1. law, govt and politics
2. government

The
Independent
Voice
Like Us on Facebook.
Germantown Newspapers
“Your guide to responsible
reform government, with no
political oversight”
February 19, 2015 • Volume 6, Number 18 • germantownnewspapers.com • gtavenue.blogspot.com • Philadelphia, PA 19119
Racist Philadelphia union defied president of the United States during WW 2. How the TWU called a wildcat strike after winning
labor vote in order to disenfranchise black employees. The most popular issue of our newspaper carried this story front page.
It is repeated here in honor of Black History month. The details on this very much underreported historical tragedy ...page 5
Redevelopment Authority, Non-Compliant CDCs, and L&I Create Demolition by Neglect
Property on Collum Street, adjacent to the Wister SEPTA Station, has been left to decay for
many years. This is another example of how L&I refuses to deal with neglected Germantown
properties. The code violations here for an unused property are significant. The city sghould
seal and secure these properties immediately.
Property at Wakefield and Garfield is owned by Dwight Evans CDC OARC. License & Inspections has refused to respond. The sidewalks are impassable and open. Unfenced lot offers significant hazards. City needs to take action now.
City owes millions in reparations for Germantown neglect... page 7
YWCA story printed here after mainstream media whitewash...page 4
Page 2
February 19, 2015
The Independent Voice
ou ma
may
Partners
You
Y
ou
y be eligible ffor
or Health P
artners
Es
s tial, comprehensive
sen
comprehensive health
h ccoverage
overage
Essential,
mad
de a
vailable thr
ough P
ennsylvania’s ne
w
made
available
through
Pennsylvania’s
new
from
PA
program.
It’s
available
Hea
althy P
A pr
ogram. It
’s a
vailable
le from
Healthy
Hea
alth P
artners Plans, the ccompany
ompany tha
Health
Partners
thatt
off
e s Pennsylvania’s
er
Pennsylvania’s #1 Medicaid
d plan.
offers
A new option
for adults without
health insurance
from PA’s #1
Medicaid plan.
Hea
alth P
artners Es
sential off
ers comprehensive
comprehensive
Health
Partners
Essential
offers
hea
alth coverage
coverage with no monthly
monthly
y pr
emium,
health
premium,
a br
road ne
twork of ph
ysicians, 2
4/7 member
broad
network
physicians,
24/7
extra benefits lik
Weight W
like
Watchers®
serv
vice, plus extra
e Weight
atchers®
service,
and
d Fitness
Fitness C
enter member
shipss!
Center
memberships!
L
ea
arn more
more by
by calling 1-855-215-7077
1-855-215--7077 (TT
Y7
11)
Learn
(TTY
711)
or visit
vi it H
HealthP
lthPartner
t sPlans.
Pl
com
m.
HealthPartnersPlans.com.
The Independent Voice
February 19, 2015
Page 3 a
65 years ago and the path to prosperity and debt
A November 1949 perspective
on the then growing safety net
concept of government in this
country is worth some reflection. Playing devil's advocate
from both sides, I would like to
point out that my personal perspective is that we definitely
owe it to ourselves to learn from
history. That concept has no
place in the current administration, most of congress, and in
most institutions of so called
“higher learning” today.
But for the record:
The most important New Deal
accomplishment by a long margin was stabilizing the dollar
and making it the world's only
recognized medium of exchange, and the postwar Bretton
Woods agreement was an integral part of that thinking.
One of the “tricks” they used to
get there was the fraud known
as Social Security; something
we pirated from Bismarck's
German version from the early
part of the century. Although
we confiscated the earnings of
salaried workers beginning in
1935, the actuarial tables for
distribution made sure few
workers received any payments
while they were still alive. By
setting 65 as the date for so
called retirement, when most
men were dead before 60, guaranteed they would not pay out
any real money. What it was in
essence was a widow's pension
plan as many women lived just
long enough to inherit some of
what their husband had earned
for a short time. Although all
salaried
workers were assessed from 1935 forward, the
first person to get a payment,
was a woman in 1941. The real
reason they wanted to confiscate the money was to buy gold
for the treasury and support the
dollar. It turned out to be a wise
decision in the long run, but it
was a scam.
Faced with 12 million men returning from war all at once in
late 1946 and wanting jobs,
Truman and his folks were not
about to make the mistakes of
utopian Wilson and his failures
that created an instant
1919/1920 Depression and gave
the Republicans full control of
Washington and most state
houses for the next 9 years. The
Marshall Plan for the losers of
WWII was much more farsighted than Versailles and the
reparations that strangled what
was left of Germany and others.
The G. I. Bill was created as
much to keep men away from a
labor market not ready to consume them as it was to educate
them. A major culture change
began with women in the workplace wanting to keep their jobs
and not just give them up because a man wanted it. Massive
labor problems were on the
horizon as Democrat Truman
had to make some major decisions between fighting the Republicans or his own big labor
bosses. He close the bosses and
put down many of them in decisions that were in the best interest of most of the nation, but
made him more unpopular with
his own party than any elected
Democrat in history; particularly when he enforced desegregation of the military a year
before the referenced poem was
written. The Republican congress in those first few years
after the war assisted him in
those efforts.
We should not forget that the
quiet revolution of those days
was how the Democratic party
had to remove itself from the
ultra-left wing radicalism of
V.P. Henry Wallace; who actually thought that he and Joe
Stalin would rule the world
after Roosevelt's death. Wallace believed in a world government that would replace the
United States as a soverign nation after the war and that scary
philosophy is why the DNC
forced a dying Roosevelt to re-
place him with Truman in the
run up to the fourth term, war or
no war. In those days even Democrats did see massive national debt as undesirable and
wanted to return to a competitive economy with stable prices;
which most of them believed
was a also a pathway to continued votes. In other words, a robust national economy seasoned
with close to full employment
and not too radical social programs was the goal, but only
second to one overriding principle - reducing the national debt.
These Democrats and Republicans alike knew from the experience of the Weimar Republic,
and other national economic fiascos of the recent past, that
phony unsupported paper
money was soon replaced by a
“mineral based currency” brass bullets.
Our national debt as a percentage of GDP reached an all-time
high of 130% of GDP in 1946
paying for the war. In point of
fact, and under mostly Democratic administrations and congressional majorities, we paid
down the national debt to 30%
of GDP by 1955. While we
waste our time today listening
to trivia on the national news,
allowing ourselves to be duped
by an administration worse than
Wilson's, and a second “Do
Nothing Congress” that allowed
debt to GDP to rise to about
125%, and the latest budget will
take it even higher if the administration gets its way.
Madness - sheer Madness!!! A
so called peacetime debt that is
nothing more than kicking the
can down the road and lying to
the public that we have a sound
fiscal policy. For those who
will tell you that it is nothing to
worry about because we now
see internal social demands just
as important as the war was in
the 1940s, I offer this: The vast
majority of that debt of 130% in
1946 was owed to ourselves
through war bonds, U. S. Banks
and internal borrowings in an
economy with a stable goldbacked currency. Today that
money is owed to our enemies,
economic and otherwise, and
the currency is backed by promises.
Jim Foster, Editor
Germantown Newspapers
Page 4
February 19, 2015
The Independent Voice
The Short, Factual Story of the Germantown YWCA
The series of superficial one-perspective accounts of
the city’s pending arrangement for a development project at the former YWCA facility on Germantown Avenue near Rittenhouse Street needs to be retold with a
large dose of factual background in order to balance
what can only be described as repetitive low information narratives.
Sidestepping for the moment why this Germantown
icon went from a Chapter 11 reorganization to a forced
sale of its grand facility, the public should know that it
was quite visibly marketed with brokers in 2006 and
there were offers from developers to purchase it and
convert it to apartments/condos, keeping the functioning swimming pool and fitness facilities intact. Although offered with a $1 million asking price there
were bids in $700,00-$750,000 range and it was generally considered that was “all the money” it was worth
at that place and time when considering the cost of a
repurposed conversion.
Enter the City of Philadelphia who raised the ante
substantially by agreeing to not only pay the asking
price, but to fund it entirely with city money holding
the mortgage and then giving it to a failed Germantown
real estate monopoly known as Germantown Settlement. At that moment Germantown Settlement’s entities had just short of $10 million in judgments against
it on city dockets and no access to financing whatsoever.
With private ownership now trumped by the city’s
action, when they went to the property settlement table
the city actually paid $1.3 million for this property; an
amount that to informed sources was double what it
was actually worth. So the larger question is why?
Well, you see it was the very last in a long series of
inside deals with the 27 corporation monopoly known
as Germantown Settlement, an entity that virtually controlled Germantown intertwined with political influence and public funding that went all the way to the
leadership of the City, State, Federal government, and
the Democratic Party. Why else would an entity with
$10 million in court judgments and many more cases
in the legal system pending against it be the benefit of
such a sweetheart deal? Actually it was the last of
many.
As reported in the press at the time, it was Mayor
Street, Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller and RDA
Chief Herb Wetzel (today serving as Real Estate advisor to City Council) who walked through the building
and in a day or so they committed to the virtual blank
check funding stream. We learned shortly thereafter
that it was part of a larger deal where millions more in
state grant money was to be the second half of this rescue package; a package many characterized at the time
as a massive amount of good money after bad. A great
area landmark was the pawn in the process. A public
document at the time stated that the city held the title
in escrow pending the nearly $3 million in state funds
for the conversion to a Germantown Settlement consolidated headquarters.
$500,000 of that money did get dispersed as it was
hidden in the last sentence of a funding request from
the State Senator’s office that on the surface looked like
$1 million for the Morris Arboretum. A closer reading
sent half of that to Germantown Settlement with a
YWCA reference. However, the other $2+ million that
was applied for through State Rep John Meyers, was
approved by Dwight Evans as Appropriations Chair,
and although it was on the list of final approvals for
that year, never quite made it to signature on the Governor’s desk. You see, the application misrepresented
HARMONY
Whether you’ve reviving a long-forgotten artistic outlet, continuing
a life-long pursuit, or experimenting with a form of self-expression
you’ve always been keen to try, Cathedral Village is the ideal place
to do it. Here you will find a diverse, thriving artistic environment
that values what the arts mean both individually and collectively.
That’s especially true of music. The Cathedral Village musical
tradition stretches back decades and today finds expression in
a diverse suite of programs including on-site performances,
guest performances, educational programs, and organized
outings to The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera, and Ballet.
Call 215-984-8621 for more information or to schedule a tour.
600 East Cathedral Road
Philadelphia, PA 19128
215- 4 87-1300 | www.cathedralvillage.com
A premier continuing care
retirement community
the location of the building as being in John Myers district - - and it wasn’t. Knowledgeable folks claim that
Governor Ed Rendell, already aware of the troubled
past of Germantown Settlement and its massive legal
problems, wanted no part of it, particularly with more
twists and turns so visible in a manipulated application
process.
Since it was documented that the title was not to pass
to Settlement without the state money surfacing, and
not even the first payment was made on the mortgage,
the city became the instant and only owner of real estate it bought for twice its value. But since the city
flatly refused to put the property back on the market,
recoup at least some of the wasted money and give the
building a chance at development, the exact opposite
happened - - Demolition by Neglect - - and the party
that was 100% responsible for it was the City of
Philadelphia.
