PhiladelphiaDaily Record
Vol. III No. 37 (405) Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia February 28, 2012
Casey Intros ‘Bill’
FORMER CONGRESSMAN Rev. Bill Gray was honored by Sen. Bob Casey as
part of Black History Month. Crowd packs Kennedy Caucus Room in Russell
Senate Office Building for a symposium Story page 3
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T h e P h i l a d e l p h i aP u b l i c R e c o r d
C a l e n d a rMar. 1- State Reps. Kevin
and Brendan Boyle kick off
reelection campaigns at The
Hop Angel, 7980 Oxford
Ave., 5:30-7:30 p.m. Buffet,
open bar and 50/50 raffle $30
per person. RSVP (276) 988-
6257 or send checks payable
to Friends of Kevin Boyle,
8035 Burholme Ave., Phila.,
PA 19111.
Mar. 3- Bill Brunkel hosts
Irish Night With State Rep.
John Taylor at McCullough
Ha., 6309 Torresdale Ave., 8
p.m.-12 a.m. Ticket $30. In-
cludes beer, soda, and food.
BYOB and setups welcomed.
Music: Celtic Connection.
For info Paul Kiser (609)
774-1397, Fax (215) 739-
7776.
Mar. 5- Councilman David
Oh celebrates birthday at
Racquet Club, 215 S. 15th St.,
6-8 p.m. Trustees $500, Sup-
porters $250, Friends
$100Checks payable to “Citi-
zens for David Oh.” No cor-
porate checks.RSVP Eunice
Lee [email protected] or
(215) 561-2000 by Feb. 27.
Mar. 10- NIA-PAC’s
Carnevale, 6 p.m. Union
League. Vincent Papale, Mas-
ter of Ceremonies. Formal
dinner and auction. Black tie
preferred. Chair Hon. Amato
Berardi. Individual seating
$185. For details Judy Camiel
(610) 668-1730.
Mar. 12- Cocktail Event for
State Rep. Tina Davis at Zia’s
at Red Door, 110 N. 2nd St.,
Harrisburg, Pa. Tickets $50,
$100, $500 and $1,000. For
info Seth Skversky (215)
550-1186.
Mar. 13- Friends of Damon
Roberts hosts fundraiser at S.
Philly Tap Room, 1509 Mif-
flin St., 6-8 pm.
Mar. 15- Councilman Jim
Kenney’s St. Patrick’s Day
Party at Galdo’s, 20th & Moy-
amensing Ave., 6-8 p.m.
Tickets at door, $35 each.
Mar. 16-17- Programs for
Teaching Educational Confer-
ence sponsored by Phila. Fed-
eration of Teachers Health &
Welfare Fund at Sheraton,
17th & Race. 50 topics. State
Rep. James Roebuck, special
guest speaker. For info (215)
561-2722.
Mar. 17- Pentecostal Clergy
holds 12th-Anniversary
Breakfast, at View, 800 N.
Broad St., 7th fl., 7:30 a.m.
Tickets $25. Full tables $250.
Call Dorothy Sturgis (215)
991-9830.
Meat
& DeliPrego Pizzelle Baker $29.99
Uno Panini Grill $39.99
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To commemorate Black History
Month, US Sen. Bob Casey (D-
Pa.) honored former Congressman
William H. Gray III in a speech on
the Senate floor and through a
symposium on Gray and Histori-
cally Black Colleges and Universi-
ties.
“For his entire life, Bill Gray has
been a minister and shepherd for
his congregation, his constituents,
historically Black colleges, and all
Americans in need of a strong
voice,” the Senator said. “In the
Senate today, we express our grati-
tude for the excellent work of Rev.
Bill Gray’s ‘whole ministry,’ a
commitment that has touched liter-
ally millions of men and women.”
In his floor speech, Casey high-
lighted Bill Gray’s work at the
Bright Hope Baptist Church in
Philadelphia, in Congress, with the
United Negro College Fund and
with various other organizations to
bring about positive change and to
ensure that a future of opportunity
is accessible to all youth.
