Philadelphia Daily Record

Vol. II No. 43 (203)

Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia

April 13, 2011

Philadelphia Daily Record

Street’s On Fire

ACCEPTING endorsement in Democratic primary of Fire Fighters Local 22 at union hall in Northern Liberties, mayoral hopeful Milton Street vowed to restore funding for adequate fire and emergency-response operations yesterday afternoon. Later that evening, AFSCME DC 33 followed suit. These moves were forthrightly aimed as a rebuke to incumbent Mayor Michael Nutter.

Casey: Guard Economic Development And Drinking Water In Fracking Debate US Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) testified in the Senate yesterday on the potential of natural gas to meet our energy needs and increase economic development as well as the need to protect drinking water in Pennsylvania.

In testimony before the Environment & Public Works Committee, Casey highlighted his legislation to increase disclosure and safeguards of chemicals that could enter Pennsylvania’s drinking-water supply, improve safety for workers and emergency-response procedures at drilling sites, and promote job training to give Pennsylvania workers the skills to get jobs in the natural-gas industry so workers are not shipped in from out-of-state.

“The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is experiencing a natural gas boom,” said the Senator. “An average of 120 wells per month were drilled in the Marcellus Shale in 2010, versus 17 a month in the preceding four years. American natural-gas reserves provide us with a significant energy resource on a global scale.

But we must unequivocally ensure hydraulic fracturing is a safe, clean and stable energy-extraction method.”

In response to those who argue the false choice between economic development and safeguards for public health, Casey said, “There is no reason that we should be forced to choose among adequate environmental protection, energy security and economic gain.” He continued: “I support responsible gas exploration, yet I strongly feel that we must protect against repercussions that not only harm the environment and put people at risk, but also hurt business and affect the economy.”

Casey continued, “For Pennsylvania and other states sitting on top of the Marcellus Shale formation, the rapid growth of gas drilling may increase the danger of oil, gas or brine-laden water pathways up to groundwater supplies or to the surface. The protection of underground water sources is especially important 2|

to Pennsylvania because we have the second-highest number of private drinking-water wells in the Nation; three million Pennsylvanians are dependent on private wells to provide safe drinking water to their homes. Every day I hear from Pennsylvanians who worry about their future access to safe drinking water and about explosions caused by gases migrating up from the deep. There continue to be incidents in Pennsylvania that could have, and should have, been averted.”

Casey has introduced three fracking-related bills to protect Pennsylvanians and promote jobs for Pennsylvanians.

The FRAC Act – Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act – would amend the Safe Drinking Water Act. The legislation would repeal a Bush-administration exemption provided for the oil and gas industry and would require companies to disclose the chemicals they use in their hydraulic fracturing processes.

Casey is reintroducing the Marcellus Shale On-theJob Training Act to authorize grants to strengthen the On-the-Job Training programs.

Casey’s Faster Action Safety Team Emergency Response (FASTER) Act provides the Occupational Safety & Health Administration with the ability to draft regulations that will enhance emergency-response procedures at oil and gas wells.

22 In Senate Join Suit For AdultBasic State Sen. Mike Stack (D-Northeast) has joined 22 members of the General Assembly in filing an amicus brief with Commonwealth Court in support of two plaintiffs in civil lawsuits filed against Gov. Tom Corbett for defunding adultBasic.

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This “friend of the court” brief was filed to show the members’ support of the low-cost health insurance program.

“I continue to receive phones calls and emails from former adultBasic recipients and I want them to know their pleas are not falling on deaf ears,” Stack said.

“The Governor may not be listening, but we are and now the court will hear the argument for adultBasic.

Stack’s Senate district is home to 1,400 former adultBasic recipients, representing the second-highest number of recipients in the state.

Stack has authored legislation (SB 420) would allocate the General Assembly’s $189 million surplus to fund operating expenses for AdultBasic through April 2012, assuming expenses remain at $14 million a month.

Tartaglione Decries Weakening Of Sprinkler Code State Sen. Christine M. Tartaglione (D-Kensington) issued the following statement after last night’s vote on HB 377: “It took seven years to build and finish the Uniform Construction Code, putting experts in charge of safety and taking the politics out. It took seven weeks to dismantle it.

