Philadelphia Daily Record

PhiladelphiaDaily Record

Vol. I No. 122 Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia December 21, 2010

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earth and good will toward all. Photo by Robert Mendelsohn

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2 | THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD 21 DECEMBER, 2010

Lenfest PlacesChips OnCity’s CollegeProgramMayor Michael A. Nutter an-

nounced a $750,000 grant from the

Lenfest Foundation to support ef-

forts to increase the college attain-

ment rate in the City of

Philadelphia. The Foundation’s

support will fund the work of the

PhillyGoes2College Office and the

CollegeReady Committee of the

Council for College and Career

Success- two initiatives overseen

by the Mayor’s Office of Educa-

tion as part of an effort to increase

the number of college graduates in

Philadelphia. This is one of the

largest grants the Lenfest Founda-

tion has awarded this year.

A key component of the Mayor’s

educational agenda is to increase

the City’s college-attainment rate

from 18% to 36% by 2018. In

2007, the US Census Bureau re-

ported Philadelphia was ranked

92nd out of the 100 largest cities in

the country in college degree at-

tainment, with only 18% of adults

holding a Bachelor’s degree. Over

the past several years, this rate has

increased to 21%.

“The Lenfest Foundation’s gener-

ous grant will provide support to

those who want to explore postsec-

ondary education opportunities and

earn a college degree,” said Nutter.

“This funding will provide the pub-

lic with important information and

resources so they can make in-

formed, educational decisions to

support their personal and profes-

sional needs. In Philadelphia, col-

lege graduates earn more than

twice as much as high-school grad-

uates and ultimately strengthen our

workforce.”

“It’s our pleasure to support the ef-

forts of Mayor Nutter to ensure all

Philadelphians have access to qual-

ity information and resources to

help them earn a college degree,”

said H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest. “This is

an investment in Philadelphia’s fu-

ture.”

The Lenfest Foundation grant will

expand the PhillyGoes2College of-

fice’s outreach efforts to provide

information and referrals about

college-going at a City Hall-based

office, through a website, citywide

workshops and events for Philadel-

phians of all ages. Grant funding

will also support the data-collec-

tion and analysis work of the Col-

legeReady Committee, a

sub-committee of the Council for

College and Career Success. This

Committee brings stakeholders

from K-12 schools and higher edu-

cation institutions together with

community and business leaders to

identify and address challenges to

college attainment in Philadelphia.

21 DECEMBER, 2010 THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD | 3

A press conference is scheduled at

the National Constitution Center to

announce the results of the Penn-

sylvania Civic Health Index, the fist

assessment of its kind in the Com-

monwealth of Pennsylvania.

The report contains data never be-

fore collected or reported. It tells

the State’s civic-health story —

how we compare to the rest of the

country when it comes to voting

and volunteering.

The conference will be held at 2

p.m. with Gov. Ed G. Rendell, the

keynote speaker.

How’s Our Civic Health?

The Fruit Fleet’s In

OFFICIALS of Philadelphia Regional Port Authority and steamship line CSAV welcomed first Chilean

fruit vessel of the season to PRPA’s Tioga Marine Terminal on Dec. 20, 2010. Due to climate issues in

southern hemisphere, this year’s fruit season is starting a little later than usual, though Capt. Andrés

Montecinos predicts healthy volumes, possibly surpassing last year’s volumes by 5% or more. Pictured

from left are PRPA Senior Deputy Executive Director Robert C. Blackburn, PRPA Director of Marketing

Sean Mahoney, Capt. Montecinos, and PRPA Executive Director James T. McDermott, Jr.


Surveillance cameras

Aim To ‘CLIP’

Illegal Dumping

In LoganAfter a recent September commu-

nity meeting, organized by the

“Citizens United to Fight Blight” at

the Harold O. Davis Memorial

Baptist Church, surveillance cam-

eras have been installed on the

Logan Triangle. The meeting de-

manded measures that security

cameras be installed at the Logan

Triangle to capture information on

the persistent illegal activity on and

around the 35-acre vacant property.