Following his speech on the Sen-
ate floor, Casey hosted a sympo-
sium to discuss Bill Gray’s
contributions to his church, the na-
tion, and education at Historically
Black Colleges and Universities.
Symposium panelists included
Rev. William “Bill” Moore, pastor
at 10th Memorial Baptist Church in
North Philadelphia; Rev. Kevin R.
Johnson, the successor to Bill
Gray as senior pastor at Bright
Hope Baptist; Alan Kirschner,
president of Kirschner & Associ-
ates and former executive VP for
development of UNCF; Congress-
woman Maxine Waters; and Dr.
John Silvanus Wilson, Jr., execu-
tive director of the White House’s
Initiative on Historically Black
Colleges and Universities.
Casey: Bill GrayIs Part of History
Brady Is PleasedFood Crisis Is EasingIn response to the latest Food Re-
search and Action Center report re-
leased yesterday, Congressman
Bob Brady (D-Pa.) issued the fol-
lowing statement:
“According to the FRAC report,
food hardship in the 1st Congres-
sional Dist. has declined steadily
over the past two years. I am
pleased we are moving in the right
direction, but we are far from
where we need to be. That’s why I
am committed to doing all that I
can to ensure people do not go
hungry in the 1st Congressional
Dist.
“In Washington, I created the
Hunger Taskforce, a workgroup of
Members of Congress who repre-
sent districts with the highest rates
of food hardship designed to tackle
our shared challenges; cospon-
sored the Healthy Food Financing
Initiative, a range of programs that
will expand access to healthy, af-
fordable foods in food deserts
across the country; and I am an
original cosponsor of the National
Cooperative Development Act,
legislation that would create jobs
and low-cost markets in low-in-
come communities.
“I pressed Gov. Corbett to end the
Commonwealth’s dangerous and
counterproductive reinstatement of
an asset test for SNAP; and I am
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working with US Agriculture
Secretary Vilsack and his team
to obtain funding for food
banks to continue to meet the
needs of the hungry. After my
last meeting with the Secretary,
he joined me in urging Pennsyl-
vania to reconsider its asset test
policy.
“And by working with the pri-
vate sector, state, federal and
City of Chester officials, we are
bringing an innovative super-
market/food bank to Chester.
This facility, which is being
spearheaded by Philabundance,
a widely respected nonprofit,
will be Chester’s first supermar-
ket in years and the first of its
kind to be operated by a food-
aid group as a nonprofit.
“Hunger in America is real and
I am committed to continue to
work to ensure that in hard-hit
cities, such as Chester, we de-
velop real solutions to the is-
sues that are creating hunger
hardship.”
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Higher Taxes OKTo Boost City Services
A new public opinion poll commis-
sioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts’
Philadelphia Research Initiative finds
Philadelphians are increasingly con-
cerned about the overall local tax
burden but many residents appear
willing to pay more in return for bet-
ter services.
The survey also finds that Philadel-
phians favor the idea of commercial
advertising at City Hall and other
municipal properties in order to raise
revenue but are cool to the idea of
taxing sugary drinks.
Seventy percent of those polled say
high taxes are a “somewhat serious”
or “very serious” problem in their
neighborhoods – up from 55% in
2010 and 62% last year. Fifty-four
percent say they “pay too much” for
the level of city services they receive,
compared with 39% who feel they
get their “money’s worth” or a “good
deal” for their tax dollars.
At the same time, 49% say they
would prefer to pay higher taxes for
more city services, as opposed to
42% who prefer lower taxes and
fewer services. Residents were
evenly split on this question in polls
conducted the past three years.
“Philadelphians send a variety of
messages about taxes,” said Larry
Eichel, project director of PRI. “On
the one hand, a large majority of resi-
dents are increasingly concerned
about the size of the overall tax bur-
den. On the other hand, a significant
number of people say they would be
willing to pay more if they thought
they would get more for their
money.”
