Aye. The ayes are 17; the nays are zero. A majority of all members present having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, please read the title of 120563.
An ordinance establishing a parking regulation on Brill Street, both sides, Frankford Avenue to Darrah Street.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla.
Thank you, Mr. President. I call to withdraw the resolution. 10/25/12 - STATED - 2ND READING
All right. Moved and properly seconded. (Duly seconded.)
The ayes have it. The bill is withdrawn. Again, Mr. Decker, please read the title of 120564.
An ordinance establishing a parking regulation on Ellsworth Street, north side, 2nd Street to Front Street.
Thank you, Mr. President. I wish to withdraw that bill. (Duly seconded.) 10/25/12 - STATED - 2ND READING
It's been moved and properly seconded. Those in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Bill No. 120564 is withdrawn. That concludes the written Calendar. Mr. Decker, do you have any other resolutions?
A privileged resolution honoring the extraordinary efforts and contributions of Pennsylvania State Representative John Taylor at the conclusion of the 2011-2012 legislative session, introduced by Councilman Kenney.
I move the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.) 10/25/12 - STATED - 2ND READING
Moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
And a privileged resolution calling for the City Council Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities to hold hearings on the economic opportunities available to the Philadelphia Gas Works resulting from the Marcellus Shale find and other developments in the natural gas industry, introduced by Councilman Kenney.
I move the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
10/25/12 - STATED - 2ND READING Moved and properly seconded. Those in favor? (Aye.)
And a privileged resolution recognizing the West Philadelphia Alliance for Children for their steadfast dedication to Philadelphia's public schools as they initiate literacy programs and open school libraries, introduced by Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of that, and also I would like to be recorded as voting no on Bill No. 120725-A.
The 10/25/12 - STATED - 2ND READING record shall reflect that.
It's been moved and properly seconded. Those in favor? (Aye.)
And a privileged resolution honoring PathWays PA as the winner of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce's Annual Excellence Award as the Non-Profit of the Year, introduced by Councilman Greenlee.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
And a privileged resolution honoring veterans of the United States Armed Forces who have previously served our country and protected our freedom and way of life in accordance with the observation of Veterans Day on November 11, 2012, introduced by Councilman Oh.
Thank you, Mr. President. I would move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
Moved and properly seconded. All those in favor? (Aye.)
There are no other resolutions on the Final Passage Calendar, Mr. President.
Thank you very much. Are there any speeches on the part of the minority -- I'm sorry. Before that, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
I want to go back. I'd like to be recorded as voting no too on 120725-A.
Thank you. The record shall reflect that. Any speeches on the part of the minority? The Chair recognizes Councilman Oh.
Thank you very much, Mr. President. I understand that this will be a busy weekend. I just wanted to invite everyone in City Council and listening to the observance of the 25th Anniversary of the Vietnam Memorial at Penn's Landing. It will begin on Friday, the 26th at 6:30 with a candlelight vigil and then followed by an 8:00 p.m. reception at the Sheraton Society Hill. The following day, on Saturday, the 27th, there will be a parade at 9:00 a.m., starting at Columbus Boulevard and Avenue, leading to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. At 12:00 noon there will be a keynote address by Chief Justice Ron Castille and a ceremony there. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Councilman. Any speeches on the part of the majority? The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Mr. President. I want to particularly thank all my colleagues on the Committee of Public Safety that passed the Youth Court resolution and report. It was a significant report, looking into best practices of peer mediation courts, holistic justice courts. We have advocates in the audience that swear by this as an intervention method, an empowering method for young people. And some of us might think it's a drop in the issues, until I had the opportunity to look at a YouTube message that was sent to me about the subject from another one of my colleagues that I grew up with. A lot of people made a lot about Ray-Ray. Well, I'm going to tell you about Piddy. Piddy sent me this, and he's a new guy. He's matured and he's doing good things, and I'm fortunate to have friends that had a wayward past that have gotten their self together. But this individual sent me a long conversation he had with other young people, and it chronicled his 26 years in prison. I'll say it again, 26 years in prison, two escape attempts, one successful, his number of armed robberies, non-armed robberies. He went back to the first time he ever snatched money out of a cash register. But before that, before he was on this path to crime, he talked about his first real disruptive incident that school classroom. When he was disruptive, got thrown out of class, and it began. That 26-year path began. At the time, no one intervened, could not see the warning signs, could not help him through some of his challenges personally to keep him from that path of crime. So I say to you today, I say to my colleagues today, this Youth Court is more than what we tend to know on its surface. It has the potential of setting a lot of young people on the right path from the classroom, averting the path to prisons, and if we can do that in any small way, we do a number of things. We create citizens, good citizens. We create taxpayers, and, more importantly, we relieve, as important, we relieve the burden of the taxpayer to $35,000 a year that we spend to incarcerate individuals, if we could just steer them to that right path. So thank you all for the support, and we're going to use that as a ruling guide as we look at how to implement that in our public schools. It's one of your critical concerns about public education, and I know you can't talk, so I said it for you, Mr. President. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman, for your continued good work. (Applause.)
