How Atlantic City compares to Chester City

I’m the guy who thinks the only thing that will save Chester is an influx of new people...particularly educated ones with money. 

Being as conveniently located to Philadelphia as we are, it’s a wonder our little city has yet to be carved into attractive gated communities and highway hugging condos. 

I came across this article that had a small mention of Chester’s casino. I took a moment to read the whole article and realized my crazy ideas are shared by people who know what they’re talking about. 

It looks like Chester is following the same failed mindset as Atlantic City. I believe it’s not too late for Chester to make a change if we can just get a few people in charge who embrace change. 

Click HERE for more

Chester Democrats name candidates

According to the Chester/Community Spirit, the Chester Democratic Committee officially introduced candidates running in the May primary election.

Endorsed candidates include Portia West and William “Al” Jacobs for Chester City Council; Bill Riley, Beverly Harris, Joan Neal and Tyra Quail for Chester Upland School Board; Nancy Walker for Court of Common Pleas judge; Patricia Worrell and Bill Clinton for Delaware County Council; and Marilyn Lee for Magisterial District judge region 32-1-21.

Sons of Ben Movie features Chester

www.sonsofbenmovie.com

Chester Upland denies charter applications

As I anticipated, Mr. Receiver rejected a couple charter school applications last week. (Click HERE).

Mr. Receiver, Joe Watkins, said the applications of Choices Charter School of Chester and Chester Hospitality Service Charter High School contained “excellent ideas,” but were not consistent with the recovery plan he developed for Chester Upland under the Act 141 distressed schools legislation.

Yet, a new charter school, 'Chester School for the Arts', was approved and opened this school year while Mr. Receiver vows to create an arts program in the district schools. 

It’s just another confusing message coming out of the school district. 

What’s next?

Click HERE for more

Chester vs Abington

Abington played their best quarter of the year in the first quarter, and their second best in the second quarter. After that, game over.

I don't know if it was the pink and silver shoes, but Chester accomplished one of the most disappointing 30 point victories ever. They couldn’t make layups, lost a ton of loose balls, got out rebounded more than they should have, and missed many of the few foul shots they took.

Darius Robinson did hit a few three pointers from the Septa bus stop on Broad and Cecil B and the 3rd quarter press wore on Abington, contributing to a 20 point deficit. 

Chester won on their tenacious defense, and nothing more. I didn’t think they’d score 50, but ended up with over 70. The Rondae steal at half court and subsequent slam ending with him landing on the defender for an And-1 was the highlight of the night. 

It wasn’t pretty, but there’s always Friday as the Clippers take on Lower Merion in their backyard called Villanova. 

You going?

Chester Noticeable Citizens Ceremony May 4th

Click to Enlarge

How dumb is Delco?

Back on February 11, the Daily Times published the list of the lowest achieving schools in Delaware County. We’re only surpassed by Allegheny and Philadelphia counties, home to the state’s two largest cities.

So, if Delaware County was a city, we’d be the state’s third dumbest. 

Chester, Chichester, Penn Wood, Academy Park, Interboro, and Upper Darby High Schools performed in the bottom 15% in the state according to combined math and reading scores on 2011-12 PA System of School Assessment test.

There used to be a time that we considered hillbillies stupid. Not any more. If you want to give your kid a better education, move to the Appalachian trail and get as far away from the Delco schools as possible. 

Obviously, the state has a better idea. They’re giving students from the dumb schools ‘Opportunity Scholarships’ in order to attend better performing schools if their household is under $60,000. If selected, students get $8500 to attend a different public or private school enrolled in the program.

For more information about the Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit program, including lists of Opportunity Scholarship Organizations and schools, as well as application information for businesses, visit www.newpa.com/ostc.

Click HERE for more

Chester Upland ended year with $2 million surplus

It amazes me that the school district never seems to know how much money is in the bank. In the past 12 months they’ve gone from dead broke to $2 million rich.

I still want to know how they project a $180 million deficit by 2017.

Click HERE for more

Mr. Receiver vs The State Rep

At haft time of the Chester vs Upper Darby playoff basketball game there was a weird foul shooting contest between the Chester Upland School District receiver, Joe Watkins, and Chester’s long time State Rep, Thaddeus Kirkland.

