University City District does everything to help restaurants regain footing in restaurants and est thing the UCD has had COVID-19, we conceived difficult times decimating businesses and everything in to deal with over the last 6 new ways to use our reach By Claudia Christian Associate Publisher
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CD like all organizations has had to quickly recalibrate its year’s agenda even as covid-19 swept across the world, and, locally, gained a foothold in overturning the health and safety of the city and, with it,
its way. We asked the University City District’s Chris Richman to answer some questions regarding the past 6 months as well as for information regarding University City Dining Days. What has been the hard-
months? Chris: The last six months have certainly been difficult, but at UCD we’ve worked on ways to stay positive and remain helpful to neighbors, businesses, and partners. While some elements of our work like our summer events had to be reduced due to
and resources to create and execute new promotions and programs to benefit local businesses. Is there a happy, positive anecdote from the last few months that you would like our readers to know about all the help the UCD has been doing to help restaurants sur-
SERVING THE WEST PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY SEPTEMBER 16, 2020
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6 ABC brought together community influencers to discuss mon Jones, award winning gun violence author and radio personality, By Nathaniel Lee UC Review Correspondent
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rime continues to dominate the front pages of our nation’s newspapers and here in Philadelphia we are drenched by a tsunami of gun violence threatening the safety and well-being of communities throughout the area. Whether in your home sleeping, sitting on your couch watching television, sitting on your front porch enjoying a breeze or talking to neighbors, gun violence has proven to be a very real threat. In an effort to use their
Gang gun violence graphics.
platform as a conduit for dialogues on possible solutions to the epidemic of violence plaguing our city, 6 ABC hosted an online forum Sunday,
Sep. 13th in which it brought together community influencers to discuss the issue. Hosted by ABC’s Sharrie Williams, the panel included Bilal Qayyum of the Father’s Day Rally Committee, Solo-
Dr. Dorothy Johnson-Speight founder of the group Mothers In Charge, Ted Qualli, executive director of PAL and Inspector Derrick E. Wood of the Philadelphia Police Department. “We have a holistic problem we need to deal with on a holistic level,” said Mayor Jim Kenney during a discussion with Williams prior to the panel. When Williams asked the mayor about the possibility of a gun-violence curfew, he expressed his opinion that such a move would be unfair to lawabiding citizens. continued on page 4
Interview with Dr. Kent Bream – At the Sayre Health Center in West Philadelphia, things are looking better! By Nathaniel Lee Press/Review Correspondent
whelmed that they either turn it off altogether or limit the time they consume it. But through all of the darkhe Covid-19 pandemic ness, there is some light. Yes, continues to dominate things are bad, but they aren’t the news and social ALL bad. distancing measures remain in At least that’s the opinion place as Summer gives way to of Dr. Kent Bream, a family Fall. Not only are our nation’s practitioner at Dr. Bernett L. resources strained but so are Johnson, Jr. Sayre Health Centhe nerves of those who are ter at 5800 Walnut Street in left inside their homes, physi- West Philadelphia. At the Dr. cally distancing themselves Bernett L. Johnson, Jr. Sayre from their friends and loved Health Center, they have proones. vided free Covid-19 to those The mainstream news media desiring such tests and have daily report hour after hour tested some 13,000 people of doom and gloom causing since May. some to become so over“I think that one of the
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things that I think it is important for everyone to realize is that any epidemic or pandemic is a serious thing, but every pandemic has what’s called an ‘epidemic window’,” said Dr. Bream. So, what’s an ‘epidemic window’ and why is it relevant. Glad you asked: “There’s a really quick increase in the number of cases and then it peaks, and it comes back down,” said Dr. Bream. According to Dr. Bream, there are positive signs that we might be climbing out of that window here in Philadelphia. “The good news in Philadelphia is that we have been com-
Dining Days
vive? Chris: When we learned the Ronald McDonald House was unable to welcome volunteers to prepare meals for guests, we set out to simultaneously support restaurants and families in need. We ran a fundraising campaign and through the generosity of neighbors, local civic groups, and others, we raised over $17,000 for this project, and were able to work with 10 local restaurants to serve more than 2,000 meals to families in need. We also ran a virtual Dollar Stroll in June to benefit Baltimore Avenue businesses, created a gift card matching program in March to inject cash into restaurants who were forced to close, and worked with the University of Pennsylvania to give out $250,000 in emergency relief to retail stores unable to operate. We’re continuing to think through other ways to help the community for as long as necessary. Do you haveXany other comments that our readers ... should know about?! Chris: Although Dining Days looks very different than in years past, we hope the promotion will encourage people to support the restaurants they love or try Page x something new. We have also created an online X resource on our universitycity.org ... website where people can explore University City’s awesome parks and public spaces, and view what Dining Days restaurants are nearby so they can order takeout if continued on page 4
FRINGE
This year, the global pandemic has forced the cancellation or extended postponement of many time-honored events...
