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Ron Panepinto Jewelers

215-755-2000 Jim Stevenson

700 Sansom St. 215-923-1980

9371 ROOSEVELT BLVD. PHILADELPHIA, PA 19114 215-698-7000 JStevenson@ChapmanAutoGroup.com

www.PanepintoJewelers.com We Buy Gold & Diamonds

Serving Citywide Political, Labor, Legal and School Communities of Philadelphia

Vol. XI. No. 10 (Issue 475)

“The good things we do must be made a part of the public record”

Value 50¢

March 5, 2009

We Need Our Two Dailies

by Joe Shaheeli Whether we love them or hate them, Philadelphians cannot afford to see the end of either or both of our long-lived dailies, the Philadelphia Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Rather then wish them away, as their owners seek relief through bankruptcy, Philadelphians should wish them well and begin to subscribe to them, or make a religious habit of buying their daily offerings. They are at the core of what makes

this city tick. It’s tough to imagine urban life without them. Off the top of my head, I can see Philly’s sports fans going through a nervous withdrawal with no way to gauge what’s happening to their favorite teams or the sports world in general. What will they have to talk about the morning after big games? Without the dailies, there will definitely be a falloff in the enthusiasm generated by winning streaks or championships. Sports para-

phernalia sales will go down, as will ticket sales to all sporting events. It is the daily reporting of sports events that generates the interest in the games to come. Happiest at these newspapers’ demise would be the folks who are involved in scams of all sorts, be they employees in banking or other private enterprise, or elected officials in City or State government. Surveys have proven, without any doubt, the reduction of aggressive

dailies brings with it a rise in criminal activity of a white-collar nature. Without full-time paid reporting, there are no eyes studying government besides those inside government itself. In recent weeks, this has been amply demonstrated by the Inquirer, whose reporters uncovered the trail that brought State Sen. Vincent Fumo to trial. The same holds for Chris Wright, chief of (Cont. Page 2)

Snow Delayed Public Record Party Rescheduled For Monday At Swan We apologize to the loyal individuals who braved this weekend’s two-day storm to attend our 10th Anniversary celebration Monday evening, only to find the wrought-iron gates of Swan Caterers, at Water & Snyder, closed. Our staff spent the whole day Monday reaching out to whoever we knew was planning to attend the gala, and that was several hundred. But we did miss a score of you and to you we owe this apology. However, God willing we get navigable weather, our 10th anniversary bash will go on at 7 p.m. this Monday evening, Mar. 9. Highlight will be the presentation of the Public Record’s much-coveted “Public Servant of the Year Award”. The recipient this year

is Joe Vento, owner of Geno’s Steaks. Our last issue covered in detail the many contributions made by Mr. Vento through his years in business. He has given millions of dollars to individuals, causes, schools and countless charities. If you hadn’t planned to come, you might want to. It’s your one chance to meet and be greeted by the Republican and Democratic candidates for District Attorney and City Controller and the Judicial candidates and sitting Judges running in the primary. We look forward to seeing you there. Tickets are $50 and will be available at the door. For further information, call John David at (215) 755-2000.

Arlen

Could Have Election Problem

A Susquehanna Polling & Research poll shows 53% of Pennsylvanians and 66% of Republicans want someone to

replace Sen. Arlen Specter. James Lee, president of Harrisburg-based polling firm, said the poll

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shows they believe Specter has done a good job. But they want to give some other Republican a crack at the seat, indicating they'd prefer a "new person" by 53% to 38% margin. Registered Republicans were for a new Senator by 66% to 26%. Fortynine percent of registered Democrats favored Specter. The pollster believes some respondents may be disgruntled by Specter’s vote supporting the President’s stimulus package. He also said if the election were held today, Specter would (Cont. Page 2)

AFSCME DC 47 President Cathy Scott urges Nutter administration to tighten revenue collection with a ‘Tsar’ before cutting City services and workers.

Does City Need A Revenue Tsar?

Mayor Michael Nutter dismisses an idea proposed by AFSCME District Council 47 President Cathy Scott calling “for the creation of a Revenue Tsar in Philadelphia who ensures those who owe money pay that money.” Scott made this call at a recent press conference called to discuss the city’s $2 billion deficit. She urges the Mayor and his administration to concentrate on collections, rather than on Police Commissioner Charles H. layoffs which may affect as many as 20% of the city’s white-collar per- Ramsey honored Kal & Lucille Rudman for their generosity, and accepted sonnel. Scott has suggested the creation of their latest donation to a college-schola “Revenue Tsar” to oversee the col- arship program at the main auditorium lection of all the money owed to the at Philadelphia Police Headquarters, City but currently unpaid.”The 8th & Race Streets. Since 2002, the Kal & Lucille Philadelphia revenue system is broken. Nobody is minding the store. Our gov- Rudman Foundation has helped Philadelphia police officers go to ernment has lost its focus,” she said. (Cont. Page 31) (Cont. Page 2)

CCP, Police Fete Rudman


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