RIP Cowboy Dan
August 13th, 2014Daniel P. Willimann
Daniel P. Willimann, 40, of West Chester, PA passed away on August 10, 2014 at approximately 10:53 AM after jumping from the Chestnut Street parking garage. Born in Drexel Hill, Pa., Daniel was the son of Charles J. Willimann, Jr. (Karen) and Barbara L. (Clark) Macatee. Daniel was a 1993 graduate of Bishop Shanahan High School. He was an excellent athlete. A highlight of Dan’s athletic achievements was playing baseball at Veteran’s Stadium for the Carpenter Cup. He loved art and music, playing his guitar and his poker game. He was a proud UPS driver in West Chester for 17 years. Daniel was the loving father of Ky J. Willimann and Mya R. Willimann. He is also survived by the mother of his children, Lindsey (Pennington) Willimann. He was the dear brother of Kim Dever (Mike), Stacey Bloomer (Charlie), Michael (Penny) and Robert (Whitney); and the beloved uncle to seven nephews and nieces. Relatives and friends are invited to his Visitation 10 to 11 a.m Friday, August 15, 2014 and to his Memorial Service at 11 a.m. at The Donohue Funeral Home, 1627 West Chester Pike, West Chester, PA 19382, 610-431-9000. Interment Private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Safe Harbor of Chester County, 20 N. Matlack St, West Chester, PA 19380.
The 53rd Annual Philadelphia Folk
August 11th, 2014August 14-17, 2014
1323 Salford Station Road, Schwenksville, PA
Friday Evening Main Stage: Old Crow Medicine Show, Archie Fisher, John Flynn, Shemekia Copeland, Tempest
Hold Your Breath Philly
August 5th, 2014Many days in the Philadelphia region are not good for breathing. On “Ozone Action Alert Days” you are advised to avoid activity outside. Children should not play outdoors. Avoid running and other fitness activities.
View the current air quality for Philadelphia.
More on children and the dangers of ozone.
Sample Air Quality Index
Innovation Lab
August 1st, 2014WHAT: Mayor Nutter and City officials will celebrate the grand opening of the City’s new Innovation Lab, a technology-enabled, collaborative work space for city employees and external stakeholders to meet and create solutions to the City’s challenges.
The Lab dedication is part of a day-long, Youth Innovation event in the Lab, which will include tool building activities and a Vine video contest to promote and communicate City resources to youth.
WHERE: Municipal Services Building, Innovation Lab, 16th Floor, 1401 JFK Boulevard
Philadelphia Police Officers Arrested
August 1st, 2014The FBI arrested six Philadelphia Police officers for offenses that include drug dealing, kidnapping and robbery.
Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said in a press conference on Wednesday that in over 40 years as a police officer “this is one of the worst cases of corruption I’ve ever heard,” CBS Philly reported.
MADE IN AMERICA FESTIVAL
July 22nd, 2014The City of Philadelphia announced plans to welcome back for a third year the “Budweiser Made in America” Festival, an exciting, two-day music festival during Labor Day weekend. The event will be locally produced by Live Nation on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and will benefit local United Way organizations.
Shawn “Jay Z” Carter, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Budweiser and United Way announced that the City of Los Angeles will also host a “Budweiser Made in America” Festival during the 2014 Labor Day weekend. Live Nation will produce both the Philadelphia and Los Angeles music festivals, delivering must-see performances on both coasts. Details and lineups for both festival locations will be announced at a later date.
“For the third year in a row, Labor Day weekend in the City of Philadelphia will offer a unique combination of entertainment, culture and community, with the iconic Benjamin Franklin Parkway as the backdrop for the ‘East Coast’ Budweiser Made in America Festival,” said Mayor Michael A. Nutter. “There is something for everyone: Festival ticket-holders, cultural institution visitors and those with business on the Parkway are all welcome to take part in a relaxing weekend of holiday fun. With the success of the last two years in Philadelphia, the Budweiser Made in America Festival is expanding into a bi-coastal event which will bring the spirit of ‘Made in America’ to even more music fans across the country.”
“Budweiser Made In America” will be the first American festival to run simultaneously on both coasts. Performances from both “Budweiser Made In America” sites will be available for fans to view with live-streaming.
The Budweiser Made in America Festival in Philadelphia will benefit United Way organizations in Greater Philadelphia, Southern New Jersey and Lancaster County, PA. The Festival’s primary goal is to have a positive impact on the communities involved. Money invested into these communities will positively impact the education, income and health of the most vulnerable and needy citizens in these regions. As a result of last year’s Festival, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey is investing more than $300,000 into education and workforce development initiatives. The L.A. Festival will benefit the United Way of Greater Los Angeles.
