The Fishbowl

Moved ...

2006-06-13T08:03:00.000-07:00

We're blogging over on Wordpress now. Please go to go.philly.com/fishbowl.

First take: From Yahoo! to Uh-oh!

2006-06-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

The democratic openness of the Internet - where pretty much anyone can open a laptop and reach a wide audience - is a key to its world-changing power.

Here's the irony: The Internet may need the U.S. Congress to pass a law to preserve its freewheeling nature.

On Thursday, sadly, the U.S. House missed a chance to do the right thing. It rejected a proposal to prevent cable and phone companies from levying extra fees on large Internet users.

A sizable, bipartisan majority decided to leave cable firms such as local heavyweight Comcast and Bell successors such as Verizon free to exact a tariff or toll on Internet users who pump out high-volume content.

It's up to the Senate, then, to protect the Internet as a radically democratic gathering place to share ideas and innovations.

As you sit at your home computer, the issue may seem arcane, the concern overstated. Your broadband connection is working just fine, so what's the problem?

One way to think through the issue is to jot a list of the killer applications the Internet has spawned, such as Google's search engine, eBay's online auction, or the various Weblog programs.

Did any of them emerge from the bowels of a phone or cable company? Nope, they were innovations that started small, but found huge publics thanks to the Internet's openness.

Now imagine that the next infant innovation had to buy its way onto the Internet - by paying steep fees to get on a digital fast lane. Talk about a way to turn Yahoo! into Uh-oh!

If the Internet had begun as a toll road with tariffs set by a few powerful gatekeepers, would we still be thumbing through the hardbound World Book for elusive facts, trudging to the mall for Top 40 hits, hawking cast-offs at yard sales? Hyperbole? Perhaps, but you get the point.

Weekend forecast: Opinions galore

2006-06-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

Herein, we share the weekend budget listing of editorials slated for the next three days. All you have to do is plunk a few pennies to get your copy of The Inquirer.

(OK, if you insist, you can read it online for free. Anyway, thanks for reading.)

ONESAT10
The case of the missing Veterans Affairs files has to be one of the worst bureaucratic bunglings in recent times, and one that the VA must do everything in its power to correct.
TWOSAT10
New Jersey's new rule is one that other states should mimic in testing and punishing public school student-athletes caught using performance-enhancing drugs.
ONESUN11
Consumers need to pay attention as Congress nears agreement on "net neutrality" legislation that will make it easier for phone companies to get into the video business and compete with cable companies.
TWOSUN11
Conservative commentator Ann Coulter went over the line in spouting her venom questioning the integrity of the widows of 9/11 victims.
ONEMON12
The firing of dean Warren Wallace for manipulating the petty-cash system at the University of Medicine and Dentistry is another sign that UMDNJ needs drastic changes.
TWOMON12
House Speaker John M. Perzel is predicting that the PA legislature will enact a lobbying reform law by June, but will it be the tough measure needed?
THREEMON12
New Jersey legislators have decided to forgo their Shore tans this summer to work on something much more significant: property tax reform.

Zarqawi theory

2006-06-08T06:29:00.000-07:00

The man who beheaded Wilmington's Nick Berg killer - at least, according to U.S. officials - has been killed himself. Here's hoping this will help bring closure to Berg's family, who have suffered so much.
Will the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, though, bring closure to the incredible conspiracy theories thriving on the Internet about the infamous murder? Who knows? But the stuff out there, in true conspiracy theory fashion, boggles the mind. A Google-ized sampling here.

The Becker way

2006-06-07T06:34:00.000-07:00

If you're around the Independence Mall area at 11:00 a.m., stop by Sixth and Chestnut Streets for the ceremony honoring the late federal Judge Edward R. Becker. Fittingly, the 500 block of Chestnut Street - which Becker and others fought so hard to preserve as open to traffic after the initial security paranoia following 9/11 - will be named Becker Way.

Brick by brick

2006-06-06T06:22:00.000-07:00

Be a part of something bigger than yourself - Philadelphia's Franklin Square, for instance.

The name-a-brick initiative offers a chance to donate - for the price of one 'Benjamin' - toward the cost of a piece of the square. See www.onceuponanation.org for details of donating online. An old-fashioned form can be downloaded here. (The 'Nation' group also sponsors storytelling in the historic area, pictured here.)

The transformation of the long-neglected square - one of Penn's original five squares in his Greene Countrie Towne - is on track to be completed this summer. The made-over square will feature a new carousel, Philadelphia-themed mini-golf, two playgrounds and food concessions.

It's all part of efforts by Once Upon a Nation, part of Historic Philadelphia Inc., to enliven visitors' experience to the Independence Mall area. Our recent editorial described the effort in more detail.

You don't have to be a tourist, though, to participate. The square will be for locals and out-of-towners alike.

First take: Public-access blackout

2006-06-05T06:10:00.000-07:00

It's sad and pathetic that the Philadelphia region - and the city, in particular - is pretty much a test pattern when it comes to public-access television stations.

As The Inquirer's Diana Mastrull wrote earlier this year, there are only a few stations up and running.

In dozens of other major metro areas, public-access television gives citizens a voice in their communities - enabling them to produce programming from the mundane to the insightful.

In Philadelphia, the story is that, for years, cable operators - chiefly, Comcast - paid millions in franchise fees to the city. This money was earmarked for setting up a public-access system, but instead went into the city's general fund - where it was spent on other services.

In response to calls for Comcast to come up with additional funds to supplement the franchise fee, the hometown cable giant pretty much has said heretofore that it gave at the office. Not good enough. The lack of public-access television on its home turf is a continuing source of embarrassment for Comcast - or it should be.

The company needs to step up, like the good corporate citizen it has shown itself to be in other arenas. Inquirer business columnist Jeff Gelles lays out the case in today's paper.

This is business, as Comcast officials periodically point out. So it's time for Philadelphia to drop the small-town awe and quit being such an easy touch.
Comcast knows its 4,500 local franchises around the country are its largest asset. It also knows there's often a price to pay for the right to do business with minimal competition.

Today's City Council hearing on extending Comcast's reach in the city cable market is as good an opportunity as any to demand that Comcast make public-access television a reality.

Check out Philly's vocal - and patient - public-access TV coalition at phillyacces.org.

First take: Happy to plod toward tax reform

2006-06-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

Who says Philadelphia isn't a glass-half-full kind of town?

Faced with the cold reality that long-term business-tax cuts won't happen under this mayor, business and civic leaders and many on City Council still seek to find a reason to celebrate.

Following Council's approval last week of incremental cuts in the Business Privilege Tax (BPT), Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce chairman Stephen D. Steinour called it a good first step.

The tax reform group, Philadelphia Forward, headlined its press release, "WE WIN MORE TAX REFORM!!!"

No question, the accelerated reduction in the gross-receipts portion of the BPT over three years sends a good signal to businesses considering whether to stay or invest in Philadelphia.

It's not insignificant that this levy on revenues regardless of income - which, for startup firms, is like posting a "Keep Out" sign - is headed down. The latest cuts translate into a savings to businesses of $5 million per year.

Mayor Street says he can manage that revenue loss for the city, but he's opposed to steeper cuts based upon his pet theory that it would hamper essential city services. To believe his theory, you'd have to believe that City Hall, the national capital of pay-to-play, has sweated every last bit of waste and patronage out of its systems.

This week, a Council majority once again bought into that false choice of pitting municipal services vs. tax reform - when Council on Thursday pushed back the start of a special tax rebate for low-wage workers.

This low-wage tax cut championed by the late Councilman David Cohen was a somewhat ad-hoc, ragged approach to tax reform. But it was truly bogus to delay it by using the "Washington Monument strategy" - "Gee, if we lose that money, we'll have to close all the parks."

The choice isn't really between higher taxes and basic services. Across-the-board wage-tax cuts are in place, with more coming. The city's property-tax abatement on new homes has helped pump up real estate transfer tax revenues. So the right mix of business tax cuts to retain and add jobs is the next smart move.

There was a better proposal before Council on the BPT. City Councilman Michael A. Nutter's plan was to lock in deeper cuts in the gross-receipts portion of the BPT through 2010, reducing the tax by about 22 percent over the five-year period.

It never was likely that Nutter would get a veto-proof majority for that proposal, yet the tax-reform coalition seems to have eroded even further. Credit three colleagues, at least - W. Wilson Goode Jr., James F. Kenney and Joan L. Krajewski - for standing with him.

Given this mayor's reluctance to cut taxes in anything other than modest increments, the issue of the city's counterproducive tax system gets plopped down in the middle of next year's mayoral election. Every candidate should be prepared to say what he favors - but, please, no "Washington Monument" copouts.

What friends are for

2006-06-02T06:34:00.000-07:00

No cardboard cutout, that Sen. Vince Fumo.

Uh-uh. All flesh and blood.

Just read his e-mail to an associate extolling the virtues of friendship. It was among a number of messages unearthed by the FBI as it probes the powerful Philadelphia senator's comings and goings.

As reported by Tom Ferrick on Poliblog, it began as follows:

FRIENDS are supposed
to help FRIENDS!!!
Not give them that kind of
bullshit!!!

There's a wealth of recommendations about what "friends don't" do or should do, of course. Google offers a sampling here.

One headline from this list stands out: "Friends Don't Let Friends Forward Inane Email"

E-mail etiquette

2006-06-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

When you're erasing e-mail messages and other computer stuff, should you send messages saying that you're wiping computers clean of data?

Most likely, Miss Manners is silent on this issue.

The issue was raised by the arrest this week of two aides to State Sen. Vince Fumo. The aides' messages detail computer-cleansing efforts. Read the government's document here.

Brotherly love and devotion

2006-05-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

Maybe you were busy at the beach or working the barbecue on Monday and didn't catch the Commentary page. Never fear: For your reading pleasure, we post the commentary by Bensalem resident Gordon Parker. His recollection of his brother, who died in the climactic days of World War II, is a bittersweet wonder. A taste:

I was about 5, and Bud was two years older.

We grew up in several different living arrangements. At first our mother placed us as boarders with family friends. This didn't last long; it ended over a difference of opinion on child-raising.

Foster care was next.

We ended up in a courtroom filled with crying children and screaming mothers. As they were taking us out to a bus that delivered children to different foster homes, our mother gave us a hug. Then she gave Bud another hug and told him, "Take care of your little brother." He wiped a tear and nodded, saying, "Yes."

Great stuff. Read it all here.

First take: Hearth and home

2006-05-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

Any member of Congress who wants to be close to his family has a difficult choice: Bring them along to Washington, D.C., and pay a political price when accused of moving out of his district.
That's what's happening to Sen. Rick Santorum, who lives with his family near the capital while still using a modest Pittsburgh-area home as his voting address. He got beat up pretty good the other day by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Inquirer columnist Tom Ferrick has written several posts on his blog, including "The House on Stevens Lane." Last Friday, Tom clarified the legal aspects of the residency issue. Bottom line: Santorum's a legal voter in Pennsylvania, even if he lives mostly in Virginia.
There are tough choices facing a lawmaker: Are you a bonafide family man, or a bonafide resident of the state or district from which you're elected?
Hard to criticize someone for wanting to be close to his or her family. Not hard to criticize them for being inconsistent or, even, hypocritical. How so in Santorum's case? As a congressional candidate some years ago, he raised the residency issue against his incumbent opponent. Good for the goose, good for ...

A state senator is 'born'

2006-05-26T07:03:00.000-07:00

He's never seen a junket he didn't like. He thinks the solution to losing campaigns that spend lavishly is to spend even more lavishly. His favorite resting place in Harrisburg is the Hotel Carpe Diem.

He could be a descendant of real-life Boss Tweed (pictured in the famous Thomas Nast cartoon.)

