Philadelphia Daily Record
-
Upload
the-public-record -
Category
Documents
-
view
217 -
download
0
description
Transcript of Philadelphia Daily Record
PhiladelphiaDaily Record
Vol. II No. 63 (223) Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia May 13, 2011
ON STAGE at Liacouras Center for Temple graduation ceremony yesterday was a host of dignitaries,
including Dr. Bill Cosby, trustee Dan Polett, board chairman Patrick O’Connor,
and honorary doctorate recipient Chris Matthews, of “Hardball” fame.
Matthews and his whole family come from N. Phila., and he was pleased to be
back once again. More pictures page 6. Photo by Bonnie Squires
Owls’ Roost
2 | THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD 10 MAY, 2011
Casey Pushes For Training
In Children’s HospitalsUS Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) cosponsored bipartisan
legislation yesterday to reauthorize funding to the
Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education pro-
gram. For over a decade, the CHGME program has
provided children’s teaching hospitals with federal
support for job training for physicians who care for
children.
“Children are not just little adults. They have very
different medical needs and it is essential that we
have a specialized workforce to care for them,” said
the Senator. “Each year through this program, over
5,000 residents are trained to care for our youngest
patients.”
Pennsylvania has three hospitals that would be af-
fected by the cut. The Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia, the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of
UPMC and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children
would be significantly affected by the elimination of
the CHGME program, which provides funding to
children’s hospitals for job training for physicians
who care for children. These three hospitals received
approximately $40 million in federal funding in 2010.
“We are grateful to Sen. Casey for introducing legis-
lation to protect the CHGME Program, which is criti-
cal to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children’s ability
to train the pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists
needed to care for our patients,” said Carolyn Jack-
son, CEO of St. Christopher’s. “Elimination of this
vital program would exacerbate the current shortage
of pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists and ham-
per the ability of hospitals to meet the needs of the
community.”
Steven M. Altschuler, MD, CEO of The Children’s
Hospital of Philadelphia, said, “Sen. Casey’s legisla-
tion would provide critical funding necessary for us
to train physicians who will provide medical care to
children. Without this funding, The Children’s Hospi-
tal of Philadelphia and other freestanding children’s
hospitals will be less able to fulfill our goal of provid-
ing the most appropriate treatment to each child at the
right place and time.”
The bipartisan bill to reauthorize funding for
CHGME is S. 958, the Children’s Hospital GME
Support Reauthorization Act of 2011.
Toomey Presses For Policies
To Lower Gas Price, Boost SupplyAs gas prices skyrocket across
Pennsylvania and drivers face sup-
ply disruptions, Sen. Pat Toomey
(R-Pa.) is fighting for policies that
will revamp the United States’ en-
ergy policy and lower prices for
consumers.
Toomey signed a letter May 11 to
Lisa Jackson, administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency,
urging the EPA to study the effect
of the increased use of different
types of fuels in different localities
on the rising price of gas. The En-
ergy Policy Act of 2005 directed
the EPA to undertake a fuel harmo-
nization study in order to assess
the effect varying fuel standards
might have on the price of gaso-
line. Six years later, the federal
government mandates 17 different
types of fuel blends for different
parts of the country, and the EPA
has never undertaken the study.
The bipartisan fuel-harmonization
letter was also signed by eight
other Senators and a number of
House members.
In addition, the Senator is also a
cosponsor of the Gas Accessibility
& Stabilization Act, S. 511, that re-
duce the probability of gas price
spikes by simplifying our coun-
10 MAY, 2011 THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD | 3
try’s complex gasoline system. Current mandates re-
quire special blends of gas to be used in different
states and cities, complicating the supply chain and
causing unexpected price hikes if a particular blend is
in short supply. The GAS Act will reduce the number
of approved fuels and allow communities more flexi-
bility in times of shortages.
