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Expose those
deadbeats
After reading staff writer Tom Waring’s article on the PGW’s request for a rate increase, I think it is time for some aggressive investigative reporter to find out who is delinquent on their bills, and I would limit the amounts to $1,000 and above. Then publish the names and addresses of the deadbeats.
I would also look into water bill deadbeats, real estate tax bill deadbeats and anything that has anything to do with financial payments to the city. I would also publish their names and addresses. If they are delinquent on one utility, they are probably delinquent on all of their utilities. I bet we would be surprised by who’s on the list of deadbeats (or maybe not).
Frank Dillon
Normandy
Seniors really
need help
I want to know why it costs so much for gas. I recently got laid off from my job and am now on a fixed income. In November I lost my wife. Since then my thermostat has been set at 60 degrees, 24/7. I cook no more than twice a week. Of course I use gas heat to take a shower every day. You can’t guess what my gas bill is. $300 a month. How can this be?
We seniors get no help on our property taxes like they do in the suburbs. Why are our politicians allowing us to get treated like this?
Rus Slawter
Bustleton
She was canned
In response to Richie T. Mauro’s letter about recycling (For the good of our planet, please recycle!, April 5 edition), I could not agree more, however, you will not see a blue Philadelphia recycling can in front of my house on the 4200 block of Lansing St. for a very good reason.
Somebody stole it! But rest assured, we still recycle faithfully.
Jennifer Johnson
Holmesburg
Sadly, the vandal
force is with us
My 3-year-old son and his cousin were overjoyed at the thought of seeing the R2D2 mailbox that was put on display at Cottman Avenue and Frontenac Street for the Star Wars 30th anniversary. I’m equally happy that there was one placed in the Northeast and that it was spotlighted in the March 29 edition of the Northeast Times. However, I was glad that my sister and I took our children two days after we read where it was going it be, as when we arrived, the vinyl applied to it was already half removed from the back and side of the mailbox!
The following day, the vinyl had been ripped off of the front of the mailbox as well. I was disgusted when I saw this! I guess nothing can be special anymore. If we can’t respect something as simple as a decorated mailbox and let others have some joy seeing it, what does that say about the residents of our city? I guess graffiti would be appropriate for the mailbox. Hopefully, the next time there is something different and unique that is going to be placed in the Northeast, maybe it won’t be put here, since it would only be destroyed. I’m just glad that my son was able to appreciate it before it was completely destroyed. Way to go in ruining something else nice and different in the Northeast.
Kathryn E. Scott
Tacony
Don’t label all
Section 8 recipients . . .
This is in response to Jay Bosak’s letter in the April 5 edition concerning his idea for Section 8 recipients. FREE?? Tell me, Mr. Bosak, do you actually KNOW anybody on Section 8? Or do you, like many others, just go by what you read?
I am a Section 8 recipient and I get nothing free. I am not on welfare. I collect SSI disability due to serious illnesses.
Although I only pay a portion of my rent, it is a good portion, not free rent. I pay ALL my utilities and I keep my house, inside and out, very clean. I am up every morning at 7:30 a.m., not 12 noon, and I keep myself busy.
Last summer I became block captain only for the block-cleaning events. Only a handful of my neighbors cared about cleaning their street; they cared more about block parties. And most of these neighbors own their own homes or just rent outright.
If Section 8 did not exist I would be homeless. Do me a favor, Mr. Bosak, stop reading what Mr. Artur and others write about the Section 8 program and maybe find out on your own what it’s about and how it helps people like me.
Nothing is free, Mr. Bosak, at least not for me. If a few recipients take advantage of the program, don’t judge ALL of us by that, because I don’t take advantage of anything and I am a good person.
Lee Anne Reed
Mayfair
. . . Hey, can I jump on
the Section 8 bandwagon?
I’m hoping someone will be able to help me out with a question I have about Section 8 housing.
As a former resident of Frankford, I watched as my neighborhood deteriorated over a number of years, in large part due to an influx of new neighbors — who, if it was not for Section 8, would not have been able to afford to live in my old neighborhood. But hey, that’s water under the bridge.
I’m getting older now. I’m married, and we might want to start a family someday. That being said, we could use a bigger house, and we’d like to live somewhere with access to better schools. Now — before we go out and obtain master’s degrees, or work longer hours, or work harder and more diligently so that we can get promotions at work — I wanted to make sure that there wasn’t something that Section 8 could do for us. Or, is there something else like Section 8 that could at least help me upgrade to a bigger car?
