Philadelphia Daily Record

Vol. II No. 145 (305)

Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia

September 22, 2011

Philadelphia Daily Record

Who’s Ahead?

DUELING POLLS in Florida and New Hampshire gave hope to each of two current leaders in Republican presidential primary race, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. Story page 3.

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Sep. 22-24 Ch. of Epiphany of Our Lord annual Italian Festival 5 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday. Pasta Dinner reservations needed for Thursday Night pasta dinner. Call Mina (267) 240-1992.

Sep. 22Fundraiser for Council candidate Al Taubenberger at SmokeEaters Pub, Frankford & Sheffield Aves., 7-10 p.m. Live music with the Scattered Marbles, dinner buffet, beer and wine. $40/person, $75/couple. For info Lou (267) 505-2182 or feinberg08@aol.com.

Sep. 25Vendemmia Wine & Food Festival, Girard Park, 21st & Porter Sts., 2-7 p.m. supporting Students of Italian heritage in S. Phila. For info www.vendemmifoundation.org.

Sep. 26Spirit of Life Award Reception hosted by Tri State Labor & Mgmt.

Council honor AFL-CIO President Richard W. Bloomingdale and Edward J. Radetich, Jr., CPA and Kyler Award honoree Penna. AFT President Ted Kirsch at Hyatt Regency at Penn’s Landing, Columbus Blvd. & Dock St., 6-9 p.m.

Sep. 27Score Philadelphia, Counselors to Small Business, host free technology seminar to help small business grow at Penna. Convention Ctr., 13th & Arch. Seating limited, complimentary lunch. 8:00 a.m.-4:15 pm. For details and to register www.scorephila.org.

Sep. 28Democratic Ward 39B Fundraiser at EOM Club, Front & Moore Sts., 5:30-8 p.m. Tickets $50. For info Matt Myers (215) 467-4643.

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Sep. 30Councilwoman Marian B. Tasco hosts “Party for the People” at H&H Banquet Hall, 2036 E. Haines St., (Haines & Limekiln Pk.), 8 a.m.-12 p.m. $35 in advance. Seating limited. BYOB cabaret style. For tickets (215) 4373294, ext. 209.

Oct. 1 Fishtown Neighbors Association hosts RiverCity Festival at Penn Treaty Pk., Delaware & Columbia Aves., 12-5 p.m. Family fun.

Oct. 2St. Nicholas Ch. Italian Festival on 1700 block S. 9th St., 12-5 p.m., with Procession of Saints from St. Nicholas Tolentine Ch. at 12:30 p.m. Family event. Admission free.

Italian food, entertainment, games.

Oct. 7Mayfair Civic Ass’n hosts Autistic Endeavors Beef & Beer at Cannstatter Volksfest Verein, 9130 Academy Rd, 7 p.m.-12 a.m. Tickets $30. For info Barbara (215) 360-1569.

Oct. 9World Premier of modern opera “Adea” by Pennsylvania composer Cynthia Cozette at Lutheran Ch. of the Holy Communion, 2110 Chestnut St., 3 p.m., followed by reception. Free-will offering will be collected. For info (215) 567-3668.

Oct. 11Prevent A Child From Abuse fundraiser art at Tavern On Broad at Bellevue, Broad & Walnut Sts., 5:30-8:30 p.m. Sponsored by Joseph Pultrone. Tickets $50. For info, tickets, and other details Joe (267) 977-3776.

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Perry Leads GOP Pack In Fla., Romney Dominates In N.H. Texas Gov. Rick Perry has a small lead over the Republican presidential pack in Florida with 28% in the latest Quinnipiac University poll, followed by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney with 22%, but Perry tops Romney 3122% if Sarah Palin doesn’t run and leads Romney 46-38 percent in a two-man face-off, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday.

On the same day, a Suffolk University poll found Romney surging among Republican voters in New Hampshire, and Rick Perry is a distant fourth. Romney has opened up a 27-point lead over his nearest rival in New Hampshire, and pundits may have to rethink predictions of a two-man GOP race between Romney and Perry.