“It is critical that we pass energy legislation to keep
the cost of gasoline down,” Toomey said. “Right now,
Pennsylvanians are suffering from sky-high gas
prices and supply issues, and the administration is
simply ignoring the growing energy crisis. If the GAS
Act passed, states would have more flexibility to
meet demand and prevent price hikes. This would
offer relief to Pennsylvania suppliers and residents
right now.”
Jersey Shore House Prices
May Be StabilizingAfter several years as the most ad-
versely affected area in the Mid-
Atlantic region, the Jersey Shore’s
housing market showed continued
improvement in its vital signs this
past winter.
Following a multi-year decline in
home values that significantly ex-
ceeded that of Philadelphia and its
surrounding counties, most Shore
communities exhibited either flat
or positive price changes, accord-
ing to the latest quarterly data.
In the most recent analysis com-
pleted for Prudential Fox & Roach
by Econsult and University of
Pennsylvania economist Kevin
Gillen, the typical Jersey Shore
home declined in value by a scant
0.1% on a quality and seasonally
adjusted basis in Q1. This further
deceleration in house price de-
clines follows a decline of 1.8% in
the previous quarter, which came
on the heels of a more pronounced
decline of 6.2% in Q3 last year.
The full report can be accessed at
http://www.econsult.com/NJ_2011
_Q1.htm
When this most recent decrease is
added to the continuous price de-
clines since the market’s peak in
2006, the typical Shore dwelling
has now dropped in value by an
average of 32%.
Although the average change in
house prices this past winter was
essentially zero, there was signifi-
cant variation across communities.
In particular, Margate exhibited a
large decrease, while Atlantic City
showed a large increase. This is in
contrast to most of the previous
quarters last year, when all com-
munities were showing continued
declines in average house prices,
often in the double digits. From
smallest to largest, the average
change in house values by commu-
nity in Q1 were: Margate (-
20.3%), Somers Point (-6.5%),
Cape May* (-6.5%), Ocean City (-
5.3%), Longport (-3.4%), Ventnor
(+1.1%), Brigantine (+1.6%),
Avalon/Stone Harbor (+2.3%),
Wildwood (+3.2%), Sea Isle
City/Strathmere (+4.9%) and At-
lantic City (+24.2%).
Although price declines may be
moderating, home sales continue
to run well below average levels,
even for this time of year. Accord-
ing to the data, 295 homes trans-
acted between Brigantine and
Cape May in Q1. This is 33%
below the quarterly average of
about 430 homes, but up slightly
from the winters of the past two
years.
According to the federal govern-
ment agency FHFA, the average
US home has fallen in value since
2006 by 21%, while the average
Philadelphia and New Jersey
homes have declined by 16% and
14%, respectively.
Sen. Williams Hosts
Conference For
‘Grands-As-Parents’
This WeekendNationwide, more than 7 million
children live with grandparents,
and some one in five of those
grandparents serve as primary
caretakers – an increase of more
than 30% within the last 20 years.
And these tallies don’t include the
countless uncles, aunts, cousins
and older siblings who, despite
considerable additional financial
and emotional burdens, choose to
4 | THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD 13 MAY, 2011
When You Want Your Roof To Be Done Right The First Time
215-464-6425
2024 S. 10th St
Philadelphia PA 19148
215-468-5363
Meat
& DeliPrego Pizzelle Baker $29.99
Uno Panini Grill $39.99
CANDIDATES • POLITICIANSNews You Can Use!
Boost Your Popularity, Win On Election Day!
Tell Your Constituents To Read About
All the Work You Do For Them On the
Philadelphiadailyrecord.comEmail them a copy of this Publication!
Translation/InterpretationArabic, Hebrew, English, French
For more information, call William Hanna
267-808-0287
T h e P h i l a d e l p h i a P u b l i c R e c o r d C a l e n d a r
May 12-
State Rep. Mike O’Brien hosts
Community Mtg. on small-busi-
ness development for 175th State
House Dist. at Old Pine Commu-
nity Ctr., 401 Lombard St., 6-8
p.m.
