Philadelphia Free Press - 04-22-2020 - Center City Philadelphia, PA.

Philadelphia’s High School seniors deserve a postponed not cancelled graduation!

LETTER: April 20, 2020 The Honorable Thomas Wolf, Governor of Pennsylvania The Honorable James Kenney, Mayor of Philadelphia Dr. William R. Hite, Jr, Superintendent of Schools

Re: My precious daughter, Zion W. Harris Class of 2020 Dear Honorably Pubic Servants,

F

irstly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each of you for your leadership, dedication and public service during this unprecedented medical crisis. Philadelphia is one of

the largest cities in this country and while we are all appropriately concerned about the overall implications of this pandemic, I am proud to be a Philadelphian (Pennsylvanian) and I believe your respective leadership has undoubtedly saved the lives of thousands of citizens, including the most vulnerable (sic) of our populations, marginalized and underrepresented groups. I applaud

Center City Philadelphia's Community Newspaper

each of you for your respective efforts.

As my wife and I have watched this situation matriculate over the past several weeks, we expected (and understood) the cancellation of certain long anticipated events.

Senior prom, senior class trip and even senior breakfast appeared to be appropriately cancelled. As parents, we understood the responsibility of

measuring anticipated pleasure versus overall safety.

My oldest daughter’s name is Zion Harris. Zion is 18 years old and is senior at Carver High School in Philadelphia, PA. Zion is the oldest of our four children and has been a bright light in our lives. She is smart, funny, witty and accomplished. Zion is a dedicated student and her academic roster reflects her status as a serious student. Zion is a member of the National Honors Society, National Society of Black EnApril 22, 2020 gineers and a student ambassador at her school. Zion volunteers every summer at the Philadelphia Veterans Hospital and has played an assortment of sports and social activities.

Zion has been a leader in her school community, our home and in social settings. My daughter is very special and represents a sharp contrast to some of the negative stereotypes concerning urban youth.

Zion has been accepted to several universities, including my Alma mater Lincoln University and my wife’s Alma mater Temple University. We love rules of civility. Gone are the Zion deeply and beyond meaconventional escape routes-sure. We were crushed and bars, cafes, bookstores—so a heartbroken when we learned quick walk around the block that the decision had been will have to suffice. One can always go to the local Rite Aid made to cancel the high school and walk the aisles but that is graduation. Zion remains devastated. hardly a soothing compensaPostponing, even until the tion. Visiting a friend who fall, would have been disaplives nearby would be your best bet, but not if that friend pointing yet understandable. lives in a Center City condo.

However, cancelling this event I feel for my friends who had brought aXdeep sadness live in high-rise Center City ...and hurt to my daughter that I condos. That’s because the fear am seeking to rectify. generated by this plague has I read a news article today caused most condo conglomthat in Pennsylvania, the erates to forbid residents from liquor stores were opening having outside guests. Some today to facilitate curbside condo establishments, like the service. I read another new Academy House, have even publication and watched the Page x continued on page 4 governor’s news conference the other day alerting of the CHRISTENDOM impending restart of comSebastian merce. I understood that, Barry but nomay consideration is being not be to exactly given late summer or fall aceremonies householdfor these children? name here Ending theinschool year, with America... no hope of closure, feels like a

City Safari: At home with the new isolationists

By Thom Nickels Contributing Editor

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t night the streets in my neighborhood are quiet. Occasionally one sees a random walker, a couple walking a dog, a homeless person with knapsack or a drug-selling kid on a bicycle asking passersby, “What’s up tonight?”

These cool April nights are perfect for walks around the neighborhood but few people seem to be taking advantage of it. Walk among the row homes The socially distant silent streets of Philadelphia. here and you’ll see houses ‘buttoned up’ like tight Victoririages having to isolate toan collars. But self-isolation— of isolation: psychological esgether, having no place to run families barricaded inside their trangement.

Imagine couples in bad mar- when one spouse breaks the homes—breeds another kind

Philadelphia Theatre Company mourns the loss of legendary philanthropist Suscene and hits especially zanne Roberts arts close to home for Philadelphia

By Haywood Brewster Staff Reporter

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Suzanne with Ralph Roberts. Photo: Mark Garvin

hiladelphia Theatre Company mourns the loss of Philadelphia cultural icon Suzanne Roberts.

Roberts had a transformative effect on the landscape of Philadelphia, especially its vast arts and cultural community. Her death is a devastating moment for the region’s

Theatre Company, as both she and her husband Ralph Roberts, (the Comcast founder and CEO who died in 2015), had a long-standing relationship with the theatre. Roberts was at the forefront of Philadelphia Theatre Company’s transformation, as the company christened the Suzanne Roberts Theatre on the Avenue of the Arts, which opened in 2007 and has been PTC’s home ever continued on page 10

continued on page 10

WOAR

The Social Distancing measures implemented throughout the nation have been challenging...

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CRIME/POLITICS...........................3 NOTES ON MUSIC..........................7 FUNDRAISER................................8 CLASSIFIEDS..............................11

2 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • APRIL 22, 2020

Professor points out 13 behaviors to adapt as society battles COVID-19

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UNCIE, Indiana – As society digs into its battle against COVID-19, a health researcher at Ball State University recommends behaviors that to adapt as soon as possible to avoid illness.

“Our society is more diverse than ever, and we have developed a tolerance for a variety of behaviors due to greater amalgamation of cultures, traditions, etiquettes, and norms,” said Jagdish Khubchandani, a health science professor.

“In general, we tend to ignore unhealthy and unsanitary behaviors in the guise of other peoples’ choice, personality type, family habits, or culture.

“During and after the current pandemic crisis, we need greater awareness, collective action, and common civic behaviors driven by scientific evidence on transmission of emerging infectious disease agents such as coronaviruses.

We must also not hesitate from educating or questioning family members, colleagues, and the general public on behaviors that pose danger to self and the society.”

Given the current evidence on mechanisms of transmission and action of COVID-19, Khubchandani offers up 13

behaviors and habits to 5. Wash fruits and vegbe embraced: etables, and avoid eat1. Take regular showers. ing them immediately While people are shelin aisles, stores, or car. tering in place, some 6. Don’t litter the inside may neglect daily and around your routines, but showerhouse. This could ing is a must because increase risk for COVID-19 can live on household members, surfaces for days. while littering around 2. Keep your clothes the community can clean. Don’t wear the burden the sanitasame clothes for many tion workers. Recent days. Do laundry freinstances of people quently. throwing used masks 3. Stop nail biting, and gloves in public thumb sucking, and places will increase rubbing eyes. risk for waste man4. Stop scratching your agement workers and head, face, or body. trash pickers.

Beech continues COVID-19 funding assistance

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he Beech Companies, Inc., through its Alston Beech Foundation, announces its fifth round of $1,000 COVID-19 emergency grants to non-profit organizations in Philadelphia that provide urgent, essential services. Since March 23, the North Philadelphia-based nonprofit has made $25,000 in contributions to selected nonprofits in North, West and Northwest Philadelphia to help keep them running during this pandemic.

Those partnering with Beech include Bazelon, Less & Feldman law

coalition.org/food-pantries/kitchen-love-0 215-868-4092 firm and Domus Con• ManupPHL struction. https://www.manupBeech President/ phl.org/ CEO Dr. Kenneth Scott 7627 Forrest Avenue, said they are focusing Philadelphia, PA 19150 on funding organiza267-584-7799 tions and programs that • North Broad Renaisprovide food, shelter sance and support services to http://northbroad. those in need during this org/ crisis. Each week, five 440 N. Broad Street, selected non-profits will Philadelphia, PA 19130 receive $1,000 grants 267-318-7826 during this national • People’s Emergency emergency.

