Archive: July, 2011

Will Rep. O'Brien's vote against Corbett's budget hurt — or help — his run for Council?

POSTED: Friday, July 1, 2011, 3:18 PM

Filed Under: City Council | Elections | ElectionEar

This week, state Rep. Dennis O'Brien (Philadelphia) was one of only two state House Republicans who didn't vote for Gov. Tom Corbett's budget. John Taylor, who is also from Philly, joined him.

What makes this interesting: O'Brien is running for City Councilperson at-large this fall, and critics say his middle finger to the GOP budget could possibly hurt him at the polls.

But then again, Philly is a Democrat's town — so there's a chance that it could help him win votes from the other side.

Until now, O'Brien looked like a sure winner. In May's primary, he was the second-top vote-getter among Republican at-large candidates, with David Oh being No. 1 — leading many to presume that they would both win in November's election. (City law stipulates that two of the seven Council at-large seats go to minority party members, usually Republicans.)

But John Featherman, who ran and lost by a slim margin in this year's GOP mayoral primary against Karen Brown, says O'Brien's vote changes everything.

"It's going to weaken his candidacy, and may encourage me and other Republicans to drop support for him," says Featherman. "It's absolutely not a Republican position to vote against Corbett's budget."

O'Brien did not return requests for comment.

Interestingly, during the primary, O'Brien was embraced by neither Republican party leaders nor the GOP insurgents who want to overthrow them.

Of course, O'Brien could also use his vote against Corbett's budget — which established deep cuts that critics say will especially hurt Philly — to tout his independence and attract Democrats. Even Featherman admits, "This decision may help him with Democrats" — but, he's quick to add, "not Republicans."

Posted by Holly Otterbein @ 3:18 PM Permalink | 1 comment

Click here for the least depressing "flash mob" angle yet

POSTED: Friday, July 1, 2011, 1:11 PM

Filed Under: News

I'll admit it: I find my own Man Overboard! this week — in which I question whether the police have a coherent strategy for dealing with youth mobs and why they quibble over whether Saturday's incident was a "flash mob" or not — somewhat depressing.

Which made me all the more gratified to receive this appeal from Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Pennyslvania, asking people — men, especially — to become mentors to the more than 800 boys on their waiting list. It's the most positive and forward-looking take on the whole mess this author has seen so far.

Here's what they say:

If you’ve opened a newspaper or watched the local news lately, you’ve heard about the spike in violent crimes being committed by young people in Philadelphia. From flash mobs to random shootings, it’s apparent that far too many youth are being influenced by the wrong type of role models.

We know that when children spend time with their Big Brothers Big Sisters mentors, they are engaging in positive behaviors and making the connections between today’s actions and tomorrow’s consequences.

Children and youth in our programs are not participating in flash mobs and they are less likely to use alcohol, drugs or skip school because they understand that their mentors have expectations for them to succeed.

Their parents and caregivers also understand the important role a Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor can play in a child’s life and that is why today we have more than 800 boys on our waiting list. The only way we can serve these children is by recruiting more male mentors.

If you are a man, or know one, we ask that you please sign up for an information session (or refer someone) to learn about Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring.

You can get more information here

Posted by Isaiah Thompson @ 1:11 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Community groups gather to "veto" Corbett budget

POSTED: Friday, July 1, 2011, 12:42 PM

Filed Under: News

Project HOME, SEIU, the South East Pennsylvania Budget Coalition, and other groups are gathering at the Bellevue Hotel right now to "veto" the governor's budget, which they say "threatens the future of Pennsylvania's middle class and economy."

Quoth the press release:

Community members will sign their names to a “veto” document to register their outrage at corporations that are not paying their fair share of taxes and forcing state budget cuts that will devastate school programs, eliminate jobs and cut critical services. The group said that Pennsylvania’s children and middle class could have been spared close to billion dollars in cuts if rich, out-of-state corporations paid their fair share of taxes to the state.

Posted by Isaiah Thompson @ 12:42 PM Permalink | Post a comment

The bloody horrible redistricting from hell is nigh!

POSTED: Friday, July 1, 2011, 9:00 AM

Filed Under: City Council | News

In this week's City Paper, your truly examines just how difficult the charter-mandated redistriciting of the city's councilmanic districts on Philadelphia is going to be.

In a nutshell, the regions of the city that lost population (west and northwest) are adjacent to each other, as are those that gained population. The districts that changed the least are right in the middle — which means virtually all changes will have to flow through them:

Take, for example, the 3rd Council District, represented by Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell and comprising most of West Philadelphia. That district is about 7,000 people too small. But the districts directly to the north and south of it — the 4th District, represented by Curtis Jones Jr., and the 2nd, represented by Anna Verna — have also lost population. [see below]

"I have no idea how we're going to get it done," says Blackwell frankly, noting that the only nearby district that's gained population is the 5th, represented by Councilman Darrell Clarke. "But Darrell says, 'J.B., that's Strawberry Mansion! That's my base!'"

"They're going to have to move things all over the place," affirmed another City Hall source. "You almost think it would be better to start from scratch."

Council, meanwhile, has been not-exactly-fast to schedule public hearings it claims it wants to have ... in the middle of the summer ... over this incredibly important process ... that's supposed to be decided by September 9th ... which is one day after it officially reconvenes ...

And looming over this, as it looms over everything, is that great bermuda triangle of Philly politics, the race for the presidency of City Council.

Should we expect a political bloodbath this summer? As the Magic 8-ball used to put it — and as various sources in city hall beleive — "signs point to yes."

Posted by Isaiah Thompson @ 9:00 AM Permalink | Post a comment

1 | 2 | 3

Massive student walkout shuts down North Broad Street
Preschool wants to ban 'super hero play'
Hey, there's an election tomorrow!
PHILAPHILIA Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week: Tun Tavern Reconstruction
Gov. Corbett finishes rough week with soft landing at Philly.com
Philly Mag cover: Whites should criticize blacks
So about that alleged Butkovitz ethics probe ...
Second-class citizens to second-class shooting victims.
Some committee people support Mandel. Bobby Henon says maybe there's a 'brown bag' of cash in it for them
Pantheon of bizarre Philadelphia bureaucratic mascots about to get even more bizarre

About this blog

Here at The Naked City, you'll find breaking news, analysis, gossip and surprises about everything from crime and politics to the beating pulse of city life itself. We're good listeners, too:

Daniel Denvir: daniel.denvir@citypaper.net

Ryan Briggs: ryan.briggs@citypaper.net

Samantha Melamed: samantha@citypaper.net

The Naked City on Twitter: @CPNakedCity @danieldenvir @rw_briggs @samanthamelamed

Search this blog:

Topics:

Blog archives:

May
April
March

February
January

Past Archives:

powered by