Vol. III No. 92 (458) Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia May 31, 2012 STEPHEN AICHELE, ESQ. Stephen Aichele, Esq., currently General Counsel to Gov. Tom Corbett, moved up to Chief of Staff on May 29. Aichele, a prominent Philadelphia attor- ney before being drafted by Corbett to come to Harrisburg, is seen here at Barnes Foundation Opening Gala with his wife Carol Aichele, who is currently serving as Secretary of the Commonwealth. Photo by Bonnie Squires Philadelphia Daily Record Hail To The Chief
Transcript
Vol. III No. 92 (458) Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia May 31, 2012
STEPHEN AICHELE, ESQ. Stephen Aichele, Esq., currently General Counsel to Gov. Tom Corbett,
moved up to Chief of Staff on May 29. Aichele, a prominent Philadelphia attor-
ney before being drafted by Corbett to come to Harrisburg, is seen here at
Barnes Foundation Opening Gala with his wife Carol Aichele, who is currently
serving as Secretary of the Commonwealth. Photo by Bonnie Squires
PhiladelphiaDaily Record
Hail To The Chief
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Three local nonprofit organiza-
tions are the beneficiaries of
AmeriCorps grants totaling $3.4
million dollars. Congressman
Chaka Fattah (D-Phila.), a senior
member of the House Appropria-
tions Committee and a leading
advocate of programs for young
people who commit themselves
to national service, made the an-
nouncement, saying more than
600 AmeriCorps members will
be supported by the grants.
These grants are the result of the
2012 AmeriCorps State and Na-
tional funding competition and
advance the priorities of the Ed-
ward M. Kennedy Serve Amer-
ica Act and Corporation for
National and Community Serv-
ice Strategic Plan. The Philadel-
phia grants will support
programs with a focus on educa-
tion and health.
Fattah said, “These grants will
continue high-impact interven-
tions for our students, getting
them on the right track to gradu-
ating from high school and
strengthening our city and will
provide critical services to edu-
cate and empower HIV-positive
Philadelphians to reduce the im-
pact of the disease.”
The 2012 grantees are:
• City Year, Inc. - $2,932,500 for
255 AmeriCorps member posi-
tions. AmeriCorps members with
City Year will tutor and mentor
6th- through 12th-graders in
Philadelphia schools.
• The Philadelphia AIDS Con-
sortium - $374,070 for 60
AmeriCorps member positions.
These AmeriCorps members will
provide health education and
support services for HIV-in-
fected individuals through direct
service and volunteer recruit-
ment. They will target low in-
come minorities in the
Philadelphia area and other
cities. Their service will result in
reduced HIV infection and better
outcomes for HIV-positive indi-
viduals.
• Trustees of the University of
Pennsylvania - $50, 712 to sup-
port 287 AmeriCorps member
positions. The AmeriCorps
members will be placed at non-
profit organizations to increase
capacity and enrich relationships
between higher education and
surrounding communities.
THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD
Fattah Announces
AmeriCorps $$ For 3
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Corbett Signs Death
Warrants For 2 City MenGovernor Tom Corbett has signed execution war-
rants for three men, each of whom were convicted
of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Two
committed their crimes in Philadelphia. All are in-
carcerated at the State Correctional Institution at
Greene.
Darien Houser, 49, is scheduled to be executed on
Jul. 24. In March 2004, Philadelphia Warrant Offi-
cer Sgt. Joseph LeClaire was attempting to serve a
warrant on Houser for failing to appear at his trial
on rape charges. Houser opened fire, killing
LeClaire and wounding two other officers. Houser
was arrested a short time later. In March 2006,
Houser was sentenced to death.
Willie Clayton, 65, is scheduled to be executed on
(Cont. Page 5)
THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD
Daily WafflesFrom Joe Sbaraglia (The Waffleman)
CLOTHES-PROP VENDOR -He sold 1" x 3" x 8' boards thatwere notched at one end. Theywere used to prop up clotheslines, heavy with wet clothes at-tached to them with woodenclothes pins. The clothes linesneeded this extra support. Theclothes prop prevented theclothes from touching the
ground while drying.
COAL - Overheard in the mall:“Mom, Santa said that if Iwere naughty, the only thing inmy stocking this Christmaswould be coal. What’s coal?”By the way, did you ever getany coal in your stocking forChristmas?