Center The fifth group of orhttps://www.pecganizations to receive a cares.org/ $1,000 donation are: 325 N. 39th Street, • Kitchen of Love Philadelphia, PA 19104 8500 Pickering Av267-777-5800 enue, Philadelphia, PA • White Rock Com19150 munity Food Pantry http://www.hungercontinued on page 5

7. Clean your car. Dispose of leftovers and edibles, trash, masks, and gloves.

8. Maintain hygiene while growing your hair, beard, or nails or using hair and face accessories.

9. Cover your face when you sneeze or cough.

10. Wash your hands after using restrooms, coming back from public places, after grocery shopping, pumping gas, using elevators, or using high traffic door knobs or electric switches.

11. Clean your desk space, cell phone, and computer devices.

12. Don’t rely on carryout or delivery as your sole source of food for every meal every day, and be sure to eat enough and consume healthy foods.

13. Don’t reuse wipes, masks, gloves, and personal care devices without cleaning them.

About Ball State Founded in 1918 and located in Muncie, Ball State University is one of Indiana’s premier universities and an economic driver for the state. Ball State’s 22,500 students come from all over Indiana, the nation, and the world. The 790-acre campus is large enough to accommodate first-rate facilities and 19 NCAA Division I sports, but our welcoming and inclusive campus is small enough to ensure the friendliness, personal attention, and access that are the hallmarks of the University. Destination 2040: Our Flight Path establishes Ball State’s ambitious goals for our second century. We Fly! Follow Ball State University: Website: www. bsu.edu; Twitter: @BallState; Facebook: www. facebook.com/ballstate; LinkedIn: www.linkedin. com/school/ball-stateuniversity; Instagram: @ ballstateuniversity Editor’s Note: Adding to the list of sanitary habits above, please do not spit on the ground or other public spaces.

This is a sure way to spread any kind of infection from one person to another.

APRIL 22, 2020 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • 3

Crime Blotter Crime Statistics & Crime Report Updates. If you have any crimes to report, please send them to N.C. at newsdesk@pressreview.net by press time, Monday at noon. Note: this crime report does not cover the entire boundaries for each police district. Instead, it reflects statistics in or near our circulation areas.

The following crimes occurred between Thursday, April 9th to Wednesday, April 15th.

PBMs practice prescription drug price gouging Review during pandemic UNIVERSITY

218 South 45th Street

218 South 45th Philadelphia, PA Street, 19104 Philadelphia, PA 19104 Tel (215) 222-2846 Tel (215)222-2846 Fax (215) 222-2378 Fax (215)222-2378 Email

3rd DISTRICT: To report a crime in the 3rd District, please call South Detective Division at 215686-3013. Reporting 3rd District crimes from South St. to Mifflin St. and Delaware Ave. to Broad St. Arrest: 1200 S. 5th St; S. Front & Morris Sts; S. 5th & Morris Sts Assault: 1100 S. Columbus Blvd; 1100 Mifflin St; 400 South St. Robbery 2000 S. Clifton St; 300 Lombard St; 200 Fitzwater St. Theft: 700 Hoffman St; 200 Moore St; 1100 S. Broad St; 1100 Moore St. Other Offenses (Any incident that does not fit into other definitions, and may include public drunkenness, runaways, loitering, weapons offense or missing person): 1700 S. 10th St; 1500 S. 2nd St; Mifflin St. & Columbus Blvd; 800 Ellsworth St. 6th DISTRICT: To report a crime in the 6th District, please call 215686-3060. Reporting 6th District crimes from Spring Garden St. to South St. and Front St. to Broad St. Arrest: 600 Spring Garden St; 900 Arch St. Assault: 8th & Market Sts; 700 S. 5th St. Burglary: 400 Spruce St. Theft: 800 N. Columbus Blvd; 2nd & Market Sts; S. 4th & Walnut Sts; 100 Spruce St; 1100 Nobel St; 1100 Filbert St. Other Offenses (Any incident that does not fit into other definitions, and may include public drunkenness, runaways, loitering, weapons offense or missing person): 700 Chestnut St. 200 Race St; 1100 Filbert St. 9th DISTRICT: To report a crime in the 9th District, please call 215686-3090. Reporting 9th District crimes from Fairmount Ave. to Lombard St. and Broad St. to the Schuylkill River.

Arrest: 300 S. 20th St; 1700 Pine St. Assault: 200 S. 15th St; 1400 JFK Blvd; 200 S. 18th St. Burglary: 1400 JFK Blvd.

Robbery: 1500 Chestnut St; 300 S. Broad St. Theft: 2100 Market St; 1800 Walnut St; 200 W. Rittenhouse Sq; 2200 Delancey Pl; 2100 Lombard St; 2300 Fairmount Ave; 1900 Fairmount Ave; 2100 Pennsylvania Ave; 2100 Winter Ave; 1600 Ben Franklin Pkwy.

CITY

St.

Burglary: 1700 S. Taylor St; 1800 S. 18th St; 1200 S. 22nd St.

Theft: 1100 S. 18th St; 1600 S. Chadwick St; 1700 S. 23rd St; Assault: 5200 Warrington Ave; 1800 S. 22nd St; 2500 Federal St. 1300 S. 51st St; 5900 Springfield Ave; 5600 Springfield Ave; 5400 Vandalism: 2400 Gerrit St; 2000 Grays Ave; 4000 Kingsessing Moore St. Ave; S. 52nd & Springfield Ave. 18th DISTRICT: To report a crime Robbery: 5500 Kingsessing Ave. in the 18th Police District, please call 215-686-3180. Reporting Shooting: S. 52nd St. & Spring- 18th District crimes from Market field Ave. St. to Woodland Ave. and 30th St. Theft: 5000 Upland St; 2000 S. to Cobbs Creek Pkwy.

58th St; 5600 Baltimore Ave. Arrest: 5500 Whitby Ave. Other Offenses (Any incident Assault: 1200 S. Wilton St. that does not fit into other definitions, and may include public Robbery: 4200 Osage Ave; 4400 drunkenness, runaways, loiter- Pine St. ing, weapons offense or miss- Theft: 5500 Webster St; 4800 ing person): 1700 S. 58th St; Pine St. 1400 S. Ruby St; 200 S. 61st St; Other Offenses (Any incident S. 53rd St. & Chester Ave; 5500 that does not fit into other defiChester Ave. nitions, and may include public Arrest: 400 S. Frazier St.

16th DISTRICT: To report a crime in the 16th District, please call 215-686-3160. Reporting 16th District crimes from Girard Ave. to Market St. and from the Schuylkill River to 52nd Street.

drunkenness, runaways, loitering, weapons offense or missing person): 5500 Christian St; 300 S. 53rd St; 5500 Cedar Ave.

