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(LANCASTER, PA) – February 17, 2014 – Lanark Records co-founders Frank Barrett and Quentin Jones are pleased to announce that The Hooters’ drummer and former founder of Moskeeto Records, David Uosikkinen has joined their team as General Manager. No stranger to making music and record company decisions, David Uosikkinen will join the team working on day to day operations of the record company. The job brings him back to something he is very familiar with, his former days of running his own label and also taps into his experience at MP3.com, a company on the forefront of the digital music revolution, where he worked as a content manager and music director, managing pop and rock genres.

One of Uosikkinen’s goals as GM is to bring more artists to the Lanark label. “I’m looking forward to getting back into the label side of things. I’m excited to have a hand in resurrecting older artists and launching new ones,” explains Uosikkinen.

The news comes just days after the latest release of Uosikkinen’s own single “A Woman’s Got The Power” featuring 80s sweetheart, Patty Smyth of Scandal, on David Uosikkinen’s In The Pocket

“The music industry has changed tremendously in the last 20 years,” explains co-founder Frank Barrett. “We want to expand the breadth of the label and David’s experience as both an artist and a label executive, brings a lot of value to the table.”

Adds Quentin Jones, “David brings his love of technology and interactive marketing to the label. His network of contacts includes some of the brightest in the technology sector.”

Frank Barrett, Chairman-CEO and Quentin Jones, President founded Lanark Records just 18 months ago in August of 2012. Based in Lancaster, PA, Lanark is an independently owned label that specializes in pure rock n’ roll, rockabilly and roots music. In 2013 Lanark Records released critically acclaimed albums by The Rockats (Rockin’ Together), Gas House Gorillas (Punk Americana) and The Reach Around Rodeo Clowns (Rockabilly Deluxe).

In April of 2014 Lanark Records will host a stage at the annual Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Show, where their acts Robert Gordon, The Rockats and The Reach Around Rodeo Clowns will perform. Also on tap for 2014 will be a new EP from The Rockats, a new Reach Around Rodeo Clowns CD and a new studio recording featuring the legendary Robert Gordon.

“2014 is going to be a very big year for Lanark Records,” said guitarist/producer, Quentin Jones. “I am looking forward to working with David Uosikkinen and bringing our label to another level! And we are off to a rockin’ start!”

1601 Vine Street project to include residential, retail, and LDS Church meetinghouse

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Mayor Michael A. Nutter was joined by representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today as they unveiled plans for a major new development at 1601 Vine Street. The development – designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects – will include a high-rise apartment tower, retail space, and a meetinghouse for local Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints congregations. The project is expected to generate an estimated 1,500 to 1,800 jobs over the course of the construction process.

“This new development continues the revitalization of Vine Street and adds to an approach to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway which already includes the world-class Free Library, the Family Court building, soon to be developed into a new hotel, and the Temple, slated for completion in 2016,” said Mayor Nutter. “This project joins a list of almost 50 major projects under construction across Philadelphia representing billions of dollars of investment. Philadelphia is on the rise as our skyline is re-shaped; new businesses start here, existing businesses grow here; and we continue to attract new residents and visitors.”

The proposed 1601 Vine Street mixed-use development includes a 32-story residential tower with 258 rental apartments, 13 rental townhomes, and retail space along 16th Street. The adjacent meetinghouse will provide a place of worship and community gathering for the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints in Philadelphia and will consist of a chapel, a family history center, a cultural center, and an outdoor courtyard. The planned development is subject to approval by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority and other departments and agencies of the City of Philadelphia.

“The Church’s ecclesiastical commitment to the City of Philadelphia continues,” said Michael Marcheschi, of the LDS Church’s Special Projects Department. “The Church will separately construct a meetinghouse across 17th St. from our Temple now under construction. This meetinghouse will be open to the entire community and will serve as a place of gathering, recreation and worship.”

The project team includes the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Robert A.M. Stern Architects, BLT Architects, and Property Reserve Inc.

