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Updated with response
Maybe it was inevitable: maybe something as good, as fundamentally wholesome, as lamb-like and peaceful to all as the Philly Naked Bike Ride had to be infiltrated by wolves.
But according to PNBR volunteer organizer Clifford Greer, "What we think we know is that a camera crew came to the ride, posing as interviewers to get shots of people's genitals, chests, butts ... [and] They've got this sleazy website."
The website, www.waptvshow.com or "Wild About Philly Entertainment TV show," â hosts such web "TV" segments as "Wild About Philly" and "Philly's Model Showcase." On a page for merchandise promotes a DVD of the Philly Naked Bike Ride, boasting that "you'll enjoy this DVD from [sic] years to come."
Updated: Reg Williams, video editor for Wild About Philly TV responded this evening to an inquiry by City Paper. Williams says the DVD is not pornography, and that Wild About Philly films all kinds of events.
"We have a good reputation, an upstanding reputation as far as covering events in this city," Williams said over the phone, telling CP that all "close-ups" were filmed with full consent from participants and that "the cameraman was also naked."
As to what the DVD consists of: "Whatever you saw out there, that's what it's about."
According to Greer, meanwhile, a team of volunteer lawyers is working on potentially stopping the sale of such a DVD, cautioning that they don't know much about the owners of the site or their motives, "but everything points to sleaze."
"One of the things the Philly Naked Bike Ride does is successfully create an environment that is free, and positive, and respectful ... I don't know what inspires these people."
Stay tuned to The Clog for updates.
That Wild About Philly web site is an affront to all that is good about Web design. I think that's the real sleaze. Also, who would want to buy that DVD? I don't think anyone wants to look at hairy hipster butts all day (JK, folks!).
Can't we just file this under "I was naked on a city street. What do you mean someone might have filmed me?!?!?!" and get over it?
LOL, that pic...I can't deal with it, oh god, my stomach hurts from laughing!!
HAHA That's me on the longboard
[...] « Neighbourhood Watch: Fighting Furballs and FiresSurprise, Philly Naked Bike Riders!Some camera crew filmed you for some dumb, totally un-titillating website. It’s like fucking Idiocracy out there. This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 8th, [...]
So glad that furry guy left his pants on. Moobs!
Can't you film anything you want outside.?
And who have seen the DVD?
Oh, one more thing... All that footage on Youtube, What's the problem again???????????????
OMG, There's vids everywhere. At least there is a DVD that we can own.
if the event it filmed in the true pure sense and for what it is a bike ride. who ever was there that day might recall, two guys getting asked to leave and the riders were asked for help get these guys out of there. there was a lot of boo's and yelling. they caved in and left. they were asked to leave because they were holding there camera at hip level filming crotch shots. so if you feel this is in fact the type of dvd you would like to own and share with love ones for years to come, please buy the dvd. there are so many videos and photos that capture the true essence of the event, people coming together to ride for a cause. it is done in an artful tasteful way. they want to exploit the sexual aspect of the riders being naked, the naked part for the ride is not done for the sexual aspect. so Kim and Kevin, I hope your not exploited and not personally effected. Bill
Thanks Bill, I know for a fact that Wild About Philly was not one of the people that you are talking about. I got a card from them and they were very respectable. Wild About Philly have coverage many events and have always been respectable. I fell The people making these bad comments about Wild About Philly haven't even seen the DVD. Have you?
So they are about to slander Wild About Philly's for others wrong doing... That is so wrong!
Before this goes to court, the lawyers are going have to discern what the fuck Wild About Philly is.
Uh Oh! I saw the preview. I think Clifford Greer and Isaiah Thompson owes Wild About Philly an apology. The clip does not show anything that they were talking about. It looks like a happy and fun video to me. Sounds like slander if you ask me. Isaiah, have you seen the clip?
Just out of curiosity- does anyone know how one might go about getting OUT OF THE DVD? I took a peek at the trailer and there are a few shots of me... I am not interested in being in their DVD (and am kind of freaking out that it might compromise my job...) Any advice on how to get in touch with WapTV and get myself removed from the DVD? Legal advice?
[...] you see fit (within reason, of course), the legal action that Clifford Greer is pushing against a crew that videotaped naked riders at this year's event rubs us (or at least me) the wrong way. First, the e-mail he sent to the PBNR [...]
Hannah, Why don't you just ask them to take you out... Have you tried doing that?
