Too Big For Even Torre Men’s Wear To Fit
NO MATTER WHAT SIZE you are Torre Clothes claims it could fit you. That boast was challenged by a City dump truck, which wasn’t coming by for clothes, as it tried to squeeze by the Torre Parking entrance. It took down the famous Torre sign. Will be a while before the City gets to paying the cost for remounting the sign, since it is in a budget hassle at the moment.
Vol. III No. 12 (Issue 77)
“Reporting South Philadelphia the way it deserves”
Value 50¢
March 26, 2009
Round Two: Unions Vs. Nutter
Damon Roberts, Esq., believes community leaders need to meet with its elected officials to compare notes.
Why Mayor Needs Concessions and Why Unions Say No
Bringing Leaders Together
Excerpts from Mayor Michael Nutter’s address to City Council Mar. 19, 2009 On Jan. 15, just two months after closing the first billion-dollar deficit in our current Five-Year Plan, I announced that we had been hit by an economic hurricane – a second billion-dollar gap had opened up in our next plan. Again, the driving forces were declining tax revenue and huge losses in our Pension Fund, requiring millions of additional dollars from taxpayers to support our Fund, the safety net for our retirees and current workforce…. And so, today, I’m calling upon Pete Matthews, president of District Council 33; Brian McBride, president of the firefighters’ Local 22; John McNesby, (Cont. Page 19)
by Tony West When the time comes to square away the City’s business – and that time has come – the elephant in the boardroom is benefits. And for 20,000 civil servants, the elephant is literally a matter of life and death. Of the roughly $2 billion gap in the 5-year budget Mayor Michael Nutter is trying to close, roughly half of that is caused by a gigantic shortfall in funding for the City’s pension and health-care obligations. Health-care costs are soaring out of control for the City as they are for all other payors in America. Pension set-asides are determined by accounting rules that carry the force of law, although they can be tweaked and bent by experts. Before last autumn’s Wall Street crash, the City had already done some bending and its pension fund needed strengthening. (Cont. Page 19)
South Philadelphia Park Lovers Reap Tribute For Services
PHILA. HORTICULTURAL Society’s Joan Reilly, left, welcomes Fairmount Park’s Stewardship Director Kate Lapczinski to podium at Galdo’s Catering, where PHS issued awards for park service.
HOST Lou Galdo, left, congratulates his cousin Mike Mecchella, formerly in charge of Rizzo Ice rink and now director of Recreation Dept. operations, received a Above And Beyond The Call award for a lifetime of service to Philadelphians at play.
EILEEN GARGANO holds plaque honoring her as Dickinson Square’s Volunteer Of The Year, joined, from left, by Recreation Dept. Parks Coordinator Barb McCabe, Rec Commissioner Susan Slawson, Fairmount Park Director Kate Lapszynski and Penna. Conservation & Natural Resources Secretary Michael DiBerardinis.
PHILA.’S newest park, Julian Abele Park at 22nd & Montrose, saw its Volunteer Of The Year Darlene Branch Smith hailed with plaque at Galdo’s Catering.
A South Philadelphia Community Leaders Forum will be hosted at the 17th Police Dist. at 20th & Federal on Saturday Mar. 28 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. “There are so many excellent community organizations throughout South Philadelphia,” said Damon K. Roberts, Esq., a real-estate attorney and chair of South Philadelphia Neighborhood Networks. “We are bringing together these organizations and giving leaders a chance to highlight the (Cont. Page 2)
Ron Panepinto Jewelers 700 Sansom St. 215-923-1980
www.PanepintoJewelers.com We Buy Gold & Diamonds