“This apartment tower project reflects our confidence in both this City’s increasingly attractive market opportunity and its leadership at various levels,” said Tom King, a Director of Property Reserve Inc., a real estate investment affiliate of the LDS Church. “The tower will be perfectly situated to meet the expanding rental and retail opportunity in this beautiful area of Center City. And City leaders and agencies have been most responsive and sophisticated in properly supporting this investment.”

This new proposed development will join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Temple currently under construction at 17th and Vine Street as an additional major investment in Philadelphia.

More Philadelphia Real Estate

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia region has been experiencing a record breaking winter. The number and size of the snowfalls have set several records. There has also been a wide variety of storms: snow storms, ice storms, and thundersnow. The ice storm in early February was a record breaker for people that lost electricity. Some people also experienced the longest length of time without power.

Storm on February 13, 2014

Mon Feb 10, 6:00pm Act-UP Weekly Meeting – St Luke’s Church Basement – 330 S. 13th St Between Pine and Spruce

Tue Feb 11, 7:30pm Books Through Bars Packing Cafe – The A-Space 4722 Baltimore Ave

Sun Feb 16, 5:00pm Long Term Organizing MDU working group – Ethical Humanist Society, Rittenhouse Square

Tuesday, February 11, All day, The Day We Fight Back

On February 11th 2014 thousands of websites and tens of thousands of people will come together for a day of online protest mass surveillance.

Sign up to take part here: https://thedaywefightback.org/

What will happen on February 11th: If you’re in the US: Thousands of websites will host banners urging people to call/email Congress. Plans may change, but we intend to ask legislators to oppose the FISA Improvements Act, support the USA Freedom Act, and enact protections for non-Americans.

If you’re not in the US: Visitors will be asked to urge appropriate targets to institute privacy protections.

How to get involved

- RSVP and invite everyone you know to join.

- Go to https://thedaywefightback.org/ and sign up to take part.

- Scroll down and sign up to add the banner to your website.

- Join the discussion at http://www.reddit.com/r/thedaywefightback/

- Be creative, help spread the word however you can!

The People’s Hearing on Prison Expansion has been postponed due to unsafe driving conditions. The People’s Hearing on Prison Expansion is rescheduled for 1:00 pm on Wednesday, February 12th. This is the date of the Appropriations Hearing for the Department of Corrections, who, according to Corbett’s budget proposal, will receive an additional $78 million in the 2014-2015 budget. It is the first time that Pennsylvania has ever spent over $2 billion on the DOC budget with state funds. This will be a great time for us to come to Harrisburg with our own message that PA should build communities, not prisons. Pennsylvania is currently embarking on the second-largest construction project in state history by building two new prisons in Montgomery County.

The Hearing will still be in the Rotunda at the Capitol Building in Harrisburg, and buses will be leaving at 10am sharp from the Youth United for Change offices at 1910 N. Front Street (Berks Station on Broad Street Line).

If you registered for the free buses to the People’s Hearing, please let us know if you can still make it on February 12th by emailing us at decarceratepa@gmail.com or calling (267) 217-3372.

If you have not registered for buses, please do so at the link below as soon as possible. Space is limited! http://decarceratepa.info/peoples-hearing-registration

Wednesday, February 12, 6:00pm – 8:00pm, ItAG Kickoff Event, Science Leadership Academy, 55 N. 22nd Street

Join TAG for the start of our annual Inquiry to Action Group series! Sign up for an ItAG in advance — some may fill up before the event!

Thursday, February 13, 6:00pm, May Day 2014 Planning Meeting, PhilaPOSH Office, 5th Floor of AFSCME DC 33 Bldg., 30th & Walnut Streets, Philadelphia

Cosponsored by PhilaPOSH and the Pennsylvania Labor History Society to o honor U.S. Labor’s “hidden history” of “May Day” – the Life and Death Struggle for human rights and the eight hour day – celebrated throughout the World.. ALL ARE WELCOME!

