Philadelphia Daily Record

Vol. II No. 182 (342)

Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia

November 14, 2011

Philadelphia Daily Record

Which One?

WHICH WILL IT BE? Republican candidates David Oh and Al Taubenberger attended a Board of Election hearing this morning to determine which of them had won the second at-large minority seat on City Council. With 99.47% of the vote counted unofficially, Oh was leading by 172 votes. Board of Elections will announce an official decision tomorrow.

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The Philadelphia Public Record Calendar When You Want Your Roof To Be Done Right The First Time

Nov. 17-

FOP Auxiliary presents Ladies Night, holiday-shopping demos at 1336 Spring Garden St., 6-9 p.m. Many vendors. Snacks, beer, wine & soda. Free.

For info Donna Giulian (215) 820-0865.

saxophonist John Williams & band and a special awards ceremony.

Tickets $20. For info Yanina (856) 228-5040, Crystal (215) 375-6267 or Norm (215) 5887838.

Nov. 17-

Community Con- Nov. 21versation with State Rep. Rosita Youngblood at Indochinese American Council, 4934 Old York Rd., 6-8 p.m.

Phila. Tea Party Patriots invite all to meeting at Prudential Bank, 1834 W. Oregon Ave., 7 p.m.

Entrance and parking in rear.

Nov. 17-

“Education Over Incarcertaion Youth Town Hall Meeting hosted by Chairman Ron Waters and the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, 5 to 7 pm at West Phialdelphia High School,49th and Chestnut. For more info call 717772-6955.

Nov. 18-

Bobbie Carter Foundation celebrates 10 years of service with Jazzin’ 4 Diabetes at Park Avenue Banquet Hall, 4942 Parkside Ave., 7 p.m.-12 a.m. Festivities include butler hors d’oeuvres, silent auction, dinner,

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

Nutter: ‘Occupy Philadelphia Has Changed’ At a noon news conference yesterday, Mayor Michael A. Nutter raised a series of public-health and public-safety concerns regarding the Occupy Philly site on Dilworth Plaza.

The Mayor said that the Occupy Philly contingent has noticeably changed since its arrival in early October and has refused to establish regular communications with the City. “Occupy Philly has changed, so we must change our relationship with them – things have changed,” the Mayor said.

As a result of a pattern of publicsafety incidents, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey will establish uniformed officer foot patrol through the plaza and deploy officers at strategic locations near the Occupy Philly area.

The Mayor’s statement reads: “I’ve asked you here today because of my very great concern about dramatically deteriorating conditions on Day 39 in our engagement with Occupy Philly on City Hall apron, also known as Dilworth Plaza.

Occupy Philly has changed. We’re seeing serious health and safety issues playing out on almost a daily basis.

Occupy Philly is fractured with internal disagreement and disputes.

The people of Occupy Philly have also changed and their intentions have changed … and all of this is not good for Philadelphia.

When I met with representatives of Occupy Philly on Wednesday Oct. 5 in my office, I made it clear to them that the City would in fact protect their free-speech rights and that we wanted to cooperate with them. But I also said that the life of the City must go on: It is our daily business that must be conducted and not be impeded.

And I pointed out to them that day that there is a major project planned for Dilworth Plaza, that it’s been in works for a number of years now – a $50 million remake of Dilworth Plaza into an open, green, vibrant space … built by the 99% for the 99%.

And they told me that they would be peaceful, that they would not be disruptive, that they would obey the laws of the City of Philadelphia and that they would communicate with us regularly and they only wished to express their free speech rights.

On Oct. 11, the City sent a letter to Occupy Philly representatives, setting out a series of public safety and public health concerns that had quickly arisen, including the following: • Combustible structures near historic City Hall; • The lack of an emergency fire lane near the building; • And a growing problem with litter, public urination, defecation and graffiti.

Unfortunately, Occupy Philly did

not respond to our growing publicsafety and health concerns. Finally, two weeks ago, on Sunday, Oct. 30, a group of Occupy Philly leaders met with my staff and me at the American Friends Services Committee offices at 15th & Cherry. It was a cordial exchange of views and concerns.

The following day, the City of Philadelphia sent an email to the group asking for weekly meetings, which we had discussed the previous day when we met, so that we could better understand each other’s issues, concerns and requirements, and so that we could work together to identify possible sites for relocation or even other programs and activities that we could work on mutually to address some of the concerns the group has had here in Philadelphia and across the nation.

We also described in that Oct. 30 meeting, two additional pending maintenance-related projects: the removal of scaffolding from the tower area and a separate project requiring a scissor lift to make repairs to a number of City Hall windows that actually look down on the Occupy Philly location.

It’s now two weeks later, and there has been no response to our concerns … none whatsoever!

Instead, what’s abundantly clear now is that Occupy Philly is in violation of the terms of its permit, which requires it as an organization to observe our city ordinances.

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD Let me describe just a few of the issues: Into this highly combustible environment – with tents and wooden pallets, bedding and waste – we know that some are using cooking stoves, candles, lanterns and of course there has been widespread smoking with the potential for fire and tragedy.