COAL BIN - is what water in-lets or storm drains werecalled. Many a ball, top ormarble was lost in them. Thosewho dared to retrieve their lostobject, removed the cover andwere held by a strong friend orfriends head-down, by theirfeet, in the inlet. They then at-tempted to retrieve whateverthey could reach. They usuallyemerged, covered with a blacksmelly slime on their clothing,therefore, their names, coalbins. We rarely had cloggedcoal bins. Every coal bin wasmaintained by the coal bincleaners.
COAL BIN CLEANERS - Menwho used rakes and bent shov-els on long poles to remove thedebris from the water inlets.These poles were about eightfeet long. They piled the extri-cated debris nearby for thestreet sweepers to remove. Coalbin cleaners were eagerlyawaited by those who lost a ballin the coal bin. Since they hadthe right tools and did notmind, they usually helped inthe recovery efforts. They pre-vented you from getting filthyin retrieving a lost ball or what-ever from the coal bins.
Jul. 26. In 1980, two Philadelphia men, Eric Grice
and Jack Summers, were shot and killed during
separate robberies inside their apartments, two
months apart. According to trial testimony, the vic-
tims were known drug dealers and Clayton had
been seen with both men.
Also during the trial, an acquaintance testified that
Clayton had confessed to him that he had killed
Grice and Summers so that people would fear him
and he could increase his influence over the drug
traffic in Philadelphia. In February 1986, Clayton
was sentenced to death for killing both men.
Executions in Pennsylvania are carried out by
lethal injection. With these three warrants signed
May 29, Corbett has now signed 14 execution war-
rants.
The ruling from Judge Robert Simpson in last
week’s hearing decided against State Rep. Tom
Killion (R-Chester) and others in their attempt to
intervene and insert their complaint into the voter
ID lawsuit filed by the ACLU, NAACP, League of
Women Voters of Pennsylvania and others.
State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams commented to
latest development in the Pennsylvania voter ID
lawsuit: “I’m pleased the court is focusing on the
merits of the arguments and not outside distrac-
tions by those who would dismiss or distort the
severity of the issues posed by this hastily enacted,
fundamentally flawed voter-ID law. We need to
put every effort into ensuring that every legal citi-
zen has free and full access to the ballot, not waste
time and dishonor our democracy by devising un-
necessary restrictions in efforts to manipulate spe-
cific outcomes.”
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Williams Scorns Attempt
To Amend Voter-ID Suit
McGeehan: Coney’s Group
Proves Feds Are NeededState Rep. Michael P. McGeehan (D-Northeast)
said he is flabbergasted to learn of a Philadelphia
Housing Authority plan to award a $510,000 con-
tract to a resident group headed by an embattled
ally of deposed PHA Executive Director Carl
Greene.
McGeehan said the planned deal with the Resident
Advisory Board, whose president is Asia Coney,
ignores the controversy that has swirled around the
last PHA-affiliated organization that she headed.
“The harsh reality – which amazingly appears lost
on the PHA – is federal prosecutors have subpoe-
naed emails and financial records of Tenant Sup-
port Services Inc., a nonprofit corporation Ms.
Coney once headed with a $108,000 yearly
salary,” said McGeehan. “Given the federal gov-
ernment’s deep and apparently unrelenting probes
into PHA corruption, it boggles the mind why any-
one would want to bring her back into the financial
mix until these investigations run their course.”
THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD
McGeehan said reported abuses at Tenant Support
Services Inc. were the driving force behind his
amendment to SB 1174, which would ban the PHA
from funding any nonprofit that employs a mem-
ber of the housing authority.
“I am not the only one who found it particularly
reprehensible that while making a salary in excess
of $100,000, Ms. Coney paid only $654 a month in
rent to live in Philadelphia public housing, plus
was driving a PHA-supplied SUV,” said McGee-
han. “These things are an abuse of public money –
and an affront to the public trust. They must be
rooted out and corrected if we are to restore public
confidence in the PHA.”
Based on the revelation that a half-million-dollar
contract with another Coney-affiliated organiza-
tion was in the works, McGeehan said he was re-
newing his push to ensure that the PHA remain
under federal control until all pending criminal in-
vestigations run their course. He and other
Philadelphia legislators staked out that position at
a press conference last week.
“At this crucial and delicate juncture, the PHA
should not revert back to city control,” said
McGeehan, who repeated his call for State Sen.
Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) to withdraw his bill that
would give the Philadelphia mayor power to ap-
point a new local PHA board.
Firefighters Assert
Nutter And Ayers Lied
The leaders of the Philadelphia Firefighters Union
today contended that Philadelphia Mayor Michael
Nutter and Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers lied
last week when they gave statements to the media
that a collapse zone was established and main-
tained on the site of the five-alarm, Apr. 9 Kens-
ington warehouse inferno that killed Lt. Robert
Neary and Firefighter Daniel Sweeney.]