Dr. Kent Bream
ing back down,” he said. “I say this from the perspective of the Sayre Health Center. Page 8 When we started testing people in the beginning of May, POLITICS..................................2-3 we saw rates in one populaFUNDRAISER................................5 tion where up to 40 percent continued on page 6
NOTES ON MUSIC..........................7 CLASSIFIEDS..............................11
2 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • SEPTEMBER 09, 2020
OP-ED: POLITICS PA Greens Charge Democrats with Delaying 2020 Ballot
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ccording to reports from the Associated Press, the PA Democratic Party has already signaled it intends to appeal a decision by Commonwealth Court to the PA Supreme Court. This on-going legal action risks delaying the printing and distribution of mail-in ballots, which are more critical than ever while the state still faces a lethal pandemic that makes typical events and voting systems unsafe. Any delay to the printing and distribution of ballots narrows the time window for voters to return the ballots in time to be counted. “The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, www.gpofpa.org) calls on the PA Democratic Party to drop its frivolous legal challenge,” demanded GPPA Secretary Beth Scroggin (Chester). “Democrats should allow the mail-in ballots to be printed and distributed
widely as soon as possible, and instead use their energy and money to join the Green Party in fighting against climate change, poverty, war, and the growing creep of fascism. The Democratic Party is now reinforcing growing concerns that cuts to the U.S. Postal Service by the current administration may further delay the return of mail-in ballots.” Green Party presidential candidate Howie Hawkins had been placed on the Pennsylvania ballot alongside the Green Party’s other statewide candidates according to a ruling by Commonwealth Court Judge J. Andrew Crompton on 9/9. GPPA Co-Chair Alan Smith (Chester) explained, “The Democrats had sued saying our signatures were fake. More than 30 volunteers spent countless hours reviewing the signatures, which were
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ruled valid by the court. The Democrats sued saying our paperwork was inaccurate. The court ruled that our paperwork was valid except for one minor technicality with an affidavit. For that reason, Angela Walker, the queer, Black woman we nominated for vice president, will not appear on the ballot. The Democrats forced our people to spend thousands of dollars and countless hours in a frivolous lawsuit all to get a queer, working class Black woman -- who works for people, planet, and peace -- removed from the ballot.” “It is clear that we submitted sufficient ballot signatures to be on the ballot. Angela Walker should be listed on the ballot alongside myself,” said Howie Hawkins. “Democrats are causing needless delay and disruption, because even as it stands with Angela not on the ballot, our presidential electors can
still vote Angela Walker for Vice Presidential if we win Pennsylvania.” Without Howie and Angela on the ballot, no one will be talking about moving away from fossil fuels (fracking is a huge problem in PA) to avert climate meltdown. No one will be calling for a 75% reduction in military spending to be reinvested in our communities. The Democratic Party had initially alleged various “defects” with the Green Party’s petition signatures before volunteer validators confirmed that many of these challenges were erroneous. For example, some false challenges brought by the Democratic Party include claiming that living people who signed the petition were dead when they could easily be confirmed to still be alive; claiming that some registered voters were not registered at the address they signed, when a quick check of the
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Howie Hawkins, Green Party candidate for president
registered voter database confirmed the address; and claiming that perfectly-legible signatures were “illegible.” After Green Party volunteers had validated that many of the challenges were in error, the Democratic Party agreed to drop its challenge against the signatures and the down-ballot candidates but continued with legal action against the Green Party presidential and vice-presidential candidates alleging that their paperwork was incorrectly filed. Garret Wassermann (Pittsburgh), leader of
the GPPA Green Wave Team, said, “The Green Party also calls for the PA General Assembly to end voter suppression by enabling easier ballot access and switching to a ranked choice voting system. Greens in PA must collect hundreds or thousands of signatures to be placed on the ballot for state office, while many democratic nations around the world such as Canada and the UK require only 100 signatures or less to run for national office.” Tina Olson (Northampton), GPPA organizer continued on page 8
SEPTEMBER 09, 2020 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • 3
Democratic challenger hopes to unseat moderate lawmaker in that defund view with The WashingPennsylvania’s 1st congressional district ernments their police departments. ton Post, Fitzpatrick said But he’s also earned a reputation as an antiTrump Republican. One of his prior bills would require presidential candidates to release their tax returns. He also voted against a GOPled effort to repeal the ACA and he supports a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought into the country as children. He was also one of four Republicans to apChristina Finello, Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District, and incumbent U.S. Rep. Brian prove a resolution last Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. year passed in the House that condemned Trump By Christen Smith predict could flip blue in investing in alternative for making comments energy and reinstating The Center Square November and provide against four Democratic Democrats with a stron- environmental regulalawmakers – Rep. Alexger majority in the House tions loosened under .S. Rep. Brian President Donald Trump andria Ocasio-Cortez of of Representatives. Fitzpatrick, – among a smorgasbord New York, Rep. Ayanna At least, that’s what R-Pa., faces an of other progressive plat- Pressley of Massachuuncertain reelection cam- challenger Finello, the form positions akin with setts, Rep. Ilhan Omar paign in Pennsylvania’s deputy director of the the Democrats’ leftward of Minnesota, and Rep. Bucks County Departfirst congressional disRashida Tlaib of Michilurching base. trict – where voters skew ment of Housing and gan – that were described Fitzpatrick himself younger and bluer since Human Services, hopes as anti-immigrant. supports reforms to Donald Trump narrowly will happen. Her camThe positioning Medicare Part D that cap paign centers around carried the region in worked in 2018, when 2016 – against newcomer strengthening the Afford- prescription drug costs for seniors. A former FBI he won in a contentious able Care Act to shield Christina Finello. campaign against the agent, much of FitzpatIn the four years since people with preexisting rick’s sponsored legisla- well-funded liberal milconditions and reduce his first effort, Fitzpatthe cost of premiums and tion tackles criminal jus- lionaire Scott Wallace. rick’s redrawn district He garnered 51 percent tice reform, emergency prescription drugs. has left some worried She also advocates for preparedness and – most support, carrying the disabout Republicans’ prostrict by fewer than 9,000 recently – a bill that restructuring student pects in southeastern votes. limits federal economic loans, universal firearm Pennsylvania, an area During a 2018 interblock grants to local govbackground checks, that political analysts
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his moderate views – a rarity in Congress these days – leave him isolated much of the time. “If the majority of members of a party take one view and I take another, I would think that would be something to be applauded, not ‘What’s wrong with you for being a part of that party?’ ” he said. “It’s easy to attack people from the other party. It’s a lot harder to attack your own, and I do it all the time.” Fitzpatrick himself supports reforms to Medicare Part D that cap prescription drug costs for seniors. A former FBI agent, much of Fitzpatrick’s sponsored legislation tackles criminal justice reform, emergency preparedness and – most recently – a bill that limits federal economic block grants to local governments that defund their police departments. But he’s also earned a reputation as an antiTrump Republican. One of his prior bills would require presidential candidates to release their tax returns. He also continued on page 8
Federal judge tosses Gov. Wolf ’s limits on gatherings, & his orders while many of the reish flu outbreak about greatest threats to our closing businesses 100 years ago, but he system of constitutional strictions have since By Dave Lemery The Center Square
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federal judge on Monday threw out portions of the Wolf administration’s orders that restricted activity during the coronavirus pandemic, saying that the governor had exceeded his authority. The ruling by Judge William Stickman in the Western District of Pennsylvania court delivers to Gov. Tom Wolf’s political opponents what they had failed to achieve for months in the Legislature as bill after bill to curtail the governor’s power was passed, only to be vetoed. Specifically at issue were the administration’s orders closing “non-life-sustaining businesses” and restrict-
liberties may arise when the ends are laudable, and the intent is good – especially in a time of emergency.” Stickman wrote that liberties relinquished in times of crisis may be difficult to restore after the emergency has passed, leaving courts Judge William Stickman in the with the challenge of Western District of Pennsylvania interpreting whether emergency measures ing the size of gatherhave gone too far. ings. In his ruling, He wrote that the limit Stickman said that while on the size of gatherings the administration’s reviolated the right of asstrictions were well intended, they violated the sembly guaranteed by the First Amendment, First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Consti- the stay at home and business closing orders tution. violated the due pro“However, good cess clause of the 14th intentions toward a Amendment, and the laudable end are not alone enough to uphold business closures also violated the equal progovernmental action tection clause of the 14th against a constitutional Amendment. challenge,” he wrote in The judge noted that his ruling. “Indeed, the
been lifted as the state implemented its reopening plan, the Wolf administration had reserved the authority to reimpose them if the COVID-19 crisis showed signs of worsening again. Among the plaintiffs in the case were several counties, a number of businesses, and individuals, including U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly and state Reps. Daryl Metcalfe, Marci Mustello and Tim Bonner. Stickman, in his ruling, excluded the county plaintiffs, saying they were excluded from bringing claims of constitutional violations. Stickman wrote that the scope and scale of the Wolf administration’s orders was unprecedented in American history. He said the state had cited a similar response to the Span-
insisted that the orders issued at that time were not comparable. “While, unquestionably, states and local governments restricted certain activities for a limited period of time to mitigate the Spanish Flu, there is no record of any imposition of a population lockdown in response to that disease or any other in our history.” He had similar concerns about the business closure orders, saying there was no action like it to compare to in the nation’s history. “Never before has the government exercised such vast and immediate power over every business, business owner, and employee in the Commonwealth,” he wrote. “Never before has the government taken a direct action which
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shuttered so many businesses and sidelined so many employees and rendered their ability to operate, and to work, solely dependent on government discretion.” Ultimately, Stickman wrote, individual liberty may not be made subordinate to a momentary crisis. “The Constitution cannot accept the concept of a ‘new normal’ where the basic liberties of the people can be subordinated to open-ended emergency mitigation measures,” he wrote. “Rather, the Constitution sets certain lines that may not be crossed, even in an emergency. Actions taken by Defendants crossed those lines. It is the duty of the Court to declare those actions unconstitutional.”