I just figured it would be silly to overwork ourselves earning these things if there are programs out there right under our noses. Please let me know.
Matthew McGrath
Brookhaven
The Don Imus fiasco
has folks all fired up:
He’s just a jackass
Your editorial last week, Donald, duck!, hit the nail right on the head. While I feel what Don Imus said was wrong and insulting (and should be punished accordingly), I can’t help but see the usual double standard here. Black women are being degraded and insulted every day by their "black brothers" in movies, music and videos, the "‘n’ word" is constantly being thrown around by blacks toward other blacks — a lot worse than what that idiot Don Imus said. If it’s wrong for him to say it, it’s wrong for EVERYONE to say it!
Where is the outrage, marches and protests for this? It seems like it’s all right when they do it, but when someone NOT black says it, Al Sharpton and the black community become outraged, and start throwing the "racism" charge around.
These so-called black leaders should start putting their energy into trying to straighten out their own communities — like the inner-cities that are becoming cesspools of crime, drugs, violence, shootings and murders — instead of worrying about what some middle-aged white jackass says on the radio.
Dan Nace
Fox Chase
Get over it
Why are these "controversial" remarks made by Imus receiving such media attention? There is a strong cry (mainly from the black community) for his immediate termination. Why are they not focusing more on the never-ending derogatory lyrics of the rap stars?
I realize they have been denounced by "leaders" like Al Sharpton, but why aren’t they going after the record labels that sign these rappers? I’ve heard Charles Barkley reply to a reporter by stating, "See, that’s why I hate white people," and that was swept under the rug. Another radio host from the ’80s by the name of Garry Byrd was one of the most racial (black) hosts I’ve ever heard, but I did not cry for his resignation. Get over it!
For the ladies of the Rutgers basketball team that have been "scarred" for life, get over it! Now as for me, I’m going to take a nappy . . . ooops.
Michael Allen
Holmesburg
Racism is universal
Who is Don Imus? I never heard of this guy until now, thanks to all the rabble-rousers. From my understanding, he has been saying remarks against EVERYONE for many years and getting paid for it. Now all of a sudden he’s wrong and he’s being crucified. Why? Because Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton said so? What happened to freedom of speech? Are we not in a democracy of some kind?
As far as a racial statement is concerned, this man Imus is in the entertainment business, and so is Spike Lee. So why was it wrong for this Imus guy and why it’s not wrong for Spike Lee to say the exact same thing in a movie? If this statement was wrong to say, then it is wrong to say. It is just like the "‘N’ word." Why is it wrong for white or other races to say it, but not black people? Again, if it’s wrong, it’s wrong. But the beauty of it all is you can turn these people off if you don’t like what they say. I’ve been doing it for years. Ahhh, America!
However, leave it to Jesse Jackson and the like to make a racial thing out of a statement, in my opinion, that was more of a sexist statement and not racist. So if anybody should be up in arms it should be women. (I guess is has been a while since Jackson was on TV). And since when is racism only racism when it is whites saying anything against the blacks?
Hello! Racism works both ways, and in my opinion, Jackson and Sharpton are some of the biggest racists going on. They need to look in a mirror and quote "He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone."
Every time they talk about racism, it’s the old double standard. Where were Jackson and Sharpton when Mayor Street made his infamous statement, "The brothers and sisters are running the city"?
Now Don Imus is fired. So why aren’t all these other public figures, rappers and comedians, etc., getting fired also for using the same kind of language, if not worse? Personally, I am sick of the whole lot making big bucks over degrading women, and it’s accepted because black people said it or sang it. Let white people say things, and all hell breaks loose. If it is wrong, then it is wrong. Case closed. Now that’s equality. What kind of world would we be living in if every time you made a mistake at your job you got fired?
Now for the real issue at hand. Don Imus’ statement was not very nice and not too smart. Keep in mind, it was said about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team (which has both white and black players). Kudos to these girls for speaking up for women — all women — everywhere. These girls are the ones who should have a beef with Imus. It shouldn’t be Jesse Jackson or any of his crusaders; not the media or anyone.
This is between the girls on that basketball team and Mr. Imus. He has apologized over and over again, and it is up to the team whether they can find it in their hearts to forgive him. Some may forgive him, some may take a while, and some may never forgive him, but it is up to them, not Jesse Jackson or anyone else. He does not owe Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and the like any apologies, and they should really stop trying to act like the kings of all black people.