Meet the fictional state Sen. Seymour Boon, a creation of the Editorial Board (specifically, editorial writer Dave Boyer.)

Sen. Boon arrived on the Harrisburg scene just in time for the pay-raise controversy. So far, his adventures include the following:

Freebies R Us

Harrisburg's inn crowd

Earthquake!

Any relation to persons living or dead (such as this Web geneology that lists a Seymour Boon) is entirely coincidental.

Any similarity to the behavior of actual elected officials in the state capitol, well, that is no coincidence at all.

Watch for the further adventures of Sen. Boon on The Inquirer editorial pages.

A Ugandan teen's journey

2006-05-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

Inquirer readers following the medical odyssey of Ugandan teen Jennifer Anyayo can read weekly updates on her condition at go.philly.com/jennifer. Inquirer editorial writer Carolyn Davis' dispatches on Jennifer's treatment for injuries suffered in her war-torn country are available here.

First take: N(ot) S(o) A(ccountable)

2006-05-24T17:45:00.000-07:00

(Legislative draft unveiled late Wednesday available here. Press release here.)
(Washington Post editorial take on this issue.)

Congressional leaders have shown little backbone in response to President Bush's warrantless wiretapping. Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter (R., Pa.) has been an exception.

Specter has insisted that the wiretapping of e-mail and phone calls to overseas destinations be done only with oversight by the special Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

He's badgered the White House for a full explanation of the National Security Agency's antiterror spying - even telling Bush personally that "the president doesn't have a blank check" on domestic wiretapping.

Two weeks ago, Specter came up with his best idea yet: Yank the funding for the NSA spy program unless the Bush administration comes clean. That's playing hardball.

So it's troubling to hear about a bill c being readied for Specter's committee - as early as today. The proposal caves on many of the key civil liberties concerns raised by the secret snooping of mysterious scope.

The legislation does too little to assure that the NSA spying program would get meaningful oversight. In a concession designed to win passage, the measure also leaves the president free to conduct future wiretapping without court approval. Why give this, or any, administration such wide latitude to end-run the Fourth Amendment?

Rather than requiring oversight of domestic spying by the secret federal court set up by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the measure would make such a review optional. The court's jurisdiction needed clarification in an age where technology creates possiblities unimagined in 1978 when the law was passed. But this proposal clarifies by miniminizing.

One piece of the bill makes sense: extending from three days to a week the grace period to apply for a warrant after emergency surveillance.

Defenders of the program say no evidence has emerged that any ordinary, innocent Americans had their privacy infringed by the NSA's data mining and surveillance. How could it, given the secrecy shrouding the whole program?

It's equally true that there's no evidence the Bush administration really needed the blanket spying powers it arrogated post-9/11.

Even with private briefings given congressional leaders last week, too little is known about the NSA program to judge. As Specter recently said, "We're really flying blind."

Doesn't that call for charting the right constitutional course before clearing a program for take-off?

The waiting is over

2006-05-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

McClatchy press release:

McCLATCHY TO SELL

PHILADELPHIA NEWSPAPERS

TO LOCAL INVESTORS

Philadelphia Media Holdings will pay $562 million
for Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News

SACRAMENTO, Calif. and PHILADELPHIA May 23, 2006 – The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) today announced a definitive agreement to sell Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. (PNI) to Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC (PMH) in a transaction valued at $562 million. The purchase covers the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News, both daily newspapers, and related media assets including philly.com. Philadelphia Media Holdings was formed by a group of local investors headed by advertising executive Brian Tierney for the purpose of acquiring these assets. The two newspapers are currently owned by Knight-Ridder, Inc., which McClatchy has agreed to acquire. The parties intend to close the transaction within roughly the same time frame as the close of McClatchy’s Knight Ridder acquisition, which is expected this summer.

“This agreement represents a classic win-win deal – good for McClatchy, good for the buyers and good for Philadelphia,” said Gary Pruitt, Chief Executive Officer of McClatchy. “We are delighted to receive a full, fair price consistent with our projections, and further gratified about the buyer’s commitment to the community, to good journalism and to the heritage of both these fine newspapers. We couldn’t be more pleased with this result.”

“On behalf of the dedicated local investors who have joined together to purchase the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and philly.com, this is a day of immense pride and heartfelt excitement,” said Tierney. “The next great era of Philadelphia journalism begins today with this announcement. We intend to be long-term owners committed to serving this region with the vigorous, high-quality journalism we all expect of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and philly.com, and we intend to preserve both papers and their unique and valuable contributions. Our plan is to invest in and grow both papers, not allow them to erode, and we know the employees are eager to join us and get started doing just that.”

Knight Ridder CEO Tony Ridder called the deal “a great outcome” and said, “One of the most important considerations in selling these newspapers was to respect and secure their proud heritage of top journalism and community service. We are gratified to have been able to work with McClatchy and these new owners to see that happen.”

Best cuts, tax-wise

2006-05-22T08:04:00.000-07:00

Not all tax cuts are equal. Trimming the hated wage tax is great for city residents and commuters who work downtown. But there's nothing like cutting taxes that go direct to business' bottom line.
In the city, that means the Business Privilege Tax.
Proposals to trim the gross-receipts portion are before City Council, but the city should be taking more direct aim at the entire BPT.
Why? Because the tax is said to be one more drag on businesses creating jobs in the key, downtown office sector.
As usual, critics of more business tax cuts say they threaten city services. Looked at another way, though, cutting business taxes could spur jobs that, in turn, spur city revenues.
At the Center City District, Paul R. Levy (pictured) has done extensive research on the importance of the city's office sector to residents in every neighborhood. In accepting the coveted Philadelphia Award last week, Levy noted that downtown jobs mean City Hall jobs (which means improved city services.) A highlight:

Each time we fill an office building the size of Liberty Place,we generate 4,000 jobs and $6.4 million in salaries from those jobs will be paid to employees living in North Philadelphia with millions more to every other neighborhood across the city and region.
So any agenda for prosperity and growth has got to combine business competitiveness to create more jobs with quality, well-funded public transportation and quality public education to connect our residents to those jobs. ...
That makes downtown the primary source of the resources we need ... Every time we fill an office building the size of Liberty Place, we generate enough local taxes to hire 514 new caseworkers in the Department of Human Services, or put 372 new police officers on neighborhood streets. What we do downtown creates opportunity in every neighborhood in the city.

Judge Becker, 1933-2006

2006-05-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

[Judge Becker's obituary from Saturday's Inquirer.]
Ann Meredith of Lights of Liberty calls to report that Edward R. Becker, senior judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, crusader for Independence Mall's makeover, Northeast Philadlphia resident and one heck of play-by-ear pianist, is gone. He died today after a three-year battle with cancer.

On Thursday, we praised the judge on the editorial page - remembering his contributions to freeing the historic area from excessive post-9/11 secuirty measures.

Our earlier posting on the judge included a dandy photo of him sitting (standing, actually) for his official portrait at Yale law school, his alma mater.

Go here to read the touching and humorous recollections about the judge from U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa), where Specters notes that he and the judge commuted to Penn on the Frankford El.

Hoping they got their man

2006-05-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

It will be a relief if it proves that Philadelphia police have their man in the senseless killing of Police Officer Gary Skerski. Having a trigger-happy cop-killer on the loose was a threat to everyone in blue, and every other Philadelphian, as well.

Cops nabbed Solomon Montgomery, 23, as he tried to flee in the expensive wheels pictured here. No soccer Mom, he - but, rather, armed and dangerous, cops said.

It's a relief, too, that Montgomery survived two gunshot wounds. He deserves to be brought to justice and, if guilty of the killing, locked away for the rest of his life to contemplate the heinous crime.

Fighting intolerance, encountering the same

2006-05-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

Watch for our commentary on Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-born Muslim woman who is being booted out of the Netherlands after becoming one of its top critics of Muslim intolerance.

Key question: Is there a place for an outspoken critic of Islamic practices in the West?

Hirsi Ali fled Kenya to avoid an arranged marriage. More on her compelling story here from the BBC.

Shaken, not just stirred

2006-05-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

Voters in Pennsylvania gave Harrisburg a good, swift, deserved kick in the buttocks on Tuesday.

Primary elections are often dull but not this time - not with voters still seething over last year's pay-raise debacle. The admirable result delivered by motivated citizens was the sort of ballot-box revolution that comes along once in a generation.

Sixty-one incumbent state legislators were running for re-election against opponents on the primary ballot. At least 13 lost, according to unofficial results, with some races still too close to call. Among those booted were two veteran Senate leaders who plotted the legislative pay raise - Senate President Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer (R., Blair) and Majority Leader David J. Brightbill (R., Lebanon). House Majority Leader Sam Smith (R., Jefferson) escaped with barely 48 percent of the vote.

It had been 42 years since a legislative leader in Harrisburg lost a primary. Those defeats, coupled with the retirement of 30 lawmakers, mean that about one-fifth of the Legislature will be newcomers in 2007. And there could be even more fresh faces. About a dozen incumbents still face tough re-election races in November.

Will anything change?

The embarrassing gridlock on the issue of property taxes this spring suggested that incumbents were waiting for the primary to see whether voters' agitation had finally waned.

Now they know. It hasn't. So, will the incumbents find a workable compromise on tax reform? Will they end Pennsylvania's status as the only state that fails to monitor how much money lobbyists spend on influencing lawmakers? Will they adopt meaningful campaign finance laws? Will they break their nasty habit of passing laws in the dead of night without giving the public, and even many legislators, a chance to read, digest and comment upon the bills? Will they take steps to rein in their bevy of wasteful perks?

The message from voters should be clear by now. The public is tired of the way Harrisburg conducts itself. Citizens are fed up with legislators who behave as if taking care of themselves is Job One.

Wading into the swamp

2006-05-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

By an impressive 4-1 majority on Tuesday, Philadelphia voters put city leaders on notice that citizens want to drain the ethical swamp created by the city's pay-to-play political culture.

Now the challenge for Mayor Street and City Council will be the follow-through - that is, making high-caliber appointments to a new, independent ethics board to replace the present panel.

Let's have no more debate, for starters, as to whether city residents really care about ethics. Their overwhelming approval of the City Charter change paving the way for the stronger ethics panel occurred without prodding from any sizeable "vote yes" campaign. And it followed a similar groundswell in November for a charter change to stem the influence of big-money donations in no-bid city contracts.

The mayor and Council - led on this issue by Michael A. Nutter- deserve credit for coming up with the vote-winning framework for tightening ethical conduct.

The caliber of their picks for the ethics board will tell whether they're really serious about draining the swamp.

First take: Citizen-judge's historic view improves

2006-05-17T08:12:00.000-07:00

With the removal this week of the old Liberty Bell Pavilion, Philadelphia's Independence Mall appears more to the liking of one of its most persistent boosters and critics - the former chief, now senior, judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, Edward R. Becker.

It matters what Becker thinks, and not just because his courthouse chambers overlook the mall. Since 9/11, this federal judge of three-plus decades has put his considerable clout behind the worthwhile efforts to brush back excessive security measures at the nation's birthplace.

Becker couldn't join the send-off Monday for the dismantled remnants of the pavilion, while he wages a tough, personal battle against cancer. He remains a major player, though, in the fight to keep the mall area as free as the American democracy. (Pictured at a sitting for his Yale law school portrait by artist Michael Shane Neal.)

That means keeping Independence National Historical Park accessible to visitors - a wise, guiding principle for Becker and other civic and business leaders allied in the Independence Mall Business and Residents Coalition.

These folks fought the months-long closure of Chestnut Street that followed the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. As for the absurd, now abandoned, plans by the National Park Service to fence a two-block area around Independence Hall, the judge once described it, aptly, as "an abomination."

