Dining Out with Ted Allen
Family Portrait: Johanna Rosen
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Election interviews Interviews with Josephs and Sims Editorial on endorsements
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April 20-26, 2012
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Vol. 36 No. 16
Senior-housing program gets green light, construction to begin this fall By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
After years of stops and starts, the city’s proposed LGBT-friendly senior residences got one of its most important green lights last week. Backers of the proposed William Way Senior Residences were notified April 12 that the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency awarded the proposal low-income housing tax credits, the final piece of the funding needed to move the project forward.
SEPTA to drop gender markers in 2013 The end appears to be in sight for SEPTA’s decades-old gender-marker system that many say discriminates against transgender and gender nonconforming riders. SEPTA general manager Joe Casey told PGN this week that the agency intends to cease use of the stickers in the second half of 2013, several months before its new farecollection process begins to be rolled out. Since the 1980s, markers designating “male” or “female” have been used on all SEPTA transpasses, an effort that the agency has said cuts down on pass-sharing. However, LGBT and ally activists have said the system leaves some passengers open to undue scrutiny PAGE 44
City appeals Scouts ruling
Endorsements U.S. Senate Bob Casey U.S. House of Representatives 13th District: Allyson Schwartz
City attorneys this week appealed recent rulings by a federal judge in the dispute involving a local Boy Scouts council’s occupation of a city-owned building. Two notices of appeal were filed April 16 with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The first document appeals last month’s ruling by U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter upholding a jury verdict that the city violated the constitutional rights of the BSA Cradle of Liberty Council when trying to evict it from 231-251 N. 22nd St. The second document appeals a separate ruling by Buckwalter, ordering the city to pay Cradle about $877,000 in legal fees. The Center City law firm of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis is handling the appeals on a pro-bono basis, in collaboration with senior attorneys at the city Law Department. The next major step in the litigation is for the court to issue a briefing schedule, specifying when the both sides are expected to file legal briefs supporting their respective positions. The case will be heard by a panel of three appellate judges, who haven’t been named yet. PAGE 2 Mary Catherine Roper,
NOT SO SWEET: Dozens of HIV/AIDS
activists, including some in Mars candy-themed costumes, spoke out against discrimination at Hershey Park April 15. The action, organized by the Metropolitan Community Church of Philadelphia, was in response to the Milton Hershey School’s denial of admission to an HIV-positive 13-yearold student. The school is funded in part from proceeds from the park and Hershey candy. Photo courtesy of
Rev. Jeffrey Jordan
Pennsylvania Attorney General Patrick Murphy
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By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com
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By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
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Senate 1st District: Larry Farnese House 103rd: Roy Christ 104th: Chris Dietz 105th: Kelly McEntee 111th: Jeff Dahlander 170th: Brendan Boyle 172nd: Kevin Boyle 180th: Angel Cruz 182nd: Brian Sims 186th: Jordan Harris 188th: James Roebuck 190th: Vanessa Lowery-Brown 192nd: Louise Bishop 194th: Pam DeLissio 195th: Michelle Brownlee 198th: Malik Boyd 200th: Cherelle Parker 201st: Michael Ellis 202nd: Mark Cohen 203rd: Dwight Evans
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STANDING FOR SENIORS: Mayor Michael Nutter joined the board of Dr. Magnus Hirschfield Fund president Mark Segal April 16 at William Way LGBT Community Center to celebrate a victory for LGBT seniors. Last week the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Authority awarded $11 million in tax-credit financing for a DMH Fund plan to create an LGBT-friendly seniorhousing facility. Construction is expected to begin in the fall. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Construction on the Gayborhood facility is scheduled to begin in the fall and is anticipated to last about 15 months. The tax credits are expected to generate $11 million for the program, and backers already closed the gap in the $19-million price tag by securing $8 million in public funding from the city and state. The project — spearheaded by the Dr. Magnus Hirschfield Fund and developer Pennrose Properties — was one of 32 multifamily housing initiatives to receive the PHFA credits. PAGE 44 It will be among the