Never secured as an empty building should be, and
very easily broken into with multiple ground floor windows, it almost instantly had all manner of unpaid tenants and it was no secret that illegal activity of many
types was taking place with lots of visibility in his very
public setting next to Germantown’s well known Vernon Park. Elected officials and L & I did nothing despite complaints until two newspaper articles forced
several days’ worth of catch up work, but even that was
not the kind of securing the Code requires for a facility
that is not in use.
It was broken into again and the same process repeated itself over the 9 years where the city did absolutely nothing to stop the bleeding of this grand old
icon in Germantown. Finally set on fire in the upper
floors on the very same day that Germantown SettleContinued on next page
The Independent Voice
February 19, 2015
Page 5 a
Racism Brings Federal Troops During World War II
August 1, 1944 was certainly among
the darkest days in the history of the city
that claims it is “The City of Brotherly
Love”. For that day, less than two months
after D-Day in World War II, the white
union members of this city public transportation system went on a wildcat strike
that at 4:00 p.m that shut down the entire
transit system during the afternoon rush
hour at a time when national gas rationing
put almost everyone on public transit. The
reason – the Philadelphia Transportation
Company (PTC) had trained 8 black employees to run streetcars in Germantown.
At that time 48 trolley lines, 35 bus
routes, the Broad Street Subway and the
Frankford Elevated ground to halt as
union members called in sick and blocked
the exits from the carbarns. It took until
August 7th to get the system back in operation and that was only accomplished
on the orders of the President and 5000
army troops with bullets and bayonets enforcing an injunction under the SmithConnally Act that put Army General
Philip Hayes in charge of the company in
what was in effect a federal takeover. Although the takeover took place on August
3rd, the union refused to back down and
in a federal hearing at the Fair Employment Practices Commission, union members delivered a petition that read:
“Gentlemen, we the white employees of
the Philadelphia Transportation Co refuse
to work with Negroes as motormen, conductors, operators or station trainmen.” At
that time the PTC had 11,000 employees,
only 537 of which were black.
Newly elected TWU union chiefs
claimed they wanted black employees,
who were restricted to car cleaning and
track work, to be given access to operating jobs but could do nothing to stop the
defiance despite wining the power to represent the employees in an overwhelming
vote only months before with a new contract pending. The fact that the Federal
Government had mandated the company
to begin training black operators as early
as 1941 was forcing the company’s hand.
Labor shortages for critical jobs such as
public transit gave some men draft deferments and the company advertised for
women operators and began hiring them,
but no black men already company employees were openly recruited until 8
were quietly being trained on the trolleys
at the Germantown Depot (Gtn Ave and
Westview St) if for no other reason than
compliance to the federal mandates. Reliable sources claim that the Germantown
Depot was chosen as management realized that Germantown at that time was the
most quietly integrated of all Philadelphia
neighborhoods and their intention was to
put the men on Route 52 that wound its
way through Germantown and East Falls
with Chelten Ave being its primary thoroughfare. The company was conscious of
not only backlash from the union, but the
citizens who would be riding the cars. If
they were going to start anywhere, Ger-
mantown was the chosen location. The
men were trained on the cars within the
storage depot and the date for the first
empty car to make a trial run on the street
was August 1, the day the strike began.
“Gentlemen, we the white employees
of the Philadelphia Transportation Co
refuse to work with Negroes as motormen, conductors, operators or station
trainmen.”
Fearing race riots the Mayor Samuels
closed all alcohol-selling establishments
and the Governor did the same with
liquor stores. All available police were
posted at major intersections for crowd
control. Presidential intervention came on
August 3rd with troops being used to
force operators back to work, ride the trolleys in combat uniform with arms, and if
necessary operate the vehicles themselves
to restore service. Fines of up to $5000
and prison were levied against operators
who refused to return to work along with
the loss of draft deferments. Several
union leaders were arrested under federal
warrants but expressed no regret for their
actions. The strike ended on August 7,
1944 with 24 strikers dropped from the
PTC employment rolls and six immediately drafted into the Army.
Despite the high-tension situation the
city remained largely calm. Police presence and the troops at major intersections
sent a message and some troops were stationed a key locations in black neighborhoods to prevent backlash where white
operators would “run by” the stop where
black riders were waiting. Coulter Street
in Germantown between Wayne and Wissahickon was one such location on Route
52 we are told. In addition, reportedly a
jeep with a mounted machine gun was
station at the Germantown Depot for the
entire period.
All Philadelphia newspapers editorialized against the strike as did most national
news organization but some blamed the
CIO-affiliated TWU for causing it, and
August 1, 1944, was certainly among the darkest days in the history of the
city that claims it is “The City of Brotherly Love.” For that day, less than two
months after D-Day in World War II, the white union members of Philadelphia’s
public transportation system went on a wildcat strike over the promotion of
eight black employees to ‘Motorman.’ The eight men are shown at the Germantown depot with their Chelten Avenue trolley.
claimed that the administration acted too
slowly in resolving it. An opinion poll of
Philadelphians showed that only a slim
margin felt that blacks should be operating employees. 7 of the 8 became the first
black motormen and by December of that
year there were 18. Within a year the PTC
had 900 black employees in various positions Legal action at the federal level
saw nearly 35 indictments and a Grand
Jury was convened, but returned inconclusive findings. The government
dropped its charges in March 1945, with
defendants paying fines of $100 each.
Philadelphia was considered at the time
the second largest producer of war material in the nation, and the War Manpower
Commission said the strike cost the nation the equivalent of 267 B-17 Flying
Fortresses or five destroyers. A leader of
the Commission was quoted as stating
that his strike was “the most expensive
racial dispute of World War II”
Jim Foster
Editor
The Short, Factual Story of the Germantown YWCA
Continued from previous page
ment filed bankruptcy, and even that did
not ever get the building properly secured. What we did learn from a postfire inspection then was that the fire
potential was likely to happen again and
even more easily, according to inspectors on the job at the time. No matter, it
was never dealt with and stands in the
same volatile condition to this day.
City officials from the Law Department on down were contacted to get explanations as to why the city and the
RDA became as negligent as any reckless speculator one could imagine, but
no reply summed it up more concisely
than the answer I received from then
RDA Executive Director Terry Gillen
when questioned as to why it was not remarketed in 2007 when the initial deal
fell through - - “Donna said not to” referring to then Councilwoman Donna
Reed Miller. Pushing the issue further I
inquired why the leadership of the RDA
did not have the primary responsibility
to the public and the taxpayers, there
was amplification from Ms. Gillen:
“Donna is saving the YW and Town Hall
for someone she wants to give it to.”
Clear enough? For the record, no third
party, only the City of Philadelphia, is
responsible for the tragic loss of $1.8
million in city and state funds on a project that had no business being even
started with taxpayer dollars. This city
owes Germantown massive reparations
for dealings of this type that were so
common over the years, that no one even
blinked an eye trying to do it one more
time to help cover the tracks of prior col-
lusion of the same type.
This recent back channel deal is nothing more than an attempt by the RDA to
walk away from responsibility using the
time-tested tactic that the public easily
forgets and can be romanced by almost
anything they send its way if you wait
long enough.
The city should be taken to court and
make legally liable to spend whatever it
takes to restore that facility back to the
condition it was when the YWCA turned
the key over to the real estate brokers
who marketed it in good faith.
After that, we can address many more
sins of the past and force the city’s hand.
Jim Foster
Editor, Germantown Newspapers
The Independent Voice
Page 6
February 19, 2015
The Independent Voice
Opinions & Commentary
An Open Letter to Councilwoman Bass
Regarding the Germantown YWCA
Les Taha is a freelance cartoonist, writer, and former columnist for the
Tacoma Tribune. He is the author of the controversial book, “The Architects of Rap”, and has appeared on many local and nationally syndicated
radio and television talk shows. His highly acclaimed cartoon panel “Off
My Meds” is currently running in numerous community and college newspapers throughout the U.S. He currently resides in Minneapolis, MN with
his wife and two pugs. He can be contacted at: lestaha@gmail.com
Germantown Newspapers, Inc.
6661 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19119
Office: 215-438-4000
fax: 215-754-4245
www.germantownnewspapers.com
gtavenue.blogspot.com
Jim Foster
publisher@germantownnewspapers.com ................................................Publisher
Scott Alloway
production@germantownnewspapers.com ...........Associate Editor, Production
Les Taha
lestaha@gmail.com ......................................................................................Cartoonist
David White
White’s Wine Columnist
Nick Thomas
Tinseltown Talks Columnist
Sabina Clarke
Contributor
Brett Mandel
Contributor
Sales and Office Staff
Paula Moore
paulamoore925@gmail.com.....................................................Sales Representative
Meredith Sonderskov
msonderskov@germantownnewspapers.com .....................Sales Representative
Francine Ferrell
classifieds@germantownnewspapers.com.......................................Administrator
The Independent Voice, incorporating the Northwest Independent and the
Germantown Chronicle, is owned and operated by Germantown Newspapers, Inc., and has offices at 6661 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
19119. The Independent Voice has a press run of 30,000 copies and is circulated door-to-door throughout Northwest Philadelphia and at selected sites
through Philadelphia. The publisher reserves the right to refuse any advertising. All content ©2014 Germantown Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved.
Councilwoman Cindy Bass
City Hall Room 594
Philadelphia, Pa. 19107
Dear Councilwoman Bass:
In 1988 I purchased a building at 5807 Germantown Avenue” At the time the original storefront had
been divided into two storefronts. One was occupied
by a bookie and the other side was empty. The upper
floors, which had originally housed the family who
operated the store, were vacant. I have now owned
the building for 27 years. There are four residential
units and one storefront. The facade was reconstructed to replica the original. All of the residential[
units are occupied by unsubsidized tenants. The storefront is a flower store that has been a tenant for nine
years.
During the course of my ownership the building
next to mine at 5809 Germantown Avenue collapsed.
The City demolished the building at the City's expense. I had attempted to purchase the building and
renovate it many times but the owners were uncooperative. When the building collapsed in 2003 I went
to Donna Miller and told her that I wanted to PURCHASE the then vacant lot to use as off street parking
for my tenants. While in a meeting in her office she
phoned the then State Representative John Myers and
asked him if she should “let” me have the property.
He said “NO”. She told me to take it to sheriff's 's
Sale. Sometime after that I visited the Demolition
Dept. and found that the cost of demolition to the City
had been about $40,000. The City should have placed
a lien against the property to recoup the cost of demolition BUT IT NEVER DID. I also visited the legal
department and discovered through an unwitting
young man that the taxes on the property were up to
date and had been paid through the Councilwoman’s
office,
So it was impossible to bring the property to Sheriff's Sale because there were no liens against it for
taxes or demolition. Some time later the property was
GIVEN to the church at 5911 Germantown Avenue.
Now both the lot and the Church property are off the
tax roles and do not contribute to the property tax base
of the City. And I do not have off street parking for
my tenants which directly effects the rents I can get
for my apartments at 5807 Germantown.
In spite of all this, I have hung in and still own and
operate the building. I have done this by continuing
to improve what I offer potential renters in terms of
the quality of the units and the responsiveness of my
maintenance staff.
So how does this relate to the YWCA at 5820-22
Germantown Avenue? I feel certain that there is potential for development of the Y for residential units
that are market rate.
