Philadelphia Daily Record

Vol. II No. 116 (276)

Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia

August 5, 2011

Philadelphia Daily Record

Our Man Kelly

MICHAEL P. KELLY, center, has accepted an offer to become permanent executive director at PHA. His new role became official at a special meeting of PHA Board of Commissioner. Kelly had been on loan to Philadelphia from New York City Housing Authority, where he has served as general manager since 2009. Also shown with Kelly are Commissioner Estelle Richman, left, and PHA General Counsel Barbara Adams. Story page 4.

The Philadelphia Public Record Calendar

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Aug. 5Swedish Museum hosts Summer Crayfish Party in FDR Park at 1900 Pattison Ave. Tickets $50.

Call (215) 389-1776 for details.

Reservations end Jul. 29.

Aug. 6Mothers In Charity Fundraiser Spades Charity tournament at YMCA, 1400 N. Broad St., 2-6 p.m. For info or to register (215) 228-1718.

Aug. 6Johnson House will host Jazz In The Garden summer benefit at 6306 Germantown Ave., 4-7 p.m. featuring John Blake, Jr., jazz violinist, and Alan Segal Quartet.

Admissions from $30. For info (215) 438-1768.

Aug. 6Friends of Bill Rubin present District Council 33 Members Night with Camden Riversharks (vs.

Road Warriors at 5:35 p.m. at Camden’s Campbell Field) as DC 33 members work 3rd and 1st Base concession stands. Tickets $12. Proceeds to Bill Rubin. For info Joan Gallagher at (267) 4386998, Irene Snyder (215) 5828611 or Sylvia Bullock (215) 471-6469.

Aug.11Friends of Ron Donatucci hold Delaware River Cruise at Independence Seaport Museum Terrace Ballrm., Columbus & Walnut Sts., 6:30-9:30 p.m. $145 per person. For info (215) 271-1667.

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

5 AUGUST, 2011

Casey: Stop Development Aid To China US Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, joined a bipartisan group of Senators yesterday calling for an end to US development aid to China, now the world’s second-largest economy.

Since 2001, the US has provided more than $275 million in direct assistance to China for projects such as expanding internet access and improving public transportation. In addition, China receives billions from multilateral institutions like the United Nations, the Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank, to which the US is among the largest contributors.

“With more than $3 trillion in foreign exchange reserves and a double-digit economic growth rate, China certainly has the financial resources to care for its citizens without relying on US assistance,” the Senators wrote to appropriators. “As the committee reviews current appropriations bills, we would request that in FY2012 you end all US aid to China – other than programs that assist the people of Tibet or promote respect for human rights and democracy in China – and direct our representatives at international organizations to work to end multilateral aid to China.”

China currently owns $1.2 trillion of US Treasury debt and has launched its own multi-billion dollar foreign-assistance program to rival the US. Both the United Kingdom and Australia announced this year that they will no longer provide direct assistance to China.

The bipartisan letter was also signed by Senators Webb, Inhofe, Kyl, Boozman, Levin, Reed, Manchin, Kohl, Rubio, Tester and Menendez.

Fattah Announces $1.6 Million In Grants For Penn, Drexel Congressman Chaka Fattah (DPhila.), a lead appropriator for scientific research and advocate for education reform, has announced a $319,344 grant to the University of Pennsylvania to study how school districts are teaching early algebra, especially related to underrepresented students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics instruction.

The award is one of seven research grants by the National Science Foundation, totaling $1,620,423, directed to Penn and Drexel University in Philadelphia’s University City science district.

“Algebra is a building block of STEM education, and there is an 5 AUGUST, 2011

imperative to teach basic algebra by 9th grade. This study will help us monitor and succeed in that goal,” said Fattah, Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and related agencies, which oversees funding for the National Science Foundation.

“For our nation to stay number one in the global economy, we must have all our young people educated and primed to succeed, especially in the STEM disciplines,” Fattah said. “It is critical that underrepresented young people from low-income backgrounds receive quality education in these subjects, and their schools receive all the resources they require.”

THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

The grants announced by Congressman Fattah are: $319,344 for the University of Pennsylvania for the project titled “Collaborative Research: Learning About New Demands in Schools: Considering Algebra Policy Environments [LANDSCAPE].” The project is under the direction of Janine Remillard. $115,886 for Drexel University for a project entitled “EAGER: Confined Self Assembly of Fully Conjugated Rod-Rod Diblock Copolymers in Nanofibers.” The project is under the direction of |

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Vibha Kalra. $449,999 to Penn for “CSR: Small: Resource Management for Real-time Cloud Computing,” under the direction of Linh Thi Xuan Phan. $227,694 to Penn for “Collaborative Research: Developing a Complete Membrane-Cytoskeleton Model for Human Erythro-

cyte,” under the direction of Ju Li. $247,500 to Penn for “EAGER: Collaborative Research: Information Diffusion and Opinion Formation in Networked Systems,” under the direction of Roch Guerin. $150,000 to Penn for “NeTS: Small: Collaborative Research: Inter-provider Dy-

namics in Neutral and Non-neutral Networks.”

The project is under the direction of Saswati Sarkar. $110,000 to Penn for “RI: Small: Collaborative Research: Statistical Learning of Language Universals.”

The project is under the direction of Ben Taskar.

He’s Permanent Now: Michael Kelly’s Job At PHA Is Officially Tops The man tapped by the federal government to stabilize operations at the Philadelphia Housing Authority over a period of 6-12 months will be staying longer than planned.

Michael P. Kelly has accepted an offer to become permanent executive director at PHA. His new role will be made official at a special meeting of the PHA Board of Commissioners at 3:30 this afternoon. He begins his new responsibilities on Aug. 8.

Kelly has been on loan to Philadelphia from the New York City Housing Authority, where he has served as general manager since 2009. Through a special arrangement, NYCHA agreed to allow him to serve as Interim Executive Director at PHA while still handling some of his duties in New York.

In March, when the US Dept. of Housing & Urban Development took control of PHA, the federal agency appointed Kelly to serve as 4|

Administrative Receiver. In that role, he is overseeing PHA’s recovery with the goal of returning the agency back to local control in 2012.

“Mr. Kelly came to PHA at a very difficult time. He immediately focused on creating an atmosphere of mutual respect, getting back to basics in property management and resident services and making PHA accountable and transparent in business practices,” said PHA Board of Commissioners chair and HUD COO Estelle Richman. “We are quite pleased Mr. Kelly has accepted our offer.”

Kelly, serving simultaneously as Administrative Receiver and Executive Director, will be paid $225,000, more than $100,000 a year less than his predecessor’s compensation.

Mayor Michael Nutter, who had first contacted New York officials including NYCHA chairman John Rhea and Mayor Michael Bloomberg about lending Kelly to THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

Philadelphia, called Chairman Rhea yet again, this time to ask for permission to keep Kelly. Again, Rhea was completely cooperative and supportive in agreeing to Philadelphia’s need.

“Mike Kelly has quickly converted PHA into an organization that works well with others to provide the best possible service to citizens in need of homes they can afford.

We are gratified to have played a role in making sure he stays here to finish the job he started,” Nutter said.

Foremost among Kelly’s key accomplishments since joining PHA has been leadership during a challenging period to maintain organization focus and the delivery of uninterrupted service.

He spearheaded the development of PHA’s Transition Plan, emphasizing the creation of a culture of respect, adopting a “back to basics” approach to property management and resident services, and mandated accountability and trans5 AUGUST, 2011

parency in conducting PHA’s business.

Kelly instituted a zero-tolerance policy for any violation of PHA’s Ethics; harassment, intimidation and discrimination policies; and other employment policies intended to eliminate and prevent such practices in the workplace.

He reestablished the Office of General Counsel to ensure greater accountability and transparency with respect to legal affairs of the Authority and efficient management of legal cost. Along with that, he reorganized and renamed the Office of Inspector General as the

Office of Audit & Compliance to ensure regulatory and operating compliance of all PHA’s business transactions.

