Archive: February, 2012
Jan Ransom
City Council paid their respects today to the late Don Cornelius, host of TV’s legendary show “Soul Train.”
“I think it was probably, one of the most important television shows that we’ve had an opportunity to see that created racial harmony and brought the races of our country together at a very difficult time in this nation’s history,” said Councilman Jim Kenney. “In addition to that it was the TV show that I actually learned how to dance for real.”
Council president Darrell Clarke joked, “Councilman, I was wondering where you got the wonderful moves from.”
In honor of Cornelius, who died at 75, from a reportedly self-inflicted gunshot wound Kenney had this to say “Don Cornelius, I wish you love, peace and soul.”
And to end Council’s session, majority whip Blondell Reynolds Brown said, “As we move to adjourn, I will ask my Councilmember Jim Kenney to lead us down the soul train line.”
Chris Brennan
Today's Philadelphia Inquirer has an interesting story on page A3 about people from Pennsylvania and New Jersey who have donated to so-called "Super PACs" during this presidential election season. The last name listed in the graphic that ran with the story caught our eye:
Ibin Yerkinoff, of Levittown, donated $10 to Citizens for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, the Super PAC started by Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert, who has been mocking with glee the state of campaign finance regulation. This should put a smile on his face.
David Gambacorta
Christine Flowers and Ronnie Polaneczky both weigh in with their take on the late Cardinal Bevilacqua.
Has the School District's decision to lay off school nurses put students at risk?
State legislators might kill a stolen gun law that's observed by Philly and dozens of other municipalities.
The FCC has a thing or two to say about a bill created by Council president Darrell Clarke that impacts to satellite-dish industry.
Chris Brennan
President Obama's re-election campaign released a list yesterday of 445 donation bundlers. A dozen of them are from Pennsylvania and all but two are from Philadelphia or its suburbs. They are:
Raising $500,000 or more:
- Comcast Executive Vice President David L. Cohen and his wife, Rhonda, of Philadelphia
Raising $200,000 to $500,000:
- Attorney Mark Alderman, of Bryn Mawr
- Attorney Ken Jarin, of Philadelphia
- Attorney Cliff Levine, of Pittsburgh
- Attorney Lazar Palnick, of Pittsburgh
Raising $100,000 to $200,000:
- Developer Israel Roizman, of Lafayette Hills
Raising $50,000 to $100,000:
- Attorney Dan Berger, of Philadelphia
- Philanthropist Peter Buttenwieser, of Philadelphia
- Broadcast radio company owner Joseph Field and his wife, Marie, of Philadelphia
- Gold refinery company owner Matthew Garfield and his wife, Marie, of Philadelphia
- Private equity firm manager Richard Horowitz, of Wynnewood
- Attorney Gerald McHugh, of Philadelphia
Jan Ransom and David Gambacorta
City Council president Darrell Clarke penned a lengthy letter to the editor that was featured in today’s Daily News.
In it, Clarke took issue with a recent profile – written by myself and David Gambacorta -- which described him as having been a single father to his daughter, Nicole. (Sharif Street, the son of Clarke’s mentor, former Mayor John Street, told the Daily News that Clarke “raised Nicole. He was her primary caretaker for most of her life.” Sharif has known Clarke for more than 30 years.)
Clarke disputes that notion in his letter. “Had they bothered to run this information by me, they would have learned that Nicole was loved and raised by both parents. They also incorrectly reported the name of Nicole’s mother.”
Later, in his letter, Clarke wrote: “I agreed to an interview with your reporter Ms. Ransom for this profile. Not once did she attempt to verify what she was told about my family.”
After weeks of repeated requests for an interview, Clarke agreed just two hours before our deadline and only after others had convinced him to do so.
This is a transcript of what he said when I brought up his daughter.
David Gambacorta
Must read of the day: Julie Shaw's profile of Jose Antonio Vargas, the former Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post journalist (and onetime Daily News intern) who revealed that he's an illegal immigrant.
Five people -- including two Drexel students -- were busted for running an LSD ring near Drexel's campus. Dude.
John Baer says Newt Gingrich has a tough road ahead.
City Controller Alan Butkovitz has more worries about the School District's financial outlook.
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David Gambacorta spent a small eternity writing about cops, drug dealers and serial killers. Now he’s writing about power and politics – which sometimes reminds him of the old crime beat. He joined the Daily News in 2005. And yes, he knows you’re not quite sure how to pronounce his last name. E-mail tips to gambacd@phillynews.com
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Jan Ransom, a native New Yorker, joined the Daily News in 2010 after graduating from Howard University. She has since written about the difficulty of filing police complaints, tax deadbeats and life after violent home invasions. She joined the Daily News City Hall Bureau in 2011 and has plunged headfirst into reporting on administration budget battles and City Council shenanigans. E-mail tips to ransomj@phillynews.com
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Sean Collins Walsh is from Bucks County and went to Northwestern University. He joined the Daily News copy desk in 2012 and now covers the Nutter administration. Before that, he interned at papers including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Seattle Times. E-mail tips to walshSE@phillynews.com
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