Views from Point Breeze

We are about to enjoy a beautiful Spring season.  February of this year was brutal.  I will never complain about a 90 degree day again.  Maybe.  I will miss one of my neighbors though.  Joan Jackson passed away during the winter season.  She was a long time resident of the 1600 Block of Wharton Street.  She was also a friend of one of my Mothers, Helen Boggs.  I remember her most from when I was a Machine Inspector and she was the Judge of Elections in the 36th Ward.  She had an awesome personality and was what we would call a straight shooter. She had one son named Michael Jackson.  At her Home Going service he gave poignant remarks about the impact that she made on his life.  She was a Grandmother and a Great Grandmother.  Her neighbors also spoke eloquently of the impact that she had on their lives.  I was speaking with Juanita Jarett the other day and I missed Miss Joan's presence on the block.  I volunteered a...

There was a horrible tragedy this week that occurred in the French Alps.  A pilot on a Germanwings Airplane decided to end his life and the lives of 149 other passengers on the plane which he was flying.  Initial reports are that he deliberately locked the cockpit while the other pilot went for a bathroom break.  The descent on the plane was swift and rapid.  There were no shouts from the cockpit or distress signals sent.  The co-pilot is said to be frantically trying to reenter the area but was successfully locked out. Andreas Lubitz had dreamed of becoming a pilot.  It was stated that he was in a gliding club prior to passing the rigorous testing required to pilot a plane.  Besides being a Doctor, this job literally requires passengers to trust their lives to human hands.  Authorities are now searching his apartment in Dusseldorf, Germany in an effort to discover any clues that could answer the question that many stunned observers want to ask...

It was a roller coaster ride for the Philadelphia Eagles this week.  It might have begun before this week with the trade of LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for Kiko Alonso.  Naturally, Alonso is a Oregon Duck.  Chip seems to be fond of the Ducks in our system.  If Clay Matthews still has a job with us next year, I will know that the fix is in.  Also, we let Jeremy Maclin walk to the Kansas City Chiefs.  Chip's mantra is supposed to be culture versus scheme.  I thought that Maclin bought a high degree of class along with an incredible work ethic to our team.  I wish both of these former Eagles well as they proceed on with their careers. One of the moves that had me befuddled this week was the trade of Nick Foles for Sam Bradford.  Sam Bradford has not been healthy enough to play a full season for the St. Louis Rams in almost four years.  His completion numbers are rather ordinary.  Plus, he is recovering from a torn ACL.  M...

Many people were stuck in the house on a snow day on Thursday.  Mother Nature has not treated Philly like she has done to Boston but it seemed like a day to chill in the house and watch movies.  I was saddened to hear on the 6:00 news that this officer had been gravely wounded by two gun wielding brothers.  The officer, Robert Wilson III, had stopped in to the Game Stop store located at 22nd & Lehigh Avenue to purchase a video game for his sons birthday.  Ironically, the son's birthday is Monday.  This young man will turn ten without being able to share it with his Father. The two perpetrators seemed oblivious to the fact that a police officer was in the store trying to make a purchase.  It seems like since there were two shooters that one would have also noticed the police cruiser idling less than 40 feet away from the store.  I guess that the desperation and the need for money blinded them to the fact that criminal intent needs to include surv...

Yesterday's budget address by Mayor Michael Nutter was a far cry from what occurred two years ago.  In 2013 the anger of DC 33 and 47 union members transformed Council chambers into a raucous affair.  The members had not received a raise or the hint of a raise for the six years that the Mayor had been in office.  He was not able to complete his address and had to present in a much smaller room.  Yesterday was a love in compared to two years ago.  The Mayor thanked Council members for their service.  He thanked Council President Clarke for stalling any legislation he proposed over the last few years.  I don't think that he worded it like that but you can infer from any recent bills what he really meant. In spite of any other line item mentioned in yesterday's budget address, the crux of the matter is always the school district.  The temporary increase in the sales tax in Philadelphia was made permanent due to the continual problems that the PSD ...