PhiladelphiaDaily Record

Vol. I No. 112 Keeping You Posted With The Politics Of Philadelphia December 6, 2010

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA announced yesterday he had concluded a deal

with Senate Congressional leadership on the future of the Bush tax cuts. Congres-

sional Democrats remained restive. Will the deal hold?

DEAL OR NO DEAL

2 | THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD 6 DECEMBER, 2010

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UNITED FRONT behind continued Federal funding of Delaware

River Dredging was obvious as our delegation attended information

brief at Philadelphia Regional Port Authority Headquarters this week.

From left are US Sen. Bob Casey, Congress Members Bob Brady and

Allyson Schwartz, ILA Local 1291 President Boise Butler, PRPA Exec-

utive Director James T. McDermott and Congressman Chaka Fattah’s

aide Solomon Jones.

Feds Pressed To Fund

PRPA BOARD MEMBER Rhonda Hill Wilson, Esq. and ILA Local

1291 President Boise Butler assured US Sen. Bob Casey of superb sup-

port given Port dredging by labor leaders.

6 DECEMBER, 2010 THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD | 3

As the new Congress suppos-

edly ponders doing away with ear-

marks, Congressman Bob Brady

said, “If I had my way, I would

earmark for the Delaware River

and the Philadelphia Port all the

millions of dollars they need for

dredging and expansion.”

He summed with that statement

the determination of Philadel-

phia’s Congressional House dele-

gation and US Sen. Bob Casey,

who met with the Philadelphia Re-

gional Port Authority and stake-

holders to support the Delaware

River Main Channel Deepening

Project.

The Senator led members of the

Pennsylvania delegation, includ-

ing Sen. Arlen Specter, Congress-

men Chaka Fattah and Robert

Brady, and Congresswoman

Allyson Schwartz in sending the

letter to Jacob Lew, director of the

Office of Management & Budget.

They called for the inclusion of

the project in the President’s fiscal

2012 budget.

“This project will create jobs

and grow the region’s economy,”

the members wrote. “This project

will make maritime transportation

more efficient and reduce shipping

costs, and is necessary to sustain

the economic viability of the ports

along the Delaware River.”

The letter notes the project,

which will deepen the shipping

channel from 40 feet to 45 feet to

accommodate larger vessels, has

the potential to create thousands of

jobs and generate over $1 billion

in revenue in its lifetime. The

members stressed any delay in the

project will increase costs and

harm the countless residents and

workers in the region who will get

a job, keep their job or otherwise

benefit as a result of this project.

State Rep. Bill Keller reminded

those at the meeting, “The Panama

Canal is being widened as we

speak. When it opens, thousands

of tons of cargo will be shipped to

the Atlantic side of our coastline.

Philadelphia is poised, before all

the other ports, to become the

main port for much of that ship-

ping.”

It its letter to Lew, the group

stated, “In an era in which Con-

gress appears unlikely to direct

funding to specific projects, the

Obama Administration must take

affirmative steps to move this

project forward. Your leadership

on this matter is therefore neces-

sary.”

The signers included U.S. Sena-

tors Robert P. Casey, Jr. and Arlen

Specter and Congress members

Robert A. Brady, Chaka Fattah

and Allyson Y. Schwartz.

Delaware R. Deepening Nutter Hails Blackhawks AndChargers For PopWarner Advances

Mayor Michael A. Nutter has released

the following statement congratulating

the North Philly Blackhawks and the

Frankford Chargers on their first round

victories at the Pop Warner Super Bowl

in Florida:

“Congratulations to the Blackhawks

and the Chargers on their first round vic-

tories at the 2010 Pop Warner Super

Bowl. These teams are representing

Philadelphia on the national stage and

the whole city stands with them as they

progress through this competition.

“I had the opportunity to meet with

these young men and their coaches last

week and it was so inspiring to see their

commitment and dedication to each

other and their communities. Go Black-

hawks! Go Chargers!”

Last Sunday, the North Philly Black-

hawks defeated the King Philip Chiefs

(Mass.) 35-0 in the Division I Pee Wee

Bracket, and the Frankford Chargers de-

feated the Kaneohe Knights (Haw.) 28-0

in the Division I Midget Bracket.

Tomorrow, the Blackhawks take on

the Santa Margarita Titans (Cal.) and the

Chargers play the Detroit Dolphins

(Mich.).

Mayor Nutter announced on Friday he

had raised $26,500 from local businesses

to send the teams to the Championship

in Florida. The Philadelphia Eagles,

Mitchell & Ness, VILLA, Comcast,

CBS Radio, and Bowman Kavulich Law

Firm all made generous contributions to-

wards the teams’ travel and accommoda-

tion expenses.

4 | THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD 6 DECEMBER, 2010

COUNCILMAN AT

LARGE Frank L. Rizzo, Jr.

presented a resolution to

Phila. Children’s Alliance

thanking nonprofit for work

it does with city’s child sex-

ual-abuse victims. Accepting

resolution is Chris Kirchner,

PCA executive director;

Betsy Scarcelli, its Board

president, right; and Chris-

tine Jones, its office manager,

far left. PCA promotes heal-

ing and justice for these vic-

tims by conducting

state-of-the-art forensic in-

terviews, by providing vic-

tim-support services and by

collaborating with other

agencies on an integrated re-

sponse.