If you watch the preview it looks like nobody was told it would be a DVD that would be on a website potentially for sale. This was obviously a PR thing to say ohh yeah we just took shots of all these naked people, put up a preview of women looking happy and we NEVER wanted to sell it. Hypothetically you could email them asking for the DVD, give them a donation and NOT have been one of the riders. For films you need WRITTEN consent, and this isn't even for educational purposes. I know tons of people not that WILL NOT do the ride next year specifically because of these A**holes. Thanks for ruining a good thing. F*ck you "WAPTV"
Guys, Hannah, I'm not a prude or conservative by any means but what do you expect when you run around naked? Sure its fun and your right to do it but you know there is always consequences to your actions. You all should just suck it up. They have special beaches and campgrounds for this you know... :-)
[...] Philly Naked Bike ride infiltrated by purveyors of sleaze? :: The … [...]
man that's disappointing. I wish I had known. I love Harry Shearer! Le Show is the best
Same here. I would have actually been able to go, too. :(
On the day my Italian Market story came out, I caught Richard Rys's solid tale of what became of Old City in Philadelphia magazine. This quickly became a contrast of two homes for me — where I live now and where I used to live. I wrote lengthily (and splendidly, I might add) about the
Yes, there were cheesy promoters and cheapo lounge managers looking to cash in. But that happens everywhere, always. It needed an influx of charming couture boutiques and late evening shopping spots — from AKA Records to Matthew Izzo — sooner. Now, solidly groovy hot spots like Sassafras (a holdover from its past), Cuba Libre and the entirety of the Serrano/Tin Angel complex are there. National Mechanics is there. The Arden Theater is there. City Paper is there. There's so much to put it at par with other busy neighborhoods. If you don't dig Lucy's Hat Shop after too many cheap vodkas, try the Mansion in Rittenhouse Square or one of several remaining everyday guy sports bars in Fishtown.
Look, there're always more guys in baseball caps and un-tucked striped shirts and women in Snooki boufants and low-designer jeans (them) than there are those of kinda-tasteful decorum (me — I hope — and us). That said, a great bustling neighborhood needs all sorts to sustain and survive. Rittenhouse gets it from the Irish Pub down to the Walnut Room. The Piazza will find this out soon; as much as they want to (and may actually) secede from the
Thanks A.D. for putting the article in perspective. As an Old City resident for over 10 years and now a new business owner in the district, I can remember all of the changes you've mentioned - the end of Revival, the birth of Stephen Starr, and yes, the changeover from Eroticakes to the beloved Franklin Fountain. Old City is in transition and there are a lot of great things happening here besides the weekend crowd: great boutiques, salons and spas, byob's and more. Every district has a mixture of nightlife combined with the civility found during the weekly shopping hours. Old City is still a great place to live,visit, and be proud of.
I really believe that these social networks will have a huge impact on what we can accomplish as groups, it'll help us be very organized and communicate.
So, our favorite frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter was on Fox News last night — because, seriously, no one else gives a shit what he thinks — to weigh in on this not-mosque at not-Ground Zero nontroversy we and everyone else have been following for a little while. And, as always seems to happen with Santorum, a guy delusional enough to think he might be president in a couple years, he opened his mouth and stupid popped out.
SANTORUM: My thinking was all along if he made the statements that he made, he probably had a lot more that are going to be found out. This man [Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the lead organizer of the planned Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan] is not a moderate Muslim. This is someone who believes the United States has blood on their hands, that the United States is responsible for this. He is a jihadist, he's just not a violent jihadist. That does not make him a moderate.
Thanks, Rick, for making that distinction. Of course, it's a little muddled, since jihad means "holy war" — though it's most common use confers a religious struggle rather than actual military war — but I'm pretty sure Rick meant it in the Al Qaida kind of way, in which case he means Rauf is a nonviolent warrior, which means, I suppose, that he has a differing view of American foreign policy, which is, I guess, bad. Anyway.
The fact of the matter is, it's pretty hard to argue with Rauf's point: Sure, Muslim radicals killed 3,000 of our people on 9/11 — a horrific tragedy, it goes without saying — and Muslim insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan killed thousands of our soldiers. Again, tragic and sad.
But. The Iraqi sanctions killed millions of Muslim civilians in the 1990s, including 500,000 children; the Iraq War led to thousands more civilian deaths. And that's not even mentioning the various dictators we've propped up over the years. Rauf is, by any factual definition, correct. Undeniably so.