Access to the venue is limited to Festival ticket-holders only. Festival goers are urged to purchase tickets in advance throughTicketmaster.com and Livenation.com. Attendees are encouraged to visit www.MadeInAmericaFest.com for information on items that are (and are NOT) permitted in the venue, as well as information on concessions, accommodations, and directions.
WHEN:
Labor Day Weekend 2014: August 30 – 31
WHERE:
The Philadelphia “Budweiser Made In America” Festival will remain on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Center City Philadelphia.
The Los Angeles “Budweiser Made In America” Festival will take place on Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles.
TICKET PURCHASE:
2 Day Early Bird presale tickets are available now at www.livenation.com.
2 Day Early Bird tickets for Philadelphia are $99.50 and Los Angeles are $125.
Demonstration to Stop the Drone War Command Center
July 22nd, 2014Sat., July 26, 12:00pm, Demonstration to Stop the Drone War Command Center at the Horsham Air Guard Station. Route 611/Easton Road and County Line Road, in Horsham, PA.
Continues the last Saturday of the Month, Noon – 2p.m., after more than a year. Join the campaign! Bring umbrella in the event of rain, sunblock, and water bottle. Features large banners and signs, bell-tolling, music, reading names of drone strike victims. ‘DIE-IN’ symbolic witness demonstrating the consequence drone strikes. Large drone replica display
Green Philadelphia
June 21st, 2014Philadelphia, June 20, 2014 – Mayor Michael A. Nutter and the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability released theGreenworks Philadelphia 2014 Progress Report, which highlights a range of successes, including tripling the number of greened acres that capture the first inch of rainwater before it enters the City’s sewer network in the last year, from 102 in 2012 to 323 in 2013.
“With the leadership and collaborative work of City staff, community partners and elected officials, Philadelphia has seen gains in all five of the Greenworks target areas,” said Mayor Nutter. “The pace and scale of implementation continues to grow, demonstrating that support for sustainability efforts is only getting stronger. Our Administration will continue to work to reach our goal of becoming the greenest city in America.”
The report outlines the status of work on 15 measureable targets in five topic areas: energy, environment, equity, economy, and engagement. Five years into the six-year implementation timeline, work on 160 of the 164 initiatives is either complete or underway. In 2013, Philadelphia surpassed its goal for improved air quality for the first time since Greenworks was released and showed an 8% decrease in citywide greenhouse gas emissions since 2006.
Other results include:
* More than 100 new food access sites, including farmers markets and businesses participating in the Healthy Corner Stores Network, have been established across the city. This exceeds the originalGreenworks goal of 86 new sites.
* For the second consecutive year, Philadelphia exceeded the Greenworks 70% waste diversion goal. Nearly all municipal solid waste is diverted from landfills through waste-to-energy and recycling programs.
* Philadelphia Parks & Recreation’s TreePhilly program has planted 100,000 trees since 2009.
“Annual reporting is a core function of our office and allows us to regularly share sustainability-related information with the public,” said Katherine Gajewski, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. “One great benefit of tracking data on a yearly basis is that we are able to identify interesting and informative trends. We know and can document, for example, that weather patterns are a very influential driver of energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and air quality. Having information like this helps us to target our work and make better decisions.”
Major initiatives planned for 2014-2015 include the launch of Philadelphia Bike Share program and the development of the City’s climate adaptation plan.
Marijuana Decriminalized In Philadelphia
June 19th, 2014
A Poe Protest at the Liberty Bell
PHILADELPHIA — Activist N. A. Poe scored a victory for common sense in the City Of Brotherly Love. Poe has been pressing for reasonable drug laws for years. While protesting at the Independence Mall Federal Park in the Old City section of Philadelphia, he was wrongfully arrested during a peaceful demonstration. Then, this Spring while still on probation, Poe ran for City Council. Although there was no victory, he did garner 5% of the vote.
Today, Poe’s legislation passed.
Moral of the story: if you can’t beat ‘em… try to join ‘em… if that fails… beat ‘em.
Philly NORML reports: “‘Breaking 6/19/2014: Today the full Philadelphia City Council approved a bill to reduce marijuana penalties and stop custodial arrests.
“This is nothing short of a historic day for civil rights in Philadelphia,” said PhillyNORML Co-Chair Chris Goldstein, “We can now stop the practice of having the harshest penalties in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for having a small amount of marijuana.”
Sponsored by Councilman James Kenney the measure downgrades cannabis possession of 30 grams or less to a civil offense, making the fine $25.
Philadelphia currently arrests more than 4,000 people each year for small amounts of marijuana. City policy required every offender to be put into handcuffs and a holding cell; a practice that is not replicated anywhere else in Pennsylvania. The new policy should save the city more than $4 million dollars each year in the Public Safety Budget.’”