Time For More ChoiceSTATE SEN. DO-

MINIC PILEGGI

joined other legislators

in touring Walter D.

Palmer Partnership

Charter School to dis-

cuss need for more

school programs at

rally hosted by school.

From left are Rep. Ted

Koch, Pileggi, Palmer,

and Rep. W. Curtis

Thomas.

Alliance Is Commended By Council For Saving Children

6 DECEMBER, 2010 THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD | 5

Dec. 8-

Fire Fighters Local 22 and Po-

lice FOP Lodge 5 host plaque

dedication honoring 100th an-

niversary of largest loss of life

which killed 13 firefighters, one

police officer and two fire

horses at Plaza Complex on 2nd

St. south of Girard Ave., 11 a.m.

For info Jerry Kots (267) 549-

6326.

Dec. 14-

Portrait presentation of Hon.

Sheldon C. Jelin at City Hall,

Room 653, 4 p.m. Reception

following in Conversation Hall.

Dec. 18-

Caribbean Night Happy Hour

fundraiser for Lawrence Clark

for City Council at Banana’s

876 Lounge, 5500 Rising Sun

Ave., 6-9 p.m. Donation $10 in-

cludes food.; donate blanket for

homeless and it’s $8. Make

checks to Clark4Change, P.O.

Box 27154, Phila., PA 19118.

Jan. 27-

Edward J. Lowry, founder of

Phila. Veterans MultiService

and Education Ctr., will be hon-

ored on retirement at Waterfall

Rm. in Plumbers Local 690

Union Hall, 2791 Southampton

Rd., Cocktails 6-8 p.m., fol-

lowed by Tribute Program.

Tickets $65. Order by phone

(215) 238-8050. Event Chair Ed

Keenan, Board Chair Jim Mc-

Nesby and Exec. Dir. Marsha

Four.

Once, the 146-year-old Lutheran

Theological Seminary at Philadel-

phia gave the architectural impres-

sion of being “walled off” from the

Mount Airy community it has his-

torically and increasingly supported

over the years.

Visually, that changed a year ago

with the dedication of William Allen

Plaza, a public square on German-

town Avenue in front of the Semi-

nary’s chapel. Seminary President

Philip D. Krey says the inviting

space was created to be a “gateway”

to the neighborhood the school cher-

ishes, serving also as a functional

public space. The new plaza was

part of a $3 million renovation un-

dertaken by the seminary for its

chapel.

Community development group

Mount Airy USA suggested ele-

ments for the plaza’s design. Local

officials secured $500,000 in state

grants and $400,000 in city grants to

cover the plaza’s construction. This

summer, the plaza became the site

of a Tuesday afternoon Farmer’s

Market that attracted many commu-

nity shoppers.

Now, several Mount Airy busi-

ness leaders, inspired by the initia-

tive, have taken the project a step

further by donating the creation and

installation of three permanent

benches to make the plaza even

more accommodating to visitors.

The benches, which “wrap around”

three trees on the plaza, were fabri-

cated by craftsman Matt Sharaat of

Mount Airy Custom Furniture, and

dedicated Dec. 3 as part of the tree-

lighting and caroling held annually

there.

The plaza-furniture project was

the brainchild of Elise Rivers, who

with her husband moved to Mount

Airy six years ago. Rivers explains

she and her husband have both

formed strong businesses, hers

being Community Acupuncture of

Mount Airy.

“I’ve always loved the outdoors,”

she explains, “and when I saw the

space I thought it is just what the

community needs along German-

town Avenue.” She became further

involved through her role as a board

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Seminary Invites Mt. Airy To Have A Seat In New Plaza

6 | THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD 6 DECEMBER, 2010

member of the Mount Airy Business

Improvement District. One of its

missions is to add green space along

Germantown Avenue between

Cresheim Valley Road and Wash-

ington Lane. With the help of

MABID, she has already improved

the “pocket park” at Germantown

Avenue & Carpenter Lane, with

more in the works for next spring.

Pondering benches, Rivers con-

tacted Ken Weinstein, owner of the

Trolley Car Diner and current

MABID chair, for advice and sup-

port. Weinstein told Rivers the Sem-

inary has historically supported

Mount Airy in multiple ways.

“During the Germantown Avenue

reconstruction, the seminary com-

munity really supported the diner,

which was so negatively impacted

for a time by the construction,” We-

instein said. The road excavation

made access to the restaurant a real

challenge for many months. Wein-

stein also praises the seminary for

investing in the fledgling Valley

Green Bank five years ago. In addi-

tion the Seminary has energetically

participated in Martin Luther King

Day service projects and cleanups

along Chew Avenue.

Rivers met with Krey, then

pledged a $4,000 gift toward the

benches. Weinstein made a $1,000

supportive pledge and also con-

tacted Robert Elfant of Elfant-Wis-

sahickon Realtors, who pledged

$1,000 toward the project. And

Elfant contacted Edward Hillis,

owner of Domus Inc., the German-

town general contractor recently in-

volved in building a new Weaver’s

Way Co-op store in Chestnut Hill.