May 13-
Dem. 13th Ward Fish Fry at Lou &
Choo’s, 21st & Hunting Park Ave.,
5-10 p.m. Donation $10. For info
Mike Pender (267) 973-0193.
May 13-
Committeepersons Special for ju-
dicial candidate Jim DiVergilis at
Finnigan’s Wake, 3rd & Spring
Garden Sts., 5-8 p.m. Tickets at
door $40.
May 13-
Sid Booker hosts Shrimp Rally for
Mayor Michael Nutter outside
Stinger La Pointe Restaurant,
4600 N. Broad St., 6-8:30 p.m. All
invited.
May 13-15
Phila. Chapter of National Con-
gress of Black Women kicks off
Black Splendor Weekend at Fri-
day formal at 1st Dist. Plaza, 7
p.m. honoring Onah C. Weldon.
May 14-
Mayfair Fallen Heroes 5K Run &
Walk at Lincoln HS, Ryan &
Rowland Aves., 8:30-10:30 a.m.
$25 proceeds support education of
police/fire survivors. For info
mayfairbiz.com/run.
May 14-
E. Mount Airy Neighbors hosts
Swing Into Spring dance party
fundraiser from 7 to 11 p.m.
Music by Doc Gibbs. Open
wine/beer bar, hors d’oeuvres and
desserts. Tickets $90, tax de-
ductible. Benbow Hall on
Lutheran Seminary Campus, 7301
Germantown Ave., 7-11 p.m. Free
Parking. For more info www.east-
mountairy.org.
May 14-
State Sen. Anthony H. Williams,
with Grands As Parents and Turn-
ing Points for Children, hosts day-
long workshop for kinship
caregivers from 8:30 a.m. to 3
p.m. at the McNeil STC Building
at Univ. of Sciences, 42nd &
Woodland Ave., 8:30 a.m.-3 Free
public event. Lunch. Registration
needed. Call Brenda Rich (215)
875-4955 or birch@turningpoints-
forchildren.org.
May 14-
Fundraiser for 8th Dist. Council
candidate Robin Tasco at 7165
Germantown Ave., 7 p.m.-12 a.m.
Buffet dinner and dancing. Dona-
tions $100-$1,000. For info Ros
(267) 593-1571 or www.robin-
tasco.com.
May 14-
E. Mt. Airy Neighbors hosts
Swing Into Spring at Lutheran
Theological, Brossman Bldg.,
Benbow Ha., 7301 Germantown
Ave., 7-11 p.m. Tickets $90, under
age 35 $60. For info (215) 242-
4170.
May 15-
Democrats of Oak Lane Team
present Marion Wimbush’s annual
Breakfast and Meet & Greet can-
didates at Oak Lane Diner, 6528
N. Broad St., 9 a.m.-12 m. Broad-
cast over WURD 900 AM.
May 15-
Friends of Marian Tasco present
Jazz Brunch at View, 800 N.
Broad St., 8th fl., 1-4 p.m. En-
trance on Brown Street. Featuring
Sherry Wilson Butler. $65 person.
No tickets will be sold at door.
Contact Jalila Brown or Nedia
Ralston (215) 437-3294.
13 MAY, 2011 THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD | 5
step into that breach when parents walk away.
A distinguished panel from academia, the judicial
system as well as municipal and civic associations
will discuss this important and timely issue tomorrow.
Despite the daunting statistics, the tools to make these
efforts easier too often are not apparent. This confer-
ence changes that by offering caregivers legal, finan-
cial, educational and behavioral health workshops
and a resource pavilion all in one place.
The conference will run Saturday, May 14 from 8:30
a.m. to 3 p.m; opening session at 9:15 am. It will be
held at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia,
McNeil STC Center, 43rd & Woodland Avenue.
Workshops run 10 a.m.-12:15 p.m. The keynote lunch
speaker at 1 p.m. will be Daily News columnist Elmer
Smith.