It was weird for several reasons. 

One, no one in the audience knew it was going to occur. In fact, when Mr. Receiver took the court to warm up, the public address announcer told him to get off the floor.

Two, Thad Kirkland took forever to take off his suit coat and tie, lace up his sneakers, and come on the floor. Upper Darby’s team was already into their layup drill and the Chester team had to sit on the bench and wait the contest out. 

Three, the half time clock was stopped so they could finish the contest before the start of the 2nd half.

Four, no one knew the rules and the public address announcer wasn’t keeping count.

In other words, the entire contest was a hot mess.

I heard Mr. Receiver had challenged Mayor Linder to a foul shooting contest but the Mayor was smart and sent Thad instead. 

The contest wasn’t close. Mr. Receiver, with his nearly 10 minutes of warm up time, made 15 out of 20 foul shots. Thad Kirkland maybe made 5 out of 20. At one point, the sympathetic Chester High cheerleaders surrounded Kirkland to encourage his shot. It didn’t work. He missed 3 more. 

After the contest, both men smiled and embraced. If I read his lips correctly, Thad told Mr. Receiver that he got beat fair and square shooting foul shots, but he bet he’d beat him in an election. 

Daily Times gets new owner in April

After filing for bankruptcy in September, Journal Register Company concluded its auction and is seeking judicial approval of the sale of the company to 21st CMH Acquisition Co. 

Currently, Journal Register Company owns the Daily Times, and 21st CMH Acquisition Company was the only company willing to buy all the news papers owned by Journal Register Company. Most likely the judge will allow the sale to go through. 

Part of the bankruptcy process, and in conjunction with the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act, requirers employers with 100 or more workers to give a minimum 60 days notice of plant closings and mass layoffs. Daily Times employees received an additional letter by email Sunday instructing them they will need to reapply for their positions starting March 1. 

Ruth L. Bennett - February

Here's your monthly update of the Ruth L. Bennett renovation project. Still no plans for it when it's complete. 

Chester High School stays in the dark

Every globe light at the front entrance of Chester High are always off

The corner of 9th and Barclay is well lit, but you can never see the school behind it. 

For years, the outside of Chester High school has been in the dark. Why?

If it was a business, License and Inspection would site them for not enough outside light. But, a school which could have hundreds of people attending basketball games, arriving and leaving at night, gets a pass.

Obviously, there’s no cameras watching the outside because my camera proves that it’s too dark to pick up anything.

I hope I’m not the only one who notices that the lights are either off or missing all around the entrances and exits at Chester High school.

Chester vs Upper Darby tomorrow night. Bring your own flashlight. 

Veta Roots designs in Nat'l Mag again

Found in the March/April edition of Sophisticate's Black Hair magazine page 116. I'm told that they are pants.

She'll design something for you, too. Call her at 404-749-0527 before you can't afford her. 

Widener Announces Winners of High School Leadership Awards

Ninety three local students were selected for their outstanding civic contributions and leadership

Widener University, one of the nation’s premier universities for civic engagement and applied leadership, in partnership with WCAU-TV NBC10, today announced the winners of the Widener University High School Leadership Awards.  

In its second year, the program recognized 93 students from high schools in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware who demonstrate courage and leadership within their communities.

Students were selected for their abilities to stand up for what is right, address a wrong and make a difference in their communities or schools. Among the winners, the Widener University High School Leadership Awards recognized students who:

·  Coordinated a fundraising effort to benefit families of wounded military personnel

·  Founded a non-profit group that provides peer counseling for students in crisis

·  Volunteered at a summer camp for underprivileged children and orphans in Armenia

·  Produced a video to raise awareness of the dangers of driving and texting

Health Partners Awarded “Multicultural Health Care Distinction” Second Consecutive Time

For the second straight time, Health Partners has received the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) “Multicultural Health Care Distinction.” 

In 2011, Health Partners became the first plan in the nation to receive this recognition from NCQA, the nation’s most trusted independent source for health care quality accreditation. 

