Re: [UC] Geekish Inquiry
In a message dated 3/16/2007 8:59:22 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Does anybody know if there's a way to print out the FIND window in the MS EXCEL Find Box? I'm searching an Excel spreadsheet of about 4500 rows and I have got precisely 205 cells in my little Find box but I would like to print out the cell numbers and can't find a way to do it. Any help gratefully appreciated tho not remunerated. -- Ross Bender _http://rossbender.org_ (http://rossbender.org/) Here's one way to do it -- not elegant but it works in a pinch. If you execute print screen you get a snapshot of the screen as a graphic in your notepad. Then you can paste (^V) it into an empty file and resize it enough to read. Expand the window first so you get as many lines as you can on the screen at once. There's probably a way to do this with a Visual Basic macro, but unless you're going to do it often it would be a huge amount of work to write it. Al Krigman ** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] Information Please! Need info on City regulations
In a message dated 3/17/2007 12:41:49 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: so please let me know if we found out UCD was writing tickets. Glenn didn't say (or I missed it if he did) that UCD was writing tickets. He wrote UCD, had a heavy hand in the ticketing. Several years ago, when I was clinging to ideas like partnership with the community and accordingly trying to work with UCD, I was meeting at the Old Horn Hardart's with one of the organization's former top people -- D L Wormley. The phone rang and she took the call. It was SWEEP Officer Joiner. D L read off a list of four or five addresses where she was telling Ms Joiner to go. After she hung up, she turned to me and explained, they're the worst offenders. More recently, shortly before the NID initiative hit the fan, UCD convened a meeting of the nascent Landlord's Network. Attendees were invited to raise issues we thought were important. Dan DeRitis (of the liquor store brouhaha) stood up and complained about the fact that when the trash tickets arrive, they're months after the fact so nobody knows who the actual guilty part was. By what we were supposed to believe was a sheer coincidence, Officer Joiner was there. She explained that she turns them in daily and the delay is in the Streets Dept processing procedure, and there was nothing she could do to reduce the delay there. Lewis Wendell was suddenly struck with an inspiration. If Ms Joiner would bring the tickets to UCD, he'd assign someone to make photocopies and send them out to the property owners overnight. Local curmudgeon who is against everything that I am, I objected to the idea that UCD, which was not accountable to anyone but its patrons, was interposing itself into the middle of a police powers process of the city government. They ignored my objection and started doing it. I lodged an official complaint with both Councilwoman Blackwell and Streets Commissioner Tolson who put an immediate stop to the practice. So, unless you'd like to call me a liar, you now have two pieces of empirical evidence that -- as Glenn stated -- UCD had a heavy hand in the ticketing, at least then. Al Krigman Left of Ivan Grozny ® ** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] Re: Why does the state store want to move
In a message dated 3/17/2007 5:22:39 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: The Mosque, Ethnic groceries and Restaurant School are the closest neighbors and should be listened to, with respect. Maybe one of the attorneys on this list can tell us whether people more than some distance from a site even have standing to be heard by the ZBA on any particular matter. Al Krigman Register your opposition to the NID via the Internet to Councilwoman Blackwell (if you have standing, of course) -- With some background: _www.iconworldwide.com/speakup_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup) Go directly to the form: _http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html) ** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] RE: West Philly High re recent violence there
In a message dated 3/13/2007 7:23:21 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Every child deserves to have a building that is nice and new. Even I deserve to work in a building where I can at least use the restroom and find it reasonably clean and tidy. You are equating nice clean and tidy with new. There may or may not be some correlation. I have serious doubts as to whether the recently-discussed new West Philadelphia High School will solve any -- let alone, many or all -- of the violence problems we have recently been encountering in the schools. I would suspect that for a lot less money than would be involved in building an entirely new facility, the present structure can be made nice clean and tidy. And surely the city fathers can find a way to take the extra money from the capital budget for things like extra maintenance, security, books, etc. Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] RE: West Philly High re recent violence there
In a message dated 3/13/2007 11:02:37 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I think that whether the current building could be renovated as an alternative to building a new building from scratch is a reasonable debate to have. It still has nothing whatsoever to do with the subject of this thread. I attended the press conference cum community meeting. One thing came out in favor of a new building, with which I'd be hard-pressed to disagree. That's the idea that smaller high schools tend to do better than the more traditional larger versions. Paul Vallas cited some evidence -- granted anecdotal -- about the improvements they've seen when they converted Middle Schools like Sayre into small high schools. If this is the purpose, to create a smaller West Philadelphia High School that won't just be a replacement for the present institution, it puts the issue into a different category. Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[UC-Announce] Press Conference @ West Philly High re recent violence there
Councilwoman Blackwell will hold a Press Conference tomorrow (Tuesday, 3/12) morning at 8:30 in the West Auditorium at West Philadelphia High School (enter on 47th St between Walnut Locust). There have been several recent episodes of violence at the school, the principal has now been moved upstairs and the job apparently filled by two people with expanded responsibilities, and several other things are in the offing. Neighborhood stakeholders are invited to attend. Al Krigman PS: Please excuse me if you get this email more than once owing to list duplication BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[UC-Announce] WPHS press conference -- correction
Correction: The West Auditorium, where the press conference is scheduled (8:30 tomorrow morning) is entered from 48th Street -- closer to Locust rather than Walnut. Sorry for the email blizzard. Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: KYW news story on religion in government [was: Re: [UC] Unrest at West P...
In a message dated 3/12/2007 4:14:08 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: relevance to the zoning decision about the move of the Wine Spirits Shoppe from 41st Market to 4237 Walnut, where a religious group across the street doesn't want it Er, what's the relevance you think it has? Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] Re: KYW news story on reli gion in government [was: Re: [UC] Unrest ...
In a message dated 3/12/2007 4:31:12 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: A religious group here in University City is asking the Philadelphia government to deny a zoning use of a property based on religious law. They may be motivated by their religious beliefs. As I am, in this case, motivated by my belief that the community at large should show more sensitivity to the cultural mores of some of the very neighbors who contribute to our vaunted diversity and tolerance. I may be wrong on this, of course, I'll certainly stand corrected if you have proof otherwise. But religious law is not the basis of the stated opposition to the granting of a zoning variance as presented in the arguments by the leaders and congregants of the Mosque as presented to the Zoning Board. Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] Re: KYW news story on reli gion in government [was: Re: [UC] Unrest ...
In a message dated 3/12/2007 4:48:03 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, MLamond writes: What is the stated opposition? You're the one who said it was based on religious beliefs. So back up your claim. Maybe there wasn't any stated opposition (I didn't go to the hearing so I don't know what was said) -- in which case, where did you get the idea that -- in your own words -- A religious group here in University City is asking the Philadelphia government to deny a zoning use of a property based on religious law.? Just tryin' to get at the facts, Ma'am. Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] RE: [UC] Re: KYW news stor y on religion in government [was: Re: [U C...
In a message dated 3/12/2007 5:01:10 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: when a religious institution objects to the proximal location of a business whose sole purpose activity which is in direct contravention to the religion's basic tenets, you don't have to go too far to come up with reasonable reason for that opposition. That's true, Mike. And I thought I had acknowledged this when I wrote They may be motivated by their religious beliefs. But Melani's statement was A religious group here in University City is asking the Philadelphia government to deny a zoning use of a property based on religious law. And I don't believe the Muslims in question used religious law as the basis on which they asked the ZBA to deny the zoning variance. There's a difference here. Now, maybe Melani's right in he claim that they tried to get the city to make a decision based on religious principles. In which case, I'd take the stand that their request was not valid. Do you see the difference? It's quite striking to me. Still looking for the facts, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] Re: KYW news story on reli gion in government [was: Re: [UC] Unrest ...
In a message dated 3/12/2007 5:14:18 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, MLamond writes: Now, I'm sure the list has heard enough of this dialogue, so I'm going to drop it. That's a good idea. Because there's an aphorism to the effect that when you're digging yourself deeper and deeper into a hole (as you surely have been), the first thing to do is drop the shovel. Is it beyond you to admit that you spoke out of turn? Or, maybe your unnatural apparent dislike of me only makes it impossible for you to admit you're wrong when I point out your logical inconsistencies? Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] Twice monthly recycling phone calls?
In a message dated 3/6/2007 3:39:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Hi Kyle You only got one call? Geez, you're lucky. I've gotten at least 5 or 6 of them since last week, including 2 last night. First time - fine, second time - ok, by the third time I was like Enough already! Seems like since being able to be on the do not call list for telemarketers, the campaign/reminder/donation and (the most annoying) - the survey calls - have really gotten intrusive. Wendy The city could save itself a lot of trouble, and increase recycling rates, with a very simple change. Instead of every second week -- which constantly shifts time of the month in a way that's hard for people to remember -- they can go to a first and third or second and fourth XXXday. They could even post signs to that effect if they were really interested in recycling. I suggested this to the Streets Dept several times in the past few years. Even once to then-deputy Commissioner (now Commissioner) Tolson. At some point (although you couldn't prove this by Mike Hardy or Wendell Lewis) even I give up and stop trying. Maybe some of the persistent recycling activists in the area whose patience hasn't been exhausted can convince the Streets Dept people that this would be so much easier to remember and would therefore get more participation. Or, at least, to try it in a neighborhood like UC where recycling participation is less than one might guess from the tenor of the population. Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] Clark Park our default setting when it comes to out door activities?
In a message dated 3/5/2007 12:00:06 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Just yesterday, I was trying to explain to my son how racism is sustained by people who do not intend to be part of the problem. You could have used the debate over the application for a zoning variance to allow a state liquor store in the 4200 block of Walnut as another example. I'm sure that all of the proponents celebrate the diversity of this community and don't consider themselves racist. But, isn't insensitivity to the cultural mores of a minority group a form of racism akin to what you discussed with your son? Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] Clark Park our default setting when it comes to out door activities?
In a message dated 3/5/2007 4:57:29 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: It seems sloppy to me that some vocal proponents continue to ignore that the property has RESIDENTIAL ZONING and are pretend that a defending against a ZONING CHANGE is the same thing as imposing or acting to dictate their views upon the rest of the neighborhood. The parties bringing the change have the obligation to sell their choice. Earlier in this debate, the idea was also put forward that zoning provides the people likely to be affected by the use of a particular property a reasonable expectation as to its continuing use. On this basis, zoning variances should be difficult to obtain. And, as Liz says above, the burden should be on those who want the change to make their case, and not on those who want to preserve what things are at present. Part of case for advocating or opposing the change should involve a discussion of the impact on the affected parties. And, as I think the people in the community did well in the case of the proposed zoning change to allow a homeless shelter at 45th Walnut (thanks to a pro-active survey devised and managed in an unbiased manner by Theresa Sims and Karen Allen), weighted responses according to the distance respondents were located from the site in question. Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[UC] An addendum from the SHCA about the liquor store zoning issue
An additional comment about the article in the DP forwarded from Barry Grossbach of the SHCA zoning Committee. (forwarded by Al Krigman) -- --- ...the writer was fed information by Madeleine Kronovet at the DP. I have spoken with Madeleine numerous times, and she does try to understand the complexities of the zoning process. In fairness, zoning can be difficult to follow for people more familiar with it. For students, even DP reporters who have never been exposed to the process or attended a Zoning Board of Adjustment hearing, the process can be a mess. I hope that my previous e-mail helped to straighten out where things currently stand. The issue of the wine and spirits shop is before the city's zoning board, discussions are continuing between the Mosque and owners of the former Rite Aid property, and the case is scheduled to be heard on the 21st of March. I should have expressed less frustration with the confusion on the part of the DP staff. They really are conscientious and they are trying. It is simply that misinformation on complex issues can create problems for everyone. I would appreciate it if you would post this on the list serve. Madeleine and the other DP reporters should be treated with more kindness and forbearance. BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] TONIGHT Space 1026 presents: HANDJOB
In a message dated 3/2/2007 12:57:32 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: HANDJOB A show of hand-made objects that are typically made by machines. And, while you're there, be sure to see the exhibit of balloons next door. Always at your service ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[UC] SHCA's zoning committee hearing on the liquore store has been postponed
From today's DP News Brief: Committee postpones liquor board hearing _Jared Miller_ (http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/user/index.cfm?event=displayAuthorProfileauthorid=2517506) The Spruce Hill Zoning Committee has postponed its discussion of a proposed move of the campus liquor store, committee chairman Barry Grossbach said. The committee was slated to debate the move - which would have brought the liquor store, currently located at 41st and Market streets, to the corner of 43rd and Walnut streets - at a hearing yesterday but decided to hold off to allow the affected parties to try to resolve their differences outside of a formal meeting, Grossbach said. A zoning hearing is now scheduled for March 21; Grossbach said the committee will be forced to make a decision regardless of whether any compromises are made. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has denied the move will take place, but both community officials and the building's developer have confirmed that preliminary discussions have been ongoing. The prospect of a liquor store in the area has raised some controversy in the area, as both the Masjid Al-Jamia Mosque and the Penn-Alexander K-8 school are located in the area. Members of the mosque have voiced strong opposition to the move, both because it is illegal to drink alcohol under Muslim law and because of the negative effect a liquor store might have on the neighborhood. BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[UC] When is your company going to shape up, Melani?
In a message dated 3/1/2007 1:13:52 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: While you're on that site, you can also check out Al Krigman's KRF Corporation's ratings. Also mostly As and Bs, but also some Cs, more than Apartments at Penn has. Gee. Urban Bye has no A's a bunch of B-minuses, mostly C's, and a few D's. So Melani, when is your company going to start doing a decent job? Enquiring minds want to know Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] When is your company going to shape up, Melani?
In a message dated 3/1/2007 1:26:55 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I am a sales agent and independent contractor at Urban Bye, Realtor, where my Associate Broker license hangs. I am not involved with rentals for Urban Bye. C'mon Melani. This is weak, even for you. You've forgotten the lesson of John 8:7, He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone. There are cruder ways to put it, of course. But I'll resist the very strong temptation. Left of Pontius Pilate, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] When is your company going to shape up, Melani?
In a message dated 3/1/2007 1:51:19 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: It's funny, Al, but I tend to believe the person that reliably provides pertinent, factual and verifiable information to the wild-eyed conspiracy theorist prone to taking cheap shots at good people. I guess I forgot to give you Melani's employer's scorecard. It's below: Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman -- REPORT CARD Urban Bye Number of Surveys that were processed: 11 Score GradeLandlord Tenant Relationship (Overall) 2.28 C My landlord is concerned with my satisfaction 1.64 D My landlord uses a lease written in language I can understand 2.91 C My landlord can be contacted easily when necessary 2 C My landlord has provided me with emergency contact information 2.82 C Communication with my landlord is prompt, friendly and professional 1.55 D My landlord kept promises made in the lease 2 C My landlord maintains the property in good condition 2 C Repair work is done professionally 2.18 C Management handles my finanical matters promptly and accurately 2.64 C Repair Responsiveness Minor repairs? (Cracks in wall or ceiling) 1.9 D Major repairs? (Insect problems, broken doors) 2.89 B- Emergencies? (Plumbing, heating) 3.75 B+ Apartment Quality (Overall) 3.03 B- I feel safe in my living space 3.3 B Doors and windows are intact and secure 3.2 B- Walls and ceilings are in good shape 2.5 C Carpet / flooring is in good condition 3 B- Appliances work 3.6 B Electrical wiring is adequate 3.2 B- Hot water is sufficient 3.8 B+ Heat is sufficient 3.2 B- Plumbing is free from leaks 3 B- Paint or wallpaper is in good condition 2.9 C Space is free of rodents, roaches, or other insects 2.6 C Proper containers provided for trash disposal with clear instructions 2.9 C The space was clean prior to move-in 2.7 C There are smoke detectors which, when tested, work 3.5 B Outdoor lighting in the front/rear/side areas is adequate 2.7 C Exterior lights come on automatically when it gets dark 2.3 C BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] When is your company going to shape up, Melani?