My hat’s off to these girls for acting like young ladies and standing up for women everywhere. They have handled this whole situation that has been played out in the media daily with dignity and class. Now would a "ho" act like this?
These girls have nothing to apologize for or be ashamed of. I hope they use this thing as a learning experience and go on and celebrate their accomplishments. They’re young and have their whole lives ahead of them. I hate to see them miss out on the wonderful things life has to offer. They have a wonderful attitude and with this they will definitely go far in life.
Congrats to the Rutgers University women’s basketball team. I’m proud to call myself a woman.
P.S. The CBS network that fired Imus is nothing but a bunch of gutless cowards with no backbone. He didn’t get fired because of what he said, he got fired because all the sponsors pulled out, which cost the network millions of dollars. The sponsors are cowards as well for abandoning him right before his charity telethon that is to help out children. Now, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Sharpton, who are you really punishing by getting your selfish way and achieving your agenda?
Diane McDowell
Parkwood
They’re no angels
I agree that remarks by Don Imus were both racist and sexist. Imus himself may have best characterized the incident when he said to the Rev. Al Sharpton, "I am a good person who said a bad thing."
But Sharpton responded with (paraphrasing), "This isn’t about being a good person, it’s about what you said."
If I take Sharpton literally, I must conclude he believes that words are more important than deeds, that no matter what good a person does in his life, a single, stupid insensitive comment writes that individual’s epithet. In this case, Sharpton et al, label Imus as a racist above all else with no mention of anything that might prove otherwise.
In fairness, Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, who called for Imus to lose his job, have said nothing, among other things, of Imus’ relentless on-air efforts to see former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.), an African-American, elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006. When Tennessee Republican supporters ran an ugly redneck-directed ad in which a scantily dressed white woman urged Ford to phone her ("call me, Harold!"), it was Don Imus who railed day after day about the ad and pushed for Ford’s election based on his character and abilities.
Were we to adopt Sharpton’s "words-speak-more-loudly-than-deeds" philosophy, what then should we do about Jesse Jackson’s anti-Semitic "Hymietown" remarks made about New York City Jews (1984) or his assertion that President Richard Nixon was less attentive to poverty in the U.S. because "four out of five of his top advisers were German Jews with priorities in Europe and Asia?" Was it bigotry for Jackson to say he was "sick and tired of hearing about the Holocaust" or that there are "very few Jewish reporters that have the capacity to be objective about Arab affairs?"
Do Jackson’s stupid, insensitive remarks render him not-a-good-person, or can one make the case, as Imus did about himself, that a person who is basically good is still capable of saying something bad? And Sharpton himself is not without controversy (i.e., November 1987, Tawana Brawley incident — 10 years after which, Sharpton was found liable by a grand jury for $65,000 in damages to a white law enforcement officer wrongly accused of abducting and raping Ms. Brawley, an African-American).
And ironically, as Sharpton and Jackson were calling for Imus’ professional demise, on virtually the same day, the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office dropped all charges against three Duke University lacrosse players indicted after a Durham woman alleged she was assaulted by them at a team party. No apologies from, nor sanctions against, Sharpton and Jackson are yet forthcoming despite their aggressive support of the discredited "victim" and the multimillion-dollar legal costs to the wrongly accused.
The Imus incident is too serious to dismiss with the old "sticks and stones will break my bones but names can never hurt me" platitude; names can hurt. But let us not overlook the more sound philosophical advice regarding who among us may "cast the first stone."
If we are ever going to make any significant progress in race relations in this country, it might be wise to think of ourselves as potentially good people who are nonetheless capable of saying bad things and, to look often in the mirror before casting aspersions or anything else.
Arthur Gurmankin
Fox Chase
Roadside memorials
should be temporary
I disagree with roadside memorials, at least beyond a short period, maybe two weeks. Mostly it’s an eyesore like the billboards along I-95, but I truly believe that it hinders family members from moving on.
My husband was killed on the road (in Ireland) and his cousins put up an iron Celtic cross where he died. It was on the side of the road and looks like a small grotto now. When I go over to Ireland to visit and pass this area it pulls me back to the day. I am glad that I don’t pass it daily, which would happen if the accident occurred here, in Philadelphia. It’s hard enough to focus on the good times and not on the negative moment. It helps no one, including the immediate family, to have soggy, dirt-covered stuffed animals on the spot where their loved one died.
