“City says Yuengling owes $6.6 million in taxes”

Are we supposed to believe the city just now found Yuengling’s bill in a pile on somebody’s desk?  The timing of this is curious, nobody downtown is saying much, and trying to determine what’s really going on is complicated…

Local 830 of the Teamsters Union was the bargaining unit at the brewery, but they were decertified back in 2006.  (It should be noted that this is the same Philly-based union that fiercely opposed Mayor Nutter’s “destructive” soda tax back in 2011.) There are claims that Dick Yuengling threatened to shut down the Pottsville  plant and ship the jobs elsewhere if the workforce didn’t dump the union.  However, there are some who think this is simply not true.  But just last fall there were reports that Dick was in fact considering a move.  Plenty of PA folks don’t want to lose this iconic brand so cutting the owner a business break might be something state legislators would do.  Is Yuengling strong-arming the state for some public money?

Meanwhile, the Teamsters are not happy with Yuengling. The local’s PAC has supported Larry Farnese, Patrick Murphy and Mike O’Brien, so they probably have broad political support in this union town.  Has pressure been exerted on city hall to support the Teamsters?  Is it possible Yuengling really is fleeing the state, so we’re gonna give them a kick in the ass before they go? Is this Philly’s way of saying f**k you, we don’t need your crappy beer (and with Yards, Dock Street, and Flying Fish we’re probably right)?

This being Philly and union business, I suspect there’s more to come and it ain’t gonna be pretty…

Hey, Dick. What’s worse than finding A horse’s head in your bed…?

Fundraiser for cop that punched woman

Is it possible that there are people in this city who think it’s a BAD idea for large men to sucker punch smaller women?  Even if the puncher is a uniformed public servant and the victim is an annoying drunk?   Well, if you’re one of those hard-core Philadelphians who think it’s normal for the police to be wailing on the citizenry then you should exercise your right to PARTY!  The FOP is offering beer, food, music and mixed drinks in support of the beefy officer who simply defended himself from an out-of-control skinny lady.  I wonder if there’ll be any games…?  Anyway,  it’s just nice to know that there’s ONE place left on the East Coast where gals are taught their place.  Thank goodness it’s always 1957 in Philadelphia!

 

Financial Planning for Philly’s 99%! Thanks, Mayor Nutter!

We’ve had Reaganomics and, now, Obamanomics, but closer to home we may be seeing a new mayoral riff on “the dismal science.”  This being the Greenest City in America, we’d like to call this brand of financial finagling: EcoNutmix.

The principals of EcoNutmix seem to include starving the union beast, raising property taxes during an economic downturn, and spending lavishly on a fancy concert for you celeb friends.

Philly’s unionized workforce (folks forced to reside in the city; aka taxpayers) has not seen any sort of raise, step increase, or cost of living allowance in over 3 years, but HAVE seen increases in health insurance premiums and union dues (Thanks, DC47!).  And our mayor has refused to make a good faith effort to negotiate these economic (and other) issues with union leadership, so his recent invitation seems a bit Romney-esque.  (Rumor has it that Nutter is headed to DC if the Dems are reelected, but maybe he’s playing both sides of the political coin in order to insure he can get outta Dodge?)  The mayor has invited all city employees to meet with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional (yes that’s a trademarked term).

Though it probably really is the people living paycheck to paycheck who are in greatest need of financial advice…

“Philly cops seize illegal ATVs, dirt bikes”

Nobody would ever accuse our boys in blue of being Meek, but what are they going to do with all those motorized vehicles…?

“Labor leaders cry foul on hoteliers’ convention blame”

It seems the Pennsylvania Convention Center has come a long way in terms of customer service for conventioneers. Now it is MUCH less likely that union employees will shut down all the electricity in advance of your conference like they did back in 2004.

It should be stressed, however,  that poor customer relations IS NOT a Union problem!  Union boss, “Johnny Doc”  Dougherty, has called for privatization of the center by some worthy corporation (like a subsidiary of his political patron, Comcast) in order to improve customer service…It’s the unprofessional, local bureaucrats who ruin the convention experience, NOT the unions.  Sure, there are a few complicated work rules and maybe an extra fee or two, but Philly’s a complicated place with lots of history.

Okay, so maybe a few tools, destined for charity, went missing when the True Value folks were in town, but that could have happened anywhere.   And it’s a big country with lots of convention centers so not EVERY convention can be in Philly, and some groups don’t come back.  It CAN’T be because of poor services at OUR facility.  There’s surely some other explanation…

But what happens if by some chance we DON’T have enough conferences and conventions in our center??  What becomes of such a large empty building?

FOP to Former Cop: Who do you THINK you are, some rich lawyer?!?!

Here’s a quote from John McNesby, an official with the Fraternal Order of Police:

He’s not respecting the uniform.  People died for that uniform. It’s not Halloween.

Who was he speaking about?

• Jimmy Binns, a local lawyer who’s acted in Rocky films
• Ray Lewis, a retired captain with 24 years on the Philly police force
• Jonah Hill, actor in “21 Jump Street”
• That guy from the Village People

If you guessed the ACTUAL POLICE OFFICER then you would be right.  In Philadelphia, there’s no crime we hate worse than a thought crime.  You can sell drugs, not pay your bills, create hazards for public servants, pummel innocent bystanders on the street, and a few other nefarious activities and you’ll probably get away with it.  If you engage in this sort of behavior because of SOME IDEOLOGY then you’re gonna get beat down.  Blocking traffic and destroying private property as part of a Phillies celebration — no problem.  Blocking traffic in an effort to call attention to economic inequality in America — you’re a menace to society!

We should probably just abolish the 1st Amendment – it causes so much trouble – and make the 2^nd Amendment #1.  It’s almost impossible for the average Philly cop to understand some sort of ideological argument, but easy to shoot somebody.  Why should they be forced to think so hard when they’d much rather just taser perps?  If we’re going to hold that 2^nd Amendment sacred, then it might be best to eliminate the 1^st.  Then, people might really think twice about opening their big mouths, so they’d be much less likely to get shot once everybody’s packing.  A win-win proposition.

Live Stop Might have Avoided Dead Stop on the Boulevard?

The Live Stop program reportedly took an average of 62 cars a day off the streets in 2010.  That’s a pretty vigilant record in the pursuit of protecting the driving public.  The program is all about public safety (and impounding the vehicles of out-of-control, rabid, non-registered drivers).  But with so many eyes on the road, you’d think some public servant somewhere might just have noticed a youngster driving an old Chevy before he got onto Roosevelt Boulevard.  Well, maybe he had all his paperwork up to date, so he just didn’t seem like a threat…

NEWS FLASH: Large groups of idle teens engage in mob behavior

“Let thy child’s first lesson be obedience and the second may be what thou wilt.”  That’s a nice thought from a founding father…obviously not one that’s been ingrained in many of our city’s youth.

Our illustrious mayor has been vowing to prevent gangs of kids from rampaging through our city for well over a year.  He and Charles “Slim” Ramsey, need to expend more than an ounce of prevention.  These kids seem to roam and attack with abandon.  In a down economy, the last thing you want is to scare off all the tourists.  And that’s a real possibility.  Heck, I used to live in NYC in the bad old days, now live in Center City and even I’m worried about being seriously maimed by a bunch of tween hooligans!

Nutter is big on branding, but he may have to do some re-branding if mob rule becomes the norm in this city…

"A mob's a monster; heads enough but no brains." -- B. Franklin