In a message dated 3/1/2007 1:58:20 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I guess I forgot to give you Melani's employer's scorecard. It's below: Of course, in all fairness both to Urban Bye's poor scores and my own good ones, these satisfaction surveys are garbage. Urban Bye's scores were based on 11 questionnaires and mine on only four. But the point was that Melani was trying to use them to prove something, and -- invalid as he logic was -- it turned around and bit her on the backside. Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] When is your company going to shape up, Melani?
In a message dated 3/1/2007 2:11:15 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Are you calling Melani a liar, deliberately trying to obfuscate the issue, or just plain ignorant? Obfuscate the issue. She signs all of her posts as Melani Lamond, Associate Broker Urban Bye, Realtor 3529 Lancaster Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19104 cell phone 215-356-7266 office phone 215-222-4800, ext. 113 office fax 215-222-1101 So she clearly associates herself with this company. Until, of course, she tries to smear me -- and it turns out that the measure she's using makes the outfit with which she identifies herself look bad -- then she denies the association with some weasel-wording about it being a different department. Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[UC] Re: Why does Al REALLY oppose the new liquor store?
In a message dated 3/1/2007 2:17:14 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, MLamond writes: By the way, it has been pointed out to me that Al's opposition to the new liquor store location just MIGHT have something to do with who the landlord is, since Danny DeRitis is a big supporter of the UCD's NID project. I happen to like and get along well with Dan DeRitis (as I do with many people who have differing views than I do on a lot of topics). I've gotten along well with Dan, in fact, for a long time. Melani apparently doesn't remember that I opposed the Brewpub on the same grounds. Namely: 1) That zoning is supposed to provide people with reasonable expectations of how the area around them will evolve. And changes in zoning take that away -- so they should be pursued with extreme care. 2) That, as a community, we give what the current discussion about people imposing their will on others makes seem like a lot of lip service to diversity. Celebrating diversity doesn't mean just saying hi to people dressed in funny clothes or eating in restaurants that serve food our parents wouldn't recognize as such. It means, among other things, being sensitive to their cultural mores. I've been very consistent about this -- as a look back on the archives of this forum will clearly show. And, in case nobody's noticed, it's one of my underlying reasons for opposing the NID -- which I believe is part of a gentrification effort by certain non-academic but self-anointed elements at Penn -- and will gradually cause the displacement of the people who add diversity to this community. Those who think I oppose the NID purely for the sake of my own wallet have but to look back through the archives and find that I've opposed much of what Penn and UCD have done in and (I believe) to the community long before they were talking about assessing anybody... for these very reasons. And, I have some intuition about why people like Melani ascribe covert intentions to what I say and do. But I don't throw them in her face in front of everybody, as she seems to relish doing to me. Alan Krigman KRF Management 211 S 45th St, Phila PA 19104 215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6500 on-line bulletin board: _www.iconworldwide.com/krf/news_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/krf/news) website: _www.iconworldwide.com/krf_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/krf) BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[UC] Get it? Or, don't you want to get it?
In a message dated 3/1/2007 4:50:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, MLamond writes: So, then, Al, do you agree with me that Dan DeRitis' high landlord rankings by the Penn Consumer Board are probably well deserved, and that he is a capable landlord who would keep after the PA Liquor Control Board to run a clean, customer-friendly store and discourage panhandling, if the Wine Spirits Shop were to move to 4237 Walnut St.? A nonsequitur if I've ever read one. Now, you're not only ascribing motives to my madness but are misdirecting everything I've said about the whole affair. I guess you don't want to talk about the meaning of cultural diversity and how this neighborhood should practice what it preaches. My entire point, here and in the case of the BrewPub, has to do with: a) sensitivity to the cultural mores of others b) the reasonable expectations for those monetarily, emotionally, or otherwise invested in an area, which established by the use of zoning and the need to be very conservative about changes, variances, and so forth. Get it? Or, don't you want to get it? Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[UC] I think UCD hired Ross Bender
I don't know for sure, but it seems like UCD hired Ross Bender to write the NID plan. It's on the new and ostensibly improved UCD website (_http://www.ucityphila.org_ (http://www.ucityphila.org) for those who don't have the URL handy). It's hilarious, in a poignant, Chaplinesque sort of way. I hope they're paying Ross at the same rate as they blow the dough on neighborhood's favorite Flackette. Here's what one of my colleagues had to say about it: ... my initial impression is that they have to be kidding! It's only 5 or 6 pages and doesnt seem to be much more than the outline that they had on their website last year. Where's the detail, and where are the bylaws? It took a year to write that? Looks like they slapped it together over the weekend. 5 pages of text and the first is taken up with overview. The funniest part (great parody, Ross!) is the budget. Here's how a group that wants to pick our pockets details in a responsible way their plans to spend money they never earned (our money -- what the inimitable and now indicted Vince Fumo calls OPM -- other people's money): 5. Proposed budget for the first fiscal year: a. Personnel and administration $100,000 b. Programs and services $350,000 c. Maintenance and operations $250,000 d. Capital expenditures $300,000 e. VMA replacement funding* $400,000 For an interesting contrast, the city's 5-year-plan budget is 254 pages long and actually shows where the final department figures come from. It's at (_http://www.phila.gov/mayor/pdfs/FY07_Financial_Plan.pdf_ (http://www.phila.gov/mayor/pdfs/FY07_Financial_Plan.pdf) if anyone's interested. And, SEPTA's budget is 199 pages long, and also shows a lot of detail. (It's at _http://www.septa.org/inside/reports/OpBudgetFY07.pdf)_ (http://www.septa.org/inside/reports/OpBudgetFY07.pdf)) Of course, the above two budgets are much bigger than what UCD is proposing. But the bite it takes out of the people who they think will pay for it is comparable. So, maybe the UCD apologists on the list would like to explain what that Steering Committee has been doing all year. And explain about all those changes that were constantly being made to produce something this shabby (oh, sorry, Ross. It wasn't your satire that was shabby. It was the idea that by putting forward a joke, the solid citizens of University City wouldn't read between the lines). Al Krigman Register your opposition to the NID via the Internet to Councilwoman Blackwell -- With some background: _www.iconworldwide.com/speakup_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup) Go directly to the form: _http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html) BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] I Was Disappointed - UCD NID
In a message dated 2/28/2007 2:54:18 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Should not their (UCD) filings with the Commonwealth and Fed for non-profit status be publicly accessible, including by-laws, 501(c) 3 application, 990s, etc? While not necessarily the same as the proposed NID, it might give some insight to the modeling of their organizational disciplines? Depending on the circumstances and their immediate purposes, they (in the person of Wendell Lewis) claim that they're the same or they're different. Any detailed debate on the topic of the NID should have a real budget and not just five round figures casually tossed off to add up to the amount they want to tax us, and should have the documentation you referenced (except for the 990s, which are the forms submitted by non-profits in lieu of tax returns) for a year in retrospect. Maybe these are what the Steering Committee (now risen from the doldrums as the Advisory Committee) has spent the whole year meeting about and working on, changing as the vox populi made itself heard, etc. How about it, Melani? Is that it? Al Krigman Register your opposition to the NID via the Internet to Councilwoman Blackwell -- With some background: _www.iconworldwide.com/speakup_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup) Go directly to the form: _http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html) BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[UC] Hmmm. These all seem to be right at the edge of Campus or...
From today's DP. These all seem to be right at the edge of Campus or at areas most heavily patrolled by Penn and UCD rent-a-cops. I'm not saying that Penn's expensive security window dressing (like the $5 MM street lights that don't deter crime but do give people a false sense of confidence) are the cause of the mayhem. But, aren't we glad most of us live past 42nd or 43rd Streets where it's obviously much safer? Al Krigman Left of Ivan Grozny ® Seven assaults hit U. City over last week Two students, one University staff member are victims in alarmingly high number of attacks Joe Vester Posted: 2/27/07 Seven assaults occurred on or near campus in the last week, including attacks on two students and a University staff member, as well as an assault on a police officer by a student. On Feb. 20, two male students were assaulted in separate incidents near 30th and Market streets. At about 6:30 p.m., the first student was pushed and then punched by a group of about five men near the entrance to the 30th Street subway. At about 6:40 p.m., the other student was punched by a pair of men who proceeded to flee in an unknown direction. Nothing was stolen in either case, and both victims were treated for minor head injuries. No weapons were involved in either incident. Division of Public Safety officials declined to speculate on a link between the two cases, but they said that they are considering all possibilities. In an unrelated incident on Feb. 19 at about 7:40 p.m., a male staff member was assaulted by three unknown males on the 3900 block of Ludlow Street. The suspects approached the staff member, hit him in the face and then fled the scene. There were no injuries, and no weapon was involved in the assault. In all three cases, police gave no descriptions of the suspects, and no arrests have been made in connection with any of the incidents. In another unrelated incident, an undergraduate College student, Hugh Brown, 28, was arrested for allegedly assaulting a male police officer on Feb. 21 at 6:10 p.m. The incident took place on College Green, near the Fisher Fine Arts Library. Brown became involved in a dispute with a Penn Police officer and repeatedly hit the officer without causing injury. No weapon was involved. DPS officials would not comment on why the dispute started, but Brown has been charged with public drunkenness and similar misconduct in addition to aggravated assault and resisting arrest. Brown was released on Feb. 23 and is due to appear in court on Mar. 1. There were also three more assaults, involving individuals unaffiliated with Penn: n Michael Gallagher, 30 and unaffiliated with the University, allegedly attempted to drive a car into a police officer when he was stopped on the 3700 block of Chestnut Street at about 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 18. The officer escaped injury by dodging the car, and Gallagher was arrested. Gallagher posted bail of $8,000 on Feb. 18. He is charged with aggravated assault. n Joseph Francis, 44 and unaffiliated with the University, allegedly struck a security officer while he was escorted out of Presbyterian Hospital, located at 51 N. 39th St., at about 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 22. Francis had been sleeping in the area. n Mark Williams, 35 and unaffiliated with the University, was involved in an alleged domestic dispute inside the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, located at 34th Street and Civic Center Boulevard, at about 8:00 p.m. on Feb. 22. Williams then allegedly assaulted and stole the bag of the complainant before fleeing. He was stopped by hospital security and arrested by Penn Police. DPS spokeswoman Karima Zedan said in an e-mail that the high number of assaults were indicative of a growing trend in Philadelphia. Other sections of the city have also seen a rise in violence and aggressive criminal behavior among young men purely for the sake of violence without monetary gain, she said. The seven assaults were in addition to two robberies over the period of Feb. 17 to 22. © Copyright 2007 The Daily Pennsylvanian BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[UC] Penn Grad Students fine Pres Gutmann as hypocritical as we do
Something else from today's DP. This, from an article about the continuing battle being fought by Penn Grad Students for enough of a stipend to pay for the escalating costs of living in University City (and this is before the onerous NID surcharge on their rents). Note below that NONID has frequently pointed out Dr Gutmann's hypocrisy in preaching deliberative democracy then structuring the University's entire relationship with the neighborhood as a patronizing pseudo-partnership in which the self-congratulatory elite decide what's best for the benighted bezonians here in the boondocks. Al Krigman Left of Ivan Grozny ® -- But some graduate students find Gutmann's position hypocritical. She writes all these books about deliberative democracy and how you have to sit down with people and how a democratic institution should be based on people having conversations and solving our issues together, said Tatjana Scheffler, a fourth-year SAS graduate student and GET-UP secretary. Scheffler said that, by not meeting with GET-UP, Gutmann is not practicing what she preaches. BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[UC] Of possible interest to those eager to improve recycling in Philadelphia
From the upcoming (February) issue of Waste Recovery Report Al Krigman Register your opposition to the NID via the Internet to Councilwoman Blackwell -- With some background: _www.iconworldwide.com/speakup_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup) Go directly to the form: _http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html) -- --- The Wisconsin Governor’s Task Force on Waste Materials Recovery and Disposal has issued its final report. Recommendations delineate means of minimizing environmental, economic, and social costs; expanding producer responsibility for products; promoting effective resource recycling and recovery; promoting responsible waste disposal; and promoting ecological and environmental sustainability. The analysis suggested that particular opportunities for greater recovery of wood waste from construction and demolition debris, scrap paper, and organics. Funding levels from $6 to $10 MM are projected for the first year and $5 to $7 MM annually thereafter if all the recommendations were to be followed. The money would be derived largely from a state “Recycling Fund” based on surcharges and landfill tipping fees. For more information, contact Governor’s Task Force on Waste Materials recovery and Disposal, 15 East State Capitol, Madison WI 53702, 608-266-1212, fax 608-267-8983, _www.wasteresources.wi.gov_ (http://www.wasteresources.wi.gov) ; a copy of the analysis available at this website by clicking on “final report.” BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] Penn's Evil Plot Unmasked
In a message dated 2/27/2007 10:43:57 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: So insidious is this plot, and so well crafted that even Al is now thinking of Penn students not as entitled, over-privileged whiners with dad's credit card, but instead the hard laboring hoi polloi, scratching out a living in the hardscrabble wilds of West Philadelphia, barely able to afford a Fu Wah hoagie. Kyle's putting words into my mouth is getting tiresome. I've made the point several times that Penn thinks of West Philly rental housing in terms of what I've called its under-graduettes. This is distinct from the Penn people we little-guy housing providers west of 43rd street have as our clientele. This group comprises mostly graduate students -- some domestic but any foreign -- who scratch for every nickel. Often to house their families and not just themselves. In my buildings, I have exactly two apartment with tenants who are undergraduates. The rest of the Penn people (under half the total) are grad students and support staff personnel. One (two roommates) go to USP, not Penn. And they differ from Penn students in that they are 1) from blue collar homes in rural Pennsylvania rather than from upper middle class families in the suburbs of New York city, and 2) are in one of those work-study-intern programs at USP where they spend about half the year on the job earning money to help finance their educations while also getting a feel for the real work-a-day world. The other is a Penn student from the West Coast who came to me looking for an escape from a place he had rented from Campus Apartments (one of the NID supporters who curries favor with Penn because of big contracts to manage U-owned buildings). Al Krigman Left of Ivan Grozny ® BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[UC] Another source of info for the recycling mavens in iur midst
(From Al Krigman -- always eager to help when people are doing the right thing) GAO identifies ways to increase municipal recycling At the request of Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) studied reasons that the national recycling rate has barely increased since the year 2000. In particular, GAO was asked to: ▸ identify key practices cities are using to increase recycling, ▸ determine what the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Commerce are doing to improve the situation, ▸ identify federal policy options that could have a positive impact. Results of the analysis were published in December 2006 in Additional Efforts Could Increase Municipal Recycling (GAO-07-37). A survey found the most widely-cited municipal practices to be 1) making recycling easier and more convenient for residents, 2) offering financial incentives such as lower fees in areas where residents are charged for collection, and 3) public education and outreach. Also significant were broadening the range of materials collected, and extending programs to the commercial sector. With respect to federal government agencies, GAO identified several programs implemented by the EPA. These included WasteWise – which creates voluntary recycling partnerships between the Agency and various groups, and grants to support a range of projects. A problem found with such efforts is that the impact is not known because EPA has not established performance measures and does not collect appropriate data. The Commerce Department was also faulted. GAO noted that the Department is mandated to stimulate the development of markets for recycled materials under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, but is not undertaking any efforts to do so. Officials claim to be supporting international trade in recycled and recyclable materials. However, domestically, they are not working to explore possible markets, identify technical or economic barriers, or encourage the development of new uses for recovered materials. Recognizing that local governments have the primary role in operating recycling programs, GAO singled out federal policy options that municipal stakeholders believed would be helpful. These included: ▸ a nationwide education campaign, ▸ a national beverage container deposit system, ▸ requirements for manufacturers to establish recycling infrastructures for their products, ▸ means for municipalities to share “best practices,” ▸ an expanded role for the EPA in researching the economic benefits of recycling and in funding projects. For more information, contact US GAO, 441 G St NW, Rm LM, Washington DC 20548, 202-512-6000, fax 202-512-6061, _www.gao.gov_ (http://www.gao.gov) . Copies of the report are available online at _www.gao.gov/new.items/d0737.pdf_ (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0737.pdf) . BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] Re: Liquor Store at 43rd and Walnut