4 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • SEPTEMBER 09, 2020
DINING DAYS continued from page 1
they’re not ready to dine indoors or outdoors yet. We will also be throwing a small, sociallydistanced kickoff to Dining Days this Sunday, September 20th from 5-7 PM in Clark Park, that’ll feature a pop-up dining area, live music, and some giveaways. We ask anyone interested in attending to wear masks, observe social distance guidelines, and see us in the park near the southwest corner of Chester and 43rd. About University Dining Days: University City Dining Days returns this year with new dates and new deals to showcase West Philadelphia’s diverse restaurant scene and to offer support to an industry severely impacted by COVID-19. In addition to the typical Dining Days option of three courses for a set price, local restaurants will offer alternate deals including to-go cocktails, special
add-ons, and takeout options, all perfect for picnics in the neighborhood’s beautiful public spaces. This year’s Dining Days promotion will run longer than usual, from September 19th through October 4th, giving diners plenty of time to visit old favorites or try something new! Lunch and dinner prices ranging from $15 to $35. University City’s culinary scene is one of the most eclectic and robust in Philadelphia, with a mix of family-owned and signature restaurants run by renowned local and national chefs. University City is also known for its wide mix of international establishments, with restaurants specializing in cuisines from India, Ethiopia, China, Argentina, the Philippines, Mexico, and more. This year, Dining Days will feature choices for takeout, outdoor dining, or indoor dining, where applicable. Available options include three courses for a set price, free add-ons for orders
over a certain price threshold, and deals on make-at-home kits and takeout beer and cocktails. Nearly 30 restaurants are participating in Dining Days. For a complete list of participating restaurants and specials, and to make reservations for outdoor or indoor dining, visit www.ucdiningdays.com. Due to new rules and regulations, we are asking all diners to please be respectful and courteous customers. When visiting restaurants, please wear a mask, practice social distancing, and keep your hands clean. Help keep other diners and restaurant staff safe and healthy! If you or anyone in your party is experiencing symptoms, please stay home. The University City Review thanks the University City District for its effort in this community particularly during this difficult period, and also asks that all who can to please patronize you the restaurants during Dining Days.
Board Meeting Thursday, September 24, 2020 Location:
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continued from page 1
“The state of emergency has a lot of different connotations, “ said Kenney. Kenney said curfews were used during the protests which destroyed several business corridors in Philadelphia where riots followed protests against police brutality and racial injustice in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, an African-American killed by a white police officer and whose images went viral on social media sending shock waves and subsequent protests across the nation. “I think to impose a curfew in neighborhoods where the vast majority of the people are lawabiding, decent, honest folks, I think it’s unfair to them. I don’t think that’s the answer by making the vast majority of honest people stay in their homes at night because there are a small percentage of people doing this activity,” Kenney said. Asked by Williams what his office was doing in relation to the problem, Kenney said that his office resumed a campaign to interact with what he called “The small number of people” engaged in criminal activity to let them know “the dangers of what they are doing and the opportunities they have to go in a different direction with our help” said Kenney. Kenney said the program, called Focused Deterrent, was launched earlier in the year but had to be suspended because of Covid-19. “It is being ramped up now,” he said. Another person whom Williams interviewed prior to the forum was Keir Bradford-Grey of the Public Defenders Association of Philadelphia, who spoke about
getting to root causes as opposed to picking at the symptoms of the problem. “Some of the things that I saw that your viewers are looking for is a response after the fact and that is critically important, but some of the things that we do is look for what’s driving the behavior,” said BradfordGrey. “ “We know, jut like the war on crime, you can put all of the levers of law-enforcement that you want on a certain issue but if you don’t figure out how to prevent it, if you don’t figure out where the levers are or where the opportunities to have more pro-social behaviors, than we are still going to have the same impact,” she said. There are various groups, agencies, departments and service providers in place to address various issues related to the concerns which might have positive impacts and would possibly have an even greater impact if they worked together in a coordinated effort but, said BradfordGrey “these systems” don’t always communicate with one another. “The violence is really a cycle,” said radio host and award-winning author Solomon Jones who sat on the panel. “The violence is about things that, on the surface, seem like they could be handled another way- a petty beef in the neighborhood, a conflict between two people about something that, to somebody with resources, doesn’t even matter. I think the violence is a symptom, it’s a symptom of a bigger problem,” said Jones. Ted Qualli, executive director of PAL [the Police Athletic League] agreed. “Without someone like Solomon [Jones] or some other folks or their
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PAL officer mentoring them, there are plenty of negative influences that will fill that void, that will guide them in the wrong direction so we want to find ways to bring more kids into our PAL centers,” said Qualli who said that Covid-19 with its social distancing guidelines have greatly reduced the number of youth the Centers can serve. Then there’s another factor which panelist, Bilal Qayyum, community organizer and founder of the Father’s Day Rally Committee raised but which he says isn’t often mentioned during discussions on crime and gun violence: “Institutional white racism,” said Qayyum. “When I mention institutional white racism, when you look at the city of Philadelphia, 30 percent of black males are jobless, up to 50 percent of black male youth are jobless, we have only 2 to 4 percent of black ownership of businesses in this city although we make up 46 percent of the population and I could go on statistics after statistic,” Qayyum said. “So, until we begin to address those real issues, I’m not sure how it’s going to be a big change in what’s going on in Philadelphia.” Dr. Dorothy JohnsonSpeight founder of Mothers In Charge, founded the group whose members consist of mothers who lost their children to violence, after her son was killed on the streets of Philadelphia because of a parking dispute in 2003. Johnson-Speight understands the pain of those who have lost loved ones to violence first-hand, but she also works intimately with those who have been perpetrators of violence to help change their lives for the better. “One of the things that we haven’t talked a lot about is that a lot of the young people, as well as the families in our city, are hurting,” said Johnson-Speight. “Healing is needed in our city and we need to have places where young people can go to deal with trauma.” Johnson-Speight suggested the creation of trauma or healing centers to help meet this need.
