Philadelphia Daily Record

PhiladelphiaDaily Record

Vol. III No. 37 (405) Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia February 28, 2012

Casey Intros ‘Bill’

FORMER CONGRESSMAN Rev. Bill Gray was honored by Sen. Bob Casey as

part of Black History Month. Crowd packs Kennedy Caucus Room in Russell

Senate Office Building for a symposium Story page 3

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T h e P h i l a d e l p h i aP u b l i c R e c o r d

C a l e n d a rMar. 1- State Reps. Kevin

and Brendan Boyle kick off

reelection campaigns at The

Hop Angel, 7980 Oxford

Ave., 5:30-7:30 p.m. Buffet,

open bar and 50/50 raffle $30

per person. RSVP (276) 988-

6257 or send checks payable

to Friends of Kevin Boyle,

8035 Burholme Ave., Phila.,

PA 19111.

Mar. 3- Bill Brunkel hosts

Irish Night With State Rep.

John Taylor at McCullough

Ha., 6309 Torresdale Ave., 8

p.m.-12 a.m. Ticket $30. In-

cludes beer, soda, and food.

BYOB and setups welcomed.

Music: Celtic Connection.

For info Paul Kiser (609)

774-1397, Fax (215) 739-

7776.

Mar. 5- Councilman David

Oh celebrates birthday at

Racquet Club, 215 S. 15th St.,

6-8 p.m. Trustees $500, Sup-

porters $250, Friends

$100Checks payable to “Citi-

zens for David Oh.” No cor-

porate checks.RSVP Eunice

Lee [email protected] or

(215) 561-2000 by Feb. 27.

Mar. 10- NIA-PAC’s

Carnevale, 6 p.m. Union

League. Vincent Papale, Mas-

ter of Ceremonies. Formal

dinner and auction. Black tie

preferred. Chair Hon. Amato

Berardi. Individual seating

$185. For details Judy Camiel

(610) 668-1730.

Mar. 12- Cocktail Event for

State Rep. Tina Davis at Zia’s

at Red Door, 110 N. 2nd St.,

Harrisburg, Pa. Tickets $50,

$100, $500 and $1,000. For

info Seth Skversky (215)

550-1186.

Mar. 13- Friends of Damon

Roberts hosts fundraiser at S.

Philly Tap Room, 1509 Mif-

flin St., 6-8 pm.

Mar. 15- Councilman Jim

Kenney’s St. Patrick’s Day

Party at Galdo’s, 20th & Moy-

amensing Ave., 6-8 p.m.

Tickets at door, $35 each.

Mar. 16-17- Programs for

Teaching Educational Confer-

ence sponsored by Phila. Fed-

eration of Teachers Health &

Welfare Fund at Sheraton,

17th & Race. 50 topics. State

Rep. James Roebuck, special

guest speaker. For info (215)

561-2722.

Mar. 17- Pentecostal Clergy

holds 12th-Anniversary

Breakfast, at View, 800 N.

Broad St., 7th fl., 7:30 a.m.

Tickets $25. Full tables $250.

Call Dorothy Sturgis (215)

991-9830.

Meat

& DeliPrego Pizzelle Baker $29.99

Uno Panini Grill $39.99


• PHILADELPHIADAILYRECORD.COM | 3

To commemorate Black History

Month, US Sen. Bob Casey (D-

Pa.) honored former Congressman

William H. Gray III in a speech on

the Senate floor and through a

symposium on Gray and Histori-

cally Black Colleges and Universi-

ties.

“For his entire life, Bill Gray has

been a minister and shepherd for

his congregation, his constituents,

historically Black colleges, and all

Americans in need of a strong

voice,” the Senator said. “In the

Senate today, we express our grati-

tude for the excellent work of Rev.

Bill Gray’s ‘whole ministry,’ a

commitment that has touched liter-

ally millions of men and women.”

