Daily record

Vol. III No. 99 (466)

Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia

June 14, 2012

Philadelphia Daily Record

Big Brother

CONGRESSMAN CHAKA FATTAH receives National Leadership Award of Big Brothers Big Sisters during their 2012 National Leadership Summit. From left are Ted Qualli, VP of external affairs, BBBS S.E. Penna.; Fattah; and Max Miller, BBBS chief administrative officer. See story below.

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Jun. 15State Rep. John Myers hosts his final Senior Health Fair at Center in the Park, 5818 Germantown Ave., 10 a.m.2 p.m. For info (215) 849-6896.

Jun. 15Celebrating 60th anniversary of SS United States celebration and stack lighting at Independence Seaport Museum, 211 S. Columbus Blvd., 6:30-9 p.m. Tickets $30.

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.

Jun. 16Sen. Anthony Williams 5th gun buy back at Vare Recreation Center, 2600 Morris St. $100 gift cards exchanged. No starter pistols, flares or air guns accepted.

Jun. 18— The Phila. TEA Party Patriots - South Philly Group Meeting, 7 PM, Prudential Bank Bldg,1834 W Oregon Av. Entrance through rear parking lot.

Jun. 20Oxford Circle Chapter 1301 of Nat’l Active Retired Federal Employees Ass’n meets at N.E. Older Adult Ctr. at 8101 Bustleton Ave., 12 noon.

Jun. 21Entry level Job Fair, 10 am to 3 pm at Zion Baptist Church, 3600 N. Broad St. Over 209 confirmed empoloyers.

Questions, Jill Gromen, 267-4089027. Bkfast, lunch included.

Jun. 15-17- R e m e m b e r i n g Juneteenth (Freedom Day, Jun. 19), three-day celebration hosted

by Berean Baptist Ch., 2425-33 W. Indiana Ave. Rev. James Cocktail recepHenry Buck, Jr., pastor. For info Jun. 22tion for Joe Rooney, Republican (215) 229-8048. th 13 Dist. congressional candiJun. 16Pre-Father’s Day date, hosted by Donna Parisi at A Brunch sponsored by State Rep. Child’s Place, 524 Sugartown W. Curtis Thomas at St. Paul Rd., Devon, Pa. Tickets $150Baptist Ch. Callahan Ha., 10th & $1,000. For info Maria Diezel Wallace Sts. All in 181st State (610) 430-0419.

House Dist. are welcome to come 1`st annual Chick honor men aged 90 and up. For Jun. 22orf Fish Fry at Lou and Chiooi’s, info Rev. Donna Jones (267) 8862101 W. Hunting Pak Av., hosted 3139.

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Toomey Pushes Amendment To Cap Crop Insurance US Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (DN.H.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) held a press conference at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Senate Swamp to discuss their bipartisan crop-insurance amendment to the farm bill.

Scott Faber, VP of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, and Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, also spoke. Other groups supporting the Shaheen-Toomey amendment, including the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and the US Public Interest Research Group, were in attendance.

The Shaheen-Toomey amendment would cap crop insurance subsidies at $40,000, reducing

the deficit by about $5.2 billion over 10 years, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates.

Under the amendment, producers would still have full access to the crop insurance they need, including plans with premiums of more than $40,000. Less than 4% of producers would have been affected by a $40,000 premium support limit in 2011, according to the Government Accountability Office.

The federal crop insurance subsidy program was created in 1980 and expanded in 2000 to encourage farmers to purchase private crop insurance and avoid reliance on post-disaster federal support. To encourage wider use of crop insurance, Congress in-

creased subsidies for farmers and crop insurance companies and agents. The average portion of crop insurance premiums paid by taxpayers increased from 37% in 2000 to more than 60% in 2011.

The total cost of the crop insurance program has also increased – from $2 billion in 2001 to $9 billion in 2011. During the next 10 years, CBO estimates the crop insurance program will cost taxpayers more than $90 billion.

Premium subsidies to farmers are not currently subject to limits or means testing. In 2011, 26 farm businesses received more than $1 million to reduce the cost of their crop insurance premium, and more than 10,000 farm businesses received more than $100,000.

