Vol. II No. 60 (220)
Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia
May 10, 2011
Philadelphia Daily Record
Who’s The Man?
ALL EYES were on Mayor Michael Nutter when he arrived at Democratic City Committee’s Jefferson-Jackson Day spring gala – as Congressman Bob Brady’s aide and well-known boulevardier Ducky Birts was quick to point out. Gala took place at Sheet Metal Workers Hall last night. Photo by Harry Leech
Toomey Urges End To ‘Scare Tactics’ On Debt Ceiling US Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) urged members of Congress and this administration to stop scaring the American people with threats of default on our nation’s debt. The Senator also urged his colleagues to put all fears of default to rest by supporting his legislation, the Full Faith & Credit Act.
false specter of default,” Toomey said. “Instead of addressing Speaker Boehner, Sen. Schumer should direct his comments to Treasury Secretary Geithner – the only person who could cause a default on our debt by refusing to use the more than ample, ongoing tax revenues for debt service.
According to The Hill, Sen. Charles Schumer (DN.Y.) called on House Speaker John Boehner (R-Oh.) “to provide ‘unwavering reassurance’ to credit markets the US will not default on its debt obligations.”
“Any member of Congress who is truly committed to eliminating any possibility of default should support my legislation – the Full Faith & Credit Act. This legislation guarantees a default could not occur by requiring that debt service be the top payment priority in the event the debt ceiling is not promptly raised upon reaching it.
“No member of Congress should risk undermining the confidence of America’s creditors by raising the
Casey, Fattah Promote Foreclosure Prevention Program US Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Congressman Chaka Fattah (DPhila.) met yesterday with Philadelphia Unemployment Project Director John Dodds and Pennsylvanians affected by the mortgage crisis and economic downturn, to discuss the positive impact of the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program. EHLP, a federal program that was largely modeled after a successful Pennsylvania program, gives temporary assistance to homeowners facing unemployment. “EHLP offers Pennsylvania homeowners a cost effective way to stay in their homes,” said Casey. “Thousands of Pennsylvanians will be able to avoid foreclosure because of this program, providing the stability families need to find
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work and move past the hardships caused by the recent recession.” “Through no fault of their own, thousands in Pennsylvania have lost their homes or are in danger of losing their homes,” said Fattah. “Today, EHLP, which follows a mortgage assistance plan I authored more than 20 years ago here in Pennsylvania, will provide relief for thousands trying to maneuver their way through this prolonged economic slump.” “It is critical that families know about this program and apply as soon as possible, because the funds have to be allocated before Sep. 30, 2011,” said Dodds. “EHLP is a lifeline, particularly to the unemployed.”
In January, Casey wrote a letter to the US Dept. of Housing & Urban Development urging the expedited release of funds Congress authorized for EHLP. Pennsylvania will receive $100 million.
Latest Poll Shows Obama’s Approval Highest Yet This Year President Barack Obama continues to see a rise in his job approval rating from likely voters after the successful mission that killed Osama bin Laden, as he hit the highest mark so far this year in an IBOPE Zogby interactive poll, 48%. The 48% job approval is a seven-
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point increase from Apr. 25 and an additional two points more than the 46% he received on May 5 in its first poll after bin Laden’s death. However, the percentage of voters who say Obama deserves reelection did not increase from May 5. It was 42% then, and is 41% now. However, this latest result is four points higher than the April 25 poll where 37% said Obama deserves reelection.
Area Housing Prices Keep Dipping – But Slower In Philly House price declines continued across the tri-state area this past winter, but with a marked difference between Philadelphia Co. and its surrounding suburbs. While price declines have resumed across the region since the homebuyer tax credit expired last spring, the pace of declines has generally been evenly spread across all 11 counties included in this analysis. But price depreciation slowed this winter in Philadelphia Co., while actually accelerating in most of the suburbs. According to the latest analysis done for Prudential Fox & Roach by Econsult and University of Pennsylvania economist Kevin Gillen, the typical Philadelphia-area home declined in value in Q1 by an average of 3.2% on a quality- and seasonally- adjusted basis. Since the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit last spring, house prices have fallen by an average of 10.5% in the region. However, in Philadelphia Co., the typical home declined in value by an average of only 1.3% in Q1, compared to an average decline of 3.9% in the surrounding suburban counties in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. These numbers indicate a deceleration in price declines in the city and an acceleration in the suburbs, compared to previous quarters. The full report can be accessed here: http://www.econsult.com/rhi_2011_Q1.htm.