Not only Becker's enthusiasm for the cause, but his close friendship with Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.) - dating to their undergraduate days at Penn - gave the coalition of mall advocates important access to key players in Washington. Thus, the judge has helped give voice to a common sense cry for restraint in the way the nation protects its values, while rigorously safeguarding its people.

Citizens' access to the old Pennsylvania statehouse known as Independence Hall where the great documents of democracy were debated isn't as unencumbered as it should be, but through the efforts of citizen-leaders like Ed Becker, it's vastly improved. With continued citizen vigilance and active engagement where needed, democracy's shrines can be freed even more from excessive security measures.

Political problem, military solution

2006-05-16T06:15:00.000-07:00

In one well-chosen sentence, Inquirer political analyst Dick Polman captures the essence of a bad policy move by President Bush:

President Bush is sending troops to guard against any further defections from his conservative base.

In other words, the president has a political problem - the loss of support from the right wing of his party - and he's applying a military remedy - deploying National Guard troops in a symbolic gesture along the Mexican border.
Except, that's not why we put America's young men and women (and the not-so-young of the Guard) in harm's way, is it?
The Guard's already overstretched, and the last thing any unit just back from Iraq needs is a stressful siesta north of the Mexican border.
Now, maybe Bush plans to send the Minutemen to Iraq to relieve the Guard. That would solve a problem at the border, as well as spell the winded guardsmen.

Vote early

2006-05-15T08:41:00.000-07:00

The Pennsylvania Primary will be held tomorrow, so vote early, if not often. For our humble advice on the best picks, check out our endorsements here.

Privacy in shreds

2006-05-12T04:27:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't it be easier, now, to make a list of everything the National Security Agency doesn't know about the private lives of Americans?
Gotta be a shorter list than what they do know.
When you figure, as the Thursday USA Today editions reported, it gathered up records on millions of citizens' phone calls so that it could create a catalog of "every call ever made" in the country, it's breathtaking.
Not much left of the privacy safeguards in the Constitution after that, is there? Whatever happened to the right to be left alone?
Bully for the lone Bell descendant - Quest - for refusing to knuckle under to the feds' request for this huge fishing expedition. Let's hear more from the other three companies, including local powerhouse Verizon, as to why they didn't stand up for privacy rights.

People do shoot people

2006-05-11T07:22:00.000-07:00

Not every atrocity with a weapon points up the need for handgun control. Unfortunately, bad people commit heinous acts with long guns - as was the case with the Monday shotgun slaying of Philadelphia Police Officer Gary Skerski.
Although Skerski's still-at-large killer also brandished a handgun, all the handgun control measures in the world couldn't have saved the brave officer's life.
That doesn't lessen the need to stem the flow of illegal handguns to the city streets, where the death toll of mostly young, African American men is appallingly high.
It just means society has plenty of other work to do - in ridding itself of demons like the one who senselessly ended a life on Monday.

Eyes wide open

2006-05-10T05:50:00.000-07:00

Hair combed? Tie straight? Lipstick just right? Good, because you're on candid camera in many of the places you'll venture today.

The mall. Near a traffic cam. (Can those things pick up drivers picking their ... oh, nevermind.)

So why did we recommend a 'yes' vote today on the Philadelphia closed-circuit television ballot question? Aren't there enough lens peering at us, without having the police take images of Philadelphia's sidewalks?

As you'll see from the editorial, the cops don't need our permission. So the point of this exercise is to get citizens into the act, and get them into the conversation about safeguards on the use of crime-fighting cameras.

We've posted some good backgrounders here. One of the issues is whether the cameras should be turned on only for special events or emergencies, or left running 24/7. Here, from a privacy watchdog group, is some perspective:

Chicago is one city that does not limit the use of its camera surveillance system. Chicago has 2,250 cameras feeding into an operations center constantly monitored by police officers. It does limit the data retention: “recordings taken from the cameras are wiped clean after three days unless a crime was reported or a tape is ordered preserved as evidence in an investigation.” However, Chicago residents will be watched every moment of every day.

As for that space-age facial recognition software, let's hold off on that. Sounds like a phenomenal waste of precious government money - like when one jurisdiction went for nearly an entire year without making a match of any of the faces in its crime database. Officers Crumpkie could do as well.

Have a plan: Get a plan

2006-05-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

Deputy Medicare administrator Leslie Norwalk was on C-Span this morning, talking up the need for retirees to check out the new prescription drug plan by the Monday, May 15 deadline.
Good advice.
If you miss the sign-up deadline for a drug plan under the "Part D" program, you'll be saddled with a 7 percent premium surcharge (minimum) when you do get around to joining a plan.
As Norwalk said, better to sign on to a cheap plan - say, $5 a month - even if you don't take any drugs at the moment.
For answers to your questions, call 1-800-MEDICARE, or go online to medicare.gov.
Our recent editorial sketched out other issues to consider. Check it out here.

Shifting winds

2006-05-08T06:49:00.000-07:00

Like we said, New Jersey needs to stop tilting at windmills and actually build some.

Finally, someone in authority agrees. As the AP reported Friday:

New Jersey should develop a test windmill project off its coast to gauge the economic and environmental impacts of the alternative energy source, a state panel recommended in a study released yesterday.

The nine-member panel said that wind could help meet demand that is spiking electricity rates in New Jersey, but that more data were needed to determine how wind turbines in coastal waters might affect migratory birds and mammals.

In December, we staked out our editorial position and decried an interim report by the same panel that turned its back to wind power.

The state faces enormous energy and environmental challenges in coming years, and clean, efficient wind power needs to be a part of its electricity portfolio.

The panel should offer a variety of options in its final report, due to new Gov. Corzine by March. The state needs to develop new energy sources, not drive them away.

Good to see a new wind blowing on this issue.

Memorial takes flight

2006-05-05T06:26:00.000-07:00

It was just a matter of time before Congress broke the deadlock over federal funding for a fitting memorial to the Flight 93 heroes. (Unofficial memorial pictured.) What it took, perhaps, was a few choice words.

Like these:

This project has wisely sought multiple partners from the start. It's shown flexibility in changing the shape of its crescent design, under irrational assault. It's been sensitive to the host community.

Americans need a fitting place to remember the first victors in the war on terrorism. The Flight 93 memorial deserves funds to get rolling.

That's from our Sunday, April 30th editorial the two-year campaign by Rep. Charles Taylor (R., N.C.) to block the Flight 93 project. Yesterday, finally, a House panel approved spending $5 million in federal funds to buy land for a memorial on the Pennsylvania field where United flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001. 'Nough said.

First take: Still got milk

2006-05-04T07:55:00.000-07:00

Maybe it takes a former junk-food fan to broker the agreement by soda makers to stop selling high-sugar drinks in America's schools.

Kudos to the former president (at right in a 2000 photo.)

As for beverage distributors, they're headed in the right direction - if their motives might be suspected as mixed. One cynical interpretation of the healthy ban on sugary drinks is that the beverage firms really hope to head off more draconian proposals, such as pulling all drinks and snacks machines from schools.

Whatever the motives, fewer sugar highs for grade- and high schoolers will be a good thing.

The old soft shoe

2006-05-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

Look at the many ways would-be mayoral candidates can deny the obvious - that they're in the running for Philadelphia's top job, and therefore should be honoring the spirit of the city's new limits on campaign donations.

The Daily News' Catherine Lucey asks, "How many ways can you deny being a mayoral candidate? Apparently, at least five."

We like businessman Tom Knox's claim that he has a committee "formed for the purpose of promoting advances in the quality of life." Certainly, his quality of life - should he decide to run and actually pull off a long-long-shot victory. Read the others' answers here.

Question for all the hopefuls: Wouldn't it just be easier to comply with the giving limits, rather than twist yourselves into pretzels with explanations for not complying?

Meanwhile, City Councilman Michael Nutter has been dropped from the Committee of Seventy's lawsuit over the donation limits. That's fitting, since Nutter, as a city official, already was complying with the donor limits - the only would-be candidate, in fact.

Roadmap provided (no AAA membership required)

2006-05-02T06:53:00.000-07:00

Dazed and confused by all the competitive Pennsylvania Primary races for state legislator? We've got answers.

Actually, it's the candidates who have answers - to several key questions put out by the Editorial Board in an attempt to flesh out where they stand on the issues.

While the Board won't endorse in all races this year, we're posting the candidates' replies and other background on another page of this blog. Click on may 16 primary to the right.

Part D: Who ya gonna call?

2006-05-01T11:48:00.000-07:00

From MyMedicareMatters:

As the clock counts down to May 15, the deadline for enrollment in the new Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage, millions of eligible Americans have yet to make a decision about enrolling in the program. Because this indecision could be costly in many ways, it is imperative seniors, Medicare-eligible individuals, family members and caregivers do not ignore this call to action to enroll simply because they don’t understand it. There are resources available to help.

These resources include:

· Toll-free information line 1-800-MEDICARE, sponsored by the government

· My Medicare Matters, (www.MyMedicareMatters.org) a national education effort co-sponsored by the National Council on Aging and the Access to Benefits Coalition

· The Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly (CARIE), 215-545-5728

· PA Dept of Aging (APPRISE), 717 783-1550

· National Alliance for Hispanic Health, 1-866-783-2645.

· Online at www.MyMedicareMatters.org, www.MiMedicareImporta.org and www.Medicare.gov.

Individuals who need help should take advantage of these resources as soon as possible in order to sign up before the enrollment deadline to ensure drug coverage this year and avoid paying premium penalties.

For more information, contact Amy Grossman, My Medicare Matters, 215-493-1045 or visit www.MyMedicareMatters.org.

Free Education and Enrollment events scheduled in Philadelphia area through May 15:

Sydney Hillman Bldg.

May 2, 2006 (Tuesday)

22 S. 22nd Street

Philadelphia, PA

10:00am-

215-561-1729

The Gill House

May 2, 2006 (Tuesday)

711 Spring Garden Street

Philadelphia, PA

11:30am-

215-923-1539

JCC Klein Branch

May 2, 2006 (Tuesday)

10:00 am – 3:00 pm

10100 Jamison Avenue

Philadelphia, PA

(215)698-7300, x150

Chester County Senior Expo

May 3, 2006 (Wednesday)

9:30 am – 3:00 pm

United Sports Training Center

Downingtown, PA

(215)861-4295

Kennett Life Center

May 3, 2006 (Wednesday)

1:00 pm – 7:00 pm

427 S. Walnut Street

Kennett Square, PA

(610)444-4819

First African Baptist Church

May 3, 2006 (Wednesday)

10:00 am – 2:00 pm

1608 Christian Street

Philadelphia, PA 19146

(215)893-5713

Temple Physicians Inc.

