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Faxes Sent to Frank Rizzo

Letters

From:	AH
To:	Councilman Goode, Councilman Green, Councilman Greenlee, Councilman Kelly, Councilman Kenney, Mayor Nutter, Councilwoman Reynolds Brown, Councilman Rizzo, Council President Verna
Date:	Monday, 12/01/08
Subject:	Write the Mayor and City Council

Dear Mayor Nutter and City Council:

As a pet owner and frequent volunteer at PAWS, I urge you to
make the right decision today. Do NOT take the animal control
contract away from PACCA. The strives they have made for our
city's animals are incredible. A 600% increase in life-saving
in just 3 years! Every day I am in awe of what they accomplish
day in and day out. Let's continue to move toward being a no-
kill city and give these animals a chance at loving homes. They
deserve it, and in the words of PACCA, they can't do it without
us. Please, make the right decision today!

Sincerely,
Alicia Haupt, MD

To whom it may concern,

It doesn't make any sense why Philadelphia would choose to close
the largest animal shelter in the city. Every major city in the
United States that has made any lifesaving progress in the past
decade has been using the cooperative model outlined by the
ASPCA. I thought the new Nutter administration wanted
Philadelphia to be a "global city". The Health Department would
be wise to follow the standard practices of other cities and the
major animal welfare organizations such as the ASPCA, Maddies
Fund, the Humane Society and Best Friends Animal Society.

IF the PSPCA gets the animal control contract Philadelphia will
be the laughing stock of the national animal welfare community.
There isn't anyone nationwide who thinks that rfping the contract
was a good idea. Please consider the ramifications of having a
buffoon like Howard Nelson running your 3 Million Dollar animal
control contract.

In a time such as this, with the economic problems that we all
face, it is imperative not to push aside the issues that
currently challenge this city. Animals need people to be their
voice, and stand up for what's right. Please take a moment to
look further into what other cities are doing, and i'm sure
that together, we can work to avoid this potential trajedy for
the animals of Philadelphia. At this point, the following are
some of the accomplishments of PACCA. Please find a way to help
them continue their work, rather than present further obstacles.

600% increase in lifesaving (11% - 65%) in 3 yrs
100% pre-adoption spay and neuter
Foster care program initiation (saving 1,500 lives/year)
Volunteer program initiation
University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School Partnership
ASPCA: Mission Orange participant

We are advocating the reinstatement of the Alliance for
Philadelphia's Animals. We, the people of Philadelphia demand
teamwork and cooperation among Philadelphia animal welfare
organizations. This model has been successful in New York and
can be successful here as well. "The Mayor's Alliance public-
private partnership is setting - and being recognized as - a
national model for community animal rescue efforts. Groups in
Baltimore, Buffalo, Long Island, Ohio, Texas, Albuquerque, and
Tulsa now have or are working to create animal alliances
replicating the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals' successful
model." (Alliance for NYC' Animals)

Ed Sayres, the President and CEO of the ASPCA states, "There is
a common goal, and that's to save as many lives as possible ...
With an inclusive, collaborative model, we can and will
continue to make a difference to the animals most at risk and
sustain that difference over the long term." (ASPCA Press
Release)

As my elected official I am hoping that you listen to the
hundreds of voters that are members of my organization, the
Citizens for a No-Kill Philadelphia. It would be a terrible step
backward to close PACCA by awarding the animal control contact to
the PSPCA.

We are advocating the reinstatement of the Alliance for
Philadelphia's Animals. We, the people of Philadelphia demand
teamwork and cooperation among Philadelphia animal welfare
organizations. This model has been successful in New York and
can be successful here as well. "The Mayor's Alliance
public-private partnership is setting - and being recognized as -
a national model for community animal rescue efforts. Groups in
Baltimore, Buffalo, Long Island, Ohio, Texas, Albuquerque, and
Tulsa now have or are working to create animal alliances
replicating the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals' successful
model."