quarterly home sales since 2005. Other market indicators still indicate how much the housing market continues to struggle. The average time it takes to sell a home in the Philadelphia area rose to just over 120 days this past quarter — an alltime high well above the average of 40-60 days in a normal market. At this current sales pace, it would take more than 12 months to sell off the inventory of homes currently listed for sale. But some good news may be found in other indicators. After trending upwards for several quarters, the foreclosure rate actually declined in Philadelphia in Q1. According to RealtyTrac, Philadelphia’s current foreclosure rate is 33% below what is was a year ago. And Philadelphia’s foreclosure rate of 0.27% remains well below the average for other large US cities adversely affected by the housing bust.
Farnese Hails Passage Of BathSalts Ban State Sen. Larry Farnese (D-S. Phila.) today saidhe is pleased with the Senate Appropriations Committee’s passage of legislation that would ban the possession, use and sale of so-called bath salts, salvia divinorum and synthetic marijuana. SB 1006 adds these highly dangerous synthetic drugs to Schedule I of The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device & Cosmetic Act. These synthetic drugs offer a cheap high with deadly results,” said the Senator. “We need to ban them immediately.” Farnese, who serves as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, introduced legislation in March to ban so-called bath salts. He was also pleased to co-sponsor this measure, sponsored by State Sen. Elder Vogel (R-Beaver).
Along with prices, home sales continued to decline this past quarter. According to the data, 9,544 homes were sold in the 11-county metro area in Q1. That is a 47% decrease since the homebuyer tax credit expired last year, and is 43% below the average for this time of year. This quarter marks the second-lowest level of 10 MAY, 2011
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The Philadelphia Public Record Calendar biz.com/run. May 14E. 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 deductible. Benbow Hall on Lutheran Seminary Campus, 7301 Germantown Ave., 7-11 p.m. Free Parking. For more info www.eastmountairy.org. May 14State Sen. Anthony H. Williams, with Grands As Parents and Turning Points for Children, hosts daylong 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@turningpointsforchildren.org . May 14Fundraiser for 8th Dist. Council candidate Robin Tasco at 7165 Germantown Ave., 7 p.m.-12 a.m. Buffet dinner and dancing. Donations $100-$1,000. For info Ros (267) 593-1571 or www.robintasco.com. May 14E. Mt. Airy Neighbors hosts Swing May 13Into Spring at Lutheran TheologiCommitteepersons Special for judi- cal, Brossman Bldg., Benbow Ha., cial candidate Jim DiVergilis at 7301 Germantown Ave., 7-11 p.m. Finnigan’s Wake, 3rd & Spring Gar- Tickets $90, under age 35 $60. For den Sts., 5-8 p.m. Tickets at door info (215) 242-4170. $40. May 15May 14Democrats of Oak Lane Team presMayfair Fallen Heros 5K Run & ent Marion Wimbush’s annual Walk at Lincoln HS, Ryan & Row- Breakfast and Meet & Greet candiland Aves., 8:30-10:30 a.m. $25 dates at Oak Lane Diner, 6528 N. proceeds support education of po- Broad St., 9 a.m.-12 m. Broadcast lice/fire survivors. For info mayfair- over WURD 900 AM. May 10Republican City Committee Primary Election Cocktail Party and Buffet at Cannstatter Volksfest Verein, 9130 Academy Rd., 5:30 p.m. For info Carmella Fitzpatrick (215) 561-0650. May 10Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell holds Democratic 43rd Ward Candidates Meeting at 1str Dist. Plaza, 3801 Market St., 6-9 p.m. May 11Republican 63rd Ward Fundraiser at Angel Brauhaus, 7980 Oxford Ave. (at Rhawn St.), 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tickets $50. May 11FOP Lodges 5 & 106 and Local 22 Fundraiser for judicial candidate Jim DiVergilis at 1336 Spring Garden St., 5-8 p.m. For tickets call John McNesby (215) 629-3626. May 12State Rep. Mike O’Brien hosts Community Mtg. on small-business development for 175th State House Dist. at Old Pine Community Ctr., 401 Lombard St., 6-8 p.m. May 13Dem. 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.
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Facebook Is Moving Ever More News Stories. by Andrew Couts reprinted from Digital Trends In the most recent sign that Facebook is encroaching on Google’s heels, a new study shows the social network is becoming an important traffic mover in the world of online news.