SEPTEMBER 09, 2020 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • 5
National Liberty Museum announces the winner of TD Bank Young Heroes Award President’s Honor winner
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ational Liberty Museum is pleased to announce that sixteenyear old Nikita Bharati is the 2020 TD Bank Young Heroes Award President’s Honor winner. This award, which includes a $2,000 scholarship, is chosen from among this year’s 13 other inspiring finalists, ages 18 and younger, who identified an area where liberty was lacking and took action to make positive change in their local schools or communities. This year’s TD Bank Young Heroes were chosen from among a pool of national nominations from eleven states, including seven young people from the Philadelphia region, and were submitted by friends, teachers and community members who recognized the incredible contributions of these outstanding young citizens. The award recognizes young people who have championed liberty through civic engagement, conflict resolution, diversity promotion, and school or community leadership. Each of the projects this year sought to help vulnerable and underserved populations, with many focusing on empowering other students in the use of technology and addressing community needs during the Coronavirus pandemic. The Awards were presented at a Virtual Awards Ceremony on Saturday, September 12. In presenting the President’s Honor Award to Nikita, TD Bank Commercial Market President Tom Shoemaker said, “Selecting this winner is both an honor and a challenge with so many outstanding young people to choose from. But Nikita
stood out to me for her work to make STEM initiatives and education both accessible and enticing to her peers. We look forward to watching her become a global role model herself for other young women in STEM.” Nikita is a senior at Basha High School in Chandler, Arizona. At her school, Nikita would often find herself as the only woman in her computer science class or in her lab’s research group. Not wanting other girls to be in this unfortunate position, she addressed the issue head-on by founding Girl STEMpowerment, dedicated to empowering girls and offering free STEMbased projects to girls around the world. To date Girl STEMpowerment has impacted over 15,000 girls with 20 global chapters. Girl STEMpowerment has taught workshops ranging from introducing girls to programming through robotics and Python, to workshops exploring environmental engineering. The program has also sponsored Girls STEMpowerment’s annual All Girls Math Tournament and has plans for an all Girls’ Biotech Camp and All Girls Hackathon. In response to COVID-19, Nikita has been leading webinars and virtual coding workshops to provide children with educational opportunities amidst school closures. Nikita further expanded Girl STEMpowerment to include a new program called Food Tech for the Future: Growing Digital Farmers to local middle school girls. In this project, participating girls get to learn about the intersection of sustainability and technology, with year-
round on engineering their own Food Computer, as well as learn to code Raspberry Pi using Python, a main component of the Food Computer’s technology. “I am very honored to receive this scholarship from TD Bank. With the money from this Award I hope to purchase more STEM workshop materials as well as additional Food Computers for our chapters,” said Nikita. The TD Bank Young Heroes Award recognizes young people who have championed liberty through civic engagement, conflict resolution, diversity promotion, and school or community leadership. At the Ceremony, each Young Hero was presented with a special medal and certificate to commemorate the occasion. Additionally, a plaque featuring the winners’ stories will be displayed for a year in the Museum’s Young Heroes Exhibit.
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DR. BREAM continued from page 1
were positive.” These were largely among the African American and Hispanic populations, Bream explained. “Our average American rates that we have
tested have averaged around 17 percent which is a very high rate.” Not so good but wait. It gets better. “What we have seen is a gentle decline in that just as you would expect to see with the epidemic. So, we went from a high of 17 percent to our most recent week that we re-
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ported where we had a total population positive rate of 1.38 percent.” Oh, but there’s more: “The good news is that, at Sayre, since July 20th, it’s never been higher than 4.06 percent since July 26th.” This is important says Dr. Bream because the World Health Organization (WHO) uses the base rate of 5 percent as a measure of how controlled the virus is in a given community. “So, if you are below the rate of 5 percent for more than 2 weeks you can certainly think ‘we’re doing well’. We should still be safe, and we should still be cautious, but we don’t have worry as much when we have been below 5 percent for so long,” he said. This is good news for West Philadelphia which well exceeds the WHO’s benchmark of 5 percent for a significantly longer
period than the 2-week window specified. “At Sayre Health Center in the Cobbs Creek community of West Philadelphia, we’ve been below the 5 percent positive rate for 7 weeks.” What can we credit for the decline in positive test results in the West Philadelphia area? “I have to credit it to two things, one’s a little bit scary and the other is a little bit exciting,” said Dr. Bream. “The scary one is really what people talk about is herd immunity. For every single person who gets Covid-19 gets better, they become a part of the community-wide protection against Covid.” Huh? “Every person who has been asymptomatic who has had Covid or has had mild symptoms and got better, has antibodies and t-cells that not only protect [him or her] but protects the community by reducing the risk of transmission from a positive person to a negative person.” “So, the first scary thing is that we see less transmission because so many people have been positive,” he said. “When you see the news that millions of millions of people have tested positive, that’s millions and millions of people that are now protecting other people from getting Covid. It’s scary thinking about that many people getting positive but its good news in that because they start protecting others.” The other thing Dr. Bream believes helps fuel the decline is physical
St. Francis De Sales and Calvary Center Blood Drive
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riday, September 25 8:00 am - 1:00 pm Calvary Center for Culture and Community 801 S 48th Street Philadelphia, PA 19143 Sign up at www. redcrossblood.org Use sponsor code: St Francis Calvary Community For a limited time, the Red Cross will test all blood, platelet and plasma donations for COVID-19 antibodies as an addi-
tional health service to our donors. For more information or to make an appointment please contact: Kristin Mckale Kristin.mckale@redcross. org 267-838-6320 Save time on the day of the donation and visit www. redcrossblood.org/ rapidpass Don’t forget to HYDRATE and please remember your ID. *Please wear or bring a mask*
distancing, the term Dr. Breams prefers over the more common term ‘social distancing’. “That’s really each of us taking care of our friends, our families and each other and we do that by washing our hands, maintaining our distance and not visiting a group of friends and then another group of friends and then another group of friends because our going from group to group potentially passes the infection if one person in one of those groups is infected.” “Every single thing you can do to maintain physical distancing also reduces transmission.” With more people working from home, unable to go to concerts and sporting events or enjoy a night on the town is having an impact on the way we live. However, Dr. Bream cautions that life can go on even during physical distancing
with proper planning and some creativity. “We’re still able to go outside, we’re still able to exercise we’re still able to see a friend via Zoom or maintaining a distance of 6-feet, washing our hands and taking care not to spread the virus.” It’s obviously working in West Philadelphia. “Our August 30th number, again, was 1.38 percent which is the lowest since we’ve starting testing as a population here in Cobbs Creek.” Across the state, Dr. Bream says there are both optimistic and pessimistic views related to the virus and future prospects. The pessimists see subsequent waves of the virus sweeping through the state while the optimists see a gradual return to our normal lives. So, what do Dr. Bream see? “I do think there is an optimistic message in the State of Pennsylvania just like, to me, there is an optimistic message here in Philadelphia and we see that with our restaurants starting to open and our businesses starting to open,” said Dr. Bream. “I look out my window and I see people exercising on the field, they’re separated by 6-feet so they are physically distant, so there’s an optimistic message across the state that we can live, we can be friends, we can be family and we don’t have to spread SARS- Cov2 or Covid 19.” For more about testing at the Dr. Bernett L. Johnson, Jr. Sayre Health Center, call them at 215-4744444 or visit them online at www.sayrehealth.org.