Ed Sayres, the President and CEO of the ASPCA states, "There is a
common goal, and that's to save as many lives as possible ...
With an inclusive, collaborative model, we can and will continue
to make a difference to the animals most at risk and sustain that
difference over the long term."

It is with this collaborative model that Philadelphia will
achieve No-Kill. Our group will hold you accountable for your
actions regarding this important matter. Thank you for your time.

PLEASE HELP, WE HELPED YOU< NNOW PLEASE US.

PLEASE HELP, WE HELPED YOU< NNOW PLEASE US.

please do not close or abort PACCA.. Animals like children are
not asked to be born and brought into this world and they need
this safe haven and the oppurtunity to be adopted by a loving
family.. money should not be the problem.. their safety and
their lives are at stake...



600% increase in lifesaving (11% - 65%) in 3 yrs
100% pre-adoption spay and neuter
Foster care program initiation (saving 1,500 lives/year)
Volunteer program initiation
University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School Partnership
ASPCA: Mission Orange participant

We are advocating the reinstatement of the Alliance for
Philadelphia's Animals. We, the people of Philadelphia demand
teamwork and cooperation among Philadelphia animal welfare
organizations. This model has been successful in New York and
can be successful here as well. "The Mayor's Alliance public-
private partnership is setting - and being recognized as - a
national model for community animal rescue efforts. Groups in
Baltimore, Buffalo, Long Island, Ohio, Texas, Albuquerque, and
Tulsa now have or are working to create animal alliances
replicating the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals' successful
model." (Alliance for NYC' Animals)

Ed Sayres, the President and CEO of the ASPCA states, "There is
a common goal, and that's to save as many lives as possible ...
With an inclusive, collaborative model, we can and will
continue to make a difference to the animals most at risk and
sustain that difference over the long term." (ASPCA Press
Release)



It is with this collaborative model that Philadelphia will
achieve No-Kill.



"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that
ever does" - Margaret Mead

Dear Mr.,Ms.,
How are you doing today? I am writing you about a matter
that is dear to the hearts of many,young and old on a street
called Yewdall Street in the West Philadelphia section of
Philadelphia...
For just about four years now,we,the residents of 100 North
Yewdall Street have been anxiously hoping that one day our
block will receive the makeover that is much needed,the
makeover that was promised(while still affording 100 North
Yewdall Street's redidents a place to live.When the
Neighborhood Transformation Initiative program was imposed on
Yewdall Street in 2005 we were told that new life would be
breathed into our environment.
Yewdall Street has seen no reconstruction since the NTI came
through it,rather,the issue of numerous vacant and/or abandoned
houses was replaced by numerous vacant lots which we the
residents of Yewdall Street are told are not in any form up for
private ownership.Lots which have themselves become an eyesore.
In concluding, I must say it hurtful and frustrating for the
residents of Yewdall to have been taken from plight into a new
wherein we can only wonder how we will fare. It is our hope
that the City will keep it's word and breathe new life into our
environment.
Many of you have been working with and for us. We sincerely
appreciate you.We just ask that you do not forget us.

By Beth Brelje
Pocono Record Writer
September 06, 2008

A longtime board member of the Pennsylvania Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals resigned with a parting shot at
PSPCA CEO Howard Nelson.

Richard H. Elliott, a Doylestown attorney, had been affiliated
with the PSPCA for 44 years, the last 20 years as a board member.
Multimedia

Elliott, who handled the PSPCA's legal issues for decades, said
he was pressured to resign after questioning Nelson's actions. He
is the second board member to resign in a year; previously
Suzanne Super left the board.

"Our board has a role as watchdog and is neither a bridge club or
a garden society, but the overseer of a major nonprofit
organization. Thus, I put some rather hard questions to our CEO,"
Elliott said in a four-page resignation letter to the board. The
specifics of those questions have not been disclosed.

Elliott is not the first to challenge Nelson's management with
negative results.

"If you can't do your job we'll find somebody who can" is a
frequent threat delivered to staff in person and e-mails,
according to former and current employees.

