Matt McClure (Candidate for 4th Councilmanic District) Releases Fairmount Park Plan

On the 135th Anniversary of Arbor Day, Matt McClure, candidate for the Fourth Council District, released his plan for making immediate improvements to Fairmount Park by providing secure and adequate financial resources and clearly accountable leadership to make system-wide improvements.

Once elected, McClure has committed to immediately fighting for complete implementation of the Fairmount Park Commission’s Five Year Funding Plan. The majority of Fairmount Park’s 9,200 acres lies within the Fourth Councilmanic District.

“Its time to end the secretive backroom deals that select our Park Commissioners and City Councilmembers,” stated McClure. “Instead, I want to work hand-in-hand with an independent commission and parks advocates to keep our parks well-maintained, safe, and attractive. Fairmount Park is one of our region’s strongest assets, and with some innovative approaches to income retention and entrepreneurial opportunities, I believe that not only will we have the largest urban park system in the world, I believe we can also have the best.”

Matt's full plan for Fairmount Park can be found here.

Michael Nutter's Fundraising Surges

From the Nutter Campaign:

NUTTER'S MOMENTUM CONTINUES WITH A SURGE OF ONLINE DONATIONS

Over 313 Donors Give Average Contribution of $191 in last three days

Philadelphia, April 30, 2007

Michael Nutter, Democratic candidate for Mayor, today announced that his campaign raised more than $60,000 from more than 313 online donors in the last three days - Friday, April 27 through Sunday, April 29. Nutter said that he believed that this level of online support was unprecedented in the Philadelphia mayoral race and had likely far exceeded online donations made to any of his opponents over a comparable period of time. "These donations show that grassroots support for my candidacy continues to build, and we hope to ride this momentum straight through to May 15,"said Nutter. "Every time someone makes a donation, it shows a level of solid support - and from the start of this campaign the support that we have received has been phenomenal." Nutter said that more than 4,050 people have made a donation to his campaign for Mayor since he began his campaign last year. Nutter said that the online donations came after his campaign sent an email to his supporters reporting on a poll by Pennsylvanians for Effective Government (PEG) that showed Nutter in a virtual dead heat with the previous front runner, Tom Knox. Both the PEG poll and the Philadelphia Inquirer's endorsement of Nutter on Sunday, April 29, boosted donations to Nutter's campaign over the weekend. In 2006, Nutter raised more money and had more donors than any of the other four Mayoral candidates.

Michael Nutter's Latest TV Ad

Can be found here.

27th Ward Endorses Michael Nutter

Over in the 27th Ward - mostly University City - the Ward Committee overwhelmingly endorsed Michael Nutter for Mayor. The story - by Philadelphia's own Chris Bowers - can be found here.

Inquirer Endorses Nutter

In Sunday's edition, the Philadelphia Inquirer will endorse Michael Nutter for the May 15 Democratic primary election.

The Inquirer calls Nutter "the most promising package of achievement, persistence, smarts and vision." Further, the paper believes that it "is easy to imagine on the national stage as the fresh voice of a resurgent Philadelphia, changing the narrative from one about bloodshed, corruption and dysfunction to one about new ideas, new energy, new partnerships."

We're Number Five!!

The 25th anniversary edition of "Places Rated Almanac" is putting out its latest ranking of America's most livable cities, and Philadelphia ended up #5. Our sister City in the west of the state - Pittsburgh - was #1.

The ranking of 379 metropolitan areas across the nation is based on nine categories: housing (cost of living); transportation; jobs; education; climate; crime; health care; recreation; and ambience (museums, arts, restaurants and historical districts).

The rest of the top 10 are San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Rochester, N.Y., Washington, D.C., San Jose-Sunnyvale, Calif., Boston and Madison, Wis.

Bill would create regional authority for PHL

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

"A state representative from Delaware County, joined by other lawmakers, introduced a bill in Harrisburg today to create a regional authority to operate Philadelphia International, Lehigh Valley and other airports in the area."

"Rep. Bryan Lentz said in a news release that establishing a Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Airport Authority could help reduce congestion at Philadelphia, one of the nation's most delay-prone airports, by coordinating planning and operations at all the region's air fields. The authority would be required to have cooperative agreements with state authorities in Delaware and New Jersey, and to coordinate planning and investment with SEPTA and Amtrak, he said."

Another Media Endorsement for Mike Nutter

The University of Pennsylvania's student newspaper - with a daily circulation of 14,000 - has endorsed Mike Nutter for Mayor of Philadelphia.

"The [Daily Pennsylvanian] Opinion Board strongly endorses Michael Nutter for the next mayor of Philadelphia. While all five Democratic candidates have their advantages and disadvantages, Nutter has the vision, know-how and experience to take the city in the right direction."

"Philadelphia needs real, practical solutions from someone who knows how to get things done. Michael Nutter is that man."

Read the full endorsement here.

Vote for Philly

CNN and Travel and Leisure are rating the nation's top cities in a variety of categories. Last time (2004), Philadelphia didn't fare well. While it is one of the top places for sightseeing, we also were ranked to have the least "good-looking" residents and second to last quality of life. You can see the results here.

The survey is coming out again soon so if you want to vote, click this link and improve our standing!

The First Major Media Endorsement Goes to Michael Nutter

Nutter will be endorsed by Philly Mag in the May issue - hitting newsstands Thursday.

Said Philadelphia Magazine:

"We interviewed all five Democratic candidates, and the nearly unanimous view of the staff was that only Michael Nutter has the vision and sense of urgency to tackle the city’s problems, from ethics to tax cuts to taking on the murder epidemic. In the end, we felt that Nutter has the best potential to be an inspiring leader and to speak to all Philadelphians.”

"Well, there is one candidate in this race who has, over the years, shown a willingness to take on the entrenched interests and do the people’s business. His name is Michael Nutter, and he’s been on the right side of virtually every public issue the city has faced over the past decade and a half. The Police Advisory Commission, domestic partner benefits legislation, ethics in government, wage tax reduction, the smoking ban — none of it would have happened without former councilman Nutter’s Job-like persistence."

Mid-Atlantic Highlands Action Program

The Mid-Atlantic Highlands Action Program is a multi-state partnership run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It is the first-ever attempt to coordinate environmental conservation and economic revival in the mid-Appalachian range. The governors of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia recently announced they had signed the charter establishing the partnership, which is mandated by an 2001 act of Congress.

Governor Ed Rendell said the program - similar to the state's Pennsylvania Wilds eco-tourism project in northern-tier counties - will seek to balance the region's portfolio of recreational amenities with various economic interests. "Our challenge," said Rendell, "is to seek common ground and develop policies that will manage the many demands on this land, while preserving the natural beauty and heritage of the Appalachian Mountains."

The states, under EPA's aegis and funded by an initial $2.5 million federal grant, will survey the region's ecologically significant highlands areas and identify pilot projects to facilitate ongoing community conservation efforts and local economic development.

Friday Agricultural Factoid

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the Commonwealth has preserved over 350,000 acres of farmland. That's a lot of land. It's equal to 70 million parked cars, more than 233,000 football fields and is four times the size of Philadelphia.

PHL is GREEN

Philadelphia International Airport is the largest purchaser of wind power among all airports in the U.S. They've committed to purchase 7% of their annual electricity use - about 13,000 megawatt hours - from wind power each year.

Friday Agricultural Factoid

I know, it's been a while. I've been on a hiatus.

Anyway, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, more than 2 million acres of crops will be planted this spring in the Commonwealth. Farmers will plant wheat, corn, oats, barley, sorghum and soybeans across our state’s 7.7 million acres of farmland.