Philadelphia Tribune - Index

Philadelphia Tribune - Friday, September 18, 2009 - Index

Friday, September 18, 2009
Volume 125, No. 89 Price 75¢
IT’S EAGLES HOME
OPENER!
WINSTON JUSTICE GETS HIS
STARTING CHANCE, SPORTS 1C
INSIDE ENTERTAINMENT NOW!,
EMMY AWARDS PREVIEW
HBO LEADS THE NOMINATIONS
WITH PROGRAMMING DIVERSITY, 6E
Senate Approves City Tax Relief
Mayor: Plan to cut 3,000 jobs has been averted
Across America
Commentary
Op-Ed
City & Region
Action Line
Eric Mayes
Tribune Staff Writer
In an 11th hour vote, just one day
before the city was poised to send layoff
notices to 3,000 employees and drastically
cut services, the state Senate
approved two tax relief measures needed
to balance Philadelphia’s budget and
stave off “doomsday” cuts.
News of the vote reached City Hall
ormer President Jimmy Carter continues
to draw fire from critics for
saying that racial politics played a
role in South Carolina Rep. Joe
ilson’s outburst during Obama’s speech to
Congress last week.
During an interview with NBC’s Brian
Wilson on Tuesday, Carter further elaborated
that in his opinion racism is also apparent
in some of the opposition the president
has faced since taking office nine months
ago, especially regarding the debate on
health-care reform.
He said that Wilson’s remark was reflective
of the thinking of some Americans —
Southerners in particular — that African-
Americans “are not qualified to lead this
great country.”
During many of the so-called tea party
protests opposing Obama’s health-care
reform in cities across the nation, people
have been seen carrying posters stating
“Obama’s Plan — White Slavery,” others
have depicted the president as a witch doctor
and Adolf Hitler.
“I think an overwhelming portion of the
INSIDE
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Sports
Lifestyles
Classified
Religion
Obituaries
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Today
Partly
Cloudy
high: 77º
low: 55º
shortly before 5 p.m. Thursday through
a phone call from Mayor Michael Nutter
who was in Harrisburg lobbying for the
approval.
“Everyone should stop everything
they were doing related to Plan C,” he
said, in conference call to department
heads gathered at the municipal services
building. “That is over and done
with.”
Layoff notices had been scheduled to
Debating
Obama in
black, white
Comments by president
Jimmy Carter push race
debate into forefront – again
intensely demonstrated animosity toward
President Barack Obama is based on the fact
that he is a Black man,” Carter said. “There
is an inherent feeling among many in this
country that an African-American should not
be president. Those kind of things are not
just casual outcomes of a sincere debate on
whether we should have a national program
on health care. It’s deeper than that.”
Carter reiterated his statements on
Wednesday, during an address at a town hall
meeting at Emory University, saying that he
believes racism is an issue for Obama in trying
to lead the country.
“When a radical fringe element of demonstrators
and others begin to attack the president
of the United States as an animal or as
a reincarnation of Adolf Hitler or when they
wave signs in the air that said we should
have buried Obama with Kennedy, those
kinds of things are beyond the bounds,”
Carter said. “I think people who are guilty of
that kind of personal attack against Obama
have been influenced to a major degree by a
belief that he should not be president
because he happens to be African-American.
Tomorrow
Sunny
high: 72º
low: 50º
Sunday
Mostly
Sunny
high: 74º
low: 56º
go out Friday. Plans to close all of the
city’s libraries, six engine companies,
three ladder companies, five medic
units, all recreation centers, two health
clinics and the city’s court and parks
system had already been set in motion.
The mayor’s phone call was greeted
with a standing ovation from his staff.
“You heard the mayor,” said Managing
Director Camille Barnett, who was visi-
City Workers – Page 6B
It’s a racist attitude, and my hope is and my
expectation is that in the future both
Democratic and Republican leaders will take
the initiative in condemning that kind of
unprecedented attack on the president of the
United States.”
The former president’s statements followed
a remark made by Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C.,
who during Obama’s speech on the healthcare
debate, shouted, “You lie!”
The U.S. House of Representatives voted
on Tuesday to formally disapprove of
Wilson’s remarks. Even still, the reaction on
both sides of the political aisle and among
American citizens continues to proliferate.
On Wednesday, the White House reacted
swiftly to Carter’s remarks, saying that Obama
doesn’t feel the opposition to his proposals are
based on race.