Philadelphia’s Community Life

Improvement Program began in-

stalling these cameras during the

week of Oct. 27 and as of Friday,

Nov. 5, a total of three cameras are

in full operation, according to

Brian Abernathy, chief of staff to

Managing Director Richard Ne-

grin. The triangle, located between

Roosevelt Boulevard, Wingohock-

ing Street, 11th Street and Marvine

Street, has been beset by illegal

dumping, prostitution and crime

over the past 20 years. The Harold

O. Davis Church is located at the

south corner of the triangle and has

been fighting these unwanted activ-

ities for years. It is now partnering

with Logan CDC to tackle these is-

sues.

The “traveling” cameras are meant

to be moved around the city as

needed, but will remain on the

Logan Triangle for an undeter-

mined amount of time, according

to Abernathy. CLIP is part of the

Streets Dept. and the Managing Di-

rector’s Office, and both offices

will be monitoring the footage

from the surveillance cameras and

will be documenting license-plate

numbers in order to issue citations.

Other key projects of the Logan

CDC are the Logan CDC Carlton

Simmons Community Technology

Center, the Logan Neighborhood

Advisory Committee, a compre-

hensive downtown revitalization

initiative, and development of the

Logan Urban Renewal Area.

Building IndustryGroup Picks NewBoard MembersFour new members have been

elected to the Board of Directors

for the non-profit Building Industry

Association of Philadelphia. They

are:

Brian Emmons, division assistant

VP for Toll Brothers’ Philadelphia

City Living Division, is a Center

City resident. His responsibilities

include managing the day-to-day

operations for Toll Bothers

Philadelphia Market. He is a gradu-

ate of Purdue University and

worked for a commercial real-es-

tate development company in

Lafayette Indiana for 10 years prior

to joining Toll Brothers.

Carrie Nase is an attorney with the

Center City law firm of Fox Roth-

schild and a resident of Con-

shohocken. Her practice focuses on

representing developers, educa-

tional institutions, builders and

property owners in connection with

real-estate matters, including trans-

actional, zoning and land-use is-

sues. A graduate of Temple

University and its law school, she

has been selected as a “Pennsylva-

nia Rising Star” by PhiladelphiaMagazine and Law & PoliticsMagazine (2006, 2007, 2008).

Martin Jay Tackett, AIA, is a Cen-

ter City resident and principal ar-

chitect at Tackett & Co., Inc.,

based in Center City. He is a gradu-

ate of Penn State and has his Mas-

ter’s degree in architecture from

Yale University. He served six

years on the Board of Trustees of

the Foundation for Architecture

and has been a guest critic in archi-

tecture and design at Penn State,

Columbia, Temple, Ohio State,

Philadelphia University and

Drexel. His firm won the Gold Seal

Award forthe renovation of the 22-

story Fountains at Logan Square in

2002 and the Vice President’s

Golden Hammer for the EPA re-

gional headquarters.

Jonathan Taylor is president and

CEO of Modular Manufacturers

Group LLC, based in Glenside,

PA., a builder of modular homes

and authorized dealer of modular

Dec. 17-

Laborers’ Local 331 hosts annual

Richard Legree Toys for Tots at

Union Hall, 1310 Wallace St., 3

p.m. Toys will be given to children

from Prodigy Day Care Ctr., Cun-

ningham Ctr., Woodstock

Women’s Shelter and Big Broth-

ers/Big Sisters.

Dec. 17-

Friends of Chris Vogler Winter

Warmup gala at SmokeEaters Pub,

7681 Frankford Ave., 7 to 10 p.m.

Tickets $40. For info call Bob

Cummings at 267-471-9607.

Dec. 18-

Caribbean Night Happy Hour

fundraiser for Lawrence Clark for

City Council at Banana’s 876

Lounge, 5500 Rising Sun Ave., 6-9

p.m. Donation $10 includes food.;

donate blanket for homeless and

it’s $8. Make checks to

Clark4Change, P.O. Box 27154,

Phila., PA 19118.

Dec. 30- Friends of Council-

man Curtis Jones, Jrt., host year-

end fundraiser “Curt Ain’t Crying

the BLues” at Le Cochon NOIR,

5070 Parkside Av., Susite, 5100E.

7 p.m. to midnight.

