South Philly Vikings in Hollywood, page 8
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AU G U S T 1 9, 2 0 1 0
A royal recollection
A Saturday cultural festival honored an area businessman celebrating 15 years as an African king. By Joseph Myers r e v i e w s ta f f w r i t e r
P
eople traveling the lower parts of Snyder Avenue Saturday had a chance for a brush with royalty. Aside from being able to purchase traditional African garb, flags and masks, they had the opportunity to meet Donald Lewis, an established business leader with a dual role as Nkabomhene, or Unity King, of Agogo — a city in Ghana. Lewis appeared as part of the first annual Philadelphia Sankofa Festival — a celebration of the African cultural heritage of Africans born in the United States. The festive day commemorated the sevSee FESTIVAL page 12
Sports
Community members rallied together Friday night and voiced opposition to a plan that will periodically close Engine 53, 414-16 Snyder Ave.. s ta f f p h o t o b y g r e g b e z a n i s
Brownsizing the community Residents of two local communities last week rallied to protest their fire station’s first City-mandated work stoppage.
Play it again Hundreds were at FDR Park Monday to recapture the joys of their athletic childhoods.
By Joseph Myers................Page 34
By Joseph Myers r e v i e w s ta f f w r i t e r
D
isasters never discriminate. Awareness of that fact prompted about 150 residents of the Pennsport and Whitman sections of South Philadelphia to show dissent early Friday evening for the initial brown out of Engine 53, 414-16 Snyder Ave. Bellowing chants and vowing further forms of outcry, they assembled to
rebuke the City’s latest initiative to dwindle its deficit. The frustrated citizens began gathering at 5 p.m., one hour before their civil servants had to begin a 14-hour brown out. The service disruption, one of two the engine will have this month, will help the City to save nearly $3.8 million from the General Fund budget, according to Mayor Michael Nutter. While instituting the disturbances may save the City a hefty amount of overtime
compensation, the move could cause untold tragedy. “How many buckets do we need to put out a fire? How many bottles of water?” Sharon Payton asked everyone as she strolled through the crowd. The resident of the 500 block of Winton Street toted a bucket and multiple bottles of water to prove the futility of trying to retard a blaze See BROWN OUT page 9