Thank you, Mr. President. I make two announcements. Many of us know Oscar Robinson, African American jeweler, one of the first on Jeweler's Row, and he did a lot of Masonic items for many of those who are in masonry. Well, he passed away yesterday, and certainly we offer condolences to his son and his family. The other notice is that Month. Since 2004, this month-long observance recognizes the significant and vital contributions pharmacists make to health care in the United States, to improve medication use, and advance patient care in all practical settings. Both their theme and core message is that we recognize vital contributions, we enhance the images of pharmacists, and we educate the public and policymakers and pharmacists. To promote the importance of "know your pharmacist," we have a table out in the hallway between Councilman Jones' and my office with information there for you. University of the Sciences and students of the pharmacy, part of that university, Ashley Krumenacker, Jonathan Feathers, and Antonella Frattarelli, are there to pass out information. We hope you'll take advantage of it. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Green.
Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to take this opportunity today to publicly thank my Chief of Staff for another day, Sophie Bryan, for five years of great service to City Council and the City of Philadelphia and, in particular, my office. She was involved in some of the most important work that we've done over the last five years, including tax reform, into the budget details and helping us in that regard. She's involved in discussions on tax delinquency now and land bank and other things that we're going to have to finish up without her, but she has been invaluable to the work that I have done and I think she has also been very helpful to City Council. Councilman Jones often refers to her as the 18th Councilperson. And I'll certainly miss her, and just want to thank her for her dedicated service, which is going to continue, moving to the School District where she'll be helping the Charter School Office come up with policies about how it should be run and then directing other strategic initiatives for the School District after that. So I just want to thank her. (Applause.)
And, Councilman, I agree. I want to say to Sophie, you probably didn't read the fine print on the back of your initial application, but it does say that you will be required, regardless of where you go, you always have to come back and help the City Council of Philadelphia. It's a part of your pension package. Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Johnson.
Thank you, announcement. There will be a luncheon in the Caucus Room, an informal luncheon, by the Schuylkill River Development Corporation on the issue of stream buffers. So we welcome everyone to come in and join the luncheon and listen to the informational session by the Schuylkill River Development Corporation.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Yes. Thank you, Mr. President. I'd just like to join in the chorus on wishing Sophie Bryan well. I enjoyed working with her very much, particularly around the ethics issues. It was a good experience, and she is a fine employee. I really hate to are losing a very valuable employee. While she worked for Councilman Green, she was certainly available to all of us to provide help and information. So we wish you well, Sophie, but I will be calling you back, I'm putting it on the record, to deal with the ethics issues. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Yes, Mr. President. My two points grow to three points. I want to help Councilman Bill Green understand that Sophie is gone, without the E, and I too lost a dedicated, skilled professional, Joe Meade, to the School District. So know that -- welcome to that small class, Councilman Green, of those who have superstars that may go on to do wonderful District. We wish you well, Sophie. Mr. President, I also -- the trigger for me for the remarks today was a KYW story about Spanish billboards that I heard last week. In 12 days, Philadelphians will have the opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to vote. In 12 days, Philadelphians will have the opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to vote without voter ID. Thanks to an October 2nd decision by Judge Robert Simpson, voters are now able to vote without showing a state-approved photo identification. Why then, I ask, are voters in Philadelphia still seeing advertisements on websites, billboards, and television that read or depict a person holding up a photo ID wherein the script says, "If you have it, show it"? A spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of State told our Daily News Jan Ransom that their ads, areas, will not be removed. I wonder why. These ads are confusing and for sure they are misleading. We need to salute the many who have taken leadership on this issue; namely, Commissioner Stephanie Singer, Councilmembers Maria Quinones-Sanchez, Councilman Jones, and Councilman Oh and former City Councilman Juan Ramos, who actually heads up the Delaware Valley Voter Registration Education Project. Despite the advocacy of these leaders, there still may be a large segment of the Philadelphia population who continue to believe that they must provide photo ID. We can never assume that voters follow every judicial case that is handed down. People are busy, working multiple jobs, taking care of their children and grandchildren. These same citizens rely on leaders to provide clear, factual information that allows the voting process to be not only easy This advertising campaign does not pass the test. So, Mr. President, we all know that every vote counts. One of my horror memories is 2000 when George W. Bush was elected President because of 537 votes in the State of Florida. Were these advertisements crafted to intentionally suppress the vote in Philadelphia? We do not know. Do we believe that it can suppress voters? Absolutely yes. Therefore, I rise to respectfully ask the Pennsylvania Department of State to take down their billboards, stop running the ads, put their energy into educating all voters that, yes, they are indeed able to vote without a voter ID. My second ask goes to those watching, reading or listening. Mahatma Gandhi said it best: Be the change you wish to see in this world. Given current technology, young people, citizens, we ever. You do not have to wait for a news media story to be reported. You actually have the power to report the story yourself. Remember those 537 votes in Florida in 2000. Ask yourself, can I reach 537 people by way of Facebook or Twitter? How many friends, families or colleagues can you send an e-mail to over the next 12 days? How many neighbors, how many doors can you knock on on the block where you live? If you knew that you could change the world by reaching out to 537 people, would you do it? Trust that I will be posting on Facebook and Twitter to alert all Philadelphians you do not need a voter ID to exercise your right to vote. Spread the word. I ask and encourage all my colleagues to do the same. Thank you, Mr. President.
