PhilaNet.com

Pictures from the first snowfall of the season in West Chester, PA:

Mayor Michael A. Nutter, who serves on the President’s State, Local and Tribal Leaders Task Force, released the following statement in response to the Task Force report released by the White House today. The report includes recommendations for how the Federal government can support communities in preparing for and responding to the impacts of climate change:

“It has been an honor to serve on President Obama’s climate Task Force alongside fellow mayors, governors and tribal leaders. I was able to share the City of Philadelphia’s experiences, concerns and ideas, while learning from others who are working to take responsible steps to curb emissions and plan for the changing climate. This Task Force is a clear example of local, state and federal government coming together to work collaboratively on an issue of grave concern and the utmost importance. We know we are stronger working together than alone, so we have pledged to continue our partnership. The extreme weather events we have all experienced and the future projections we face make it clear that we all share a common risk and commitment to safeguarding our communities. Here in Philadelphia, we will soon release a climate science report for the city and region, and, in 2015, we will publish a climate planning roadmap.

I applaud President Obama and his leadership team for recognizing that, despite the politics in Washington D.C., this is an issue of critical national concern that must be addressed. I want to thank the White House Council on Environmental Quality for its coordination support, the city staff who participated, and our contributing partners.”

Start your holiday on Saturday, November 29 from 3-4 pm with a concert of holiday favorites by guitarist Luke Honer and pianist Kathleen Scheide. The concert will be the public’s first chance to see Glen Foerd’s newest exhibition, “Shear Beauty: The Paper Cut Artistry of Margaretha von Glehn Luther”. The exhibition is free to the public and can be viewed Tuesday evenings from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.
Glen Foerd will partner with Settlement Music School’s Kardon Northeast Branch to bring musical and ballet performances to the family friendly event Christmas at the Mansion on Saturday, December 6. From 1:00 to 5:00 pm the public is invited to experience the mansion in full holiday décor, enjoy performances and children’s crafts. The Dining Car will be selling holiday sweets and cookies. Join Santa at 5:00 pm as he makes an appearance at our outdoor holiday tree lighting and joins guests in singing holiday carols. A special performance by Nazareth Academy’s chime ensemble will kick-off the outdoor celebrations. The public is welcome to see the outdoor events for free from 5:00-6:00 PM.

On Saturday, December 13 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm adults are welcome to step back in time and enjoy a delightful holiday tea luncheon with Glen Foerd’s former mistress of the mansion, Florence Foerderer Tonner. Enjoy period music as you enjoy good company at a traditional holiday tea.

For information, reservation information and pricing for any Glen Foerd’s holiday programs visit www.glenfoerd.org, or call 215-632-5330.

Glen Foerd on the Delaware is teaming up with local eatery and bar, Three Monkeys Café,
to offer a beer tasting menu on Friday, November 21 from 7:00 to 10:00 PM. Guests can enjoy a tasting of craft beers including Lagunita’s IPA, Weyerbacker Winter Ale, Dogfish Head 60 min IPA and Oscar Blues –Variety. A representative from from Origlio Beverage will be on hand to lead the tasting. The First two hours of the tasting, from 7:00-9:00 pm will take place at Glen Foerd on the Delaware’s German inspired Rathskellar. From 9:00 to 10:00 PM, Three Monkeys Café, located just two blocks away near the Septa Regional Rail’s Torresdale Train Station, will offer a open craft beer menu. Don’t forget to grab a delicious meal prepared by their award winning chef.

Tickets are $30 for Glen Foerd young friend members (ages 21 to 35), $40 for general admission. Tickets will be sold at the door at Glen Foerd, located at the corner of Grant Avenue and Milnor Street, Philadelphia.

Philadelphia’s City Council has thwarted the Mayor’s efforts to sell PGW (Philadelphia Gas Works). The $1.86 billion sale of PGW was nixed by Council President Darrell L. Clarke. “The simple fact of the matter is that there is not support on the City Council,” Clarke said.

“What we saw today is the biggest cop-out in recent legislative history in Philadelphia,” Mayor Nutter replied.

“This proposed sale was never in the best interests of our citizens, especially the poor and elderly on fixed incomes,” Frank Keel, spokesman for the gas workers’ union, said in a statement. “PGW is a stable, profitable city asset, and we are delighted that it will remain so.”

The Mayor released a statement:

After serving almost four terms in City Council, I have deep respect for its role in government as the People’s Hall, a place where matters of policy, large and small, are debated and then decided in public session with votes by its elected members.