If the Y were to be developed according to the Ken
Weinstein proposal with subsidized Senior Housing
Units it would only add to the overwhelming amount
of subsidized units in Germantown. We do not need
more subsidized units in our neighborhood. We need
a balanced neighborhood both in terms of income and
ownership. If the Y were developed as large, loft style
apartments and the Federal Historic Tax Credit were
used, the apartments could be sold after five years as
condominiums. They would then be occupied by
owners who would have a vested interest in our community. The Y building overlooks Vernon Park, a
beautifulgreen space. I understand that there is off
street parking which greatly increases the marketability of apartments.
I hope that you will carefully consider my input in
this matter. I have direct experience in renovating and
operating an historic building in almost the same location of the Y. If you would like to contact me I will
be happy to discuss this matter in more depth with
you. I can be contacted at 214-432-8765.
Connie Winters
Owner of Historic Germantown Properties
Philadelphia, Pa. 19144
What Would Louis Brandeis Do?
Louis Brandeis is my hero. He was a distinguished
Supreme Court Justice from 1916 to 1939. Many people know his words, “Sunlight, it is said, is the best of
disinfectants;” for political corruption. Brandeis
spelled out the issue that is the heart of my own philosophy and the core belief of many in our city. Individuals are at a disadvantage when negotiating with
banks, corporations and governments. That disadvantage is worth fighting against. Transparency is one
weapon in the fight. Another is careful attention to the
rules, especially rules that concentrate power in fewer
hands.
What would Brandeis do if his local political party
had rules concentrating power, rather than empowering individual voters? Political party organizations are
institutions, just like the big industrial giants Brandeis
fought against. Brandeis would understand how the
Philadelphia Democratic and Republican City Committee rules siphon power away from the committeepeople and the voters who elect them.
Changes to the Democratic Party Rules of Philadelphia made last March are one step forward, two steps
back for Brandeis progressives. The good news is that
ward committees can no longer kick out elected committeepeople based on behavior preceding their election. In other words, it is not as easy as it used to be
for a ward committee to overrule the will of the voters.
The bad news is that in special elections for State
Representative the new rules allow ward leaders from
outside the district to nix the choice of the ward leaders
inside the district. So, for example, in the upcoming
Special Election for the 170th Legislative District in
Northeast Philadelphia, ward leaders from South,
North, West, Southwest, Northwest and Center City
could have banded together to overrule the ward leaders chosen (if indirectly) by the voters of the 170th
Legislative District.
The truly ugly news is that this change in the rules
was done in a back room somewhere. Maybe the room
was not literally smoke-filled, but there was definitely
a smokescreen between the folks changing the rules
and the rank-and-file members of the Democratic
Party of Philadelphia. Elected committeepeople were
not notified of the change. The rules were not available
to the public at the Philadelphia Board of Elections
until October, more than half a year after they were
submitted.
Even if the Democratic Party is a private organization, these are not private rules. The rules of the Democratic City Committee affect all Philadelphians.
When they concentrate power in the hands of a small
group of people, not popularly elected, they subvert
democracy. Brandeis would have been appalled and
would want us to spread the word to call your local
ward leader and let them know not to let the Democratic Party of Pennsylvania approve these changes.
Stephanie Singer
Philadelphia
The Independent Voice
February 19, 2015
Page 7 a
Opinions & Commentary
Reparations for Germantown NOW
An extensive and well researched
history of Germantown written in
1907 made the following assessment
of the diverse self-supporting community founded in 1683 that was one
of the first in this nation:
“The settlement at Germantown
was the first permanent American
colony organized and established independent of governmental or commercial patronage and the freedom
of thought and practice fostered by
this untrammeled condition, combined with the exceptional freedom
of its settlers from the dominion of
established customs and ideals has
given it a history that in many respects is unique.”
The ring of those words from
“The History of Old Germantown”
are only amplified by the fact that it
was only a few years after its establishment when the German Quaker
founders wrote and read from their
Meetinghouse what was the first
Abolition of Slavery petition in the
Western World from the corner of
Wister Street and Germantown Avenue.
A free standing, self-established
combination of industry, commerce
and equality of opportunity characterized this community and it was
not until 1854 that it became a part
of the City of Philadelphia. What
that city did to it after 1975 is an
urban tragedy that continues to this
day.
The rich history of Germantown
would take pages to outline here, but
it was that recognized significance of
it as a separate city from Philadelphia
in 1831 that prompted the investors
and civil engineers to make it the
destination for the first passenger
carrying railroad with scheduled operations in the U.S. Frankly, there
was no more important community
to consider when they laid the first
tracks from 9th and Spring Garden to
Price Street and Germantown Avenue, right across from Vernon Park.
When that railroad was extended
to Chestnut Hill in 1854 it was then
that the city wanted it to be included
in its boundaries and with the help of
powerful folks who lived in and
commuted to center city by that time,
it was done. Bear in mind that by
that time we had streetcar service on
Germantown Avenue, although
horse drawn, but it was clear that
Northwest Philadelphia was a genuine destination and industry within
that area also prospered. Many area
residents worked in those industries
in what was clearly a self-contained
community, and Chelten Avenue became the second busiest commercial
district in the City, a position it held
until the late 1970s.
Although I was born in what was
then called East Germantown and
now lower Mt. Airy, and lived in the
Northwest for all but about 15 years
of my life, it was during those 15
years after 1976 that most of the
damage was done, and it was internally generated. Although I knew
some of the horror stories of racial
polarization, I was not quite sure
what had happened, but as I peeled
the onion after the mid-1990s and
began researching for my then editorials in area newspaper, a far more
disturbing account came to the surface. After starting a replacement for
the closed down Germantown
Courier, I later wrote extended narratives in issues of the Germantown
Chronicle and Northwest Independent.
The push-back was instant and aggressive to my charges of massive
political/developer manipulation
with the assistance of corruption at
every level and every city department. Replacing the corporate
owned and shut down local newspaper with our own local journal after
February 2009, I ratcheted up the intensity of our message that folks
should look very hard at what I
called their victimization, but few of
us are willing to admit to how we
have been duped by our own. My
challenge was not whether or not
Germantown had been raped and pillaged by its own government, but
how badly?
Orchestrated cover-ups by officials at the highest levels (Mayors,
Governors, State Officials, U.S.
Congressmen) followed major federal, state and city investigations in
how a mega-monopoly controlling
real estate and most social services
had misused and lost hundreds of
millions of private and public dollars
and left a blighted community with
little prospect for recovery behind.
Once the pattern of how Germantown Settlement could manipulate
almost anyone and anything, other
developers caught on and played in
the same municipal cesspool. The
process is not all that different today,
regardless of the hokum from the
Nutter administration that ethics in
government have replaced insider
dealing and pay-to-play.
In that process Germantown did
become a favored community with
City Council and other officials for
one thing - - and that was a section
of the city where any facility that was
not wanted anywhere else could be
situated in Germantown, and it could
be done back channel with no transparency. The assistance of city departments in sidestepping their
responsibility was the biggest help to
the poverty profiteers, who in concert with elected leadership, got
property for little or nothing from the
city after questionable takeover, disregarded zoning and building codes,
paid off L & I officials for permits,
and best of all (from their viewpoint)
received all manner of public dollars
to do it - - from the city, state, but
most of all the federal government,
even if dispersed through city strainers.
The end result of what began in the
late 1970s, and mushroomed geometrically during the 1980s and
1990s was that none of the so called
remedial projects did anything but
bring Germantown down and way
down if you were someone who
lived its past and now saw what happened so dramatically over a 20-25
year period. Frankly, it is still happening today.
Several very recent developments
regarding projects and proposals of
all sizes and dimensions have been
making it to the mainstream news
sources, although some of those reports fall way short of completeness
and accuracy. Spurred on by civic
minded and informed activists, some
of the illegal and usually ignored
businesses have been closed down
by their own landlords when social
media did advance work on L & I enforcement. As to L & I enforcement,
that itself is a living joke here and
elsewhere as current news reports tell
us in increasing detail of how this
agency has been purged of competent leadership and qualified enforcement types and all of it the result of
Mayor Nutter’s promise to “blow up
L & I” and in effect make it an almost completely administrative organization that takes orders for the
benefit of the powerful.
Which brings us to the Redevelopment Authority, A/K/A the landlord
from hell. No single agency did
more to move Germantown property
to questionable insider corporate
ownership with intent for it to decay
further than the RDA under the leadership of Herb Wetzel. (Now Advisor to City Council on all matters real
estate) A review of how many of
those properties were never developed according to the requirements
of the programs, and wound up in
private hands with city elected leaders on the boards, needs to go public
in detail. Many of the 27 Germantown Settlement corporations were
recipients of those properties, and no
accounting of the process and funding supposedly spent on them has
ever been done.
But it was not just L & I and the
RDA who did the bidding of the corrupt city state and federal officials,
but also when needed, the Police Department, PHA, OHCD, PGW,
agents of PECO, the Water Depart-
ment, and many private banks who
allowed massive delinquency for favored entities, and participated in development deals that they knew from
the outset were doomed to failure.
Reportedly they got some development fees or kickbacks in other ways
that allowed them to do shared deals
riddled with duplicity, where compliance and performance were never a
consideration.
Other more recent community action has been taken to the Office of
our City Councilperson, Cindy Bass.
A 100 bed women’s shelter in a very
prominent fishbowl location, that defies the very concept of protection
for battered women, was done very
much in the dark with end runs
around all standard Code requirements and much public money, but
no public transparency. A similar
deal is pending for lower Germantown on Wister Street where an individual with far too many conflicts of
interest is in line for a major grant of
city land (with variances), much public funding and it is clearly another
done in the dark until the 11th hour
deal that the near concerned neighbors do not want. Standing in Germantown this very day are some of
the worst urban scars of properties
with massive unsafe conditions and
long term violations of standing city
codes where L & I simply refuses to
even investigate or charge the owners. Would it surprise some of you to
know that the owners are OARC,
Dwight Evans own CDC, and folks
who have long term relationships
with city officials.
However, the most currently visible situation is another 11th hour disclosure of a deal between the largest
developer in the Northwest, Philly
Office Retail in partnership with
Mission First, to repurpose the longneglected YWCA facility on Germantown Avenue in central
Germantown. Inaccurate press reports notwithstanding, this property
has been in the city’s ownership
(RDA) since 2007 in another very
slimy deal that went awry after the
city paid double what it was worth
and then neglected it by intent. After
multiple break ins, vandalism, two
fires and a pattern of neglect that is
all documented, now there is proposal to give it away, lose every dime
of the $1.3 million the city paid for
it, and fund another insider with conflicts of interest for a project never
run before the public but designed
quietly by a recalcitrant and disingenuous RDA to sort of bury its participation in this duplicitous 9 year
fraud. A fraud that is clearly a page
right out of the worst years of Germantown Settlement. In point of
fact, the original deal itself was de-
signed to cover Germantown Settlement’s tracks.
Our City Councilperson, Cindy
Bass, has fought the project publically after a hastily called meeting
brought out 250 loud and concerned
citizens, few of whom were ready to
sign on to what was an all-to-familiar
sequence of events that as usual was
devoid of facts and history, and
played on a false presentation of
what the developers really had in
mind.