May 4, 2006 (Thursday)

10:00 am – 3:00 pm

Helen Fuld Building, 1^st Floor

Northeastern Hospital

2301 E. Allegheny Avenue

Philadelphia, PA

(610)222-4194

West Oak Lane Senior Citizens Center

May 6, 2006 (Saturday)

9:00 am – 3:00 pm

7210 Ogontz Avenue

Philadelphia, PA

(215)224-8896

Philadelphia Senior Games

May 8, 2006 (Monday)

9:00 am – 1:00 pm

La Salle University –

Hayman Center

20^th Street & Olney Avenue

Philadelphia, PA

(215)685-2736

Southwest Senior Center

May 9, 2006 (Tuesday)

10:00 am – 2:00 pm

6919 Elmwood Avenue

Philadelphia, PA

(215)937-1880

Philadelphia Senior Center

May 9, 2006 (Tuesday)

509 S. Broad Street

Philadelphia, PA

10:00

(215) 937-1880

Walmart

May 10, 2006 (Wednesday)

10:00 am – 4:00 pm

1601 South Columbus Boulevard

Philadelphia, PA

(215)468-4230

Haddington Multi- Services Center

May 10, 2006 (Wednesday)

5331 Haverford Avenue

Philadelphia, PA

10:00am-

215-472-6600

Chester Senior Center

May 11, 2006 (Thursday)

10:00 am -2:00 pm

721 Hayes Street

Chester, PA

(610)497-3550

Center in the Park

May 10, 2006 (Thursday)

5818 Germantown Avenue

Philadelphia, PA

10:00

215-848-772

Representative Ron Waters Third Annual Senior Luncheon

May 12, 2006 (Friday)

11:00 am – 5:00 pm

Turner Middle School

5900 Baltimore Avenue

Philadelphia, PA

(215)748-6712

St. Joseph’s Retirement Community

May 12, 2006 (Friday)

10:00 am – 2:00 pm

1515 West Allegheny Street

Philadelphia, PA

(215)893-5713

Perzell Community Center

May 15, 2006 (Monday)

10:00 am – 3:00 pm

2990 St. Vincent Street

Philadelphia, PA

215-331-7120

Want to talk about courage? Talk to Fawn.

2006-05-01T06:11:00.000-07:00

Our former Editorial Board colleague Fawn Vrazo continues her "Cancer Chronicles" articles today with an installment about the struggle to get government approvals for a drug that, while it appears to help patients in clinical trials, still isn't for sale.

Almost in passing, Fawn updates us on her own battle with metastatic breast cancer. She continues to be an inspiration, as she embarks on more treatment.

Just recently ... I had more bad news: A CT scan found cancer growing again in lymph nodes at the top of my chest, possibly in my liver. After an 11-month break, I've resumed chemotherapy.

Fawn's message, as always, is one of hope. As she says, "It's spring, and I'm still here."

Tug on a string, unravel illegal spying?

2006-04-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

Will Sen. Arlen Specter playing hardball over unwarranted wiretapping finaly get through to all the President’s men that they have to come clean with more details about the National Security Agency’s antiterror spying on Americans?

It would be the right thing to do, if they did.

Specter, in tugging at the purse strings for the NSA’s program, has found a means by which Congress cannot be ignored – providing he gets backing from colleagues.

Congressional leaders’ response to the wiretapping of e-mail and phone calls to overseas destinations has been limp, to say the least. No serious oversight hearings have been held to probe President Bush’s contention that he has the authority to wiretap without a court warrant. Worse, one congressional proposal would bless the NSA program, all but giving the White House a blank check to continue spying on Americans.

Bottom line: Court oversight and approval of every wiretap is a bedrock principle under the U.S. Constitution.

Don’t let go of this bone, Sen. Specter.

In a news conference, Specter expanded on his gameplan. Among his remarks:

It is possible that the only way that Congress can assert its constitutional prerogatives may be through the exercise of the power of the purse.

Read the full transcript here.

Going, going ...

2006-04-27T04:12:00.000-07:00

Four of the dozen newspapers up for sale have been spoken for, with yesterday's announcement that MediaNews will acquire a pair of Bay Area papers and others.

Around here this week, we're seeing a number of new faces in the hallways - as would-be buyers tour the Tower of Truth to kick the tires.

Looks like we're next on the McClatchey to-do list, so, last call for people with bulging piggybanks.

(That's former Inquirer reporter Kit Seelye on the story for the Times, by the way.)

Did you 'Tom' today?

2006-04-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

Reading Tom Ferrick's blog yet? You should. It's included in our 'links' on the righthand side of this page every day.

For starters, take an enjoyable stroll through his book recommendations (really.)

About that column, Mr. President

2006-04-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Now that Fox columnist Tony Snow has a new job, he might not want to remind his new boss about this column he wrote on Nov. 5, 2005 after Democrat Tim Kaine won the governor's race in Virginia. It included the following assessment of his future employeer:

The Swagger Factor has national repercussions because George W. Bush has lost his. His wavering conservatism has become an active concern among Republicans, who wish he would stop cowering under the bed and start fighting back against the likes of Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Joe Wilson. The newly passive George Bush has become something of an embarrassment. At the nadir of his campaign, Jerry Kilgore actively dodged having to share a stage with the commander in chief.

First take: Witness for the prosecution

2006-04-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

It's good to get tough on witness intimidation, but arresting the father of a forgetful witness in the recent murder trial of two men in the death of a Philadelphia middle-schooler hardly deals with the real problem.

And the problem is thugs shooting or threatening to shoot witnesses - not fearful fathers coaching their kids not to snitch.

The minimal case to be made against Devonzo Dawson is that he inartfully advised his daughter to change her testimony. Probably many a relative has advised a family member to do the same when testifying, but not in open court.

The courts will have to evaluate the charges against Dawson's case, of course.

As for fighting back against the epidemic of witness intimidation by thugs, it's good to see law enforcement officials and others talking up efforts to encourage citizen cooperation with authorities when crime hits their communities.

Ditto the call this week from Mayor Street and other mayors joining New York's Michael Bloomberg in a summit to stem gun violence.

Disarm the neighborhood thugs who threaten would-be witnesses and you'll go a long way toward stemming crime and enabling citizens to "step up, speak up."

Talking Iran, Darfur wih Amb. Bolton

2006-04-25T04:13:00.000-07:00

Listen to audio excerpts from U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John R. Bolton's visit with the Editorial Board on Friday, April 21.

Bolton on Iran
Bolton on Darfur

As The Inquirer reported:

Bolton said the Bush administration was committed to resolving the crisis diplomatically. But he noted that the president had not ruled out military action."We have to ask ourselves at sometime, if our efforts fail, will we allow Iran to get nuclear weapons?" Bolton said. "Now, I believe the president is very serious when he says it's unacceptable for Iran to have nuclear weapons. If it's unacceptable, that means it's unacceptable."

First take: Rick renounces seat

2006-04-24T09:15:00.000-07:00

Finally, a measure of contrition from convicted City Councilman Rick Mariano - and a belated decision to quit his council seat. From his resignation letter:

I also expressly apologize to the people of the Seventh Councilmanic District. I violated their trust and I am truly sorry. ... I take full responsibility for my actions. I will face the circumstances of such actions and I am looking forward to reordering my life in a constructive way.

Over the weekend, Marian said he planned to quit May 1st.

Had he decided at the outset of his tenure to honor his constituents' trust maybe Mariano wouldn't be looking at years behind bars for taking bribes from area businessmen.

Ted tossed

2006-04-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

"Toss it for Ted" was the anti-litter campaign of seemingly civic-minded Norristown Mayor Ted LeBlanc. Now a different picture emerges of the ex-mayor, with his conviction this week on corruption charges.

Not only sad on LeBlanc's account, but the federal investigation revealed a local government riddled with problems and charges against three former officials and five businessmen.

Norristown, it turns out, would have been better off without didn't Ted - even if the locals tossed their candy wrappers on the pavements. Here's hoping town boosters are right that the conviction will clear the air and pave the way for the long-delayed downtown renewal and a resurgence in jobs.

Can't happen here

2006-04-19T04:33:00.000-07:00

The harrowing, overnight ordeal of 69 New Yorkers stuck in two powerless tram cars ended happily early today, with the passengers removal from the cars. On a brighter note, just think: The inability thus far of Philadelphia and Camden to realize their dream of linking the two cities by a Delaware River tram means there's no risk of such a mishap here.

When good things happen to good folks

2006-04-18T07:12:00.000-07:00

Congrats to our Knight-Ridder colleagues in Biloxi, Miss. for winning the Pulitzer. As KR CEO Tony Ridder noted in the following memo, many people throughout Knight-Ridder can claim a small share of the pride.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ridder, Tony
Sent: Monday, April 17, 2006 8:02 PM
To: Publishers

Colleagues,

As many of you know, the Sun Herald was awarded a Gold Medal in Public Service by the Pulitzer Prize Board today. It is the most valued of journalism's most distinguished prizes.

So many of you across Knight Ridder's many companies and professions share a piece of this coveted prize because of the role you played in helping to keep the Sun Herald and sunherald.com vital in the critical days and weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated its community.

Editor Stan Tiner said it beautifully in his comments today:

We knew we were not alone - and indeed our colleagues from every Knight Ridder newspaper from sea to shining sea came over the weeks ahead volunteering to live in the squalor of that unbearable September Mississippi heat to help us provide the information that was necessary for our shattered cities and towns to keep going in those critical days.

Knight Ridder digital was working feverishly to keep the outside world informed through our joint teams reporting efforts, informing evacuees of the news of their hometowns.

Not only did Knight Ridder provide a wonderful team of journalists and a support staff that stretched across every division, but employees everywhere dug deep into their own pockets, funds matched by corporate, to send over $600,000 in grant funds that shored the home team.

I am extremely grateful and appreciative to all Knight Ridder people who supported Biloxi during this crisis. So many gave money to help employees who lost so much. So many spent time there or provided vital support from elsewhere.

We should all join the folks in Biloxi taking great pride in this accomplishment. It's wonderful recognition of the very important role we play in all our communities. And it's great validation of what we know to be the caliber of people who make up the Knight Ridder community.

Thank you, and congratulations to all of you.

Tony Ridder

Defining cruel

2006-04-17T06:33:00.000-07:00

The dictionary says one thing, but how about this for the latest definition of cruel and heartless: protests at U.S. soldiers' funerals over God's supposed purposes in Iraq. Anyone who's spoken personally to God, please post a comment and clear this up for the rest of us.

Incoming! (Candidates)

2006-04-17T05:56:00.000-07:00

Primary candidates are trooping through the fishbowl at a steady pace, with the process of editoiral endorsements underway.

Not all newspapers make endorsements these days. Some take great pains to explain their process, as the Chicago Tribune did with its 2004 presidential pick. Our "21 reasons" series of editorials backing John Kerry raised a ruckus that same year.

One thing this year's primary brings in Pennsylvania is a host of contested races due to the clean-sweep forces mobilized over the legislative pay raise. Still working its way through the courts, the raise spawned dozens of new candidacies. With House races too numerous to endorse, we're going to help readers assess candidates by providing results of a candidate survey on a separate page of The Fishbowl. Watch this space.

Nader moment?

2006-04-14T06:31:00.000-07:00

Word that Gov. Rendell and presumptive Republican gubernatorial nominee Lynn Swann will face a third-party independent in the fall - clean-sweeper Russ Diamond - has headline writers already labeling Diamond a 'spoiler'. Does the clean-sweep movement have the potential to change the outcome in November?

Byko smokes 'Inky blockheads'

2006-04-13T06:27:00.000-07:00

In suggesting that Philadelphias trek to Jersey this weekend to celebrate the state's new smoke-free policy - and protest Philadelphia's lack of one - we didn't really expect city eateries to be empty. Sure, we painted the scene with some dramatic language:

Imagine a bleak and deserted restaurant scene in Philadelphia this weekend: empty tables, idle waitstaffs, chefs without a single order to prepare. At the area bridges, meanwhile, picture a steady stream of cars crossing to New Jersey - where the restaurants are chockablock.

Hey, that's just what we do around here.

But thanks to Daily News columnist and newlywed Stu Bykofsky (pictured at right during an interview) for keeping the issue alive and giving us a wider audience with his column today decrying the 'fresh-air-addled' Inquirer Editorial Board. Stu keeps coming back to the idea that the marketplace should be allowed to decide this issue. That's one way to deal with the scourge of secondhand smoke.

Breathing all that fresh air, though, we just happen to think the smoke-free laws coming on line in progressive communities across the country are the better way to go.