At a press conference last week, the Firefighters
Union flatly stated a collapse zone – an area ex-
tending horizontally from the base of the wall to
1½ times the height of the wall - was never estab-
lished by PFD leadership during the warehouse
blaze, even though Deputy Commissioners Ernest
Hargett and John Devlin were both on site. Today,
Firefighter Union officials produced what they
contend to be the “smoking gun” that proves a col-
lapse zone was never established and that Nutter
and Ayers covered up the truth to protect them-
selves and Deputy Commissioners Hargett and De-
vlin.
The union previously called for the resignations of
Ayers, Hargett and Devlin for their failure of lead-
ership and tactical errors that contributed, in part,
to Neary’s and Sweeney’s deaths.
In the Philadelphia Fire Dept.’s own International
Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) Train-
ing Manual Supplements, under the heading of
“Safety”, it reads: “During an exterior fire attack,
three (3) zones should be established. These zones
will provide the incident commander an adequate
level of safety and accountability, for all partici-
pants at the incident. Zone 1 is the immediate col-
lapse zone indicated with banner tape and/or rope.
Once this zone is established, everyone should re-
main outside of this area.”
“Commissioner Ayers lied last week when he in-
sisted that there was a collapse zone established at
the Kensington fatal and Mayor Nutter lied to pro-
tect Ayers, Hargett and Devlin,” said International
Association of Firefighters Local 22 Recording
Secretary and career firefighter Mike Bresnan. “It
clearly states in their own training manual that a
collapse zone must be indicated with banner tape
and/or rope. We have now produced multiple pho-
tos of the fireground, from multiple angles – in-
cluding one of Incident Commander Devlin on site
– and nowhere is there one shred of visual evi-
dence of the existence of banner tape, rope, barri-
cades or any other physical manifestation of a
collapse zone. That’s because it was never ordered
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THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD
and never existed – and it cost Bob Neary and DanSweeney their lives.
“If Nutter and Ayers continue this con job thatthere was a collapse zone, despite overwhelmingevidence to the contrary, they are inferring thatBob Neary and Dan Sweeney disobeyed a directorder and acted as cowboys. We dare them to try toimpugn the integrity and denigrate the memoriesof these two heroes,” Bresnan concluded. “If Nut-ter and Ayers have any moral conscience whatso-ever, they will admit there was never a collapsezone and apologize to the Neary and Sweeneyfamilies, as well as to every firefighter in the city.”
Activists Raise Ruckus
For Comcast Shareholders
Today, hundreds of workers, students, faith lead-ers, families and members of community organiza-tions are joining Fight for Philly to bring a “99%message” to Comcast’s annual shareholder meet-ing.
As Comcast shareholders and executives discussthe successes of their company inside the Conven-tion Center, shareholder activists will challenge thePhiladelphia-based company’s corporate agendathat includes not paying its fair share of taxes, itsmembership in the American Legislative ExchangeCouncil, and its exorbitant executive compensa-tion. Meanwhile, supporters will hold a protest andspeak-out outside the meeting location.
With thousands of Philadelphians on the brink oflosing their jobs and dozens of school closurespending, activists will question Comcast’s involve-ment with an organization that undermines invest-ing in our future through investing in excellentpublic education for all children.
ALEC’s education legislation diverts taxpayers’money from public-school children to for-profiteducation corporations and gives more tax breaks
to rich corporations and individuals to pay privateschool tuition. ALEC is also a force behind thePennsylvania state budget, pushing for tax breaksfor big corporations while making cuts to schools,assistance and housing for the 99%.
Groups involved in the demonstration include Ac-tion United; Coalition of Labor Union Women;Communication Workers of America Local 13500;Drexel Foundation of Undergraduates for SexualEquality; Fight for Philly; International ActionCenter; Occupy Philly; Occupy Temple; Occupythe Dream; New Sanctuary Movement; Philadel-phia Unemployment Project; Philadelphians Alliedfor a Responsible Economy; SEIU 32BJ; SEIUHealthcare PA; Taxi Workers Alliance; TempleStudent Labor Action Project; TransportationWorkers Union Local 234; Youth Art & Self-em-powerment Project.
First Recycling Award
Winners Claim Prizes
Mayor Michael A. Nutter and Streets Dept. Com-missioner Clarena I.W. Tolson announced the firstround of winners in the Philadelphia RecyclingRewards Sweepstakes powered by Recyclebank.The Mayor presented prizes to two first-prize win-ners, who each received 12 monthly SEPTA transitpasses and five second-prize winners, who each re-ceived one $100 Target gift card. Winners from thefirst round were randomly selected from entries re-ceived between Apr. 1 and Apr. 30.