In a message dated 2/25/2007 3:04:03 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, MLamond writes: The ZBA just allowed a Dock St. Brew Pub across the street from Hickman Temple, despite Hickman's objections. Do the traditional African American churches deserve less respect, less good will, than the mosque? I think they both deserve more respect that you, apparently, are willing to give them. And the fact that you're using the argument -- they gave one zoning variance, why not another -- is an indication of one of the problems associated with this sort of slippery slope. Why not an abortion clinic at Springfield Farrigut? Why not a disco when someone buys that BB next door to you and wants to make real money? Why not a gas station at the corner of Locust St Marks? Why not ... well, you get the idea. In each case, the religious group expressed an unwillingness to compromise or to show good will toward the secular neighbors. Who was lacking in good will? The new businesses, who met with the religious groups to try to find a way to share the area? Or the religious groups, who flat-out said no? What are you saying? That you have empirical proof that the Mosque people have expressed an unwillingness to compromise or to show good will toward the secular neighbors? Where's your back-up for this statement? Or, are you talking through your hat again? It's so easy to make judgments in the abstract, but you're a landlord, Al. If the Rite Aid location belonged to you, would you want your potential legal uses restricted by a religious organization - either your own faith, or someone elses? I'm not so sure you would. When I was a young and immature landlord, I had a few run-ins with the idea of zoning. At one point, I wanted to use one floor of a residential building on Spruce St for my office. It was not to be. At another point, I had a great use for the former banking space at 45th Walnut that would have required a zoning variance. It was also not to be. In both instances, there were objections from various quarters (there was also support, of course). The maturity that comes with experience now shows me that the people who opposed the zoning changes were right in safeguarding the expectations they had for their own rights in the form of zoning stability. While I thought, in those days of yore, that people should mind their own business because I would act responsibly with the different zoning, I was wrong. What I was trying to do was really interfering with the prerogatives of the people in the immediate vicinity and this wasn't responsible at all. Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] More about the liquor store/mosque
In a message dated 2/26/2007 9:43:30 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Kyle, I don't know the exact, specific change that the PLCB and landlord are applying for on Walnut St., but the outdated zoning code in Philadelphia means that one must apply for a change most of the time, even for another use permitted under the current zoning. For example, the Firehouse building is zoned C-2 commercial which allows restaurants and many other things. But, Dock St. had to go before the ZBA because they wanted to sell TAKE-OUT pizza beer. It was for the take-out approval that they had to go. (I'll bet there are a lot of businesses in UC doing take-out without the proper use permit.) Most businesses have to go before the zoning board. It is commonplace, not a big, special case. This is why we need to revise and simplify the zoning code. More misdirection, Melani. Whatever the reasons, the Code is the Code until or unless it's changed. And the code requires ZBA approval and makes it a matter of public involvement. If you think the Zoning Code should be changed, that's another topic. It certainly needs simplification and reduction of number of subcategories. Would you care to start a thread on those aspects of it you think should be changed? If so, please do. If you think that the Brewpub and the state store issues are examples of abuse that should be corrected in a new code, use them as examples and explain why they highlight the abuses you believe need correcting. But don't try to confuse the issues at hand, to which possible future changes don't apply. Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] More about liquor store : Ad Hominem YES / Attack : You Decide
In a message dated 2/26/2007 1:01:14 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: The Libertarian just wants to tweak the AFHD supporter for her ongoing role in supporting changes which impose added expense and bureaucracy upon the rest of us. Not in the least. Property rights is not a simple one-size-fits-all issue. And I realize that expecting someone to parse all the intricacies of list postings, that haven't been edited to their succinct essence, is asking a lot. But I anticipated this sort of misunderstanding when I thought I was being careful to say something about the fact that zoning pre-dated any of our coming to the neighborhood and therefore provided the basis of a reasonable expectation about uses of property that would affect us. The idea was that, if no zoning existed, we could have no such expectations so neighbors trying to impose their biases on us was a violation of our property rights. But, since there is existing zoning, then neighbors trying to change it -- and therefore short-circuiting our reasonable expectations -- is just as much a violation. As for added expense and bureaucracy, that was an issue with historic designation (a dead horse, notwithstanding Mike Hardy's gratuitous penultimate comments in his otherwise unobjectionable article about two porches on Osage Avenue in the UCReview) but doesn't seem to apply here. Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] Re: Liquor Store at 43rd and Walnut
In a message dated 2/25/2007 12:50:27 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: In a country where church and state are separate, how could the beliefs of one religion, on this street of many, prohibit leasing of a space to a legal - indeed, state-run - business which others want? More of the usual misdirection. (You and should have been a magician.) It's not the beliefs of one religion that are in question. It's a combination of the respect that people of good will have for one another, and the fact that certain decisions about property usage enter the public arena when zoning changes are involved. Were zoning a new concept, or were a city (like Houston) which has little or no zoning to consider imposing it, I'd be against it as a violation of property rights. But we all came to the area -- even those among us who are living in houses they inhereted or bought from their parents -- knowing how things were zoned. And in this case, the property rights argument becomes one of reasonable expectation that the usages of the immediate surroundings won't change. \ So, isn't what you're saying, Melani, is that we should abolish the protections afforded by zoning for the convenience of certain residents? Always at your service ready for a dialog ® brand 35-year resident housing provider Al Krigman PS: To ensure that everyone has a voice in matters like these, and not just the self-selected few, register your protest to the NID initiative with Councilwoman Blackwell by going to _www.iconworldwide.com/speakup_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup) BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] More about the liquor store/mosque
In a message dated 2/23/2007 7:31:27 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Actually, I should think the SHCA head would be a member of the UC Listserv and would post any Zoning Negotiations that would have to do with the UC Community, so we should not have to speculate and/or argue about it. Several prominent SHCA movers and shakers used to be active on this list. Those were the days when they could claim to represent the whole community and people actually believed it, so they didn't get much questioning of their Papal Bulls. As discussions started to get going, many heated and not all obsequious, one by one they dropped off. Shame on them! Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] More about the liquor store/mosque
In a message dated 2/23/2007 6:56:20 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: You say that their other concerns are somewhat legitimate, but their position against alcohol in general should not be considered at all. Why is this particular concern suddenly illegitimate? As usual, we're drifting off what I think is the real issue. Not the sale of liquor across from a mosque, per se. Not, as was the case with the Firehouse, a tavern-like operation across from a tee-totaling Baptist Church. Not simply the question of an abortion clinic or a house owned by a gay couple across the street from St Francis (which are rather different situations in that one is a public accommodation and the other a matter of people's private lives). IMHO, the real issue has to do with sensitivity to the cultural mores of people in the community, given that we bust our collective buttons with pride about how diverse we are. And a second factor that seems to be important is the question of whether some alternate location might be somewhat better, just as good, or almost as good where issues of this type wouldn't arise. Everyone agrees that the present state store location at 41st Market leaves much to be desired in many dimensions. But, surely there are places that can be developed for a Wine Spirits Shoppe more suitable than the 4200 block of Walnut -- which would not only be less contentious but would have a positive influence on the evolution of the immediate vicinity and still convenient for the target clientele. How about the old Linton's (or was it Horn Hardart?) building near 40th Chestnut -- I understand that when a certain initiative goes kablooie, the outfit that's now using the space will fold up and the space will become available. There's a parking lot in the back and a police substation adjacent -- both of which are strong points. Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] More about the liquor store/mosque
In a message dated 2/24/2007 1:13:59 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: who are we to say your store will make more money somewhere else, so we're going to oppose your leasing this space and, even more importantly, why should the current property owner be forced to suffer financially by not being allowed to rent to a tenant s/he's (presumably) wooed and perhaps spent considerable time and money on? should they be forced to eat the cost of six or eight month's non-paid rent while they search out a new occupant for the building? and, if this is not the case and neighbors _do_ have the right to have our fingers in the rental pies of property owners, how can I turn this into making the @[EMAIL PROTECTED] people next door replace the porch railing they made out of 2x4's with something more aesthetic and get rid of that vinyl siding? which has long been my main goal. As usual, you miss the point. I can only surmise that you do it deliberately to get a discussion off track and spare the solid citizens of University City the bother of waking up their little grey cells to grapple with real issues. The point being that when there's a need for a zoning change, it becomes a matter of public involvement. So the owner can rent to whoever he or she wants that doesn't require action by the Zoning Board without any of this. Likewise, for permits to make certain changes to their buildings. Further, any owner of commercial property who courts a potential tenant that will require a zoning change should know the hassles that will be involved and the very real possibility that it will be opposed and rejected. Dan DeRitis, who the DP called the developer of the property in question (officially, it's owned by the 42nd Walnut Street Corp which may or may not be Danny) is not exactly a babe in the woods on thses sorts of issues so none of this will be a surprise to him. Always at your service ready for a dialog ® brand 35-year resident housing provider Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[UC] More about the liquor store/mosque
For those who think I was making up the opposition being voiced by the people at the mosque -- this, now, as a follow-up in today's DP. A voice of rationality in a world of hyperbole ® Al Krigman Potential move brings potential conflict Possible move of liquor store to 43rd, Walnut brings protest from local mosque Madeleine Kronovet For students living on Beige Block, the potential move of the liquor store closer to the area may be a godsend. But to Ahmed Rushdie, the news is nothing less than insulting. Officials familiar with the negotiations say that there are talks to move the 41st and Market streets liquor store to 43rd and Walnut streets, a location close in proximity to a K-8 school and a community mosque. The Masjid Al-Jamia Mosque is located at 4228 Walnut St., while the Penn-Alexander school is at 4209 Spruce St. Rushdie, a professor in Penn's Near Eastern Language and Civilizations Department and a board member of Masjid Al-Jamia, says the move raises serious issues for Muslims in the area - under Islamic law, it is illegal for Muslims to consume alcohol. Rushdie's concerns go further than religious convictions, however: He said Masjid Al-Jamia is most concerned about the possible negative side effects that a liquor store might have for the area. Most importantly, it's really bad for the neighborhood because there are many families, and [it would be] less than 300 feet from the school on 42nd Street, he said. We're not disputing the relocation of this store because it's a religious matter only. Although the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has denied that there are present plans to move the store, Spruce Hill Community Association officials and the building's developer have both confirmed that a zoning-board meeting - in which community members will be allowed to voice their concerns - will be held Feb. 28 to discuss the move. I'm sure the mosque will be there, make their case [and] be heard, said Barry Grossbach, chairman of the Spruce Hill Zoning Committee. All parties have the right to speak, and then the zoning committee decides. If the PLCB were to move locations, they would need to obtain a permit approved by the Zoning Board of Adjustment. And the Muslim community hopes that, at the meeting, its voice will be heard. If this is the motivation of the establishment or to further fuel the pockets of the government through liquor tax, I'm unsure, said area resident Asalamu Alaikum, a member of Masjid Al-Jamia. However, we all agree that we don't want to see our community fall victim to these types of establishments, as others have done all too often. College junior Artina Sheikh, vice president of the Penn Muslim Student Association, also spoke out against the possible relocation. The MSA is extremely concerned over this issue and objects to this establishment because of the moral implications of permitting wider distribution of alcohol to society at large, she said. But Grossbach said he hopes that an amiable conclusion can eventually be reached. Everyone is looking to find some solution � that is acceptable across the board, he said. BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] More about the liquor store/mosque
In a message dated 2/23/2007 10:28:35 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I find some of these arguments misguided at best and disingenuous at worst. You forgot to put your name on your posting so we would know who you are. Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] More about the liquor store/mosque
In a message dated 2/23/2007 1:29:42 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Balancing the concerns and views of a minority (in the strict sense of 50% of the population) against the views of the majority is clearly difficult, but I feel this goes too far. You have some good points. But, I think that when what's becoming an important element in the diversity we supposedly celebrate in this enlightened paragon of a neighborhood has strong convictions on something like alcoholic beverages, and a liquor store is proposed across from its nerve center, the issue of sensitivity to fundamental beliefs comes into the picture. Here's another example. I happen to be neutral on the topic of abortion. And I'm not only not a Catholic by heritage, I'm an athiest by practice. Still, if someone bought Liz Campion's house directly across Farragut Street from St Francis de Sales and applied for zoning to open an abortion clinic (or even a planned parenthood center) there, and the church people objected (you can be sure they would!), I'd be strongly on their side. As I noted in my first post on this general topic, I believe that part of the diversity we brag about is a responsibility to respect basic cultural mores of people who are different than we are in ways that don't impinge on our own deep convictions (think: MOVE). And, I'm sorry, but denying the zoning for a liquor store in the 4200 block of Walnut Street isn't impinging on the rights of anybody to get a Blue Pelican Cliquot Fizz or whatever the hoity toity quaff these days at all of our fine BYOB beaneries. Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] More about the liquor store/mosque
In a message dated 2/23/2007 4:06:46 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: we live in a secular society where everyone is free to make their own peace with the almighty So, hypothetically but honestly, Kyle: 1) If St Francis de Sales sent around a petition against an abortion clinic in the house they just bought from Liz Campion, would you sign it? 2) If the former Commodore Theater were a Lubivitscher Synagogue, do you think anyone would apply for a zoning permit to open a state store across the street (even a state store with a big selection of man-o-Manischevitz sacramental-grade Kiddish wine)? Enquiring minds want to know Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
Re: [UC] proposed zoning changes
The proposed zoning change news release posted by Sharrieff is part of a larger issue in Philadelphia, having to do with the roles and responsibilities of the various civic associations. There was an interesting hour on Marty Moss-Coane's Radio Times yesterday -- with Tom Ferrick and Chris Satullo of the Inquirer discussing points that arose during the next great city forums they've been running. One point was that the machines that ran Philadelphia politics in the old days have largely disappeared. In the machine system, if you had a problem of some kind (anything from you needed a job or knew of some family that couldn't afford to buy coal for the furnace, to the trash wasn't being picked up or potholes in the street weren't being patched), you went to your Ward leader. He pulled the strings to get things done. They said that the civic associations had taken over this function (I didn't catch whether this was to fill the void which occurred or had a causal effect in killing the machines), but that many of them in the city didn't do a good job in representing the interests of the people in the neighborhoods where it counted. I have made no secret of my opinion on this score. So I believe that any loss of power held by organizations of this type is largely of their own making. Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman BRBRBR**BR Check out free AOL at http://free.aol.com/thenewaol/index.adp. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, millions of free high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and much more.
[UC] Here we go again (maybe UCD won't meddle in this one, although...)