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DON’ T TEXT DON’ T TEXT AND AND
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Herbie the Love Bug car . Keep Going, in partnership with Gabriel Nathan and Drive Out Suicide, 434 S 52nd, Philadelphia PA - hagopianarts.con
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onderful news from the Rosenbach Museum & Library, still closed to the public but rejoicing in the good news that their elegant old-world garden, shut for more than 20 years, will reopen on Sept. 17. This 1600 square feet green oasis, totally remodelled during this past summer, is now filled with beautiful flowers and native plants selected to connect with works of literature in their collection including such authors as Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Lewis Carroll and others. Tues.Sat. at 2008-10 Delancey St. Masks required, social distancing a must. rsvp@ rosenbach.org or at 215732-1600. Also good to know is that PennMuseum is “Open for World Adventure”. New safety guidelines provide a calm, crowd-free experience and a soothing chance to discover ancient wonders “highlighting our shared humanity”. Among these treasures: the largest Egyptian sphinx in the Western Hemisphere, thousand-year old Maya monuments, and stunning artifacts from Mexico to the Middle East and from Africa to Asia. 3260 South St. www.penn. museum or 215-898-4000. Our city, so celebrated for its dynamic restaurant scene ranging from the high and mighty to lip-smacking mom and pop venues, boasts numerous annual Restaurant Weeks and now even during the pandemic hungry house-bound quarantiners are eager to get out and about for
both indoor and outdoor dining. Bargains abound: $20. for three-course lunches, $35. for threecourse dinners at many of our city’s most popular spots. Sept. 13 to 25. www.centercityphila.org or 215-599-0776. The Philly Fringe Festival this year is both virtual and in-person with some 118 different shows in medium and tiny spaces throughout the city. This 24th such annual event will have at least 15 outdoor shows for smaller, masked audiences in social-distancing spaces. Many of the attractions are free or pay what you wish. Among the virtual events is a home-grown highlight, “Pasion y Arte”, an all-female flamenco dance company offering performance and dance lessons uploaded weekly at fringearts. com/event/sevillanaget-togethers-2020 Other productions will be available on Zoom, YouTube, Vimeo, InstagramLive, Discord and Twitch among others. President and Producing Director Nick Stuccio reminds viewers of the company’s motto: “Come and view with an open mind”. Through Oct. 4. Further information and a full line-up at fringearts.com or freefringephilly.com or at 215-413-1318. Philadelphia Corporation for Aging has joined the virtual bandwagon for their 2020 art exhibit celebrating “Arts & Aging” by seasoned artists chosen from 98 submissions. These charming works belie their creators seniority and also honor their endurance. Visible at pcaCares.org/CelebrateArts
and also on sponsors websites: PECO, Aetna, Jevs. Not only live operatic performances but a premiere never before produced in the USA! Amici Opera presents Donizetti’s “L’Esule di Roma”, sung in Italian by young operatic aspirants with piano on Sept. 20 at 3 p.m. and Sept. 26 at 4 p.m. Redeemer UMC, 1128 Cottman Ave. 215-224-0257. Social distancing, hand sanitizer available, bring your own mask. A change of pace: Jurassic Quest, an auto journey into the deepest, darkest past, is in town now through Sept. 20, an hour-long animatronic drive-through doozy consisting of some 70 gigantic dinosaurs including Tryannosaurus Rexes, Triceratops and also the unfamiliar and fearsome 50-feet long sharklike megaladon, all doing their fanged work in the parking lot next to the Wells Fargo Center and I-95. A family event for sure and passengers must remain in their cars. Information at 215-5990776. A new mural of Herbie the Love Bug car is attracting attention as it is meant to do at 434 S. 52nd St. across from Malcolm X Park. Created by Kala Hagopian and Olivia Losee-Unger who raised $12,000 by way of a crowdfunding campaign, this huge work shows Herbie in front of a tunnel with a light at the end of it with the motto “Keep Going”, inspired by and honoring the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and the Crisis Text Line. The unrivaled August, Ga. opera and lieder star Jessye Norma, one of the greatest of all operatic sopranos who died in 2019, is now the subject of a documentary, “Jessye Norman at 75: A Celebration” presented by Black Opera Productions and Brookfield Place and involves such stars as Anna Deveare Smith, Laverne Cox, Grace Bumbry and Dance Theater of Harlem. Live-streamed at blackoperafilm.com. The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has a new young Italian conductor, Jader Bignamini, whose arrival is being honored by ticketed live-stream concerts of classics and
emphasizing substantial works by such Black composers as Philip Herbert and Joseph Boulogne. Sept. 17 at 7:30 p.m., Sept. 18 at 5:30 p.m dso.org. Now that cooking at home has become not only a necessity but a new hobby for many, here’s a chance to learn all about eggplants thanks to sisters Danielle Cook a cooking instructor and food writer Adrienne Cook who will provide recipes and instruction with the admonition that the purple skin, pared by some, actually contains high amounts of nasunin , a powerful antioxidant. Sept. 17 from Noon at USBG.gov/Cooking. Fans of Italian cinema can enjoy free streaming through September of a healthy list of titles including “Caesar Must Die”, a riff on Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”. Anytime at filmatique. com. The Metropolitan Opera’a generous free nightly prEsentations of videos from their current archival catalog begin every evening at 7:30 with a new title available through 6:30 p.m. the next day. The days ahead are Bel Canto Week: Sept. 16,
Donizetti’s “La Fille du Regiment” with Natalie Dessay and Curtis alumnus Juan Diego Florez; Sept. 17, Rossini’s ‘Cenerentola” with Elina Garanca and Curtis’s John Relyea; Sept. 18) Bellini’s “I Puritani” with Anna Netrebko, Academy of Vocal Arts alumnus Valerian Ruminski and John Relyea; Sept. 19: Donizetti’s “L’Ellsir d’Amore”
with Pretty Yende and Matthew Polenzani; 20) Bellini’s “Norma” starring Sondra Rodvanovsky, AVA alumna superstar Joyce DiDonato and Curtis’s Matthew Rose. metopera.org. Two powerhouse sources for events of all kinds, virtual and in-person are: timesevents@nytimes.com and inquirer.com/thingstodo
You can now get Mary Allegra’s: “Come Into My Kitchen” A book full of her delicious recipes, informative cooking tips, and entertaining stories - by contributing to Curio Theatre’s Mary Allegra Spotlight Fund. Just go to the website: curiotheatre.org. Learn what innovative things that Curio Theatre is doing. Then in the upper left hand corner, click on the tab: “Spotlight Fund”. You get a soft bound cover for each $50 donation and a hard bound cover for each $100 donation. For larger donations, you can get multiple copies in any combination that you can send as gifts to your friends and family. And for your donation Curio Theatre will take care of having them shipped to different addresses for you!
