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Vol. 70 NO.24
June 15, 2017
@sophreview
Tom Cardella
Offensive
O
K. This is not a defense of Kathy Griffin and her Trump-bloody head video. If you insist I will parrot the words of everybody else and agree the video was tasteless, disgusting and, worst of all for a comic — not funny. A personal note — the bloody head really bugs me because I dreamed of John Kennedy’s bloody head rolling down the street the night before he was assassinated. You can call me ultra-sensitive about what the bloody head symbolizes. But Griffin is a comedian. An edgy comedian. She may not be your cup of tea. I’ve never found her particularly funny. She crossed Alain Joinville, John C. Smyth of the Friends of Palumbo Rec, 1st District Councilman Mark Squilla, Aparna Palantino, the deputy commissioner the line. Edgy comedians often do. Since for the Philadelphia Department of Parks & Recreation, and many others attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Photo provided by Drew Callaghan Griffin’s bloody head video went viral, her career is being systematically destroyed. For all I know, since this piece was written, she may have been forced to wear a scarlet letter in the middle of her forehead. In the land where we supposedly revere free speech — our nation’s founders made it the very first amendment in our Bill of Rights to solely focus on the remodeling of the he believed something could be done about ■By Lindsey Nolen — I find the over-the top persecution of
ReďŹ ning Palumbo Rec Center The site celebrated more than $1 million in capital improvements R e v i e w S ta f f W r i t e r
See CARDELLA page 13 >>
QLWLDOO\ GHGLFDWHG LQ WR KRQRU WKH ORFDOO\ IDPRXV 3DOXPER IDPLO\ ZKR KHOSHG PDQ\ ,WDOLDQ $PHULFDQV DVVXPH GDLO\ OLIH XSRQ LPPLJUDWLQJ WR WKH FLW\ WKH 3DOXPER 5HFUHDWLRQ &HQWHU KDV VLQFH DJHG DQG KDV FRPH WR UHTXLUH PDLQWHQDQFH 7KH &LW\ RI 3KLODGHOSKLD WKH 'HSDUWPHQW RI 3DUNV DQG 5HFUHDWLRQ WKH &DSLWDO 3URM HFWV 2IÀ FH DQG WKH 2IÀ FH RI &RXQFLOPDQ 0DUN 6TXLOOD WHDPHG XS LQ WR HQVXUH LW UHPDLQV D ´FOHDQ VDIH DQG UHDG\ WR XVH IDFLOLW\ ¾ Although initially members of the Friends of Palumbo Rec applied for a $10,000 grant
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CHAMPIONSHIP REPEAT? SEE PAGE 28>>
kitchen, upon realizing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania would not award it to them because they did not own the real estate, the members reached out to Squilla, seeing as the City owns the park and rec center. Upon hearing what the park and center-goers had to say, Squilla agreed to use the $10,000 grant to remodel the kitchen, and asked if there was anything else that needed to be done. In response, John Smyth, an active community member involved with the Rec Center and who used to be the president of the Bella Vista Town Watch, informed him the acoustics were not great in the center’s multipurpose room, to which Squilla said
that. From there, the renovations spiraled amounting to an approximate total of $1.2 million spent on the project. “The concerns for the maintenance issues at Palumbo Playground were brought to us by John Smyth [of the] Palumbo advisory and Bella Vista Neighbors Association,� Squilla said. “We had Neighborhood Transformation initiative dollars that had to be spent by a certain time and Palumbo happened to be in the allotted boundaries. It all started with the state grant to help rehab the kitchen and get a sound system.� Squilla added that when he completed a walk through of the center with John Smyth and City representatives to go over a list See PALUMBO page 11 >>