Thursday's DN: AVI could spell trouble for small businesses, renters

The Actual Value Initiative, which begins next year, could mean increased tax burdens for many Philly small businesses.

Landlords also say they are getting the short end of the stick with AVI and may have to pass the cost on to renters.

Meanwhile, some in Council tell the administrtion they don't want to look like the bad guys when they adopt a tax rate higher than 1.25 percent - the figure that the administration has been basing many of its estimates on but that few believe will be the final rate.

And Jenice Armstrong coins the term "dashiki-gate" to describe what happened to state Rep. W. Curtis Thomas, D-North Philadelphia, last week.