Here we go again (maybe UCD won't meddle in this one, although the project's planned developer is on the infamous NID Steering Committee.) Article from the DP followed by a comment by your humble and obedient servant Al Krigman --- Market St. liquor store may move Community leaders in talks to move store on 41st and Market to 43rd and Walnut Madeleine Kronovet (http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendlyuStory_id=0d0a9e30-be42-4f99-947e-b5224b615bd9) Talks between the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board and community leaders to move the Wine and Spirits store, located near the intersection of 41st and Market streets, are ongoing, according to officials familiar with the negotiations. The PLCB, which regulates all liquor sales in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is looking to lease the retail space of the already-vacated Rite Aid located at 4237 Walnut St., said Dan DeRitis, owner of Apartments at Penn, the project's planned developer. Spruce Hill Community Association Director Barry Grossbach confirmed that the community is discussing the move with the PLCB but cautioned that the talks are only in their preliminary stages. Zoning has yet to be approved and will be discussed at Spruce Hill's upcoming community meeting on Feb. 28, Grossbach said. PLCB officials would not comment on the project but said that details would be announced later this week. According to DeRitis, the PLCB is looking to find more refined, high-end wines and to get out of the selling of low-end wines and pints. They want it to be a wine and spirits shop, not a liquor store. The new Wine and Spirits store will also have parking, DeRitis said. We're looking to get out of the image that has been created on [41st] and Market, he said. Community leaders have repeatedly stressed the need for higher-quality liquor stores in the area. Our neighborhood has suffered for it, DeRitis said. We lose too many residents that go to Center City; we're losing commerce to other parts of the city. [People] go buy a bottle of wine or three, and maybe they'll do some shopping there, too. An improved Wine and Spirits store is already in the works for the block of 4900 Baltimore Ave., near Cedar Park. It is expected to open in late spring. If the liquor store does complete its move, it would be placed at the border of Penn's patrol zone, which extends from 30th to 43rd streets and from Baltimore Avenue to Market Street. Irrespective of the location of the Pennsylvania state liquor store, whether in its current address … or at the prospective [location], the most important safety and security concerns revolve around the quality-of-life issues that arise in proximity to state stores, such as panhandling, vagrancy and loitering, Division of Public Safety spokeswoman Karima Zedan said. College junior Jake Kleinman said the prospect of a move may have its appeal because of its move away from an area that is perceived to be unsafe. I feel that for those of us living off campus, it's convenient, but as everyone knows, it's obviously not in the greatest location in the world, Kleinman said of the current store. I have female friends who don't like going there after dark, [and] 43rd and Walnut might feel a little safer. -- --- Comment submitted to the DP by Alan Krigman: The proposed site is directly across Walnut Street from a mosque. This choice of location shows an astonishing insensitivity to the sensibilities of a growing segment of the diverse community in University City. A few months back, a long-established Baptist church (Hickman Temple) opposed the zoning permits for a brewpub in what's known as the Firehouse diagonally across from its edifice on Baltimore Ave. The proposed brewpub, at least, would be more a restaurant than a take-out beer supply shop or a tavern -- the possible negative consequences of which were the points of contention. But a great deal of ill-will was generated by the whole project (it went through, by the way). A liquor store would have fewer saving graces with respect to the institution already in place and opposed to it. I'd obviously like to see the former Rite-Aid developed into something the people in the area find attractive. And someone will object no matter what it is. But this particular proposal seems beyond the pale, under the circumstances.
Re: [UC] Here we go again (maybe UCD won't meddle in this one, although...)
In a message dated 2/20/2007 9:05:07 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: about time. the 41st location is, as the article suggested, rather remote. short of reforming the whole dastardly beer-store process and moving everything into the space across from the supremo, this seems like a good idea. on friday evenings i don't know if anybody's noticed the trail of ants that go from the high-rise straight to the liquor store and back. not having a location closer to campus seems odd anyway. what i'm selfishly not taking into consideration is how will this affect the commute for people north of market street who would now have to walk all the way to walnut. And... your sensitivity to the faith-based objections of the mosque (which was the point of my posting, in case you didn't read the whole posting before feeling you had to get in your 0.2 cents), Kyle? Or, since you're not only a Muslim but made jokes about getting shit-faced at your photo exhibit last week, do you think that's irrelevant? Al Krigman Left of Ivan Grozny ®
Re: [UC] Here we go again (maybe UCD won't meddle in this one, although...)
In a message dated 2/20/2007 9:11:21 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: And... your sensitivity to the faith-based objections of the mosque (which was the point of my posting, in case you didn't read the whole posting before feeling you had to get in your 0.2 cents), Kyle? Or, since you're not only a Muslim but made jokes about getting shit-faced at your photo exhibit last week, do you think that's irrelevant? Al Krigman Left of Ivan Grozny ® Whoops! Meant to say since you're not only not a Muslim (I guess I was too eager to get in my $2.00 to proofread my rebuke to the self-serving posting by one of our upstanding solid citizens). Al Krigman Far left of Ivan Grozny ®
[UC] At least Penn's not trying to do it by claiming the right of eminent domain
Here's an interesting item about Columbia trying to take over Manhattanville, using eminent domain to take what they can't buy outright. Always at your service ready for a dialog ® brand 35-year resident housing provider Al Krigman -- Ivy League University May Use Eminent Domain in West Harlem: Associated Content, 2/11/07 Is it Boon or Gentrification? By Renee Morway Fox News reported today that Columbia University may try to use eminent domain to acquire the 17 acres from 125th to 133rd Streets in New York City known as Manhattan Ville. The University claims expansion is necessary as it is currently only one-half the size of Harvard and one-third the size of Princeton and Yale. According to Emerging Minds Magazine, Columbia is one of the city's largest landlords. The acquisition of Manhattan Ville would double the current size of the University's campus. Columbia plans to build a bio-chemical research center on the property, which would have five stories below ground level, potentially wreaking havoc on the environment. Columbia has already acquired 85% of the area and is trying to cut a deal for the rest. According to the New York Sun, The University has hired an outside organization to determine if the area is blighted. Such a determination would likely cause friction in part because the definition of blight is unclear and because the university is funding the study. The blight study may conceivably help Columbia to exercise the law of eminent domain to acquire the remaining 15% of the area if property owners were to hold-out. One man clearly holding out is Nicholas Sprayregen. According to the New York Sun, he owns the largest chunk of any private property owner in Manhattan Ville. Most of it is devoted to his family's self-storage business and he has no interest in selling out, hoping instead to pass his business on to his children. In addition to Mr. Spraygregen's refusal, Emerging Minds Magazine reports that Columbia also faces opposition from The Coalition to Preserve Community. It is a new grass roots movement that has led the fight against gentification of West Harlem. It claims Columbia is carrying out gentrification with the support of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. It fears that Columbia's plan will displace homes and small businesses in Manhattan Ville. Emerging Minds Magazine reported that Nellie Bailey of the Harlem Tenants Council in New York stated that the 2004 Vera Institute for Justice's study on family homelessness in New York showed that, among other factors, neighborhood s experiencing gentrification like Central Harlem had higher numbers of families becoming homeless. Central Harlem ranked in the top 10 neighborhoods in the city with a high displacement rate. The New York City social service agency, Coalition for the Homeless, says there are 36,166 people who sleep in the city's shelters and welfare hotels each night, and 14,884 are children. According to the Fox News report today, the State of New York is reviewing eminent domain and appears to be onboard. It believes the takeover would be good for the local residents. Columbia would spend $7 billion to create 6,900 jobs. Two-thirds of them, approximately 4,600 jobs, would go to the local community. Would Columbia's acquisition of Manhattan Ville be a boon to the West Harlem community or is it gentrification? Associated Content: _http://www.associatedcontent.com _ (http://www.associatedcontent.com)
[UC] Did anyone go to the mayoral candidates' forum @ the Enterprise Ctr last night?
Did anyone go to the mayoral candidates' forum @ the Enterprise Ctr last night? (I didn't -- figuring that, barring the revelation of a monetary tie to Vince Fumo, Brady's gonna be a shoe-in because he controls the Democratic Party infrastructure, so the campaign is all window-dressing.) Report (or opinion contrary to the above)? Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman
[UC] Re: FW: Dock Street Before Party - Wed, Feb 28th, 5:30-7:30 at the Firehouse
In a message dated 2/14/2007 10:55:50 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: RSVP to Gail Fisher at the University City District if you plan on coming, so she can make sure there's enough food and drink to go around -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]). Be sure to tell her if you're from Hickman Temple so she can be sure there are enough non-alcoholic beverages for the people from this important segment of the community. Al Krigman Left of Ivan Grozny ®
Re: [UC] Re: Spruce Hill Community Association Notices Snow Reminders
In a message dated 2/14/2007 2:34:59 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: In reference to calling LI on your neighbors it is not what we should promote as neighborly behavior. The appropriate response is to talk about snow issues at your block meeting or in advance of a storm, circulate flyers asking everyone to try and shovel their walk and when others are not done, pitch in and do theirs as well. When their is a chronic problem perhaps with an absentee landlord the block or neighbors should send a letter notifying the entity of the problem and requesting a formal response. If there is no response, then..call LI. Everybody knows what the city code says and what responsibility suggests. They don't need the local vigilantes, whether polite or dime-dropping, to remind them. So instead of all this nice-nice good-neighbor suburban crap, and instead of calling LI -- which will mean that someone sends them a notice sometime next August or September, I have a better plan. Have one of the UCD trucks hang around the emergency room of one of the nearby hospitals. When someone comes out with an arm or leg in a new cast, hire him or her to sue the bejabbers off the offending property owner as if the precipitating incident happened on that person's unshoveled, dangerously slippery sidewalk. UCD can take them there, supply the witnesses, than -- since they happen to be parked on the street -- get them back to the hospital or take them home, as appropriate. Even if the owner is covered by liability insurance, there's bound to be some soul-searching, worry about the insurance company not covering the accident because of negligence, a high deductible, increased rates later, etc. And, if the person with the broken arm or leg happens to be from the low-income segment of the extended community, just think -- it'll be like hitting a jackpot at one of Pennsylvania's new slot parlors, and the medical bills will be handled, too. Always at your service with great ideas ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman
Re: [UC] Opposition to Rendell's proposed new taxes
In a message dated 2/11/2007 1:50:54 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Things have gotten much more cosmopolitan up there in the old country. Not to mention the Doukhobors. Always at your service ready for a dialog ® brand 35-year resident housing provider Al Krigman
[UC] Opposition to Rendell's outrageous proposed new taxes
Ed “Spendell’s” New Taxpayer Swindle You name it, the governor will tax it Washington, D.C. – This week Gov. Ed Rendell (D), also know as Ed “Spendell, ” unveiled his budget plan for the new fiscal year that begins in July. The spending proposal would raise the state sales tax from 6 to 7 percent statewide and up to 8 percent in Philadelphia and Allegheny counties. Other tax increases include: imposing a new electricity consumption tax, imposing a new tax on certain employers, imposing a gross profits tax on oil companies, imposing a new tax on tobacco products, and hiking the cigarette tax. In addition to raising the sales tax by 16.7 percent, the $27.3 billion budget would tax electricity consumption at about 45 cents per month for the average household, skim $760 million off of oil companies’ profits for mass transit, impose a new 3 percent tax on employers that do not provide health benefits, and collect more tax dollars by taxing cigars and smokeless tobacco and by raising the cigarette tax 10 cents per pack. “Maybe next year Gov. ‘Spendell’ should just use his budget as a list of taxes he does NOT want to raise. That would probably save his staff some time and paper,” said taxpayer advocate Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “Exploring public-private partnerships for transportation goals is commendable, but it’s hard to see the sunny clearing in the vast tax hike wilderness.” The governor’s budget does allot some of the revenue from the sales tax hike to help lower property taxes in the Keystone State. However, experience in other states has shown that unless local spending is restrained, local governments will spend the state revenue and continue to raise property taxes. “No one likes property taxes because, unlike a sales tax, the burden is visible to taxpayers. Charging people more for buying products in the state will not alleviate their burden, at best it will just shift it around,” continued Norquist. “I strongly urge lawmakers to ditch this tax hike budget and start from scratch.” Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is a non-partisan coalition of taxpayers and taxpayer groups who oppose all federal, state and local tax increases. For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact John Kartch at (202) 785-0266 or at [EMAIL PROTECTED] ###
Re: [UC] Opposition to Rendell's proposed new taxes
In a message dated 2/10/2007 11:36:48 AM Eastern Standard Time, MLamond writes: Al, what do you suggest instead? Higher property taxes? Cutting government spending by doing away with homeless shelters? Spending less on public school students? What would you propose? Why not just ask the question without showing your obvious animosity toward me with silly crap like doing away with homeless shelters or spending less on education? But I'll take the question as well-meant, even if you can't get over your pettiness. There are lots of government programs -- probably most -- that are wastes of money to one degree or another. Every program should be examined and cut where necessary or expanded where the job isn't being done. The list of possibilities is too long to even begin. The answer is in the budgetary process. It should start with some proposals for cuts in every area and let the people responsible decide what to trim, advance hard facts to justify why they shouldn't be cut or should even be increased, or propose fee-for-services alternatives where they can get the money they need for their particular things from the people who use them (in cases like highway maintenance or trash management). There also should be a realization that tax increases are a drag on the economy that ultimately dampen government revenues despite higher rates. It's been pretty well documented that lowering taxes generates more government revenues. Raising taxes has a short-term effect, which is all people like Rendell wanted when he was mayor and apparently all he wants as governor. Always at your service ready for a dialog even with people who participate only to be nasty or to show how clever they are Al Krigman
Re: [UC] Opposition to Rendell's proposed new taxes
In a message dated 2/10/2007 7:01:59 PM Eastern Standard Time, MLamond writes: So if you, instead of Rendell, had to propose something, what would you propose? As I thought I said, but I'll elaborate, I would issue an order that every department receiving money from the state have its allocation be cut by some amount -- say 10% -- across the board. Then, when the actual budget hearings were being held by the legislature, the people making the presentations would be required to explain the steps they were taking to live within this goal were it to be met, and presenting whatever they thought were compelling arguments why they should be cut less than this amount. At the same time, I would commission a panel to independently recommend items that could be eliminated completely. Things like the unnecessary salaried position that the Governor himself just created so one of his cronies could have a job at the Liquor Control Board -- when they've been doing quite well without this function as it is. There are undoubtedly other programs that either started-off as make-work or have become that way because they're no longer needed, but that exist because nobody's paying any attention to them. This could be done in a very transparent way, with lots of chance for inputs from the public. The famous bridge to nowhere federal pork project in Alaska is surely replicated at the state level many times over -- although probably for smaller amounts individually that add up collectively. Anyway, it's not really legitimate to ask what I propose. We elect people who have big staffs to be on top of these things and to carry out the rightful purposes of government in an effective manner. Taxing the stuffing out of people isn't what many of us consider an effective manner. So, ultimately, I propose to put people in office who will look for ways to get the job done without raising taxes -- in fact -- lowering them but still providing essential services.This also means putting people in legislative offices who won't be looking for pork in their own districts, but will be scrutinizing all of those requests for budgetary funding mentioned above. There was a big Democratic sweep in the last election, and Democrats have a history of tax and spend. They didn't get their big gains in November for this reason, though. They got it because President Bush got a message he thought was from God about taking over the world, and didn't realize it was just clever SPAM from the same folks who want you to log into you PayPal account and give them your password. And, (before Matt gets too heady thinking I'm being complimentary about Republicans' fiscal responsibility), the non-Democrats have been overspending their allowances, too. Always at your service ready for a dialog ® brand 35-year resident housing provider Al Krigman
[UC] So much for Penn's half hour crime-safety orientation for incoming students
At a recent community Punch Judy show held by Penn, Cindy Preston -- who heads up local crimewatch efforts -- raised the issue that many incoming students came from other than urban areas and had no street smarts. She noted that this was one of the reasons they get targeted by miscreants. Maureen Rush, Penn's head of security, was quick to defend the University's half hour safety orientation program (i.e., instead of listening to the voice of the community, she had to prove that she was doing the right thing already) as having this situation covered. Anyway, the item below is from today's DP. Apparently, at least one of the residents of this de facto undergraduate dormitory (privately owned, but essentially on-campus) must have been dozing during that half hour and didn't observe reasonable precautions about letting strangers into the building. Al Krigman Penn Hater ?? No! Concerned about safety? Yes! Worried about the competence of the people Penn has on the front lines of community interaction? Very! -- Two students robbed in Hamilton Court Two male suspects were inside building prior to the robbery; victims not harmed Joe Vester A note posted at Hamilton Court, located on 39th and Chestnut streets, describes a robbery that took place over the weekend in the building. Two students were robbed inside of Hamilton Court at about 8 p.m. on Saturday. Two men were waiting in the lobby when College juniors Albert Tsai and Julietta Change entered the building at the Chestnut Street entrance. One of the suspects asked if the students wanted to buy a PlayStation, Division of Public Safety spokeswoman Karima Zedan said. The students declined the offer and proceeded to the elevator. The second suspect then held the elevator doors open and demanded money. He implied he was armed but did not show a weapon. The guy forced him inside, so it was just the three of us, Tsai said in an interview last night. He became pretty aggressive, wanting money and started reaching down into his pants to suggest that he might have a gun, Tsai added. Tsai gave him $5 from his wallet and the two suspects left the building. No one was injured in the incident. Contacted by phone last night, Chang said she was really surprised that a robbery would happen inside Hamilton Court. It was just scary because we were cornered in the elevator and he wouldn't let us out, she said. One of the suspects is described as a black male, about 5 feet 6 inches tall and with a medium build. The other suspect is described as a black male, about 5 feet 9 inches, also with a medium build. Zedan did not say if there were any leads in the case, which is under investigation by the University Police Department. Although the criminals were already in the building when the students encountered them, it is not known how they gained access to the premises, Philadelphia Police Department officials said. I'm just worried because I was on the inside of my apartment [building] rather than out on the streets, Chang said. I just wish the security was better, both in the building and on the streets, she added, though she did say she was happy with Penn Police's response to the incident. Officials from University City Housing - the landlord for Hamilton Court - were unavailable for comment as of press time. In spite of the incident, other Hamilton Court residents said they usually feel safe in the area. I've always been pretty impressed with [the security in] Hamilton Court, College senior Mary Kate Leonard said. Given that I've lived here for two years and never anything like that, � that's a pretty good track record. But both Leonard and College junior Catherine Lim, who also lives in Hamilton Court, said problems usually arise when non-residents are let into the building. It's a matter of students being a little more cautious, Lim said.