Jan. 27-

Edward J. Lowry, founder of Phila.

Veterans MultiService & Educa-

tion Ctr., will be honored on retire-

ment at Waterfall Rm. in Plumbers

Local 690 Union Hall, 2791

Southampton Rd., Cocktails 6-8

p.m., followed by Tribute Pro-

gram. Tickets $65. Order by phone

(215) 238-8050. Event Chair Ed

Keenan, Board Chair Jim Mc-

Nesby and Exec. Dir. Marsha Four.


homes in Pennsylvania, New Jer-

sey, Maryland and Washington,

D.C. He was previously president

and CEO of Atlantic Partners, Ltd.,

an international marketing com-

pany; and the family-owned Taylor

Lock Co. with factories and clients

worldwide. He is also a Glenside

resident.

The BIA of Philadelphia, estab-

lished in 1937, is the nonprofit or-

ganization which supports and

promotes residential development

in the City.

Vince Hughes And Friends

Warm Up World Café Live

SHERYL LEE RALPH and her husband State Sen. Vincent Hughes

speak at their annual holiday charity fundraiser held at World Café

Live last night. Photos by Robert Mendelsohn


AMONG HUNDREDS of socialites who turned out for an evening of entertainment in a good cause at

Hughes affair were, from left, State Rep. Vanessa Lowery Brown, School Superintendent Arlene Acker-

man and Council Majority Leader Marian Tasco.

Emotionally Empty True Grit Provides Striking Old West Scenery

Jeff Bridges pits himself against

the ghost of John Wayne in this

remake of a classic Western.

by Adam TaxinPretty much all movies transport

audience members somehow from

their own existences. Some just are

better about leaving long-lasting

post-cineplex-departure “memo-

ries” of places and eras which

those audience members will never

actually personally visit.

Such is the case with True Grit, aremake of the 1969 John Wayne-

starring film based on Charles Por-

tis’ novel, to be released widely in

theaters tomorrow.

Talented directors Joel & Ethan

Coen (Oscar Best Picture winner

No Country for Old Men, Fargo,

The Big Lebowski, Miller’s Cross-ing) left remarkable and beautiful

visual impressions of 1870s Ft.

Smith, Arkansas and Indian Terri-

tory (now Oklahoma) in recounting

a story of the attempt of 14-year-

old narrator Mattie Ross (new-

comer Hailee Steinfeld) to extract

revenge, with the help of no-non-

sense US Marshal Rooster Cog-

burn (Jeff Bridges in the role

played by Wayne), for the murder

of her father.

As is customary in a Coen Brothers

movie, the Cogburn role is played

by Bridges with considerable


quirks and humor. The acting of

Steinfeld as Ross is, however, just

a bit too flat (perhaps purposely) to

be believable or engender much

sympathy. Josh Brolin as Tom

Chaney, the murderer of Ross’s fa-

ther, and Matt Damon as Texas

Ranger LaBoeuf (no first name)

are adequate, but one could see

other competent actors portraying

such roles equally well.

The explanation for the film’s PG-

13 rating as “some intense se-

quences of Western violence

including disturbing images” is a

bit of an understatement. The

movie contains numerous parts

which are just gruesome and would

likely detract from the moviegoing

experience of someone of even av-

erage queasiness. Several days

later, creatively gory visuals, par-

ticularly several scenes involving

decayed corpses, lingered more

than the way any lines were written

or delivered.

For this reviewer, there may be an

extraordinarily high threshold for

being actually disturbed by a

movie, but at the same time, plenty

of audience members will not fail

to notice when shock value seems

almost a substitute for particularly

memorable dialogue, classic scenes

and characters about whom one ac-

tually cares. Somehow, some pretty

good movies were made long be-

came it became commonplace for

directors continually to raise the

bar in shocking audiences.

True Grit opens for wide release

tomorrow at the UA Riverview

Plaza Stadium 17 (South Philadel-

phia), the Pearl Theatre at Avenue

North (North Philadelphia), and the

UA Grant Plaza (Northeast

Philadelphia), as well as numerous

suburban theaters.

Adam Taxin can be reached viaFacebook or [email protected].

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