On the concept of permitting adver-
tisements on city buildings, 56% of
Philadelphians approve while 34%
are opposed. As for a tax on soda and
other sugary drinks, 49% disapprove
of the idea, and 46% support it, with
positions on both sides deeply en-
trenched.
Legislation allowing advertising on
city property was introduced in City
Council earlier this year by Council
President Darrell Clarke, but has not
yet been acted upon. The sugary
drinks tax has been put forward twice
in the last two years by Mayor
Michael Nutter, and Council failed to
adopt it on either occasion.
The survey also gauged attitudes to-
ward city workers’ pensions.
Philadelphians are closely divided on
whether newly hired city employees
should get the same pension benefits
as current workers and retirees, as is
the case now, or whether the City
should be able to give them lower
benefits to save money. Overall, 47%
say new hires should receive the
same pension package, and 43%
favor the alternative. Last year the
split was 45-44%.
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At yesterday’s Senate Appropriations Com-
mittee budget hearing, Democratic Appro-
priations Chair Vincent Hughes (D-W.
Phila.) questioned Pennsylvania Dept. of
Education Secretary Ronald Tomalis about
the potential impact of Gov. Tom Corbett’s
$400 million in proposed education budget
cuts.
“There is no doubt Corbett’s school-funding
plan will force even greater hardships on
many Pennsylvania school districts, parents
and students,” Hughes said. “This plan
would force more local tax increases, pro-
gram cuts and spikes in class sizes.
“In addition, the Governor and Education
Dept. officials continue to be evasive about
the total dollars that are being cut and how
the budget cuts impact financially strapped
districts that are now struggling to pay their
bills and stave off insolvency.”
The Senator was specifically concerned by
Secretary Tomalis’ admission the depart-
ment is unsure about the number of fiscally
distressed schools in Pennsylvania.
“I am deeply concerned that the Dept. of
Education does not know how many
schools are near the edge of the fiscal cliff,”
Hughes said. “How can we save these
schools if we cannot even identify the
school districts? The Corbett Administration
needs to be aggressive and try and prevent
school district insolvency.”
Secretary Tomalis stated the department
does not know how many schools are fis-
cally distressed because the schools don’t
tell them.
Hughes also questioned the Secretary about
so-called ‘pay-to-play,’ where parents are
now having to pay for their children to par-
ticipate in school sports and other extracur-
ricular activities.
“For parents struggling to make ends meet,
paying for their children to play sports or
participate in other extracurricular activities
is a serious burden,” Hughes said. “With
studies showing these activities help pre-
vent these kids from dropping out or getting
into trouble, it is important we continue to
provide them with little cost to parents.
“If we can keep students interested in sports
or other extra-curricular activities, we save
taxpayers’ dollars in the long run.”
Hughes also questioned cuts to the Pennsyl-
vania Higher Education Assistance Agency
at a time when students need assistance due
to higher-education funding cuts and tuition
hikes.
“It makes no sense to cut PHEAA’s budget
right now when higher education cuts will
force tuition hikes and put a college degree
out of reach for many promising students,”
Hughes said. “Students and parents are si-
multaneously being whipsawed by tuition
increases and aid decreases. We must ex-
plore these options, not jam our kids and
their parents with disastrous cuts that result
in tuition increases.”
Hughes: Better NumbersOn Schools Are Needed
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Guv Forms eHealthAdvisory CommitteeGov. Tom Corbett announced the
formal creation of the Pennsylva-
nia eHealth Collaborative Advi-
sory Committee.
“This committee will support the
Pennsylvania eHealth Collabora-
tive’s efforts to advance health in-
formation exchange with the goal
of improving patient health and
safety,” Corbett said.
Corbett issued an executive order
last July creating the collaborative.