In fact, someone please try to explain to me how this isn't a factually accurate statement. Oh, never mind: Never let inconvenient realities get in the way of cheap political points, eh Rick?
Also, right-wingers have plainly taking to making shit up about this guy and slandering him as a terrorist, even though, as Media Matters and others have ably illustrated, Glenn Beck and the Bush administration were all too happy to embrace him just a few years ago. Yes, Rick, he is a moderate. You moron. In fact, he's the vice chair of the Interfaith Center of New York. One of his primary funders, as The Daily Show hilariously pointed out last night, is Fox News' second-biggest financier. Oh yeah, and Rupert Murdoch published his freaking book.
About that book:
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Radical, indeed.
Actually, let's just watch TDS, because it lays bare the hypocrisy of the frothing right-wing mouthpieces better than anything I've seen to date.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| The Parent Company Trap | ||||
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[...] UPDATE: Rick Santorum is still an idiot :: The Clog :: Blog Archive :: Staff Blog :: Philadelphia Ci... [...]
So, this little story intern Valerie Rubinsky wrote about the city hitting up small-time bloggers for a $300 business privilege license has sort of exploded on the Interwebs, from the New York Daily News to Yahoo to Michelle Malkin to freaking nutball conspiracy site Infowars (!) to Fox 29 — which did a piece on it without, you know, mentioning where their brilliant story idea came from. (What's that word for ripping off a story without attribution again?)
And since this story has now blown up, I wanted to clarify a couple of things that, based on the voluminous comments, might not have come through as clearly as we hoped:
1.) The price of a business license is not $300 a year; that's the cost of a lifetime license. You can get an annual license for $50 a year.
2.) The city does not tax all blogs; rather, just the ones make some money or, at least, have the potential to make some money. So, in that sense, it's not really an attack on speech, per se.
3.) I've seen in the comments a question as to how the city found these little bloggers. This is my bad. In the course of cutting the story to fit the page, I removed a line that had the answer: Basically, as I understand it, the city is sent letters to people who reported their earnings, no matter how meager, as income to the IRS, which the people mentioned in the story did. It works the same way for freelance writers: If another paper somewhere publishes a piece that I wrote, and that paper files a 1099, the city — because I live within its limits — will send me a letter demanding that I pay for a BPL because I am officially a business, or whatever. This is on top of my federal, state and city income taxes, of course.
Anyway, hope that helps. Now back to your regularly scheduled government bashing.
I'm not certain. but I suspect that the city notification workflow is more like this: Blogger uses built-in mechanisms of blog hosting service to add ads, figuring "Sure, why not?" without knowing or bothering to research the tax repercussions of doing so. They perhaps assume (not unreasonably) that the taxes (or fees, in this case) couldn't possibly exceed their earnings. Google or other ad network dutifully sends 1099-MISC to said blogger as part of their automated procedure. Blogger follows directions or asks paid tax preparer to handle filling out returns. Software spits out Philly tax returns based on filing address (School Income Tax or BPT); blogger signs and send them in as instructed. City processes return, realizes BPT has been paid in absence of a BPL, and notifies blogger that BPL must be obtained. In short, I doubt that there is information sharing between the IRS and Philly revenue; rather, information submitted directly to the Revenue department is what turns up the lack of a Biz Privilege License. Just to add to the clarification - this happens all the time, to people doing all kinds of work on the side, who happen to live in the city. Get a 1099, try to do the right thing, and end up finding out you have to pay this licensing fee, after the fact.
Nutball conspiracy website? You guys have just shown your true colors. Why dont you do some real reporting and actually look into the facts that infowars and others put forward? In case you didnt know that is wahat journalism is.
Nutball conspiracy website? You guys have just shown your true colors. Why dont you do some real reporting and actually look into the facts that infowars and others put forward? In case you didnt know that is what journalism is.
Why would you say infowars.com is a nutball conspiracy site? Their credibility is held up time and time again. Is this just because they discuss topics that are taboo to places like citypaper.net?
"Freaking nutball conspiracy site" was actually being kind! Yeesh! Hey Infowars people - there's this new thing out called facts! Google it!