This may work out to be “High
Noon on Germantown Avenue” and
it is way overdue. In the view of this
writer, there is nothing even close to
open and competitive development
in Germantown and parts of Mt. Airy
and has not been for many, many
years. Some of the failed projects
from the past have been picked up
quietly by some very well known
folks, but so quietly no one knows
how it happened and how what was
illegal became legal overnight. Permits issued by L & I that never
should have passed the first smell
test are so common that it is joke
they even bother to apply for them.
(See recent demolition tragedy story)
That is exactly what took place in the
Chelten Plaza situation where an aggressive community sued the city,
won a court decision on false permits, only to have a corrupt mayor
and city council ram through a special “Spot Zoning” deal buried in the
firewood of falsification to make the
illegal legal overnight. More examples of this type of dealing on request.
One of the most deserving communities in the United States, Germantown is entitled to be a
destination on the map for everyone
who visits Philadelphia, but in point
of fact the Visitor’s Bureau actually
tells those who want to come here to
go somewhere else. Who raped and
pillaged a community with more
standing buildings from the 17th,
18th and 19th Century than any other
in the nation, but surrounded them
instead with blight and crime? - - that
would be the Philadelphia City Government, many of its State Representatives, and its two U.S.
Congressmen. In fact the Democratic Party of Philadelphia, with an
80+% voter registration deserves
recognition for the dismemberment
and the cover up they have been running for years.
Jim Foster
Editor
Germantown Newspapers
The Independent Voice
6661 Germantown Ave.
Philadelphia Pa 19119
Page 8
February 19, 2015
The Independent Voice
Property Pirating a Way of Life in Germantown
The practice has gone on for so
long and the value lost cannot be
determined, but what can be said
is that what the city leadership
and their developer cronies stole
from the citizens of Germantown
over the last 25 years took much
more than money, they took the
quality of life and, unless things
change quickly, the ability to participate in the choice of whether
it will ever come back.
Just in the last few months
there have been several controversial situations emerge where
properties have been worked behind the scenes by connected insider developers with the help of
officials in city agencies to divert, rezone, give away and fund,
with many millions in tax dollars,
property projects in Germantown
- - and those who live with the
outcomes and pay the taxes have
had little or nothing to say about
it.
It began a long time back when
Emanuel Freeman and Donna
Everyone in City Council has
known for years that if there is
some type of development you don’t
want in your district, there is always a place for it in Germantown,
and this does not count all the illegal ones that are operating in
19144 and 19138.
YOUR
AFFORDABLE
HANDYMAN
• Light Hauling
•Plumbing
• Painting
• Cleanouts
267-808 -4537
Reed Miller ran Germantown
and set the bar so low that properties were moved around like
those little houses on a Monopoly board and pretty soon the
message was clear. “You can get
anything you want done in Germantown” was the message and
everyone who wanted to do
some real estate business here
played ball. Running the whole
show from the top was RDA
Chief Herb Wetzel who transferred hundreds of properties to
various Germantown Settlement
corporations and sub-corporation
ownership, often for nothing or
$1 through various programs, but
follow up and compliance were
always optional and rarely ever
enforced. Some of these properties wind up changing hands
three or four times and some
wound up owned by the same officials who gave them away in
the first place, according to city
records, if you take the time to
follow them. Herb Wetzel today
is the “Real Estate advisor to City
Council.”
According to State of Pennsylvania records I checked a few
years back, almost 40% of all the
personal care boarding home
beds in the city of Philadelphia
are concentrated in two Germantown zip codes; another 30% in
three West Philly zip codes. So
70% are in 5 of the nearly 60 zip
codes. I call that saturation to the
max. Everyone in City Council
has known for years that if there
is some type of development you
don’t want in your district, there
is always a place for it in Germantown, and this does not count
all the illegal ones that are operating in 19144 and 19138.
City law requires that the city
funded neighborhood council
keep an accurate record of all vacant and abandoned properties in
the area, and we will try and find
out if that has been kept up to
date. Any bets? Even more important is how many properties in
the Germantown area are city
owned where no taxes are being
paid and no effort is being made
to turn them into tax paying entities.
Just this month we learn of a
large tract of undeveloped land
on Wister Street that has been
city owned since 1973 and not
once has any effort been made to
sell it and put it on the tax rolls.
Now a developer with clear conflicts of interest, holding mayor
appointed positions on two
boards, wants that property for
free and city money to bring to it
a development that the community does not want. Seems like
more of the same. That developer is Nora Lictasch; who is on
both PHDC board and the Land
Bank Board.
Another project was recently
completed through sleight of
hand outside of zoning and license codes for a project that put
a significant number of so-called
“at-risk” individuals in a public
fishbowl location where they
could not be any more at risk if
you tried to find one. That developer is Ken Weinstein who is
Chairman of The Philadelphia
Housing Development Corporation, an appointment of the
mayor. Mr Weinstein is also a
participant in another controversial project proposal involving
the former YWCA building and
the RDA. That issue is outlined
in a separate article.
Who makes up the taxes for all
those non-taxable real estate
deals that the city allows, and
Germantown is saturated with
them. Well, of course, you do,
but then you find that some of the
largest properties in your community are paying no taxes, but
should have been.
Well, the city just reassessed
the value of all Philadelphia
properties and at the same time
the city has on its balance sheet
more than half a billion in uncollected real estate taxes that some
believe will never be collected.
When are these kinds of tactics
going to stop? When will there
be transparency and advance notice widely circulated about any
project that involved city property and public money as the normal course of city business?
Maybe someone will ask one of
our mayor candidates that question before the May primary.
Jim Foster, Editor
Youngblood, Kinsey Honor
Northwest Raiders Football Team
Pop Warner National Super
Bowl Championship football
team winners from the Germantown area of Northwest
Philadelphia were honored on
the House floor recentlyin a ceremony orchestrated by state
Reps. Rosita C. Youngblood
and Stephen Kinsey, both DPhila.
The Northwest Raiders, winners of the 2014 national Pop
Warner title, defeated a team
from Connecticut in a game
held at Walt Disney World in
Orlando, Fla., and televised on
ESPN2. Their accomplishment
was acknowledged by H.R. 34,
jointly sponsored by Youngblood and Kinsey.
“It is a pleasure and honor to
recognize a group of young men
who, in the truest display of
dedication and teamwork, have
accomplished such a lofty
goal,” Youngblood said. “Their
success is proof that when you
set a goal and put your mind to
it, anything is possible. They
have put themselves – and their
community – on the national
stage in an impressively positive way.”
Kinsey said, “The old adage
goes, ‘It’s not whether you win
or lose, but how you play the
game.’ We can be proud of the
way the Northwest Raiders
played the game – and doubly
proud of the fact that they
emerged victorious. In so doing,
they've become role models for
countless other youths.”
Youngblood made particular
note of the strong educational
component of the Pop Warner
title, reiterating that the organization which operates in 42
states requires players to maintain academic standards in order
to take the field.
“These players aren't just athletically gifted; they've also had
to prove their intellectual mettle
in the classroom just to get the
chance to complete,” Youngblood said. “In the end, it is the
latter that will serve most of
them well, because a good education can’t be taken away by a
bad injury, like those that have
short-circuited many athletic
careers.”
The Independent Voice
March 6 & 8 • 2015
February 19, 2015
Page 9 a
Page 10
February 19, 2015
The Independent Voice
Kleberg Steals the Show in Jamie Wyeth Retrospective ….
by Sabina Clarke
A giant poster of Kleberg
Jamie Wyeth’s beloved yellow
Labrador retriever with a permanent black circle painted
around his eye welcomes visi-
tors to Jamie Wyeth .. A Retrospective which opened at
Brandywine Museum on January 19th and continues through
April 5th 2015.
Of all the Wyeth’s Jamie is
the most versatile, working in
many mediums on a vast canvas. There is the influence of
his father Andrew Wyeth in his
seascapes of coastal Maine and
Brandywine Valley and also the
imagination and wild abandon
of his grandfather, N.C. Wyeth
the legendary and prolific illustrator of classic tales such as
King Arthur and Robinson Crusoe.
Now the trajectory of his
amazing career—a third generation maverick in a celebrated
American dynasty --- is brilliantly on display at the
Brandywine River Museum-and it is a show you don’t want
to miss.
The actual painting, Kleberg,
oil on canvas, is included in the
exhibition and was painted by
Wyeth in 1984, “I was inspired
by the dog in the Our Gang
Continued on page 11
Intercultural Communication
CERTIFIED DOCUMENT TRANSLATION
INS Documents, Patents, Contracts, Academic Transcripts, etc
Spanish, German, French, Indonesian,
Portuguese, Russian, Haitian Creole ...
All Languages
24 Hour Fax 215-438-1958
Interpretation
Arbitrations, Workers Comp Hearings, Conventions, Business Meetings, etc.
SI Wireless Systems and Booths • Audience Response Service
Text Translation & Interpreting Services • 215-520-0031
Mailing Address: PO Box 12349, Philadelphia, PA 19119
Director@textransL8.com
The Independent Voice
February 19, 2015
Page 11 a
…. at Brandywine River Museum of Art in Chadds Ford
comedy and decided to try
painting a circle around Kleberg. He liked it and wore that
circle for the rest of his life.
People would say how amazing
his markings were.”
Also included is his pet pig
Den-Den who was rescued by
Wyeth from the butcher’s block
and became his model for Portrait of Pig, oil on canvas
painted in 1996, “Den-Den
originally belonged to a farmer
who I helped when his cattle
broke out. Later, when I was
painting in the barn, I heard this
snorting, it was Den-Den; she
had eaten 22 tubes of my paint.
She had all these rainbow droppings and the farmer decided to
take her to the butcher and I
said, ‘No, I can’t have that. I’ll
take her.’ By consuming and
surviving 22 tubes of my paint
she had endeared herself to me.
So I took her to our farm at
Point Lookout where she lived
a long and happy life.”
Jamie Wyeth committed himself to his art at age 11 convincing his parents to allow him to
be tutored at home and study
art in the afternoons with his
eccentric aunt Carolyn, “Carolyn made me draw spheres
and cubes for the first year
which I found boring but I
learned to love oil from watching her squeeze it out of tubes;
it looked so edible. She had a
complicated relationship with
her father (famed illustrator
N.C. Wyeth). They hated one
Continued on page 13
Page 12
February 19, 2015
The Independent Voice
Local Church Seeks Proposals to Fund Community Projects
The Community Needs Committee of the First United
Methodist Church of Germantown (FUMCOG) is again seeking to fund worthy local
community endeavors. All proposals are welcome.
Funds from special offerings
contributed by the congregation
at Easter will be divided among
the selected applicants.
The final amounts of the grants
will be determined by the amount
contributed by church members.
Grants usually are several hun-
dred to several thousand dollars.
Selection criteria in awarding
grants include the size of the population to be served, the nature of
the services provided, and expected benefits to the community.
Individuals or groups with projects that promote social justice or
community improvement, especially in the Northwest Philadelphia area, are encouraged to
apply.
Application forms can be obtained by calling the office of
First United Methodist Church of
Germantown at (215) 438-3677,
or downloading a form online at
WWW.FUMCOG.org
For consideration, completed
proposals must be returned to the
church office at 6001 Germantown Ave., no later than noon,
March 6, 2015.
A copy of the applicant’s 5013c certification should be included with the application.
Recipients will be notified of their
selection by March 22nd.
Is Your Company Listed in the
Business Services Section?