The “Multicultural Health Care Distinction” recognizes organizations that identify and address healthcare disparities having to do with race, ethnicity and language. To be considered, Health Partners had to meet a rigid set of five crucial NCQA standards and document how it effectively meets the needs of its nearly 170,000 diverse members. After reviewing this information, NCQA identified Health Partners as having 100 percent compliance across all five standards — a perfect score!

Kirkland's ethics still in tact?

When Episode 6 of C-City TV aired on February 9th, I made mention of St. Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland being accused of ethics violations by the Mayor of Marcus Hook during the November campaign for the State Rep seat. 

Since I heard nothing of the accusations since that time, I figured it was a mute point.

An eagle eye blog reader told me that the Feb 13th Philadelphia Daily News brought the issue back up, although the article didn’t confirm the status of an investigation. 

Sort of makes you wonder why they brought it up at all since they had nothing to report. 

You don’t think the Daily News is watching the Chester City Blog do you? Naw. 

Click HERE for more

What's a Jawn?

jawn: A word used in Philadelphia to describe any noun whose appropriate word could not be recalled by the brain in the necessary time. You can tell the general education level of the user of said word by how many times they use it in a sentence. 

In today’s Daily Times, editor Phil Heron wrote of his desire to eradicate the F-word. 

It’s not cool; it’s not hip. It’s lazy...

That editorial reminded me of the word I desire to eradicate, the J-Word.

My daughter called me from Atlanta last week and asked me what a Jawn was? Some lady was using it repeatedly and no one knew what she was talking about. My answer was almost identical to the definition found above from Urban Dictionary. 

How many times have you heard something like this...

Yo, dat Jawn over there is the Jawn. I’m going to take my Jawn to the Jawn before the Jawn gets crowded with the rest of the Jawns.

Other terms nominated for eradication are: 

C I’m Sayin. 

You got dat Right. 

Ja Mean.

N-shit.

What would you like to see go away?

Afro wins teen Jeopardy

I watched a few teen Jeopardy episodes last week and was surprised to see a black teen boy winning the entire game by a landslide, only to risk all his money at the end and got the question wrong. All three contestants ended up with $0. Alex said he still had a shot at the playoffs depending on how the other games turned out.

When I heard a black teen won the tournament, I assumed that guy got another chance, but there was another black teen with a Michael Jackson afro who won the tournament. 

Like Gabby Douglas, I could hear folks telling him to comb his hair. Some probably wanted to see him in a sports coat and tie with his shirt tucked in. But this brother came in looking like he had somewhere else to be when he walked away with his $75,000.

I ain’t mad at him. 

Obama criticized for playing golf

Fox News' Ed Henry, who is the president of the White House Correspondents Association, to issue a statement saying, "a broad cross section of our members from print, radio, online and TV have today expressed extreme frustration to me about having absolutely no access to the President of the United States this entire weekend."

If the press exist for folks like us to see, hear, and learn what’s going on, are there really a lot of us interested in watching the President play golf? 

Barack has a basketball court at the White House and we hardly ever see him draining jumpers - and I bet he’s on that court quite a bit. There’s a pool at the White House, but we never see him in Speedos. I bet there’s a pool table, dart board and bowling alley in the White House along with a few decks of cards and some dominos. But, we never see him playing.

I bet if he rolled up to the West Wing shooting craps off the wall, we'd see that.

Hell, it’s President’s Day weekend. Can’t a President take a break?

Click HERE for more

Black History at Crozer Library today

Meet Chester's Democratic endorsed candidates

Chester City Democratic Committee invites all citizens to join us at our Democratic Committee Convention to meet the 2013  endorsed Democratic Candidates.

Date: Friday, February 22,  2013

Time: 6:30pm

Place:  Chester Fine Arts Center East

               7th  & Sproul  Streets

               Chester, PA

Free food, music and fun! All we need is you and a friend

Chester students know their mayors

Students from Stetser Elementary School and Frederick Douglass Christian School lined the front of City Hall’s community room Thursday as they took turns reciting a few lines about Chester’s 31 mayors.

To most of you, that previous paragraph probably means very little. It's written to set the stage for the rest of the article in the Daily Times. Not a lot of meat to chew on. 