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Daily Waffles From Joe Sbaraglia (The Waffleman) EN-YO-KEYS - Gnocci, an Italian pasta – potato dumplings. For example: Store bought en-yokeys are not as good as homemade.

EPSTEIN’S - sold baby furniture to almost all of the new parents in South Philadelphia. This store was at the corner of 12th &

Morris Streets.

ESCAROLE SOUP - A staple at holiday dinners and other celebrations. Escarole soup is chicken broth with escarole greens, a variety of vegetables, little half inch pieces of seasoned egg omelet and tiny meatballs, about the size of marbles. It was

3 BIG SALES WEEKLY

topped with grated cheese. These ingredients were simmered for about four hours until done. It was served right before the antipasto. It was always a big hit.

FATTY’S STEAKS - was at Hicks & Jackson Streets. This steak shop was frequented by the students and faculty of Southern High School. Fatty, by the way, did not get his nickname from eating the profits.

FERRY TO CAMDEN - Not the ferry that is now in service.

The original ferries that carried cars and passengers across the Delaware River to and from New Jersey. The fare was five cents.

These ferries had two wheelhouses to eliminate the need to turn the ferry around for the return trip. They had a regular schedule to get the commuters across the Delaware River. The ferries were used to avoid the traffic jams on the Ben Franklin Bridge. The rising costs of operating the ferry, the aging equipment and the increased use of the automobile caused the original ferry to make its last crossing in 1952.

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

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Casey Calls For Quick Passage Of Farm Bill US Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) urged Congress to quickly pass the new Farm Bill that is being debated in the Senate this week. Passing the Farm Bill is critical to helping Pennsylvania's agriculture industry create and sustain jobs, he said.

“Passing this farm bill will provide a significant boost to one of the major drivers of economic growth in our state, the agriculture industry,” Casey said. “This week Congress has an opportunity to pass a key jobs bill in a bipartisan fashion.

Members of both parties should act on the Farm Bill without delay.”

Casey detailed provisions in the new Farm Bill that would create economic opportunities in rural areas, sustain businesses that rely on agriculture, help Pennsylvania farmers address risk management and conservation, and help American agribusinesses such as honey producers maintain a competitive edge against unfair foreign competition.

in an organic foods promotion program. At last measure, Pennsylvania was the nation's third largest producer of organic goods.

Senator Casey pushed for strong provisions to support specialty crops, which include crops like pumpkins, apples, and mushrooms and are a key source of business for Pennsylvania farmers. At Casey’s urging, the Specialty Crops Research Initiative, Specialty Crops Block Grant program and Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program remain strong in the new Farm Bill.

Dairy is Pennsylvania's largest agricultural sector, and Senator Casey pushed to include improvements to the Farm Bill in order to have the best dairy program possible for Pennsylvania farmers.

Agriculture is Pennsylvania's largest industry and has an economic impact on virtually every county. Even Philadelphia Co. produced $487,000 worth of agricultural products last year.

Casey fought for provisions to boost organic farmers and direct the USDA to assess the feasibility of allowing organic producers to participate

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Fattah Receives BB/BS Mentoring Award Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Phila.), Congressional champion and national leader in youth mentoring, has won the National Leadership Award of Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Fattah received the prestigious award this morning from Max Miller, BBBS chief administrative officer, during the Big Brothers Big Sisters 2012 National Leadership Summit at the Renaissance Washington Downtown Hotel, where 500 leaders of the nation's largest youth mentoring network have gathered for a two day conference.

Fattah, from Philadelphia, was cited for his leadership in promoting mentoring in and out of Congress. He was credited with

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winning federal resources for mentoring efforts through his work as senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and related agencies. The BBBS thanked Fattah for winning an increase to $90 million for mentoring programs through the Department of Justice, which his subcommittee oversees.

“To me there is no greater priority in the Justice Dept. budget than the youth-mentoring programs,” Fattah said as he accepted the Leadership Award from Miller and Ted Qualli, an official of BBBS Southeastern Pennsylvania. “If we want to cut the costs associated with crime and delinquency, then this is

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where we should focus our resources.