Google may
still hold the top spot as the primary traffic driver to news websites, but according to a new study from Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, social networking giant Facebook is emerging as a “critical player” in the Internet mechanisms that push readers to news stories. “Google and Facebook are increasingly set up as competitors (for) sorting through the material on the Web,” said Pew in the report. “If searching for news was the most important development of the last decade, sharing news may be among the most important of the next.” According to the study, Facebook alone drives up to 8% of traffic to some of the Internet’s top news sites. In turn, users are leaving these sites to go to Facebook, which the researchers say is an indication that the Facebook Share buttons provided on many news stories (like this one) are working. While this may sound impressive, 6 MAY, 2011
Facebook currently remains well behind the top three traffic drivers, which include Google, the Drudge Report and Yahoo. According to Pew, these “three sites ever account for more than 10% of the traffic to any one [major news website].”
data, Twitter showed up as referring links to just nine. And for all but one of those nine, Twitter sent only about 1 percent of total traffic.”
David Cohen Addresses GNPCC Expo
Traffic from the Drudge Report, a right-wing political news aggregator, for instance, accounted for a full 19% of users to NYPost.com, the highest drive percentage of any site that received traffic from Drudge. By comparison, Facebook’s traffic-pushing powers topped at 8%, which went to HuffingtonPost.com. The Project for Excellence in Journalism report analyzed the traffic number for 25 different online news outlets, which include NYTimes.com, WashingtonPost.com, HuffingtonPost.com, Yahoo! News, Google News, Reuters, AOL News, CNN, and others. The researchers took their traffic numbers from a variety of analytics sources, including Nielsen Co., ComScore and Hitwise. The numbers were collected during the first nine months of 2010. Despite positive numbers from Facebook’s corner, the study shows that Twitter is a terrible traffic driver: “Twitter appears at this point to play a relatively small role in sharing of links to news sources,” says the report. “Of the top 21 sites for which there were THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD
Comcast Executive VP David L. Cohen, left, who served as thenMayor Ed Rendell’s first chief of staff, is introduced by Greater N.E. Phila. Chamber of Commerce President Al Taubenberger at GNPCC’s “Business Is Blooming” Expo Luncheon at Holy Family University, Frankford & Grant Avenues, on May 3. As keynote speaker, Cohen filled in 120 luncheon attendees on fascinating growth of Comcast, including its recent acquisition of NBCUniversal.
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Sports Teams Prove Positive Citizens At the start of the millennium, freshman City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown took to the mound inside of City Council chambers to make sure the Philadelphia Phillies and the Eagles would agree to be positive citizens on behalf of the city’s kids. To the two sports organizations wanted City Funds to help build the new stadium that now reside in South Philadelphia. Brown fought to make sure the two sports teams gave back funds from stadium profits that would directly help city kids.
COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN
The Eagles and The Phillies organizations have kept its promise, Brown says. “The sports teams have proved positive corporate cit-
izens,” Brown said. We applaud their efforts and very much want these efforts to continue.” Brown will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Philadelphia Foundation – a Children’s Fund program – tomorrow. In 10 years, Brown has partnered with the Foundation to see over $300 million in funds allocated for kids’ social outreach programs, thanks to a percentage of profits from the City’s sporting franchises. The Councilwoman will join members of the Philadelphia fund to celebrate its 10th anniversary at a press conference tomorrow at Mander Playground, 2140 N. 33rd Street.
