It's gimmicky and cheesy, sure, but who could possibly object to the goal of more construction business for minority contractors?

Enter Edward Coryell, general manager of the Carpenters Union (the union is an investor in Philadelphia Media Holdings L.L.C., the owner of The Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com).

"I can say there are labor concerns that this is a provocative event. I don't see how it's provocative, but Ed Coryell does," said Sam Sherman, president of the Building Industry Association of Philadelphia, which is taking part in the event.

Raising a fuss over an event designed to benefit minority-owned companies is an interesting move for the Carpenters Union, which was one of only four unions that did not sign off on a February agreement with the city designed to increase minority participation in the building trades.

Coryell did not return two calls to his office last week, but his secretary referred Heard in the Hall to Patrick Gillespie, business manager of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council.

Gillespie said he didn't know why Coryell objected to the event. But when told the event's lead sponsor was the Associated Builders and Contractors, a trade group of the region's nonunion firms, Gillespie had a reaction of his own.

"The whole predicate for their existence is to destroy the sanctity of collective bargaining," Gillespie said. "We couldn't hold them in any lower regard. They're as disingenuous a group as you can find. I wouldn't expect City Hall to allow the Klan to meet there, or Aryan Nation."

Wow.

ABC Southeast Pennsylvania president Jeff Zeh said the event had no antiunion agenda, and he noted that two of the big general contractors attending are union contractors.

"I would hope they could see the value in an event that's trying to provide more work opportunities to minority contractors," Zeh said.

Asked whether he were concerned union pressure would shut the event down, Zeh acknowledged he was.

"I would hope not," he said.

- Patrick Kerkstra

Getting ready for our close-up

In a meeting scheduled for today, the recently formed Philadelphia Primary Media Task Force will convene to discuss how to best take advantage of an opportunity presented.

That is: how to make Philadelphia shine before the eyes of hundreds of political journalists descending here and elsewhere in the state.

Among those leading the effort are Mayor Nutter's spokesman, Doug Oliver, and City Representative Melanie Johnson. Others include officials from the state, the hotel industry, and Philadelphia tourism organizations.

"We wanted to make sure we are thinking the same way, that we have the same message," Johnson said. "So far, it's paid off."

Strategies include making life easier for visiting reporters by providing a one-stop shopping Web site (phillyprimary.com) with information on satellite-truck parking and portable toilets, and a list of suggested locations for stand-up news shots, such as LOVE Park and Independence Hall.

There's also a media reception in the works for the night before the big debate between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, which is April 16 at the National Constitution Center.

Of course, not everything can be controlled.

Remember the last time so much political attention was showered on Philadelphia in this race? It was in October, the night of a televised debate of Democratic presidential contenders at Drexel University.

They emerged to see police helicopters and divers searching the Schuylkill for a suspect in the shooting of three civilians and an officer.

- Marcia Gelbart

Thaw in Phila.'s black cold war?

It may have been the outward sign of a truce between warring factions of the city's African American politicians.

The sides separate themselves geographically, from the West and Northwest sections of the city. U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (a Jones ally) heads the West faction, and the Northwest has traditionally been the territory of former U.S. Rep. Bill Gray and State Rep. Dwight Evans (a Tasco friend).

The feud is decades old, its origins murky, but one insider called last week's partnership "a real positive sign" that signals "some level of detente."

Jones agreed, calling Tasco a "political mentor."

"I think it indicates that the cold war between the Northwest and West is beginning to subside," Jones said. "The days of territorial politics are being replaced with issue-based politics, and if it continues along that path, it is a new day."

- Jeff Shields