Vol. III No. 113 (478)
Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia
July 13, 2012
Philadelphia Daily Record
Allons Enfants !
PHILA. gets ready to celebrate Bastille Day tomorrow with traditional storming of Eastern State Penitentiary in Fairmount. See story inside.
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Jul. 13Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell celebrates her birthday h osting and feeding city’s homeless at Holmes School, 5429 Chestnut ST. from noon till 4 pm. Jul. 16Phila. Tea Party Patriots and So. Philly/CC group meet at Prudential Bank Bldg., 1843 Oregon Ave., 7 p.m. Parking and entrance in back. Jul. 21Fundraiser for State Rep. John Taylor in N. Wildwood at Coconut Cove, 400 W. Spruce Ave., N. Wildwood, N.J., 2-6 p.m. , $25. Cash Bar. For info (215) 545-2244. Jul. 219th Annual Healthy Hoops Program, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at St. Joseph’s University Michael J. Hagan Arena, 5400 City Avenue. For youngsters 3 to 16 with asthma, heart or weight problems. Hosted by Amerihealth Mercy Foundation, Keyswtone Mercy Health Plan and Charlie Mack Party 4 Peace. Call 215-8636666 to register. Jul. 21Rep. Gary Williams’ 32nd Ward’s 5th annual Fee Summer Day Trip to Wildwood, NJ, hosting seniors and children at no cost for full day of fun, water park rides, and beach frolic. Three Buses leave
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from 16th and Berks sts. at 8 a.m. and return at 8 p.m. Jul. 27Former Sheriff Barbara Deeley hosts evening with Councilman Bob Hewnon at 270 Seabreeze Court, Anglesea, NJ. 6:30 to 9 pm. Contribution $100. Make checks payable to Bobby 11, POBox 22614, Phila. 19110. RSVP badeeley@gmail.com or call 215906- 0339. Jul. 28Brady Bunch Beach Party at Keenan’s in Anglesea, Wildwood, N.J., 4 p.m. Tickets available at door. Aug. 18Barrett Rec Ctr. Advisory Board Community Day, 8th & Duncannon Sts., 11 a.m.-3 pm. No charge. Family fun day. All invited. For info Sheila Bellamy (215) 457-4079. Aug. 1847th Ward Crab & Shrimp Fest to Baltimore leaves Progress Plaza, Broad and Oxford Sts., 1 p.m. Open bar, massive menu. $150. For info George Brooks (267) 971-5703. Aug. 19Annual Bill Meehan Clam Bake at Cannstatter Volksfest Verein, 9130 Academy Rd., 4-8 p.m. Ferko String Band entertains. For details call Republican City Committee (215) 561-0650.
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1,000 Philly Blacks To Get Predatory-Lending Payout The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission announced yesterday’s $125 million US Dept. of Justice settlement with Wells Fargo sets aside funds high interest loans without regard for their ability for an estimated 1,030 African-American hometo pay. buyers in the Philadelphia area who may have been targeted for illegal predatory lending The commission investigation was prompted by its schemes. statistical analysis of US Dept. of Housing & Urban Development statistics, conducted with The fund includes $2 million for city residents, HUD funding. The study revealed substantial disand an additional $50 million for alleged victims parities in pricing and foreclosure rates between living in eight metropolitan areas, including the African American and white borrowers. Such pracPhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington area. tices would violate the HUD-enforced federal Fair Housing Act, and the PHRA, which the commisThe multi-state settlement consolidates nationwide sion enforces. The commission investigated the alcomplaints alleging race-based predatory lending legations on behalf of HUD and the by Wells Fargo. It resolves a commission investiCommonwealth of Pennsylvania. gation of illegal lending in Philadelphia. The settlement requires Wells Fargo to establish “Fair housing is a right in Pennsylvania,” Commis- the $50 million new homebuyer assistance fund sion Chairman Gerry Robinson said. “This settlefrom which qualified buyers will receive up to ment will help ensure it is a reality.” $15,000 for down payments. An additional $2 million will be designated for African-American resiOn Jul. 1, 2010, the commission initiated an inves- dents in the city of Philadelphia who originated tigation to determine whether mortgage lending home loans with Wells Fargo between Jan. 1, 2004 and foreclosure practices of Wells Fargo Home and Dec. 31, 2009. Mortgage and Wells Fargo Financial Pa. Inc. violated the Pa. Human Relations Act, or PHRA, by Other funds will provide cash rebates for African targeting borrowers for discrimination based on American borrowers who might have qualified for their race. Specifically, the complaint alleged that prime loans, but received nonprime rates from Wells Fargo engaged in reverse redlining, the prac- Wells Fargo. A federal government designee will tice of targeting African American borrowers for (Cont. Page 5) • PHILADELPHIADAILYRECORD.COM
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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD
Daily Waffles From Joe Sbaraglia (The Waffleman) HOAGIES - Pronounced hoe geys, are possibly named for the sandwiches that were once eaten by the workers on the farms on Hog Island. These workers were called hoggies. The hoggies would purchase one of those sandwiches from a local deli-