“Proponents of HB 377, and the ill-advised amendments in the Senate, can pretend it’s just another adjustment. They can pretend it was just a vote on

sprinklers.

“But those of us who remember what it took to finish the code in the face of intense lobbying know that tonight’s vote effectively guts the process for updating safety regulations by stripping Review & Advisory Council of the power to fulfill the code’s intent of using state-of-the-art technology to make homes as safe as reasonably possible.

“Tonight we stepped back 12 years, and before another 12 years goes by we will regret it.”

Women Workers’ Advocates Push For Sick Days Yesterday morning, national and Philadelphia experts on working women briefed members of the news media about why having paid sick days is especially important for working women.

Ellen Bravo, professor of women’s studies at the University of Wisconsin and executive director of Family Values @ Work, participated, in the briefing.

Bravo said, “Women will never see equal pay until they stop being punished for being caregivers.

That means policies such as paid sick days, that help women stay employed and have steady earn13 APRIL, 2011

ings.”

Bravo stressed working mothers often jeopardize their economicwellbeing when they take time off to care for a sick child or elderly parent and do not have paid sick days.

The conference call was moderated by Carol Goertzel, CEO of PathWays PA, who is a founding member of Coalition for Healthy Families and Workplaces that is pressing for the passage of an Earned Sick Days bill in Philadelphia City Council.

Katherine Black,

director of health

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and safety at the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees District Council 47 and president of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, said, “The fact women’s wages continue to lag behind men’s by 23% – and much more for women of color – is just one factor to consider when quantifying women’s second-class status in the workplace. More than half of all women work in the retail, clerical and service sectors, where they are much less likely to be provided with health care, pensions or paid-leave benefits. That means most women’s expenses are higher than men’s, and their in|

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Apr. 13Grand opening of new 180th Dist.

Office of State Rep. Angel Cruz, 3501 B St. in Mall.

Apr. 13St. Patrick’s Day Parade Awards Ceremony at Finnigan’s Wake, 3rd & Spring Garden Sts., 6-9 p.m.

Tickets $25. For info Mike Callahan (215) 983-7224.

Apr. 13World Trade Ass’n of Phila. fundraiser for Autism Speaks, honoring 2011 Company of Year, at Cescaphé Ballroom, 923 N. 2nd St., Reception 6 p.m., dinner 7 p.m. Ticket $100. Call Deborah Ingravallo for information at 1 (856) 642-3957.

Apr. 14Fundraiser for Derrick Coker, candidate for MC Judge, at Café Santa Domingo, 3547 N. 5th St., 5:30-8:30 p.m. For info call Iliana Renoso, 215-740-5273.

Apr. 14Fundraiser for Jeff Hornstein, candidate for 1st Council Dist., at AFSCME/Dist. 1199C Hall, 1319 Locust St. Hosted by Marty Tuzman, DC 47’s Cathy Scott and Rita Urwitz, and Wayne MacManiman, Jr., SEIU Local 32BJ. RSVP Dave O’Hara (257) 6031480 or Dave@jeffhornstein.org.

Apr. 14Fundraiser for 2nd Council Dist. candidate Barbara Capozzi at Chickie’s & Pete’s, 15th & Packer.

For info (267) 888-6045.

Apr. 15Happy Hour for judicial candidate Harry Levant at Ladder 15, 5:308 p.m., 1528 Sansom St. Apr. 15Latino community honors Iris Violeta Colon Torres at Isla Verde THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

Cafe, 2727 N. American St., 6 p.m. Free admission and buffet.

Drinks half price. She is poet, news reporter among other accomplishments.

Apr. 15Temple Law Class of ’95 Fundraiser for Joe Grace at Dark Horse Pub, 421 S. 2nd St., 6-8 p.m. For info info@electjoegrace.com.

Apr. 15Wine & Cheese reception for judicial candidate Nycole Watson, at Soft Illusions Fine Art Gallery, 4203 Main St., 7-10 p.m. Tickets $25 at door. For info Info@nycole4judge@gmail.com.

