- And this blank page where my fingers move
- Pennsylvania Hunger Games Diet: Cash for Corporations, Cuts for Kids
- The Incredible Shrinking Mayor
- Multi-tasking with the 1% … killing the schools AND making the poor pay for their funeral.
- Council Can Give the SRC the Money to NOT Privatize the System
- Predatory Payday Lending Bill Flies Out of Cramped PA House Committee
- Let the Games Begin: PA Senate Announces Details of Budget Proposal
- Good News on PA Revenue But Don’t Count Your Blessings Just Yet
- Defeat Corbett
- Set off without a Paddle: Unpacking the School District’s Disaster Capitalism
Darrell Clarke's Vacant, Overgrown Lots
Submitted by Dan U-A on Fri, 10/12/2007 - 11:05am.
Readers of this blog know that recently, Darrell Clarke and his mentor, John Street, decided to get back at Haile Johnston (for daring to run for office against Clarke) by canceling the contract of Johnston and his wife to take care of vacant land in Strawberry Mansion. This, despite Haile being flat-out, really good at what he does.
So, since he is more than willing to punish his own district to get back at a political opponent, I thought we mine as well see what Darrell Clarke's vacant lots look like:
The irony of that mural, in Clarke's vacant lot, is almost too much. That cannot really be a mural of... kids cleaning a lot, right?
So, I guess here is my challenge to Clarke and Street: If you are petty enough to go after a political opponent (and community activist) like this, then like Ed Rendell scrubbing toilets, it is time for you guys to get off your butts, and start cleaning these lots yourselves. I bet Haile would even give you some advice on how to get it done efficiently.
Here is another one of Clarke's vacant lots, with yet another bizarrely ironic mural in the background:
So, Mayor Street, instead of taking your daily walk along the river tomorrow, why don't you pack yourself up a lawnmower, get some trash bags, grab your staff, and meet your protege Darrell at places like this:
Take some pictures of you guys mowing, and we will be sure to post them just as soon as we can.
Dan, Thanks for keeping on top of this.
Dan,
Thanks for keeping on top of this.
Why don’t we get reporting like this from the mainstream media?
Karen
Why doesn't the MSM report on this?
Simple: if it bleeds, it leads, + this doesn't bleed.
-Z
To be fair, the Inquirer and
To be fair, the Inquirer and then the CP each had pretty good stories. Following up on it though, would be nice.
Street Cleanup
There is a big street cleanup going on right now. I thought my neighborhood was under assault this morning there were so many cleaning machines and leafblowers and metal dragons shooting water all over. It is a hell of a mess here and it's hard to keep it in order... that said, we could try harder.
I'm not disagreeing with you here, Dan, I guess I'm just saying that other cities of Philadelphia's caliber don't even have to think about managing so many empty lots because there are so many fewer empty spots in other places.
---
The Russellian Incorporated Innovations Corporation
Lefty Homilies
Right, but we do have that
Right, but we do have that problem. And these are lots that used to be clean, when the NTI-poster couple was cleaning them. Now, because of political stupidity, they are out, and this is the result.
Getting Your Rocks Off....
Does political stupidity have to cost a neighborhood a chance to look beautiful. What does this accomplish? Why wouldn't a council person want a clean neighborhood, almost like asking why would a council person let all this crime happen in their district and not do anything? Is there something to be GAINED from this?
Junior Williams
juniorwililams007@earthlink.net
http://mycityscapephily.eponym.com/blog
Constituent Disservice.
Please make sure that the original author of the piece at the Inquirer (Ginny Smith at vssmith@phillynews.com) gets this info from a number of bloggers. Gmac6363
800 Pound Gorilla
Our city is being clobbered by a $2 billion drug epidemic. Meanwhile some 15 other metropolitan areas (The Major Cities Initiative) have comprehensive plans in place to take on their own drug-related problems. To date Philadelphia has nothing in place, assuming I suppose that if we wait long enough the drug problem will go away along with a few thousand victims. What has gone away as our leaders patiently follow a 'let in burn' strategy is approximately one million people. The most recent attempt to take on violence and the drug epidemic that fuels senseless carnage on our streets day after day, was called Operation Safe Streets. It cost perhaps $130 million or so. As taxpayers we still have no idea of this program's actual cost since no interim or final report has ever been released from the Mayor's office or from the Round House. The recent homicide rate is evidence that OSS did not have the sort of impact it promised; all addicts into effective treatment, a growing grassroots network of support for the police in their efforts to eliminate drug dealers etc. Our City Controller schedules rigorous audits on such things as the Robin Hood Dell East fiasco ($480,000 in taxes possibly mispent) but nothing on the $130 million or so used or misused by Operation Safe Streets. There is a pretty massive hole in our City's existing accountability process. Media outrage? Public outrage? What if these resources had been spend on proven, best practices-driven prevention programs; anti-drug education in our schools. Anyone have any ideas on this one? Is this something our candidates for Mayor and City Council ought to address? Why has the media been so silent? Thanks. gmac6363