Please RSVP your attendance to Jimmoran2008@verizon.net

Thursday, February 13, 3:00pm, Rally to Raise The Minimum Wage in Pennsylvania, 200 South Broad St. Philadelphia, PA

195,000 Pennsylvanian workers suffer earning wages at or below $7.25/hour.
In fact, 140,000 of these workers earn wages below the Federal minimum wage and almost all of them are restaurant workers who live primarily off of tips. They earn only $2.83/hour in Pennsylvania.
These are economy harming jobs. Despite the best effort of these workers, many of them have to seek state or federal help for healthcare, food, housing and child care. In other words, your taxes are subsidizing the profits of corporations such as Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Olive Garden and Pizza Hut.
We need to turn these jobs into economy building jobs. That is why the Restaurant Opportunities Center is calling on Governor Corbett to abolish the tipped minimum wage.
Sign this petition- http://www.change.org/petitions/tom-corbett-raise-the-minimum-wage

Friday, February 14, 4:00pm Phila. PM Rush Hour Leafleting w/banners and signs at Bellevue Hotel, (SE PA Office of PA Gov. Corbett, head of PA Air Guard), 200 S. Broad Street, Broad & Walnut Streets, Phila., PA 19102/

YO Gov! Pull the Plug on Drone War Command Center…Not In Our Backyard (or anyone else’s). Bring whistles, noisemakers, and big hearts. Broad Street Subway Stop: Walnut & Locust.

Saturday, February 15, 10:00am – 9:00pm, KXL Pledge of Resistance Direct Action Training feat. Hands Off Appalachia Reportback! The MAAS Building 1325 Randolph Street Philadelphia, PA

Tens of thousands of people across the country have signed the CREDO KXL Pledge of Resistance. They will use civil disobedience to protest at the State Department if the Keystone XL pipeline is approved by the Obama Administration. But what happens after that? And what happens if Obama doesn’t approve the last portion of the KXL pipeline? Tar sands extraction will continue in Canada. Fracking will continue along the Marcellus Shale. The Mariner Pipeline is coming through our area, and vulnerable neighborhoods and the Schuykill River are still threatened by the Bakken Shale oil being transported across Philadelphia by rail.

This training will present tactics that go beyond those that are part of the planned action at the Federal Building as organized by CREDO and Rainforest Action Network, and trained by Earth Quaker Action Team. With trainers we will explore forming an affinity group for direct action, security culture and group roles, and fun with technical skills for extraction resistance.

But wait, that’s not all! In the evening, friends and comrades on the from UBS: Hands Off Appalachia Campaign will be giving a report back from their action in Stamford, CT in November. Folks from Hands Off Appalachia challenged UBS’s funding of mountain top removal coal mining with several actions targeting the UBS headquarters.

Saturday, February 15, 2:00pm, Lets Build $15 Now in Philly!, 112 N. Broad St. Philadelphia

Philadelphia is one the poorest large cities in the US. We have endured decades of cuts in public services, our neighborhoods left to rot, schools and firehouses are closed and our children thrown onto the street while the state spends hundreds of millions to build more and more prisons.

They tell us the city and schools are broke and we must all share the pain while billion dollar corporations like Verizon and Comcast use legal loopholes to avoid paying taxes. Walmart and McDonalds reap massive profits, but their employees are forced to work two or 3 part time low wage jobs and rely on public assistance to make ends meet.

But across the country low-wage workers are rising up, protesting, and striking for a $15/hour minimum wage! Lets get together to build a campaign in Philadelphia!! We’ve had enough – it’s time to fight!!

Saturday, February 15, 3:00pm, The Way Forward: Huey P. Newton Seminar 2014, Peace Spot, 1652 Ridge Avenue

A conversation with our Brother Comrade Tommy Joshua, leader of the Revolutionary Assembly.