19th DISTRICT: To report a crime in the 19th Police District, please Arrest: N. 50th St. & Girard Ave. call 215-686-3190. Reporting Assault: 600 N. 43rd St; 3400 19th District crimes from City Ave. to Market St. and 52nd St. to 77th Olive St. St. Robbery: 4200 Lancaster Ave; Arrest: 1400 N. Redfield St; 5500 3500 Race St. Vine St; 100 Renfield St; 6000 Theft: W. Girard Ave; 4000 Market St; 6200 Lansdowne Ave; Wylalsing Ave; 4100 Brown St; 5700 Lancaster Ave. 4000 Wallace St; 3500 Spring Assault: 6200 Vine St; 300 N. Garden St. Daggett St; 1400 N. 76th St; 7000 Vandalism: 5000 Westminster Malvern Ave; 7000 Lebanon Ave. Ave; 4100 W. Girard Ave; 5100 Robbery: 6400 W. Oxford St; Wyalusing Ave. 1400 N. 61st St; 6100 Diamond Other Offenses (Any incident Rd. that does not fit into other definitions, and may include pub- Theft: 800 Wynnewood Rd; 6500 lic drunkenness, runaways, Landsdowne Ave; 600 N. 67th St; loitering, weapons offense or 400 N. 60th St; 300 N. 63rd St; N. missing person): 800 N. 41st Dewey & Market Sts. St; 4000 Lancaster Ave; 200 N. Vandalism: 5800 Market St. 48th St. Other Offenses (Any incident

Vandalism: 2200 Pennsylvania 17th DISTRICT: To report a crime to the 17th Police District, Ave. Other Offenses (Any incident please call 215-686-3170. Rethat does not fit into other defi- porting 17th District crimes from nitions, and may include public South St. to Mifflin St. and Broad drunkenness, runaways, loiter- St. to the Schuylkill River.

ing, weapons offense or miss- Arrest: 1500 S. Bailey St; 2500 Dickinson St; 1800 Moore St; ing person): 1400 Walnut St. 12th DISTRICT: To report a 2900 Snyder Ave; 1200 S. 24rd crime in the 12th District, please St; 2400 Wharton St. call 215-686-1320. Reporting Assault: 1700 Montrose St; 1800 12th District crimes within South- Manton St; 2000 Titan St; 1100 S. west Philly bounded by Baltimore Broad St; 1500 S. Hicks St. at 50th St. to Bartram Dr. at 60th

that does not fit into other definitions, and may include public drunkenness, runaways, loitering, weapons offense or missing person): N. 56th & W. Thompson Sts; 1400 N. Wannamaker St; 6000 Thompson St; N. 57th St. & W. Girard Ave; 5600 Hunter St; 5400 Lansdown Ave; 600 N. 65th St; 7700 Drexel Rd; 1300 Farrington Rd; 7000 Vine St; Salford & Market St; 4000 Haverford Ave.

Patricia A. Epple is the CEO of the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association and a member of a new coalition, Your PA Community Pharmacies.

By Patricia A. Epple

W

e want the public to know that Pennsylvania’s independent pharmacists are doing all we can to make sure families in our local communities have the medicine they need while remaining at home and practicing social distancing.

We are following the practice of: Step Up — Pitch In — Limit Contact — Make Free Deliveries.

As you well know, Medicaid patients not only have numerous physical health care deficiencies, but also deal with a myriad of behavioral and social problems — psycho-social issues, literacy and poverty to name a few. Where would these individuals turn for help when their local independent pharmacy is no longer there?

That’s a real possibility due to the behavior of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) during this pandemic.

What are PBMs doing?

At a time when independent pharmacists are going above and beyond the already superior service we provide, PBMs are slashing our reimbursements to line their own pockets. Their

dramatic cuts in reimbursements are nothing less than a form of price gouging at a time when we should all be pulling together to fight this pandemic.

Since the pandemic hit the United States and Pennsylvania, PBMs have cut reimbursements for a variety of drugs, including those that treat high blood pressure, depression, high cholesterol, ADHD and heartburn. For example: PBMs cut the reimbursement for aripiprazole, a medication that treats depression and bipolar disorder, from $86 to $17.

A heartburn medication, omeprazole, reimbursed for $9.11 as recently as Feb. 20. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s been reduced to $1.72.

Pharmacies are being paid less than $1 for some blood pressure medications. Not only does this not cover the cost of the medication in many instances, it fails to consider that a pharmacy’s overhead to fill a prescription is between $12 and $13.

These are just some of the frightening examples of how PBMs are pocketing Medicaid dollars.

editor@pressreview.net Email newsdesk@pressreview.net editor@pressreview.net graphics@pressreview.net graphics@pressreview.net Editor & Publisher Editor Publisher Robert& Christian Robert Christian Associate Publisher Assistant Editor Claudia Christian Jack Firneno Bookkeeping Associate Publisher Alexandra Christian Claudia Christian Graphic Designers Bookkeeping Kelly Kusumoto Tina Davis Kasia Gadek Graphic Designers Contributing Writers Kasia BobGadek Behr Kelly Kusumoto Haywood Brewster Marc Holmes III Contributing Writers Richard Lord Dea Contosta Mallin Nicole Thom Bob Nickels Behr David Traub Haywood Brewster Napoleon F. Kingcade Columnists Nathan Lerner JohnMallin Lane Dea Henry Lazarus Thom Nickels Tim Legnani Tim Legnani Paulina Malek Contributing Editor Thom Nickels Columnists Jennifer Jones Correspondent John Lane Nicole Henry Contosta Lazarus Nathaniel Lee Kam Williams Sales Sales Claudia Claudia Christian Christian Tim Legnani Social Media Social Media Kelly Kusumoto Kelly Kusumoto

PBMs are supposed to negotiate lower drug prices for Pennsylvania families that rely on Medicaid, but they’re getting very rich. In 2017, Pennsylvania taxpayers paid $2.86 billion to PBMs for Medicaid enrollees, according to the state Department of Human Services. That marked an increase of 100 percent in just four years, up from $1.41 billion in 2013.

We’ve been calling for comprehensive PBM reform in Pennsylvania that focuses on transparency, protecting taxpayer Medicaid dollars, and lowering prescription drug costs for all.

Legislation would also forbid PBMs from owning or being affiliated continued on page 9

4 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • APRIL 22, 2020

CITY SAFARI continued from page 1

instituted the draconian measure of “forbidding” in-house residents from socializing with other residents in the building.

This far-reaching abuse of power apparently has met with little or no resistance from residents. One would hope, of course, that at least a minority of residents would stand up to the new rules, especially considering the money that these people paid to live there.

Once considered the apex of Center City living, these swanky highrise condos, many of which have been profiled in Philadelphia Style and Philadelphia Magazine, have now been turned into high-rise prisons.

When this plague winds down, I would hope that smart Center City condo owners rethink their living spaces.

After all, when you have many people living in a single building, you get rules conjured up by a Board of Directors who often don’t know when to stop making new rules on top of rules until,

Bingo, they tap into authoritarian measures in the name of safety.

Making rules for the “good of all” rarely means “good,” period.

How much better are those Center City residents who own real houses instead of condos.

Plague or no plague, real homeowners can write their own rules.

They can also have guests at any time. Their guests don’t have to deal with inquisitive desk clerks who ask for names, date and serial number. There’s no waiting for elevators, no citations for residential “misbehavior.”

More importantly, when you eliminate a person’s freedom by denying them access to guests, you are nothing better than a housing project in China.

Before the plague, the high-rise condo hype about fantastic views, excellent security and the convenience of Center City living held considerable weight, but this plague changes that.

As has been proven in New York City, viruses like the present plague tend to hit congested

cities in the worst way.

New York is where people live on top of one another. It’s where there’s barely room to pass anyone on crowded sidewalks. It’s where people breathe on you in elevators.

After this plague subsides, there could be a move to smaller cities or to relatively unpopulated states. Urban high culture—museums, lectures, opera, concerts, galleries and theater, etc., may be traded for safety in remote regions or the mountains.

Another thing this pandemic is doing is causing many of us to look on our neighbor-and in some cases our friends-- as walking disease vectors. For many of us, when someone walks by us on the street, the tendency is to think the worst.

In my neighborhood there are many new 300k modern utility houses that appeal to millennial types. These homes resemble Bauhaus warehouses and are often out of scale with the rest of the neighborhood homes.

These new structures generally have cheap

front staircase railings that rattle in the wind, and a few of them under construction have been known to fall down during great windstorms.

The pandemic has raised fear and paranoia to new levels.

