The only Webmail I’ve gotten today.

With finals just around the corner and many students waiting to hear back from employers about job opportunities, there could be no worse time for Webmail to go down.

Thank heavens we are supposed to switch to a new server (hopefully Gmail) in the Spring.

Still, who knows what important E-mails have been lost during the past few hours? How much confusion has this shut down caused? One month after we were supposed to get a new mail provider, is really there any accountability?

The corner of 33rd Street and Locust is one of the most dangerous spots on campus. It is an accident waiting to happen for the following reasons:

1. Motorists do not slow down at the curve or crosswalk, even though there is a blinking yellow light, two large cross walks and a pedestrian crossing sign .

2. Work trucks (presumably working on University buildings) often block the view of the yellow lights from drivers.

3. One of the blinking yellow lights is non-functioning.

I’ve had many close calls on this corner, and I’m sure others have too.

A flashing yellow light means that the motorist should slow down and watch for pedestrians. This clearly doesn’t happen at the corner of 33rd and Locust. In fact, vehicles go much faster than is safe to barrel around a curve. To prevent chaos–or an accident–the city must install flashing red lights, stop signs or a fully functioning traffic light .

The video below speaks for itself:

Mayor John Street’s brother, Milton Street, was indicted yesterday on charges of
corruption and tax fraud. He allegedly exploited his position as the Mayor’s brother to charge millions in “consulting” fees.

While this doesn’t surprise me at all, I am gritting my teeth waiting for the current mayoral
candidates to denounce this corruption and finally sever ties with Mayor Street.

For instance, Michael Nutter has shut-out John Street, citing his poor record in managing Philadelphia. Other mayoral candidates should follow suit. Considering that
candidates Jonathan Saidel and Chaka Fattah count Mayor Street as one
of their allies, it will be interesting to see how they pledge to serve at the helm of this city without denouncing the heinous actions that have taken place on John Street’s watch.

Why can’t Saidel act like he did in 1994 when he ripped Mayor
Street apart?

Maybe there is a backdoor trade
in the works where Fattah tries to become Mayor while John Street runs
for the House of Representatives?

Regardless, all that I am asking for is that the candidates distance themselves from
Mayor Street. They should try to win this election on their own merits and ideas. Having the backing of a corrupt politican is not what Philadelphians
deserve.

On Sunday, I rode New Jersey Transit and SEPTA back to school from New
York, taking the more thrifty alternative to Amtrak. As should be
expected for Thanksgiving weekend, the train was packed. After changing trains at Trenton from New Jersey Transit to SEPTA, my friend Katie and
I were squished into a seat by a third “seat partner”.

But then I noticed that, while some of us were struggling for oxygen, other riders had all the space in the world. This is because many passengers were obese and felt it was their right, their honor and their privilege not to share their seat with anyone.

A few years ago, Southwest Airlines caused quite a
storm with their policy of forcing overweight passengers to purchase a second seat.

This is a great idea and should be implemented on public trains.
It encourages weight loss and, though I’m certainly no twiggy myself,
I certainly don’t think it is fair for some people to sit in utter
discomfort while other people pay the same price for much more space.

Maybe all of this is on my mind because my dad recently purged our
house of products with trans-fats. All of my favorite snacks were
gone when I arrived home for the holidays. But I think we all want to live
long, healthy lives, so why not give it a shot?

Last spring, I wrote a column about why casinos were a poor
choice for Philadelphia.

Donald Trump’s proposed 30-acre “Trump Street” casino. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Now, as initiatives to bring casinos to our beloved city are gaining
ground, the casino businesses that will end up ruining our city are
using celebrities to endorse gambling projects.

Give me a break. As enticing as a dinner
with Michael Jordan or Sylvester Stallone would be, these people should not be deciding what’s best
for impoverished areas of Philadelphia. It’s unacceptable that casino developers are using celebrities as lobbyists.

If our government chooses to listen to these bozos who have no business
acumen or regard for this city, we should consider sending these celebrity lobbyists a message by not buying their products and films.

This week, I had the opportunity to interview Tony Payton, a newly-elected Democratic state Representative for North Philadelphia’s 179th district.

The representative Payton is replacing hasn’t passed legislation in Harrisburg for many years. This shouldn’t seem surprising since the man didn’t even live in the district that he represented.

Still a student at the Community College of Philadelphia, Payton impressed me with his vision to change his community.

Payton hopes to improve education (he has already visited the Bronx to see how high schools have gone from 50 percent to 95 percent graduation rate in four years). He also hopes to provide better healthcare for his sixty thousand
constituents.

As a freshman in Harrisburg, Payton will face many battles with seasoned veterans who have years of legislative experience. But Payton knows how to overcome challenges. After all, the Democratic party did not support him in the primary elections last May, so he launched a grassroots campaign for his party’s nomination and ultimately won by 19 votes.

If you watch Payton on my video, you will be able to see for yourself what this man is made of. His effort and drive to succeed will have great a great impact on his community.

I walked into Logan Hall last Friday to meet with my College advisor.
But I barely made it to the College office, as the stench in
the Logan lobby was so unbearable. I know this smell from locker rooms
and sporting events–it was 100 percent body odor.

I have experienced this same horrid stench upon entering this building for class. Either someone smells really bad and is contaminating the whole building, or there is some type of mold problem.