Re: [UC] Hey, I thought they were the new UCD logos, replacing those tattered...
In a message dated 2/1/2007 7:35:19 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: The funny thing is that these ads were placed in several cities across the country and nowhere else were they mistaken for bombs. Are you implying that the UCD logo is a bomb? Enquiring minds want to know, Al Krigman
Re: [UC] Violent Penn Students: Save Us, UCD!!!
In a message dated 2/1/2007 12:33:34 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Karen's argument makes perfect sense. That's why she's a lawyer and you're not. Let's start keeping track of the Penn malefactors and see whether there's a trend or not. Mike has a point in that Karen's posting was anecdotal rather than statistically valid. But I believe that what Karen was really getting at was the story behind the story. Of course, neither UCD nor anyone else can anticipate, let alone prevent, this sort of singular incident. But UCD seems to take credit for all kinds of things in this area to which they have no legitimate claim of ownership. More than just take credit. Promote the smithereens out of giving itself credit -- with its $74k flackette not only flushing out the propaganda to the media (mostly the DP and the UCReview) but also acting as a newsmaker-spokesperson herself. And it's this self congratulatory pap about what they want to portray as our little Utopia-on-Schuylkill that Karen cleverly and subtly mocked in her posting. Al Krigman Left of Ivan Grozny ®
Re: [UC] Violent Penn Students: Save Us, UCD!!!
In a message dated 2/1/2007 2:36:33 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I might not be getting all the literature, but I can't think of a single _specific_ crime that has ever been mentioned by UCD apart from the announcement that they were improving the soil along the Vladimir Sled Memorial beds in Clark Park. I believe what she was referring to was things like the $5 MM program (funded by Penn but with UCD all over it) to put in new streetlights as an over-reaction to a few street crimes right adjacent to campus. A misguided bit of propaganda, it turns out, because -- as the head of the University's own Center for Criminology (Lawrence Sherman) pointed out in a published study a few years back, evidence is strong that lighting has an effect on the perception of safety but is lacking on whether it actually deters crime (that is, some studies suggest that it does, others suggest that it doesn't, and a few even suggest that it may serve a facilitating rather than a debilitating role). What UCD does is jump on instances of crime opportunistically to tout its banal, expensive, and somewhat unfounded safe streets activities. Al Krigman Left of Ivan Grozny ®
[UC] Hey, I thought they were the new UCD logos, replacing those tattered banners
Detective holds one of the electronic signs found in Philly. Similar signs in Boston set off a panic with an overreaction to the possibility of a terrorist threat. Here, people apparently thought they were just 21st Century versions of those tattered banners people like UCD, Penn, Drexel, CCD, etc put up so we'll all have a warm snuggly feeling about our neighborhoods. I think this one would make an appropriate UCD logo. Really sends a message to the folks in West Philadelphia who are pro-choice (about how their earnings get spent). Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman
Re: [UC] Jannie Blackwell Improves the Neighborhood Again
In a message dated 1/26/2007 9:45:03 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Blackwell's bill would eliminate the first two categories (utility poles and streetlights). Imagining the proliferation of ugly advertisements, should the bill be passed, is left as an exercise for the reader. IMHO (H=humble), posters on utility and light poles add to the funky vibe of the neighborhood. They're especially appropriate because this is a pedestrian-oriented area so they offer a great means of communication among people that may not be readily reached by other means. Sure, there will be some abuse. But a) it's the kind of abuse that doesn't hurt anybody and only offends the sensibilities of folks looking to be offensive; and b) the disadvantages of minor abuse are far outweighed by the benefits of the communication medium provided. Further, the litter problem that many cite is caused more by the self-righteous folks who tear down other people's posters than those who put them up and leave them. Al Krigman Free markets, free people
Re: [UC] Jannie Blackwell Improves the Neighborhood Again
In a message dated 1/26/2007 1:42:42 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Also I thought that putting up signs on wooden utility poles posed a danger to the crews that had to climb the poles. Is this and urban legend or simply no longer relevant? I haven't seen a utility person actually climb up a pole since the days when I chased behind the horse-drawn wagons delivering ice to the houses on my street in Dorchester (arguably, America's first Streetcar suburb, by the way) where families didn't have electric or gas refrigerators.** Have you ever seen one? The utility companies send their crews out in trucks with cherry-picker hoists. Al Krigman Left of Ivan Grozny ® ** The reason for chasing the wagons was to steal little chunks of ice when the iceman was inside the customer's dropping off the block of ice.
Re: [UC] determining if a wall is load-bearing
In a message dated 1/26/2007 6:20:28 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I have a wall on the 3rd floor of my Victorian twin that I'd really like to tear down. I'm 90% sure it's not load-bearing, but this seems like the sort of situation where I'd rather have an expert's confirmation so I don't find out the hard way that I'm wrong. Does anyone know what sort of a contractor I need? Any recommendations? The rowhouses and twins in West Philly were all built with non-bearing walls. The joists span the 16 (plus or minus) feet from notches in the multi-layer brick party wall to notches in the multi-layer brick outside wall. Problems can occur if someone radically changed something over the years (unlikely) or if water/termites/??? have weakend the joists; water damage where the joist fits into the outside wall is the first thing to look for (top floors are most susceptible to this sort of thing), next would be splits in the joists that separate the top from the bottom, that may be exacerbated if you take out the wall which is now supporting a beam that sagged because of this. If you can get into your attic, these things are easy to spot. If not, you should make a hole in the ceiling big enough to get enough of yourself into the space above with a good light (a 110-V drop light and not a flashlight.). This makes a bit of a mess but is easy to do. Someone on Hazel Ave did a job several years back in which they removed things that were never intended to be bearing -- but were, because of damage like the above. The result was not only very expensive damage to the building itself, but to the property next door. The owner got into a lot of trouble for several reasons, one of which was that the work was started without a permit. In principle, going for a permit would have meant doing some things that would have uncovered the weakness in advance and allowed it to be planned around. Always at your service and ready for a dialog ® brand resident and housing provider, Al Krigman
[UC] My comment and two anonymous comments by Penn people who...
For those not entirely bored by it all, below are a) my signed comment in the DP about the article discussing the Stop Penn posters, and b) two anonymous - of course - comments by denizens of the nearby University of Xenophobia who don't seem to agree with me or think my motives are, shall we say, pure. And who, of course, know nothing about who rents from me or what they pay. (if you missed the original article, it's posted on the NONID website -- _www.nonid.blogspot.com_ (http://www.nonid.blogspot.com) ) Comment by Alan Krigman Those who think that the community relations people at Penn are really so much more intelligent and well-intentioned than us slobs who live and work here won't understand the objections. For those who do know what it's like to have Penn buy control of the area, not only non-University affiliates but also students and staff who don't want to live in a UA-type of structured environment, the criticisms voiced in this article are very real. The article didn't mention the Neighborhood Improvement District (NID). This is a nightmare that Penn, working through it's surrogate - the University City District - is trying to shove down the commuity's throats (or do I have the direction and the anatomy wrong?). Anyone who wants a little independence in their private lives, and who wants to preserve the lower-cost opportunities of decent off-campus housing (and I'm not talking about 40th Locust), register your opposition to the NID with our local City Council Representative. Do it by going to: * with some background - _www.iconworldwide.com/speakup_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup) * the form, directly - _www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html) Anonymous comment #1 Krigman Sucks Krigman: You're a complete hypocrite. You're always the first to criticize Penn when there's an article about West Philly, yet you have no issue taking Penn student's money as a landlord. How much would your properties be worth without the money Penn has spent on the neighborhood? Face the facts: you're nothing but a parasite feeding off of the University. For those residents and businesses that have not benefited from Penn's expansion, they have every right to complain about the NID and other University initiatives. For you its just giving up a few cents off of the millions you've made off of Penn's back. Get over yourself. Post a reply to this comment Anonymous comment #2 Greedy Krigman, the Hypocrite Krigman is upset because, in his words, They want to make us pay for it through a mandatory surcharge on real estate taxes; this will hit property owners directly... So, Krigman will become poorer. You're so much the Robin Hood, Anal. (Did I get my anatomy or my spelling wrong???) You know what real estate taxes go towards? Making neighborhoods and schools better. You know why yours are so (relatively) high? Because there is no tax base. The only owners are people like you who, please admit, are merely concerned about their check books and bank accounts. If you're so upset about the company you keep (your neighbors), then move to the suburbs and keep to yourself.
[UC] How Penn *should* be expanding (from today's Inquy) -- IMHO (Al K)
Penn Health System to buy Graduate Graduate Hospital will become a rehabilitation and long-term acute-care facility. Penn will run it in a venture with Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network. By Josh Goldstein Inquirer Staff Writer The University of Pennsylvania Health System announced yesterday that it would buy Graduate Hospital and convert it into a rehabilitation and long-term acute-care facility. Penn officials said the deal would free about 40 acute-care beds at its other hospitals and expand research and training programs in rehabilitation medicine. This will expand our ability to offer the finest rehabilitative care to a greater number of patients, said Ralph W. Muller, chief executive officer of the Penn system. The sale is expected to be completed March 30. Financial terms were not disclosed. Once the sale is concluded, Graduate will be run by a joint venture between Penn and the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, of Allentown. The two will spend 15 months and $35 million to install 58 rehabilitation beds and 38 long-term care beds at the hospital. Graduate would then reopen in July 2008. The conversion should let Penn use about 20 beds each at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Hospital for patients who require more intense care. HUP is 100 percent full Monday through Friday these days, Muller said, so this allows us to free up some acute-care beds. Penn will own the buildings, but will have only a 30 percent share of the joint venture with Good Shepherd. Both are nonprofit organizations. Graduate's current owner, the for-profit Tenet Healthcare Corp., of Dallas, said it would wind down operations at the hospital at 18th and Lombard Streets over the next two months. Despite interest from several parties, Tenet spokesman Steven Campanini said none of those bidders wanted to maintain Graduate as an acute-care hospital. Though licensed for 240 beds, Graduate fills only about a quarter of them a day. Muller said it was important to Penn to maintain the Center City hospital as a health-care facility. He said that in conjunction with nearby Pennsylvania Hospital, the investment in Graduate should further spur economic development in the area. But Alan D. Haber, a pulmonologist and president of the hospital's medical staff, lamented Graduate's demotion from a full-service hospital to one that will focus on rehab and caring for patients who are on ventilators and have other long-term medical needs. Losing Graduate as an acute-care hospital is a big loss for the community, he said. Patients have always had the choice to go to other hospitals, he said, but many remained loyal to Graduate even after it fell on hard times after its acquisition by the now-bankrupt Allegheny health system in 1996. This is a venerable institution with a rich legacy of patient care and physician education, Haber said. I think it deserves better than what is going to happen. The hospital will remain open until the sale is completed March 30, but new admissions will stop by the end of February. At that time, a temporary urgent-care center will open in place of the emergency room. Campanini said these were all steps to prepare the hospital for the transition from acute care. While the Philadelphia area has several prominent rehabilitation hospitals, local experts say they do not expect another to increase competition among the region's hospital networks. I don't see any aspect of this deal that doesn't make sense, said Alan M. Zuckerman, president of Health Strategies Solutions Inc., of Philadelphia. Tenet acquired Graduate along with seven other local hospitals from Allegheny in November 1998. Yesterday, Graduate employees received an open letter from hospital chief executive Brian Finestein informing them they would have opportunities to transfer to other Tenet hospitals or apply for jobs in the Penn health system. Job fairs, employment counseling and appropriate severance will be provided by Tenet to those employees who do not receive offers of comparable employment, he wrote. That is small solace to Henry Nicholas, president of the union that represents about 200 of Graduate's 400 employees. They don't intend to reopen with any of the former employees, Nicholas said. It means that we lose about 400 jobs in South Philly, which is a big loss. Job fairs don't fill that capacity. Good Shepherd Penn Partners, the new venture, should employ about 450 people by its second year, said Sally Gammon, president of the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation network.
Re: [UC] My comment and two anonymous comments by Penn people who...
In a message dated 1/24/2007 9:46:21 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: strangle you with the guts of the last Real Estate Agent. You don't mean ... No, you can't possibly be referring to ... Even Floyd Ireson didn't have to suffer that degree of indignity. (Where are those feathers?) Al K
[UC] From today's DP....