Say you are walking with a friend. Say you just came from the supermarket and you are walking down a narrow street where you come upon one of these new 300k homes. Imagine that the shopping bags you are carrying need rearranging. You put the bags on the stoop of the house in question. Just for a minute, mind you, just until you get the contents of the bags rearranged.

As a Philadelphia row house owner for some time, I’ve had countless passers-by use my stoop to tie their shoelaces, catch their breath, rewrap their winter carves in freezing weather. This never bothered me. As long as these stoop visitors don’t camp there forever, pitch a tent, or begin to eat a multi-course Chinese dinner (this did occur on my stoop when I first moved to the neighborhood), I’m fine with it.

The plague that is causing many of us to

look at our fellow human beings as disease vectors, is now working to do the worst psychological damage: the disruption of neighborhoods and communities in the name of public safety. It is even affecting eye contact, as if a virus could somehow jump from eyeball to eyeball via a passing glance.

Let’s return to the grocery bags. Imagine you are rearranging the items in the bags then imagine that just before you finish the task, the homeowner appears and says to you, “Pardon me, but would you mind taking your task elsewhere, away from my steps. Thank you so much.” (Then she slams the door).

The person with the grocery bags happened to me.

My first reaction was to immediately categorize the woman’s words as plague-driven paranoia and fear, unsubstantiated by science because I was wearing a mask and was obviously no threat.

There was some consolation in the fact that I don’t think she was a Philadelphian, She was a ‘move-in’ from another state, probably New York, and her speaking manner was out of keeping with a true Philadelphian, meaning that

“true” Philadelphians seem to have an innate understanding of row house stoop protocol, which is to never overstay a momentary “visit.”

In conclusion, let me mention the End the Lockdown movement.

The End the Lockdown movement is composed of mostly conservatives protesting the overreaching hands of government—the so-called Nanny State-- into all areas of our lives. Antifa activist brigades (the original mask wearers) have all but vanished from the urban scene, replaced by a new set of activists, conservatives protesting both reasonable and unreasonable lockdown restrictions, taking to the streets like the Vietnam War protestors, while old white liberals sit at home and obey like hypnotized Stepford Wives.

Who would have thought!

Like it or not, the conservative protesters are really part of a necessary checks and balance system, on guard against crazy mayors like Bill De Blasio of New York who has gone to extremes when he urged New Yorkers to snitch on fellow New Yorkers who break social distancing rules.

Najja Orr assumes role as President and CEO of Philadelphia Corporation for Aging

By Haywood Brewster Staff Reporter

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hiladelphia Corporation for Aging’s (PCA) former chief strategy officer, Najja Orr, assumed the role of president and CEO, earlier this month.

Orr succeeds former PCA president and CEO, Holly Lange. Orr is the third president and CEO to serve PCA since its creation in 1973.

Taking on the president and CEO role at PCA during an unprecedented time, Orr has been instrumental in leading PCA’s response and operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He currently steers the COVID-19 taskforce at PCA, which is responsible for protecting consumers and employees from exposure, while en-

Najja Orr, MBA, assumed the role of Philadelphia Corporation for Aging president and CEO earlier this month.

suring vital services are still ongoing during this crucial time.

“What impressed the board and led to Orr’s unanimous selection as PCA’s next president is his vision,” said Dr. Katherine E. Galluzzi, DO, CMD, FACOFPd, board chair of PCA. “He seeks answers on how the levels of care we provided for older adults will assist in curbing isolation, age discrimination

and hospitalization.”

Orr is a long-standing leader in the agingnetwork. Prior to coming to PCA, Orr worked for the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging since 2002 and served as that agency’s director since 2011. In 2017, he joined PCA as the chief strategy officer, leading the agency’s planning department. Orr specializes in strategic planning, continued on page 6

APRIL 22, 2020 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • 5

Pennsylvania plaintiffs hope New Jersey ‘ghost teachers’ case will help end practice in their state

By Steve Bittenbender The Center Square

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awyers who won concessions from a teachers’ union in a similar case in Pennsylvania have filed an amicus brief in a New Jersey lawsuit that seeks to end the practice of “ghost teachers,” or individuals earning a public salary and benefits even though they’re working as union representatives and not in a classroom.

David Osborne, president and general counsel of the Pennsylvaniabased Fairness Center, filed the brief in the New Jersey Supreme Court in a case regarding the Jersey City Public Schools system.

In the New Jersey case, the Goldwater Institute filed the case for two taxpayers challenging the use of state funds for two teachers currently on leave. Those teachers currently work as full-time union representatives.

The plaintiffs won in the state appellant court, prompting the teachers’ union and school district to appeal.

The brief comes six weeks after the center’s clients dropped their case against the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA). That move came after the teachers’ union gave up its attempt to get public pensions for ghost teachers

in the Allentown School District. The union representing the teachers agreed to purchase annuities to cover the cost of retirement benefits for the union representatives.

The case, along with another one in Reading, also ended similar practices in school districts in Erie and Lancaster.

“The answer should be obvious, that you can’t use taxpayer resources to pay for private gain,” Osborne said.

Osborne filed the brief on behalf of Steven Ramos, Scott Armstrong and James Williams, the plaintiffs in the Allentown case. Armstrong previously served as a school board member.

Despite the win against the Allentown union, the practice continues in some Pennsylvania districts, and Osborne told The Center Square that a successful ruling in New Jersey could help Fairness Center clients fight those cases.

“If the New Jersey Supreme Court were to issue a decision, it would not be binding authority (in Pennsylvania), but it would be what we’d call persuasive authority,” Osborne said. “Bringing a good decision from the New Jersey Supreme Court into Pennsylvania would give us something that we didn’t have when we litigated these

cases for other clients.”

Ghost teachers in Pennsylvania have been an issue for about 30 years, and while labor leaders have earned public salaries, the Allentown district was forced to layoff more than 360 educators between 2011 and 2014.

Filed originally in 2016, the Allentown lawsuit claimed Debra Tretter, president of the Allentown Education Association, collected $555,000 in wages, $134,000 in

benefits and $76,000 in pension contributions even though she had not taught since 2009.

Her predecessor as AEA president similarly made more than $500,000 in salary despite not teaching.

Even if the New Jersey Supreme Court returns a favorable ruling, Osborne believes the best solution to the issue would come from the legislature in both states.

BEECH

ing other businesses and organizations to partner continued from page 2 with them on this initiative. Organizations that 5240 Chestnut Street, want to be considered Philadelphia, PA 19139 for an emergency grant 215-474-1738 should email a request So far, $1,000 emerto beechcompanies@ gency grants have been gmail.com. distributed to Sunday The Alston Beech Breakfast Rescue MisFoundation provides sion, Philadelphia small program grants to Corporation for Aging, non-profit organizations Philabundance, Share working to strengthen Food Program, Walker communities in North Junior Unity Center, Philadelphia by providYouth Services, Inc./ ing viable programs and Youth Emergency Serservices to its residents. vices, Salvation Army Since its inception, the Red Shield Center, The foundation has awarded Table Pantry, close to 500 grants to Self, Inc., Yorktown non-profit, communityCommunity Developbased organizations and ment Corporation, 300 college scholarships.

Bebashi, Lutheran SettleSMALL BUSINESS ment, Dignity Housing, ASSISTANCE Grands As Parents, Inc., Beech Business Bank Bethlehem Deliveroffers lines of credit ance Church/Real Deal to small businesses, Food Ministry, Chosen new entrepreneurs and 300 Ministries Homeneighborhood organizaless Program, Covenant tions involved in comHouse, Kirkbridge Cen- munity economic develter, Project Home and opment in underserved Whosoever Mission.