But for me, it’s a sign that my work was not in vain. 

Here’s my story...

Painful interview with Hadiya Pendleton's mom

Listen to this interview of Hadiya Pendleton’s mom, the 15 year old girl killed in Chicago a week after performing at the President’s inauguration. 

If the pain in her voice doesn’t move you, nothing will.

From ‘NPR - Tell Me More’. Hosted by my favorite of all time, Michel Martin. 

Click HERE to listen

Chestercide...this Summer?

I love a good tease.

Ceremony Honoring African Americans "Making A Change"

Aaron Mathis- Community Leader  

Ieasa Nichols- Health Commisioner

Ryan Pettiford- Coach, Mentor     

Keiria Doward-Founder of R.E.A.C.T

Joe Benson- Brothers of Concern   

Nicole Cogdell- Community Activist

Emmanuel"E.U"Gilbert,Mentor         

Evan.Thelma Green-Activist

Jamila Shareef- Activist                    

Micheal Hurst- Accountant Role Model

Cephas Jahid Richardson-"Making A Change" Mentee

                                                

Hosted By: Cory Long      

Special Guest; Judge Dawn Vann, Radio-0ne's DJ TouchTone

Pastor Calvin Williams, Elder Simone Crump, Gospel Disciple's & more.                                

Friday February 22, 2013   6:30-9:00pm            

Tickets $20

Includes Dinner and Cabaret afterwards (9:30pm-1:00am)                      

The Wilson Center  1150 Engle St.  Chester PA 19013   

For more info on tickets or sponsorship ad's call 610-605-2308 

Soccer for Success to Hold Coaches Training February 19 at Widener University

Residents of Chester and Upland interested in soccer or helping to promote healthy lifestyles for children in the community are invited learn more about the Chester Upland Soccer for Success program at a Coaches Training event on Tuesday, February 19 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Schwartz Athletic Center at Widener University.

Participants will learn about the Soccer for Success program and receive training to be a coach in the program by members of the U.S. Soccer Foundation. A free dinner will be provided. Registration is limited to the first 25 people who register.

To register, please contact Brent Jacquette, Widener University men’s soccer coach, atbjjacquette@widener.edu or call 610-499-4542. For more information on the Chester Upland Soccer for Success Program, visit http://chesteruplandsoccerforsuccess.org.

Spelman College fundraiser features Avery Sunshine

Dear Spelman Alumnae, Spelman Family and Spelman Friends,

On Saturday, April 20th at 7pm at the Brandywine Country Club the Delaware Chapter is hosting An Evening with Columbia Blue, our signature event exclusively dedicated to raising funds for book and tuition scholarships for Delaware-Chester Spelman students. Our featured performing artist, Avery Sunshine is a Spelman alumna who most of us know as Denise White.

Our signature event will help us achieve (2) primary goals.  They are 1) to provide a book scholarship to EVERY Delaware-Chester student enrolled in Spelman College after the successful completion of her first semester and 2) to provide at least two 3-year $15,000 tuition assistance scholarships to a Delaware-Chester student who has successfully completed a year at Spelman College. 

The Media Youth Film initiative (MyFi) offers classes for young filmmakers

High school students had such a great time in the MyFi class in fall of 2012, one student said, “I never know filmmaking could be so much fun. I learned more in these ten weeks than anywhere else!”

MyFi is a new partnership between the Media Arts Council and the Media Youth Center where Center Director Brent Hill says, “The hope is to harness some of the energy young people have for digital arts and the internet and help them channel it into meaningful film projects.”  New classes start this spring in Media. Completed student MyFi films will be screened for the public as part of the 6^th annual Media Film Festival in April 2013.

MyFi instructor, local filmmaker and professor of communication at Villanova University, Hezekiah Lewis was impressed with the diligences and creativity of the students.

Chester vs Neumann Goretti

CCity TV is back

 I didn't realize it''s been 8 months since I did one of these. The past 8 months have been a tad hectic with losing a job, starting a new job, traveling, finishing the book, and stuff.