In reply to @ThomasT-- I don't think you're correct about this. My partner does not have a blog, but he does have a small amount of self-employed income from book royalties. It's never been more than $500 per year, but he reports this income (less any money spent on legitimate business expenses like buying books related to his research, etc) on his IRS form 1040, Schedule C. (He also has a day job where he pays city wage taxes.) This year during the Philadelphia tax amnesty he got a letter from the city's revenue department telling him he needed a business license. He bought the license, and participated in the Tax Amnesty program to catch up on 9 years of back taxes, all on income of only a few hundred a year. So I think it's obvious that they are getting some info from the IRS, or perhaps the PA Department of Revenue, where my partner also reports his self-employed income. I think a big problem with Philly's BPT/NPT system is that many people don't know about it. I had freelance income for years after I moved to Philly before I found out I was supposed to be paying the BPT/NPT. I came clean, paid my interest and penalties, and I've been caught up every since. But I would have been paying the tax all along if I had known about it. I'm hoping that the tax amnesty program earlier this year and also this City Paper article will make the BPT/NPT more well-known. I also hope city council does seriously consider setting a minimum amount of income below which you don't have to pay BPT/NPT. It is ridiculous for a blogger making $11 per year, or a writer like my partner making a few hundred, to have to buy a spendy license and file yet another tax return every year. Congrats on a great article, Valerie Rubinsky and City Paper. Virginia C. McGuire Philadelphia-based freelance writer
[...] 167 articles. There was one minor thing that was left out of the initial article and posted in a follow up today. How were these bloggers identified? The City “sent letters to people who reported their [...]
So why would anyone live in Philadelphia? Is there a 10,000% tax to get out? You need to fire the people who even suggested this this tax on freedom of speech. Since when did the cradle of freedom become a Fascist hellhole? May be time to revive tar and feathers....
@Blue I would argue it is because of a focus on the facts that infowars.com credibility is held up time and time again. I am not sure where you get your so called "facts" about inforwars.com from, but you are obviously just regurgitating misinformation.
[...] later article had a few clarifications, but the story is still rather [...]
As I understand it, you apply for a business license in the place you conduct the business, not where you live. How does Philadelphia plan on following up on that? When I started my consulting business I was careful to place my address in a location that wasn't in a major borough, city or otherwise to ensure that I didn't conduct transactions (the actual exchange of funds) where I'd get taxed out the a**. Just because someone lives in Philly and submits income that came from a blog, freelancing or consulting doesn't mean the transaction happened in Philadelphia or that the "business" operates there, ergo, Philadelphia's wide net might end up grabbing up some lawsuits at the same time, if they actually engaged in this.
[...] Philly's 'blogger fee' goes viral (also, some clarifications … [...]
[...] Philly's 'blogger fee' goes viral (also, some clarifications … [...]
[...] commenters on the CP site have called this an attack on speech, but as Jeff Billman explains, it’s not, really — the city isn’t taxing the bloggers for blogging, but for [...]
[...] Philly's 'blogger fee' goes viral (also, some clarifications … [...]
[...] Philly's 'blogger fee' goes viral (also, some clarifications … [...]
[...] Philly's 'blogger fee' goes viral (also, some clarifications … [...]
[...] Philly's 'blogger fee' goes viral (also, some clarifications … [...]
[...] Philly's 'blogger fee' goes viral (also, some clarifications … [...]
[...] Philly's 'blogger fee' goes viral (also, some clarifications … [...]
I prepare city business tax returns.The City Revenue department is very aggressive about collecting the $300.00 from all city residents. I have had taxpayers tell me on numerous occasions that they could not get the license for $50.00 but had to pay the $300.00 That's the truth. What the city told you is spin. If you dig down deep on this you will out the truth. This license is too severe, especially on small amounts of income. The city deserves the bad viral publicity it is getting.
[...] Philly's 'blogger fee' goes viral (also, some clarifications … [...]
[...] Philly's 'blogger fee' goes viral (also, some clarifications … [...]
[...] the latter of which both Technically Philly and NEast Philly acquired as we brought on revenue. Philadelphia CityPaper reported that the city had begun reaching directly out to bloggers demanding they pay up, a reality first noted on web forum Philly Speaks and, admittedly, ignored by [...]
[...] Philly’s ‘blogger fee’ goes viral (also, some clarifications) :: The Clog :: Blog ... [...]
So why don't you have a link to this correction from the original article? People are still posting there without any knowledge of this disclosure. http://citypaper.net/articles/2010/08/19/blogging-business-privilege-tax-philadelphia
[...] thing: There is no blogger tax. Never was. This was an Internet meme that got carried away and blown the hell out of proportion [...]