For all the backroom discussions and the maneuverings of lobbyists and special interests, when it comes down to it, Council is the home of transparency, the place where those who want something from the city must stand up and make their case, where they must submit to sharp questioning of every nuance and detail.

It’s because of Council’s special role that all Philadelphians should be upset and disappointed with Council President Darrell Clarke’s stance opposing the mere introduction of a bill to sell the Philadelphia Gas Works and public hearings where the proposed purchaser, UIL Holdings Corp., could make its case and answer months of rumors, lies, and innuendo with facts.

And that’s the second reason Philadelphians should be upset: We have an opportunity to consider an asset sale that would create huge opportunities for new energy jobs, strengthen the city’s seriously underfunded pension system for retirees, and dramatically fix the aging network of gas mains below our streets.

But unless they read the fine print of the report Council released Monday, Philadelphians would not know that Council’s consultant, Concentric, concluded that the sale process was competitive and reasonable, that UIL’s proposal was the best bid, and that PGW’s value was lower than the $1.86 billion price.

Or that UIL explicitly agreed to assume all environmental liabilities related to PGW operations now and in the future.

The Council president asserted that Council conducted an “exhaustive review” of the proposed sale, and yet not a single element of this huge opportunity was submitted to the test of views and questions from Council members or the public in open session. No big city with hopes of attracting business, jobs, and investment conducts business in such a fashion. This is not leadership as we know it. It’s certainly not the history of the City Council that I know.

In its own very brief memo, Council commits a glaring error in describing one of the key terms of the deal: We project that the sale would provide net proceeds in the range of $418 million to $629 million. Council argues that the city would lose its $18 million per year “dividend” from PGW, and therefore the net proceeds would be $200 million to $400 million.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Let’s assume the net proceeds are $500 million. By depositing that amount in the pension fund, the city would see tens of millions of dollars in net savings on how much it is required to put into the fund each year.

With these annual net savings, we’re going to do two things: First, cover the loss of the $18 million PGW dividend. Second, plow the remaining savings back into our pension fund, doing more than state law requires to strengthen a retirement fund that thousands of city employees, current and retired, depend on.

This plan, coupled with other pension reforms achieved by our administration, will move the pension fund into a healthy status more quickly and raise the funding level to above 50 percent within two years of the deposit.

The city general fund would be held harmless and the pension fund would be healthier. That is a unique, once-in-a-generation opportunity. There is no other proposal that achieves both of these goals.

One more example of why we need an open, robust debate on this proposal: With more than 3,000 miles of aging cast-iron pipe, UIL has said it can dramatically increase annual replacement activities through long-term borrowing, something that PGW can’t do with its pay-as-you-go funding model.

What is Council’s proposal to improve infrastructure safety? It calls for a 50 percent rate increase on the funding source of the pipe replacement. Yes, PGW ratepayers, who already have the highest natural-gas rates in the commonwealth, would face an immediate rate hike under Council’s plan.

UIL, which has decided to continue to pursue this sale despite Council’s announcement Monday, offers another approach to infrastructure improvement, along with dozens of other proposals, all subject to change through the legislative process, which would protect consumers, our vulnerable citizens, and the employees of PGW.

But the only way that we’ll get to the truth about this proposed historic sale is for Council to introduce the bill, schedule hearings, give everyone a chance to be heard, and then let Council members do what they’re paid to do – explain where they stand, make choices, and then vote. That’s the way Philadelphia should conduct its business.

A new law was passed in Philadelphia, PA that decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Possession of less than 30 grams will result in a $25 citation. Public consumption is a $100 citation.

Mike Whiter, of Philly NORMl, and N.A. Poe have been fighting for legalization throughout all of Pennsylvania. This was seen as a major victory in the effort.

Mike arranged with the Philadelphia Police to receive the first citation for smoking at City Hall. “My intention is to point out that Philadelphia finally decriminalized marijuana, that it’s the largest city in the country to do so, and I’m here representing veterans who use marijuana for medicine. And we still can’t get our medicine legally. I can go out and smoke and get a $100 fine. I won’t get put in cuffs, but I’m still not going to have legal access to my medicine.”