If I worked in this major University building, I would be livid. When simply walking through an entrance is practically a crippling experience, one has to ask the question: what is Facilities up to?

(PhiladelphiaForward.org)

Last night, I had the opportunity to attend a screening of the film Shame
of a City. This film chronicles the
2003 election for the Mayor of Philadelphia. The 2003 election was a divisive contest during which Mayor Street battled Sam Katz for the seat in City Hall.

Though the film won’t be released until March of 2007,
it is already long overdue. The people of Philadelphia should be aware of the
slimy tactics that have been used in and around City Hall, where “pay to play” politics are often the norm.

It’s a tragedy that mayoral campaigns are not subject to stricter campaign
finance laws. If an individual or business donates $50,000 to a
mayoral candidate, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that
something is expected in return.

Last night’s screening was sponsored by Philadelphia Forward, a bipartisan organization that encourages citizens to become more
involved with politics to avoid future scandals in this City
of Brotherly Love.

Perhaps the greatest part of Philadelphia Forward’s efforts were the
guest speakers after the film. As an advertisement for the event put it:

After the film, agent James K. Welch, the supervisor of the FBI’s Philadelphia Corruption Squad will be on hand to tell about how
surveillance of a violent city drug dealer led to the City Hall Corruption investigation.

One of the film’s “stars,” former
John Street confidant and Sam Katz campaign co-chair Carl Singley will
be on hand to answer questions about the film and the state of
Philadelphia politics. You say you want a revelation?

I’m not big on believing ads, but tonight, they were right. I was
absolutely blown away by the candor of Welch and Singley. As 2007
mayoral candidates are now stepping out of the woodwork, I hope that
anti-corruption pledges will be at the top of their agendas. More
events such as this one (which drew many political movers and shakers
of all ages from throughout the city) will move Philly in the
right direction.

Yesterday, I attended a rally at Penn featuring Robert Casey, Pennsylvania’s Democratic candidate for Senate.

While other journalists were inside the event watching Gov. Rendell get the crowd pumped, I chose to wait outside for Mr. Casey’s arrival. As he entered, I tried to ask a couple of questions about the now-infamous John Kerry comments. Casey rebuffed me, saying he would address this issue later. Because Casey is a politician, I was skeptical. So I decided to ask a Casey aide about the matter. He said that the only person authorized to speak on the record was the Casey campaign’s Communications Director, Larry Smar.

Larry Smar is a man that I have left phone calls and e-mails for in the past. He has never returned my messages. Nor has he returned the repeated voice mails and e-mails of other Daily Pennsylvanian staff members. Since the beginning of this campaign, the Casey strategy has been to shy away from the media, as they are up significantly in the polls and have little to gain from speaking with us.

Once again, Smar refused to answer my questions. Even as a member of the media, I never had a problem dealing with communications directors until yesterday.

I decided to leave the media pack and go off on my own. I was met with nothing less than Larry Smar obnoxiously covering my camera with a folder, accusing me of working with Virginia Davis (Rick Santorum’s press secretary) and an off-camera elbow to the stomach. Thanks Larry!

Very few people know that Bob Casey describes himself as a “pro-life” candidate. This may come as a big surprise to Democratic voters who dislike some of Rick Santorum’s stances on social issues. Well, if you didn’t know it before, Mr. Casey himself says it on our video.

But why aren’t reporters digging deeper these days? The rest of the press (including everyone from our own UTV 13 to John King of CNN) was crowded around Casey like a pack of dogs finding water after a draught. No one else was willing to break-away to interact with the candidate in an unscripted setting.

Maybe the problem lies with corporate ownership of news services. For example, when companies like GE own NBC, reporters run the risk of interfering with the interests of parent companies, who often donate to politicians. Perhaps I can only have such behind-the-scenes insults thrown at me because I still work for an independent publication.

One month ago, Philadelphia Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron hailed Penn’s newest building, Skirkanich Hall, as “the city’s best new building in years.” Well, Inga, I have no architecture degree, but you should really be out of a job. To me, this building is nothing more than a giant glassy booger.

I’ve yet to find a voice on campus–other than The Daily Pennsylvanian’s Opinion Board and Amy Gutmann–who approve of this structure. Skirkanich fits into Penn’s skyline about as well as a Sumo Wrestler working out on the main floor of Pottruck Gym.

Speaking of Pottruck, it’s architecturally a pretty cool building. So is Huntsman Hall. But why didn’t the architecture critics step up to bat for these structures? Our side of the Schuykill is also blessed with the awesome Cira Centre, but Inga Saffron arrogantly calls the creation “standoffish.” She also believes that “the difference is that Cira is a commercial office tower and Skirkanich is a work of art.”

Maybe Skirkanich hall is just a butterface, and her real beauty lies on the inside.

That’s way too optimistic. After speaking with students and employees who work in the building, I’ve learned that Skirkanich isn’t even awesome inside. The temperature is either hot or too cold, and the windows are so big (without shades) that they inflict a blinding West Philadelphia sunlight on whoever walks through the labs. It got so bad that people taped up large pieces of paper on the windows.

And what irks me even more is that this building cost $42 million. Just think about how many functional structures that fit in with Penn’s old-world charm could have been built for that price.