How is it possible that Philly lawmakers are unfamiliar with the constitutional concept that forbids Taxation Without Representation? In Philly of all cities. If Philly lawmakers can put together a cogent op-ed piece on how they are representing the bloggers with this tax money, I'll read it with an open mind. Until then their knowledge of constitutional law is disgraceful. As it is with most politicians, sadly.
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| Mitchell Leff |
| Well played, Mayor's Press Office well played. |
You've won this round, Mayor's Press Office.
Today, the aforementioned office announced a new, giant pool of photographs a lot of really nice ones, actually taken by photography students Mitchell Leff and Kait Privitera of the mayor and members of his administration.
It's all very well and good, but in doing so, they have seriously hampered a two-year CP tradition born out of the relative paucity of official images of His Honor Mayor Michael Nutter on the city's website of simply posting, and reposting again, the same few inscrutable images we've come to love.
Like this one:
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Or this one:
Thanks a lot, guys.
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Anyone who's been to a music festival has had the misfortune of walking past Nitrous Row, where concertgoers huff a sorta-legal chemical that gives you a measly 30-second high. Sometimes the users faceplant after a hit, others just huff balloon after balloon, seemingly never getting to the uh show they ostensibly came for. It's all kind of a drag. And guess which two cities are largely responsible for the scene being the way it is? Boston and
The Philadelphia ring is larger and split up into several sub-crews who know each other but operate independently, says Sean. "The Philly guys are more reckless," he says, and more prone to violence and intimidation. "They operate without a code of honor. They were the first kids I saw bringing guns to the lots and putting fuckin' shit to people's heads." The Philadelphia don, who owns his own nitrous supply store and has several workers underneath him, is less apt to show up at festivals himself, says Sean. "He's a fucking nut job," he adds, noting that even Dmitri is deferential to him.
Read the rest of the Village Voice piece here.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper and CraneKickChronicles, philly news now. philly news now said: Philly: Now also responsible for harshing your nitrous buzz: Anyone whos been to a music festival has had the mi... http://bit.ly/bktPcq [...]
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| Courtesy of Committee of 70 |
Zack Stalberg, president and CEO of good government group Committee of Seventy, has become something of a mythical Philadelphia character recently especially after the abolishment of the Clerk of Quarter Sessions (CQS) office and the Board of Revision of Taxes, both of which the Committee has long said should be shut down. (CQS, it should be noted, isn't completely abolished yet; the First District has taken over most of its responsibilities, but City Council legislation to officially shut it down is still in committee.)
So, while we definitely take the Public Record with a grain of salt, their recent pieces criticizing Stalberg are interesting for their singularity, if nothing else. The first article takes aim at Stalberg's annual salary the Record reports it's $248, 733 and how he allegedly "caused a meltdown" in the CQS; the second attacks his relationship with the local real estate industry, since he advocates for the abolishment of the Sheriff's office. Sez the piece:
Nearly seven out of every 10 contributors who attended the last breakfast fundraiser in November have financial ties to the local real-estate market, or provide professional or consulting services to the public sector.
The Committee of 70 touts its independence from special interests on its website and takes great pride in the fact it does not seek government funds.
Yet its take from the real-estate sector raises questions, in a city where Sheriff sales have emerged as a major target for the local giants in that industry.
This has become evident with the forecast by commercial real-estate experts of a second huge wave of foreclosures and defaults which will now involve the commercial real-estate sector, including multifamily residential projects and signature buildings.
You can read the rest of the articles here, if you're so inclined. There's no dirt in the pieces, though the Record promises it, but they do leave us wondering: What does labor have against Stalberg? And does it have something to do with Johnny Doc?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Committee of Seventy. Committee of Seventy said: RT @phillynewsnow: Wait, someone criticized Zack Stalberg? Oh, but its the Public Record.: Courtesy of Committee of 70 Zack Stalber... http://bit.ly/bQMjec [...]