If the Answer is No, Then Call Paula or Francine
at 215-438-4000 and Make Your Answer YES.
The Independent Voice
February 19, 2015
Page 13 a
Kleberg Steals the Show in Chadds Ford
on canvas painted in 1975 and
Connemara Four, oil on panel
painted in 1991. The magnificent white horses in Connemara Four are astounding
while the luxuriant green hues
and mood of And Then Into the
Deep Gorge are vibrant and
mysterious.
At age 17, Wyeth painted
Portrait of Shorty, depicting a
local Chadds Ford character -–
achieving the effect of someone
far beyond his years with
echoes of Flemish realism. At
age 20, he was commissioned
by Jacqueline Kennedy to paint
a posthumous portrait of JFK.
When it was completed in
1967, the painting was controversial—but has since become
one of the best known and best
loved portraits of the former
president.
“Initially it was Bobby
Kennedy who objected to it
saying, ‘Do we really want to
perpetrate that side of Jack?’ He
thought it looked like Jack during the Bay of Pigs crisis. But
his widow said she saw that
look a lot in Jack and was astounded that I got that look.”
Was it difficult to capture that
expression of JFK since you
had never met him?
“Yes, particularly since I had
affect you?
“Well you can almost expect
that. I got my first commission
at 17 to paint the portrait of Dr.
Helen Taussig, a pioneering pediatric cardiologist. When her
portrait was unveiled at her retirement party her friends and
colleagues gasped. The painting’s confrontational pose was
not what they expected. They
wanted to destroy it on two occasions.
That whole controversy was
more about women and medicine. They wanted her to look
like Betty Crocker—looking
sweet and unimportant. And I
did this amazing and intense
woman with blue eyes that
would drill right through you.
That is exactly what I saw and
they didn’t want it; they were
horrified.
Now, the Head of John Hopkins has it hanging in her office
and said she looks at it for inspiration every morning. And
just recently when I had the
opening in Boston, a delegation
from John Hopkins came to
apologize. I told them that from
the age of 17, I have been carrying those scars.”
Prominent in the exhibition
are multiple drawings and
paintings of ballet dancer
PLUMBINGWORKS62@GMAIL.COM
Water Service
Licensed and insured
Over 30 years in business
Drain cleaning
Residential or commercial
Heating
Free Estimates
Curb Traps
Bathroom and kitchen remodeled
Any Jobs Big or Small
15% Discount for Seniors with This Ad
Rudolf Nureyev and pop artist
Andy Warhol. What was
Nureyev like?
“He was the closest person to
an animal that I ever worked
with and also one of the most
difficult. He told me that he
was more concerned about how
he was going to look in paintings and drawings than anybody I’ve ever worked with.
He is a dancer, so his life is his
visage--how he appears. He
was very controlling. I was
very intrigued with him. He
would come and stay with us
and it seemed like there was a
panther in the house. I didn’t
know if he was male, female,
dog or cat—it was absolutely
amazing! He was always on
stage because he was king.
Then after his death, I did these
series of paintings that I think
are more interesting. I had
drawn him so much that I could
practically draw him in my
sleep.”
What Was Warhol like? “He
was a great deal of fun, very
child-like, a fascinating person.
If he was around people he didn’t know, he wouldn’t say a
word---absolute silence. We
had a great time. We spent most
of our time going to toy stores.
He came to Chadds Ford a lot.
He said he liked it here because
the TV reception was better.
He’d just sit and watch TV.”
Story by
Sabina Clarke
Photo by
Katharine Gilbert
er
’s
The retrospective includes Wyeth’s earliest
childhood drawings and more than 100 paintings and two mixed media assemblages that the
artist calls “tableaux vivants”, miniature replicas of the Factory Dining Room with Andy
Warhol and friends and La Cote Basque
Kevin ingram
r egistered m aster P lumber
Office: 215-329-4993
Fax: 267-437-2223
never met him. I tried to establish the memory by looking at
hours of film and photographs
of him. It was hugely controversial at the time of the show
and now it is on the national
stamp of Ireland.”
How does negative criticism
Home Repair Service
i ll
John Singer Sargeant.” And
this statement now seems prescient. There are sentimental
and captivating portraits of his
wife Phyllis in pursuit of her
passion for carrageing that are
powerfully portrayed in And
Then into the Deep Gorge, oil
M
Continued from page 11
another and after he was dead
she ended up dressing in his
clothes.”
Wyeth calls painting “difficult” and describes himself as
“boring” and simply one who
records. His humility is real and
not often encountered in one so
gifted that it seems almost like
an aberration. So, it is difficult
to imagine that Jamie Wyeth
with his prodigious talent finds
the experience of his first major
retrospective a bit uncomfortable—but it is obviously true,
“I’m not being cute but I do
find it sort of uncomfortable. It
is like sitting in a room and
everyone is reading everything
you’ve written at the same
time—you kind of feel like a
jackass. Also, I kind of feel like
I’m dead or something -–you
know I’m still working my
head off. Young people tell me
that museums are full of a lot of
dead painters. So that’s why I
hope young people come to this
because I’m still walking
around.”
The retrospective includes
Wyeth’s earliest childhood
drawings and more than 100
paintings and two mixed media
assemblages that the artist calls
“tableaux vivants”, miniature
replicas of the Factory Dining
Room with Andy Warhol and
friends and La Cote Basque, a
famous New York restaurant
frequented by writer Truman
Capote and his friend Joanna
Carson and ballet impresario
Lincoln Kerstin and ballet
dancer Rudolf Nureyev—a
nostalgic nod to Wyeth’s time
spent in New York in the
1960’s and mid 1970’s .
When Jamie Wyeth was just
20 years old, the ballet impresario Lincoln Kerstin anointed
him “the best portrait painter in
America since the death of
& General Remodeling
Bathrooms and Kitchens from $3550+
Designs & Problem Solving by Engineer
30 years experience
Insured for Your
Protection
License #99113
(ask to see everyone’s)
Carpentry, Plumbing, Tile
Electrical, Masonry, Drywall
Decks, Shed, Window, Door
267-225-0050
Quality, Honest, Friendly Service
Real Estate Investing Financial Partner
Germantown Montessori School
Open Enrollment for Fall 2015
Accepting Applications Ages 1 to 6 NOW!
Subsidized and Private Pay Accepted
6767 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19119
215-849-4896• Fax: 215-849-5109
Germantownmontessori@yahoo.com
The Best Place Between Heaven and Earh
Page 14
February 19, 2015
The Independent Voice
Craft Beer Boom Benefits Wine Industry
by David White
About 50 million cases of beer
were purchased on Super Bowl
Sunday. It's no wonder AnheuserBusch, America's largest brewer,
purchased three and a half minutes of ad time during the big
game.
Two of the beer company's
commercials were widely
praised. Bud Light's spot made
virtually every viewer hope for an
epic evening in a life-sized PacMan maze. Budweiser's tale of a
lost puppy finding his way home
melted millions of hearts. But
Anheuser-Busch's third commercial, which mocked craft beer and
the people who enjoy it, left a bitter taste in the mouths of many
football fans.
“Proudly a macro beer, [Budweiser is] not brewed to be fussed
over,” the spot began. “It's
brewed for drinking. Not dissecting. The people who drink our
beer are people who like drinking
beer . . . Let them sip their pumpkin peach ale. We'll be brewing us
some golden suds.”
In this narrative, craft beer
drinkers are fussy hipsters who
dine on Brussels sprouts and
chicken liver mousse at cerebral,
trendy restaurants. Budweiser
fans, by contrast, are blueblooded men who drive trucks
and hang out at packed bars -and don't give much thought to
what they drink.
The motivation for this commercial, aimed at making Budweiser
synonymous
with
manliness? Fear. Americans have
been abandoning Budweiser for
more than 25 years. While the
company sold nearly 50 million
Business Services
Directory
barrels of its iconic beer in 1988,
it sold just 16 million in 2013.
Many Americans have moved to
light beer, but Budweiser is most
worried about the rise of craft
beer, especially among 20-somethings.
Among 21- to 27-year-old
drinkers, more than four in 10 say
they've never even tried Budweiser. In this demographic, craft
beer makes up 15 percent of beer
purchases, compared with 10 percent for older generations. This
trend is accelerating. That's great
news for craft brewers, obviously,
but it's also a positive development for small wine producers.
Consider a recent report from
the Beverage Information Group,
which looked at American drinking habits from 2001 to 2011. Researchers spotted two big
developments. Consumers are
abandoning juice and soft drinks
in favor of healthier alternatives
like bottled water. Plus, consumers are replacing mass-produced beer with craft beer, wine,
and small-batch spirits.
Sure, Budweiser's core drinkers
might never take an interest in
craft beer. And consumers who
purchase Barefoot Bubbly might
never care about authentic wine.
But fewer and fewer Americans
are willing drink without thinking, despite Budweiser's best efforts.
This shift seems obvious when
one looks at food. Every young
consumer is a “foodie” these days
-- and few foodies are interested
in mass-market dining options.
For those born between 1980 and
2000 -- the millennial generation
-- farm-to-table restaurants and
designer salad shops have replaced chain steakhouses and
fast-food burger joints.
Just as the clothing you wear
and the politicians you vote for
say something about who you
are, so does what you eat and
drink. No foodie wants to tell the
world about a new McDonald's.
But a hole-in-the-wall Thai
restaurant with authentic cuisine?
Absolutely. No drinks enthusiast
wants to tout the virtues of Budweiser or Cupcake Chardonnay.
But a local craft brewer? Or a
young, natural winemaker from
the Loire Valley? Of course.
Many wine producers haven't
yet benefitted from this trend, but
that's explained almost entirely
by economics. Consumers can
pick up a mixed six-pack of exciting craft beer for less than a
single bottle of fine wine. In the
not-too-distant future, America's
White’s
Wines
75 million millennials will hold
the vast majority of the nation's
wealth and be at the center of luxury goods sales. They'll drink
more critically than their parents,
replacing soulless, huge producers with craft brewers and small
wineries.
On Super Bowl Sunday, many
Seahawks fans stocked their refrigerators with offerings from
Washington's 201 craft breweries.
Many Patriots filled their ice
buckets with beers from Massachusetts' 57 breweries. Many
oenophiles skipped beer entirely,
instead opening a variety of
small-production wines. Americans are beginning to fuss over all
their booze. Like the Patriots' victory, that's worth celebrating.
David White is the founder and
editor of Terroirist.com, which
was named “Best Overall Wine
Blog” at the 2013 Wine Blog
Awards. His columns are housed
at Grape Collective.
Senior Storm Kits Available
ELECTRICIAN
SMALL AD
SMALL PRICES
WE DO IT ALL!
215-925-0606
SENIOR CITIzEN
DISCOUNTS
MARIO BROS.
LICENSED & INSURED #G00848
THE ELECTRICIANS, INC.
“WE DO IT ALL”
RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL
FAST EMERGENCY SERVICE
• Breakers
• Lighting
• 100 Amp
• Fuse Repair
• Ceiling Fans
• Outlets
• Dryer Lines
• Doorbell Repairs • Switches
We
Finance All
Credit!
call: 215-927-1100
B.B.B. • AARP • SENIOR • CHURCH • CITY & UNION DISCOUNTS
WE BEAT ALL ESTIMATES BY 10% • CALL US NOW!
