Councilman O'Neill is abstaining. Councilwoman Reynolds Brown.
Aye. The ayes are 15; the nays are zero. Councilman O'Neill has abstained. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. We will now consider Bill No. 100288.
An ordinance amending Chapter 9-600 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Service and Other Businesses," by amending Section 9-613, entitled "Junk Dealers," by requiring Junk Dealers to obtain from each customer a photocopy of valid government issued photo identification pursuant to each business transaction.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. The Chief Clerk will please call the roll. 9/30/10 - STATED - 2ND READING
Aye. The ayes are 16; the nays are zero. A majority of all members having affirmative, the bill passes. This concludes our Calendar for today. Are there speeches on the part of the minority? (No response.)
Are there speeches on the part of the majority? The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Thank you, Madam President. I'd just like to note that one of our dear friends and one of the leading pastors in the City of Philadelphia, Reverend Randall McCaskill, passed, and as you know, he worked in City Council I believe for Mayor Street. He certainly worked with the Black Clergy and all of the ministerial organizations of the City of Philadelphia, and he will be missed. His church was in my district on 10th Street and certainly was a -- of many of us in the City Council. His funeral is tomorrow at 11 o'clock at Vine Memorial at 56th and Vine. Thank you.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Miller.
Thank you, Madam President. I want to urge Philadelphians to attend the Police Department's police and community forums that will be held tonight within each police district. And there is a listing of the places in the newspapers and also they can go on the website www.phillypolice.com. The overall goal of these meetings is to give people an opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns dealing with issues of crime and disorder in neighborhoods or issues of police it's important to attend. Certainly the Police Department will be there, Internal Affairs Bureau, the Police Advisory Commission, the Police Clergy and the Police District Advisory Councils and other community groups. So we just want to urge people to attend. This is an opportunity to go out and be heard. Thank you.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you, Madam President. Earlier this week I read the great story in the Philadelphia Metro about our young people, but more specifically about SEPTA police and how they're doing a better and a stronger job around taking young people off the streets and returning them to school around the issue of truancy, but I'm -- or I would say an equally disturbing story hit our airwaves Wednesday night, which has made my heart ache, and I want to speak on that. It is about the suicide of Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old who just recently left home to attend Rutgers University, and for sure it has shaken up the institution there. I would hope, however, that the suicide of Tyler Clementi has captured the hearts of anyone who directly or indirectly touches on the lives of young people. Here are the facts, Madam President: Nine out of ten gay youth report being harassed. Gay youth are four times more likely to commit suicide than their straight counterparts. So to think that two minority students, an Asian female student at Rutgers University and an East Indian male student at Rutgers University, will use as sport the filming or spying of another young person, another minority student, a student, for me is a tragedy. This tragic news of the talented young man who took his life because his roommate secretly recorded him and shared video on social networks should give us pause. We need to make sure we use this as a teachable moment, and I did this morning while taking my daughter to school. It is important to teach our children at a young age to understand the concept of privacy, to understand how to use technology in a responsible way so it does not violate someone else's privacy and thereby harms their lives inadvertently. Unlike when we were young for sure -- I can only speak for myself -schools were places where young people, we learned to use technology quite differently than what we see today. It is not unusual to see young people taking their phones to parties and on the ball field and in the classroom because of the has. I'm of the view as a former teacher that schools and teachers who are indeed beginning to teach it in the high schools, we need to start earlier. More needs to be taught at the earliest age possible about the appropriate, responsible use of social networking. This incident further reminds us that the social stigma of being gay is still that, a stigma. That a young man would take his life because of posted video images are heart-wrenching. Three families' lives have now been destroyed. So I believe all of us, teachers in the classroom, pastors in the pulpit, anybody who touches the lives of young people, we have to be vigilant in teaching tolerance and teaching others that just because you are different doesn't make you better. We still have work to do, Madam President, and my heart goes out to all those young people who are a minority and live with someone else ridiculing them because they appear different. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Madam President. I want to thank my colleagues the other day that sat through the Joint Committee on Environment, Transportation and Public Utilities hearing on Marcellus Shale. It was a lengthy hearing that many colleagues, particularly Councilman Kenney, Councilwoman Blackwell, Brown, O'Neill and Greenlee, helped get the City through. Late yesterday afternoon, the House passed the shale gas production tax, Senate Bill 1155. This gives a rate of 39 cents per cubic feet for gas ferreted from the Marcellus Shale find. when the Governor or the Senate will take action on this measure, but one thing was clear about these hearings, that there were more questions than answers that particularly were germane to Philadelphia's water system. And I want to say, before we graciously accept the severance package offered by the mining community, that we need to take the time to work with the Environmental Protection Agency to do a study first before we implement policy that we may, may never be able to correct again and our grandchildren will have to pay for. Thank you.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Sanchez.