I'm am happy that I remembered how to do this thing. It's so easy to forget how all this stuff works to produce one of these videos.

If you like it, let me know. If you think it's crap, let me know. I'll be doing another one regardless of how you respond.

Summer Camp for Chester’s Kids

The YMCA will create a Summer Camp for Chester’s Kids this Summer in Chester, PA.    

The Better Living Center and Adventist Community Services have partnered with the Y to create a great summer experience for local children and youth.   

The YMCA invites you to the information sessions to find out how you can become involved:

Information on Jobs Available this Summer - March 5, 2013, 6:00 p.m. at the Better Living Center

Information for Parents and Youngsters Wanting to Attend Camp – March 19, 2013, 6:00 p.m. at The Better Living Center

Doing Business with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS) Bureau of Procurement Acts as the purchasing coordinator for statewide contracts and for purchase orders for goods and services. Representatives from DGS will discuss the new Small Business Procurement Initiative (SBPI) and procedures for small businesses to qualify for contracts. 

Widener to Host Two Business Workshops for High School Girls February 21 and 22

Widener University’s School of Business Administration will host a free academic workshop for high school girls. The daylong workshop is designed to simulate life as a business student and give participants an idea of career opportunities in the field. Interested participants may choose to attend the workshop on either Thursday, February 21 or Friday, February, 22. The workshop will begin with registration at 8:30 a.m. and end with lunch and an optional campus tour at 1 p.m. on both days. Most activities will take place in Widener’s Lathem Hall, East 13^th and Potter streets, Chester, Pa.

Mr. Receiver schedules 24 meetings

No one can say Joe Watkins is trying to hide. He has scheduled 24 meetings between February and June for you to witness the transparency of Mr. Receiver and the future of the Chester Upland School District. 

Honestly, when I first read the meeting schedule, my head was spinning. So, I created this table so I could make some sense of it. 

I wonder if there will be a reward for perfect attendance. 

Chester welcomes new fire fighters

Mayor Linder, Director of Public Safety/Councilman William 'Al' Jacobs, swear in Apprentice Firefighter Kevin Huderson during City CouncilMeeting in Chester City Council Chambers

Chester City Fire Commissioner James Johnson, Apprentice Firefighters Kevin Huderson, Anthony Cox and daughter, Clarence Pearsall, and Jeffery Crichton attend council session for swearing in ceremonies looking on during official procedures

Mayor Linder congratulates Apprentice Firefighter Anthony Cox

Stacky's Sandwich Shop reopens in Chester

Mayor and Council at the grand re-opening of Stacky's Sandwich at 3rd and Concord Streets Chester

Chester's MLK Parade great gesture

Since President Obama hijacked the King Holiday by moving his inauguration one day later than normal, it's nice to see a King event take front page where it belongs. 

To the organizers, great job.

Click HERE for more

Chester Upland poised to reject charter school applications?

Chester Upland School District has until March 5 to reject two new charter school applications. 

Why would a charter school try to come into Chester when Mr. Receiver has made it plain that he’s looking to bring students back to the school district from existing charter schools?

One proposed charter school will focus on getting students to become critical thinkers and the other will create hospitality experts. 

I agree with Rachel Foster who needs to see how that critical thinking curriculum will fit into an elementary school curriculum. In my opinion, if someone came in with a behavior and discipline curriculum, I’d let them in right away.

And, a school focusing on hospitality is cool, but I’d need to see other speciality skill schools coming into the district for students not interested in hotel, resort, food and beverage careers. 

But, it’s all for naught anyway because Mr. Receiver’s entire program would go out the window if he allowed more charters in town, wouldn’t it?

Click HERE for more

Free Tutoring Wednesdays

After School ONE-ON-ONE TUTORING 

Free Tutoring Sessions for Students

@

The Better Living Center 

Every 

Wednesday

4:30 PM - 6:00 PM

 

 The BLC and Holcomb Behavioral Health

Presents

"LIVING WITH PURPOSE"

 Workshops to help our students

Create Goals, Move Past Fear, and Taking Action with Passion 

Workshops will be part of the After School Tutoring Program 

 Refreshments Will be Served

501 Yarnall Street (6th & Yarnall)

Chester, PA 19013

Tyreke Evans has season's best against Sixers

Sorry, but that head was in every shot I took.