Post-judicial temperament

2006-04-12T03:58:00.000-07:00

Uh, this is refreshing? Talking, here, about seeing the flesh-and-blood person emerge from judicial robes. In this case, former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Russell M. Nigro. On Monday, he speculated on his likely re-run for the seat he lost last year amid public furor over the state pay raise. As the account went in the Daily News, Nigro had at least two down-to-earth comments:

"I have not given up on the idea of coming back and winning my old seat back," Nigro told a reporter yesterday after an informal luncheon talk at the Philadelphia Bar Association. "Currently, I'm probably more inclined to run than not to run," Nigro said. "... Part of it is that so many people have told me I got screwed."

Later in the story, Nigro offered a prediction for May primary candidate Gene Stilp, saying Stilp would "get his butt kicked" in the race for lieutenant governor.

We endorsed Nigro's retention, by the way. Should he decide to seek his old job, presumably his official campaign slogan won't be any variant of 'I got screwed" or involve kicking any 'butt.'

Stoking Dragonfire

2006-04-12T03:57:00.000-07:00

Blinq. notes this week that Drexel's Dragonfire is one of five finalists in the digital magazine category Webby Awards. Just so happens there’s a Dragonfire link to the Editorial Board: Commentary page editor John Timpane’s periodic contributions to the site, found under the title Sketchy Species. It’s subtitled “Reading poetry, living poetry.”

Smoke gets in their eyes

2006-04-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

Good to see restaurant and bar workers gathering tomorrow to show support for smoke-free workplaces in Philadelphia, but how will they all fit in the Fork restaurant? Important to hear from this group, whose media release notes that “restaurant and bar workers are at least 50% more likely to die of lung cancer, and are exposed to at least twice as much secondhand smoke as office workers.” Plenty of studies confirm the health risks.

Wanna look in on the session tomorrow – even if only from the sidewalk? It’s set for 10:00 a.m. at 308 Market Street.

At the zoo

2006-04-11T06:22:00.000-07:00

The elephants are kindly but they're dumb, Simon and Garfunkel once famously sang. This week, it seems – almost – as if it’s all happening at the zoo, for real.

In Sunday’s Inquirer, you may have read of the latest intrigue over the elephants at the Philadelphia Zoo. Also in the news this week, a lawsuit over conditions in the Big Top. From the Chicago Tribune: "The ASPCA is one of four plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus and Feld Entertainment, the company that owns the giant circus.Using the federal Endangered Species Act, the plaintiffs argue that the way elephants are trained and housed by Ringling Bros. violates the law." And then came word of an injured elephant at the Philly zoo...

Nobody asked, but here’s what we had to say last summer on the issue of preserving large African animal species:

August 20, 2005

EDITORIAL

Moving African Animals

Coming to America is too wild an idea

You can just hear Bob Newhart launching into his phone routine:

"You wanna do what?... let lions and cheetahs loose in America?... The Great Plains?... That's where they used to be back in the day? Heh-heh-heh-heh... sorry, no, sorry, I'm listening... heh-heh-heh... you want to... let elephants run wild on the plains?... heh-heh-heh... tigers on the prairie?... if you let some cheetahs loose, it'll be good for the pronghorn antelope because... heh-heh-heh... because they have no one to run away from right now? Yeah, I guess that wouldgive 'em something to run away from... them and the entire state of Nebraska... heh-heh-heh-heh... "

In a study published in Nature, some Cornell University scientists say such a plan would be good for the environment, the animals, everyone. Newhart would love it.

"If we only have 10 minutes to present this idea, people think we're nuts," said Harry Greene, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell. "But if people hear the one-hour version, they realize they haven't thought about this as much as we have." Right: Just give us an hour, and we'll give you the Pleistocene.

That's what they're calling this: "Pleistocene re-wilding." Back in the Pleistocene age (between about 1.8 million and 10,000 years ago), the North American continent was the playground for an abundance of large mammals. But human beings got here 30,000 years ago and turned thatone around in a hurry.

Africa is struggling to protect its populations of large mammals. So bring 'em... here?

Not. Not on any very large scale. Sure, a multibillionaire with a Jurassic Park complex couldbuy most of Kansas, ring it with mega-fences, parachute in a few thousand snarling jungle beasts, toss some ostrich steaks over the gate, and run like Mowgli.

But it's not clear the animals would be good for our environment. We don't know enough about the impact of large introduced species on new surroundings. There are a few retirement parks for zoo animals, some reserves for primates, but they are too new. We don't know.

The scientists say the animals would do fine. Maybe. But would we?

Think disease.Big, foreign critters are bulging biological suitcases of illegal-immigrant seeds and bugs. The first cheetah who barfs could give us an unwelcome gift. When it comes to bugs and seeds, there is no wall you can build. Think kudzu. Think Asian beetle. Don'tthink bird flu.

Think, also, gray wolf. Old Yellow Eyes, once endangered, is back in Idaho and Yellowstone, but armies of ranchers lock and load every night to protect their flocks - and guns will truly blaze when the first human falls before a cheetah.

Returning these animals to their ancestral settings - a beautiful dream. Beautiful is the work of preserving endangered life forms, in open-air preserves and refrigerators full of precious seeds and eggs. But instead of bringing the animals here, let's go there. Let's help Africa. Help India. Let's help these noble creatures survive. We owe it to them. After all, we're the ones who were born free.

First take: A state, why not city?

2006-04-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

Just five days and counting until an entire state - New Jersey – bans lighting up in bars, restaurants, and other public places, with the exception of casino floors. What about a single city’s progress toward a more enlightened public health policy?

Well, Philadelphia remains mired in political intrigue and indecision over its proposed smoke-free ordinance.

Mayor Street is saying it will happen before he leaves office – a far cry from earlier predictions of success for indoor smoking restrictions. And, frankly, that's not good enough.

Imagine a bleak and deserted restaurant scene in Philadelphia this weekend: empty tables, idle waitstaffs, chefs without a single order to prepare.

At the area bridges, meanwhile, picture a steady stream of cars crossing to New Jersey - where the restaurants are chockablock.

Wouldn't that be a powerful way for restaurant-goers to send a message about city leaders' refusal, so far, to make Philadelphia smoke-free?

It's a good plan: Everybody heads for a South Jersey eatery to celebrate the debut of the Garden State going smoke-free at restaurants, bars and most public places. That would send a message of a different kind to Jersey leaders, letting them know that there's a direct economic dividend from good public policy that also protects citizens' health.

First take: Faithful response?

2006-04-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

While a handful of clerics have been removed from their ministries over abuse allegations, local Catholic officials continue to oppose a key remedy necessary to redress decades of wrongdoing by clergy. That is, they’re fighting efforts in Harrisburg to create a one-year window in which victims of clergy abuse could seek civil damages.

As victims advocate John Salveson noted in a commentary this week:

Kids were abused and priests were protected largely because Pennsylvania law is inadequate to address this criminal behavior.

Abuse victims say that permitting civil suits – over allegations normally beyond present statutes of limitation – would enable a more complete look at the actions of church officials in the abuse scandal.

It’s clear the whole story on clergy abuse has not been told, and it’s vitally important that the full story is known.

Again, Salveson:

I don't think the church hierarchy is worried about the financial impact of civil litigation. I think it is worried about the moral impact. Church leaders know what will come out during civil trials. And they know how badly these documents will make them look, as the full extent of their complicity and moral bankruptcy is revealed. Church leaders are desperate to stop any effort that will make the truth behind this reality any clearer to the public.

Watch Katie?

2006-04-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

Will Katie Couric’s move from NBC’s Today Show host to CBS Evening News anchor change your viewing habits?

What characteristics are you looking for in a network anchor, and does she fit the bill? Have those criteria changed over the last 10 or 20 years? Or are you just tired of hearing about her?

Send your thoughts in 200 words or less to Readers Editor, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Box 41705, Philadelphia, Pa. 19101; Fax: 215-854-4483. E-mail us at metroletters@phillynews.com. Please put “Couric” in the subject line.

First take: Open the books

2006-04-06T06:15:00.000-07:00

In trying to limit how much it must reveal about travel and conference expenses, the state's student-loan agency continues to act as if it's in some top-secret line of work. But the goings-on at the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency have nothing to do with national security - even if a spirit of cutthroat competition reigns from time to time in the lucrative trade in student loans.

When Richard E. Willey, PHEAA's president and chief executive officer, (pictured in agency photo) made that case this week before an administrative hearing, it was no more compelling than six months ago when three news organizations first sought details on agency travel. PHEAA's board happens to be dominated by state House and Senate members, and all aspects of their public business should be just that: public.

Budget of the long knives

2006-04-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

Neighborhoods think-tank guru and former City Councilman Edward A. Schwartz says he’s amazed at the lack of attention being paid to yet another round of federal budget cuts. [Inquirer editorial]

As one advocate group’s e-mail alert noted:

“This week the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a budget resolution that, if passed, will force deep cuts in domestic programs. The resolution provides $10.3 billion less in funding for domestic discretionary programs than is needed to ensure that these programs merely keep pace with inflation.”

Online at his bushbudget.com Website, Schwartz is waging a spirited campaign to change that.

The President’s fiscal 2007 budget, Schwartz notes:

“Includes another round of significant cuts in programs that benefit America’s communities. The Institute for the Study of Civic Values believes that ‘to the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity’ and ‘promote the general welfare of America’--the promise of our Constitution--the federal government must work with local communities to strengthen neighborhoods throughout the United States.

The Bush administration is determined to end this partnership. In the President’s view, so-called “discretionary programs” that strengthen neighborhoods have little value. Better to offer tax cuts to people earning more than $200,000 a year in the belief that somehow their private investments will trickle down to the rest of us.

This is the philosophy that shapes the 2007 Bush budget.

Price tag for this region: $166 million in cuts.”

Who are you going to call? Schwartz and other advocates suggest a House member:

Brady: 202-225-4731

Dent: 202-225-6411

Doyle: 202-225-2135

English: 202-225-5406

Fattah: 202-225-4001

Fitzpatrick: 202-225-4276

Gerlach: 202-225-4315

Hart: 202-225-2565

Holden: 202-225-5546

Kanjorski: 202-225-6511

Murphy: 202-225-2301

Murtha: 202-225-2065

Peterson: 202-225-5121

Pitts: 202-225-2411

Platts: 202-225-5836

Schwartz: 202-225-6111

Sherwood: 202-225-3731

Shuster: 202-225-2431

Weldon: 202-225-2011

Background reading: the national picture

First take: Pointing the finger

2006-04-04T11:53:00.000-07:00

Rep. Tom DeLay (R., Texas) got one thing right in his resignation announcement today: his re-election campaign had become a referendum on him.

Rightly so.

The former House majority leader is up to his eyeballs in the two most obvious examples of power gone wrong in the Republican Party.

In the first, he faces trial in Texas later this year on money-laundering charges in a redistricting scheme to maximize GOP congressional seats. In the second, the Justice Department identified DeLay last week in court documents as unindicted "Representative #2" in the bribery ring operated by his dear friend Jack Abramoff and former top aides of DeLay.

It was not, as DeLay now contends, liberal Democrats and the media who brought him down. He was done in by his own ruthless drive for power and his inner circle of greedy compatriots.

A word ... among many

2006-04-04T06:56:00.000-07:00

The word of the day for Pennsylvania Rep. Mark Cohen is chutzpa – for defending his billing the state for the $28,200 in books, newspapers and magazines he purchased over the last two years. Being so well-read, Cohen surely knows the word – and no doubt could spell it correctly.

First take: The Padilla verdict

2006-04-04T06:39:00.000-07:00

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court saw their opening – and they took it: They ducked a confrontation with President Bush yesterday over the legality of detaining American citizens without charges in the anti-terror effort.

Easy for them, but potentially tough on citizens’ cherished civil liberties.