catessen. It would be their lunch. These sandwiches were soon associated with the hoggies. Somewhere along the way hoggies came to be proÂŹnounced hoagies. In South Philadelphia, they are not called submarines, torpedoes, heros, grinders or
4 BIG SALES WEEKLY
zeps (short for zeppelins). To make a good hoagie: use fresh lunchmeats (never use Coteghino), good provolone cheese is essential. Use fresh Italian bread or a hoagie roll to make a good hoagie. Never use mayonnaise. The lunchmeat and cheese must be sliced thin - very thin. Make sure to cut the finished hoagie in half. How else are you going to eat it? There are tuna hoagies, steak hoagies, tuna fish hoagies and egg salad hoagies. You can get it with or without oil, stuff it with pickles, onions, lettuce, tomatoes and/or hot peppers or any combination of these condiments. Have a soda, coffee or even milk to drink, it doesn't matter. Red's, at Ninth & Mifflin Streets was and still is, a place to get a great hoagie. The prices were great then. A tuna hoagie using imported tuna fish cost 30 cents. Ham and cream cheese cost 25 cents and pressed ham and cream cheese cost 15 cents.
To buy a copy of this book E-Mail Dwaffleman@aol.com
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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD determine and notify potentially eligible recipients. Philadelphia area residents who believe they may be eligible for funds should email the U.S. Department of Justice at wellsfargo.settlement@usdoj.gov. Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Phila.), the senior Democratic appropriator for DOJ, said, when the settlement was announced, “Attorney General Eric Holder and DOJ have achieved a major victory today in the on-going effort to hold predatory home-mortgage lenders accountable. And the battle to right the wrongs of this national disgrace will continue. “The $175 million settlement with Wells Fargo, one of the nation’s largest lenders, is an indication that aggressive investigation can result in justice for those victimized by patterns of discrimination on the basis of race or national origin. “While instances of severe racial profiling and discrimination in home mortgage lending, predatory
practices, misleading paperwork and hard-sell for sub-prime mortgages extend back at least to 2004, serious investigation of these allegations didn’t begin until after the Obama Administration took office in 2009. “I have been urging DOJ since 2009 to step up the pace of investigations, and led the fight in the House Appropriations Committee for the extra resources that have helped fund these probes.” Fattah is author of the Pennsylvania Homeowners Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program, which has helped save over 44,000 homes from foreclosure by providing loans to homeowners who lost their jobs or income through no fault of their own. He delivered programs including the $1 billion national Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program, which has saved homes for laid-off homeowners coast to coast. Fattah is the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science & related agencies.
Corbett Honors DPW For Speeding Appeals The Bureau of Hearings & Appeals has received a first-ever Governor’s Innovator Award for dramatically reducing the work hours and processing time it takes to send welfare client appeals to the court system, Dept. of Public Welfare Secretary Gary D. Alexander announced. “The innovations made by this bureau reflect the department’s ongoing goal to improve efficiencies and reduce waste,” said Alexander. “Because of this effort, welfare applicants can potentially receive quicker appeals while taxpayers can be reassured bureaucratic and costly red tape is being
reduced.” The bureau receives 78,000 appeals annually, requiring hundreds of hours of photocopying, collating and case documentation. By next month, processing and transmission of all case files to the courts will be completed electronically. This change will save staff 80 hours of work per month and reduce the time it takes to get a case to Commonwealth Court from eight weeks to less than one week. (Cont. Page 7) • PHILADELPHIADAILYRECORD.COM
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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD
Fridays With
Freddie
Le Quatorze
Le Quatorze Juillet (The 14th of July) Tomorrow, I will head to the Fairmount section of Philadelphia for the French Festival Bastille Day. This annual celebration has become one of the premier and most popular events Philly offers and is attended by thousands. Philly’s Bastille Day will be held outside the Eastern State Penitentiary at 20th & Fairmount Avenue. The festivities will in-
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clude French foods and wines and will be highlighted by a free theatrical reenactment of the storming of the Bastille starting at 4:30 p.m. For some Philly flavor, the skit will include Marie Antoinette throwing over 2,000 Tastykakes to the militia. Bastille Day is the English name for French National Day, which is celebrated the 14th of July. It commemorates the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille on Jul. 14, 1789, which was seen as the uprising of the modern nation during the French Revolution.
THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD Commonwealth Court. “Speeding up the processing time for benefit appeals by almost 90% will pay off for clients and for taxpayers,” said Alexander. DPW has been working on moving to paperless transcripts since July 2011 in conjunction with the
The Governor’s Innovator Awards are administered by the Governor’s Innovation Office, which works to reduce state spending, eliminate waste and improve service.
Casey: Make Olympic Uniforms In America US Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) has written a letter to the US Olympic Committee asking them to commit to using uniforms made in America after it was revealed that the US Olympic team will wear uniforms made in China for the opening ceremonies in London. The decision to make the uniforms in China deprived US manufacturers and their workers the ability to produce the uniforms and benefit from
the additional business. “The US Olympic Committee was 100% wrong to outsource the manufacturing of US uniforms for the opening ceremony to China,” the Senator said. “Moving forward, the US Olympic Committee must commit to using only made-in-America uniforms so that the work being done to prepare our athletes for the games creates jobs in America and not China.”
Hughes Hails New Health Center In West Phila. State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-W. Phila.) spoke at the groundbreaking of the new Spectrum Health Services health center in West Philadelphia. The center will provide health and dental services, as well as education and social services, to a community he said is largely underserved and low-income.
foster critical health services and education throughout the neighborhood. I was happy to work with Spectrum Health Services to make this facility a reality,” he explained.
“This is a momentous occasion,” Hughes said. After 15 years, this new facility will now be able to better serve a community in need, a community that has been hard hit by poverty and medical problems. “This center creates an ideal space to
“Adequate health services are critical, especially in our most at-risk communities,” Hughes said. “This facility will provide access to a better quality of life for so many more folks and help educate them on continuing good health at home.”
Hughes added the 36,000 square-foot facility will serve 30,000 more clients over the next five years.
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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD The $14 million health center, located at 5201 Haverford Avenue, was bolstered by $6.1 million in state and local funding. The Senator was instrumental in securing a portion of the $1.7 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant for the project. The center will provide 70 new permanent jobs, helping to boost West Philadelphia’s economic development. He said the facility was designed as a green building, helping to keep energy costs down with more efficient alternatives. “At a time when our economy is experiencing a significant downturn and job creation has grown
stagnant, this project has provided meaningful opportunities to boost economic efforts and provide jobs,” Hughes said. “Not only that, the energy efficiencies will help keep the center cost-effective.” Hughes added projects like the health center serve as a catalyst for more community and economic development projects to get done in communities in need. The state-of-the art facility, named the Haddington Health Center, will continue Spectrum Health’s long-standing commitment to health and wellness in communities throughout Philadelphia. Spectrum Health has provided services to women and families since 1967.
Stack Plugs Merger By Temple, Fox Chase State Sen. Mike Stack (D-Northeast) joined officials from Fox Chase Cancer Center and Temple University Health System to mark the merger of the two health systems during a Jul. 11 celebration at the cancer center. Fox Chase, a formerly independent facility located on Cottman Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia, is now a part of the Temple University Health System. Stack, a member of the Temple University Board of Trustees, said the acquisition will strengthen health care in the Philadelphia region. “Temple is a renowned academic medical center that is educating and training our future doctors and Fox Chase is a leading cancer research institution and a Northeast Philadelphia landmark,”
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Stack said. “Most importantly, they are both beacons of hope for the patients who walk through their doors, and now that beacon shines brighter with this merger.” Under the acquisition, Fox Chase Cancer Center’s 2,500 jobs will be maintained and its revenue is expected to triple to $1 billion in five years. Additionally, Fox Chase will be able to utilize space at nearby Jeanes Hospital, which is also in the Temple University Health System. “Northeast Philadelphia is fortunate to have a network of Temple health facilities to access,” Stack said. “Together, Temple and Fox Chase will contribute to further advances in cancer prevention and treatment, with the ultimate goal of curing this disease.”