Yeah, Mr. President. I just wanted to clarify the announcement that I made. That luncheon is going to be immediately after Council's session, and that's the Schuylkill River Development Corporation doing a presentation on stream buffers for City Councilmembers and staff. Thank you.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you. Mr. President, I would like Sophie to note that on Tuesday at 10:00, the Education Committee will meet and one of the panelists is that of charter schools. So we invite her to come back and just keep working.
Thank you, Councilwoman. You have to of the rail she has to sit on. If there are no other speeches, at this time the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown for a motion for adjournment.
Surely, Mr. President. I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, November 1, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, November 1, 2012, 10:00 a.m. All in favor? (Aye.)
The ayes have it. Council shall stand adjourned. Thank you all very much. ) 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 October 25, 2012, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. MICHELE L. m 72:21 reads 8:25 23:22 35:2,13,19,21 previously 57:18 projected 41:16 real 54:3 74:2,25 36:8,14,18,25 70:21 projects 25:8 Q reality 23:7 37:16,22,24 pride 16:2 promised 41:11 Qayyum 21:7,11 really 6:5 12:20 38:6,7,12,14,19 primarily 58:15 promising 41:3 21:20 22:25 17:21 18:16 38:21 39:2,3,8 83:2 52:10 23:16,23 26:16 23:23 54:2 39:10,15,18 print 79:15 promote 25:9 27:4,21 28:9,16 80:25 40:3,7 42:2,3,10 prior 8:9 26:19,21 77:14 28:17,19 reappointment 42:12,17,20 prison 52:16 promoting 16:2 quality 3:18 43:9 43:4,12,25 44:7 74:17,18 prompt 26:23 question 62:7 Receipts 39:23 44:9,14,16 45:5 prisons 75:16 properly 4:22 questions 53:12 receive 3:18 12:10 45:20 46:2,3,8 privileged 8:3 48:24 55:22 Quinones-Sanc... 40:19 46:14,23 47:10 34:20 35:5,20 57:2 58:4 59:8 1:16 46:11 received 10:19 47:13,17 48:13 35:25 36:20 60:17 61:12 63:19 83:9 reception 72:21 48:18,23 49:6,9 46:8,16 66:15 65:7 66:3 67:3 quorum 2:7 recidivism 57:15 50:4,10 51:10 67:11 68:10 68:2 69:9 70:10 recognition 10:24 54:11,16,17,24 69:17 70:18 71:9 87:14 R 12:11 13:5 55:15,18,21,25 proactive 58:16 Property 37:6 radio 29:23,24 recognitions 56:4,18,22,25 probably 58:18 43:16 44:20 rail 2:9 87:2 10:20 57:5,8,20,23 79:15 45:10 56:9 raise 28:25 recognize 8:4 58:3,8 59:3,6,7 problem 12:19 proposed 41:13 Rally 21:7,21 11:4 19:10 59:12,15 60:5 29:17,18,22 protected 46:19 26:17,21 27:5 77:10 60:10,16,21,24 30:3,14,15,15 70:22 27:22 28:10 recognized 23:3 61:5,8,11,15,18 30:17,19 31:2 provide 17:18 Ramos 83:11 recognizes 2:12 62:5 64:6,8,19 problems 26:24 51:21,23 81:5 range 26:24 4:14 5:10,18 64:24 65:2,5,9 30:20 83:18,23 Ransom 82:25 6:15,24 12:5 65:12,20,23 proceedings 89:4 providing 9:4 rate 22:2 13:14 16:7,25 66:2,6,9,21 67:2 process 52:14 11:6 58:16 62:2 rates 52:17 57:16 21:5 28:16 34:3 67:6,9,20,25 83:25 provisions 34:14 Ray 28:23 35:16 36:11 68:5,8,18,21,25 Procurement public 22:21 Ray-Ray 74:7 37:19 38:2,9,16 69:5,8,12,15,23 47:23 34:16 35:7 36:5 reach 85:8 38:23 39:5,12 70:3,6,9,13,16 productive 17:11 37:6 43:16 reaching 85:14 40:4 42:7,14 71:2,5,8,12,15 productivity-re...