Remember those pictures of things like trees where you were supposed to spot the animals drawn into the foliage (or those Playboy covers where you had to look for the bunny)? Well, here's an updated version. It's an article about protests against Penn's now-much-more-subtle takeover of the whole neighborhood. See if you can spot the lies and the half-truths. Al Krigman Register your opposition to the NID via the Internet to Councilwoman Blackwell -- With some background: _www.iconworldwide.com/speakup_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup) Go directly to the form: _http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html) -- Perspective: With frayed posters, an artist cries out, 'Stop Penn' As U. turnes its attention to the east, some still protest the legacies of West Phila. expansion _Alanna Kaufman_ (http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/user/index.cfm?event=displayAuthorProfileauthorid=2388057) Media Credit: Alex Small 'Stop Penn' posters adorn a West Philadelphia wall. As Penn begins to focus toward the east for further expansion, the posters are a reminder of what the artists see as a negative legacy of Penn-led local development. Media Credit: Alex Small A 2001 poster reacts to a Penn proposal to move the 40th and Walnut streets McDonalds. Its artist has been working on the new set of posters. Media Credit: Alex Small The second version of the new posters warns against a reprisal in West Phila. of Penn's '50s and '60s development in the so-called Rock Bottom area. Media Credit: Alex Small A poster hangs on a lamppost on 40th and Filbert streets. 'Stop Penn,' it reads - 'Hands off West Philly.' The artists say they object to the ways in which high rent prices have forced locals out of the University City area. They almost blend into the background - posters as worn and dirt-splattered as the grafittied walls that wear them. Yet the messages proclaimed by two versions of anti-Penn posters currently plastered across West Philadelphia are anything but passive or forgotten. One version is general, graphically depicting Penn as a tentacled monster and urging it to keep its hands off West Philadelphia. In large block lettering, the second version recalls Black Bottom - an area that Penn developed during the 1950s and 1960s, displacing a number of local residents - and cautions against West Philly being next. Since they appeared on the streets last fall, the posters have been torn down, grafittied themselves and labeled vague and ungrounded by critics both within and outside the University. But for the artists - two West Philadelphia residents - and those with objections to Penn's influence in the region, these posters serve both as markers of solidarity and reminders of a fight against the University that, despite having lost some momentum, is far from finished. Signs From the Past Though they are a recent addition to the West Philadelphia scenery, these posters are conceptually derived from a print developed and distributed by one of the artists years ago. According to Rev. Larry Falcon - a West Philadelphia resident for over 30 years - original versions of the poster emerged in about 2001; around this time, some West Philadelphia residents were forming a resistance to a Penn proposal that would move the McDonald's at 40th and Walnut streets to 43rd and Market streets. Eventually, the proposal was withdrawn due to local opposition and the discovery of chemical contaminants at the Market Street site, but remnants of the cause lived on through the unification of anti-Penn activists in a group entitled Neighbors against McPenntrification, led by Falcon, and through a batch of posters distributed by the group to local businesses. The posters, Falcon said, were crafted by a member of NAM who originally printed about 50 copies on brown butcher paper. Unlike the current posters, the sheets distributed six years ago featured a portrayal of Penn as an octopus hovering over 40th Street. With menacing eyebrows and pink fangs, the symbol bore a similar message to the one the current posters promote: Stop UPenn, hands off our neighborhood. Falcon said that, though the posters were not commissioned by NAM and were entirely the artist's initiative, they soon caught on among businesses and community members who shared these sentiments. We put them up in the windows, especially along 40th Street, Falcon said of the posters, which included his contact information. People came by and wanted to buy them. And Roger Richards, a member of both NAM and Friends of 40th Street - a Penn-led group that works to bring retail to the 40th Street corridor - said that the same artistic elements and anonymity which attracted people to the original print hold true
Re: [UC] Funky Vibe Out of Our Control
In a message dated 1/23/2007 6:14:28 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Brennan added that, while she has not seen the posters herself, it is illegal for groups to hang posters in the area without official licensing. -- today's DP She don't get around much any more. After all, a measly $74,234 per year (not counting expenses and benefits) ain't enough to make a lady have to put up with the benighted you might meet on the street -- in parts of the neighborhood still out of UCD's control. Why, it's been rumored 'round the cubicles at the old Linton's Cafeteria that some of those people were complaining there was no bread but couldn't be bothered to walk over to the Sugar Hill Bakery sponsored and mentored by UCD where they could have bought those lovely cakes made with only the finest of ingredients. Al Krigman Register your opposition to the NID via the Internet to Councilwoman Blackwell -- With some background: _www.iconworldwide.com/speakup_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup) Go directly to the form: _http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html)
[UC] Royals' visit to West Philly hits the Inky (From the ready-for-a-dialog-guy)
Preparing a weekend to dazzle a prince By Julie Stoiber Inquirer Staff Writer Prince Charles' planned visit next weekend, the first by a Prince of Wales since his great-great-grandfather got collywobbles of the stomach eating scrapple here 147 years ago, has been in the works for ages. That's counting all the times Oliver St. Clair Franklin, the crown's go-to guy in Philadelphia, stopped at the palaces and urged the royal family, Come on over. Prince Andrew, Charles' brother, accepted in 2002. The Duke of Gloucester, Queen Elizabeth II's first cousin, followed two years later. Saturday and Sunday's scheduled tour by the heir to the throne and his wife - during which he is likely to paint with at-risk kids and sup with the upper crust - is the icing on the cake, said Franklin, the honorary British consul, or chief diplomat, in Philadelphia. Fashioning a visit fit for a prince is challenging business. How does the cheesesteak capital wow a storybook figure? Aside from the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and the National Constitution Center, the usual tourist stops were out. Instead, activities were designed to play to the prince's passions: urban revival, youth empowerment, art, architecture, history, the environment. Thus, he will take a mural tour; meet clean-energy guv Ed Rendell; chew over the challenges of Third World mega-cities with foreign students; attend gala festivities at the oldest concert hall in America, where The Prince of Wales Box honors his great-great-grandfather, who warmed a balcony seat there in 1860; and worship with everyday folks at a glorious old church that is the spiritual home of the Welsh in Philadelphia. The church has scheduled the service two hours earlier than usual, although nobody is objecting because of the chance to meet the Prince and his new wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. The timing was necessary so the couple could visit Historic Clark Park in University City, site of a world-famous statue of Charles Dickens and Little Nell. Charles and Camilla will then warm themselves at an undisclosed lovely West Philadelphia Victorian home with intact balusters and cherry windows boasting the original muntins. Tastykakes and soft pretzels will be available in lieu of tea and crumpets should the Royal couple choose to indulge. And if the prince decides he would really love a cheesesteak, Franklin said, we'll get one delivered. The couple will reportedly fly in on Friday. Public appearances will span roughly 11:30 a.m. Saturday to 1 p.m. Sunday, when TRH (their royal highnesses) will be whisked from the lovely West Philadelphia Victorian home to 30th Street Station, where they will board a private electric train to New York. Presumably, they will at some point visit with friend Leonore Annenberg, local philanthropist and widow of onetime British ambassador Walter H. Annenberg. She does have a personal relationship with the prince, Franklin said. There's a great affection between them. They will also spend time Saturday afternoon at International House in West Philadelphia, home to foreign students from around the world. Franklin is president and chief executive officer there and is planning a roundtable discussion involving participants from a variety of countries. One young man from Lithuania told Franklin that he was buying a suit at the Second Mile Center for the occasion. I hope they have one that fits, he says. Every activity is geared to impress the prince. We will get a lot of press in Europe for this, Franklin said. This is what it takes to be, really, what we are - an international city. The prince and duchess are said to be staying at the Four Seasons, where suites overlooking the renowned Swann Fountain feature Federal-style furniture and king-size beds. Spokeswoman Ruth Hirshey was absolutely mum. The hotel doesn't talk about guests, she said. Any guests. Denise Venuti Free, spokeswoman for the National Constitution Center, was also circumspect. He's coming to a reception here, she said of the prince. We would love to show him Signers' Hall. British officials have clamped a tight lid on details, and those connected to the visit are largely abiding by orders not to breathe a word. Even the menu for the 150th Anniversary Academy Ball, a white-tie and champagne bash at the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue on Saturday night, is top-secret. The royals are expected to arrive at the Academy at 6:30, after dinner at the Four Seasons. No one's saying whether they will join the traditional promenade up Broad Street, with decked-out guests strolling from the concert at the Academy of Music to the ball at the Bellevue, led by Mummers and the Valley Forge Military Academy Color Guard. Nor is it known whether Charles and Camilla will stay up to see midnight fireworks. They are expected for services early in the morning, after all, at Arch Street
Re: [UC] The Historic Commission has ruled against paint!
In a message dated 1/21/2007 8:12:13 AM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I have definitely mixed feelings about Bonnie Prince Charlie's visit. His wife wears remarkably weird hats. I've asked her not to wear one when I take them on the tour of Historic Clark Park, prior to our High Tea at one of historic Spruce Hill's more elegant Victorian homes (the location of which will remain undisclosed so the Royals will have time to suck it all in, as it were, without the press, the UCHS zealots, or the great unwashed masses getting in the way). Victoria, of course, was Charles' great-great-great-grandmother, so he's tremendously interested in the authentic Victoriana we have here in Spruce Hill. How I'm going to get him past the desecrations like Home Depot replacement balusters on the few porches that haven't been torn down or infilled, the cheesy vinyl replacement windows, or the pressure-treated-wood sundecks shamelessly bolted onto the rear shed kitchens I don't know. Maybe by having the windows of the Rolls accidentally mirrored on both sides so he won't be able to see out while we're en-route. Always at your service ready for a dialog ® brand 35-year resident housing provider Al Krigman
[UC] Investments in neighborhoods credited with crime reduction
This is from the website of the Neighbors Opposed to the Neighborhood Improvement District (NONID) website. (_www.nonid.blogspot.com_ (http://www.nonid.blogspot.com) ). The University City District is crediting its public space maintenance and safety ambassador programs for - among other things - a reduction in crime in the area. But, writing in the Philadelphia Inquirer of January 15 2007, Gregory Heller of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission gives the lion's share of the credit to reinvestment in the neighborhoods. In the case of University City, much of that reinvestment has been done by the investors who own rental properties - the very folks UCD is demonizing and saying should now pay the neighborhood back. Here are some excerpts from Mr Heller's article: This poll and another by Pennsylvanians for Effective Government reported that, overwhelmingly, crime is the top priority. The danger, however, is that other issues, such as neighborhood reinvestment, tax reform, and growing our job market could end up taking a backseat. This would be a mistake. These issues are not only important but they also play a key role where it concerns finding long-term solutions to crime. ... Extra police on the streets is a temporary solution. It does not address underlying problems that cause neighborhoods to exist in poverty and vulnerability. This link between strong neighborhoods and low crime has been studied since the 1960s. It makes sense. Neighborhoods free of vacant properties, with vibrant shopping and people out at all hours, are places with lower crime rates that feel safer. There are more eyes on the street and more stakeholders protecting the community. ... Data show that Philadelphia neighborhoods with recent reinvestment have had the largest reductions in serious crimes between 1998 and 2005. Neighborhoods lacking the same level of reinvestment have stayed constant or had increases in crime during the same period. Center City, East Falls, Fishtown, Manayunk, Mount Airy and University City, all areas with significant reinvestment, have had drops in crime of between 33 percent and 69 percent. Al Krigman Register your opposition to the NID via the Internet to Councilwoman Blackwell -- With some background: _www.iconworldwide.com/speakup_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup) Go directly to the form: _http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html)
[UC] Who needs muggers? More Penn faculty would certainly improve the 'hood
Let's see... first a sexual assault on a student (daughter of family friends, no less). Then kiddie porno with trips to Asia for sessions with little boys. Now this (innocent until proven guilty, of course). The anointed are sliding down the slippery slope of the moral high ground. Al Krigman Register your opposition to the NID via the Internet to Councilwoman Blackwell -- With some background: _www.iconworldwide.com/speakup_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup) Go directly to the form: _http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html_ (http://www.iconworldwide.com/speakup/nonid-01.html) === Posted on Mon, Jan. 08, 2007 (http://www.reprintbuyer.com/mags/knightridder/reprints.html) Penn professor charged in wife’s death By Nancy Phillips INQUIRER STAFF WRITER AP Photo Rafael Robb is escorted into Montgomery County District Court in King of Prussia. University of Pennsylvania economics professor Rafael Robb has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of his wife, Ellen. Robb, 56, a bespectacled man with closely cropped salt-and-pepper hair, looked a bit bewildered as he entered the courtroom for his arraignment wearing jeans, sneakers and a blue wool jacket and carrying a black wool cap. His feet were in shackles and his hands cuffed in front of him and strapped to a leather belt around his waist. District Justice William Maruszczak asked him to spell his name, and Robb answered in accented English that hinted of his native language of Hebrew. He sat quietly and betrayed no emotion as the judge read aloud the charges against him. At the close of the brief proceeding, he stood and asked his lawyer, Where am I going now? as he was led to Montgomery County prison, where he will be held without bail. A preliminary hearing will be held later this month. Ellen Robb, 49, was bludgeoned beyond recognition in the kitchen of her home. Veteran detectives thought she had been shot until an autopsy proved otherwise. She appeared to have been wrapping Christmas presents when she was attacked. Rafael Robb is an expert in game theory, generally described as a method of studying situations in which players choose various tactics in an effort to maximize outcomes. He is a tenured professor at Penn's School of Arts and Sciences. In an affidavit of probable cause for Robb's arrest, released today by Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor, a friend of Ellen Robb's told police that when she invited Robb to a birthday party in October, Robb could not go because she had a black eye. According to the friend, she said that her husband hit her and that he treated her terribly. The Robbs, long estranged but still living in the same house, were on the verge of separating. Ellen Robb had retained a divorce lawyer and was planning to move into a $1,500-a-month apartment by New Year's Day. According to a real estate agent who had met with her, Ellen Robb said she expected to receive $4,000 in monthly support from her husband. The affidavit, quoting two mental-health experts, called the killing an attack by someone with a need to depersonalize Ms. Robb such that she is hardly recognizable as a human being. Rafael Robb's explanation was that his wife had likely been killed by a burglar who broke through the glass of a rear door. Nothing appeared to have been stolen from the house, the affidavit said. The breaking of a window in the back door appears staged, the affidavit says, because no one had walked on the shattered glass on the floor. The affidavit also questioned whether a burglar would have taken time to restrain the family's dog, which was found closed in a bedroom. Investigation of Rafael Robb's statements to detectives also aroused suspicion, the affidavit said. He claimed to have spent up to 40 minutes buying fruit at a market in Philadelphia on his way to work that morning. A cashier did identify him as a regular customer, but said he had not been there the day of the murder. Robb said that when he came home to find his wife's body, he did not immediately call 911, the affidavit said. Instead, he said he touched her face, put his laptop computer and briefcase in his upstairs bedroom, checked on the dog barking in his daughter's bedroom, and, after returning downstairs in search of a phone, found the broken window in the door. He told the police dispatcher that he believed she was dead because her head was cracked, Castor said. That is very significant to me, given the initial impression of investigators that she had been shot. Last week, the university said another instructor would take over the graduate seminar he was scheduled to teach starting this semester. Al Krigman
Re: [UC] O the process. O the principles. O tempore, o mores
In a message dated 4/21/2005 12:57:03 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I think the biggest problem in all this is deciding whether or not the taco bell down at 3401 walnut will be really REALLY mexican. Laserbeam's usually sharp focus seems to have gotten a bit blurred. He's assuming a homogeniety to Mexican Cuisine that is worthy of debate on this list as a topic unto itself. Now I don't know much about Mexican Cuisine other than a little about what you can get [sic]in Tijuana. But wouldn't someone in, say, Irkutsk, discussing food that was really REALLY American have a problem if he or she was thinking about a place that served grits for breakfast as opposed to one that featured Froot Loops, pancakes, or steak-and-eggs? Yet we ofUniversity City's mostenlightened classes know that all three are really REALLY American. And, what if those grits were actually Cream of Wheat instead of hominy because wheat is available to the restaurant chain at a low price and corn is expensive? Wouldn't it stand to reason that a restaurant that served Pan de Pascua might be as authentically Mexican as one that featured Cosas Pequenas Dulces? Always at your service and ready for a dialog,Al Krigman
[UC] O the process. O the principles. O tempore, o mores
All that hoohah about 40th Street. First a steering committee. Then meetings up the gazoo. Then Omar Blaik (the master of speaking with a forked tongue) saying that Penn wanted only to have a seat at the table, not to control the process. Then a set of hi-falutin' community-driven principles. Then "Friends of 40th Street." As if the buildings on the north east and west corners of 40th Chestnut didn't put the lie to all this hoo-hah, we now have the following from today's DP. (If Penn wants to use its economic clout to acquire properties and put it to use in its own self-interest, it's the University's right. The fact that the Community Relations people there are morally bankrupt is between them and what passes for their consciences. But, what really rankles me is the duplicitous way they say one thing and mean or do another. They must take the "community" for a pack of idiots. And, candidly, if we let it happen without exercising our collective clout, without letting Penn think it's got community support because Omar, Glenn Bryan, and that motley crewtalk to people who suck up to Penn andmake believethey've heard vox populi speak, maybe we are and maybe we're getting what we deserve.) Al Krigman(Left of Ivan Groznyj) === Plans set for overhaul of Walnut block Officials to request bids from private developers for most of 3900 block By austin lavin April 20, 2005 University officials said yesterday that they are beginning to look for bids for the demolition and redevelopment of the 3900 block of Walnut Street. The block currently consists of a number of storefronts and restaurants, many of which are on short leases or scheduled to be vacated. "At this point, we are soliciting bids to understand what ideas different developers have -- to get a better understanding of the possibilities of the private sector and shape our objectives," Senior Vice President of Facilities and Real Estate Services Omar Blaik said. The redevelopment is consistent with the University's master development plan. The plan calls for the demolition of much of the block and the creation of mixed-use development with student housing constructed on top of retail. Blaik said that with the planned departure in the fall of the CVS located at 3915 Walnut St. and the expiration of lease agreements with the current tenants, the University is in a position to begin the process. The project will also include the space formerly occupied by the Cinemagic 3 theater. Officials will spend the summer evaluating proposals and expect to make an announcement in the fall. Construction should begin sometime next year. However, the University does not own the entire block and only plans on developing the area west of the Campus Copy Center, located at 3907 Walnut St., that extends to the space at 3927 Walnut formerly occupied by the Walnut Street West branch of the Philadelphia Free Library. "We don't see the need to take on the entire block," Blaik said. "The square footage we own allows us to do what we want to do." Blaik said that the development will probably consist of accommodations for 250 to 300 people and 50,000 square feet of retail. The new development would likely be several stories tall, though it would depend on developers' plans. Four prospective developers are being asked to come up with a design within the mixed-use framework called for in the 2001 Campus Development Plan. "All of the proposals are coming in with housing and retail. The question is the contents of both, to what percent is it undergraduate housing and what percent is it smaller [retail] footprints or bigger [retail] footprints for different retail uses," Blaik said. The University would like to attract a large number of students who currently live west of 40th Street back toward campus with the additional housing. The announcement of redevelopment has created uncertainty for the current tenants on the block, which include the Philly Diner, College Pizza, Kinko's, the Last Word Bookshop, Power Yoga Works and the University Micro Center. "We are trying to relocate most of them ... but in the end we're not 100 percent in control of that process," Blaik said, noting that the tenants have also been aware of this development for years. Bill Raup, the owner of Power Yoga Works at 3925 Walnut St., said that he has known about the plans for a while and that so far officials have been helpful. "They want to keep several of the locally owned businesses in the area, if we do in fact have to move," said Raup, who added that he would like to stay. "We love Penn, and they're happy with us. It is a good location and a good community," he said.