Thank you, Madam President. I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity before my comments to thank the Council leadership, including yourself, President, and the 15 co-sponsors of our BPT legislation. It is with the support -- and Councilman O'Neill reminded me that it is not always as easy for freshmen, as is the case for Councilman Green and myself, to be able to participate in the legislative process as we have. So I wanted to take an opportunity to thank the leadership, you, Tasco, O'Neill and Rizzo, for your support and the other co-sponsors, Goode, Reynolds Brown, DiCicco, Kelly, Rizzo Clarke, Greenlee, Krajewski, Donna Reed Miller, for their support and look forward to that. I wanted to add one thing as we were celebrating or recognizing domestic violence, that the last two rape victims were from my councilmanic district, and I wanted to just send my heartfelt sincere sentiments to those two women, the one found in Fairmount Park and this morning in the 2600 block of Hancock, both from district, and encourage people as my colleague, Donna Reed Miller stated, to attend tonight's forums so that we can become more informed about how we can help with this kind of crime wave against women that is occurring, particularly in the last 48 hours. So thank you.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Thank you, Madam President. I'd just like to thank Councilwoman Brown for her comments relative to the incident at Rutgers, but I want to add to that the whole notion of this social networking, because this past summer -- and it was brought to my attention just recently by Vernon Price, who works in the DA's Office, that there was a young man in my -- that was in one of the schoolyards in my district who was forced to strip by some of his -- some of boys, and then they filmed him and put it on Facebook. And it's just very, very painful to see that these young men and women are being totally irresponsible in their behavior. You know, we put a lot on the schools and everyone else, but I also want to caution and call on the parents to be more alert and more responsible in controlling the behavior of their children and at least trying to teach them some values about self-respect and respect for others, too. So it's just very agonizing. I've spoken to the Mayor about the increase in this violence in the community, particularly between the young people ages 13, 14, 15, and that we have to find some way to address this issue, because we cut out some of the programs that we had to address these issues with these young people, and I'm calling on the Mayor again that we have to find some way to provide services to these young into a more positive activity. I also want to tell the people of the Ninth Councilmanic District and the 203rd Legislative District that the community Quality of Life meeting tonight scheduled for Saint Williams at Rising Sun and Robbins will continue and that the Second District will hold their commissioners meeting at the same time and we urge people to come out. And I say that because of the rain, the possibility of rain. We will still have that Quality of Life town meeting tonight at Saint Williams and we urge all of our constituents and anyone else who would like to come out to join us. Thank you.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. I would like us to Staff, who has graced us with her presence today, for the Office of the Sheriff, and that is Patricia A. Bryant joins us today. (Applause.)
Thank you, Madam President. I would like to congratulate Councilwoman Sanchez and Councilman Green on the proposal to reform the business privilege tax this morning. Without getting into any detail, it's an exciting proposal, and I think everyone should recognize it. The legislation has the opportunity to be a game-changer in this City in terms of keeping businesses here and jobs here with those businesses, but also bringing businesses that otherwise wouldn't come in to the City because of the unfair tax structure we presently have, which rewards companies for being outside the City and punishes companies I hope everyone takes this very seriously and that whatever we're going to do on it, we do it in fairly rapid fashion, because I don't want to see it get lost in the budget when we have the time now. We have some distractions, but I think that's what they are in terms of competing with this, just distractions, and I hope this becomes a priority of the whole Council in terms of weighing in on it. And I also want to thank the President for allowing Econsult, led by Mr. Mullin, because I think that is really -- I mean, these Councilmembers have worked for a couple years on this, but I think what happened over the summer with Econsult now has it at the point where I understand it and it's easy to explain to people. And so this could be a real change, and I just want to congratulate them for bringing something to the floor that has this level of City. Thank you.
Thank you. Does anyone else want to be recognized? (No response.)
Seeing no one, the Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke for a motion to adjourn.
Thank you, Madam President. I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, October 7th, 10:00 a.m., 2010. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, October 7th at 10:00 a.m. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and Council will be adjourned until Thursday, October 7th. Thank you. (Stated Meeting adjourned at 11:40 a.m.) CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on September 30, 2010, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)