[UC] phillyblocks2008-this Sat
Sorry for the last-minute notice about this, but I just learned of it. -Lew This Saturday, September 27, 2008, will provide a unique and public opportunity to ask the Streets Department direct questions on the status and plans for Recycling in your neighborhood. I will be chairing one of five workshops “Clean Green Neighborhoods” the panel will include Christine Knapp and Scott McGrath, the City’s Acting Recycling Coordinator, Buddy Martin, Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee, Phoebe Cole, Keep Philadelphia Beautiful and Joan Reilly of Philadelphia Green Ed Swartz, Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of Civic Values and sponsor of the event Called to alert me that Rosetta Carrington Lue—Call Center Director for the heralded 3-1-1 program will also be in attendance There will not be a better chance to get your questions answered. Plan to attend the Institute for the Study of Civic Values’ third annual PhillyBlocks Conference at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Over 500 neighborhood activists, block captains, concerned citizens, and others are expected to convene at PhillyBlocks 2008: The Neighborhood Agenda to tackle some of the city’s most pressing issues. For more information and to register go to http:// phillyblocks2008.eventbrite.com See you there! Maurice Sampson, Chair Recycle NOW Philadelphia Campaign ***SORRY FOR MULTIPLE POSTINGS; PLEASE FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO INTERESTED PARTIES* Clean and Green Neighborhoods: This workshop will show block captains and neighborhood groups how to reduce litter, recycle trash, stop sewer backups and flooding, replant neighborhood trees, revitalize vacant lots, and maintain healthy neighborhood parks. This panel will be led by leaders in the “Next Great City” project who support this agenda. Panelists Include: Chair, Maurice Sampson, Recycle Now Scott McGrath, Recycling Coordinator, Streets Department Buddy Martin, Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee Phoebe Cole, Keep Philadelphia Beautiful Joan Reilly, Philadelphia Green Christine Knapp, The Next Great City
[UC] teacher vacancy report
This would suggest that there is more to the issue of public schools than the no child left behind rhetoric. If public school teachers are lazy overpaid dummies with a cushy job, why do poor Philadelphia children sit waiting in classrooms year after year? What happens to kids when they are abandoned in classrooms with substitute teachers acting as early prison gaurds? Yes I know, the nine, ten, and eleven year old kids should pull themselves up by the boot straps and move their families to the district with the good families. http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20080925_Philly_teacher-vacancy_rate_hits_an_8-year_high.html You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html.
[UC] X-Mailer: Webmail Version 4.0
I enjoy political cartoons. Normally, I think I understand what I am seeing. An ardent Republican just sent me the attached series of cartoons referencing the election. I can't figure out if she included some that were pro-Dem or if our political prejudices have become so skewed that the parties are like Annie Hall and Woody Allen trying to decide how much sex is ideal. I am fascinated by perception and how it becomes bias, and because I work in marketing, I find it interesting to see how people choose to market items (including politics). Remember, the person who sent these to me, is a rabid Republican and thinks these are all pro-Republican cartoons. Whatever your politics, I think you'll enjoy these. The cartoonists are brilliant and the pieces are short, sharp and graphically cool. I am a former pro-Hillary who plans to vote Obama, so if there is a strong Republican bias in these cartoons, please laugh with me at my inability to see it, in other than the Hockey Miracle. http://webmaila.juno.com/webmail/new/21?folder=InboxuniqMsgId=0018qsTG1rFdattachId=5[EMAIL PROTECTED]content=central It is a long link, if it breaks in transmission, you can cut and paste to view the cartoons. Best! Liz Click here to find experienced pros to help with your home improvement project. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/Ioyw6i3nHrmHZcHkHI8wJiUSyREKmaaaxyQYcR3ZfaKvKJNrAlvSsJ/
[UC] University City Inspirational Gardens Awards
It's your last chance to nominate!! Details at http://www.ucityphila.org/_files/docs/garden_4x6_back.pdf You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html.
Re: [UC] South St Bridge neighbors make a difference!
Frank wrote:
From the DP:
Many of the 11 new revisions were first formally recommended in an
April study commissioned by the coalition, which includes community
leaders and associations, such as the Bicycle Coalition of Greater
Philadelphia.
The revised plan has reduced that number (of vehicle lanes) to four
to accommodate wider lanes for pedestrians and bicycles.
http://media.www.dailypennsylvanian.com/media/storage/paper882/news/2008/09/24/News/Bridge.Design.Alters.Bike.And.Vehicle.Lanes.Speed.Limit-3448444.shtml?reffeature=htmlemailedition
UNIVERSITY*CITOYEN wrote:
I was happy to read that article, and glad to see that you posted it.
it reads as a nice example of what neighbors can do when they work
together -- hammer out alternatives and compromises so that everyone's
concerns are respected AND progress is made. a civic win/win.
why hasn't something like that happened with the penn-proposed hotel
at 40th street? why are we still stuck with an 11-story hotel as the
only option for that corner?
Frank wrote:
It hasn't happened because we're dealing with Penn which we know is a
lot less flexible and neighbor-friendly than the City.