LICENSED & INSURED PA#0A068325 • PHILA MASTER ELECTRICIAN LIC. #17027
Check Us Out Online at
WWW.AFFORDABLELECTRIC.COM
As Americans battle yet another blast of winter weather,
local caregivers are bracing their
seniors for the cold temperatures
and possibly life threatening
conditions with Senior Storm
Kits.
Visiting Angels, one of the
largest in-home senior care companies in the nation, is handing
out kits with specific items that
could come in handy if seniors
find themselves stranded during
a snow storm, or any other type
of inclement weather.
Older Americans can’t feel
cold weather shifts like younger
people, and they may suffer
from hypothermia without even
knowing they’re in danger. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, more
than half of all hypothermia-related deaths happen in people
over age 65.
“Many seniors we care for either live alone or they don’t have
family nearby to check on them
during
dangerous
winter
weather. We care for our seniors
like they’re family so we like to
go the extra mile to make sure
sure they are not only aware of
impending winter storms, but
they are also prepared,” says
Larry Meigs, CEO of Visiting
Angels. “We care for thousands
of older Americans and it’s important to have plans in place to
keep our seniors safe.”
“These Senior Storm Kits can
be used to prepare for a variety
of weather conditions, not just
snow storms,” says Meigs. “Re-
search shows nearly a third of
the senior population, age 65 and
older, lives alone. Whether seniors are in a direct path of a winter snow storm, it’s always good
to be prepared for any type of inclement weather. Our caregivers
do their best to battle inclement
weather to take care of our seniors in their homes but these
items are important for seniors to
have on hand in case they find
themselves without their typical
cold weather care.”
ing through heavy, wet snow
or snow drifts can strain a person's heart, according to the
American Heart Association.
For more information on Visiting Angels or to find a location
near you, please visit www.visitingangels.com.
PCHR Issues Public Call for Award Nominees
The Philadelphia Commission
on Human Relations is asking
the public to offer nominations of
individuals and organizations for
the 2015 PCHR Awards.
Taking place in the spring, the
awards events spotlights civic
leaders throughout the city that
help advance social equality and
justice – whether in the streets or
in the boardroom. Award categories include:
· Corporate responsibility
· Nonprofit stewardship
· Public safety
· Arts and culture
· Community service
Nominees should be people
who actively work to reduce discrimination and intergroup tensions while promoting tolerance
and respect among all people, regardless of differences in race,
religion, ability, ethnicity, sexual
orientation or gender identity. A
judging panel will select and notify the winners.
The deadline is March 6.
The 2015 PCHR Awards will
take place 6 p.m. Tuesday, April
28, at the Arts Ballroom, 1324
Locust St., Philadelphia.
For criteria, nomination applications and event details, visit
www.phila.gov/humanrelations/a
wards.
The Independent Voice
February 19, 2015
State Crossword: Be My Valentine
68. Egg-shaped
69. The Dow, e.g.
70. *Barbie’s beau
71. Sherpa’s land
72. Subsequently or soon afterwards
73. *I love ___
74. Anoint
ACROSS
1. Range rovers
6. Effervescence
9. “Hamlet” has five of these
13. Heads-up
14. Hula necklace
15. Accustom
16. Relating to moon
17. Big coffee holder
18. Three-masted vessel formerly used
in Mediterranean
19. *A top Valentine’s Day seller
21. *”How do I love thee? Let me count
___ ____”
23. It follows the note soh
24. *In the ____ for love
25. Golf’s Ryder ____
28. Flexible mineral
30. *He officiates many weddings
35. Bryce Canyon state
37. Grannies
39. *Love in Paris
40. It distinguishes a father from a son in
French
41. Lowest deck
43. Away from port
44. Annoyed
46. Kind of pickle
47. Calf-length skirt
48. Broadband predecessor
50. Capital of Ukraine
52. Bottom line
53. Jab
55. “___, borrow or steal”
57. Desdemona’s suspicious husband
61. Properly deserved
65. Innocent
66. *It’s the loneliest number?
DOWN
1. One of two equal parts
2. Twelfth month of Jewish year
3. Known for gambling
4. A southern _____
5. “Islands in the ______,” by Rogers
and Parton
6. *Bring a date or a ____ one
7. Ever, to a poet
8. Spotted bean
9. Again
10. Target of Bay of Pigs invasion
11. Deuce topper
12. Seconds
15. Outdoor stone seating
20. Endangered species
22. Before skip and a jump
24. Resembling a human
25. *His aim is true?
26. Wombs
27. Winter wear
29. *It often accompanies #19 Across
31. Prayer leader in mosque
32. Fluorescent red dye
33. Elvis’s “Blue _____ Shoes”
34. Distinguishing feature
36. Last piece of a loaf
38. Musical composition for one, pl.
42. A military trainee
45. 2-unit house
49. One who’s active in politics
51. *Romeo and Juliet’s hometown
54. Like the Addams Family
56. Established fact
57. “Put a lid __ __!”
58. Hyperbolic tangent
59. What those on the lam do
60. 2 and 4, e.g.
61. *It’s usually full of romantic fare on
Valentine’s Day
62. Broken at finish line
63. And others, for short
64. To erase or cancel
67. “New” prefix
Answer on page 17
Page 15 a
Business Services
Directory
Do It Right
Drain & Plumbing
BERNIE
The Small Job Specialist
Is Your Toilet Leaking?
• We install BATHROOMS
• DRAIN CLEANING
• Repair or Replace BROKEN PIPES
We’ll beat anybody’s price
or we’ll take 10% off!
Cell: 267-586-2809
• Roofing
• Plastering
• Wallpaper
• Painting
• Cement
• Electric
Reasonable Prices
(215) 748-6497
Lic. #G-68410
Lic. #0390
Philadelphia Gas Heating
Heater Sale
& air conditioning
$1195
Air Conditioning
SalES
heater
checkup
$80.00
Starting at
$1695
call Now 215.456.1300
FaST EMERGENcY SERVIcE
Free Estimates
Senior
Discount
Fully Insured
JOseph’s AffOrdAble
plumbing & heAting
• 24 Hour Service / 7 Days a Week
• City Violations Corrected
• Hot Water Heaters Replaced
• Drain Cleaning Specialist
• New Gas & Oil Heaters Installed
• Certifications
Registered 3rd Generation #3922
I BUY HOUSES. I PAY CASH.
Any Condition
Private, Professional,
Personal Services.
Call Brennan Properties
215-990-4137
Office: 215-673-7700
cell: 267-984-3088
Financing Available • Free Estimates • Fully Insured
Roofing Sale
All Types of Roofing
Siding • Windows
Emergency Repairs
Ask About Our
15 Year Guarantee
Celebrating 50 Years
Family-Owned business
215.332.6600
With Coupon
New Roof
Up to 400 Sq. Ft.
as low as
$490
Hot Coats
as low as
$57
Page 16
February 19, 2015
The Independent Voice
Arts & Culture
Germantown Jewish Centre
400 W. Ellet Street
Philadelphia, PA 19119
Germantown Jewish Centre’s
Kol D'mamah Monthly Contemplative Service
Saturday, February 7 at 10 AM
Connect to the divine through
music, breath & learning in a
monthly minyan that includes
chant, hand percussion, meditation and contemplative teaching.
For more info contactprogram@germantownjewishcentre.org or 215-844-1507 Ext 19.
Germantown Jewish Centre’s
Annual Women’s Clothing
GiveAway
Feb. 22 from 11 AM – 1 PM
Contribute as many clothes as
you'd like, take home as many as
you can use, all for a $20 donation. Clothing can be dropped off
between Sun 2/15 and Fri 2/20.
Proceeds will benefit Dining for
Women. For more info contact
program@germantownjewishcentre.org or 215-844-1507 Ext
19.
Germantown Jewish Centre’s
Kol Zimrah (monthly musical)
Service
Feb. 27 @ 6 PM
Please join us for this monthly
joyful Friday night service (generally the 4th Shabbat of the
month), followed by a wine and
cheese oneg. We welcome all
who are moved by song to participate in this service featuring
new melodies, beautiful harmonies, chanting and percussion.
Everyone is welcome. For more
information contact 215-8441507, Ext. 19 orprogram@germantownjewishcentre.org
Israeli Dancing at Germantown Jewish Centre
Sundays at 10 AM in February
(except 2/15)
The Germantown Jewish Centre
Israeli dance group meets on
Sunday mornings throughout the
school year. Our repertoire consists mainly of intermediate
dances, though we always begin
with easier, older dances. There
is an emphasis on instruction and
review in the earlier part of the
session. We are an informal,
friendly group, and always welcome new dancers! $5 per session. We meet each Sunday in
October. For more info contact
program@germantownjewishcentre.org or 215-844-1507 Ext
19.
Israeli Dancing at Germantown Jewish Centre
Sundays at 10 AM
The Germantown Jewish Centre
Israeli dance group meets on
Sunday mornings throughout the
school year. Our repertoire con-
sists mainly of intermediate
dances, though we always begin
with easier, older dances. There
is an emphasis on instruction and
review in the earlier part of the
session. We are an informal,
friendly group, and always welcome new dancers! $5 per session. We meet each Sunday in
October. For more info contact
program@germantownjewishcentre.org or 215-844-1507 Ext
19.
Laurel Hill Cemetery
3822 Ridge Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19132
Monthly Fourth Friday Tour
Series: Hot Spots and Storied
Plots
In life and in death, we all have
stories to tell. Join Laurel Hill
Cemetery for an informative
overview of Laurel Hill’s long
and colorful history, which will
include many of the marble masterpieces, stunning views and
legendary stories that afford the
cemetery its WOW factor. This is
the perfect tour for first-time visitors to Laurel Hill, and anyone
else who enjoys beautiful art,
scenic nature and fascinating history. “Hot Spots and Storied
Plots” will be presented monthly
as part of Laurel Hill Cemetery’s
Fourth Friday tour series, which
take place on the fourth Friday of
every month at 10:00am.
December’s walking tour will
take place on Friday, December
26 at 10:00am, departing from
Laurel Hill Cemetery’s Gatehouse entrance at 3822 Ridge
Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19132.
Free parking is located in the lot
across the street from the Gatehouse.
The cost is $8/person general admission.
Tickets can be purhttps://www.facebook.com/
chased at the door, or in advance
by phone (215) 228-8200 or online at www.thelaurelhillcemetery.org.
Gender Weave Project Challenges the ‘Social Norms’ of
Gender and Identity
In observance of Women’s History Month, the Mt. Airy Art
Garage (MAAG), a creative center for emerging and professional
artists, will present The Gender
Weave Project featuring the work
of Moore College of Art & Design students. The exhibition
will run February 27 – March 29
with an opening reception on
February 27 at 6 pm. Admission
for the exhibition and opening is
free.
On March 8, International
Women’s Day, a panel, “Weaving Equality—Exploring Gender
and the Arts,” building on the exhibition and featuring artists and
educators throughout the city
will be held from 3 pm – 5 pm.
Admission for the panel is $10.
All events are at MAAG, located
at 11 West Mt. Airy Avenue.
