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Friday, July 3, 2009

What Your Council Member is Working on...

Because we can’t fit all the details on what Council members are doing for the summer into the newspaper, we like to provide them on the PhillyClout blog. Here’s what we learned from this week’s check-in with the city’s legislators.

* When we stopped by Councilwoman Janie Blackwell’s office, she was meeting with a staffer from The Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania. Blackwell said they were talking about housing and education issues. She said she also had a meeting this week regarding the work of Dr. Gary Kao, who is accused of mishandling radioactive seed implants at the Philadelphia veterans hospita.

* Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. held a “Block Captains Boot Camp” last weekend, which drew about 100 people. He said he continues to research the best way to expand Philadelphia’s community courts. And he is about to start making door to door visits in his district, to talk with constituents about what services they need.

* Council President Anna Verna is back in the office after the death of her husband. Yesterday she said she was catching up on meetings and phone calls. She said she expects the review of the Board of Revision of Taxes ¬– that Council is doing in collaboration with the Mayor’s office ¬¬-- to be a big issue this summer.

* Councilman Frank Rizzo was not in the office but he told us he was out meeting with constituents worried about a new plan to charge $500 to pick up trash from businesses.

* Councilman W. Wilson Goode Jr. told us he was reviewing a report from the Congressional Research Service from November 19, 2008 on the debarment and suspension of government contractors. The report looks at federal law which relates to legislation he introduced two weeks ago.

* Marian Tasco said she has been monitoring a task force convened by council and the mayor’s office to examine problems in the Board of Revision of Taxes, along with scheduling events in her district and preparing legislation for the fall session.
 
Posted by Catherine Lucey @ 9:00 AM  Permalink | 9 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:58 AM, 07/03/2009
    and Counsilman Darrel Clarke is out trying to get support to ensure city counsil members get their 5% pay increase this year
    — philafan
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:57 AM, 07/03/2009
    That's six. There are 11 others. Why not put their activities up too in a later post?
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:01 PM, 07/03/2009
    That the Council didn't fix the BRT or even one small piece of legislation to start to fix the BRT, such as removing it from the Philly School District budget, helped to completely sink all credibility Nutter might have had in Harrisburg. Why can't Council let the BRT put AVI in place, and simply pass a resolution to change the millage in the upcoming legislative year? That would have been at least something. Do they see how bad it looks that they can't even do that but the city has to beg the state for money? No one takes them seriously.
    — CleanupPhilly
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:35 PM, 07/03/2009
    Councilman Clarke, Blondell Reynolds Brown, Bill Greenlee and Curtis Jones joined the Mayor when he announced the new Park & Recreation Commissioners. 200 people applied for 9 slots. Council and the Mayor should be congratulated on doing this selection process right. There was a good public campaign to request applications, multiple days of public hearings by Council to winow the list to 25 and a timely appointments by the Mayor. It's a good example of the way Philadelphia should fill all it's Boards and Commissions.
    — PhillyBestCity
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:50 AM, 07/04/2009
    I personally am going to investigate two of them. I just hope I don't get locked up for bumming.
    — FJG JR
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:25 AM, 07/04/2009
    I'm appalled that these BUMS took a pay hike before going on summer break. In these tight financial times the give back should start at the top of government, and work it's way down.
    — philly_girL_215
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:48 PM, 07/04/2009
    philly girl- Im not aware of any pay hike Council members accepted. In fact, many took a pay cut. Before you post, you should double check your facts
    — stevejeltz
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:29 PM, 07/07/2009
    once again the biggest idiot on these blog lpages is spreading his cancer cleanup philly is a rasist and a bigot,and he acts like he knows what he is saying DONT LISTEN TO HIS BULL!@#$
    — cityslicker


9 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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Catherine Lucey
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Chris Brennan
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