Scott said Beech is askcontinued on page 7

JUST JUST

DON’T TEXT DON’T TEXT AND AND

6 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • APRIL 22, 2020

NAJJA ORR

of positions, including board chair of PCA Care continued from page 4 Connections. Other appointments include chair project management and of the Pennsylvania Deprocess improvement. partment of Aging Cul“One of the greatest tural Diversity Advisory attributes of our city is Council and board secits diversity,” Orr said. retary and southeast re“This agency exempligional representative for fies the same attribute, the Pennsylvania Assomaking collaborative and ciation of Area Agencies thoughtful decisions for on Aging (P4A). Orr has the consumers we serve. also served as a member I will be working to enof the Bucks County Area sure that we continue Agency on Aging Culturthat continuity of care in al Diversity Committee, a manner that positively the National Association strives to create a healthi- of Area Agencies on Ager population, workforce ing (n4a) and the United and society.”

Way of Greater PhiladelOrr has served on phia and Southern New several boards during Jersey Vision Council. his tenure in the aging Orr resides with his field and held a number

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family in Bucks County and is a doctoral candidate at Temple University. He currently holds a MBA from Drexel University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morehouse College.

Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (PCA) is the first place for older Philadelphians, and adults with disabilities, to turn for information and services to help maintain or improve the quality of their lives. Established in 1973, PCA is a private, nonprofit, nationally recognized Area Agency on Aging. One of the region’s largest nonprofit organizations, PCA contracts with more than 200 community organizations to deliver services aimed at helping older Philadelphians and adults with disabilities achieve their maximum levels of health, independence and productivity. Through its work, PCA touches the lives of more than 140,000 individuals each year. PCA is funded primarily through federal and state sources.

For information on PCA’s services and programs, call the PCA Helpline at 215765-9040 or visit pcaCares. org.

W W W . W I S D U M B P O D C A S T . C O M MUSIC | TECHNOLOGY | PARENTHOOD | CULTURE | TRAVEL | GAMING | BUSINESS | LIFESTYLE | LOS ANGELES | NEW YORK | PHILADELPHIA | SAN ANTONIO | MEN’S HEALTH | PHOTOGRAPHY | VIDEOGRAPHY | LITERATURE | KNOWLEDGE

Two long-time friends and musicians talk about music, life, society, technology and so much more in this podcast aimed at trying to understand why we get dumber as we get wiser.

L I S T E N

O N :

McDonald’s Celebrates Healthcare Workers and First Responders with Free “Thank You Meals”

Frontline heroes can enjoy free meals at participating U.S. McDonald’s restaurants

I

n appreciation for the healthcare workers, police officers, firefighters and paramedics who are committed to our health and safety, McDonald’s will offer free Thank You Meals*, between Wednesday, April 22 and Tuesday, May 5, as a token of appreciation for their selfless service.

While the majority of America is staying home, McDonald’s has remained open, with our franchisees and hardworking restaurant employees serving hot meals to communities who need quick and affordable options, especially those on the frontlines such as healthcare workers and first responders. The company is grateful for the ongoing dedication and commitment of McDonald’s employees who enable McDonald’s to stay open to serve our communities during these challenging times.

Each Thank You Meal will be available at no charge via drive thru or carry out at participating McDonald’s restaurants nationwide through May 5. The Thank You Meal, available during breakfast, lunch or dinner, will feature a choice of sandwiches, drinks, and a side featuring small World Famous Fries or a Hash Brown, along with a note of appreciation.

It will be served in McDonald’s iconic Happy Meal box, in the hopes

of bringing a smile along with delicious food.

Day or night, these frontline heroes can simply show their work badge to receive one of the below Thank You Meal options: Breakfast A choice of an Egg McMuffin®, Chicken McGriddles® or a Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit.

All options come with any size soft drink, tea or hot coffee and a Hash Brown.

Lunch and Dinner A choice of a Double Cheeseburger, 6-Piece Chicken McNuggets® or a Filet-O-Fish® will be offered. All options come with any size soft drink, tea or hot coffee and small fries.

“We have been inspired by the way our franchisees have been going above and beyond to support their local communities throughout this trying time,” said Joe Erlinger, President, McDonald’s USA. “I couldn’t be more proud of how our company, franchisees and supplier partners have come together to give back to those who are working tirelessly for our country. That is truly our McDonald’s system at its best.”

During past times of national crisis, McDonald’s has helped and served communities in need, from donating funds to disaster relief efforts to providing food for those impacted by natural disasters. McDonald’s commitment to feeding the nation’s healthcare workers and first responders throughout the current pandemic

is a continuation of that dedication. Additionally, McDonald’s local franchises have also been working throughout this crisis to support the thousands of communities their restaurants call home.

Serving these brave men and women would not be possible without McDonald’s dedicated and unwavering restaurant employees, who are also doing their part to help during this time.

McDonald’s employees are the heart of the business, and their health and safety has been, and will continue to be, the company’s top priority. McDonald’s has implemented nearly 50 new safety measures to ensure the well-being of its employees, and continuing to explore additional safety steps in accordance with guidance issued by local and national health authorities including the CDC. Nearly all McDonald’s U.S. restaurants remain open and are offering convenient and contactless ways for customers to enjoy McDonald’s favorites through drive thru, carry out, McDelivery, and mobile order & pay with our app.

Thank You Meals offered at participating US McDonald’s 4/22/20 through 5/5/20. Valid ID required. Limit one per person per day. Menu options may vary by restaurant. Visit McDonalds. com for more details.

About McDonald’s Corp. U.S. COVID-19 Relief Efforts McDonald’s approach continued on page 8

APRIL 22, 2020 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • 7

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treaming continues to be the current number one indoor way to catch up on all the missed/cancelled/ postponed artists and groups in performance, and each week the numbers grow larger and more diverse and entertaining as to what is available. Here are a few updates and numerous new such virtual pleasures to help fill in those indoor hours. ♫ The vast and beautiful Longwood Gardens has produced a virtual tour that not only captures the stunning displays, indoors and outdoors, of this great botanical garden, but also has activities, memorable moments and seasonal shows and arrangements. ♫ Pennsylvania Ballet is now offering free dance classes daily at 1 p.m., a happy way to keep the family together and to offer solo opportunities for exercise and grace. ♫ The Curtis Institute offers concerts, recitals and a variety of musical memories from their recent and older archives, daily at noon and also at 8 p.m. on Fridays. ♫ The Metropolitan Opera continues its amazing free HD transmissions every evening at 7:30 p.m. Of operas Live from the Met from the past 14 years of transmissions to movie houses around the world with the great-

est rosters of singers performing in elaborate and sumptuous settings. This week’s schedule is: April 22, Offenbach’s “The Tales of Hoffmann”; April 23, Lehar’s “The Merry Widow”; April 24, Verdi’s “Il Trovatore”; April 25, something entirely new, an “At Home Gala” featuring more than 40 renowned singers including Ann Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann and Renee Fleming performing from their homes and streaming on metopera. org. This three-hour dazzler begins at 1 p.m. and is not a fund-raiser but a gift to the world’s opera lovers; April 26, Rossini’s “Cenerentola” with the esteemed Joyce DiDonato in the title role, a graduate of our city’s own Academy of Vocal Arts. ♫ The Koresh Dance Co. is treating its fans and newcomers each weekend to “raw and provocative” performances from recent seasons, streaming both days until Midnight on Sunday, a gesture reminding us all that this great company is celebrating its 30th Anniversary Season. ♫ The Philly POPS offers a daily Sing-Along in viewers’ homes boasting the musicians and singers of this popular local blockbuster group. ♫ Vox Ama Deus posts past performances every few days on You Tube.