Moore is the first and only
women’s visual arts college in
the U. S. so it is fitting that
MAAG is collaborating with the
College on this exhibition, including the work of Emilie Didyoung, Lydia Knopp, Lydia
Nobles, Sabrina Salgado, Nicole
Melnicky, Ava Mallett, Alexandra Mosoeanu, Mary Boran,
Maryann Worrell and Caitlin
Tschanz. The artists’ work will
investigate their relationships to
gender and identity. Some may
make more traditional choices
and some may challenge conventional norms while others may
choose to address their intersecting identities. The Gender Weave
Project, also featuring the work
of professional artists such
Moore Adjunct Professor
Heather Ujiie, will examine “social norms” in its efforts to overcome prejudice and
misconceptions and increasing
public awareness.
Mt. Airy Art Garage (MAAG) is
a nonprofit Arts Hub founded
and driven by a dynamic group
of professional artists. An incubator for both professional and
emerging artists in Germantown,
Mt. Airy, and Chestnut Hill, we
function as a resource center of
creativity for artists, art lovers,
and all those who seek to bring
an eco-friendly and artistic sensibility to their lives. We are home
to working artist studios, the
Solomon Levy Gallery, artist-driven workshops and events, fine
art and handcraft markets, and
more. At the end of the day, our
goal is to provide communal
space for artistic creativity, community collaborations, and celebration.
Moore College of Art & Design
educates students for careers in
art and design. Founded in 1848,
Moore is the nation's first and
only women's visual arts college.
Moore's career-focused environment and professionally active
faculty form a dynamic community in the heart of Philadelphia's
cultural district. The College offers ten Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees for women and since 2009,
five coeducational Graduate
Studies programs. In addition,
Moore provides many valuable
opportunities in the arts through
The Galleries at Moore; Continuing Education programs for professional adults; the acclaimed
Youth Programs for young people graes 1-12, which was
founded in 1921; The Art Shop
and Sculpture Park. For more information about Moore, visit
www.moore.edu.
THE WOMEN’S BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT CENTER
ONLINE TRAINING
CLASSES
New 6-week sessions begin
monthly
These courses are ideal for existing or aspiring entrepreneurs and
their employees
Choose from over 45 courses in
the following categories:
* Start Your Own Business
* Accounting & Finance
* Business Communication
* Web Technology
* Management & Leadership
* Marketing & Sales
* Non-Profit & Grant Writing
Cost: $99.00 per course
Date: New sessions begin
January 21, 2015
February 18, 2015
March 18, 2015
To view the complete catalog and
to enroll, visit
www.ed2go.com/wbdconline
For more information call:
(215) 790-WBDC (9232) or
email ed2go@womensbdc.org
or visit www.womensbdc.org
Awbury Arboretum
Meditative Mediations
Site-Specific Sculpture by Carole Loeffler & Maryann Worrell. Artists' Talk & Walk
Saturday, Jan. 24th
2pm – 4pm
Meditative Mediations is a collection of 8 sculptural works
across the Arboretum's landscape
by local artists Carole Loeffler
and Maryann Worrell - on display at the Arboretum through
February 2015. Each piece encourages the audience to take
time to genuinely experience and
appreciate the landscape of Awbury and all that it has to offer.
On Saturday, January 24th from
2pm - 4pm, the artists will discuss their works and guide attendees through the Arboretum’s
landscape to view the installation. Warm drinks and light refreshments provided. Free event
- please join us!
Location: Awbury Arboretum |
One Awbury Road, Philadelphia,
PA 19138
Sculpture may be viewed during
at the Arboretum daily from
dawn to dusk. Maps of installation are available at Awbury's
Francis Cope House - One Awbury Road - during open hours Tuesday - Friday 9am - 5pm
Winter Homeschool Classes
Now & Then: Connecting kids
today with history through
hands-on exploration of artifacts,
food, and architecture.
A Partnership between Awbury
Arboretum and Grumblethorpe
Historic House & Garden
When: 10 Wednesdays January
14 - March 18th, 12:30 - 2:30
Where: Classes to be held at
both Awbury Arboretum and
Grumblethorpe
Cost: $150.00 for the 10 class series or sign up for individual
classes at $15.00 per student per
session. View our a la carte
menu of classes and class descriptions online here. Student
must sign up by Friday of the
week prior to make sure we have
adequate materials for all participants.
For more information and registration,email programs@awbury.org,
or call 215-849-2855 ext 25.
Spring & Fall Blooming Crocus & Snowdrop Sale
With Awbury's Landscape Manager Denis Lucy
Saturday, Feb. 21st, 10am –
12pm
The 1924 classic handbook of
crocus and colchicum begins
“The genus crocus deserves more
attention than it has hereto received in British gardens.” This
is still true in American gardens.
Too many local gardeners know
and grow only the big Dutch
spring crocus, soon devoured by
squirrels. We will talk about
many other wild or species crocus, some of which are squirrel
proof. Both spring and fall
blooming crocus can extend the
flowering season, yield a useful
and expensive kitchen spice (saffron) and left alone, will multiply
for years and years. Look alike
colchicums and very different
looking outdoor cyclamen
species will also be discussed.
Our session will cover sources
and uses, their easy culture and
their good companion plants.
After the session, companion
snowdrops will be available for
sale “in the green.” If weather
and bloom time allow, we will
take a brief snowdrop walk.
Denis Lucey is Landscape Manager at Awbury Arboretum, and
owner of Denis Lucey Landscape Design. A long-time resident of Northwest Philadelphia
with over 20 years of professional landscaping experience
and a love of history, Denis’ lectures are always fun, engaging,
and educational.
Location: The Francis Cope
House at Awbury Arboretum One Awbury Road, Philadelphia,
PA 19138
Cost: $15. Register Here. Please
bring cash or check if you wish
to purchase snowdrops at the
sale.
Snow Date: February 28th
International House
The Independent Voice
February 19, 2015
Page 17 a
Arts & Culture
3701 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Eight Short Films Every Movie
Lover Should See
Doug LeClaire / School of Visual
Arts
February 25, 2015
7:00 PM – 9:30 PM
Join One Day U and The
Philadelphia Inquirer for this
unique and entertaining class.
$99.00
Did you ever watch the Academy
Awards when they were presenting the Best “Live Action” Short
Film or Best Short Animation
Oscars and say to yourself
“where are these films, and why
haven’t I seen any of them?”
This unique and entertaining
class is like a trip to the best film
festivals in the world where you
sample and discuss the elite of
the very best short films. The
program features films that have
won Academy Awards or Best of
Show honors from such festivals
as Sundance, New York,
Chicago, Berlin, Melbourne and
South by Southwest.
“Spin” Denver, Winner: “Best
Short Film” Santa Barbara Film
Festival & San Francisco Film
Festival
“Loot” South Africa, Winner:
“Best Narrative Short Film” One
Screen Film Festival
“Stalker Guilt Syndrome”
Brooklyn, Winner: “Audience
Award” American Film Institute
“Zen & the Art of Landscaping”
New Jersey, Winner: “Best of
Show” Aspen Short Film Festival
“Death, Taxes & Apple Juice”
LA, Winner: “Audience Favorite” Los Angeles Short Film
Festival
“The Quality of Mercy” NYC,
Winner: “Best Short Film” Montreal World Film Festival
“Globe Trot” USA / Global, Winner: “Best Short Film” WorldFest
Houston
“In God We Trust” LA, Winner:
“Grand Prize Winner” Sundance
Film Festival
Doug LeClaire – Doug LeClaire
teaches at the School of Visual
Arts, and is the Director of the
traveling short film exhibition:
Asbury Shorts NY. Asbury
Shorts is New York City's longest
running annual short film exhibition but also tours with the show
to various theatrical and public
venues in the US and Europe. He
also worked in NYC TV advertising production for over 27
years as a Production Manager,
Production Supervisor and Line
Producer for directors Barbara
Kanowitz, Joe Pytka, Dominic
Rossetti, Laura Murphy, Stephen
Marro, Ed Warnick, Eileen Do-
Better Said Than Ed
We are told again and again that
education will be THE issue of
the 2015 mayoral campaign, but
I would much rather hear candidates talk about something they
can do something about.
Frankly, if education is what
mayoral candidates are going to
talk about, they might as well
offer their Philadelphia weather
platform. Much as the joke goes
about how people love to talk
about the weather, but never do
much about it, all of the candidates can talk all they want about
education, but as mayor, they
will have so very little to do to
make change.
The mayor is not in charge of the
schools and neither chooses the
School Superintendent nor sets
educational policy. The mayor
may wield influence, but leveraging a few extra dollars here or
advocating for a few changes
there only affects our children's
education at the margins. Every
mayor in my lifetime has talked
about his commitment to children or claimed the mantle of
“education mayor,” but our
schools have stumbled from crisis to crisis and remain in need
of so much improvement. Worst
of all, there is simply not a
model for success that any
Philadelphia mayor could copy
in terms of achieving satisfying
excellence for all students in any
large urban school district in
America.
So here is the deal I would love
us to collectively strike. Let us
all -- candidates, media, and citizens -- agree that all mayoral
candidates care deeply about
Philadelphia children and that all
will do whatever they can (given
their very limited power with regard to schools) to improve educational outcomes. Then, let's
focus the attention in this important race on how the candidates
will make the changes that provide the conditions under which
children, families, and communities can have the city we deserve.
What can a mayor do? Philadelphia's strong mayor has tremendous power when it comes to
running the agencies of the government. The mayor decides
how trash is collected, how police are deployed, and how
health services are delivered.
Subject to the approval of city
council, the mayor determines
how the city taxes its residents
and businesses and how the city
spends its money. Perhaps most
significantly, as the most prominent political figure in the city,
the mayor can use that bully pulpit to marshal government resources
and
power
to
accomplish grand projects.
Let's hear mayoral candidates
talk about running city government better.
We deserve a cleaner city -- none
of our neighbors deserves to live
in “Philthydelphia.” How will
we make our neighborhoods
cleaner?
We deserve a safe city. How will
we prevent citizens from becom-
ing victims of crime; address the
evolving roles of fire and EMS
personnel to meet emergency
needs of our citizenry; reconfigure licensing and inspections to
ensure that buildings across the
city are stable and maintained;
and protect pedestrians and cyclists from vehicular traffic?
cultural programs that ennoble
city living; and address the
crushing concentration of
poverty that threatens too many
communities? And, how can we
make that budget transparent so
that we can demand accountability to make sure the spending of
our dollars makes sense?
We deserve quality public infrastructure and amenities and our
urban environment can be improved in every neighborhood.
How will we improve library,
park, and recreational facilities;
develop our river fronts; improve our roads and bridges; and
rationally plan and maintain our
physical infrastructure for the future?
Let's hear mayoral candidates
talk about big plans we can accomplish together.
Let's hear mayoral candidates
talk about taxing and spending.
We deserve a tax structure that
works -- too many firms and
families still choose to live and
grow elsewhere. How will we
create a 21st Century tax structure to grow jobs and neighbors?
We deserve a budget that funds
excellent city services. Our
budget is always stressed, but the
city's unfunded pension liability
continues to grow and now more
than $400 million -- about 10
percent of the entire city budget
is spent filling that hole instead
of on services that citizens consume. How can we be fair to
pensioners, city workers, and citizens to address this issue, which
continues to drive up taxes as it
drives down city services? How
can we improve the neighborhood services that attract and retain residents, fund arts and
We deserve to accomplish great
undertakings like the creation of
Fairmount Park, the Benjamin
Franklin Parkway, and the Commuter-Rail Tunnel which have
benefited
generations
of
Philadelphians. How can we
work together to remake our city
in a lasting way? Can we connect the Broad Street line to the
Navy Yard? Expand rapid masstransit along the Roosevelt
Boulevard? Cap I-95 through
Center City? To which hugescale effort will the next mayor
commit to focus us on to create
a legacy for the future?