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.
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GREENS
CHALLENGER
in the Lehigh Valley, expressed her dismay, “These outlandish moves by the Democratic Party to suppress the rights of Green Party voters come as a shock and disappointment. This kind of voter suppression is just one of the many reasons that voters end up staying home on Election Day. If we can’t exercise our right to vote for our own candidates, we can’t very well claim to be a fully-realized representative democracy.” The GPPA is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please visit www.gpofpa. org or email contact@ gpofpa.org.
voted against a GOPled effort to repeal the ACA and he supports a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought into the country as children. He was also one of four Republicans to approve a resolution last year passed in the House that condemned Trump for making comments against four Democratic lawmakers – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan – that were described as anti-immigrant.
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Philadelphia Fringe Festival: A Cornucopia of the Arts By Richard Lord Contributing writer
Festival artists who are dedicated to presenting world-class experiences his year, the to patrons in Philadelglobal pandemic phia and around the has forced the globe.” cancellation or extended Realizing the heavy postponement of many financial strain the pantime-honored events demic has already put out of safety concerns. on almost all performing The Boston Marathon, arts companies, Fringe the Summer Olympics, Arts decided to waive the Wimbledon Tennis artist registration fees for tournament, the Cannes the 2020 festival. They Film Festival, the Coach- also elected to provide ella Music Festival, even additional support to (gulp) Munich’s Oktothe participating artists berfest have all fallen and groups to help them victim to the pandemic. present their offerings But the Philadelphia safely and to assist the, Fringe Festival has raised sometimes, problematic a huge fist in defiance of transition to virtual platCovid-19. The 24th anforms. While the schednual Fringe opened this ule currently lists 15 past Thursday and runs in-person but outdoors through October 4. performances, over 80% Christen Smith Fringe Arts President of this year’s roster will Staff Reporter and Producing Director be presented on digital Christen Smith follows Nick Stuccio sounded platforms. Pennsylvania’s General the battle cry: “We are The preponderance of Assembly for The Center pleased to offer audience digital performances and Square. She is an award- members and artists the presentations actually winning reporter with opportunity to safely gives fans the opportunimore than a decade of enjoy the cutting edge ty to binge on the Fringe. experience covering art that they’ve come to Except for those fifteen state and national policy expect from FringeArts. live shows, you don’t issues for niche publica- Although this year’s Fes- have to concern yourself tions and local newstival may look different, with racing from one we are proud of our 2020 venue to the next. And rooms alike. as many of the pieces are online around the clock during their scheduled run, you can sit at home in front of your screen and take in one show after another, as long as you can keep up. Theatre being my main love, I thought I would check out some of the theatrical jawns in the opening weekend. For my initial sampling of the Fringe Festival 2020, I decided to go with a sort of theatrical tidbit. One Rain Full of Grace is a 14-minute offering by The Highland Lakes Players, a performance troupe based in Austin, Texas. The piece was written and directed by Raymond V. Whelan. This short gives a quick look at a real incident that happened in Philly back on August 27, 1967. On that day, a game between the Phillies and the Pirates was interrupted by sudden cloudburst. Heavy rains and streaks of lightning replaced the action on the field. A 12-yearold Phillies fan, Diane DeMarco, saw that the American flag was still flapping wildly at the top of the flagpole, getting drenched. Prodded by a
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From One Rain Full of Grace – The Flag is still there.
taunting challenge from her friend Joey, Diane raced across the field and hauled down the flag. A few days later, she received a note of appreciation from President Lyndon B. Johnson. The presentation opens with a number of extraneous facts about the history of Connie Mack Stadium (née Shibe Park), the Philadelphia A’s and the Phillies. It then goes into a lackluster account of the events – lackluster except for the brief section where Diane vividly describes her quixotic rescue of the Stars and Stripes. The screen is filled with static images of the park, a flag, US troops in Vietnam, and a rainy sky. Only the voices of the five characters of this story are presented to give real drama to the story. Unfortunately, the two actors tasked with bringing home the drama gave rather stilted readings of the piece. Samantha Levine’s reading was the more stilted of the two, though this may be because Levine is an adult trying to capture the voice and the spirit of a 12-year-old girl. Stephen Garcia took on three roles: Diane’s friend Joey, a concerned usher at the ballpark, and a reporter who interviewed Diane after the rescue. His reading was undistinguished in any of his three roles. The other show I caught was a filmed version of a real theatrical performance: 7 Unsolved Sketches by XY Players of Washington, D.C. There was a sense that this performance would have been better experienced from a theatre seat than from a screen, especially as the camera work was not always that assured. But we are living in a pandemic, which most of acknowledge. The seven shorts pre-
sented here work off of some interesting premises: the Grim Reaper having an argument with a young women over whether it’s really her time to check out; an adult education class on finding love, but with only one student in attendance; a magic act wherein the assistants dupe the magician himself; and a ballet performance where almost everyone is a “duplicata” – a lifelike automaton – or maybe not. One of the best original ideas propels “A Parallel Universe”, a spin on Hamlet where the central character is a young woman named Discernia who confronts her uncle, the king of Deliria, and plays with the affections of a male Ophelia, here rechristened Unfortunato. But “A Parallel Universe” is a prime example of the main flaw of the entire program: interesting ideas are brought up but never fulfill the promise of the premise. Too often – well, in every one of the seven pieces actually – the writers relied on played-out Absurdist elements as an excuse for wit or convincing character development. True, there were many witty lines throughout the program. (The Grim Reaper, fully outfoxed by his intended target, scurried off with the weedy excuse that “the front office is always making these clerical errors”.) However, far too many of the jokes in the show were simply sophomoric, lame or hollow. Only one of the seven shorts had anything close to a satisfying conclusion. The overall impression of 7 Unsolved Sketches is that all of the playlets are still two or three rigorous drafts away from being accomcontinued on page 9
SEPTEMBER 09, 2020 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • 9
My wife died a year ago…my thoughts about her
A Ring of Endless Light above the Rainbow Islands. Photo: Frank Allegra
By Frank Allegra
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his photo was taken in August from the rented shore house where my wife Mary suffered her fatal heart attack last August. Before I had left for the shore this year, I was in our library, trying to decide what beach book to bring. I sensed Mary guiding me to A Ring of Endless Light by Madeline L’Engle, one of her favorites. It had dolphins on the cover, so it looked appropriately “beachy”. I also noticed the empty silver inkwell on the desk, and thought that it would be a good container to use to scatter Mary’s ashes in the ocean she so cherished.
