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Friday, July 10, 2009

Friday's DN: Hot In Huntingdon Valley Over Racism Charges

Things are certainly heating up in Huntingdon Valley, where a local swim club is accused of racism for ejecting day-campers from Northeast Philadelphia.  The state Human Relations Commission is on the case, rallies are being held and politicians were weighing in.  Ronnie Polaneczky steps back to look at how far this story has traveled.

A federal judge rejects former state Sen. Vince Fumo's request for a new trial on corruption charges, setting the stage for his sentencing on Tuesday.

And another mystery solved by PhillyClout -- former Mayor John Street's archives have been discovered in a hideaway room in the City Hall tower.
Posted by Chris Brennan @ 8:00 AM  Permalink | 12 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:36 AM, 07/10/2009
    Re: Huntington Valley. Private Club - they can do whatever they want. Not that I'd set foot in the place. They are claiming they did not have enough lifeguard staff to safely watch over the children. I remember a drowning a while back where the pool was overcrowded.
    — BarryGoldwater01
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:55 AM, 07/10/2009
    Huntington Valley, private swim club hmmmmm. Want to bet it has mostly Jewish members?
    — jeandarc
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:36 PM, 07/10/2009
    First, it's impossible for Swim Clubs to be racist. They are made up of bricks, mortar and people of whom some could be racist, but it's bigoted to paint all members with the same brush. Secondly, the manager should be fired for stupidity or at least for the worst possible choice of words as an explanation. Thirdly, I will tell you what I think happened because similar issues are happening at private clubs of all sorts in this economy - it is happening at my private Golf Club and the friction comes from private members paying in most cases big money and then watching the management of the club allow people who arent paying the same money equal privileges. For example, let's say you are a member of a Private club who pays $10,000 a year for the privilege of playing golf with fewer golfers on the course and a certain club decorum that has to do with tradition and just how the paying members want it to be. All of a sudden, you show up on a beautiful Friday morning to play a round of golf and there are 60 we'll say white people putting their shoes on in the parking lot, acting like idiots because it's their rare opportunity to play an exclusive club. If you're a paying member of that club, you're going to raise hell with the club manager and it has nothing to do with color. I would suggest to all Club managers that when they get confronted with this - and they will to have a better explanation ready.
    — tr88
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:51 PM, 07/10/2009
    jeandarc - you anti-semite piece of trash.
    — Delco Conservative
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:14 PM, 07/10/2009
    WOW the Nazis come out of the woodwork
    — real american
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:24 PM, 07/10/2009
    someone gave it away by having to add,"acting like idiots" behind white people. Nobody said that the black children were acting badly!
    — Bruce Davis
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:21 PM, 07/10/2009
    No employee of the club ever made a racial remark from what I have read so why are they being accused of it?
    — ant2010
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:20 PM, 07/10/2009
    Duke Lacrosse...watch
    — PaulDeon
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:56 PM, 07/10/2009
    Delco, you do not know me, so STFU. So what is anti-semitic about a know fact? Stay in delco with the rest of the shanty ..... from SW Philly.
    — jeandarc
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:41 PM, 07/10/2009
    This is an outrage!! The U.S. Constitution guarantees everyone's right to swim. There should be no private swim clubs whatsoever. This club is just another example of the atmosphere of racism that still exists in this country. I am deeply saddened that children are prevented from swimming in the U.S. in the summer time. This is just plain wrong.
    — ericrich
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:52 PM, 07/10/2009
    We don't know what happened because the Club won't comment. Probably a far more subtle set of issues are at work but this is what happens when you plead, "No Comment."
    — jreese
  • Comment removed.


12 comments
About The Philly Clout Team
PhillyClout
Chris Brennan, a native Philadelphian and graduate of Temple University, joined the Daily News in 1999. He has written about SEPTA, the Philadelphia School District, the legalization of casino gambling, state government, the mayor, the governor, City Council and political campaigns.
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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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Catherine Lucey joined the Daily News in 2002 and has written about murderous drug gangs, political protesters and Harry Potter. After covering the 2007 mayoral election, she moved over to the City Hall bureau where she has been reporting on the Nutter administration.
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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.
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