Marian Anderson Award To Go To Mia Farrow Mayor Michael Nutter announced today Mia Farrow – actress, humanitarian, and activist – will receive the 2011 Marian Anderson Award. Farrow will accept the Award at a Gala Concert produced in partnership with The Philadelphia Orchestra, which will take place on Tuesday, May 10, at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. In making the announcement, the Mayor noted, “Mia Farrow is one of the most committed artist activists in the world. Her work on behalf of children’s rights, in raising awareness for children in con6|
flict affected regions, and on behalf of refugees around the globe is unparalleled and we are honored at her decision to accept this year’s Award.” Since 2004, Farrow has traveled to the Darfur region of Sudan 13 times and written extensively about the genocide, most notably in op-ed pieces for the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and LA Times. She blogs and posts relevant articles and analyses on her website: www.miafarrow.org. The site contains her entries from Darfur, Chad, Rwanda, Central African Republic, Uganda, Congo THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD
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and Haiti, as well her op-ed pieces and photographs which have appeared in publications and exhibitions around the world. She has spoken extensively about the Darfur crisis and human responsibility across the US and Canada, as well as at US Senate and Congressional hearings and the United Nations Security Council. In 2007 Farrow helped to secure the liberty of a respected rebel commander who was unjustly imprisoned in Sudan by publically offering to exchange her freedom for his. In 2009, she undertook a hunger strike to protest the expulsion of humanitarian agencies from the Darfur region. She is currently working on her own project, The Darfur Archives, documenting the cultural traditions of Darfur’s major ethnic tribes. In 2008 Mia Farrow was selected by Time magazine as one of the most-influential people in the world. A critically acclaimed actress who has appeared in more than 40 films, in addition to work on the stage and television, Farrow is equally known as an unrelenting advocate for human rights. Her primary focus has been on conflict-affected regions in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2007, Farrow helped to secure the liberty of a respected rebel commander who was unjustly imprisoned in Sudan by publicly offering to exchange her freedom for his. In commenting on her decision to accept the Award, Mia Farrow stated, “I am deeply honored to accept this prestigious award, and I do so in the name of the many 6 MAY, 2011
men, women and children I have met throughout my travels – the world’s most-vulnerable and neglected people. They embody the spirit of Ms Anderson herself: tremendous courage, resilience and humanity while facing unspeakable adversities.” Pamela Browner White, chair of the Marian Anderson Award, spoke about the Award:”The selection process is extremely difficult as the artists we honor are rare. They are men and women who combine great creativity with great generosity, great leadership and, in the case of this year’s honoree Mia Farrow, great courage. Her years of humanitarian work in countries such as Darfur, Sudan, Chad and Haiti demonstrate a singular commitment to those in great need. It is our hope that through this year’s Award that we can support her important work and that we can draw attention to the efforts she has undertaken on behalf of so many.” Browner White went on to say, “Part of our work is to encourage young men and women facing adversity to follow their dreams inspired by people like Marian Anderson and our honorees. Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, Richard Gere, Oprah, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. these are giants of our culture. It is truly an honor that Mia Farrow will join them as the 2011 Marian Anderson Award recipient.” “The Philadelphia Orchestra is proud to partner with the Marian Anderson Award to honor Mia Farrow, one of the great humanitarians of our time,” commented THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD
Philadelphia Orchestra President and CEO Allison Vulgamore. “Invoking the power of music in the legendary singer’s name is a fitting way to pay tribute to Ms. Farrow, and we look forward to joining in this community celebration.” The Marian Anderson Award honors artists whose leadership on behalf of a humanitarian cause(s) or issue benefits society. Previous recipients include Bill Cosby (2010) Maya Angelou and Norman Lear (2008), Richard Gere (2007), Sidney Poitier (2006), Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis (2005), Oprah Winfrey (2003), Danny Glover (2002), Quincy Jones (2001), Elizabeth Taylor (2000), Gregory Peck (1999), and Harry Belafonte, (1998). No Award was given in 2004 or 2009. This year’s Gala Performance will be preceded by the annual blacktie Gala Dinner, also at the Kimmel Center, which is a fundraiser for the Marian Anderson Award and its grant programs that support young artists. Those interested in attending the Gala Dinner, which includes a premium ticket to the Gala Performance, can call the Marian Anderson Award office at (215) 893-1837. Single tickets for the Gala Performance will go on sale Feb. 1, 2011 and are available by calling Ticket Philadelphia at (215) 893-1999 or by visiting The Philadelphia Orchestra’s website at www.philorch.org. Marian Anderson, the most celebrated contralto of the 20th century, was born in Philadelphia to an African American family of modest means. Recognized for her extraordinary musical talent, as well |
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as her generosity and commitment to others, Anderson was a master of repertoire across operatic, recital, and American traditional genres. Throughout her musical career, she played an incalculably vital role in the acceptance of African American musicians in the classical musical. Scene. In 1957, Anderson was appointed
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by the US Dept. of State to serve as a Special Envoy to the Far East, and the following year President Dwight D. Eisenhower named her to the post of delegate to the General Assembly of the United Nations. She sang at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961 and in 1963 President Lyndon B. Johnson bestowed the Presidential
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Medal of Freedom upon her. On her 75th birthday, in 1974, Congress passed a resolution ordering a special gold medal minted in her honor. Anderson died in 1993 at the age of 96.
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