With Special Guests: Brother Mujahid Abd Azeez, Chairman, Jr. LIFERs Committee and Brother Chaplain Mahdi El, Chief-Magistrate, International Interfaith Court

Special Performance by Iam Victorious, Pili X Music, The Radicans, Skurban Vintro Music

Donations Welcome. Sponsored by Dr. Huey P. Newton Ideological Institute , Revolutionary Assembly of Philadelphia and the Hip-hop The Hip Hop Party for the People

Wednesday, February 19, 5:00pm, Know Your RIGHTS – Know The LAW, OIC of America, Inc. 1415 North Broad Street, Suite 227

FLASH (Future Leaders Advancing Self Help) teams up with UATL! Come join us for a Know Your Rights/StopSnitching on Yourself (KYR/SSOY) training with Up Against the Law Legal Collective on Wednesday February 19, 2014 at 5 pm.

Up Against the Law Legal Collective is a collective of activists, organizers, law students, legal workers and lawyers. We have knowledge of the legal system, its value and limits, and how it can be used for and against us.

Up Against the Law Legal Collective feels there is a need for legal resources offered from an activist perspective. To this end, they provide legal and jail support, facilitate trainings on rights and legal issues, and make sure that the concerns and goals of activists/grassroots groups are heard in the legal community.

This training will consists of 6 parts: KYR in the streets, in your home, in your car, when you are in custody, online/internet/FB, and how to safely/effectively CopWatch (film the police).

This will be an interactive, role-playing, getting down to the dirty details of how to protect yourself legally during interactions with the police.

Please join us and bring friends! Please RSVP so we have a sense of size.

Wednesday, February 19, 6:00pm, DVLF Wonder Women Film Screening – Mountains that Take Wing,

First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia, 2125 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Doors open at 6:00pm, Film Begins at 6:30pm. Donations accepted at the door. There are no ticket sales; we believe in giving as you can and helping how you can.

Wonder Women is a DVLF Committee focused on developing programming for LGBT Women and philanthropy. We are connecting and promoting women and facilitating opportunities for emerging leaders. Join us as we launch our film screening program with ‘Mountains That Take Wing’ (Featuring Angela Davis and Yuri Kochiyama), a 97 Minute feature with Community Discussion to Follow.

Thursday, February 20th, 6:00pm, Grassroots mobilizing and Electoral Campaigns, TBA

Ty Moore, Occupy Homes Minneapolis activist and Socialist Alternative candidate for Minneapolis City Council, will speak on building grassroots movements and independent electoral campaigns to fight the 1%.
At the national level, both the Democratic and Republican parties are controlled by big business. Working people will remain locked out of political power, left to protest on the sidelines, until we create our own political voice. one that refuses corporate donations, has genuine democratic structures, and is held accountable to our social movements.

Wednesday, February 26, Actions to Remember Trayvon Martin.

4:30pm, LOVE Park, 15th and JFK, This event honors the second anniversary of Trayvon Martin’s killing. It will involve a reflection, reading, single, and candle lighting, and a silent march for Trayvon and all the young people harmed by police officers, security guards, and vigilantes and fueled by a system of racially coded violence against people of color.

5:30pm, Malcolm X Park on 52nd and Pine Street, West Philadelphia. If you remember the tragic death of our brother Trayvon Benjamin Martin and are still sickened by the widespread acceptance of the Zimmerman verdict, please join PURP to rally against discriminatory violence against our generation!

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia’s Office of the City Treasurer led the sale of $154.275 million on general obligation refunding bonds. The refunding refinanced higher cost bonds issued in 2008, saving more than $1.375 million annually for the next 24 years.

The refunding was made possible by the City’s recent bond rating agency upgrades, including a two-notch rating upgrade by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services to A+ with a stable outlook in December 2013. For the first time since the 1970s, the City’s bond rating is in the A category by all of the major rating agencies.

“The success of this bond refunding is further proof that the City of Philadelphia is on the right track. We are focused on ensuring the current and future financial stability of the City,” said Mayor Nutter. “While our improved rating and the interest in our bonds clearly indicate the progress we have made, there is still more work to do. I want to thank City Treasurer Nancy Winkler and her team for their efforts.”

The City sought to refinance the bonds during the summer of 2013 when it was selling bonds for the capital program but chose to delay the refinancing due to insufficient savings.