Apr. 15Beef & Beer for Marty Bednarek, 6th Dist. Democrat Council candidate, 8 p.m. to midnight at St. Dominic’s Marion Hall, 8504 Frankford Ave., 8 p.m.-12 a.m.

Tickets $25. Live music by “Formerly Known As”.

Apr. 16Ducky Birts Foundation’s Medallion Scholarship Banquet, 1st Dist.

Plaza, 3801 Market St., 6 p.m., sponsored by Brown’s ShopRite.

For info (215) 242-1220.

Apr. 16Women Organized Against Rape hosts Community Walk & Speak Out rally at 16th & JFK Blvd., registration 11 a.m. Ends at Visitors Center, 6th & Market Sts. For info Carrie (215) 985-3315, ext.

169.

Apr. 17Ducky Birts Foundation hosts 1st annual Health Fair & Gospelrama at Zion Baptist Ch., 3600 N. Broad St., health 3-6 p.m. and gospel 5-8 p.m., sponsored by Keystone Mercy Health Plan. For info (215) 242-1220.

13 APRIL, 2011

come insecurity and disadvantage extends past their working life all through their retirement years.

Having a modest cushion of paid sick days would provide working women with a few more threads in a much frayed employment-security safety net.”

Caryn Hunt, president of the Philadelphia Chapter of the National Organization for Women, said, “In

Philadelphia, Earned Sick Time helps the city take a step closer to worker equity as it would primarily affect workers in healthcare

and the food service industry which are predominantly women.

It has the added virtue of protecting the public health by giving workers the choice to stay home when they or a loved one is sick.”

8th Dist. Candidate Tyner: Get Tough on DROP Eighth District Council candidate Verna Tyner reaffirmed her belief elected officials shouldn’t be eligible to participate in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan, restated a promise that she would not vote for a DROP-enrolled official for City Council president next year, and urged each of her fellow candidates to make the same pledge.

“At a time when a dire economic environment and rising costs across the board are wreaking havoc on Philadelphia’s budget, our elected officials should be seeking ways to generate economic activity and save money. DROP does neither. It has cost the City hundreds of millions of dollars in retirement-related funds that it simply doesn’t have, and worse, it has eroded the level of confidence Philadelphians have in their government,” Tyner said.

She continued, “For those reasons, I have made it

clear I believe DROP must be significantly overhauled. Elected officials shouldn’t have the ability to participate in it, and as a member of City Council next year, I would not vote for a DROP-enrolled colleague for Council president. I am challenging my fellow candidates to make the same pledge to the voters of the 8th Dist., who deserve to know before Election Day where each candidate stands on this very significant issue.”

Tyner offered her statement in light of a Fox29 report last weekend in which Cindy Bass said she “[hasn’t] made any decision whatsoever” with regard to the City’s DROP program. Bass did, however, say she does not think DROP had been intended for elected officials. One elected official participating in the program is Councilor Marion Tasco, who intends on taking a DROP payout while vying for the Council president’s seat.

Jim Mugford Drops Commissioner Race James Mugford is out of the GOP race for City Commissioner in the May Primary. He had been endorsed with long-time incumbent Joseph Duda for the May primary.

Remaining in the GOP column are Marie Delany and Al Schmidt.

13 APRIL, 2011

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Taxin Takes A Whirl Around Far-flung Southeastern Theaters

by Adam Taxin Frequently-overlooked suburban Delaware Co. is playing host to several worthwhile productions.

The best of these is the touching Bernice/Butterfly: A Two-Part Invention, on stage through Saturday, April 23 at the small borough of Rose Valley’s Hedgerow Theater.

The Hedgerow itself is something of a living monument to the early20th-century arts-and-crafts movement, so much a part of the history of Rose Valley (my hometown), which is especially beautiful time of year.

Bernice/Butterfly is touchingly relevant, containing numerous worthwhile insights about growing older in a moribund Kansas town, upon which time seems to be playing cruel tricks (unlike, say, Rose Valley). The play makes poignant suggestions about how regrets about past actions can combine with difficult economic straits to affect mental health.