[UC] Sad commentary
Today's DP has an article about what's going into the commercial space at 34th Walnut to replace the Moravian cafe etc. IM(not so)HO, it's either a sad commentary on the penn Administration for thinking this is the way to serve the University and surrounding Communites, or a sad commentary on the University and surrounding communities for this being what they actually want. One would think that a world-class university with a business school at the top of every list would be more attuned to encouraging entrepreneurial efforts that foisting junk food off onto the hoi polloi. Always at your service and ready for a dialog,Al Krigman PS: CVS is closing at 40th Walnut -- no surprise since they're relocating to 34th Walnut. And there's no shortage of pharmacies in the 'hood. Penn owns that building -- and combined with Cinemagic's former space (Oh, didn't you know it's now history?) -- there's lots of room for some creative commercial endeavors. Let's see what they come up with.Is the venerableFriends of 40th Street involved, or at least putting their famous "principles" in front of Tony Sorrentino, Omar Blaik, Amy Gutman, Co? == Text of article: Quiznos, Taco Bell, KFC to hit Moravian By austin lavinApril 19, 2005Officials moved one step closer to filling the Moravian Cafes at 3401 Walnut Street with announcements that Taco Bell, KFC and Quiznos signed a letter of intent late last week.In addition to filling two of three remaining spots in the food court, the University also finalized a lease with CVS Pharmacies.With the deal, officials announced that the current campus CVS located at 3915 Walnut St. will eventually close in the fall.Construction will begin on CVS soon, Penn "won't start construction with Quiznos or Taco Bell or any retailer until they sign a lease. But a letter of intent is a good sign of progress," Facilities and Real Estate Services spokesman Tony Sorrentino said.A letter of intent is not necessarily a binding legal document. However, Sorrentino said that the University has confidence that a lease will be signed.Taco Bell is a Mexican fast-food chain, Quiznos sells subs and KFC sells chicken.Officials are still looking to fill one remaining spot in the eastern side of Moravian, a space which has remained mostly empty since the beginning of the semester.Famous Famiglia and Gourmet Ice Cream will continue to operate.Though no contract is in place, Sorrentino said he hoped the new food court tenants will open by September.A dividing wall currently exists between the half of the 15,000-square-foot site that will become a CVS and the other half that will be occupied by five individual food venders.Both campus CVS stores will operate for a few months during the transition, but officials hope to have the old space in use by 2006.The 3900 block of Walnut Street now has several major vacancies, which officials said they will address later this week.The new placement of CVS upsets some who live on the western side of campus.College freshman Nicky Berman, who lives in Harnwell College house, said the new pharmacy will be inconveniently located.She also said that she does not plan on visiting the new Moravian to eat because she has no interest in any of the new restaurants."They are all really bad for you," she said.College sophomore Eitan Danon looks forward to change."I'm just really excited to have Taco Bell on campus. We've long deserved a Taco Bell," Danon said, adding that he will probably go more often because of the new selections.
[UC] last day to register to vote
Today's the last day to register to vote. You can do it (among other places) wherever drivers' licenses get renewed. Al Krigman(Left of Ivan Groznyj)
Re: [UC] The 800-lb gorilla has cousins
Perhaps I should clarify... The item did, indeed, talk about property values. But the point I was trying to make in citing it, as I thought I was emphasizing with the "800-lb gorilla" reference (Penn's been called that, and the article used the term to describe the U of NV at Reno) really had to do with a major entity using its economic clout to get what it wanted through political manipulation, to implement its version of an enlightened vision for the community, essentially without being concerned about who might get hurt. Also, with respect to property values, the argument in the articleinvolved the uncertainty associated with UNR's 50-year plan, which included the perceived threat of unwilling sellers being forced to give up their holdings at what someone decreed as "fair market value" under eminent domain. This would, indeed depress property values in the zone which the University wanted to acquire, because it would make parcels unsaleable except to high-risk speculators. No doubt, the owners on the "safe" side of the line bounding the proposed project anticipate their values rising. But they weren't the people cited in the article... it was those in the path of the wrecking ball. Always at your service and ready for a dialog,Al Krigman PS: For those who missed the original reference and actually want to see what the discussion is about, it's at http://emdo.blogspot.com/2005/04/neighbors-wary-of-unr-expansion-reno.html
[UC] Primary elections -- poll workers needed
After the last general election, there was a lot ofdiscussion on this listserv about participating in theelection managementprocess. Several of us who are involved withrunning the polling places brought up the fact that people are always needed for staffing -- with duties starting with machine set-up through logging people in and checking bona fides when necessary, assisting with questions, and properly submitting the results to the election commission for reliable and accurate vote counting. The primaries are on Tuesday, May 17. Most of the polling places are still in need of people to fill one or more positions. It's good but not essential to work at the same place you vote; there are lots of polling places, and if your own is already overstaffed, chances are good that a location a block or two away can use your help. There's a stipend of about $100 for the day, although most people who do the job are more interested in the process than the payment. Here's what to do: 1) If you don't know the polling place for your registered address, you can check it online at http://www.hallwatch.org/elections/wardbook/pollingplace. This will not only give the address but also the ward and division numbers. 2) If you're a registered Republican, contact Matt Wolfe ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) to volunteer. If you're a registered Democrat, contact Sylvia Hammerman-Brown ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) to volunteer. If you're neither of the above, contact either of the above. They're the respective party committee chairs in the general area, and will know which polls need workers and so forth. 3) If, for some reason, you can't get to either of the above, contact me ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) or Bill Magill ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) and we'll run some interference for you. I believe the vernacular for this situation is "put up or shut up." Always at your service and ready for a dialog,Al Krigman
[UC] The 800-lb gorilla has cousins
A cousin to the 800-lb gorilla who lives in our neighborhood between Chestnut St University Ave, 40th St the Schuylkill River, has been spotted in Reno NV. Read all about it: http://emdo.blogspot.com/2005/04/neighbors-wary-of-unr-expansion-reno.html Al Krigman(Left of Ivan Groznyj)
Re: [UC] seeking Frank Arnold contractor
In a message dated 4/6/2005 8:53:25 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: The office is at 44th and Spruce. He acquired it a few days ago and hasn't yet moved in. It will be at 269 S 44th St (just north of Spruce)-- a combination office and a showroom for things like kitchen cabinetry, replacement windows, etc. Always at your service,Al Krigman
[UC] Model of St Peter's basilica
The Second Mile Center ("Too" location -- on 45th closest to Walnut St) has
what looks like a nice model of St Peter's Basilica -- about a foot deep and 8
or 9 inches wide, mounted on a wooden base. It's $19, and on display in the
window.
This may be of interest to someone who'd like a timely"object" to
commemorate the death of Pope John Paul II and the imminent naming of a
successor.
Always at
your service,Al Krigman
Re: [UC] city council
In a message dated 3/17/2005 10:21:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I just heard that the smoking ban was tabled and the pay-to-play bill failed... Pay-to-play is one thing. A smoking ban is something else, entirely. I don't smoke, and prefer not to be in places where the air is smoke-filled (except for those back rooms, of course, where Matt Wolfe things I connive with my libertarian, anarchist, and trade-unionist co-conspirators). But smoke-free places are easy enough to find. And smokers have a good choice of places where they can go, too. IMHO, smoking bans are unwarranted intrusions of government into the private lives of citizens. I don't think the issue of second-hand smoke rises to one of public safety and health except in the minds of the anointed who've decided on the basis of no empirical evidence whatever that it's a crisis. We're already on a slippery slope. What's next? A ban on tinkling in the alleys between University City's historic Victorian twin houses? Why did those historic architects put in those historic alleys, anyway? What will Penn, Drexel, and USP students going to do on their way back to the dorms after they leave KelliAnne's and the Mill Creek Tavern? Al Krigman(Left of Ivan Groznyj)
[UC] Spruce Hill Players ... Fri, Sat, Wed
I understand that the Spruce Hill Players will be presenting several short plays tonight (Friday) and tomorrow night at the Spruce Hill Community Association clubhouse (257 S 45th), and again next Wednesday at the Rotunda. I believe the curtain rises at 8:00 pm. The above is only my recollection based on a brief conversation with impressario, Bill Burrison. So if anybody has more specific information, please share it with the rest of us. Always at your service and ready for a dialog,Al Krigman
[UC] Re: FW: new condos in UC
In a message dated 3/15/2005 2:47:58 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: http://www.4200pine.com/index.html I ask again, as I did before to no avail, where was the zoning committee of the local community association? The zoning committee that opposes every increase in density even if it's only for two hamsters instead of one hamster, the zoning committee that opposes every fence or curb cut proposal, the zoning committee that wants owners to come crawling to them and beg approval for legalizing something that's been a de facto condition since Pluto was a pup, the zoning committee that ... well, you get the idea. Al Krigman(Left of Ivan Groznyj)
[UC] Cato flunks Rendell
Every year, the Cato Institute issues a report card rating governors on their fiscal responsibility. The criteria are a blend of tax and spending policies. Here's the list issued on March 1 covering performance in 2004. It will be no surprise to Pennsylvanians that Ed Rendell got an F. The complete analysis is online at http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3691 Al Krigman(Left of Ivan Groznyj) -- Senior Class Governors Overall Grades Governor State Score Grade Bill Owens (R) Colorado 77 A Judy Martz (R) Montana 75 A Jeb Bush (R) Florida 66 B George Pataki (R) New York 63 B John Hoeven (R) North Dakota 57 B Gary Locke (D) Washington 57 B Rick Perry (R) Texas 55 B Michael Easley (D) North Carolina 53 C Dirk Kempthorne (R) Idaho 52 C Tom Vilsack (D) Iowa 50 C Mike Johanns (R) Nebraska 49 C Bob Wise (D) West Virginia 43 D Ruth Ann Minner (D) Delaware 42 D Kenny Guinn (R) Nevada 40 D Mike Huckabee (R) Arkansas 37 D Bob Holden (D) Missouri 35 F Bob Taft (R) Ohio 30 F Freshman Class Governors Midterm Grades Governor State Score Grade Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) California 84 A Craig Benson (R) New Hampshire 82 A Mark Sanford (R) South Carolina 70 B Tim Pawlenty (R) Minnesota 69 B Bill Richardson (D) New Mexico 69 B John Baldacci (D) Maine 68 B Mike Rounds (R) South Dakota 68 B Phil Bredesen (D) Tennessee 68 B Don Carcieri (R) Rhode Island 66 C James Doyle (D) Wisconsin 66 C Mitt Romney (R) Massachusetts 66 C Linda Lingle (R) Hawaii 66 C Brad Henry (D) Oklahoma 65 C Robert Ehrlich (R) Maryland 64 C James Douglas (R) Vermont 64 C Rod Blagojevich (D) Illinois 59 D Ted Kulongoski (D) Oregon 58 D Jennifer Granholm (D) Michigan 58 D Sonny Perdue (R) Georgia 57 D Mark Warner (D) Virginia 56 D Kathleen Sebelius (D) Kansas 53 D Janet Napolitano (D) Arizona 52 D Bob Riley (R) Alabama 51 D Edward Rendell (D) Pennsylvania 48 F James McGreevey (D) New Jersey 42 F
[UC] Judge Inspector of elections -- primaries
At the time of the last election, there was some interest among participants in this list in serving as poll officials. If you're interested inbeing nominated by your party to runfor Judge of Elections, or Inspector of Elections (there are two, a minority and a majority inspector -- one from each of the major parties), now's the time to get your petitions signed to get your name on the ballot for this spring's primaries. If you're a Libertarian, a Green, a Socialist-Worker, or a registered voter in another non-D/non-R party, you probably won't be having a primary and can run in the general election next fall without going through this step. Democrats can contact Sylvia Hammerman Brown ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) and Republicans can contact Matt Wolfe ([EMAIL PROTECTED]). Voters registered in other parties with any questions can feel free to contact me off list and I'll try to answer them or direct you to whoever can. For general information, you may also want to contact the Office of the Election Commission in City hall (main number is 214-MU6-1776. Always at your service and ready for a dialog,Al Krigman Note: This posting has been vetted by Sankara the Naiyayika and Vyomasiva
[UC] I don't mind if the people directly impacted by it don't
The DP had a little more about the conversion of 4200 Pine St to condos, today. Here's what it said: Senior Vice President for Facilities and Real Estate Services Omar Blaik briefed the Facilities and Campus Planning Committee on westward campus developments -- namely, the conversion of 4200 Pine St. to condominiums and the revamping of 40th and Chestnut streets.Most recently utilized as office space, the building at 4200 Pine St. will be converted into 30 condominiums, helping to advance the University's goal of increasing home-ownership in the area. It seems to me that adding 30 families to the parcel in question ought to get the folks in the 4200 blocks of Pine and Osage fairly uncomfortable. Even though the property has parking lot, this means more traffic and more of what people seem to raise as objections every time someone other than the 800-lb gorilla wants to get zoning a zoning change that increases density. And, of course, I'm still wondering why the Spruce Hill Community Association, which zealously opposes every application to the Zoning Board submitted by one of us in the great unwashed masses, hasn't held rallies to oppose this change. Maybe the people who purport to represent the community know which side of the bread is buttered and who's doing the buttering. Dittofor all the people who get emotional about the historic district nomination. The building in question is in the nomination as "significant." (Not that there's anything you could really call "historic" about it -- an architect nobody ever heard of let's hear it for Horace Trumbauer!; built in 1904 but modified in '47, '61, '62, and '71; paid for by Charles Eisenlohr whose claim to fame was that he was rich (a cigar maker?) for his daughter Marie. The style, in case anyone's interested, is French Renaissance -- which, of course, has nothing to do with the architectural "fabric" of the Victoriana the preservation zealots seem to want to protect. Al Krigman(Left of Ivan Groznyj) PS: Don't you just love the doublespeak by Omar Blaik? "... increasing home-ownership in the area" would seem to connote buying rental properties and converting them back to owner-occupancy (an objective I consider economically unsound in most cases, but favor in principle if that's what market forces induce). But converting an institutional building that's got relatively light use -- and, even then, during the day when the neighborhood is otherwise fairly lightly-burdened -- to condos for 30 families, is something else entirely. Even if they are "small families," as reported previously (a diverse community like ours certainly ought to be able to welcome whatever the politically-correct term for "midgets" is today).