On Oct. 28, we had a small fire in that location in which a nylon tent went up in flames.

This past Friday, the Fire Marshal and a Haz-Mat team supervised the removal of a known propane tank that was jerry-rigged to a small heater and a hurricane lamp. We are quite sure, unfortunately, that many more such units are hidden in tents throughout their encampment.

In spite of the presence of portopotties, the problem with public urination and defecation remains a significant health threat. In short, conditions there are unsanitary and that also includes food distribution.

Friday night, the Occupy Philly general assembly voted against moving from Dilworth Plaza: Occupy Philly is now purposely standing in the way of a nearly 1,000 jobs for Philadelphians at a time of high unemployment. They are blocking Philadelphians from taking care of their families.

We’ve seen the rise of new groups as a part of this movement like the Radical Caucus, which is bent on civil disobedience and disrupting City operations;

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Many of the people that we talked to in the beginning of this event and activity are now gone. They are no longer on the site. They are no longer on the scene. And Occupy Philly has refused to engage in active, regular discussions with us. This change in behavior is no accident. It is a direct result of the fact that this movement has changed and the people have changed.

In recent weeks, there have been numerous reports of thefts and assaults in the Occupy Philly space.

In addition, between Oct. 6 and Nov. 11, there have been 15 EMS runs related to the Occupy Philly site.

And then last night shortly before 8 pm, a woman reported an alleged sexual assault in one of the tents.

This incident is also under investigation.

These conditions are intolerable.

Occupy Philly is not acting in good faith, and it’s now abundantly clear that on many levels this group is violating a range of city ordinances and the terms of their permit.

Of necessity, we are now at a critical point where we must reevaluate out entire relationship with this very changed group.

Occupy Philly has changed, so we must change our relationship with them – things have changed.

Very soon, we must prepare for the renovation project of windows in City Hall on the west side. It is a project that is vital to the safety of our city employees and Occupy Philly members who are directly

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below. It will require a number of tents and structures to move.

We do not seek confrontation with Occupy Philly. As a matter of fact, I have expressed almost every day my very strong belief in many of the issues and concerns that the original Occupy Philly individuals that I met with have raised: issues related to unemployment, poverty, bank lending, homelessness, the rights of people to express themselves.

Again, we do not seek confrontation with Occupy Philly. We prefer cooperation but these issues of public health and public safety must be addressed, and addressed immediately.

Misconduct is not about free speech, and the behavior we’re now seeing is running squarely into the needs of our City government that also represents the very real 99%. As Mayor of the City of Philadelphia, I represent the 99% also.

Our responsibility is bigger than Occupy Philly; our responsibility is to all of the citizens, all of our public employees, to the entire city and the region.

And so for all the reasons I’ve enumerated including public-safety concerns, I have asked Police Commissioner Ramsey to increase the uniform police patrol in the area where Occupy Philly is as well as establish structured and strategic positioning and deployment of officers on a regular basis in that location as well.

THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD

Fracking Foes Ask Corps Of Engineers To Back Them On The Delaware A broad coalition of groups are meeting at City Hall today to demand President Barack Obama’s representative on the Delaware River Basin Commission vote “no” on fracking on Nov. 21.

Opponents of gas drilling by hydrofracturing include labor, faithbased, sportsmen, business, physicians, national organizations and college/university populations from the states that make up the Delaware River Watershed – New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The three other states are seeing coordinated press conferences at the same time.

Pressure on the Obama Administration is being brought to the door of Col. Christopher Larsen of the Army Corps of Engineers, asking that he, as a voting member of the DRBC, vote against regulations that would allow fracking in the Delaware River Basin for the first time.

Fracking to extract natural gas involves injecting large quantities of water, sand and over chemicals underground to break up shale and rock. Over 650 of the chemicals are known or possible human carcinogens. Fracking could pollute the Delaware River – a drinking water source to over 15 million

people living in the region. Air pollution and climate damage, with sea level rise particularly threatening to Philadelphia, are also serious concerns.

The DRBC regulations, which would lift a 3-year moratorium and allow 18,000 fracking wells in the Delaware River Basin, will receive a final vote on Nov. 21. If the regulations are passed, they will pave the way for horizontal fracking in New Jersey and New York, bring more fracking to Pennsylvania and expose Delaware, the most downstream state in the Basin, to toxic fracking runoff.

Governor Signs Sports Concussion Bill Gov. Tom Corbett ceremonially signed the “Safety in Youth Sports Act” this morning, a bill intended to prevent serious head injuries in student athletes and strengthen education about the risks of concussions.

“Some will call this erring on the side of caution,’” Corbett said. “To that I say, ‘you bet.’ When it has to do with our young people, with their health and safety, we should take no needless chances.’”

Corbett held a ceremonial signing for what has become known as “the Concussion Bill”,’ at Lower Dauphin HS, surrounded by student athletes. Also present were Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis, and

sponsors of the legislation State Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh) and State Rep. Tim Briggs (D-Montgomery).