In his floor speech, Casey high-

lighted Bill Gray’s work at the

Bright Hope Baptist Church in

Philadelphia, in Congress, with the

United Negro College Fund and

with various other organizations to

bring about positive change and to

ensure that a future of opportunity

is accessible to all youth.

Following his speech on the Sen-

ate floor, Casey hosted a sympo-

sium to discuss Bill Gray’s

contributions to his church, the na-

tion, and education at Historically

Black Colleges and Universities.

Symposium panelists included

Rev. William “Bill” Moore, pastor

at 10th Memorial Baptist Church in

North Philadelphia; Rev. Kevin R.

Johnson, the successor to Bill

Gray as senior pastor at Bright

Hope Baptist; Alan Kirschner,

president of Kirschner & Associ-

ates and former executive VP for

development of UNCF; Congress-

woman Maxine Waters; and Dr.

John Silvanus Wilson, Jr., execu-

tive director of the White House’s

Initiative on Historically Black

Colleges and Universities.

Casey: Bill GrayIs Part of History

Brady Is PleasedFood Crisis Is EasingIn response to the latest Food Re-

search and Action Center report re-

leased yesterday, Congressman

Bob Brady (D-Pa.) issued the fol-

lowing statement:

“According to the FRAC report,

food hardship in the 1st Congres-

sional Dist. has declined steadily

over the past two years. I am

pleased we are moving in the right

direction, but we are far from

where we need to be. That’s why I

am committed to doing all that I

can to ensure people do not go

hungry in the 1st Congressional

Dist.

“In Washington, I created the

Hunger Taskforce, a workgroup of

Members of Congress who repre-

sent districts with the highest rates

of food hardship designed to tackle

our shared challenges; cospon-

sored the Healthy Food Financing

Initiative, a range of programs that

will expand access to healthy, af-

fordable foods in food deserts

across the country; and I am an

original cosponsor of the National

Cooperative Development Act,

legislation that would create jobs

and low-cost markets in low-in-

come communities.

“I pressed Gov. Corbett to end the

Commonwealth’s dangerous and

counterproductive reinstatement of

an asset test for SNAP; and I am



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working with US Agriculture

Secretary Vilsack and his team

to obtain funding for food

banks to continue to meet the

needs of the hungry. After my

last meeting with the Secretary,

he joined me in urging Pennsyl-

vania to reconsider its asset test

policy.

“And by working with the pri-

vate sector, state, federal and

City of Chester officials, we are

bringing an innovative super-

market/food bank to Chester.

This facility, which is being

spearheaded by Philabundance,

a widely respected nonprofit,

will be Chester’s first supermar-

ket in years and the first of its

kind to be operated by a food-

aid group as a nonprofit.

“Hunger in America is real and

I am committed to continue to

work to ensure that in hard-hit

cities, such as Chester, we de-

velop real solutions to the is-

sues that are creating hunger

hardship.”



Higher Taxes OKTo Boost City Services

A new public opinion poll commis-

sioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts’

Philadelphia Research Initiative finds

Philadelphians are increasingly con-

cerned about the overall local tax

burden but many residents appear

willing to pay more in return for bet-

ter services.

The survey also finds that Philadel-

phians favor the idea of commercial

advertising at City Hall and other

municipal properties in order to raise

revenue but are cool to the idea of

taxing sugary drinks.

Seventy percent of those polled say

high taxes are a “somewhat serious”

or “very serious” problem in their

neighborhoods – up from 55% in

2010 and 62% last year. Fifty-four

percent say they “pay too much” for

the level of city services they receive,

compared with 39% who feel they

get their “money’s worth” or a “good

deal” for their tax dollars.

At the same time, 49% say they

would prefer to pay higher taxes for

more city services, as opposed to

42% who prefer lower taxes and

fewer services. Residents were

evenly split on this question in polls

conducted the past three years.