“We know that January is often a very good time to sell municipal bonds. So, we decided to prepare in December and early January and to be ready to sell if the savings were substantial,” said Nancy Winkler. “The bond upgrades were important for the refinancing because we were able to increase investor participation. Taxpayers benefit when there is more demand for the City’s bonds.”

SEASCAPES by Bensignor

The Sea is the subject, the muse of my one-person show at the GREAT BAY GALLERY in Somers Point, NJ. The show runs from June 23 to July 19, 2014. The opening reception at the Great Bay Gallery will be on Friday, June 25 from 5-7pm.

The subject of my show is not only about, the artwork, but what happens between the viewer and art. It is not unlike hearing a piece of music caught in an object. It is how one responds to the object that makes it art.

I take a familiar subject; in this case the subject is The Sea, and try and infuse it with my energy, emotions and experiences.

All humans have in some way have/had a connection with the sea. Some scientists believe our species developed from the sea. The human body is 50% or more made up of water. Our planet is 98.9% made up of water.

Personal history with the sea:
Besides coming to the New Jersey shore my whole life, I have been living along side of the Atlantic Ocean, I have bathed in it, swam in it contemplated it, and feared it. I lost a grandfather and a close cousin to the ocean. In each piece of art that I make with the subject of the sea, I try to commemorate their lives.

The style:
I try to fuse the reality of the form with the Romantic. At the core of each person is there not the Romantic?
Art is a way of communicating, the energy of our universe that flows in us and to one another.

If my work can contribute to one FEELING SOMETHING, then I have succeeded.”

THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE — Journey to 79 A.D and experience life in the bustling city of Pompeii. See intricate Gladiator helmets and shin guards, perfectly preserved artifacts including jewelry, mosaics and statues, and feel the force of the eruption in a CGI simulated theater experience. The exhibit culminates in the reveal of full body casts-asphyxiated by extreme heat and noxious gases and forever frozen in time. Don’t miss this limited time exhibition!

“The recovered relics were awesome, Gladiator gear, coins, tools, fresco paintings and plaster poured remains. The surround sound & accompanying video gave me chills when it demonstrated how the eruption occurred throughout the day.”
-Jane B. Audubon, NJ

The Franklin Institute
222 North 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
215.448.1200

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The City of Philadelphia was one of three cities and a total of five areas selected for a Promise Zone designation, a federal initiative to accelerate revitalization efforts in targeted areas. The Promise Zone initiative is led by the White House with support from federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Justice.

“Being selected as a Promise Zone is an important step in the transformation process for a neighborhood struggling with high poverty, high crime, high vacancy, low educational attainment and low employment rates,” said Mayor Michael A. Nutter. “Being a Promise Zone will enable the City to align existing resources and apply for new federal funding – building on efforts already at work – through a multi-faceted, focused approach. I want to thank President Obama and his Administration for this recognition and the opportunities it will provide.”

The Promise Zones designation provides a package of tools to help local leaders accelerate efforts to revitalize their communities. The designation:

· Creates a partnership between the federal government and local leaders who are addressing multiple community revitalization challenges with on-the-ground technical assistance to help navigate federal programs and regulations;
· Provides preference points on other federal grants and funding opportunities; and
· Will, if enacted by Congress, provide employer tax incentives to create jobs for Zone residents and attract private capital to disinvested places.

The Mayor’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity (CEO), the City’s community action agency, will serve as the lead agency throughout the Promise Zone process.

“I am thrilled that the Promise Zone designation will provide federal agency support in helping us implement Shared Prosperity, our plan to fight poverty, and for this opportunity to assist residents of several West Philadelphia neighborhoods,” said Eva Gladstein, Executive Director, CEO.
The City’s selected Promise Zone is a nearly two-square mile area in West Philadelphia. Bordered by the Schuylkill River on the east, Girard Avenue on the north, 48th Street to the west and Sansom Street to the south, the Promise Zone is home to 35,315 residents.

“The Administration has created a wonderful opportunity for communities like Mantua to be revitalized, such as increasingly affordable housing and improving safety. Now with the Promise Zone designation, we will be able to bring more resources to our community to address a comprehensive range of issues,” said Michael Thorpe, Chairman of the Board, Mt Vernon Manor.