There will be a panel discussion 1:30-2:30 p.m., mod-
erated by Trudy Haynes, pioneering broadcaster. Pan-
elists include Dr. Arthur Evans, Philadelphia
Behavioral Health Commissioner; Hon. Kevin
Dougherty, Administrative Judge, Family Court;
Anne Marie Ambrose, Human Services Commis-
sioner; Karren Dunkley, executive director, Parent,
Family, Community Engagement & Faith Based Part-
nership, Philadelphia School District; and Robin
Mekonnen, project director, Penn State and CHOP
studies.
Curry: Gov. Corbett
Has Declared War On SeniorsState Rep. Lawrence Curry (D-Northeast) today said
Gov. Corbett has “declared war on seniors.”
“The Governor’s proposal to slash $1 billion in edu-
cation funding will force an increase in local property
taxes,” Curry said. “The House Republican version
of the budget does not do much to make that better.
They propose cuts of more than $900 million.”
The House Republican version of the Governor’s
budget (HB 1485) was reported out of the House Ap-
propriations Committee Wednesday.
“In order to restore that small portion to education,
House Republicans steal from the Dept. of Public
Welfare,” Curry said, “eliminating services for sen-
iors, women and children. This is not acceptable.”
Curry is Democratic chairman of the House Commit-
tee on Aging and Older Adult Services.
“Already our local school boards have announced
their responses to the loss of State dollars,” Curry
said. Springfield will increase its millage rate by 1.4;
Jenkintown plans a 4.96 mill increase and a pay
freeze for administrative and teaching staff; and in
order to avoid a tax increase, Cheltenham has an-
nounced a pay freeze but will also eliminate adminis-
trative, support and teaching staff.”
HB 1485 is slated for floor debate in the House on
May 23.
6 | THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD 13 MAY, 2011
Temple Sends Off Another Class
TEMPLE TRUSTEES, from left, Bob Rovner, Esq., Dr.
Bill Cosby and Pat Eiding gather before Temple’s Com-
mencement on Thursday at Liacouras Center.
STATE SEN. Mike Stack greets Chris
Matthews, host of MSNBC’s “Hardball”
daily show, before Matthews received an
honorary doctorate from Temple at Com-
mencement.
BILL COSBY regaled thousands of graduates, their families, and faculty and staff, by telling them he
had invited FEMA to come distribute water, blankets and checks for those graduates who had no idea
where to go after receiving their diplomas.
13 MAY, 2011 THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD | 7
Sen. Kitchen: Hip Hop Artists to Sur-
prise Dobbins HS Students With ConcertLocal hip hop artists will encour-
age Dobbins Technical HS to reach
for the STAARS with a concert
this afternoon at1:30 p.m. The
Senator will join Principal Charles
Whiting and the STAARS music
program to encourage students to
reach for the stars through a free
concert featuring Philadelphia rap
artists Young Chris and Neef of the
popular hip hop duo Young Gunz,
Freeway and other new up and
coming artists. STAARS stands for
STressing Academics through
ARtS.
Dobbins is located at 2150 W.
Lehigh Avenue.
Baldi MS Partnership Boosts Arts Education
IN MS. PATRICIA ELDER’S
art classroom, Abington Art
Center’s Mosaic Mural Making
Residency with Carol Stirton-
Broad enlisted, from left, Ms.
Elder, Stanley Kanevsky, George
Kurudimov and Mr. Stuart
Friedberg, art teacher.
PARTNERSHIP, fostered by ArtsRising,
will help expand equitable access to high-
quality arts education for children in
Greater Phila. Here, Ms. Jennifer Maz-
zuca’s class experiences Literacy Through
Photography with Liz Gilly of Moore Col-
lege of Art. From left, Pedro Palmer,
Tamia Scott, Nathaniel Carroll and Eliza-
beth Merrigan.
ARTSEE OPEN HOUSE at C.C.A.
Baldi Middle School celebrated school’s
new arts residency partnership with
Abington Art Center and local artists.