There was another memorial on Norcom Road for the longest while, but due to another car hitting the same spot (and knocking down the pole there), it no longer is there
I don’t think the lack of stuffed animals there removed the memory of that person to their family and friends.
To me the best memorial one could give is to carry a photo, a writing, something of the deceased, and talk about them, remembering all the good times. Stop putting junk on the site and go visit the family and talk about what that person meant to you. I am sure that would be appreciated more in the long run.
Donna McParland
Modena Park
Please don’t cut
the city parks budget
As a member of the Friends of Womrath Park and the Friends of Overington Park, and as a member of the Philadelphia Green Advisory Council, I am writing to urge everyone to contact City Council to vote for increases in funding for the Recreation Department.
There are apparently rumors that the summer maintenance assistance program might be cut this year from the budget.
Volunteers have stepped up to provide extra help in maintaining and improving city parks in increasing numbers over the last 10 years. I have seen our two parks improve dramatically in just the past five years because of neighborhood support. But if the City Council continues to reward this huge effort by its residents with nothing but greater burden of expectation, and even less support for their work, then this volunteer army will soon begin to disappear, and the possibility of sustainable parks will disappear, too.
Attractive, well-maintained parks and playgrounds play a vital role in the life and economy of our city. It is well known that when our city parks look abandoned, they appear to be and soon become dangerous as well. Use of the parks drop. Property values of homes in the neighborhood around them can plummet.
A summer maintenance assistant is paid little over the minimum wage for a mere 20 hours a week, just from May to November, not a very expensive program. But it is enough to keep a park viable. Please do not cut them from the PDR budget. Please do not cut ANY funding from the PDR budget. Our city parks and recreation programs are one of the city services that all of us love and benefit from.
Janet E. Bernstein
Tacony
The Johnny-come-latelys
I read with great interest the article about members of Beit Harambam Synagogue joining the Greater Bustleton Civic League en masse to swing the vote on whether to approve the synagogue’s plan to expand its facilities (Synagogue members push their proposal to victory, April 5 edition).
I commend the congregation for making changes to the plan in response to neighbor concerns. But I also question the sincerity of the new civic league members in joining just to influence this vote. Why didn’t they take greater interest in joining the civic league before this issue arose? Will they renew their membership next year, let alone ever attend another meeting? The answers to those questions seem obvious.
The real question is whether that attitude is one people ought to have in the first place.
Michael L. Bane
Northwood
Opinions aplenty on the
mayoral hopefuls
He’s in
Nutter’s corner
Michael Nutter is Philadelphia’s best mayoral candidate in a generation. He’s right on the issues, his knowledge of city government is unmatchable and he has a proven track record.
Michael Nutter’s entire public service career is about successfully managing the balancing act between acting today and planning for tomorrow.
Michael Nutter’s commitment to reform is more than just about ethics; it’s about maximizing the use of available dollars so that government can invest in programs and policies that result in meaningful improvements to the quality of life for all Philadelphians.
From the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative to public safety or neighborhood parks and libraries, Michael Nutter fought for policies that worked for the city as a whole and not just those who live in Rittenhouse Square and those with connections.
Making Philadelphia a better place to live entails ensuring that government is committed to fairness and high standards on critical and not so critical issues. In practice, this means that the impending full-value real estate assessments will be performed impartially and that police officers don’t park in the middle of the small streets unless there is an emergency, among many other sorely needed improvements to city government.
Continuing to reduce taxes sends an important message that Philadelphia is open for business more than a few government-sponsored initiatives supposedly supporting economic development.
The most appealing aspect of Michael Nutter for me is that he is always proactive, positive and constantly communicates. Philadelphia can’t afford a mayor who is content to lurch from one crisis to another offering quick fixes, which results in decisions like badly located ballparks and politically convenient police overtime with negative long-term consequences.
Michael Nutter’s independence and constant search for innovative and feasible solutions to the challenges that Philadelphia faces leads me to believe that of all the candidates, he’ll improve services to the city’s numerous communities in a way that will most improve all residents’ lives.
Michael Cunningham
Castor Gardens
Clean up
your act, Bob
I want to thank Bob Wagner and Margaret Philippi for their comments about the ugly signs along the highways and byways of the Northeast (Letters to the Editor, April 5).
This issue has been bugging me for years and I have written letters to this paper before about this non-caring practice by politicians.