“We are happy to award prizes to the Sweepstakeswinners for doing their part in improving our com-munity through reducing waste and recyclingmore,” said Nutter. “By taking part in the Recy-cling Rewards Program powered by Recyclebank,Philadelphia residents are demonstrating theircommitment to a more sustainable future.”
Residents can still get involved in the Sweep-stakes, which will run until Jun. 30. Residents are
• PHILADELPHIADAILYRECORD.COM | 7
THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD
automatically entered into the Sweepstakes by re-
cycling more and completing simple “green” ac-
tions at www.PhillyRecyclingPAYS.com. Each
action represents an individual entry into the
Sweepstakes. The grand-prize winner will receive
free groceries for a year, a prize valued at $5,000.
“The Recycling Rewards Program is important to
our city on many levels. I am pleased to see so
many residents eager to recycle and earn points for
doing so. Redeeming the points for coupons to a
wide variety of stores in Philadelphia allows our
citizens to spend locally. Our partnership with Re-
cyclebank has helped our citizens become more
‘green’ in their efforts to make our city more sus-
tainable,” said the Commissioner Tolson.
The first-prize winners are Joanna Cahill of Rox-
borough and Vereta Jordan of North Philadelphia.
The second-place winners are Charisse Snipe of
Southwest Philadelphia, Lula McClaim of North
Philadelphia, Lenore Branham of North Philadel-
phia, Beth Grandizio of South Philadelphia and
Madeline Dombrowski of South Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Recycling Rewards, a partnership be-
tween the Streets Department and Recyclebank, al-
lows residents with City-provided recycling
collection to earn points that are redeemed through
Recyclebank for groceries, gift cards, merchandise
and entertainment at hundreds of participating
local and national merchants. Philadelphia is the
largest City in the United States to reward its resi-
dents for their recycling efforts.
For more information about Philadelphia Recy-
cling Rewards Program and to participate in the
Sweepstakes, please visit www.PhillyRecycling-
PAYS.com or call the Philadelphia Recycling Re-
wards Customer Affairs Unit at 1 (888) 769-7960.
Butkovitz Identifies
$5 Million Owed Police
City Controller Alan Butkovitz released a Philadel-
phia Police Dept. Follow-Up Review of Monies
Owed the City and found almost $5 million owed
for police services by businesses and government
agencies. While this is a 25% decrease in amounts
owed since the Controller’s 2009 report, it’s a sig-
nificant amount of money the City could be adding
to its coffers. In the Controller’s January 2009 re-
port, it was found that 779 entities owed the City
$6.7 million. In the latest report, there are 716 enti-
ties recorded as owing the current $5 million. Of
the current amount owed, $1.9 million is more
than 90 days past due.
“A 25% reduction in total amounts owed is a good
indicator collection efforts have improved,” said
Butkovitz. “Although, $5 million is still a signifi-
cant amount of money on the table for the City to
collect.”
Total amounts past due for less than three months
decreased from $4.7 million in 2009 to the $3.1
million currently owed, signaling an improvement
in the amount of time the City receives payments
for services rendered.
“The longer the City waits to collect for owed
services, the less probable it becomes that the City
will receive the full payment,” said Butkovitz.
“Allowing delinquents to forgo payments for City
services is trending cycle in Philadelphia that
needs to end immediately.”
The Controller’s follow-up report includes a top
20 list of delinquents with outstanding balances
older than 90 days with amounts ranging from
$341,329 to $18,549. Nine of the entities on the
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• PHILADELPHIADAILYRECORD.COM | 9
current list were on the same list in the Con-
troller’s prior report.
To increase revenues owed for police services, the
Controller’s report makes the following recom-
mendations:
• the PPD should continue to fully monitor its pol-
icy and current system for police services that are
provided for recurring delinquents,
• Both the PPD and Managing Director’s Office
should coordinate efforts to ensure that all deposits
for police services are paid before any services are
provided,
• PPD should seek the Law Dept. to take aggres-
sive action on collecting the outstanding balances,
and
• for any government agencies and departments
with outstanding balances, funds should be paid
and/or transferred from the appropriate accounts so
the receivable accounts be adequately managed.
• To view a copy of the Philadelphia Police Dept.
Follow-Up Review of Monies Owed for Police
Services, please visit the City Controller’s website