Pennsylvania was awarded $17
million under the American Rein-
vestment & Recovery Act to help
advance health information ex-
change. The act also provides in-
centives to doctors and hospitals to
adopt electronic health records.
The committee consists of the
state health information-technol-
ogy coordinator and appointees
who represent the interests of a
broad spectrum of the health-care
stakeholder community.
“We would like to acknowledge
many of the advisory-committee
members who have been active
participants in the collaborative
planning process. We look forward
to working with the committee to
improve health care in Pennsylva-
nia,” said George White, the
State’s chief information officer.
Health-information exchanges
allow health-care providers such
as hospitals, clinics and physicians
to securely share patient informa-
tion from multiple sources, includ-
ing other hospital systems, labs
and pharmacies. By protecting pa-
tient information and providing
fast, comprehensive access to data,
health-information exchanges can
improve patient safety, reduce re-
dundant tests and procedures, and
improve public health monitoring.
Among the individuals appointed
to the advisory committee is
Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Don-
ald Schwarz, MD, MPH.
K. Boyle Says He’sPassed The $200K Mark
The reelection campaign of State Rep.
Kevin Boyle (D-Northeast) has officially
announced it has already raised over
$200,000 for this campaign. The cam-
paign is on track to meet its $500,000
goal for the 2012 campaign.
Strong fundraising is not new for Boyle.
In 2010, he raised over $400,000 in his
successful race against former House
Speaker John Perzel. “Kevin is a great
fundraiser and his impressive numbers
show that,” said Ethan Smith, who is Ex-
ecutive Director of the House Democratic
Campaign Committee.
In addition to what candidates raise for
their own races, HDCC spends its re-
sources in its targeted races, which are
typically in competitive districts. “In
2010, the HDCC raised $7 million dollars
to help our members and we expect to hit
that number again this year,” said HDCC
Chairman State Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-
Northeast), Kevin’s brother.
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St. Louis Charges Cohen‘Intimidates’ Voters
The races for state legislature in
Pennsylvania are heating up now,
especially in House Dist. 202.
Running in this district is the in-
cumbent, Mark Cohen (D-N.
Phila.), a Democrat who has been
in office for nearly 40 years. His
opponent is Numa St. Louis, a
committeeman and educator from
the 61st ward. St. Louis collected
more than three times the amount
of petition signatures required to
obtain candidacy.
The week following the petition
phase is usually used by candi-
dates to challenge signatures.
However, charges St. Louis,
Cohen is using this period to im-
pose “intimidation tactics” on St.
Louis’ supporters in the district.
St. Louis has been contacted by
several voters who reported they
received unsolicited contact from
Mark Cohen. “This is ironic, con-
sidering that during the petition
phase, many voters which Numa
and his volunteers approached did
not know who State Rep. Mark
Cohen was,” said St. Louis.
“These reports come right on the
heels of evidence that Mark Cohen
has misappropriated public funds
and tax payer dollars for personal
use, and is one of the state’s most-
frequent collectors of per diems,”
continued St. Louis.
Cohen, who is a prolific Facebook
communicator, has bashed St.
Louis for being “fraudulent” and
exercising poor judgment in the
selection of his own Facebook
friends.
City Councilman Jim Kenney
hosted a group of approximately
100 local senior citizens and 6th-
7th-8th-grade students from the
Daroff Charter School, 56th & Vine
Streets, at a screening of Red Tails,a film about the Tuskegee Airmen
– an all-African American World
War II fighter-pilot squadron – this
morning at the Rave Motion Pic-
ture University City.
Following the screening, box
lunches were served and the Coun-
cilman will join two retired
Tuskegee airmen – Henry Moore
and Bertan Levy – for a brief dis-
cussion and Q & A on stage. The
students will be presented with
“Red Tail Tuskegee Airman”
patches.
The senior citizens came from the
Haddington Multi-Service Center,
located at 5331 Haverford Avenue.
Kenney Takes KidsTo Movies Today
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