Here, Mr. Brian Bernardini’s music
class experiences the Peace Train Resi-
dency with Sharon Katz. From left,
Kristina Colon, Khakiza Ibrogimova,
Kaitlin Summers, Hailey Iovino, Aimee
Papadopolous, Ashley Ryan and Somya
Vats.
8 | THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD 13 MAY, 2011
ROSS BESCHLER plays “The Man” in EgoPo’s
PIFA production.
by Adam Taxin
EgoPo’s world-premiere production of Hell, with
three performances remaining (tonight and tomorrow
at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 5 PM), offers a relatively grip-
ping, proto-existentialist study of solitude versus at-
tachment to other human beings.
The play, performed in the venerable, if unorthodox,
venue of the library of the German Society of
Philadelphia (611 Spring Garden Street), is based on
a widely-read French novel by Henri Barbusse which
was considered extremely scandalous upon its 1908
release. The novel has been adapted for stage by Lane
Savadove, EgoPo’s producing artistic director, and
Ross Beschler, who plays “The Man,” the play’s 30-
something, World War I-veteran narrator/central char-
acter.
Set in a Paris boarding-house room, the play enables
audiences to ponder issues of loneliness, sexuality,
vulnerability and aging through the prism of The
Man, who is not particularly connected to any other
humans or to his work. Any audience member should
be able to identify with at least a few of the issues
with which The Man struggles in his mind (perhaps
in particular those of us who are almost 40, unmar-
ried, childless and not employed in a conventional-of-
fice way).
The device used to develop the play’s story and
themes is a mysterious hole in the wall which enables
peeping on the boarding house’s other guests. One
imagines that things would be a lot different had The
Man then had available certain technologies we today
take for granted, but the protagonist becomes quite
absorbed by the other guests’ lives and own struggles,
reconsidering himself in the process.
Beschler, a veteran of EgoPo’s Waiting for Godot and
Marat/Sade, as well as productions at Peoples Light
& Theatre, Lantern Theater and Theatre Exile, ab-
sorbs the audience from the start, although his con-
stantly-extremely-dramatic delivery becomes slightly
tiresome toward the latter part of the production of
over two hours. (One may get tempted during the per-
formance to speculate for analogies … in this re-
viewer’s case, it was that of Howard Cosell trying to
squeeze drama out of a meaningless mid-1980s pre-
season Monday Night Football game involving the
Detroit Lions and Houston Oilers.) But on the whole,
Beschler provided a very engaging performance, as
were those given by, among others, Ed Swidey (re-
cently, Angus in Macbeth at the Wilma) and Mary
Lee Bednarek (several roles in Lantern’s Henry IV,Part I).
Audiences probably should be made aware in ad-
vance that at one late point in the play the costuming
Better Act Quickly
If You Hope To Go To ‘Hell’
13 MAY, 2011 THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD | 9
for one particular actress is minimized to an extent
that does not even officially take place a few blocks
down Spring Garden Street at Delilah’s Gentlemen’s
Club & Steakhouse. (It should be noted that, aestheti-
cally speaking, that particular visual earns a heartily
positive review).
EgoPo, whose name means “the physical self,” relo-
cated to Philadelphia from New Orleans in 2005 after
Hurricane Katrina. Savadove, the company’s artistic
director, has a long history of directing and adapting
classic French theater for the stage.
Performed in conjunction with the Paris-in-1911-
themed Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts
(PIFA), Hell is the finale to EgoPo’s 2010-2011 sea-
son. The season, devoted to French Avant Garde and
Theater of Cruelty, has included Marat/Sade and Ar-taud Unbound. EgoPo’s 2011-2012 season theme will
be “Festival of Jewish Theater” and will feature TheDiary of Anne Frank, The Golem and The Dybbuk.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Note: a slightly different version of this review article
appears today in the author’s “Philadelphia Jewish
Culture Examiner” page on examiner.com.