“It’s time to take concussions seriously, before they ruin young lives.

That’s why we passed this law for the young people you see standing here and on the playing courts and fields around the state,”‘ Corbett said.

The measure, SB 200, establishes standards for managing concussions and other brain injuries. It requires student athletes who may have suffered a head injury to be removed from the activity and not allow them to return to play until they

have been medically cleared. In addition, it requires coaches to be trained annually and establishes penalties for those who don’t comply.

“By signing this bill, Pennsylvania joins 31 other states in establishing legislation,’‘ Corbett said.

The law also requires the Depts. of Health and Education to post guidelines and other relevant materials online to inform and educate students participating in any athletic activity, their parents and their coaches about the nature and risk of concussion and traumatic brain injury.

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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD The law, which takes effect next Jul. read the bill, visit the General As- www.legis.state.pa.us.

1, was officially signed Nov. 9. To sembly’s website at

Casey: Arab League Vote On Syria Just The First Step US Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern & South & Central Asian Affairs, released the following statement:

“Last week, I called upon the Arab League to take action against Syria and I fully support their decision to suspend the country. Now, I call on the international community, including Russia and China, to come together and support a democratic

transition in Syria. Assad’s brutal slaughter of his own people must stop immediately. The UN should work in the days ahead to develop a plan to protect civilians in Syria and pass a resolution which sanctions the Assad regime.”

Johnny Doc Selling South Philly Properties?

Phila. Scientist Named ‘Best In Nature And Environment’

been conducting research in Mongolia for 15 years. He is the lead principal investigator for the Mongolian Aquatic Insect Survey, a multiyear project to document the diversity of insects that live in or near freshwater and to relate that diversity to patterns in evolution, ecology and water quality. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation. Currently, scientists are probing the waterways of the Altai Mountains and southern Hangai Mountains in western Mongolia. Previous surveys were conducted in the Lake Hovsgol Basin and the Selenge River Basin, both in north central Mongolia.

Unofficial word has it Electricians Union Local 98, led by redoubtable John Dougherty, will be shedding three of its properties in South Philadelphia.

At 3rd & Jackson Streets lies a cluster of IBEW facilities. They are an apprentice training center in a former Acme supermarket, a communications center and the former union hall. Many of these functions will be centralized at the local’s Spring Garden Street HQ. Dougherty and many other IBEW members have deep roots in South Philadelphia. But a prolonged building slump has taken its toll on the finances of all construction trades.

A Philadelphia scientist who is leading a multinational effort to improve water-quality monitoring and standards in Mongolia has received an award for his work from the central Asian nation.

Dr. Jon Gelhaus, an evolutionary biologist at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, recently received the “Best Scientist in Nature and Environment” medal for his “significant contribution in Mongolian Environmental Science.” The award was issued by the Mongolian Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism through the Mongolian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Gelhaus, who is a curator in the Academy’s Entomology Dept., has

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Gelhaus, in collaboration with researchers at universities in the US, Europe and Mongolia, is working to improve scientific facilities for identification and analysis of biological samples; enhance water quality monitoring standards, and train young Mongolian scientists

THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD and students to carry on the work of the initiative.

Founded in 1812, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University is America’s oldest naturalhistory museum and a world leader in biodiversity and environmental research.

‘One Life To Live’ Star Hillary Smith Talks To City School Kids Hillary Smith, star of the popular daytime soap, “One Life to Live,” came to town today to meet the students of St. Francis de Sales School in West Philadelphia. The purpose: to show them how even a successful career in TV and film depends on things we learn early in school.

It will be a unique experience for many of the students. A significant

percentage comes from families newly-immigrated to the US from extremely poor countries. Some are refugees from war or drought. In all, 63% live below the poverty line, with 47% attending the school through its scholarship program.

Chatting about their abilities and dreams with an Emmy Award-winning actress is not a common occurrence in their lives.

But it is an experience they deserve.

Over 100 of the school’s students currently take part in “Play On, Philly,” a music program that demands three hours’ committed study per weekday. This year, three de Sales students won second place honors in the Middle School division of the Philadelphia Young Playwrights competition. And in the online “First in Math” program, the sixth grade class stepped into first place nationwide. These kids — and St. Francis de Sales — are doing something very right.

“Getting two children through school and college left me with a bone-deep respect for educational strategies that succeed,” says Smith.

“I’ve worked in support of schools like Pine Manor College, the Dana Hall School, the Brooks School and Connecticut College. But educational excellence doesn’t happen only in exclusive schools. It’s taking place in classrooms all over the country, and we need to celebrate and nurture it wherever it springs up. I have raised money for the American Indian College Fund, a cause very near to my heart. When I heard from a friend here in Philadelphia about the impressive work being done at St. Francis de Sales, I wanted to support it.”

Smith comes to town shortly after appearing in the off-Broadway play “Any Given Monday,” written by acclaimed Philadelphia playwright Bruce Graham.

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