We all care about education, but
we all should all understand how
little any mayor can do about it.
Instead, let's focus the rhetoric of
the campaign, the coverage of
the media, and our questions on
areas where we can demand, and
achieve, positive change. Then,
let's elect a mayor who we believe will work with us to make
Philadelphia a preferred place to
live, work, and visit -- and help
us create the city we deserve.
Brett Mandel
Twitter: @brettmandel
Page 18
February 19, 2015
classified Advertising
Real Estate
One Bedroom Apt.
16xx East Duval St.
Newly Renovated , Near Transportation
$700 .00 dollars monthly plus utilities
215-247-1210
_________________________________
262 E Cliveden Street
Spacious layouts, updated windows, off
street parking, w/d on site, gas included!
*Ask about our move in specials! *
$725.00 +electric
$825.00 +electric
M.E. INC
215-844-1200
www.elfantre.com
_________________________________
Furnished Rooms
Clean & quiet, no drugs
private entrance
Call 267-988-5890
_________________________________
Garden Style
Apartment Complex
in Mt. Airy. Nice 1 & 2 Bedrooms
Utilities included except for electric.
Leave message for
Court Rentals.
215-842-2500
_________________________________
Want to Buy Real Estate
I BUY HOUSES;
I PAY CASH
Any Condition
Private, Professional,
Personal Services.
Call Brennan Properties
215-990-4137
_________________________________
Germantown Area
64xx Musgrave St.
Spacious straight-through.
EIK, porch, more.
$66,900.
Call Marlene
Prudential Prime Real Estate
215-338-3200
_________________________________
CLIVEDEN STREET
Newly Decorated
One Bedroom Apartment w/w carpet,
tiled bathroom, garbage disposal.
Off street parking, No Pets.
$595 plus utilities
215-782-8030 EXT. 2
_________________________________
Gorgeous 2 bedroom Apt. 2nd floor
(Germantown Area).
Rent $675.00 per month includes
(water), first & last month's rent plus one
month's security.
Call 215-288-1615
_________________________________
$321
Historic Bldg. Caretaker Exchange.
UTILITIES, FURNISHINGS, LINENS &
EATING GEAR ALL INCLUDED.
Kitchenette & Shared Bath, On-site Laundry. No electronics or phone furnished.
NO PETS. Avail. 1/30/15.
Contact 267-978-2948 for Appt.
_________________________________
Germantown Area
Rooms For Rent.
Non-smoking environment.
Seniors & vets welcome.
Please call 215-840-3473
_________________________________
REDUCED $239,900
16XX E. CLIVEDEN ST. (19150)
Single Colonial-style home with gas range,
beautiful hardwood floors, large EIK, 3 BR,
2 full baths, large master BR with large
closets, full basement, secluded fenced-in
yard, 2 patios, all appliances stay.
Take a look at the website:
www.1607eastclivedenst.info.
Warner-Ball R/E
215-224-0300, Ext. 229
Elaine Carr: 215-260-1710
_________________________________
Hampton Court Apartments
139 W Tulpehocken Street
1br, 1bth, h/w flrs
updated windows, updated kitchen
laundry on site, garden building
$750.00/mth +g/e
M.E. INC
215-844-1200
www.elfantre.com
_________________________________
Germantown
2 bedroom house for rent. Garfield Street
(Germantown & Wister),small clean, new
carpet & paint.
$725 a month plus gas & electric. $2175
to move in.
Please call 215-659-5348
_________________________________
Ultra modern four & five bedroom
houses for rent. Many to choose from.
Freshly painted. Hardwood floors. Washer
& dryer hook ups. Close to
transportation and shopping. We accept
all programs.
Call Coldwell Banker Realty One at
215-637-3600
to set up an appointment to see.
_________________________________
Germantown Area
Rooms For Rent.
Non-smoking environment.
Seniors & vets welcome.
Please call 215-840-3473
_________________________________
House for Sale
Rent to Buy!
71XX Woolston Ave.
3 Bedrooms and 1 Bath.
$90,000.
Need $5000 to move in.
Newly renovated.
215-740-4629
_________________________________
64xx Musgrave St.
Spacious straight-through.
EIK, porch, more.
$66,900.
Call Marlene
Prudential Prime Real Estate
215-338-3200
_________________________________
W. Mt. Airy
Large Beautiful 1 bedroom for rent,private
entrance, must pay utilities, no smoking,
no pets. Also newly renovated Furnished
rooms for rent,private entrance,close to
transportation,no smoking, no pets, utilities included.
Call 215-490-0620
Ming Self Storage Germantown
Auction March 13, 2015 at 12 Noon
Latrice Bolden A040
Ouris Foye A085
Lori Mitchell-Gaye B2142
Theresa Hannigan B2124
Joseph James BB2016
Michele Jones B2077
Aquanetta Joyce B2140
Rhonda Royal B2107
Jacqueline Stallone B2122
Payments must be made in cash.
We reserve the right to refuse any
and all bids.
4663 Stenton Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19144
215-848-0719 Office.
Ming Self Storage at Northern Liberties
Auction March 13, 2015 at 10 AM
John McCarroll 100
Payments must be made in cash.
We reserve the right to refuse any
and all bids.
720 North 5th St (at Liberties Lofts)
Philadelphia, PA 19123
Phone 267-239-5519
Tinseltown
Talks
The Independent Voice
Jerry Mathers
as the ...
Jerry Mathers: From Hollywood to Health Advocate
By Nick Thomas
During the 1950s, Jerry Mathers appeared in several feature
films as a child actor before
being cast in 1957 as Theodore
“The Beaver” Cleaver in the sitcom “Leave it to Beaver.”
These days however, he travels
the country discussing health issues as well as his Hollywood
heritage.
Blessed with money, fame, and
– until the early 1990s – good
health, a doctor friend recognized
he was at risk.
“(She) noticed I was putting on
weight and offered to give me a
physical,” said Mathers. “The
tests showed I was diabetic. You
could have picked me up off the
floor with a spoon!”
While he now actively promotes diabetes awareness, Mathers still attends the occasional
film or TV festival to share stories from his Hollywood past
(see www.jerrymathers.com).
And he has plenty to relate,
like the time Bob Hope saved his
life.
Mathers had a small role
alongside the famed comedian in
the1955 film “The Seven Little
Foys.”
“Bob played Eddie Foy, an
American Vaudevillian actor, and
I was one of his sons,” he re-
Beaver
called.
In 1903, shortly after Christmas, Foy was performing at
Chicago’s Iroquois Theatre when
a fire broke out. He attempted to
calm the panicking audience, but
hundreds perished. The incident
was depicted in the film by setting the stage curtain on fire with
gasoline.
“But they used too much,”
said Mathers. “The actors and
extras began running out the
door. I was up on a scaffold behind the stage and the flames
were getting close. Bob climbed
a ladder to get me.”
Two years later, Mathers debuted in “Leave it to Beaver”
starring in all 235 episodes between 1957-1963. But one
episode almost never made it on
air.
“The episode ‘Captain Jack’
was the first one we filmed and
one of the earliest that aired. The
plot was for Wally and Beaver to
C & M Cleaning LLC
(Remodeling)
We do painting, bathrooms,
floors, kitchen and etc.
We offer free estimates.
Please give us a call at
267-297-9237
Antiques
OLD FURNITURE
& ANTIQUES
(Also: paintings, crafts, coins, gold, oriental rugs,
dolls, pottery, clocks & jewelry)
We Buy The Unusual!
Call Tyler’s at
215-920-7310 (cell) or
215-844-9272 (store
send away for a baby alligator
and keep it in the toilet. But at
that time, the network censors
wouldn’t allow a bathroom to be
seen on a TV show, much less a
toilet. They finally compromised
and we were permitted to show
the top of the toilet tank with the
alligator swimming inside.”
Following “Beaver,” Mathers
finished high school and obtained a degree in philosophy at
Berkeley. He spent six years in
the Air Force National Guard and
worked in banking and real-estate.
After a call from former TV
brother Tony Dow, the two reunited on stage for the play
“Boeing, Boeing” and later, “So
Long, Stanley,” touring the country for over a year.
“Since we were so popular
doing something unrelated to
‘Beaver,’ Universal brought most
of the original cast back for the
television movie ‘Still the
Beaver’ in 1983,” said Mathers.
“That led to a new TV series,
‘The New Leave it to Beaver’
which ran for over 100
episodes.”
But the new series success
came at a price.
“I began investing the money I
earned from the show in various
businesses including a catering
company,” recalled Mathers. “I
had to demonstrate my products
and would eat up to six extra
meals a day and put on a lot of
weight.”
After his doctor’s timely intervention, Mathers dropped over
50 pounds through diet and exercise, and no longer requires medication.
Today, he travels the country
discussing the danger of obesity
and diabetes. He will be guest
speaker at the Boshell Research
Day conference at Auburn University, Ala., on February 13 (see
www.auburndiabetes.com).
“I don’t have any agenda other
than making people aware that
they may be at risk,” he says.
“Hopefully those that are will get
a second chance like I did.”
Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn
University at Montgomery, Ala.,
and has written features,
columns, and interviews for over
500 magazines and newspapers.
Human Service Agency seeks motivated person to work with two women in Willow Grove who require teaching
and assistance in living productive lives within their community. PA driver's license, HS diploma required, experience preferred.
Call HAP Inc. at 610-539-8450 or send resumé via fax 610-539-6156 or email HAPINC@aol.com. EOE
The Independent Voice
February 19, 2015
Page 19 a
1974 MGB
Roadster
Restored from excellent original Garage kept, used
summers only
$8900
1989 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
Fully optioned, everything
working. Leather interior, new
vinyl roof.
Florida car with no winter use
52,000 miles.
$10,500
1964 Buick Electra
Sport Sedan V8 Auto PS PB
Pw Pseat Tilt
Outstanding condition inside
and out
$7000
1986 Buick Regal Limited V8 Coupe
Auto, PS PB Pw Pdl Pseat tilt
AM/FM Cste
Mint original 2 senior women
owners. Never altered or
modified 100,000 mi.
No winter use.
$11,500
Call Jim 215-438-5171
“Let Us Make Your Home Your Castle!”
Quality & Service at Discount Prices
We Install What We Sell
Area’s Largest In-Stock Selection
FEBRUARY 28 - MARCH 8, 2015
Receive $2.00 Off Per Single Roll of In-Stock Wallpaper
PENNSYLVANIA CONVENTION CENTER
8765 Frankford Avenue • 215-332-9300
WINNER
BEST EVENT
IN WORLD
IFEA GRAND PINNACLE
“Perennial Pleasure.”
Philadelphia Inquirer
E XC L U S I V E S P O N S O R
theflowershow.com
wershow.com
TICKETSS AV
TICKET
AAVAILABLE
VAILABLE N
NOW
OW theflo
PREMIER SPONSOR
Page 20
February 19, 2015
The Independent Voice
19 Ye
ars
in
Busi
ness
We are a member of the Better Business Bureau with an A + rating.