Romney has barely moved in Florida since he led the GOP pack

with 23% in an Aug. 4 survey, while Perry has surged from 13% in that survey conducted before he formally announced his candidacy.

However, in New Hampshire Romney (41%) gained 5 points since June, followed by Ron Paul (14%), and Jon Huntsman (10%).

Huntsman and Paul gained 6% each since the last poll.

The single-digit tier consisted of Perry (8%), Sarah Palin (6%), Michele Bachmann (5%), and Newt Gingrich (4%), while Rick Santorum and Buddy Roemer each received 1%. Eleven percent of likely New Hampshire GOP primary voters were undecided.

In possible 2012 presidential matchups for Florida voters, Romney tops the President 47-40% while Perry gets 42% to Obama’s 44%, a dead heat. Obama does not

deserve a second term, Florida voters say 53-41%.

“Gov. Rick Perry has the lead – and the momentum – among Florida Republicans, while former Gov. Mitt Romney can point to a better general election showing,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

“Mitt Romney is saying ‘get out of my back yard’ and making New Hampshire his strong firewall despite showing some weakness in the other states’ early primaries,” said David Paleologos, director of Suffolk University’s Political Research Center. “The anti-Romney candidate at this point could be either Ron Paul, who has polled consistently over the past year, or Jon Huntsman, whose numbers are really growing in the Granite State.”

Watchdog To Toomey: Disclose Your Funders Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) should disclose the attendees and donations he received from the fundraiser he held today just before his meeting with the Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction, according to campaign money watchdog Public Campaign Action Fund.

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“Sen. Toomey raised money from Washington corporate special interests just hours before a supercommittee meeting on tax reform,” said David Donnelly, national campaigns director for Public Campaign Action Fund. “If Sen. Toomey won’t do as others have done – slow or cancel fundraising until the supercommittee finishes THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

its work – then he ought to at least tell constituents back home who is paying thousands of dollars to plead their case right before the supercommittee began meeting this morning.”

Toomey was scheduled to hold a fundraiser this morning for his leadership political-action committee, |

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Citizens for Prosperity in America Today, at Bistros Bis, according to an invite obtained by the Sunlight Foundation’s PoliticalPartyTime.org.

At 10:00 a.m., the committee met to discuss “revenue options and reforming the tax code.” Many of Toomey’s top donors are Wall Street firms that have benefited from lax enforcement and tax loopholes — JPMorgan Chase,

hedge fund Elliot Management, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and others.

“Five members of the supercommittee have said they will end or curtail their fundraising activity while serving on the supercommittee,” said Donnelly. “A prominent lobbyist told the New York Times that if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu. At a minimum, we want to know who Sen.

Toomey had at his breakfast table this morning.”

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) has said he will not fundraise for himself while on the committee. Sens.

Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) have canceled events and Congressmen Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.) have said they won’t schedule additional fundraisers during the committee.

Liquor Taxes, Fees Gin Up $215 M In Revenue For City City Controller Alan Butkovitz’ monthly economic report released today finds the City’s restaurants, bars, clubs and many others have generated $215 million over the last five years from liquor licensing fees and the liquor by the drink

tax.

The majority of this revenue, $209.8 million, was generated by the 10% liquor-by-the-drink tax that is on every sale at retail of wine, liquor or malt and brewed

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beverages by any person or establishment with a liquor license. All of this tax revenue was remitted to the Philadelphia School District.

The remaining $5.6 million was a result of payments the City received from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for a portion of the money generated by liquor licenses and permits issued in Philadelphia. The PLCB collects the fees from each license issued and then keeps $100 from each fee for administrative costs before returning the remaining amount to the City.

There are numerous types of liquor licenses and permits issued by the State, and the annual fees can range from as low as $150 for a club license or as high as $700 for a hotel or restaurant license. All of the revenues from these fees are put into the City’s general fund.