“Well, let’s take a look at what former
President Carter said. The answer that I’m going
to give is the same answer that I gave on
Sunday, when I was asked this question,” said
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs during
a press conference on Wednesday. “The
Racism – Page 5C
He takes health reform to students
Charles Babington
COLLEGE PARK, Md. —
President Barack Obama called reinventing
health care a “defining
struggle of this generation” on
Thursday, even as several
Democrats criticized some of the
fine print in a Senate proposal the
president has praised.
Obama told about 15,000 college
students at a campaign-style rally
that Congress must resist scare tactics
and false accusations to remake
the nation’s health-care system.
The fight will be difficult, he said,
and resistance that started surfacing
Thursday to a key provision in
Sen. Max Baucus’ bill illustrated
Larry Miller
Tribune Staff Writer
During many of the so-called tea party protests opposing national health care in cities across the nation, people have been seen carrying
posters stating “Obama’s Plan — White Slavery,” others have depicted the president as a witch doctor and Adolf Hitler. — AP FILE PHOTO
President visits Md. campus,
calls out ‘special interests’
that. Several Democrats expressed
concerns about a new tax proposed
by Baucus, a Montana Democrat
who chairs the Finance Committee.
It would apply to high-value health
insurance policies, but some say it
would hit too many middle-class
workers.
Obama, seemingly energized by
the wildly cheering students at the
University of Maryland, said forces
are lining up in favor of a major
health-care bill, even as “special
interests” oppose it. He said an
“unprecedented coalition” of hospitals,
doctors, nurses and drugmakers
support the effort. Some of the
most enthusiastic backers, he said,
“are the very medical professionals
who have firsthand knowledge” of
how badly the current system operates.
“When I sign this bill, it will be
against the law for insurance companies
to drop your coverage when
you get sick,” the president said.
Obama aimed many of his
remarks directly at young adults, a
CITY & REGION
Telling them ‘What It Takes’
Sports, business stars discuss achievement
with Black male students. 1B
group that activists would like to see
more involved in the push for a
health-care overhaul.
He again called for a public insurance
option, which most congressional
Republicans and some
Democrats oppose. It would not
amount to “a government takeover
of health care,” he said. Obama
stopped short of insisting on such a
plan.
Eliminating “waste and abuse” in
the Medicare and Medicaid programs
will help the government find
money to cover most of the
Americans now without insurance,
he said.
Health care – Page 5C
LIFESTYLES
Spring Fashions in Bloom
A week of designs to look out for when the weather warms. 1D
COMING
SUNDAY
Just
what are
health-care
co-operatives?
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Thursday’s
Senate action
was crucial to
Philadelphia’s
ability to balance
its budget
and avert
a “doomsday”
scenario of
layoffs and
government
shutdowns.
– FILE PHOTO
GOT BUSINESS?
Luring
retailers
to fill city
vacancies
Center City District pushes
area with Web site launch,
marketing campaign
Ayana Jones
Tribune Staff Writer
A new effort is under way to aggressively woo retailers
to Center City.
The effort is centered around the new Web site,
www.PhiladelphiaRetail.com, which has been
launched by the Philadelphia Retail Marketing
Alliance, led by the Center City District. The site
includes a database of available rental property, names
of corresponding brokers, information on government
incentives available for development and resources for
entrepreneurs seeking to start a business.
Backers of the initiative are hopeful that it would
help turn the Center City District into a thriving retail
destination.
“Everybody’s very focused on the fact that we’re in a
recession, but I think those cities that succeed are
those that position themselves for growth as we start
to see some early signs of recovery,” said Paul R. Levy,
president and CEO of the Center City District.
“What we’ve seen is Philadelphia has held up a lot
better than other areas. We’ve had less loss of jobs, less
foreclosures, so our market is strong and we think that
as the economy begins to rebound we want to be on
top of [people’s minds] who want to expand and grow.”
The new site focuses on the significant purchasing
power of residents, commuters, visitors and students
who frequent the retail establishments of
Philadelphia’s downtown area. The site encourages
potential new retailers to be “Be In On It” and features
success stories from prominent boutiques such as
Retailers – Page 4C
Backers are hopeful the Web site initiative will help
turn the Center City district into a thriving retail
destination. – PHOTO BY G. WIDMAN FOR GPTMC
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