Ron Panepinto Jewelers
Jim Stevenson
700 Sansom St. 215-923-1980
9371 ROOSEVELT BLVD. PHILADELPHIA, PA 19114 215-698-7000 JStevenson@ChapmanAutoGroup.com
Vol. XI. No. 25 (Issue 490)
“The good things we do must be made a part of the public record”
Sheriff Clarifies Evictions CAV. Severino Verna, Jr.
In Memoriam Cavalier Severino Verna, Jr. Philadelphia lost one of its most productive and beloved sons this past week with the death of Cavalier Severino Verna, Jr. Cavalier Severino Verna, Jr. was a funeral director in South Philadelphia for the past 52 years. He is a graduate of Southeast Catholic HS and Dolan College of Mortuary Science. He received an honorary degree from the Gabriele d’Annunzio College of Letters and Sciences in Rome, Italy. Cavalier Verna was chosen as a Commissioner on the State Board of Funeral Directors by the late Governor Milton Shapp. He was reappointed by Gov. Richard Thornburgh and served with distinction in that post for 10 years. In 1983, the Honorable William J. Green, Mayor of Philadelphia, selected Mr. Verna as a Commissioner of the Fair Housing Commission, a post in which he served until 2006. Active in community affairs, Mr. (Cont. Page 2)
www.PanepintoJewelers.com We Buy Gold & Diamonds
Serving Citywide Political, Labor, Legal and School Communities of Philadelphia
Not everyone facing an eviction from a home or an apartment finds he or she is dealing with the Sheriff’s Office. That’s why the recent rise in evictions has prompted the Sheriff’s Office to help the public understand the process. Sheriff John Green knows the problems caused by the rising rate of housing foreclosures and the fact the ejected/eviction rate in the City of Philadelphia continues to climb as a result. The rate of writs of possessions filed for ejectments has almost doubled since the beginning of the year. The Sheriff’s Office noted the increase in writs of possessions for this year over corresponding months of last year. In January, that figure was down from 64 to 42, as it was in February from 55 to 48. However, in March the writs rose to 67 from 61, and spiked in April from 75 to 101, but did drop in May from 85 to 69 and in June from 92 to 68. (Cont. Page 27)
Value 50¢
Acme Supermarkets Push Workers To Wall -- Union Workers To Vote Contract Wednesday --
UFCW Local 1776 team and its giant balloon symbolize Acme and Supervalu’s corporate greed as they try to force new contract on their workers. This group protested outside Bala Cynwyd Acme.
PHA Opens Summer Food Brady Gives Program For School Kids H.S. Student The Philadelphia Housing Authority will begin its Summer Food Program Wednesday, Jun. 24 at 21 PHA sites across the city. With the school year ending earlier than usual, the program will be expanded from 39 to 45 days. The program, which has been of-
June 18, 2009
fered since 1981, serves breakfast and lunch for school-age children to make up for meals ordinarily provided at school. Last year, 41,000 meals were served, said PHA Program Development Specialist David Warren. He anticipated increased participation due to the hardship caused by the recession, in addition to the expansion of the program. All eligible children ages 18 and under are able to receive free breakfast or a snack and lunch from Monday, Jun. 24 through Friday, Aug. 21. The program will operate Mon (Cont. Page 2)
D.C. Art Space
Congressman Robert A. Brady has selected the artwork of Eric Sizer, a 12th-grader at William Penn HS, to represent the 1st Congressional Dist. in the 28th annual Congressional High School Art Competition. "I was personally impressed by Mr. Sizer's self-portrait. It is a very compelling composition that for me represents how the students at William Penn, in spite of the Philadelphia School District's proposed closing of the school, have displayed (Cont. Page 27)
An inflated pig is beginning to show up at various Acme Supermarkets in and around Philadelphia. To Acme customers, it’s the first visible sign all is not right with the store employees who serve them. They are beginning to learn the inconveniences they are now facing – such as waiting through long cashier lines – might be due to a company policy to increase its profit margins by cutting corners. Another sign they are now seeing are flyers headlined “Corporate Greed: First it was Wall Street. Now it’s Acme,” distributed by members of United Food & Commercial Workers Local 1776 outside of the Bala Cynwyd Acme last Friday. The nearly 4,000 men and women who staff Acme stores in Philadelphia and surrounding suburbs have been working for more than a year without a contract. Acme has refused to agree to a fair contract. So employees have been working under a contract extension since February 2008. Last week, the company presented (Cont. Page 2)
UFCW Local 1776’s Pam Saunders, right shares information about Acme’s contract offer with Acme customer.