Letter from feds makes Councilman think twice about Electric Factory ad
Councilman Mark Squilla will not seek to override Mayor Nutter's veto today of a bill that would have allowed for a huge wall-wrap digital billboard on the Electric Factory
Letter from feds makes Councilman think twice about Electric Factory ad
Jan Ransom
Councilman Mark Squilla will not seek to override Mayor Nutter’s veto today of a bill that would have allowed for a huge wall-wrap digital billboard on the Electric Factory. (See today’s Daily News story.)
“At this point I’m not going to put any of my colleagues in the position to have to make that decision until I feel comfortable with us moving forward with it,” said Squilla adding he wants to be “sure and positive” Council is doing the right thing.
A letter from PennDOT and the Federal Highway Administration has forced the Councilman to think twice.
Both agencies have warned that erecting an ad on the building at 7th and Callowhill streets would violate state and federal laws because it is within 600 feet of a highway and would result in a 10 percent loss of federal funding.
Squilla said he will make a decision by early next week as to whether he will seek an override next Thursday and subsequently let a court make the final decision or amend the measure.
ANOTHER JOHNNIE DOC PUPPET CREEP— wallycleaver- Squilla needs time to have Doc's attorneys review so that Doc can tell him what to do. It is pathetic that our Council would potentially jeopardize millions in road funding and/or take the federal and state governments to court, over some chump change because an advertiser is contributing to their campaigns.— bullrun
- Enough nonsense already.
- So Squilla got a letter from the Feds, that political hack probably thinks it’s no big deal, you all read the newspapers, haven’t a number of Squilla supporters gotten letters from the Feds also. This guy Squilla is becoming a outright embarrassment to City Council. Johnny Doc got his new Rick Mariano, so Doc’s happy, but the people of the 1st Council District now have to suffer. Let me take that back, Mark Squilla is actually is making Rick Mariano look like an “Independent-Reformer”.
— Fred Druding, Jr. - Wow Fred, I did't think you had it in you? Hey Johnny, are you going to take that? Thems fighting words, but I heard your no Raging Bull.— TheShadowKnows
- squilla and city government: you are not elected to be in business, you are not elected to find new avenues of revenue, look at your spending and your stealing co workers : brown steals from her own supporters, shaka zulu steals form the school district you have plenty of revenue now just cut the thieves and spending and you can actually lower revenue— coolbreeze
- It is nothing less than the last century's leadership in action. The archaic political culture of Philadelphia sucks the life and future out of it.— Tkat
- I think Mark Squilla is a concerned and competent Councilman. He will make the proper decision in this instance.— Mezike23
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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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