1807 & Friends offers free weekly mini-concerts from the performers homes. On April 27, violinist Nancy Bean and her cellist husband Lloyd Smith, both former members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, play works at 7:30 p.m.

by Beethoven and Fritz Kreisler. Ms. Bean will also perform on her remarkable Pellegrina viola. ♫ The Bucks County Playhouse presents frequent installments of a weekly variety show with rotating casts of actors, singers, dancers, on Facebook. ♫ WRTI, 90.1, broadcasts classical music from 6 a.m. to 6. p.m., then twelve hours of jazz. Among the classical works are Sunday live performances of the Philadelphia Orchestra from Verizon Hall, 1 to 3 p.m., and archival live broadcasts from the Metropolitan Opera’s archives. In addition, WRTI has created a live streaming Community Calendar inviting local musicians to submit their homeproduced videos which will be available on the station’s website. ♫ The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society’s “Recommended Listening” streams new selections of past performance videos, a part of their “Emerging Voices Project” on their web page. ♫ 1812 Productions’ creator Jen Childs, a local comedy star for many years, and her equally-acclaimed actor husband Scott Greer perform a weekly halfhour show, “I Put on Pants for This” where they discuss Philadelphia theatre, the importance of comedy right now, reminisce about 1812’s riotous history of memorable productions. Free on their website but donations very welcome. ♫ WHYY TV “brings the classroom home”, as they put it, with three formats: Pre-K to 2nd Grade, Grade 3 to Grade 12. and the WHYY PBS Kids 24/7 Channel. In addition they offer Tools

BEECH

continued from page 5

communities in North, West and Northwest Philadelphia. Managed by the Beech Capital Venture Corporation, Beech Business Bank is a Certified Development Financial Institution of the U.S. Treasury Department. For more information and to apply for a line of credit go to www.beechinterplex. com/beech_businessbank.asp. Since 1990, Beech has assisted over 900 businesses.

Beech also offers lines of credit to non-profit organizations under its non-profit fund.

for Teachers, Activities for Cooped-Up Kids, and news and entertainment for grown-ups.

The National Theatre of London comes to your home every Friday with an archived production, free to watch for an entire week, involving great stage and screen stars whose base is London. ♫ To submit your virtual performances and events to “Notes on Music and other artistic diversions” please email John Lane at xjlane@ aol.com each week by Friday afternoon.

Located on Cecil B. Moore Avenue in the heart of North Central Philadelphia, The Beech Companies has leveraged over $2 billion in community reinvestment funds in North Philadelphia communities through the four primary organizations under its operation: Beech Interplex, Inc., Beech

Business Bank, Beech Community Services and the Alston Beech Foundation. Founded

by Dr. Bernard Watson and the late Floyd W. Alston, Beech is celebrating its 30th anniversary in service to Philadelphia’s underserved communities.

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8 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • APRIL 22, 2020

Celebrate our Upcoming 32nd Year with us!

A FUNDRAISING APPEAL

Philly’s Theatres in Survival Mode?

H

appy New Year 2020 from the University City Review in West Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Free Press in Center City!

As we enter our 32nd year of publishing free community newspapers, we are reaching out to you, our readers and advertisers, to offer our many thanks for your enduring support and interest. We are happy that we have been successful in being able to deliver free local news, as well as, feature stories and local advertising on a weekly basis for all of these years. It has truly been a great feat, along with, as we like to say, “a touch of madness.” But, above all, it’s been a labor of love of which we are proud! It is truly gratifying to have met and worked with so many wonderful people, many of whom are now good friends.

As we go forward, we will be looking to you for your continued support, not only as cheer leaders and readers, but also as donors.

Photo of first staff

$15,000, extended through the end of March 2020, in order to achieve our goals.

Although we are not a non-profit institution,

By Richard Lord we have functioned as Contributing writer a community resource, giving voice to neighn my last report on borhood interests and the state of Philly’s concerns. Please help theatres in the Corous to preserve your com- navirus era, I mentioned munity newspapers. two long stretches from the past when England’s With appreciation and theatres found themgratitude, selves shuttered by law.

The first stretch ocRobert Christian, Edi- curred when Will Shaketor and Publisher and speare, Ben Jonson and Claudia Christian, Asseveral of their illustrious sociate Publisher contemporaries were at their peaks. But in many P.S. Look for upcom- of those years, the buing information about bonic plague was also our 32nd year celebraat a peak. As a result, tion in March 2020! whenever the numbers of plague’s victims in the city reached a certain level, the authorities would close down all of Name: London’s playhouses.

But these sporadic shutdowns didn’t signal Address: a halt to all performances

by Shakespeare’s com pany or the other major Method of contribution: troupes. The players and  Check (Please make checks out to either Philadelphia Free Press or University support teams simply City Review, and mail to 218 South 45th Street, Phila., PA 19104. Phone headed to smaller towns 215.222.2374) and rural communities  Credit Card up north, where the Name on credit card: plague was not such a scourge. When not playAddress: ing for smaller audiences in communities “spared from the plague”, Will’s

company and a number of its rival companies Credit Card Number: would play at the homes of wealthy aristocrats Expiration date: Security Code: In 1998, we celebrated our tenth anniversary with a fundraising party at the Woodlands Cemetery and we were able to raise over $10,000 that helped carry us forward at that time.

Now, 21 years later, we are entering a period dedicated to improving our sustainability. We are preparing financially and organizationally for the future. Our goals are to increase our stable of writers, to increase our print and digital distribution, to stabilize our cash flow, and to create a Digital 32-year Community History Public Archive. We are again asking for your financial support.

To this end, we have set about to raise

Billing Address: If it is different from your address

You can also go to GoFundMe.com and search for “Keeping Community Papers Alive in Philadelphia”.

I

MCDONALDS continued from page 6

to challenging situations is guided by our belief that we are all in this together, and our system has come together in extraordinary ways to help each other, our customers and the communities we serve. In the U.S. we

before very select audiences.

In 1642, the political forces of England’s Puritans came to power and almost immediately ordered all theatres closed – not out of health concerns, but on religious grounds. The mere act of performing in public was declared a crime. Enforcement of these laws waxed and waned over the 18 years the Puritans held power.

However, during times of strict enforcement, any who dared to perform theatre or related activities would be arrested.

Jail terms or fines were imposed on those who violated the prohibitions.

In fact, in early 1648 and 1649, members of the acclaimed King’s Men (successors to Shakespeare’s company) were seized in the middle of performances several times.

But even during the harshest period of the clampdown, covert performances still went on. Most of these were staged before small audiences in the countryside or in private homes in England’s biggest towns.

It’s believed that respectable citizens of avowed Puritan sympathies sometimes hosted these performances, which

provided the performers with good cover.

Today’s Philadelphiaarea theatre companies and various freelance theatre talents can hardly be expected to head off to rural communities to exercise their talents and mount productions that were scuttled or truncated here. Even if they had a mind to become itinerant performers, there are few places anywhere in North America where sizeable public gatherings essential to live performances are still allowed.

However, today’s theatre companies have a stage that troupes in the 16th and 17th centuries could not even dream of – the Internet. Live performances are still possible, and already proceeding, though one key element is missing – live audiences right there in the venue. Locally, Theatre Horizon has a YouTube channel which has started posting performances. One is a program called Children’s Half hour with Liz Filios.

The other is a chatty podcast called #PoppaPank.

Also, since early April, 1812 Productions has been hosting a livestreaming event called I

remain committed to leading by example as an organization, which is why we’ve donated $3.1 million in food to support local communities, made commitments to support truck drivers across the country, donated 1 million N95 masks to Chicago and the state of Illinois and donated $1 million to the Illinois

COVID-19 Response Fund to ensure nonprofits in our home state have the supplies they need during this time.