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plished works. The ensemble cast featured Geoffrey Brand, Michael Schwartz, Victoria Sova and Dena Transeau. Michael Schwartz was the best of the four. Schwartz used his voice and his face well but was given to awkward physical gestures from time to time. The other three can still use some work honing their acting skills. (Perhaps the show simply needed more rehearsals.) A full Festival brochure is available online at fringearts.com or at 215-4131318. Many of the offerings (such as the two in this review) come without an entry fee, though they do solicit donations after you’ve taken in the presentation.
We arrived at the house. Liz brought mums in remembrance of Mary, and Jessica sent roses with a message: “Because she loved the beach....” I started reading A Ring of Endless Light and realized the novel is about dolphins, death, eternity, and a smart fifteen year old girl, Vicky, who is spending her summer on a New England island with her family, including her wise, terminally ill, spiritual grandfather. A friend of her brother who just finished his first year at M.I.T. is interested in Vicky (First time I met Mary in New England, she was fifteen and I had just started at M.I.T.... A coincidence?) At the shore, the only person who called me was an acquaintance, named Vickie. Another coincidence? In the movie version of “A Ring of Endless Light”, Vicky’s character is played by the actress Mischa Barton. While we were at the shore, Mary’s sister Irene was texting about the birth of her granddaughter. She was named in honor of Irene’s husband, Michael, who had passed away four months after Mary. (Michael, Mary, Irene, and I had made a trip to New Orleans in February the year Mary and Michael died.). The parents, unaware of events at the shore, decided to name the baby “Mischa”. One sunny day at the beach I was reading the
part in A Ring of Endless Light about the poem upon which the title is based. It starts: I saw Eternity the other night, Like a great ring of pure and endless light But storm clouds came rumbling in and we had to scramble to get back to the house just before it poured. When the storm subsided, this beautiful rainbow appeared. I immediately thought of the rainbow as a ring of light and I knew Mary was with me. Another day we spotted a LOT of dolphins, swimming close to the shore. I have seen a lot of dolphins many times before. But I had never seen THIS many dolphins .... swimming in BOTH directions! Again I thought of Mary guiding me to that special book with dolphins on the cover. On our final full day, the sand flies on the beach in the morning were bad. But when I went with friends, the flies were mysteriously gone. In my reading, I had just gotten to the part where Vicky writes a sonnet about the death of a dolphin.... But we had to scurry back to the house because the flies returned in earnest! When we were packing up the next morning, it was raining heavily. Would we be able to scatter Mary’s ashes? The rain suddenly stopped. The beach was a_b_s_o_l_u_t_e_l_y deserted. We gathered around. I reminded peo-
Mary Allegra Studio Plaque and the University City Arts League. Photo: Jennifer Allegra
ple of the coincidences. My granddaughter read the last lines of Vicky’s sonnet, which apply to people and dolphins: How shall we sing our love’s song now In this strange land where all are born to die? Each tree and leaf and star show how The universe is part of this one cry, Every life is noted and is cherished, and nothing loved is ever lost or perished.”
Editor’s Note: This past Saturday, an event at the University City Arts League took place celebrating the life of Mary Allegra and an
unveiling of a plaque commemorating the theater classes which she taught there over 30 years ago. At the zoom event, which took place in the 2nd floor room where Mary had taught theater classes to teenagers, the director of the Arts League, Annette Monnier, welcomed the gathering of 53+ attendees, alongside of Mary’s husband Frank Allegra and daughter Jennifer. A montage of all of the students and productions from years back was shown, much to the delight of everyone. Many of the people who participated virtually were theater students, neighborhood friends and others. The event was joyful, and as one participant said of Mary and the classes: “’Inside Joy…how happy that time of my life was!” Mary had an impact on many, many people through her vibrancy and her generosity. She gave of herself with her time, her money, her guidance and wisdom, and strength of personality. She opened her home and her heart to all.
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We scattered Mary’s ashes. On the drive home, Google Maps guided me to the 9th Street bridge in Ocean City. THAT was the way Mary and I first travelled to the shore. But we hadn’t gone that way in years. Einstein said: “Coincidences are God’s way of remaining anonymous”. I happened to look down at Google Maps on my iPhone. Did you know the tiny islands under the bridge have a name? Rainbow Islands. I smiled...
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10 • PHILLYFREEPRESS.COM • UCREVIEW.COM • SEPTEMBER 09, 2020
Science Fiction for September 2020 By Henry L Lazarus
the Wallfish, a ship with a crew that doesn’t ever hen backfit in (think Firefly), she ground, char- and the crew are soon in acters, and hot water. The skin suit plot all merge successbonded to her, whose fully, Fantasy and Science name, she discovers in Fiction soar. dreams, is Soft Blade, suggests a world of ancient technology that might have a weapon to save humanity. From there everything gets more complicated and the Wallfish face not only human authorities, a rebel Jelly group, and corrupted aliens fighting both. What makes the tale work so well is the well-defined background, the nuts and bolts of a universe that feels real. I hope this Christopher Paolini’s wins some awards. venture into science fiction is a gloriously wonderful space opera. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars (hard from Tor) tells the tale of exobiologist Kira Navarez. She is part of a team certifying a moon as safe for colonization three centuries from now when humanity hadn’t discovered other alien species, and only found ancient ruins of a previous civilization. Kira literally falls into a hole and discovers the buryNatalie Zina ing place of a nanotech Walschots takes a look symbiote that promptly at being a Hench (hard attaches to her. A human from William Morrow) in warship shows up and a world of Supers. Anna promptly arrests her. Tromedlov is a data proThen alien humans call cessor. When working for Jellies attack and she Eel, she ends up in the barely leaves the system field and is almost killed in a lifeboat. Months later by Supercollider. Recovshe arrives in another ering from her injuries, star system to discover it she starts figuring the under attack. Rescued by cost of superhero rescues,
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starts a website, and then is hired by the super villain Leviathon to ruin the lives of superheroes through social media. The techniques she uses, unfortunately, could be used on any celebrity and are truly horrifying in their consequences. Part office politics, part comic heroics, this is an amazing tale and an author to watch.