The proposal was a collaborative effort led by CEO. The Philadelphia Promise Zone plans to use the area’s assets, including its proximity to transportation, strong anchor institutions, the Lancaster Avenue commercial corridor, Fairmount Park and the Philadelphia Zoo, to support the creation of jobs, increase economic activity, improve educational opportunities, reduce violent crime, and leverage private investment in a defined geographic area of high need. The proposal will leverage more than $575 million in funding and anticipates future public and private investment of $250 million.

Implementation and supporting partners include Drexel University, Mt. Vernon Manor, Philadelphia LISC, People’s Emergency Center, Philadelphia School District, Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, the City’s Commerce Department, Philadelphia Housing Authority, Office of Housing and Community Development and others. Fairmount Ventures and the Mayor’s Office of Grants supported the grant’s development.

“Drexel is a committed partner with the City, Mt Vernon Manor and PEC in this important work. We are proud to bring the full weight of our academic and institutional resources to support this West Philadelphia neighborhood,” added John Fry, President, Drexel University.

The White House intends to designate 20 Promise Zones across the country by the end of 2016.

Following an investigation, Philadelphia Inspector General Amy Kurland announced that 13 Assistant Recreation Leaders in the Department of Parks and Recreation have been terminated or have resigned for violating the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter by improperly working for other government agencies while being employed by the City of Philadelphia.

“Every City employee must follow the rules and be held accountable when they do not,” said Mayor Michael A. Nutter. “I’m pleased that the Inspector General’s Office is stepping up enforcement of this Charter provision and ensuring that it is being applied fairly and consistently across City departments.”

Of the 13 employees, ten are full-time school teachers, two are U.S. Postal Service workers and one is a Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office investigator.  Their terminations from City employment do not affect these full-time jobs. Section 8-301 of the Home Rule Charter forbids City employees in most circumstances from holding a “position of profit” with another government agency, including a second job. Civil Service Regulation 33.022 also prohibits dual employment with other government agencies.

The thirteen employees all worked as permanent, part-time Assistant Recreation Leaders, assisting in the management of different City recreation centers, while holding full-time jobs for other government agencies. Many of the School District employees worked part time for the City during the school year and added extra hours during the summer.

The investigation into dual employment among City employees, which the Office of Inspector General began in March at the request of the Department of Parks and Recreation, is part of a new initiative to step up enforcement of the Charter provision and make sure it is applied fairly across the City.

“Our City’s underfunded municipal pension system is one of the biggest challenges Philadelphia faces,” Inspector General Kurland said. “The dual-employment prohibition is an important tool to prevent people who already have a government job from looking to the City for a second pension.”

Before recommending the terminations, the OIG requested and received, an official Solicitor opinion from the Law Department, which clarified that the dual-employment provision applies to all permanent City employees, including those who work only part time. The Inspector General’s Office also worked with Michael DiBerardinis, Deputy Mayor for Environmental and Community Resources, who issued a notice to Parks and Recreation staff over the summer reminding them of the dual-employment prohibitions.

The Inspector General’s Office is continuing to investigate dual-employment violations and has also asked City Controller Alan Butkovitz to participate in a joint investigation and City-wide audit to improve enforcement.

The relevant City Charter provision and Civil Service Regulation are included below for reference:

Charter Section 8-301 – Other Offices or Positions: Except as otherwise provided in this charter, no person shall hold more than one office or position of profit, whether elective or appointive, under the City and no such person shall hold such office or position while holding any other office or position of profit in or under the government of the United States, of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or of any county, city or other political subdivision thereof, other than the office of notary public, any office in the military or naval service of the United States or of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or any ex officio office held by virtue of another office or position.

Civil Service Regulation 33.022 – Other Governmental Positions:  Except as otherwise provided in the City Charter, no employee shall hold any other office or position of profit in or under the government of the United States, of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, or of any county, city or other political subdivision thereof.