McDonald’s has always been a home base for our communities, and we’re proud to provide calm and comfort to them throughout this crisis. We are here to serve.

continued on page 9

APRIL 22, 2020 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • 9

PBMS

SURVIVAL

according to the state Department of Human Services. That marked an increase of 100 percent in just four years, up from $1.41 billion in 2013.

We’ve been calling for comprehensive PBM reform in Pennsylvania that focuses on transparency, protecting taxpayer Medicaid dollars, and lowering prescription drug costs for all.

Legislation would also forbid PBMs from owning or being affiliated with large pharmacy chains such as CVS and Walgreens. CVS is affiliated with a PBM, CVS Caremark. Walgreens is the preferred pharmacy chain for Optum, another PBM. This price gouging during a pandemic is inexcusable and yet another reason why PBM reform is so desperately needed. We are also asking state officials to immediately investigate and stop this price gouging — and pass reform legislation — before it leads to the closing of independent pharmacies.

If we close our doors, it provides less competition for large, corporate pharmacies and that means higher prescription drug prices for Pennsylvania.

Walgreens understands this. The company recently sent out letters during the pandemic asking if they could buy independent pharmacies across the commonwealth.

Pennsylvania’s independent pharmacists will continue to serve their communities, but simply cannot continue to operate like this. We will continue to do all that we can — as long as we are able.

Patricia A. Epple is the CEO of the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association and a member of a new coalition, Your PA Community Pharmacies. Find more information here: ypacp.org.

Put On Pants For This!

I Put On Pants For This.

Planned as a fresh weekly series featuring 1812’s Producing Artistic Director, Jen Childs alongside her husband Scott Greer. Billed as “a casual 20-minute conversation about how some of our favorite works came to be, some of our favorite performers, and maybe even a scene or two”, these live streams try to keep this popular theatre company connected with their loyal fans.

And this is just the beginning of local theatres keeping the creative flames crackling as they devise new ways to keep connected to theatre lovers; Zoom is one cyber-venue theatres are just starting to explore.

Schools all across the country are already using Zoom as online classrooms with teachers and students connecting in an interactive environmental. Now, performing companies are getting set to employ this platform for fuller connections to their audiences.

In fact, this week, the world’s first ever Zoom opera will have its premiere on-line. Celebrated composer Kamala Sankaram has teamed up with librettist Rob Handel to create what is billed as the world’s first Zoom opera: “all decisions will be made by consensus”.

Composer Sankaram describes the project this way: “I began this project with a question: what would happen if you created a piece specifically intended to be performed live over a conferencing platform like Zoom? The result is an experiment, an absurdist comedy, and a first answer to that question, hopefully leading to new ways to connect in this new world we’ve found ourselves in.”

Philly’s Lantern Theatre is also ready to mount the Zoom stage.

On Friday, April 24, they will inaugurate their Shakespeare NOW Virtual Play Reading Series with a live reading of one of the Bard’s underappreciated gems: Love’s Labours Lost.

Experiments such as these point the way for Philadelphia’s theatre companies to rise from

continued from page 3

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survival mode to a new way of making live theatre come alive again.

And theatres may need to explore the possibilities of such platforms for more than just a month or two if one recent market survey is a reliable portent.

Shugoll Research, a major marketing research company recently polled almost 3,000 regular theatre-goers in Greater Washington, D.C., and the results were not terribly encouraging. Only 25% of these theatre fans said they were prepared to flock back to the theatres once the lockdowns are lifted, while 49% said they would probably wait for two or three months before returning.

Unless Philadelphia’s theatre fans are more stout-hearted than their Washington counterparts, this could mean the opening of theatres – whenever it occurs – will prove to be something less than a big bang.

The Shugoll survey also indicated that a major incentive for most of these theatre aficionados to return sooner would be the adoption of strong safety measures. For instance, 43% of those in the survey affirmed that they’d be much more willing to attend if through cleaning and staggered seating arrangements allowing them to sit at least six feet away from any other patrons. But theatre companies will hardly be thrilled to learn that a required number of empty seats is the best way to assure the return of old faithful audience members.

In the meantime, many Philadelphia area theatres are running something like their own stimulus package programs. West Philly’s Curio Theatre is operating an artist’s relief fund in order to provide some income for actors and tech staff to compensate for their loss of revenue this spring.

Theatre Exile, forced to cancel what was to be its last production of the season, saw that no one connected with that planned show went away empty-handed even though they had not even started rehearsals. As Exile’s Producing Artistic Director Deborah Block notes, “We were able to pay every-

WOAR Virtual Press Conference

By Nathaniel Lee Press/Review Correspondent

T

he Social Distancing measures implemented throughout the nation have been challenging for most Americans who are forced to stay in their homes except for essential work or necessary shopping to acquire needed groceries and supplies. No one can know the torment of being forced indoors more than those who find themselves trapped with people who have constantly abused them. This is the case of an untold number of people who have been victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse and who are now trapped indoors with their abusers.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and each year, Women Organized Against Rape (WOAR) holds a press conference in recognition of the occasion. Despite the ravages of Covid-19 and the need for social distancing, this year was no different except instead of conducting the press conference at City Hall, the conference was held as a virtual event online.

“Thursday was Teal Day. Teal is the national color that represents sexual assault,” said one something, but not everyone everything.”

“Everyone” includes not only cast and tech people, but also the front-ofhouse personnel.

Just this past week, Theatre Philadelphia announced Theatre Philadelphia Emergency Relief Program to help theatre workers in the region affected by the Covid-19 shutdowns.

The initial pool of funds available is marked at $200,000. Theatre artists of various stripes and support workers can now apply for microgrants of up to $300 on a first-come-first-serve basis. These measures are just the prologue to the

Monique Howard, executive director of WOAR.

Monique Howard, executive director of WOAR. Usually, the Mayor of Philadelphia speaks on Teal Day as well as other officials, organizers, and survivors.

“We had to move it to make it a virtual press conference because of the containment and quarantine but we still wanted to show our support as the only crisis center in Philadelphia,” said Howard.

“We still wanted to show our support and our gratitude to individuals who have been sexually assaulted, so we moved it virtual.”

Over a hundred people viewed the virtual press conference which lasted some 15 minutes.

“We were able to keep things normal, as normal as things could possibly be during this time,” Howard said.

It is this ability to keep going, to move forward even in the

midst of crisis that Howard and the members of WOAR felt was so important to demonstrate by continuing with the annual press conference despite the pandemic.

“That’s part of the healing journey. When something interrupts the way your life is going, right now in most of our lives its Covid-19 and in some of our survivor’s lives it was sexual assault and then you learn the skills to move on and begin your healing journey and eventually you return to your authentic self so we had to model that.”

“I’ve always applauded the strength and the resilience of our survivors. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for them.”

During the press conference Howard emphasized two points: “One, the importance

saga of the local theatre community working together to ensure that the vibrant Philly theatre scene re-emerges as vibrant as it was before the lights went down.

As Deborah Block, Producing Artistic Director of Theatre Exile, says, what is now essential is “…what do we do so that when we come out of this, we’ll still have the world we want to live in.

Where art still exists, and we will lean on our artistic institutions even more in order to create meaning and understanding, based on the reality of our new situation.”

Lantern Theatre’s live reading of Love’s

Labours Lost will be hosted on Zoom this Friday, April 24, at 7:30 p.m. Registration is free, but advance registration is required. “all decisions will be made by consensus,” will be presented live via the streaming platform on April 24, 2020 at 1PM, April 25 at 7PM, and April 26 at 3PM. The opera will be streamed to producing company HERE’s Facebook page on Friday, April 24 at https://www.facebook. com/hereartscenter/.

Other details on the live streams can be found here: https:// www.facebook.com/ events/695839284558301/

continued on page 10

10 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • APRIL 22, 2020

GRADUATION continued from page 1

death for some children.

