Views from Point Breeze

I was reading the South Philly review on Thursday, March 24th, 2015.  In it there was an article about the triumphant Boys and Girls basketball teams from this co-ed school.  The boys basketball team has won three state titles in a row.  The girls just wrapped up their second title in a row.  Talk about a major accomplishment.  I am so proud of the athletes that attend this school.  It became one school back when Catholic parishes were downsizing. At one time there was North Catholic and Little Flower.  St. James and West Catholic Boys and Girls.  When these schools were open, the Philadelphia Schools were not allowed to compete in the PIAA State Championships.  Those titles were collected by the likes of Chester High, Penn Wood, Lower Merion and Carlisle.  I remember some of the great athletes that came from other parts of the Commonwealth.  Billy Owens and Keith Wood were from Carlisle and Chester respectively..  James Spe...

I had a pretty good week last week.  I was excited about starting a new job at Children's Choice.  I received all of my clearances and even though I didn't work for three days, I was pretty content.  I also had my Granddaughter Malayja over for a week.  I always try to plan activities for her during the week and weekend.  Shawn and I took her with us for Easter shopping.  We went to the park and got cut short by an auto emergency.  One of the highlights of the week was going to be a trip to the Convention Center to visit the Black History Expo. It was a pretty cool day in downtown Philly.  My little baby was suffering from a runny nose and slight coughs.  We were not to be deterred though.  After a pit stop at Zio's Pizza, we were on our way.  I was headed up to the second floor to follow the flow of the crowd.  The second floor actually featured a regional volleyball championship.  So I made a hard left and was impress...

I was pretty happy when I heard that Salah Abdeslam had been captured the other day.  He was one of the attackers that slaughtered at least 130 Parisians in France on November 13th, 2015.  It was a terrible event.  Suicide attackers blew themselves up at a soccer game.  They also gunned down unsuspecting patrons at a heavy metal concert and at a restaurant.  He was born in 1989 and is the same age as my son.  What causes the anger to develop in young men to the point where they would commit acts like this?  Belgium seems to be a breeding ground for such frustration right now.  There are divisions in Brussels between Dutch and French speaking citizens.  Meanwhile, the poverty that exists breeds contempt for existing power structures.  My euphoria at his capture was short lived.  At least one of Salah's brothers blew himself up on that fateful night in November.  The four month manhunt for Mr. Abdeslam seems to indicate that h...

I just got finished watching CNN coverage of President and Mrs. Obama and their beautiful daughters landing in Cuba.  It is the first time that a sitting U.S. President has visited this tiny Caribbean country in over 60 years.  It is a Communist country that has been ruled by Fidel and Raul Castro for almost 60 years.  This kind of rule would be unheard of in our country.  In fact, the Republicans are so upset about the process of a new Supreme Court Justice that they are willing to wait a mere 9 months for the potential of a new President.  We think other countries are backwards sometimes.  Cuba is ready for a relationship with the U.S. and the rain that greeted our delegation portends beautiful things. The U.S. severed diplomatic relations with Cuba back in 1961.  They feared the revolution that Fidel Castro led at the time.  When I was younger, the Bay of Pigs, and its ramifications was a reason to loathe this country.  According to W...

We began meeting back in October about a project that would explore recent changes in my neighborhood in South Philly.  We saw the worst aspect of the recent changes in our neighborhood when anti-Semitic statements were shouted at a recent zoning meeting sponsored by a Registered Community Organization (RCO).  There have been rapid changes in the Point Breeze section of South Philadelphia.  On my block alone, there has been a house built in the last two months.  On the 1600 Block of Latona Street, there has been infill construction with the Latona Green project.  Also, new construction on lots at 1602 and 1604 has bought new neighbors.  On the 1500 block of Federal Street a house is being finished.  The building continues right across the street from the Office of State Representative Jordan Harris on South 21st Street.  The final analysis will be the demographics of those who moves in to these properties.  Are new neighbors racially and eco...

I am not a Republican.  I am an avowed Democrat who wants to see a competitive race in the April primary.  Many states have had their caucuses already.  Governor Christie, Jeb Bush and Ben Carson have already thrown in the white flag in surrender.  Marco Rubio won at least two states on Super Tuesday. The Trump machine is rolling but I would like to see some competition from Senator Ted Cruz.  He is probably most famous for shutting down the government in an offensive against the Affordable Health Care Act.  He has not made a dent in the race to the White House but I want him to do better. Last night was another Republican debate.  I had spent time earlier in the evening at a Black Voters Matter workshop.  It involved the 2nd Congressional District and to me was won by Dwight Evans.  I woke up this morning to a firestorm of criticism about the tone of the debate last night.  Donald Trump is being reviled for referring to the purport...