Both main performers are outstanding: Ceal Phelan as Bernice, a long-time diner waitress, and the actress’s real-life husband Peter DeLaurier as Randall, whose professorial lecture is at the center of the second act (which is called “The Butterfly Effect”). Dave Polgar is sensitive yet authoritative in his minor role as Tommy, the play’s other character. The other aspects of the production are all at 6|

CEAL PHELAN as “Bernice” at Delco’s Hedgerow Theater. a top level, as is the directing by Nagle Jackson, the Hedgerow’s playwright in residence.

Because I put this play in the “must see” category, I am being purposely vague about more-specific plot details. I was, however, reminded of the short story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” as well as the mental-health aspects of A Streetcar Named Desire. I also found myself speculating whether the decay, so much lamented so much by Bernice, of the town represents 2011 realities for the Kansas home for which there was no place like for Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, as well as for River City, Iowa of 1957’s ebullient The Music Man.

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I cannot recommend the Hedgerow’s other current production, Godspell, on stage through Sunday, May 1, to anywhere near the same extent. One of the longest-running off-Broadway musicals in history (before coming to Broadway in 1976), the show is based on parables of the Book of Matthew. With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Wicked), it includes the fairlywell-known song “Day by Day” (reached #13 on the Billboard pop singles chart).

Unfortunately, the Hedgerow’s production is marred by too many child and early-teen performers who are not at the level of young cast members at other nearby venues, e.g. the Media Theatre’s re13 APRIL, 2011

cent Annie and the Players Club of Swarthmore’s 2010 Bye Bye Birdie. Furthermore, the Hedgerow is just not well suited acoustically for a musical.

Given the proximity of Easter, Godspell, despite its flaws, might be a worthwhile experience for Christians and others who appreciate a production which is spiritually thought-provoking. This is the case even if Godspell contains a level of irreverence toward Jesus which, if applied to Mohammed, would likely lead, let’s just say, to an unfortunate situation.

A more-satisfying seasonal experience might be found a mile or so north of the Hedgerow at the Media Theatre’s professional production of The Who’s Tommy (reviewed here last week). The rock opera contains a subtle, but genuinely spirit-of-Passover, message of breaking one’s personal chains and limitations. This message can be found in numerous scenes as well as in the classic Who song “I’m Free.” Tommy is on stage at

13 APRIL, 2011

the Media Theatre through Sunday, May 22.

Rodgers and Hammerstein fans wishing to make the less-than-ahalf-hour-from-Center-City trip to central Delaware Co. will appreciate current community-theater offerings. The Rose Valley Chorus & Orchestra is staging four more performances of Oklahoma! through this Sunday night. Additionally, the 300-seat Players Club of Swarthmore community theater will close its 100th season of live theater by presenting staging South Pacific from Friday, Apr. 22 through Saturday, May 14.

North on 476, almost to the Montgomery Co. line, from the aforementioned central Delaware Co. productions is another worthwhile production, on stage through this Sunday: Villanova Theater is concluding its season with the Weekly World News-tabloid-inspired Bat Boy: The Musical, a former offBroadway “Musical of the Year.”

The show, as self-described, “details the discovery of a curious

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creature – half-human, half-vampire bat – found deep within a West Virginia cave. The Parker family decides to adopt and civilize the well-meaning Bat Boy; but soon, all hell breaks loose as jealousy, betrayal, murder and other hysterical happenings turn the small town of Hope Fall completely upside down.”

The performers, students rather than professionals, are generally very solid. Michael Libonati is outstanding in the title role, which demands bodily contortions and vocal sounds of a sort not usually associated with homo sapiens.

One critique I do have related to Bat Boy is that buffoonishly clichéd treatment of evangelical Christianity, as found frequently in the theater world, makes an appearance in this production. Collectively, this gets tiresome. (Of course, I suppose I should cut a little slack here, given that Villanova is, after all, a Catholic institution….)

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SHERRI XANTHOPOULOS RUSSO will be representing Collegeville, Pa. in pageant.