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Archive: December, 2011
"We can't reform the public school system … the only answer is data-based innovation and improvement," Councilman Bill Green told the School Reform Commission (SRC) this afternoon. He's proposing a complete restructuring of the district's governance, including "abolishing the existing School Reform Commission and splitting the governance of Philadelphia public schools among two entities – a Mayor-appointed Board of Education and a state-wide school reform entity similar to the Louisiana Recovery School District."
The grassroots activist group Action United, which had planned a protest at Comcast headquarters today to demand improved access to reduced-cost Internet for low-income Philly families, canceled the rally and declared "a huge victory." They said Comcast — which had previously declined to meet with them to discuss obstacles to families trying to sign up for the $9.95-per-month service, available to those who qualify for subsidized school lunches — had scheduled a meeting with Action United for Jan. 10. A survey by the group of local parents found that the majority were unaware of the service, and of those who tried to apply, some were disqualified because they already had an Internet service in place.
Philly has a new claim to fame: the nation's worst "judicial hellhole," according to the American Tort Reform Foundation. Among places where "judges systematically apply laws and court procedures in an unfair and unbalanced manner," Philadelphia beat out California, West Virginia, South Florida, Madison and St. Clair Counties in Illinois, and New York City and Albany (Nos. 2 through 6 respectively).
"Philadelphia hosts a disproportionate share of Pennsylvania’s lawsuits and, as demonstrated by this report, forum shopping for plaintiff-friendly courts within the state is primarily a 'Philly phenomenon.' Of greatest concern is the Complex Litigation Center (CLC) in Philadelphia, where judges have actively sought to attract personal injury lawyers from across the state and the country. Plaintiff-friendly law, expedited procedures, a reputation for a high plaintiff-win rate and generous awards contribute to Philadelphia’s status as a venue of choice. Success in addressing the flow of medical liability cases to Philadelphia and the legislature’s recent limiting of a defendant’s liability to its share of fault provide some hope for the future."
Homelessness is a year-round problem in Philly, but on the first day of winter, and the longest night of the year, it seems like an appropriate time to recognize just how devastating it can be. So, we have Homeless Memorial Day, a ceremony to commemorate homeless people who died this year and to renew the call to battle homelessness. Sister Mary Scullion, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and others will gather this afternoon at 4:30 at Broad Street Ministry, 315 S. Broad St., to mark the occasion and call for action. (Press release follows.)
Pennsylvania's 7.9 percent unemployment rate in November was well below the 8.6 percent national average, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics. But in Philly, it's a different story. We have 10.6 percent unemployment, according to a new report from the Office of the Controller — the fifth-highest rate among the 20 largest U.S. cities. That we're ahead of places like Detroit and Los Angeles isn't much comfort, given that sales tax collections were down 3.5 percent from last year.
Peer-lending circles, known as "susus" to the West African business people that populate Southwest Philadelphia's Woodland Avenue, as we report in the current issue of City Paper, are an informal way of saving collectively and getting access to capital quickly, based on a centuries-old tradition. Thanks to a local start-up, OurSusu.com, that group lending practice is now moving online, too — and benefiting from both social networking culture and secure (FDIC-insured) banking.
Jorge Santana, founder of the financial services start-up BetterCapital, and partner Carlton Langley, who created OurSusu.com, based in King of Prussia and Philly, have built what they say is the first online ROSCA (Rotating Savings & Loan Association) platform, allowing individuals to save money by contributing each week toward payouts that rotate among the participants.
"Whereas debt in traditional markets is seen as a way to make a lot of money off of folks, we want to find a way to be profitable but also to make sure borrowers get the best deal possible," Santana says. "By having people lend to one another, we could save money for a lot of people, help them improve their credit scores and escape the trappings of high interest debt" such as credit card debt or pay day loans.
The two-year-old site has more than 500 users at a given time, generally groups of participants who know one another or who are connected by a single ROSCA organizer. Many are second-generation immigrants who were raised with the ROSCA tradition.
Santana and Langley are also working to create their own alternative type of credit score, which will take into account social capital and repayment history. "Our sense is that there's a large market out there that may have a high debt-to-equity ratio, but have a history of consistent payments. That could be the owner of a start-up company, or someone just coming out of college with a high debt load."
Watch the video invitation here:
To the tune of Simon and Garfunkel’s rendition of “Silent Night”:
“Occupy Christmas, December 22, LOVE Park.
We will carol. We will honor a holiday not of shopping but of family. Of a homeless family who had to sleep in a barn. Of a child born to challenge an empire and a fearful tyrant who profiled the youth of Judea.
Don't just listen to the news. Be part of it.”
In yesterday's Sunday Inquirer, reporter Susan Snyder summarizes the paper's “Assault on Learning” series, detailing the concrete policy achievements they tout as the result of their investigations—surely in preparation for an upcoming Pulitzer submission (due January 25).
Here's what's most troubling: recapping their November article on arming school police officers, the Inquirer papers over or fails to deal with any of the serious criticisms leveled against their reporting by representatives of Mayor Michael Nutter and by City Paper (yours truly--see my point by point take down of the Inquirer's strange trip to meet with gun-toting school cops in Houston):
- The Inquirer failed to report on the city's fairly devastating criticism of their reporting. Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Everett Gillison had to write a letter to the editor pointing out that, incredibly, the November article's entire premise was wrong: armed school police are already in schools. "The Inquirer ignored the facts, disregarded my statement that city police have been stationed in schools for more than 30 years, and only once noted that Philadelphia officers are 'assigned' to city schools.” Today, the Inquirer summarized the imbroglio with, “Since then, Nutter and Ramsey have been emphasizing that armed city officers already have a significant presence in the schools and it's been so for decades.”
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