Many of our children have not experienced trauma and the abrupt ending of something they have been involved in for 12 years is deeply traumatic. There is no closure for these children. No ending to be remembered.

Philadelphia has one of the largest poverty rates in this county. Mayor Kenney has an entire platform centered on changing the access to quality education in Philadelphia as he believes education is the roadmap out of poverty. However, there is no reconsideration on the celebration of thousands of Philadelphia children who have fought tough odds and are graduation from high school?

This is wrong and is sending the wrong message to our communities.

My daughter deserves to be celebrated, just as your daughters were when they completed this meritorious milestone. Yes, there will be

other graduations. College, graduate school and more, but there is nothing like completing high school!

I am asking for you to collectively reconsider the position you have taken on canceling all graduation ceremonies for high school children in Philadelphia. Why can’t the children have a ceremony in the late summer or early fall?

Please consider the children and how hard they have worked to earn this time of celebration. We feel robbed.

I would not care if the graduation occurred on Christmas day, these children deserve to be celebrated. My daughter deserves to be celebrated. The children deserve closure. They deserve more than a skype program. Please develop a late summer/early fall program for high school children in Philadelphia.

I am willing and available to assist in any way I can.

ROBERTS

continued from page 1

opened in 2007 and has been PTC’s home ever since. The Suzanne Roberts Foundation continued to lead PTC’s major gifts on an annual basis.

“Suzanne’s legacy will be the transformative effect she had on the cultural landscape of Philadelphia - her belief in and dedication to the artistic talent in the region will be felt for generations to come,” said Philadelphia Theatre Company Producing Artistic Director Paige Price. “For PTC, she championed a new world-class theatre for the city that would bring renewed life to the Avenue of the Arts.

In fact, her very own signature graces the marquee of the theatre, representing her vibrant and colorful aesthetic. For decades, she Sincerely, has always offered us Zachary Harris her unwavering supPhiladelphia, PA 19135 port and friendship in

ways we couldn’t have imagined. She was a generous performer at heart, and all future performances at the theatre will celebrate her truly unique spirit.

Suzanne’s astonishing vivacity will be sorely missed as we say goodbye to one of the greatest supporters of the arts in our lifetime.”

Roberts was 98 at the time of her passing. She led a dynamic life as an actress, civic educator, children’s therapist, broadcaster, and philanthropist.

Born in the Philadelphia area, her love of theatre led her to study the Stanislavski Method of acting at the Tamara Daykarhanova School of the Stage in New York. Her performances on many of Philadelphia’s biggest stages included roles in The Lion in Winter, Lysistrata, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Kate in The Taming of the Shrew, and Nurse

Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. She last took to the stage in 2001, at Hedgerow Theatre Company in A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters.

She was a voiceover artist, as well, appearing on the CBS show A Dramatization of the Classics, and the weekly show This Week in Philadelphia. Afterward, NBC named her the “Number One Radio Actress in Philadelphia.” Her radio work led Mayor Richardson Dilworth and U.S. Sen. Joseph Clark to invite her to write and direct their radio and TV campaigns. In 1952, she turned her pioneering experience in radio and television into one of the first books on the subject, The Candidate and Television.

Roberts was a frequent presence on local TV. Her most successful venture began in 2001 when, at age 80, sensing a lack of programming for seniors,

she started five-minute segments called Seeking Solutions With Suzanne, which aired on Comcast’s channel CN8 and CNN Headline News for almost two decades. In the segments, which later expanded to a halfhour, she underwent cataract surgery, took tap-dancing lessons, belly-danced, and rode a motorcycle, showing seniors that they could do anything. The programs earned two Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards and she continued hosting until her 98th yearAn avid volunteer in many areas, both Roberts and her husband gave millions to the arts especially theatre and dance, which she attended regularly. The Suzanne F. Roberts Cultural Development Fund, which she created, encouraged dance and theater companies in the area, making her one of their largest supporters.

WOAR

available,” said Howard.

Those who need their services, or who need some guidance or support can call them anytime. The pandemic might change how they work but does not in any way put a stop to that work. WOAR is on call and on duty even throughout the pandemic.

And it has to be on constant duty despite the fact that the number of hotline calls concerning rape and domestic violence have gone down during the pandemic, the number of domestic violence calls to the police have risen during the same period, said Howard.

“Here’s the reason why, our clients are contained with their abusers so there is no space to call. Our children are in the home with their molesters.

There’s no space to call,” she said.

This means that some victims don’t feel safe calling to report their

abusers with whom they are forced to lock in place during Covid-19 with no place else to go.

“We are already positioning ourselves to be prepared and armed for the influx of telephone calls when things go back to the new normal and when the quarantine is lifted because then people will have the opportunity to call for support, assistance and help,” she said.

To those in the unthinkable position of being locked in with their abusers, Howard has this advice: “My suggestion is to get to a safe place and call us and we will help you to create a safety plan so you can navigate the situation.

If you cannot do that now, we will still be here when you are able to make that call.”

The 24-hour hotline for WOAR is 215-9853333, you can reach them by call or text.

Also, you visit them online at www.woar.org.

continued from page 9

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of the Census and it’s important to fill out the Census because it affords money, resources and opportunities to our city for the next ten years,” Howard said.

The second point raised during the conference was the importance of voting.

“It’s really important that, in these days and times as there will be pandemic after pandemic that there is strong leadership to help us navigate what’s going on and to continue our collaboration and cooperative work with other countries,” she told viewers.

Even with those points, there was one fundamental message that superseded all others raised during the press conference: “Always number one, even though we are now working remotely, is that our 24-hour hotline and our text options are always still

APRIL 22, 2020 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • 11 403-LEGAL

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12 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • APRIL 22, 2020

April 2020 Dear Mercy Philadelphia Community, In February, we announced we would begin a process to pursue a new path for Mercy Catholic Medical Center – Mercy Philadelphia Campus, known for many years as Mercy Philadelphia Hospital. Since that time, we have been humbled by the support we’ve felt and the feedback we’ve received from the community.

Over the past several months, a small dedicated team has been working diligently to continue on this path.

This team has made positive progress by holding discussions with potential partners; completing assessments of both Mercy Philadelphia’s and Mercy Fitzgerald’s facilities; conducting an open forum with the community; and interviewing community leaders, elected officials and many of our employees.

Regardless of these steps, right now, our absolute, number-one priority is combating the COVID-19 crisis.

Mercy Philadelphia will continue to serve patients for the foreseeable future, until we can transform the campus safely and in close coordination with the City of Philadelphia and local health officials.

In recent weeks, along with other hospitals in our region, Mercy Philadelphia turned its focus and resources toward addressing COVID-19. We are caring for the dramatic increase of patients requiring screenings, emergency room visits and often inpatient or intensive care support. Moreover, we have shifted our resources to make sure we have the supplies, equipment and personnel needed to care for our patients and keep our staff safe.

This extraordinary time calls on all of us in West Philadelphia—and across our city—to band together and address the immense challenge in front of us. Guided by our Mission, we continue to work in concert with community leaders, going door-to-door to make sure our neighbors have access to food, medications and information to stay safe and healthy during this crisis.

We recognize the incredible challenges created by COVID-19 and its impact on our communities, especially those in need. Just as with our beginnings during the 1918 flu pandemic, Mercy Philadelphia is digging deeply into those roots to make sure our patients and our community have access to the care they need during this health emergency.

We will continue to keep our community updated on the intent of our transformation plans as they become more definitive. In the meantime, please join us in keeping those affected by COVID-19, and the men and women on the front lines battling the virus, in your prayers.

Most sincerely,

02-15043

Jim Woodward President and CEO Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic

Chris Cullom President Mercy Catholic Medical Center