Rather than rule on whether President Bush has the right to detain a U.S. citizen as an "enemy combatant" – without charge or meaningful access to the courts for appeal – the court left that matter for another day.

The case involved terrorism suspect Jose Padilla, a former Chicago gang member (pictured in a CNN.com image) who was arrested in 2002 for what U.S. authorities said was a dirty-bomb plot. Padilla – as a citizen – should have been charged with a crime or released, but instead was held as an "enemy combatant" designed by the President.

No right to counsel, no charges, no release – that was the original stance on Padilla by the Bush administration.
Padilla’s lawyers headed to court for what turned out to be a years-long process of appeals. Then, just as the Supreme Court confrontation loomed, military officials holding Padilla turned him over to civilian federal prosecutors. They charged Padilla with conspiracy in a Florida case involving several suspected al-Qaeda operatives – effectively ending his status as an enemy combatant.

The 6-3 court majority ruled that, since Padilla had been turned over to the federal courts, there was no point in ruling on the enemy combatant issue.

That’s unfortunate. It leaves hanging a question of critical interest to all American citizens. And doesn’t the decision mean that the President is free to detain other citizens without charge?

The justices missed a long-delayed opportunity to define the limits of presidential power in the war on terror. Setting reasonable limits on those powers and guaranteeing American freedoms is at least as important as breaking up al-Qaeda cells.

Dry land sighted?

2006-04-03T13:11:00.000-07:00

With its president quitting abruptly, the Independence Seaport Museum has an opportunity to get back on course - by boosting attendance and rebuilding an endowment depleted by several lean years. (Pictured above in a museum photo is one of the museum's main attractions, the 1892 Cruiser Olympia.) Too much time and trouble has been devoted to the museum's pursuit of charter revenues with its luxury yacht, the 85-foot Enticer. Sell the boat, by all means. Same goes for the Center City townhouse purchased and renovated in fine fashion for the use of departing museum president John S. Carter.

April Fools [we think]

2006-04-03T04:46:00.000-07:00

Item from a Knight-Ridder chat site:
NEWS! MNI puts 12 papers up on Ebay!
by: 04/02/06 01:55 am
Msg: 1173 of 1174

Former KR newspapers are auctioned on eBay
Twelve Knight Ridder newspapers are being listed on eBay by McClatchy, the company that bought the chain several weeks ago for $4.5 billion in cash, stock and discount coupons for Chi Chi's. The 12 papers are considered less of cash cows than the 20 others the chain will keep and squeeze for greater profits. "We're hoping to find one bidder who realize they're cheaper by the dozen. We heard there may be some Nigerian investors interested who have plenty of cash on hand," said a company spokesman.

A few more rounds

2006-03-31T11:17:00.000-08:00

Told you about our planned meeting last week with Redevelopment Authority chairman John "Johnny Doc" Doughtery. Doc and Mayor Street are sparring over the best way to reorganize the city's splintered housing efforts - which span three separate agencies, each with some degree of overlap.

Dougherty's view: Centralize most of the housing apparatus in his agency.

Street's view: Centralize most of the housing apparatus in the Mayor's Office.

Discussion: Doughtery says it's done his way in Pittsburgh, with some success. Street administration officials say Doc's operation is overly costly. Doc says he has been willing for some time to help renegotiate labor agreements with housing agency staffers to reduce costs. The mayor talks of Doc's folks not sharing nicely when it comes to requests for info on their operations at the Redevelopment Authority.

That's where it stands for now.

Easy riders, tragic results

2006-03-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

Don't drink and drive would be the best advice following a Lower Merion fatal accident last week, according to a police affadavit that detailed the driver's condition. But there are additional strategies to keep teens safer on the roads.

Raising the driving age in Pennsylvania wouldn't have saved the life of the 16-year-old Jessica Easter of Bala Cynwyd, who died a week ago as a passenger in a car driven by a 19-year-old man. But she might not have been in the car had state officials followed other states' example and limited by law the number of riders a teen driver can carry.

That's where we left this issue several months ago, following the deaths of several Bucks County teens who were riding in cars with young, inexperienced drivers.

As an Oct. 5 Inquirer editorial noted:

The accident also points up shortcomings in Pennsylvania's graduated
licensing rules for young drivers.

Neighboring states, including New Jersey and New York, limit the number of passengers a new driver can carry. Why? Because accident data show that the risk of a fatal crash increases with the distraction from each additional rider, especially among 16-year-olds.

However many young motorists comply, these states' rider rules stand as important reminders to all drivers - and their parents - that limiting passengers is a key safety strategy.

State Sens. Jake Corman and Joe Conti expressed interest in revisiting the state's licensing rules, with an eye toward limiting riders. Nothing doing, yet. Meanwhile, the sad toll in young lives cut short continues to mount.

Slotsville, Pa., a very small town

2006-03-30T06:21:00.000-08:00

In a state of 12 million people, how likely was it that Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Leader Robert J. Mellow (at right, in a Senate photo) would run into the same problem with his second appointment to the state Gaming Control Board that he had with his first?

Mellow's initial appointment, Scranton businessman William Conaboy, was a longtime friend and business associate of slots applicant Louis DeNaples. As a result, Conaboy likely was going to have to recuse himself when DeNaples' Mount Airy Lodge application came before the control board.

So Conaboy leaves - to spend more time with family and his day job, natch - and in comes Mellow's new appointee: the Lackawanna College president, Raymond Angeli. Stellar resume, stand-up guy and all, but Angeli just happens to work for the brother and business partner of Louis DeNaples.

In today's Allentown Morning Call, the controversy gets fleshed out.

The college board chairman is DeNaples' brother, Dominick.Two other associates of Louis DeNaples -- Conaboy, who resigned from the gaming board a week ago, and Al Magnotta of CICO Associates, DeNaples' chief engineer on the Mount Airy
project -- also serve on the Lackawanna College board.
Mellow, through a spokeswoman, scoffed at any conflict between Angeli and DeNaples, Conaboy, and Magnotta. "Dominick DeNaples doesn't have anything to do with the gaming application and Sen. Mellow is satisfied there is no conflict," said Teresa Candori, Mellow's spokeswoman.

Wrong. It's just as much a problem for Angeli. No way can he vote on the Mount Airy Lodge application. Period.

Guns 'n funerals, 'n funerals, 'n funerals

2006-03-29T06:24:00.000-08:00

Today's newspapers bring word of a particularly horrific run of shootings in Philadelphia. From the Daily News:

Angel "Baby" Rodriguez, one of four shooting victims in Philadelphia during
a four-hour period overnight yesterday, was gunned down in his Kensington
neighborhood, leaving behind a dozen siblings and a slew of confused nieces and
nephews

When are Harrisburg lawmakers like House Speaker John M. Perzel
going to get some traction on legislation to limit the purchase of handguns, and thus begin to stem the flow of illegal weapons to the city's streets?

It's Wednesday ... know who your new owner is?

2006-03-29T06:18:00.000-08:00

Pardon the opinion-meisters for being just the slightest bit distracted from the issues of the day, as we await word on our new owners. Nothing yet, as Editor & Publisher reports:

Tuesday's deadline for bids for 12 orphaned newspapers, set by The McClatchy Co., has passed with little official word on who bid and on what. Virtually no one was talking.

Trickle-down thinking

2006-03-28T06:20:00.000-08:00

If you're following the controversy over the plumbers' union and waterless urinals, you'll find our opinion on today's editorial page. Among our thoughts:

The implications of city officials' refusal to stand up to union demands that they don't permit waterless urinals go way beyond conservation.
The politicians' timidity embraces a mind-set that says it's OK to let special interest groups selfishly stifle the city's economic growth.
For their part, the plumbers' union opposition to the environmentally friendly toilets that Liberty Property Trusts wants to put in the Comcast tower stems from a simple calculus: Fewer water pipes to install means fewer jobs for plumbers.
In a limited, crabs-in-a-barrel world view, the union is right - since it might take fewer man-hours to install waterless urinals. But that's also an incredibly shortsighted view.
Waterless urinals hardly foretell a replay of what happened to workers who made buggy whips. No one's seriously putting plumbers out of jobs with this technology, any more so than today's proliferation of single-handle faucets.

Here's a look at the technology from two manufacturers: Waterless Co. and FalconWaterFree

If you're in State College later this week, check out the PA Clean Energy Expo at Pennsylvania State University. It's billed as "a clean-energy showcase" and will be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, March 31, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 1, at the Bryce Jordan Center on the University Park campus in State College. Parking and admission are free.

Award-winning commentary

2006-03-27T14:03:00.000-08:00

Among the six first place awards and four second place awards presented to The Inquirer staff in this year's Division I Keystone Press Awards contest are a first place win for editorial writing to Russell Cooke and a second place in editorial writing to David Boyer.

Cooke wrote on the Catholic priest scandal. Boyer wrote on "The culture of waste" in Harrisburg.

What, he had a bad day?

2006-03-27T07:34:00.000-08:00

The saga of now-felon City Councilman Rick Mariano continues, leading us to opine yesterday:

How can Council let a disgraced colleague convicted of selling out the public trust keep pocketing a city paycheck until he is sentenced in federal court on July 6? Mariano won't resign, and his old pals on Council are too gutless to expel him.
Poor Rick, his colleagues say. How will he get by without a paycheck? We can't kick a man when he's down. He served the city well, except for that little bribery thing.
No, Mariano is a crook. And he was a lousy councilman even before he was convicted, a goofball and a bully so inept this page once endorsed a candidate who had died rather than stomach another term with him.

But here's a take from a posting identified as by Mariano's Council colleague W. Wilson Goode Jr. to the effect that Mariano was under a great deal of pressure. In part, here's the posting under the name Councilman Goode:

Most people don't realize the pressure that many councilmembers faced not being paid for several months.

Some dealt with it better than others.

There were no issues of corruption raised concerning Mariano except related to that time period.

Let's see if we can put that in an imaginary headline:

Mariano, only crooked while waiting for his paycheck

Sky's the limit

2006-03-24T07:28:00.000-08:00

It's great to see a developer's confidence in Philadelphia, but the plan to put up a 47-story condo tower in the city's Spring Garden neighborhood raises plenty of concerns about the city's ability to shape its future.

Just because a builder, as of right, can create a slender tower that tall doesn't mean it's the right design for that site.

From the description - a sizable tract of green, surrounded by a fence, with a tall spire in the middle - you might think they're recreating the much-despised Southwark public housing project. (Pictured here in a snap from the South Philly Review Website.) There's gotta be a better way to integrate such developments into the city fabric.

Tough Times U.

2006-03-23T08:28:00.000-08:00

Facing substantial cuts under the Corzine budget, New Jersey colleges and universities are kicking up a storm over the proposal floated this week. Whatever you're paying in tuition - parents, students - it's likely to climb if the cuts go through. How much? Here's what Rutgers' president Richard L. McCormick had to say in an open letter issued this week:

Members of the Rutgers Community:

While we do not have the full details of the budget proposal for next year that Governor Jon Corzine presented today, the cuts to higher education he has proposed would be unprecedented and devastating for Rutgers, as well as for all the colleges and universities in New Jersey.

Our preliminary estimate is that the combined effect of the budget proposals would approach $100 million for Rutgers alone, including a stunning 15 percent cut in our current state operating aid, zero funding for salary and benefits increases, and a number of other significant reductions.

We at Rutgers anticipated losses in state funding, based on the fiscal difficulties the Governor has discussed over the past several weeks. Nevertheless, cuts of this severity would go far beyond our ability to absorb them without enormous disruptions to the university.