“As a nation, we will face the costs for not acting and they will be greater. I'm determined to see our nation do more to influence the life chances for our young people on the front end as opposed to paying for bad decisions on the back end,” Fattah said.

Fattah has been an advocate for BBBS, which has headquarters in Philadelphia, 350 local agencies and 600,000 volunteer mentors, mentees and families, including mentoring relationships with children of single, low-income or incarcerated parents and with sons and daughters of military personnel.

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Forum Takes A Look At Development In City

FROM LEFT, Zarwin Baum shareholder Darwin Beauvais, President/CEO of the Center City District Paul Levy and Deputy Mayor of Planning & Economic Development and Director of Commerce Alan Greenberger discuss private- and public-sector development in Phila.

Zarwin Baum, PC hosted an in-depth discussion on the topic of private- and public-sector development in Philadelphia, led by Deputy Mayor of Planning & Economic Development and Director of Commerce Alan Greenberger, President/CEO of the Center City District Paul Levy and Zarwin Baum shareholder Darwin Beauvais.

Providing insight into factors underlying the city’s continued

business and residential growth, Greenberger discussed burgeoning development in such areas as West Philadelphia, North Broad Street and the city’s Schuylkill and Delaware River waterfronts.

Greenberger highlighted the city’s progress in attracting and retaining major corporations, increasing the residential population of Center City, redeveloping neighborhoods and business districts anchored by buildings such

as the Divine Lorraine and The Gallery, and making the city more pedestrian and bicyclefriendly.

Levy focused on the need to continue diversification of landuse in the city, particularly in the Center City area. Thanks to a 10year tax abatement, Levy noted 13,000 new houses have been developed thus far. In addition, Levy emphasized the arts and entertainment revitalization in Cen-

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD ter City which has encouraged both younger, single individuals and older empty-nesters to consider the area one of the best places to live, work and play.

Closing out the discussion, Beauvais highlighted portions of the recently-passed Philadelphia Zoning Code – the first such

overhaul in a half-century which will have a significant impact on commercial, retail and residential development throughout Philadelphia. Beauvais noted how developers and property owners will work within the new Code's requirements to obtain permits and approvals for their projects.

The panel discussion was moderated by Kenneth J. Fleisher, Zarwin Baum shareholder and chair of its Real Estate Department. Attendees included Councilwoman at Large Blondell Reynolds Brown, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, and local business and civic leaders.

Youngblood Resolution Salutes Life Of Bill Gray State Rep. Rosita C. Youngblood (D-Northwest) said yesterday’s unanimous House adoption of her resolution honoring former Philadelphia congressman and retired United Negro College Fund leader William H. Gray III provides worthy tribute to a groundbreaking visionary.

Youngblood’s resolution also recognized the impact of historically black colleges and universities, with which Gray’s professional life and devotion closely intertwine. Gray left the US House of Representatives in 1991, after becoming the first African American to chair the Budget Committee and to become majority whip, for duties as president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund.

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UNCF greatly enhanced its ability to financially assist minority students and to support historically Black colleges and universities,” said Youngblood.

“Through a career dedicated to public service, Bill Gray impacted in a positive way the lives of countless people in Pennsylvania, the nation and around the world.”

Youngblood noted Gray devoted 35 years pastoring Philadelphia’s Bright Hope Church, spent 12 years as an influential member of congress starting in 1978, took UNCF fundraising to record levels from 1991-2004, and at the behest of President Bill Clinton in 1994 became a special advisor to Haiti as a civil war roiled that nation.

“Any one of these accomplish-

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ments provides an exclamation point on a life well lived in the interest of helping others,” said Youngblood. “For one man to amass them all is a testament to a titanic contribution to humanity.”

Outside of politics, Gray also cultivated a successful career as a businessman, serving as a director at Dell Inc. since 2000. He is also a director of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Prudential Financial Inc., Rockwell International Corp., Visteon Corp. and Pfizer Inc. Youngblood also said that Gray, a graduate of Simon Gratz HS in Philadelphia and of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, serves as an admirable role model for today’s youth.