“Philadelphians send a variety of

messages about taxes,” said Larry

Eichel, project director of PRI. “On

the one hand, a large majority of resi-

dents are increasingly concerned

about the size of the overall tax bur-

den. On the other hand, a significant

number of people say they would be

willing to pay more if they thought

they would get more for their

money.”

On the concept of permitting adver-

tisements on city buildings, 56% of

Philadelphians approve while 34%

are opposed. As for a tax on soda and

other sugary drinks, 49% disapprove

of the idea, and 46% support it, with

positions on both sides deeply en-

trenched.

Legislation allowing advertising on

city property was introduced in City

Council earlier this year by Council

President Darrell Clarke, but has not

yet been acted upon. The sugary

drinks tax has been put forward twice

in the last two years by Mayor

Michael Nutter, and Council failed to

adopt it on either occasion.

The survey also gauged attitudes to-

ward city workers’ pensions.

Philadelphians are closely divided on

whether newly hired city employees

should get the same pension benefits

as current workers and retirees, as is

the case now, or whether the City

should be able to give them lower

benefits to save money. Overall, 47%

say new hires should receive the

same pension package, and 43%

favor the alternative. Last year the

split was 45-44%.



At yesterday’s Senate Appropriations Com-

mittee budget hearing, Democratic Appro-

priations Chair Vincent Hughes (D-W.

Phila.) questioned Pennsylvania Dept. of

Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis about

the potential impact of Gov. Tom Corbett’s

$400 million in proposed education budget

cuts.

“There is no doubt Corbett’s school-funding

plan will force even greater hardships on

many Pennsylvania school districts, parents

and students,” Hughes said. “This plan

would force more local tax increases, pro-

gram cuts and spikes in class sizes.

“In addition, the Governor and Education

Dept. officials continue to be evasive about

the total dollars that are being cut and how

the budget cuts impact financially strapped

districts that are now struggling to pay their

bills and stave off insolvency.”

The Senator was specifically concerned by

Secretary Tomalis’ admission the depart-

ment is unsure about the number of fiscally

distressed schools in Pennsylvania.

“I am deeply concerned that the Dept. of

Education does not know how many

schools are near the edge of the fiscal cliff,”

Hughes said. “How can we save these

schools if we cannot even identify the

school districts? The Corbett Administration

needs to be aggressive and try and prevent

school district insolvency.”

Secretary Tomalis stated the department

does not know how many schools are fis-

cally distressed because the schools don’t

tell them.

Hughes also questioned the Secretary about

so-called ‘pay-to-play,’ where parents are

now having to pay for their children to par-

ticipate in school sports and other extracur-

ricular activities.

“For parents struggling to make ends meet,

paying for their children to play sports or

participate in other extracurricular activities

is a serious burden,” Hughes said. “With

studies showing these activities help pre-

vent these kids from dropping out or getting

into trouble, it is important we continue to

provide them with little cost to parents.

“If we can keep students interested in sports

or other extra-curricular activities, we save

taxpayers’ dollars in the long run.”

Hughes also questioned cuts to the Pennsyl-

vania Higher Education Assistance Agency

at a time when students need assistance due

to higher-education funding cuts and tuition

hikes.

“It makes no sense to cut PHEAA’s budget

right now when higher education cuts will

force tuition hikes and put a college degree

out of reach for many promising students,”

Hughes said. “Students and parents are si-

multaneously being whipsawed by tuition

increases and aid decreases. We must ex-

plore these options, not jam our kids and

their parents with disastrous cuts that result

in tuition increases.”

Hughes: Better NumbersOn Schools Are Needed



Guv Forms eHealthAdvisory CommitteeGov. Tom Corbett announced the

formal creation of the Pennsylva-

nia eHealth Collaborative Advi-

sory Committee.

“This committee will support the

Pennsylvania eHealth Collabora-

tive’s efforts to advance health in-

formation exchange with the goal

of improving patient health and

safety,” Corbett said.

Corbett issued an executive order

last July creating the collaborative.