If the Governor’s proposed budget is enacted, state support for Rutgers would sink to the level it was almost a decade ago. The cuts the Governor has proposed – far worse than the deep cut that was proposed three years ago – would fundamentally affect our ability to educate students and would close the door on options for higher education to thousands of citizens of this state. Even with steep tuition increases, Rutgers would face layoffs, the cancellation of hundreds of classes, and reductions to services that our students require.

Rutgers is moving quickly to take action in response to the Governor’s budget proposal. On Thursday I will hold an emergency meeting of the Administrative Council, whose members include provosts, vice presidents, and deans from across the university. I will be speaking with key committees of the Board of Governors this week and on Friday afternoon will address the University Senate at its meeting on the Newark campus.

Equally important, I am forming a Budget Advisory Committee of faculty, students, administrators, union leaders, and alumni, which will hold its first meeting next Monday and will help my administration develop solutions to the crisis Rutgers faces. I am also reaching out to the presidents of other New Jersey colleges and universities to discuss how we can work together to advocate for the higher education community.

It must be stated that the Governor’s proposal is the beginning of a legislative process that will extend through June. As we learn the full details of the Governor’s budget plan, the university will mount an aggressive campaign to fight these severe and devastating cuts. I will be in communication with you again soon about our campaign and will ask your help in supporting Rutgers and the students and citizens we serve.

With your assistance, we will work with the governor and the Legislature to develop a budget for higher education that recognizes the severity of the state’s fiscal problems but that also makes sure New Jersey citizens are not deprived of the high quality higher education that they need and this state deserves.

Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

In residence at Gitmo

2006-03-22T08:03:00.000-08:00

A recent National Journal article looked at the terrorism detainees in Cuba. It shows that many of the detainees aren't al-Qaeda and may even have been rounded up for ransoms, then turned over the U.S. authorities. It's a piece of the puzzle that Americans should consider as the Gitmo and other detention controversies evolve.

A new landscape for Fairmount Park

2006-03-21T07:47:00.000-08:00

With City Council again looking at an ill-advised consolidation of the Fairmount Park Commission and city Recreation Department, park commission chair, Bob Nix, has issued a new vision statement for the parks. Take a look:

March 15, 2006

To my fellow Commissioners:

I think you would agree that Fairmount Park is Philadelphia’s greatest treasure. Our system of watershed parks and our vast array of historic houses are unparalleled in the nation. Our green spaces and neighborhood parks provide breathing space from the pressures of urban living.
The Commission has tried to serve as a responsible steward of these unique assets. As dedicated volunteers, we Commissioners have donated countless hours to ensure that the park runs as fairly and effectively as possible. Some of us have worked for many years to serve the park in our volunteer capacities. But for too long now, we have seen the park’s operating and capital budgets dwindle and its staff decrease to almost skeletal numbers. Despite our successes in creating and facilitating new projects in the park, there doesn’t appear to be sufficient confidence in the way the Commission is currently structured to access adequate funding from the public and private sectors. I’ve thought deeply about this, and I believe that now is the time for aggressive change. I oppose the notion that a simple consolidation of Fairmount Park and the Recreation Department will lead to the drastic improvements the park deserves. A more entrepreneurial and imaginative solution is needed to lead us into a new era.
As you know, at the end of last year, I gathered an advisory committee of several Commissioners and civic leaders from different sectors to help me think through options for recreating the park as a more robust and thriving organization. We have worked together since December to develop a set of recommendations for strengthening the governance and management of the park and for funding it adequately. I would like to share a summary of those recommendations with you in this letter. A more detailed report from the advisory group will be made available in the next few weeks.

Funding for the park must increase

Our goal should be to make Fairmount Park more attractive, exciting and responsive to the needs of all Philadelphians, to better serve currently underserved neighborhoods, and to make the park a greater lure for tourists and suburbanites. As I see it, the way to reach that goal is with a management structure that inspires more confidence, attracts bold and creative leadership, has a new and improved relationship with City Hall and other funders, and consequently receives more money.
No one can deny that the park is suffering from a deficit of “green”:

· A conservative estimate is that there is a $50 million dollar backlog in deferred capital projects in the park. Philadelphia’s unsurpassed collection of historic houses is slowly crumbling, many of our trails are neglected, our environmental centers are planned on paper but remain unbuilt.

· On the operating side, a staff of more than 600 in the 1970’s has dwindled to l70 today. Over the past two years alone, staffing levels have decreased by more than 20%. Staff and management alike are stretched to the breaking point.

· To run the park in a manner in which Philadelphians can be proud, our analysis shows that it will take at least $27 million per year in operating dollars. That compares with the less than $13 million per year that the park currently receives from the City to maintain, preserve, program and enhance its 9,200 acres (which includes woodlands and meadows, world-renowned cultural institutions, 34 miles of waterways, 215 recreational trails, 6 horse stables, 62 parks, 6 public golf courses, 368 playing fields, historic mansions, environmental education centers, and 12 rowing boathouses). After adjustment for inflation, the park’s budget is less than 50% of what it was 25 years ago.

Perhaps we are at fault for not having made the case strongly enough with this or previous Administrations as to the huge economic contribution the park plays in making the City a desirable place to live, work and relocate. While we recognize that the needs of our police, fire and human service departments are great, the value of Fairmount Park to Philadelphians’ everyday life and to the City’s economy must not be overlooked or short-changed. What the park needs from the Administration and City Council is:

· Commitment to include fair and adequate funding in the park’s operating and capital budgets;
· Agreement to allow the park to keep revenues it raises on parkland; and
· Cooperation in working with the park to restructure its governance and management in a way that will create a culture of entrepreneurship.

Additionally, rather than looking solely to the City treasury, as we largely have done, we must work towards at least limited sustainability and diversify the park’s funding sources. Our almost total reliance on a constrained City budget has contributed to leading us to this point. The park’s new funding strategy must be to supplement City dollars by raising the additional money we need from multiple sources, including:

· Building on the successes of the Fairmount Park Conservancy in raising private dollars and more effectively accessing new private donations and public grants;
· Increasing earned fees and revenues;
· Maximizing the revenue potential of park real estate and other assets;
· Establishing a dedicated funding source; and
· Putting in place a new Board committed to raising funds.

A new governance structure is needed to attract and manage new funding

The advisory committee believes that a new governance structure needs to be created that will address public concerns about the accountability of Commission members. As you know, election of Commissioners by the judges of the Court of Common Pleas occurs behind closed doors, with no opportunity for public input and no adopted criteria to guide the judges’ selection process. Although this procedure was put in place 150 years ago to keep political interference to a minimum, the world has changed. The lack of transparency in the election process has eroded the public’s trust and has separated the park from the Administration. This translates into reduced funding for the park from individuals, corporations, foundations, and government. A new governance structure will encourage future Administrations and the public to feel more invested in the park.

Principles that should guide formation of a reorganized board

Over the last few months, the Philadelphia Parks Alliance has been convening a series of “Citizens for Better Parks” meetings to form its own recommendations to guide future management of Philadelphia’s park system. Advisory committee leaders have been meeting with leadership of the Parks Alliance, and we were pleased to see that both groups independently have come to virtually the same conclusions with regard to future management of the park:

§ The current structure of the Fairmount Park Commission (both as an operating department and a board) can and should be improved. A new system for board governance is needed to take the place of the current Commission.

§ A transparent process should be developed to select board members, based on stated criteria and qualifications.

§ The roles and responsibilities of board members should be clearly defined as focusing on policy and strategic direction. Too often, current Commission meetings seem mired in details rather than on setting direction and funding priorities for the future of the park.

§ A unified system for operating and coordinating the various entities that manage aspects of the park (i.e., the Commission, the Fairmount Park Conservancy, the Fairmount Park Historic Preservation Trust, and the park operating department) needs to be developed.

§ Realignment and consolidation of certain specific functions performed by both the Recreation Department and Fairmount Park (e.g., fleet management, trash collection) should be continued to eliminate redundancy.

§ However, the proposed consolidation of Fairmount Park into the Recreation Department will do more harm than good. The move would threaten the park’s mission of protecting core parkland by reducing the Commission or a future governance entity to a mere advisory panel. It would greatly hamper the park’s future ability to be innovative, act entrepreneurially, and regain its financial footing by merging it into an immense and unwieldy new department. It would mix the “apples” of managing recreation centers with the “oranges” of overseeing a vast network of natural areas and trails.

It is possible that I will not have a place in a reorganized board. Because I truly feel that these changes are in the park’s best interest, though, I am committed to lead the Commission in this direction, no matter how it might affect me personally. I hope that you feel the same way.

How will the public benefit from this plan?

I envision a far different Fairmount Park if we can inspire renewed confidence in park leadership, attract Board members under a new and transparent selection process, improve our working relationship with the City, and most especially, access the funds we need to maintain and improve the park. In the Fairmount Park I envision:

· Fountains along Kelly Drive would flow once more;
· Children would splash at a new swimming beach created along the Schuylkill River;
· Every Philadelphian could walk from home to a trail that would connect with hundreds of miles of regional trail networks.
· Neighborhood parks would be maintained at a “gold” level of service, and more parks would be created where they are needed.
· Golfers would enjoy a first-class golf experience at our 6 golf courses and newly created driving ranges and golf centers.
· Summer concerts and movie nights would enliven parks throughout the City. Spring wildflower walks, summer kite festivals, fall foliage 5K runs, microbrew sampler evenings, holiday tours of decorated historic mansions, and annual wedding vow renewal ceremonies would give Philadelphians something to look forward to in the park each season.
· Natural areas would remain wild, but where appropriate, park users would find refreshment stands, cafes, and bike/blade/canoe/kayak/fishing equipment rentals at their disposal. Visitors would travel from around the region for the park’s ropes courses, rip-lines, skateboarding parks, archery ranges, miniature golf courses and ice skating rinks.
· It would be easy and educational to find your way around Fairmount Park because it would have better directional and interpretive signage and maps that are downloadable from the internet. A park trolley would take riders anywhere in the park system for a minimum fee.
· Fairmount Park would be a leader in the use of sustainable building practices such as solar panels, green roofs, composting toilets and geothermal heating and cooling.

I believe that all of these goals, and many more, are within our reach if we muster the will to invest in our parks and make the governance changes recommended by the advisory committee. After almost 20 years of serving on the Commission and working to improve the park, I am convinced that the changes outlined above are needed to move the park into a new era.

How and when would these recommendations take place?

The advisory committee recommends working to implement the new park structure so that by the time a new Administration takes office in January 2008, the appropriate mechanisms will be in place. Implementation of these governance and funding changes will require legal mechanisms and possibly voter approval. To do this, we will need to build consensus around these new ideas.

My vision is that during this interim period the following steps will occur:

· One of the challenges in transitioning to a new Board is that current terms for Commissioners expire in June 2007, prior to a new Administration taking office. For the short term, I plan to create a new panel that will review and rate applications of candidates for Commissioner, as is done with judicial candidates. I will appoint members of this panel, which will be diverse, broad-based, and reflective of the citizens of the City.
· I intend to further develop the reform ideas in the advisory committee’s final report and, if necessary, seek legislation that will allow us to transition to this new future.
· I will testify in more detail about these ideas at the March 20th City Council hearing in front of the Committee of the Whole.

I look forward to working with you to build consensus and partnerships for this new chapter in the park’s history. I am committed to leading this effort, and I ask for your support in moving forward.