I consider the signs TRASH and I for one am going to clean up my neighborhood by removing the signs that are littering public property, and throwing them out.
I live near Tyson and the Boulevard, so I’ll take care of that area. Everyone, take care of your area — you’ll be doing the community a great service.
Bob Brady is not getting my vote, either. He doesn’t care how my Northeast looks now; he sure as hell won’t care when and if he gets elected (which I doubt; old-school politics are dead).
Is anyone else sick of this illegal and disrespectful practice? Let’s hear from you and see some results. Clean up! Hey, Brady, can you read? It’s not just Bob, Margaret and I that are fed up. Let’s see if you really care.
Ed O’Neill
Oxford Circle
How to not
waste your vote
I have noticed recent full-page ads in the Northeast Philadelphia weekly newspapers urging me and other Northeast Republicans not to "waste" our votes. The ads are by Democratic mayoral candidate Bob Brady asking Republicans to switch political parties for one day so that our votes "will count," and so that, presumably, we will vote as Democrats for Brady in the primary election on May 15.
The ads entice Republicans: "play a part!! — don’t be shut out of the process!!!" The implication, of course, is that because, in the city, registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by a ratio of 5 to 1, a Republican cannot win the general election in November, and, thus, the mayoral election will be decided in the Democratic primary election.
But Brady’s strategy overlooks the fact that many people, regardless of political affiliation, are now truly sick of the sorry status quo and the direction in which the city is headed. A February Keystone poll found that 61 percent of Philadelphia voters believe that Philadelphia is "off on the wrong track," while only 37 percent of Philadelphians felt that way in 2003. After 56 years, it may finally be time for the local Democratic Party machine stranglehold to be broken.
And it wouldn’t be unprecedented, either. In 1951, when the situation was reversed, and people were fed up with a longtime local Republican stranglehold, in winning the election, Democratic mayoral candidate Joseph S. Clark Jr. received 450,000 votes, even though there were only 305,000 registered Democrats at the time. Although local cynics may claim that means 145,000 dead people voted for Clark, it’s more likely that a significant number of Republicans, sick of the status quo, crossed party lines and voted for the Democrat.
In this year’s mayoral race, the Republican candidate, Al Taubenberger, is a decent and honest man of his word who has devoted his life to serving his community. He is both highly experienced in business and civic-minded by nature. He is as qualified to lead the city, if not more so, than any of the Democratic candidates, and his candidacy offers a fresh alternative to the tired status quo of the entrenched Democratic Party machine. If voters are truly hungry for change, then voting for Al isn’t a wasted vote at all.
But what if that doesn’t happen? What if a significant number of Democrats simply can’t bring themselves to vote for a Republican, no matter how sick they are of their own party’s corrupted culture? And what if the mayoral race is, indeed, decided in the Democratic primary? Well, assuming some Republicans, in fact, do switch parties so that they can play a part in deciding the next mayor, and have their votes count — what in the world makes Brady think they would want to vote for him?
Of all the candidates, no one better personifies the deeply entrenched, pay-to-play mentality, back-room dealing, nepotistic, good old boys system of Philadelphia’s desultory politics, than the longtime Democratic City Committee chairman himself, Bob Brady. See, the irony of Brady’s advertised appeal to not "waste your vote" is that, if you’re as sick of the direction in which the city is headed as the polls indicate you are, then, my fellow Northeast Republicans, switching parties to vote as a Democrat in the primary — and then casting your vote for Brady — would be a "wasted" vote, after all.
Robert S. Nix
Fox Chase
Police union
likes Brady
As we prepare for the upcoming mayoral primary, a lot is at stake. The overall health of our city is of paramount importance. Every candidate has expressed their view on how they will make things better.
The question in everyone’s head is, who will be able to accomplish this monumental task? Who will be willing to take the direction needed to ensure the safety and education for our children, who are our futures? Who will listen to the concerns of our community?
It is my belief that the person who can bring us all together for a better Philadelphia is Congressman Bob Brady. He is a coalition builder. He is a communicator. He knows where we are coming from, because he’s personally been there.
As you see the candidates receiving endorsements, why is it that Congressman Brady received the endorsements of District Attorney Lynne Abraham and the Fraternal Order of Police?
Simply put, we feel he is the person who can truly make our city safer. He is the best person for the job.
Robert V. Eddis
President, Michael G. Lutz Lodge 5, Fraternal Order of Police
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