Re: [UC] I don't mind if the people directly impacted by it don't
In a message dated 2/11/2005 10:16:41 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Kyle, You do have a good point -Mark I hadn't noticed that Penn was doing some of the awful things at 4200 Pine that Kyle mentioned... like leaving mattresses in the front yard and letting the weeds grow four feet high. I knew they weren't the most responsible landlords in the neighborhood, but didn't think it had gotten this bad. Maybe we should drop the dime on them to UCD. Anyone got the number? Anyway,that house is fairly nice, even if it does jar with the lovely Victorian buildings around it. Maybe I should make Penn an offer and convert it back to single-family. My own place is getting kind of crowded, what with all the dumpster diving I've been doing lately. I wonder what they'd take for it. It might be cheap, what with those moldy mattresses and four-ft-high weeds in the yard. Always at your service and ready for a dialog,Al Krigman
[UC] eminent domain abuse debate at Case Western Univ is online
For anyone interested in questions of eminent domain and related property rights abuse issues, the video of a debate held recently at Case Western University is online. http://law.case.edu/centers/business_law/content.asp?content_id=63 Always at your service and ready for a dialog,Al Krigman
[UC] A little consistency, please... or, maybe, an explanation
Today's DP included a story about a Penn Board of Trustees meeting from which the following is excerpted: The trustees will also discuss the conversion of a University-owned office building at 42nd and Pine streets into condominiums. Construction for the project -- which will be aimed at accommodating small families -- will begin in the spring. I assumethey're referring to the sprawlingbuilding on the northwest corner. Personally, I don't object to this conversion in principle -- it may well be a good use for the property and an asset to the neighborhood; and I don't have "standing" anyway because I'm far enough away from it to not be "detrimentally harmed" by this usage. However, the Spruce Hill Community Association, whose zoning committee seems to oppose any conversions to multi-family use and/or any projects that may increase the population density, appears to have been mute on this project. If so (and if not, please correct me), could it be that they are currying favor with that 800-lb gorilla? Again. If anybody from SHCA is still on this list (Matt?), can we hear the organization's position? Al Krigman(Left of Ivan Groznyj)
Re: [UC] Good intentions are not enough; it takes money, too
In a message dated 2/9/2005 11:13:44 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Oh, and please use the correct term: "baluster" instead of "spindle." You couldn't have put the argument against historic designation of us ordinary folks' property more succinctly. Always at your service and ready for a dialog,Al Krigman
[UC] Good intentions are not enough; it takes money, too
Based on the publicity about the Maxwell mansion museum in Germantown, there's an interesting "opinion" in the Metro Commentary section oftoday's Philadelphia Inquirer. It'sby Barbara Silberman, executive director of the Heritage Philadelphia Program. Ms Silberman discusses the sad fate of many genuinely historic properties converted to museums by people eager to preserve them.They oftensuffer because the good intentions of the preservationists are not matched by the money needed for the restoration and upkeep. A good message between the lines for people who think historic designation of whole neighborhoods more appropriately identified as "period" than "historic" has a nice ring to it... but don't realize what it'll cost the people who own, live, and/or work there. For those who don't want to give their personal details to the Inquirer and therefore can't read it online, I've got it posted on the widely-acclaimed and world-famous historic designation website: http://www.iconworldwide.com/histodis/inky501.htm Always at your service and ready for a dialog,Al Krigman
[UC] paw pro last call
Only three people "signed up" for a bulk order of the spray that's supposed to protect dogs' paws from the effects of snow and snow-melting products. Two wanted two bottles each. So, with one for me, that's six. My offer to order it and eat most of the cost of shipping handling plus sales tax (if any) was based on a minimum of 10 bottles. They charge $9.50 and the other costs come to about $1 each at the 10-unit level, and you can have them from me for a flat $10. email me off list before 5:00 pm tomorrow (Friday 2/4) if you're interested in participating. Otherwise, if I don't get 10 or more, I'll drop it. Always at your service and ready for a dialog,Al Krigman
Re: [UC] Salty dogs
In a message dated 1/31/2005 5:38:23 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: She also uses a spray called "Paw Pro" which contains lanolin and other oils as protection for her dogs paws from salt, snow and ice.These products come from an internet outfit called "Jake's Dog House". I found the website but couldn't find "paw pro" or anything like it. Always at your service and ready for a dialog,Al Krigman
[UC] Paw Pro
In a message dated 2/1/2005 10:07:52 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: http://www.solutionscatalog.com/jump.jsp?itemType=PRODUCTiProductID=5431 Thanks, Bruce. A spray bottle is $9.50. S/H is as follows. Shipping Processing Standard Services Total Purchase Add up to $10.00 $4.95 $10.01 - $20.00 $5.95 $20.01 - $30.00 $6.95 $30.01 - $40.00 $7.95 $40.01 - $50.00 $8.95 $50.01 - $75.00 $10.95 $75.01 - $100.00 $11.95 $100.01 - $150.00 $13.95 $150.01 or more $16.95 If 10 more people are interested, I'd be willing to place an order -- and you can pick them up from me for $10... I'll absorb the small difference in Shipping handling costs and on sales tax if they charge it. Please respond off-list and I'll tally who's interested. Always at your service and ready for a dialog,Al Krigman
[UC] Re: No more stealth legislation!
While I support Bill 1954 as a way to reduce third-party meddling, so-called "stealth legislation" is clearly a bad thing. And the provision of at Bill some find objectionable did seem to be implemented in a "stealthy" way. So I endorse the following, and cimmend it to the attention of people interested in legislative transparency. (Note: Ed Goppelt is the founder of "Hallwatch" -- a non-partisan website that focuses on local issues.) Al Krigman === In a message dated 1/28/2005 7:29:19 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Dear Fellow Pennsylvanian:On Monday, January 31, 2005, the House will vote to adopt a new set ofHouse Rules, the rules and procedures which govern how our State Houseof Represenatives operates. Depending on whether the old or new rulesprevail, the process of creating new laws could either be closed toall but the 5 or 6 persons in the House leadership or one that is opento the 195 rank and file legislators who represent the majority ofPennsylvanians.Please write your state legislator. Tell them, come Monday, you expectto see a vigorous and healthy debate on the House Rules. Tell themthat you expect them to stand up to leadership should they attempt tolimit debate through a temporary muzzle rule as they have done since1999. Urge them to pass House Rules which guarantee that legislatorsknow what they are voting on.You can contact your representatives here:http://www.hallwatch.org/faxbank/rulesUnder the old House Rules stealth legislation has multiplied like ratsin a back alley. Philadelphians saw this first hand last November whena piece of stealth legislation authored by a lobbyist for theBillboard industry--House Bill 1954--took away their legal right astaxpayers to appeal zoning decisions. Afterwards Philadelphia legislators described having been herded likesheep into passing the bill. They said they didn't know what they werevoting on-- that the amended bill never appeared on their computerscreens, that it was never discussed in Caucus, that they were nevergiven the time to read the hundreds of bills run by leadership in thewaning days of the session.State Representative Greg Vitali is attempting to shine a light intothose dark corners of the Rules where rank and file legislators andthe Pennsylvanians they represent have been bitten. On Monday he willoffer amendments that, if passed, would address some of theshortcomings of the old Rules. Among other things the new rulesrequire that:* Legislators have 24 hours instead of just a single hour to review bills such as HB 1954 which was amended by the Senate.* The bill's title be read so that legislators can connect what they have been told in Caucus with the numbers flashing across the vote board.* Lobbyists file quarterly expense reports detailing how much they have spent trying to influence legislation.For the past six years the House leadership has silenced principledlegislators through a muzzle rule. The rule forbids legislators fromoffering any amendments that might improve leadership's old Rules,i.e., legislators will be able to approve leadership's rules, but notpropose improvements or more importantly debate the need for new rulesto make stealth legislation a thing of the past.Thank you for considering my request. It is only the involvement ofconcerned citizens like yourself that will make our state legislaturea better place. Our state legislators are in great need of yourguidance and thoughtful concern.Sincerely,Ed Goppelt, [EMAIL PROTECTED]PS: if you would prefer not to receive emails on issues of interest toPhiladelphians, let me know so I can take you off my list.
[UC] Fwd: Spruce Hill Community Association Notices OPEN HOUSE: STRIKES BOWLING L...
In a message dated 1/26/2005 9:58:20 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: STRIKES BOWLING LOUNGE4040 Locust Street Cordially Invites Spruce Hill to FREE OPEN HOUSE on Sunday, January 30th at 1:00pm-3:00pm.You have been extremely supportive of our project and we are very appreciative. We look forward to giving you the first opportunity to break in University City's newest bowling lanes.Please feel free to bring your families and friends to enjoy an afternoon of bowling, billiards, and refreshments. Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ~-- Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site foranyone who cares about public education!Click Here!~- This list is for notices from SHCA members only. To post a notice send it to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links* To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SHCA/* To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]* Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ---BeginMessage--- STRIKES BOWLING LOUNGE 4040 Locust Street Cordially Invites Spruce Hill to FREE OPEN HOUSE on Sunday, January 30th at 1:00pm-3:00pm. You have been extremely supportive of our project and we are very appreciative. We look forward to giving you the first opportunity to break in University City's newest bowling lanes. Please feel free to bring your families and friends to enjoy an afternoon of bowling, billiards, and refreshments. Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ~-- FONT COLOR=#99Take a look at donorschoose.org, an excellent charitable web site for anyone who cares about public education! /FONTA HREF=http://us.click.yahoo.com/o5B0yD/8WnJAA/a8ILAA/DROolB/TM;BClick Here!/B/A ~- This list is for notices from SHCA members only. To post a notice send it to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SHCA/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ---End Message---
[UC] Uncertain future for ... block from today's DP (one of two related stories)
Uncertain future for 39th, Walnut block Booklover Joe Quinton explores the Last Word bookstore along Walnut Street near 39th. The block faces an uncertain future.Local store owners cite possible departures of largest tenants as causes for concern By austin lavinJanuary 27, 2005The face of the 3900 block of Walnut Street could look significantly different in the coming years.The futures of the block's two largest tenants -- Cinemagic 3 and CVS -- are both in question. CVS recently announced it will be opening a second location just blocks away, on 34th and Walnut streets. The University is currently in litigation to evict Cinemagic, which owes approximately $100,000 in back rent.Additionally, a PNC Bank kiosk has been empty since early last year.Despite a 2001 campus plan calling, according to University President Amy Gutmann, for the "redevelopment of that block," none of the nearby business owners know of any upcoming plans."I've heard rumors. I approached the University and asked them what future projects they had planned," said a business owner on the block, who declined to be named.But according to the owner, the University had said, "It's up in the air."Stanley Shapiro, who has owned both the Campus Copy Center and land underneath it since 1959, is similarly in the dark."I've watched the whole University change ... but I don't know anymore than anyone else regarding plans," he said.Shapiro added, however, that over the years the University has made casual offers."I'm not interested in it. It's been in my family for years, and my son Ron is going to take over after me," he said.Many local store owners say that their businesses are doing well.The Last Word used bookstore has been at its location on Walnut Street for more than two years."I wanted to be on campus but accessible to West Philadelphia," said store owner Larry Maltz, who lives in the area.Maltz said that the bookstore's customers are an even mix of college students and West Philadelphia residents. He thinks he's in the perfect location."If I were a block or two over one way, I would lose a lot of student customers, but if I were one or two blocks the other way, I would lose a lot of residents," Maltz said.Employees at other stores on the block echoed Maltz's comments."We're making a living, even in the snow ... nobody here is driving a Porsche or a Lamborghini, but we're surviving," said Bruce, a chief technician at University Micro Center. He declined to offer his last name.And as a class was about to start at Power Yoga Works, with students walking in from the cold, General Manager Sarah Reilly said that the business was doing well. Reilly also said that not only are many of the customers Penn students, but many of the employees are as well.College junior Alexis Weill said that because he lives on Walnut Street he often goes to the CVS and Philly Diner."I think we have everything we need, but it is always nice to get new stores and new places to hang out," Weill said.Shapiro noted that while the University does not own the entire block, they own the land stretching from College Pizza to CVS.Staff reporter Marissa Montenegro contributed to this report.
Re: [UC] Penn wanted us out from today's DP (one of two related stories)
In a message dated 1/27/2005 9:54:38 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: And what landlord out there on this list would let a tenant be 100K in arrears? A .landlord whose decisions are made by people to whom money is just a bunch of numbers on a piece of paper or computer screen -- as opposed to a medium of exchange earned by the sweat of one's brow. Al Krigman(Left of Ivan Groznyj)
Re: [UC] Question for other dog companion-people
In a message dated 1/26/2005 9:35:35 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: My dog has sensitive paws. He cannot walk in the snow more than 10 minuteswithout limping. But if he happens upon the salt or the other round ballcrystals, he cannot walk at all on it. He limps almost immediately, and ifI don't get him off it right away, he becomes enraged with pain, so much sothat he will snap at me if I come near him to try to take it off his paws.Once I see the sidewalk has it on there, I take him the long way around totry to avoid it. As far as the boots - he's one of those Jack Russells whothinks boots are for sissies. He won't let me near him with them...M. M. Harvey, MPP, MPH Since the original post on this topic, I did probe around and found another suggestion. I haven't tried it yet because most of the salt etc is now gone. But I'll do so the next time. The suggestion was to wipe some Vaseline on the bottom of their paws before going outside. I was thinking of trying it with something like Vaseline Intensive Care, first, rather than the "petroleum jelly" -- the good and the bad both being that the former is water-soluble. Good because it will make less of a mess on the floors when they're ready to go out and come back in; bad because it may just dissolve off in the snow (although I'm thinking that maybe the low temperature of the snow will make it less soluble). Always at your service and ready for a dialog,Al Krigman