Hillis made a $1,000 gift. The Sem-

inary also contributed $2,000.

In addition to the successful

Farmer’s Market, the initiative is

generating a vision for other possi-

ble activities are well – maybe out-

door concerts and movies.

“I’ve long had a soft spot in my

heart for the seminary,” Elfant ex-

plained. “The seminary is physically

such a big part of the community,

and it plays a major role in how it

serves the neighborhood.”

Krey said, “I think we’re part of a

mutual admiration society in Mount

Airy. We all help each other.”

Participating in the Friday cere-

monies were LTSP President Philip

Krey, bench donors Rivers, Elfant

and Weinstein, East Mount Airy

Neighbors President Dan Muroff,

Mount Airy USA Executive Direc-

tor Anuj Gupta, LTSP Professor

Katie Day, and Councilwoman

Donna Reed Miller. Professor Day

led the prayer for the dedication of

the benches, and the Councilwoman

flipped the switch to light the plaza

tree. Seminary Director of Music

Ministries and Cantor Michael

Krentz and seminarian Pam Peter-

son, playing the flute, led the com-

munity in singing carols.

6 DECEMBER, 2010 THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD | 7

Xmas Came Early In Northeast’s 55th Ward HOST Ward

Leader Bob

Dellavella, right,

welcomes, from

left, Judge Roger

Gordon, Scott

O’Keefe, Michael

“Ozzie” Myers

and Gill Dolbow.

E N J O Y I N G

55th Ward

Party were

Margaret and

Councilman Bill

Green, left, and

Anna and

Shawn Dillon.

JOINING Sen. Christine

Tartaglione, seated in

front, were elected offi-

cials, ward leaders and

candidates at Bob

Dellavella’s 55th Ward

Christmas

Party. Photo by Harry Leech

JOHNNIE’S Restaurant on

Harbison Avenue was scene of

Ward Leader Bob Dellavella’s

Democrat 55th Ward Christ-

mas Party. Among honored

guests were Frank Dillon,

Lisa Deeley and Controller

Alan Butkovitz.

Photo by Harry Leech

by Adam Taxin

Irving Berlin’s holiday musical

classic White Christmas opened last

month at the Walnut Street Theatre.

Directed and choreographed master-

fully by Marc Robin, artistic director

of Lancaster, Pa.’s Fulton Opera

House, the production runs through

January 9 on the Mainstage.

The show is based on the block-

buster 1954 same-titled movie star-

ring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye

and, predictably enough, features

the popular Berlin song “White

Christmas,” for which it encourages

audience participation. Berlin, it

should be noted, considered “White

Christmas” “the greatest song I have

ever written.” The song is only tan-

gentially related to the show’s plot;

the song’s lyrics express the wistful-

ness of a Southern Californian who

misses the more traditional winter

weather he experienced as a boy in

the Northeast.

As for the show’s plot, Bob Wal-

lace (Jeffrey Coon, who just ap-

peared at the WST as Aaron Fox in

Curtains) and Phil Davis (David

Elder, a veteran of the WST’s Cur-

tains, State Fair, 42nd Street, Windy

City and Phantom of the Opera) are

former US Army buddies who have

become a successful song-and-

dance team. They attract the fellow-

entertainer Haynes sisters, Betty

(Julie Reiber, who played Niki Har-

ris in the WST’s Curtains as well as

Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway)

and Judy (Vanessa Sonon, a WST

rookie who appeared both on Broad-

way and on tour in both 42nd Street

and Spamalot). If audience members

let down their guard, they may even

speculate that one of the two pair-

ings may not last.

Meanwhile, a former general,

Thomas Waverly (Paul Nolan, who

has performed in Honor and the

River, Of Mice and Men and After-

play at the WST), the commanding

officer of the two Army frets, among

other things, about finances about

the lodge he has opened, post-retire-

ment, in Pine Tree, Vt.

The quaintest plot device, tying in

to the original meaning of the song,

is, with apologies to Al Gore, Ver-

mont’s unseasonably high weather

and lack of snow. Given Philadel-

phians have experienced 79 inches

of snow (including about 0.1 inch

this past Thanksgiving morning)

since a different version of White

Christmas played just a year ago at

the Kimmel Center, this is more

likely to trigger audience amuse-

ment than empathy.

Clean and family-appropriate as

the show is, it is not mere pablum.

As one expects from the Walnut

Street Theatre Mainstage, the acting,

singing, set design and dancing are

at the level of Broadway. And, in

terms of dancing, in contrast to, say,

the classic South Pacific (which just

came through the Academy of

Music), there is plenty, the highlight

of which being the Act II opener “I

Love A Piano.”

The other standout musical num-

ber is “Blue Skies,” which closes

Act I. Director/choreographer Robin

caught this reviewer pleasantly off

guard when the well-known stan-

dard was staged and performed in a

surprisingly invigorating and edgy

way reminiscent of Bob Fosse’s

Chicago and Cabaret.

8 | THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD 6 DECEMBER, 2010

Surprisingly Fresh ChoreographyAdds To Charm Of White Christmas