Once upon a time, a sheriff named John Green stood up for financially-struggling homeowners in Philadelphia. While other sheriff offices throughout the land added staff and scheduled extra sheriff's sales to handle the economic housing implosion, Green set up a task force as far back as 2003 to come up with ways to reduce foreclosures and sheriff's sales. (Sheriff Sales dropped 21 percent in 2005 - after changes were put into effect.) Green also called representatives from the national banks to Philly to talk about local constituents' complaints regarding predatory lending, predatory servicing and outright fraud. (This was back before these stories became front-page news.) He told them their policies were draining wealth from the city's neighborhoods and putting other homeowners in jeopardy (The bankers would later tell Congress they didn't have a CLUE what was going on. Nobody told them) The renegade sheriff made the bankers with big bonuses very unhappy because all his talk - and all these rules - cost them money. (I know this because I happened to be the one who talked to these nice people on the sheriff's behalf.) One day, a real estate developer - who had friendly relationships with banks and owned lots of houses and buildings - decides he will be sheriff for his people. Well, there was joy, again, throughout the land. The developer contributed $100,000 to his own campaign - during the very same year the Committee of Seventy was trying hard to get money out of Philadelphia campaigns and politics. The voters of Philadelphia were asked to make a choice. Would they would go with the guy who was keeping an eye on the bankers and foreclosing attorneys - why yes, they would. Green was re-elected in November, 2007 with more than 96 percent of the vote. The people's sheriff went back to his job of saving homes. But 15 months later - the Committee of Seventy - which is filling its coffers from money from banks and attorneys with real estate practices - comes out with a report to abolish the sheriff's office. Now for my question: If you were watching this story on TV, and it was happening in some other city - which side would you root for? I called Zach Stalberg recently to discuss whether COS should 1) accept funds from Seventy members who have financially benefit from policies set by an appointed bank-friendly sheriff 2) Should these members recuse themselves from the decision-making process? Mr. Stalberg declined to return my call. (Now my feelings are hurt) And he doesn't seem very anxious to explain how a non-diverse group like COS can fully represent the views and needs of an ethnically rich and economically diverse city. My name is Linda Wallace. I am a former real estate editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer as well as the former coordinator of John Green's Task Force for Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention. I've decided to start telling the other side of this story on blogs throughout Philadelphia. I congratulate you for taking note of this information. Sometimes, the little guy (or little newspaper or singular blogger) is the first to see the hungry lion. That is why whenever I hear someone yell "help, watch out," I check it out. If we wait until a crowd gathers and reaches a consensus before attempting to assess danger - it may be too late.
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Who wouldn't envy the kind of press the Daily News and Inquirer have been giving the owners, builders, and supporters of Chester's new soccer stadium, which will house the Philadelphia Union?
The stadium hosted its first game this weekend, amid news that the city of Chester a largely poor, post-industrial city which famously lacks a single supermarket is under a state of emergency following a spate of homicides.
It seems the two newspapers just can't stop posing the question: Might the new stadium finally revive Chester?
The answer is: not likely and not just because stadiums almost never justify the large public subsidies they often wrangle from the hands of our elected officials, as Temple professor Kevin J. Delaney and Villanova professor and Rick Eckstein point out in their book, Public Dollars, Private Stadiums.
But also because the stadium's funding was secured largely by promises of further economic development a so-called "master plan development that would include commercial, business, and residential units that had little to no basis in reality, as I reported in my 2009 investigative piece, Steamrolled:
Though the vast majority of the benefits the Chester development is supposed to bring are associated with the mixed-use parcel, virtually all the public money allocated to the project is going straight to the construction of the stadium.
The state agencies awarding the millions appear, in some cases, to have failed or declined to ask basic questions about the economic benefits being promised.
Contamination on the site where the mixed-use development is to be built raises questions about whether delivering the promised amenities is even economically feasible.
And the very developers expected to build the mixed-use site the principals of the Wilmington-based Buccini/Pollin Group (BPG) are part-owners of the soccer team, providing a potential disincentive for them to allocate any of the public money toward anything but the stadium, from which they hope to profit.Will The Team deliver on its promises? Or has the public the city of Chester, in particular been duped?
A year later, the answer appears to be: yes. Chester still has no supermarket. And, as this paper found likely a year ago, the stadium is complete without any work or any signs of it taking place on the "master plan," which was supposed to have provided the most jobs and economic benefits to Chester.
Investigator Isaac, why not build a supermarket yourself?
Why does the first line of pieces written by Isaiah Thompson always run vertically (and illegibly) down the right side of the accompanying image? Is it just my browser?
[...] Thompson of Philadelphia’s CityPaper wonders why PPL Park is up and running while Chester hasn’t received any of the public money for economic [...]
[...] of the controversies surrounding the stadium built in neighboring Chester is that there were numerous promises made by [...]