On Kelly’s watch, historic collective-bargaining agreements were negotiated between PHA and Building & Construction Trades Council of Philadelphia & Vicinity, AFSCME DC33, AFSCME DC47 and SEIU Local 32BJ. Kelly served more than nine years as executive director of the Washington DC Housing Authority before moving to New York in 2009.

He has also served as head of the housing authorities in San Fran-

cisco and New Orleans.

“As I have said since shortly after my arrival last December, PHA is a fundamentally sound organization with well-trained employees.

We have worked to assess and then address problem areas and are well on the way to regaining our reputation as a great housing authority,” said Kelly. “The beneficiaries of PHA’s recovery will be the residents who count on us and the communities in which they live.”

The Philadelphia Housing Authority is the nation’s 4th-largest housing authority, serving more than 80,000 rental residents.

Draw Your Own Council Map For ‘Fix Philly’ Forum While it’s unclear if City Council will pay attention, a group of activists has invited all citizens of Philadelphia to join in redrawing Council Districts as they think best.

A Civic Engagement Forum and Fix Philly Districts Kickoff will be held Monday, Aug. 8, at WHYY studios, 150 N. 6th Street.

“The near future of representative democracy in the city of Philadelphia will be decided right after Labor Day,” wrote Chris Satullo for WHYY’s Newsworks. “And hardly anyone is paying any attention, except for the members of City Council. Who are bound and determined to screw it up.”

In September, Philadelphia City Council is required to adjust its 5 AUGUST, 2011

District boundaries to reflect the results of the 2010 census.

“The last time Council had this task, a decade ago, it made a legendary hash of it, blowing its deadline badly only to concoct a terrible crazy quilt of a map that was mostly about maximizing incumbent job security and fundraising. That terrible map took so long to do that Council members went without pay for months; some think those payless weeks were part of the reason one councilman, Rick Mariano, indulged in the shenanigans that got him sent to prison,” said Satullo.

City Council has shown little interest in a meaningful public process for redistricting, charged Satullo.

Stepping into the breach is Robert THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

Cheetham, the head of Azavea, who has designed free mapping software for use by all. “It puts into the hands of ordinary voters the same data and computing power the political bosses wield when drawing election maps,” Satullo said.

Working with WHYY, Azavea has posted this software online. Citizens are invited to try it out. You can check out this tool at FixPhillyDistricts.com. The best maps will win prizes totaling $1,000 and be presented to City Council.

At Monday’s meeting, presenters will explain the tool to any interested person or group. Cheetham and his staff will give a runthrough; Harris Sokoloff of the Penn Project for Civic Engagement |

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will give some tips on how groups can identify their common goals for a map before they start point-

ing and clicking.

Registration starts at 6:30 p.m.; the

program begins at 7:00 p.m. Please RSVP at ppce@gse.upenn.edu or (215) 898-1112

Parker Helps Philadelphia Seniors Stay Cool State Rep. Cherelle L. Parker (DNorthwest) will distribute 100 fans to pre-selected low-income seniors at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10 in her District office, 1536 E. Wadsworth Street.

“As Philadelphia continues to push through the summer heat waves, we must be mindful of our seniors,” Parker said. “Providing fans for those on fixed incomes is one way to ensure our seniors will be able to catch a cool breeze as we endure the summer heat.”

Seniors are among the most vulnerable population when tempera-

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tures begin to soar. Due to the nature of aging, various factors contribute to a senior’s heat exhaustion and rapid dehydration.

Therefore, staying cool and hydrated should be major priorities for Philadelphia’s seniors during the summer.

In addition to staying cool and hydrated, the city’s Dept. of Public Health recommends: ·Wearing lightweight, lightcolored, loose clothing, ·Wearing wide-brimmed hats or using umbrellas for shade,

THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

·Staying indoors during the hottest part of the day (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), and ·Taking a cool shower or bath.

“Keeping these recommendations in mind, it is our responsibility as a community to guarantee that our neighbors stay healthy during the heat waves, especially our seniors,” Parker said. “I encourage our seniors to take the necessary precautions to beat the heat.”

Parker said the fans were donated

by Walmart Stores.

5 AUGUST, 2011