlin for their failure of leadership and tactical errors that contributed, in part, to Neary’s and Sweeney’s deaths.

In the Philadelphia Fire Dept.’s own International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) Training Manual Supplements, under the heading of “Safety”, it reads: “During an exterior fire attack, three (3) zones should be established. These zones will provide the incident commander an adequate level of safety and accountability, for all participants at the incident. Zone 1 is the immediate collapse zone indicated with banner tape and/or rope.

Once this zone is established, everyone should remain outside of this area.”

“Commissioner Ayers lied last week when he insisted that there was a collapse zone established at the Kensington fatal and Mayor Nutter lied to protect Ayers, Hargett and Devlin,” said International Association of Firefighters Local 22 Recording Secretary and career firefighter Mike Bresnan. “It clearly states in their own training manual that a collapse zone must be indicated with banner tape and/or rope. We have now produced multiple photos of the fireground, from multiple angles – including one of Incident Commander Devlin on site – and nowhere is there one shred of visual evidence of the existence of banner tape, rope, barricades or any other physical manifestation of a collapse zone. That’s because it was never ordered

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and never existed – and it cost Bob Neary and Dan Sweeney their lives.

“If Nutter and Ayers continue this con job that there was a collapse zone, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, they are inferring that Bob Neary and Dan Sweeney disobeyed a direct order and acted as cowboys. We dare them to try to impugn the integrity and denigrate the memories of these two heroes,” Bresnan concluded. “If Nutter and Ayers have any moral conscience whatsoever, they will admit there was never a collapse zone and apologize to the Neary and Sweeney families, as well as to every firefighter in the city.”

Activists Raise Ruckus For Comcast Shareholders Today, hundreds of workers, students, faith leaders, families and members of community organizations are joining Fight for Philly to bring a “99% message” to Comcast’s annual shareholder meeting.

As Comcast shareholders and executives discuss the successes of their company inside the Convention Center, shareholder activists will challenge the Philadelphia-based company’s corporate agenda that includes not paying its fair share of taxes, its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council, and its exorbitant executive compensation. Meanwhile, supporters will hold a protest and speak-out outside the meeting location.

With thousands of Philadelphians on the brink of losing their jobs and dozens of school closures pending, activists will question Comcast’s involvement with an organization that undermines investing in our future through investing in excellent public education for all children.

ALEC’s education legislation diverts taxpayers’ money from public-school children to for-profit education corporations and gives more tax breaks

to rich corporations and individuals to pay private school tuition. ALEC is also a force behind the Pennsylvania state budget, pushing for tax breaks for big corporations while making cuts to schools, assistance and housing for the 99%.

Groups involved in the demonstration include Action United; Coalition of Labor Union Women; Communication Workers of America Local 13500; Drexel Foundation of Undergraduates for Sexual Equality; Fight for Philly; International Action Center; Occupy Philly; Occupy Temple; Occupy the Dream; New Sanctuary Movement; Philadelphia Unemployment Project; Philadelphians Allied for a Responsible Economy; SEIU 32BJ; SEIU Healthcare PA; Taxi Workers Alliance; Temple Student Labor Action Project; Transportation Workers Union Local 234; Youth Art & Self-empowerment Project.

First Recycling Award Winners Claim Prizes Mayor Michael A. Nutter and Streets Dept. Commissioner Clarena I.W. Tolson announced the first round of winners in the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards Sweepstakes powered by Recyclebank.

The Mayor presented prizes to two first-prize winners, who each received 12 monthly SEPTA transit passes and five second-prize winners, who each received one $100 Target gift card. Winners from the first round were randomly selected from entries received between Apr. 1 and Apr. 30.

“We are happy to award prizes to the Sweepstakes winners for doing their part in improving our community through reducing waste and recycling more,” said Nutter. “By taking part in the Recycling Rewards Program powered by Recyclebank, Philadelphia residents are demonstrating their commitment to a more sustainable future.”

Residents can still get involved in the Sweepstakes, which will run until Jun. 30. Residents are

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automatically entered into the Sweepstakes by recycling more and completing simple “green” actions at www.PhillyRecyclingPAYS.com. Each action represents an individual entry into the Sweepstakes. The grand-prize winner will receive free groceries for a year, a prize valued at $5,000.

“The Recycling Rewards Program is important to our city on many levels. I am pleased to see so many residents eager to recycle and earn points for doing so. Redeeming the points for coupons to a wide variety of stores in Philadelphia allows our citizens to spend locally. Our partnership with Recyclebank has helped our citizens become more ‘green’ in their efforts to make our city more sustainable,” said the Commissioner Tolson.

The first-prize winners are Joanna Cahill of Roxborough and Vereta Jordan of North Philadelphia.

The second-place winners are Charisse Snipe of Southwest Philadelphia, Lula McClaim of North Philadelphia, Lenore Branham of North Philadelphia, Beth Grandizio of South Philadelphia and Madeline Dombrowski of South Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Recycling Rewards, a partnership between the Streets Department and Recyclebank, allows residents with City-provided recycling collection to earn points that are redeemed through Recyclebank for groceries, gift cards, merchandise and entertainment at hundreds of participating local and national merchants. Philadelphia is the largest City in the United States to reward its residents for their recycling efforts.

For more information about Philadelphia Recycling Rewards Program and to participate in the Sweepstakes, please visit www.PhillyRecyclingPAYS.com or call the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards Customer Affairs Unit at 1 (888) 769-7960.

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Butkovitz Identifies $5 Million Owed Police City Controller Alan Butkovitz released a Philadelphia Police Dept. Follow-Up Review of Monies Owed the City and found almost $5 million owed for police services by businesses and government agencies. While this is a 25% decrease in amounts owed since the Controller’s 2009 report, it’s a significant amount of money the City could be adding to its coffers. In the Controller’s January 2009 report, it was found that 779 entities owed the City $6.7 million. In the latest report, there are 716 entities recorded as owing the current $5 million. Of the current amount owed, $1.9 million is more than 90 days past due.

“A 25% reduction in total amounts owed is a good indicator collection efforts have improved,” said Butkovitz. “Although, $5 million is still a significant amount of money on the table for the City to collect.”

Total amounts past due for less than three months decreased from $4.7 million in 2009 to the $3.1 million currently owed, signaling an improvement in the amount of time the City receives payments for services rendered.

“The longer the City waits to collect for owed services, the less probable it becomes that the City will receive the full payment,” said Butkovitz.

“Allowing delinquents to forgo payments for City services is trending cycle in Philadelphia that needs to end immediately.”

The Controller’s follow-up report includes a top 20 list of delinquents with outstanding balances older than 90 days with amounts ranging from $341,329 to $18,549. Nine of the entities on the

THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD current list were on the same list in the Controller’s prior report.

To increase revenues owed for police services, the Controller’s report makes the following recommendations: • the PPD should continue to fully monitor its policy and current system for police services that are provided for recurring delinquents, • Both the PPD and Managing Director’s Office should coordinate efforts to ensure that all deposits for police services are paid before any services are provided, • PPD should seek the Law Dept. to take aggressive action on collecting the outstanding balances, and • for any government agencies and departments with outstanding balances, funds should be paid and/or transferred from the appropriate accounts so the receivable accounts be adequately managed.

• To view a copy of the Philadelphia Police Dept.

Follow-Up Review of Monies Owed for Police Services, please visit the City Controller’s website at www.philadelphiacontroller.org.

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