My company worked on this project for 8 months. we were practically the last sub on the job & the last to get paid. we are still owed for work completed in June, July, August, September & November & have not received payment. We need teeth to get our money Please Help
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| Photo | Isaiah Thompson |
| It's "entertainment," babe: coming to a bar near you. (He sure looks happy). |
You know what natural gas and gamblers have in common?
Our elected officials will as dig deep, and at whatever cost to society, to exploit both as long as they can subsidize a tax here, or line a local slush fund there.
The difference? You can't can't make oil from scratch. Gamblers, on the other hand, can be created.
About a week ago (in a move that's received virtually no press, anywhere), Pennsylvania House Rep. Tim Mahoney (D-Fayette) announced that he will be introducing legislation to legalize "video poker" games in Pennsylvania, resurrecting a push last year to let every no, I need capital letters for this EVERY BAR IN THE STATE to host up to five "video poker" machines (slot machines, that is).
He is also calling and this hasn't been reported anywhere for slot machines to be allowed at places where lottery tickets are sold. Pro-gambling officials will deny that video poker machines are substantively different from slot machines. They are misinformed, as well as misleading the public, and I challenge any supporter of this legislation to prove otherwise.
The Fayette County lawmaker said clubs would be able to operate up to seven machines, licensed liquor establishment such as taverns and restaurants could operate up to five, and lottery sales agents could operate up to three machines. Machines operated by lottery sales agents would have to be located outside the general public's view and not accessible to people under age 21.
Mahoney said under his measure, the state could impose a maximum $1,000-per-year licensing fee per video poker machine. From that amount, $100 would go to the host municipality, $100 to the host school district and $50 to a nonprofit or community organization of the licensee's selection. Groups eligible for the $50-per-year funding would include fire and police departments, libraries and other nonprofit organizations.
The remainder of the licensing fee would be placed in the state's General Fund.
Think about it: slot machines in every bar in the state. That's as many as 60,000 or more new slot machines in Pennsylvania. The impact not just on gamblers, but on gamblers-to-be, on the down-and-out, and even on people who don't and will never gamble is hard to imagine. These slots won't even be at casinos. They'll be in our bars, right in our neighborhoods.
This isn't just some new law. It's a fundamental transformation of the nature of this state. It's Vegas, baby.
Mahoney, of course, is simply acting as the conduit of a plan long in the works. The casinos having won most of the favors they wanted, the state's powerful bar and tavern lobby (the PA Tavern Association) feels like it's their turn.
But this proposal to allow slots with lottery ticket sales? That's new.
Note the requirement that "Machines operated by lottery sales agents would have to be located outside the general public's view."
That's presumably supposed to be for the protection of the "general public" yet it also "protects" the gambler, doesn't it: from having to stop gambling, from being seen, from being interrupted by external stimuli (slot machines are designed to draw the player into a state of mind in which they will not stop playing until they're broke).
And it protects the gambling industry from being seen for what it is: predatory.
This is what you get when the right wing has completely won the argument over taxes, that is they have convinced the public that all taxes are bad and will have to come out of their pockets. In reality, of course, there are progressive ways to tax, wherein the rich and richer get to pay the large bulk of it, but they are rarely discussed. So maybe a better way to put it is that the idea of progressive taxation has been put in a dark corner out of view. Out of sight, out of mind, out of existence.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper and Dustyn Christofes, philly news now. philly news now said: Dept of non-suprises: PA House Democrats to push again for slot machines in bars . . and lottery providers!: ... http://bit.ly/bHbr21 [...]
You know what else natural gas and gamblers have in common? Isaac Thomas iz unnaturally fixated on both.
Personally I believe as a country we would all be better off if we had a less progressive tax and the rich volunteered to give more to charitable causes. I think part of the problem, however, is that the rich have less to give and what they do give is not really helping folks who have needs unless they are in the really low income catagory. What the rich should do is get involved with helping the people they see on a daily basis who have a need. If they don't know anyone who has a need then I think it is time for them to broaden their social circles a little bit. Maybe , they would learn why Democrats are Democrats. I am currently Republican, do to the fact that, on most issues I tend to agree somewhat more with them. I do believe in the trickle down economics somewhat, but even though the rich get richer and the hand-me-downs, may be better at goodwill, you can't pay your taxes or put gas in your car with discarded stuff. I think when the economy is this bad, gambling becomes more tempting. Gambling creates more economic problems for communities than it solves.
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