Fundraiser for East Falls Historical Society
East Falls House Party (Sat. 10/18)
Celebrating a restored 19th century mansion with Food, Song & History

Historical Lager Tasting in newly-restored Beer Baron’s Mansion
Period staging plus “Pop-Up” museum of regional artifacts & breweriana
Last of the 40′s Big Band Singers — local legend Harry Prime — in the grand ballroom
Generous “cocktail-style” spread by Epicure Cafe
$35 includes wine, beer, and homebrewed hard cider

http://eastfallshistoricalsociety.com/shop/

Proceeds benefit East Falls Historical Society and EF Community Council

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (OACCE), in partnership with the Philadelphia School District, presented its fall exhibition A+ Art in the Art Gallery at City Hall. Each year, the OACCE partners with the Philadelphia School District’s Office of Academic Enrichment and Support to select 100 of the best art projects from its end-of-year Young Artists exhibit at the Philadelphia School District headquarters to be displayed at the A+ Art exhibit.

Additionally, the City announced that Blick Art Materials donated $15,000 worth of gift cards to the 23 participating schools to purchase materials for their art classes. OACCE will distribute the gift cards, worth $650 each, directly to the art teachers. Blick Art Supplies also gave gift bags with samples of art supplies for the students who attended the gallery reception today.

“The A+ Art exhibit recognizes that the arts are an important part of a well-rounded, high-quality education. It highlights the extraordinary artwork created by aspiring young artists and is a testament to the many dedicated art teachers, parents and administrators who passionately support these young artists and children across the city,” said Mayor Michael A. Nutter. “I want to thank Bob Buchsbaum for the $15,000 contribution from Blick Art Materials. This generous donation will help ensure that teachers can provide the art education that our children deserve.”

This year was the School District’s 58^th annual city-wide Young Artists exhibit and it featured more than 1,500 works of art from approximately 150 schools. For the A+ Art exhibit, OACCE chose a representative sample of Philadelphia K –12 students from 23 schools across the city. The selected works chosen reflect an array of perspectives, cultural influences and artistic techniques. Each student artist in the A+ Art exhibit will be honored with a Mayoral Certificate of Artistic Excellence.

“Having artwork created by students of the School District of Philadelphia on display in the City Hall’s Art Gallery is an incredible opportunity to showcase their amazing talents. Art supplies need to be replenished frequently, unlike textbooks that can be used for several years before replacing,” said Deborah Klose, Director of Arts Education for the Philadelphia School District’s Office of Academic Enrichment and Support. “We cannot afford to lose the important lessons the arts teach – creativity, artistic expression and problem solving skills. We are most grateful to Bob Buchsbaum for his generous gift of art materials so we are able to continue cultivating our Young Artists exhibit.”

Bob Buchsbaum, CEO of Dick Blick Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Blick Art Materials, said, “Blick has been a long-time supporter and advocate for the arts. We continue to be involved in many national and local initiatives to support art and offset budget constrictions in schools and communities. Through our support of the A+ Art exhibit, we are proud to be able to give back to the Philadelphia community, helping students and teachers drive creativity in the classroom and beyond.”

David Brigham, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), connected the office of OACCE with Bob Buchsbaum. David Brigham said, “Like the City, PAFA is committed to providing arts education for students in Philadelphia and is pleased to support this effort by helping to identify donors to provide art supplies for children in the public schools.”

Helen Haynes, Chief Cultural Officer, added, “Art teachers need our support so they can help children learn to express themselves in a healthy, productive way. The OACCE is trying to connect schools and teachers directly to resources beyond the school district’s limited budget, like Blick Art Supplies’ donation. Its generosity is a perfect example of how we can collaborate with outside partners to obtain resources that benefit the entire community. Also, I want to personally thank David Brigham and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for their help in securing this gift.”

The participating schools for A+ Art 2014 are:

Elementary and Middle Schools

• Alexander McClure Elementary
• Allan M. Stearne School
• Amy Northwest
• Baldi Middle School
• Ellwood School
• Amedee Bregy Elementary
• Greenfield Elementary
• Anna L. Lingelbach Elementary
• Vare-Washington Elementary
• Watson Comly School
• William C. Bryant Promise Academy

High Schools

• Abraham Lincoln High School
• Academy at Palumbo
• Benjamin Franklin High School
• Central High School
• Creative and Performing Arts High School
• Frankford High School
• Franklin Learning Center
• George Washington High School
• High School of the Future
• Horace Furness High School
• Julia R. Masterman High School
• Philadelphia High School for Girls

On the regions best restaurant festivals will take place in West Chester, Pennsylvania on Sunday, September 21, 2014 from noon until 5PM. Hundreds of venders will line the streets. Off-site parking in recommended. This marks the 35th anniversary of the event.

There are family friendly activities, street performers and four stages of live music.