I try to make at least one Philadelphia 76ers game a year and I prefer it to be against either Jameer Nelson’s Orlando Magic or Tyreke Evans’ Sacramento Kings. Since the Kings tickets are dirt cheap, I opted to go last night.

Tyreke finally played well at Wells Fargo with a game and season high of 29 points on 11-18 shooting, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and a couple steals. 

The game was the Sixers’ to lose as they got out to an early 19 point lead but lost it in the 3rd quarter before coming back alive in the 4th to capture a decisive win.

In the second half, Tyreke matched up with his draftmate Jrue Holliday in an effort to stop his scoring spree. 

Jrue has gotten better each year and the Sixers have committed to him being here for a while. 

Tyreke has scored less in each of his four seasons with the Kings and it’s very likely that he’ll be playing for a new team by next season. He’s still a great player, but the Kings, with some very good players, are locked near the bottom of the NBA in terms of commitment to winning. 

I hope Evans gets a nice offer with a team that can exploit his unique talents.

During one series, Tyreke ran right over Jrue sending him flying to the floor, with Jrue being called for the foul, showing how much bigger and stronger Tyreke is than most NBA guards. Hopefully, someone with a winning team can work him into their system.

While at the game I had a nice chat with Tyreke’s brother Pooh Evans and former Villanova and NBA player Alvin Williams. I enjoyed my one night at Wells Fargo. 

Ruth L. Bennett House restoration begins

Construction has begun on Ruth L. Bennett and Wilson Nursery

The million dollar project with no purpose has begun right on schedule as I told you it would. Notice the fence and the porto-potty. 

Neshaminy Constructors are the general contractors so don't expect any folks around here to be working on the project. 

Will someone please save this gift to the city.

Click HERE for the history

Chester company sends computers to Wyoming

AWE Digital Learning Solutions of Chester had 13 of it’s Early Literacy Stations acquired by the Laramie County Library System in Wyoming.

The Early Literacy Station is an all-in-one computer system designed for children ages 2-8. It contains over 60 pre-loaded educational software programs and a child-friendly interface that allows children to explore and learn independently.

AWE creates digital learning solutions and is headquartered at the Wharf down by the river. 

Click HERE for more

Corbett Budget Clues Concern Education Advocates

With Pennsylvania schools already facing staff cuts, growing class sizes and programs in jeopardy, another concern is what Gov. Tom Corbett may have in store for education in his upcoming budget address.

Corbett's call to privatize state liquor stores and use the one-time funds for education turns a blind eye to what happens when those funds run out, according to Mike Crossey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, which represents 187,000 public employees, including teachers and school workers.

"The only way he's going to fund education is if he gets some of the reforms that he thinks are reforms," Crossey said, "and we're just very disappointed in the governor."

Pennsylvania's wealthier school districts may be able to compensate for some of the education funding cuts, Crossey said, but the districts that depend on state funding most, can afford this crisis least.

"If you go to the Reading school district, the poorest city in the nation, their cut per student was almost $1,300," Crossey said. "There's a community that doesn't have the personal or community resources to make up that difference."

Mayor John Linder’s administration is perceived as POOR

58% of you rate your city government as poor. The other 42% of you are equally divided in your opinion between Fair, Good, and Excellent (14% each).

I think I know what the problem is.

People in city government don’t care what people say or write about them. I’ve actually had someone tell me that they don’t care what people write on that blog of yours. 

Join the Philly Parking Sign rant

I've heard that Chester folks don't go to Philly. I don't believe that at all. I doubt if I'm the only Chester guy who got a parking ticket in Philly because I misinterpreted a parking sign. It's amazing how much clearer those signs become after you're slapped with a $36 ticket. The days of taking a chance and parking illegally because a ticket is cheaper than the parking garage is over.

Introduction to Government Marketing

Marketing Your goods or services to any level of government (federal, state, or local) is often quite different than doing so in the commercial marketplace. 

This introductory seminar will show you how to prepare for what is often a long term marketing effort.