Along with highlighting these specific tax revenues and fees, the Controller’s economic report looks at the declining tax revenues for the start of the fiscal year in the City’s wage/earnings/NPT and

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sales tax collections. The total City and PICA collections for the first two months of FY12 for wage/earnings/NPT were $4.79 million less than what was collected in the same two months of FY11. Sales tax collections over this same period were $3.5 million less for FY12 than in FY11.

While monthly collection comparisons need to be watched, collections for a single month can be a misleading indicator due to

monthly variability in collections and changes in revenue procedures. A more relevant indicator is to compare the first quarter revenue collections which will be highlighted in our October monthly economic report.

The Controller’s economic report is compiled on a monthly basis and includes an Economic Snapshot and Forecast, as well as real estate information and other local statistics. These reports are circu-

lated every month to assist key decision makers in understanding and anticipating local and national economic trends. Both of these documents are a useful tool for policy makers and analysts in understanding our regional and local economy.

To view the Economic Forecast and Monthly Snapshot, please visit the City Controller’s Web site at www.philadelphiacontroller.org.

Activists Plan To Lobby Casey For Small Farmers

FOOD & WATER WATCH organizer Emily Heffling, right, worked with Margot Paaske, left, and Rochelle Crespo at Free Library in University City to plan a “call-in day” rallying voters to reach out to Sen. Bob Casey this coming Tuesday on behalf of Fair Farm Bill. Group is planning simultaneous actions on Tuesday, Sep. 27 in Phila., Allentown and Harrisburg. Activists seek to “level the playing field” for small farmers. They would put an end to preferential contracts granted to factory farms, allow competitive bidding on livestock, and prohibit retaliation against poultry growers who speak out about abuses. They would also make it easier for small livestock farmers to get their products to market by giving them a floor price. Casey sits on Senate Agriculture Committee.

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Philly Wins A ‘Walk Friendly’ Award The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center has designated Philadelphia as a Silver Walk Friendly Community for its walkability initiatives and programs.

Sponsored by the US Dept. of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and FedEx, Walk Friendly Communities is a national program to recognize communities for their commitment to pedestrian safety. With 1.53 million people, Philadelphia is the fifth-largest city in the US and has one of the most-walkable downtowns in the nation. One fourth of all trips in the City are made on foot.

“Philadelphia is a great place to walk for residents, commuters and visitors,” said Mayor Michael A.

Nutter. “I would like to thank The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center for recognizing our city’s ongoing commitment to creating a great walkable city. A more-walkable Philadelphia makes for a healthier, safer and more sustainable city.”

Philadelphia adopted its first Pedestrian Plan last fall, and a second phase is in progress. In recent years, the Streets Dept. has made significant efforts to improve pedestrian safety including: converting 535 signalized intersections to all-way stops. This effort alone resulted in more than 50 percent reduction in injury related crashes. Additionally, the Streets Dept. has expanded the use of countdown pedestrian signals

across Philadelphia and piloted numerous innovative traffic-calming strategies.

Philadelphia is among 10 communities recognized in the latest round of Walk Friendly Communities announced. The Walk Friendly Community designation, awarded from bronze, to silver, gold and the highest designation of platinum, is given to applicant communities that have demonstrated a commitment to improving and sustaining walkability and pedestrian safety through comprehensive programs, plans and policies.

To date, 21 communities in the US have been designated as Walk Friendly Communities.

Hofman, Wecht Draw Glamor To Coroner’s race

WALTER I. HOFMAN, MD, incumbent Montgomery Co. Coroner, is seen here with his friend and former colleague, Cyril Wecht, MD, JD, from Allegheny Co. Montgomery McCracken attorney Al Piccerilli hosted a fundraiser for Hofman in Justice Roberts Room.

Wecht was keynote speaker and talked about some of his high-powered cases, like Jon Benet Ramsey case and some newsworthy current cases.

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AMONG GUESTS supporting Dr. Hofman and enjoying meeting Dr. Wecht were Gregory Harvey, Esq., senior counsel at Montgomery McCracken and a member of the Democratic Executive Committee from 8th Ward in Phila.

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