EVERYDAY (Cont. From Page 9) to ever become Mayor of Philadelphia, my first official act would be to turn off the tap. The commonwealth wouldn’t get another dime of our tourism, convention or sports-team tax revenue until it learned to respect the fact that we deliver a nice chunk of its budget and to stop treating us like a city of homeless people. The fact that we have any of the city’s legislators willing to be a part of this is a sin and a shame. But the only thing worse than the paternalism is the
hypocrisy. Let’s face it, were it not for former State Reps. Dwight Evans and John Perzel and, yes, State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, we wouldn’t be in this mess. Perzel and Evans handed the School District of Philadelphia (and the Philadelphia Parking Authority in the name of funding it) to the recalcitrant group of 4-year-olds that make up the General Assembly; and Williams has made sure charter-school operators that have been bankrolling his campaigns of late get their share of funding …
and some of yours too. So that doesn’t leave a whole lot for stuff like, well, pre-kindergarten seats. So you have to go in another direction. But since it’s a direction Williams and company seem to have a problem with, please allow me to make a suggestion. If you’re so concerned about losing the revenue that comes from more people drinking Mountain Dew, how about getting the commonwealth to kick in the pre-kindergarten money? I expect to hear crickets.
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not having a lightweight Congressman run against Casey. It all depends on who you talk to. A more-fearful proposition would be a wealthy businessman like Wolf or Wagner can find their own campaign. Money doesn’t grow on trees and it is also the mother’s milk of elected officials. Casey is a pretty decent fundraiser, but the amount of money being spent on these national races is obscene. Most insiders think Casey would’ve felt better against a middle-class congressman then some fat cat to whom money is no object.
F E B RUA RY 9, 2017
(Cont. From Page 9) the upward path of his career. STATE SEN. ANTHONY WILLIAMS is rattling cages by taking a firm anti-sugar-tax position. The Sweetened Drinks Tax is Jim Kenney’s master plan to fund pre-K, rec centers and libraries at a higher level. The popularity of the sugar tax has recently gone down as reality has hit. The sticker shock of the higher cost of soda is hurting sales in the city and driving up sales in
the suburbs. One state representative mentioned that the Wawa just outside Philadelphia in Bucks County had sold out of most sodas. Since that’s not Philadelphia, the money will not go to fund Philly schools. Well-liked Delaware County Republican CONGRESSMAN PATRICK MEEHAN decided not to challenge Democratic US SEN. BOB CASEY. There are two reactions to this news. The first is relief that Casey will not have a formidable challenger who knows how to raise money and has won elections. The other reaction is sadness at
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CITY HALL SAM