Pennsylvania was awarded $17

million under the American Rein-

vestment & Recovery Act to help

advance health information ex-

change. The act also provides in-

centives to doctors and hospitals to

adopt electronic health records.

The committee consists of the

state health information-technol-

ogy coordinator and appointees

who represent the interests of a

broad spectrum of the health-care

stakeholder community.

“We would like to acknowledge

many of the advisory-committee

members who have been active

participants in the collaborative

planning process. We look forward

to working with the committee to

improve health care in Pennsylva-

nia,” said George White, the

State’s chief information officer.

Health-information exchanges

allow health-care providers such

as hospitals, clinics and physicians

to securely share patient informa-

tion from multiple sources, includ-

ing other hospital systems, labs

and pharmacies. By protecting pa-

tient information and providing

fast, comprehensive access to data,

health-information exchanges can

improve patient safety, reduce re-

dundant tests and procedures, and

improve public health monitoring.

Among the individuals appointed

to the advisory committee is

Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Don-

ald Schwarz, MD, MPH.

K. Boyle Says He’sPassed The $200K Mark

The reelection campaign of State Rep.

Kevin Boyle (D-Northeast) has officially

announced it has already raised over

$200,000 for this campaign. The cam-

paign is on track to meet its $500,000

goal for the 2012 campaign.

Strong fundraising is not new for Boyle.

In 2010, he raised over $400,000 in his

successful race against former House

Speaker John Perzel. “Kevin is a great

fundraiser and his impressive numbers

show that,” said Ethan Smith, who is Ex-

ecutive Director of the House Democratic

Campaign Committee.

In addition to what candidates raise for

their own races, HDCC spends its re-

sources in its targeted races, which are

typically in competitive districts. “In

2010, the HDCC raised $7 million dollars

to help our members and we expect to hit

that number again this year,” said HDCC

Chairman State Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-

Northeast), Kevin’s brother.



St. Louis Charges Cohen‘Intimidates’ Voters

The races for state legislature in

Pennsylvania are heating up now,

especially in House Dist. 202.

Running in this district is the in-

cumbent, Mark Cohen (D-N.

Phila.), a Democrat who has been

in office for nearly 40 years. His

opponent is Numa St. Louis, a

committeeman and educator from

the 61st ward. St. Louis collected

more than three times the amount

of petition signatures required to

obtain candidacy.

The week following the petition

phase is usually used by candi-

dates to challenge signatures.

However, charges St. Louis,

Cohen is using this period to im-

pose “intimidation tactics” on St.

Louis’ supporters in the district.

St. Louis has been contacted by

several voters who reported they

received unsolicited contact from

Mark Cohen. “This is ironic, con-

sidering that during the petition

phase, many voters which Numa

and his volunteers approached did

not know who State Rep. Mark

Cohen was,” said St. Louis.

“These reports come right on the

heels of evidence that Mark Cohen

has misappropriated public funds

and tax payer dollars for personal

use, and is one of the state’s most-

frequent collectors of per diems,”

continued St. Louis.

Cohen, who is a prolific Facebook

communicator, has bashed St.

Louis for being “fraudulent” and

exercising poor judgment in the

selection of his own Facebook

friends.

City Councilman Jim Kenney

hosted a group of approximately

100 local senior citizens and 6th-

7th-8th-grade students from the

Daroff Charter School, 56th & Vine

Streets, at a screening of Red Tails,a film about the Tuskegee Airmen

– an all-African American World

War II fighter-pilot squadron – this

morning at the Rave Motion Pic-

ture University City.

Following the screening, box

lunches were served and the Coun-

cilman will join two retired

Tuskegee airmen – Henry Moore

and Bertan Levy – for a brief dis-

cussion and Q & A on stage. The

students will be presented with

“Red Tail Tuskegee Airman”

patches.

The senior citizens came from the

Haddington Multi-Service Center,

located at 5331 Haverford Avenue.

Kenney Takes KidsTo Movies Today

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