I hear ya. I'm thinking it also has to do with neighborhood
organizations not working for their neighbors.
meanwhile, one of the dp's blogs ('the spin') had this entry
yesterday:
Please don’t be my neighbor
Zachary Noyce
It looks like I might be getting some new neighbors.
Last Tuesday, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission
agreed unanimously to recommend building an eleven-story
hotel just around the corner from my apartment. A hotel
at 40th and Pine should create a few jobs and will occupy
the space of one of the only abandoned building on the
block, so it’s not surprising that the proposal has
advocates. (Count Penn among them.)
But the hotel would have neighbors too, so it’s not
surprising that it has opponents.
You’ve probably read that the building is “historic” or
something. Truth be told, first and foremost, it’s ugly -
probably the least attractive building on the block. The
empty mansion is hardly a community asset.
It does, however, at least it obey the first principle of
the Hippocratic oath — first, do no harm.
The proposed 11-story hotel would do significant damage
to the neighborhood of two- and three-story houses. A
former colleague of mine [Jim Saksa] has meticulously outlined many
of the project’s worst flaws [http://tinyurl.com/4dpu4t]. It would compromise
the
integrity of the area and invite higher density and
commercial development that could displace families. The
building’s valet parking would rob the neighborhood of
several blocks of sorely-needed parking places.
What’s most shocking, though, is the developers’ attitude
toward their future neighbors. They’ve known of and heard
these complaints for a long time now, but they still
haven’t done anything to reassure current residents that
anything but their worst nightmares about the hotel are
true.
I’m not too attached to my current address. I probably
won’t be around for the hotel’s construction or its
completion.
But the people who live on this block really are the
University’s closest neighbors — so the University’s
decision to support the project as it has is a
particularly cruel message.
http://tinyurl.com/4ap6yr
..
UNIVERSITY*CITOYEN
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[UC] Scale and its adjudicators (Was: Re: Did anyone see this from the DP?)
Very, very interesting question, that deserves at least a stab at an answer. Scale couldn't have much of an issue when the Campus Inn went before the Historical Commission. HC's reasoning is opaque to me, but in general it seems not to be a body that deals with scale. The HC is about the trees, not the forest: i.e., are your replacement windows of the same style as their 1898 original? Since the Campus Inn isn't in a City-recognized Historic District, the HC has no warrant to weigh the scale of an 11-story building on a block with 4-story buildings. So it didn't. It had to respect Campus Inn's vow to restore period details (who else wants to pay for them?); this created pressure on HC to cut the developer the economic slack needed to restore those precious mullions or whatever. Scale might be a more pertinent concern for the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. I've no experience with its case rulings. However, old hands vaguely opine that its rulings tend to be processual and facilitative, rather than authoritarian and prohibitive: i.e., it likes developers to come up with Response B to Concern A, rather than just decreeing, Thou shalt not. And PCPC approaches neighborhoods from a citywide perspective. Since 40th St. already has several tall buildings on or near it, without much complaint, one more tall building might not look like a deal-breaker to these blokes. Scale should peak in importance in the councils of the Spruce Hill Community Association. SHCA's warrant doesn't reach east of 40th St., so the opinions of neighbors there (who seem to be leaning pro-hotel) can't count for the Campus Inn. Not west of 40th St. was Mary Goldman's cry, and one that resonates in many University Citizens' hearts. The Woodland Terr. group, which is influential and well organized, has every right to appeal to fellow SHCA members for support on their concerns about scale. Scale should matter supremely to the Zoning Board of Adjustment -- but with a narrow warrant. Its relevant boundaries are zoning patches rather than neighborhoods. When it comes to variances, ZBA considers a tightly-drawn radius that takes in Woodland Terr. to the south and the nearest highrise to the north, to confer on only these residents a special right to speak as neighbors. The rest of us are spectators, in theory. ZBA is, however, a political body and can be influenced by political actions. -- Tony West it's fascinating how, as far back as march, the dp was framing the question of the hotel in terms of parking. and here we are now, with pcpc scheduling its hearings about the hotel in terms of parking. what happened to the main issue: the hotel's massive scale and height and footprint? .. UNIVERSITY*CITOYEN You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named UnivCity. To unsubscribe or for archive information, see http://www.purple.com/list.html.
[UC] MISSING: Orange Kitty (43rd Baltimore)
From Craigslist: Reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [?] Date: 2008-09-25, 1:13PM EDT MISSING SINCE FRIDAY/SAT older, skinnier, male orange tabby. Has been neutered. Bright green eyes, white chest. SOO FRIENDLY! PURRS ALL THE TIME/ LAP CAT call christina @ 267 312 6582 WE MISS HIM SO MUCH PLEASE PLEASE EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE SEEN HIM OR YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION WHATSOEVER PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO CALL!
[UC] Cedar Park Fair POSTPONED until Saturday, October 4
The Cedar Park Fair has been POSTPONED for one week because of the long, slow storm coming through for the next three days. All the entertainment, excitement, music, raffle prizes, kids activities, food, moonbounce ...all of these things will be back next week! So save the date: Saturday, October 4 from Noon-5pm. All the best from Roger, Monica, and Wayne and all those folks who are so fortunate to live in Cedar Park.