Khidr is a coast guard like spaceship with a crew of twenty-five. Under Fearless (hard from Flame Tree Press) Captain Ellisa Shann it patrols space between Earth and Mars to assist ships in problems. The problems start when a a distress call from the freighter Hercules is suddenly cut off. Then sabotage kills a technician under the 5 G burn to reach the freighter. That’s when everything goes wrong. The Khidr is soon fighting for its life and the life of its crew because of politics Captain Shann never heard of. Allen Stroud tells a hard sf tale with white knuckle stress that doesn’t let up till the end. I want more!
is an ugly opera singer with a combination of pheromones and magical voice that can enchant an Griffin Barber and audience and make indiKacey Ezell start a fun viduals very suggestive. Indrajit, a bard who has memorized his people’s epic but can’t read, and Fix, who digs for knowledge, have been hired as secondary protection of the singer, only save her life on the stage In the Palace of Shadow and Joy (trade from Baen). Multiple attacks follow. There’s a weave of treachery so deep, that Indrajit and Fix can’t go more than a few chapters without facing imposfuture P I series. Human- sible odds. Light fun ity has scattered after with future adventures aiding the Monitors promised. in a galactic war that got Earth destroyed. On Last Stop Station, Ralston Muck works as a bouncer. He lost his A. I. angel that controlled his modifications when he was framed for war crimes. Siren, a singer at the club, is kidnaped and her Angel separated. Angel should have died but instead finds her way to Ralston who has a Second Chance Angel (hard from Blackstone Publishing). Together in one On the colony on Eubody they start looking ropa a robot, 812-3, killed for Siren, finding treach- a human and was conery on Last Stop Station. victed of murder. Aiya On another world they Ritsehrer, a lawyer, meets barely survive the dethe bot and decides that struction of their ship, even An Unnatural Life only to discover a major (paper from Tor.com), escorporation doing some- pecially since the human thing illegal. Lots of fun prisoners want to kill the and I’m looking forward bot. This is a dark gray to future adventures. tale with a lot of moral D. J. Butler has a fun ambiguity. Interesting. tale of two rogues on a world with a thousand races of humanity. In the ancient city of Kish, a large policy on the life of Ilsa without Peer. Ilsa
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and students are dying. Magick works by invoking demons to give superpowers, and the tale is filled with super fights in which our heroes barely survive. Lots of light fun. Jeff Wheeler left Bingmei on a quest to the Phoenix Shrine where she is supposed to die. In the final book of The Grave Kingdom, she learns that death is not final and she learns some of The Immortal Words (paper from 47 North) that will help her defeat the immortal dragons and bring resolution back into her world. Very exciting and a solid ending to the series. Emma Bellamy is doing rotations through various police departments in order to become a detective. Then, when assigned to the Supernatural Squad that mediates between London’s werewolves, vampires, and other creatures, she is murdered. She discovers she is Brimstone Bound (ebook) and not quite human when she comes back to life. Then her partner is murdered. Helen Harper has a nice mystery tale and a promise of future cases. Fun. CAEZIK SF & Fantasy has a collection of new tales And the Last Trump Shall Sound in paper from Harry Turtledove, James Morrow, and Cat Rambo about a future Pence presidency after the Donald finishes his next term. Travis S. Taylor, Timothy Zahn, Michael Z. Williamson, Kacey Ezell, and Josh Hayes have short tales based on Battle Luna (hard from Baen); Larry Correia and Kacey Ezell have collected Noir Fatale (paper from Baen) tales; and Tom Kratman has tales from others set in his Terra Nova (paper from Baen) universe. A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (Tor) has won the Hugo award. Dr. Henry Lazarus is a David Mack tells of retired dentist and the author the hidden Magickal of A Cycle of Gods (Wolfspast. Lee Harvey Osinger Publications) and Unwald’s bullet were naturally Female (Smashmagickally designed to break the wards protect- words).Check out his unified field theory at henrylazarus. ing John Kennedy. The com/utf.html that suggests Shadow Commission fusion generation requires less (hard from Tor) behind energy because only one frethe assassination is also quency is needed rather than a attacking other mages full spectrum. It also explains including Cade and dark matter, the proliferation Anja who have worked of subatomic particles, and the together since World War II. Soon their friends limit of light speed for matter.
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Home Front as Store Front
and a sign immediately identified the product for sale. Think beer mug By Anne Cecil for a pub or a pizza for a Community pizza parlor or food for a Contributor restaurant. It is no different today. A sign is often ike many small the first marketing touch businesses durpoint with consumers. ing the pandemic, The earliest form of I have been working to signage was symbolic. find ways to promote Rudimentary symbols my products. I design were used to indicate and hand make custom that an individual had a shoes for women under product or service to exthe name RoxAnneLava. change or sell. By as earTo help my search, I’ve ly as 3000 BC, trade was looked to commercial developing and tradesstorefronts and considmen needed a fixed locaered how I can adapt tion from which to sell. commercial marketing They generally installed methods to my business an identifying symbol, using my residential or insignia to mark their home front. place of business. A key tool retailers As the Greeks and have is one of the oldest Romans continued to demarketing products ever velop commerce, we see used, the sign. Humans the birth of the modern have used signs since sign. Generally made of Anne Cecil we began providing stone, terracotta, wood, classification, for examproducts and services. leather or metal, specific ple a tavern. The businesses needed symbols developed into As commerce expandto make their business a visual language that ed after the Dark Ages, visible to their customers identified businesses by
L
the need for “trade” signs increased. By the 17th century, English law required each craftsman or tradesman to exhibit a sign that identified the products and services they provided. Soon enough the utilitarian signs became more elaborate with each business establishing a unique visual to differentiate their business from the pack. Signs remained visual, as most people still were unable to read. This is the beginning of the logo and dare I say it – Branding. As outdoor signs became more elaborate and heavy, they became dangerous hanging over the street. Tragic accidents occurred on the crowded urban streets below, necessitating ordinances that were created to limit the size, weight, placement and extension of these signs. AND now we arrive at my conundrum. Sign ordinances exist today and they are very specific in terms of commercial and residential usage.
A commercial sign is not allowed on a residential home, but I am allowed to decorate my home front. I can do window, door and stoop displays and I do. Sadly my window is not easily seen from the street. It is high up and hidden behind a tree. But my steps and door are primary real estate, easily seen from the street. The digital age has given us a new set of tools, but often the traditional methods are still effective. My plan is to create “signage” within the vocabulary of acceptable residential home decoration. This spring and summer, I’ve been playing with bunting for my step rail, ornaments for my tree, and most recently the wreath. The wreath you see here is eye-catching, colorful and fun, key elements in getting passersby to stop for a closer look. It is a good size to display a message. In terms of my brand, the elements are sandals, a product I make. Sandals
on the wreath are made from up-cycled materials, a core characteristic of my brand. These particular materials are connected to life in the time of COVID, featuring bubble packs from Amazon and re-usable bags from Fresh Direct deliveries. They are perfect for a wreath that is subject to all sorts of weather. The wreath was designed to be on my step rail and it will be there in the near future, but for now it sits on my door. As my projects progress, I will include more sophisticated, yet understated promotion of my brand while still keeping to the residential language. I’m excited to get started. This way of communicating is very me. Anne Cecil is a shoemaker and designer offering hand made to order shoes, shoe making workshops, private consultations, bridal and special occasion appointments. Contact: roxannelavarox@gmail.com or Visit: www.roxannelava. com