Sincerely,

Robert N.C. Nix, III
President
Cc: Mayor John F. Street
Council President Anna Verna
All Members of Council

Put it in writing

2006-03-20T08:01:00.000-08:00

Recently met with a delegation from the Coalition for Voting Integrity, whose members think the safest means of voting would be a return to paper ballots. They're not talking about little folded up pieces of paper stuffed in a ballot box - which would be untenable in large metro areas - but about paper ballots that are scanned optically. Here's the goal, as explained by Berwyn attorney Marian K. Schneider:

The voting process is really a three-step process: preparation (or marking) of the ballot, casting the ballot and counting the ballot. Each step in this process is separate and separately regulated under Pennsylvania law. The Coalition supports a voter verified paper ballot (VVPB) which is preserved in the polling place for recounts and audits. VVPB is a record of the first step in the process, the voter’s marking of the ballot. This is essential for ensuring the integrity of the voting process because that record is then available later, in close contests, in the event of a requested recount and for purposes of state-mandated audits.

And now it's time for Mariano to go

2006-03-18T05:43:00.000-08:00

Scram, Rick. You've done enough to heap dishonor on City Council. Don't hang onto your Council seat until your sentencing on Friday's slam-dunk bribery conviction in federal court.

Good on Mayor Street for telling Mariano to go now. As for Council President Anna C. Verna, how about a nudge, a polite suggestion, even a nod in this direction - instead of falling back on legalisms?

As today's editorial notes:

You'd rather that Rick Mariano, bully and cheat, had never been elected to City Council, never been allowed to cost taxpayers $700,000 by exploiting his powers as councilman.

But this is a big city; crime and corruption are going to happen. You just want to feel that decent people can fight back, can stem the tide. This time, the courts offered hope.

In Mariano's case, it's time for him to do the right thing, for once: resign his seat, instead of hanging on pointlessly until his sentencing forces the issue. His friends on Council, who vouched for his redeeming qualities at trial, should let him know it's best for him to go now.

In the hunt

2006-03-17T10:56:00.000-08:00

It's all about the courts today: Mariano trial in progress, conviction in the killing of Faheem Childs. Oh, and there's some basketball game or other going on ... but we're not opining on that.

Pot, meet kettle

2006-03-16T10:37:00.000-08:00

On today's front page:

Philadelphia officials are too corrupt to be allowed to control where slot
parlors will be located in the city, according to state legislators pressing to
preclude that possibility.

This, from the same Pennsylvania Legislature that has sent a number of its own alums off to prison for one crime or another? Maybe they're not in the best position to judge.

Built in haste

2006-03-15T10:52:00.000-08:00

From today's Inquirer:

The Pennsylvania attorney general said yesterday that a bill aimed at resolving disputes between builders and homeowners before a lawsuit is filed was unconstitutional.

The bill, which has passed both houses of the legislature in Harrisburg and awaits Gov. Rendell's signature, violates the state constitution by setting limits on damages for defective workmanship and intrudes on the authority of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, said Barbara Petito, spokeswoman for Attorney General Tom Corbett.

That is just what an editorial in last Friday's Inquirer stated:

If homeowners fail to dot an i or cross a t contained in the bill, they could lose the right to sue for shoddy or undone work.
In other words, they'd be wise to hire a lawyer from the outset.
In worst-case scenarios, consumers could be stymied for months in resolving a dispute; that's a long time to live without, say, a functioning bathroom or kitchen.
Some homeowners' legitimate claims could face a cap on damage awards, which by itself might run afoul of the state constitution.

Who will buy this wonderful morning ... newspaper?

2006-03-14T07:13:00.000-08:00

Among the contenders to purchase The Inquirer:
- MediaNews Group, run by founder William Dean Singleton. Singleton visited Philadelphia recently to tour the newspaper.
- Gannett, publisher of USA Today and the Courier Post
- The Newspaper Guild, in conjunction with a California equity firm. The union also maintains a site with updates on the KnightRidder transactions.

Road less traveled

2006-03-10T07:22:00.000-08:00

As abortion policy heats up in this country, with passage of a highly restrictive South Dakota law, the U.S. stands farther apart from its global neighbors. Around the world, policy is trending toward less restrictive rules as detailed in today's New York Times.
Earlier this week, Inquirer political cartoonist Tony Auth offered his commentary on the trend. [Above, and posted here.]

Post-op, once again

2006-03-09T11:36:00.000-08:00

Ugandan teen Jennifer Anyayo returned to a Virginia hospital this week. She's in for a follow-up operation to continue to correct damage from severe burns she received during Ugandan violence.

Meanwhile, Inquirer editorial writer Carolyn Davis, who has followed Jennifer's story, writes today on U.S. policy vis a vis the Ugandan unrest.

In the last five years, as the United States has dithered, thousands more children in northern Uganda have been kidnapped, raped and killed by the Lord's Resistance Army. With time so pressing, why hasn't the Bush administration figured out who can best help bring about an end to this humanitarian atrocity?

Lobby this

2006-03-08T12:09:00.000-08:00

On the podcast front, editor Chris Satullo and editorial writer Dave Boyer talked about lobbying reform this morning. Hear the audio here.

Law and Order, reality version

2006-03-08T11:07:00.000-08:00

How shocking was it to read of a father coaching his daughter to say she'd forgotten the details of a gun battle that left a 10-year-old Philadelphia boy dead?

Just remember to say what I told you to say: 'I don't remember.'

And that witnesses' memory may determine the outcome in the murder case against two men charged in the cause-celebre death of Faheem Thomas-Childs.
Whatever the verdict, the case shows the need to get a better handle on preventing neighborhood violence - since prosecuting these crimes are so problematic due to reluctant witnesses.
The problem isn't only local. Nationally, community officials are concerned that those "Stop Snitchin'" T-shirts send the wrong message to citizens trying to combat crime in their neighborhoods.

To educate, not to offend

2006-03-07T07:23:00.000-08:00

Inquirer editor Amanda Bennett writes today about the decision to publish a controversial cartoon image of the Prophet Mohammad, and the aftermath.

Our intent was to help our readers understand a complex issue, not to mock anyone's religious sensibilities

We were shocked, as the days went on, to realize that, of American media, we were nearly alone. Only two or three other papers had made the same choice.

We were running the image to give meaning to the news story and not as an editorial cartoon. We weren't acting in solidarity with European papers. Nor were we making an abstract stand for "freedom of the press." Our intent was to educate, not to lampoon or triumph.

Sharpen those pencils ... for next year

2006-03-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

This week, we'll host winners of the New Year's crossword puzzle contest. They'll join us for an editorial board meeting, a tour of The Inquirer newsroom, and a bite to eat at mid-day. Does it get any better than that?

Go for extra yardage

2006-03-03T07:11:00.000-08:00

Philadelphia Eagles Donovan McNabb
and Jeremiah Trotter will get new court
dates to answer charges their luxury pickup trucks
were parked in spaces
reserved for the handicapped
at a South Jersey sports bar, authorities said
yesterday.

Now, these Eagles may have trouble getting back to scrimmage at times, but what's their excuse for refusing to walk those extra steps from a regular parking spot?

Rescuing a child of war

2006-03-02T10:29:00.000-08:00

Editorial writer Carolyn Davis continues her story today of Jennifer Anyayo, the 15-year-old Ugandan girl brought to this country for humanitarian operations to repair burn wounds that disfigured her face and mangled her hand. Carolyn explains:

Six years ago, rebels at war with the government attacked her village in northern Uganda and set her hut ablaze with her in it.

Listen to a podcast from Wednesday in which Carolyn discusses Jennifer's medical progress. She also talks of the incredible generosity of Inquirer readers who contributed thousands of dollars toward Jennifer's travel and living expenses.

'Help Iran's best'

2006-03-01T06:31:00.000-08:00

Who says there isn't any good news coming out of Iran? Back Channels columnist Kevin Ferris finds hope - just as he warns we must "prepare for the worst."

Granted, it's hard to ignore embassy attacks, death threats, and the ubiquitous flag-burnings, but there are other protests going on. For human rights, workers' rights, women's rights. Where people risk their lives to speak out.

How would you spend it?

2006-02-28T06:27:00.000-08:00

In his Sunday column, Editorial Page Editor Chris Satullo asked:

If you'd won ... Powerball, what would you do? Would you quit your job? Would you avoid that legendary lottery fate, ending up miserable and broke?

Thoughts? Meanwhile, Inquirer financial columnist Jeff Brown today illustrated why the Powerball winners' share may not go all that far. At the very least, it requires careful handling to preserve its buying power over a lifetime. Bit depressing, don't you think, to be told you'd have to be careful about anything after winning $15 million?

'Duty' seen in cartoon publication

2006-02-27T06:15:00.000-08:00

Washington Post op-ed writers Alan M. Dershowitz and William J. Bennett offered this comment on the few newspapers, including The Inquirer, who published the Prophet's cartoon image:

To our knowledge, only three print newspapers have followed their true calling: the Austin American-Statesman, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the New York Sun. What have they done? They simply printed cartoons that were at the center of widespread turmoil among Muslims over depictions of the prophet Muhammad. These papers did their duty.

Motion to deny money-politics

2006-02-24T08:46:00.000-08:00

They're good for more than just a few beef 'n beer fund-raiser tickets, but the city's lawyers - 13,000 of 'em - are being called upon to show restraint in donating to political candidates. Following local physicians, the Philadelphia Bar Association on Thursday evening joined the Chamber in its campaign to enforce voluntary limits on giving to undeclared candidates. Bar chancellor Alan M. Feldman's announcement included the following:

As one of the leading civic organizations in the city, it is one of our duties to be concerned with the workings of city government. This ordinance helps promote the integrity of our electoral system, and our members can only benefit from a system that is perceived to be, and really is, fair to all citizens.

Got that right.

Putting the brakes on pay-to-play

2006-02-23T08:41:00.000-08:00

It's not quite proof of the domino theory yet, but a second major organization - the Philadelphia County Medical Socieity - has joined in calling on candidates and donors to respect the city's campaign finance limits. This follows the launch a week or so ago of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce effort to limit donations to the city limits. In its statement today, the Medical Society said:

“We, the Executive Committee of The Philadelphia County Medical Society, support the position of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. We are mindful of the fact that contribution limits also act as a limiting factor to the exercise of free speech. However, in a city like Philadelphia, which has struggled with allegations, indictments and convictions related to improper political contributions and a “pay to play” atmosphere, an overriding concern for honesty and ethical behavior commends the position of the Chamber at this time.”

No particular reason

2006-02-21T07:09:00.000-08:00

What Lloyd said:

I don't want to sell anything, buy anything or process anything as a
career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy
anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought or
processed, or repair anything sold, bought or processed.
You know, as a career -- I don't want to do that.

- Lloyd Dobler, Say Anything, 1989

Gathering storm over U.S. detentions

2006-02-17T06:12:00.000-08:00

Who's really at Gitmo may surprise you, according to the National Journal. Meanwhile, international pressure is building to close the Cuba detention camp. Many see allegations of abuse as eroding America's moral authority around the world.

Up next

2006-02-16T11:37:00.000-08:00

On Friday's Editorial Page:

Global warming is already having an impact on snowfalls, so some ski resorts are taking measures to show they can be more energy efficient to help their livelihood survive.
Kudos to hip-hop dancers who will present "Brotherly Love: A Stop the Violence and Increase the Peace Showcase" Friday at Grover Washington Jr. Middle School.

Out of Africa

2006-02-16T06:01:00.000-08:00

Inquirer editorial writer Carolyn Davis discusses her experiences in Uganda this morning at 11 on WHYY 91 FM's Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane. Joining them will be Abitimo Rebecca Odongkara one of the Ugandans Carolyn profiled in Carolyn's May series on the African nation.

'The guy ... who shot my friend.'

2006-02-15T14:21:00.000-08:00

"It's not Harry's fault," Vice President Dick Cheney told Fox News today. "You can't blame anybody else. I'm the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend, and that's a moment I will never forget."

And that certainly is a memorable quote from a vice president. Right up there with "nattering nabobs of negativity" from former Nixon Veep Spiro Agnew.