This alleged policy may have gotten the PSPCA into legal trouble.
A Venango County judge will decide next week whether a PSPCA
animal cruelty officer is guilty of working outside her sworn
jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, animal cruelty investigator Chris Martin, who covered
Monroe County, was fired in August.

"It is my understanding, he was asked to go into a kennel in a
county where he was not sworn," said Rebecca McDonald, a PSPCA
cruelty investigator for 21 years, who resigned citing ethical
differences with leadership, stress and work overload.

In a press release, Nelson said McDonald's claims were from a
former employee who was making "desperate attempts to undermine
the integrity of our humane agents."

According to Elliott, that is common language for Nelson.

"Nelson's conversations are consumed with phrases that start with
"pack of lies" and end with "disgruntled," Elliott said in an
interview in which he predicted Nelson would likely use those
phases to describe Elliott now.

In the letter, Elliott describes members within PSPCA as
pressuring other dissenting voices to resign and possibly
pandering to large contributors, some of whom sit on the board.

Elliott also raises a concern over what he calls "a recent and
quiet move to arm animal cruelty investigators with concealed
firearms. It is true that such arming is permitted by law,
conditioned upon proof of completion of legislatively prescribed
training. However, I strongly feel that accomplishment of such
arming is a recipe for tragedy and potential serious liability
and, at the very least, should be a matter for Board decision
rather than an unannounced implementation by management."

The letter criticizes Nelson's management style, saying, "our CEO
may unfortunately find difficulty in acknowledging even the
possibility of an area of human fallibility. Perhaps this is so
because of the adulation in which he is held by many, amounting
to an environment approaching the theocratic, which simply does
not permit acceptance of the possibility of even the most minor —
and perfectly forgivable — human error. Theocracy, as history has
shown, works poorly in government and perhaps ultimately more
poorly in business."

In response to Elliott's resignation, Nelson said he did not
think he should comment on the board to the media but added it
was Elliott's decision to resign.

Nelson asked Richard Sperry, president of the PSPCA Board, to
comment on this story. Sperry is the retired managing director of
investment firm Scudder Stevens and Clark. He now resides in
Florida and flies to Philadelphia for board meetings.

What's the trouble with the PSPCA board? "I don't think there is
any trouble. Howard Nelson as executive director has the full
backing of our board. He has improved the welfare of animals in
Pennsylvania and continues to work in that direction," Sperry said.

Sperry would not say weather the PSPCA is now arming humane
officers with guns. Nor would he discuss any part of Elliott's
letter, except to say that Nelson has the confidence of the board.

How much does Nelson earn? "I'm not even going to come close to
answering that," Sperry said.

Nonprofits must make the salary of CEOs public, but the report
the PSPCA filed for nonprofit status in 2007 has not been made
public.

Nelson was hired through headhunter, Diversified Search of
Philadelphia, in March 2007, and now earns $189,000, according to
a PSPCA board member. In his previous position, CEO of the
Washington, D.C., SPCA, records show Nelson was paid $110,000.

Former director Erik Hendricks earned $133,242 in 2006.

Elliott told the board the reason for his letter was his
affection for the PSPCA.

"I am concerned about its future and direction. It has the
potential for greatness and I want to see it achieve that status."

Dear Councilman Rizzo,
I am writing to beg you to add your support to the effort to
reverse ill-advised decision to close the Fishtown branch of the
Free Library. When my husband and I moved to Fishtown from South
Philadelphia in 1981, we were considered “urban pioneers.” We
raised two daughters in Fishtown, and watched as other young
couples moved in and then out to the suburbs as their children
reached school age. Frankly, the local schools did not meet our
expectations, but we were able to educate our children in public
magnet schools outside of the neighborhood, yet inside of the
city. Our children went to McCall Elementary in Society Hill, and
later to Masterman Middle and High School in Spring Garden. We
first learned about the school choice opportunities at a meeting
held at the Fishtown library. Our children went to public schools
out of the neighborhood, but belonged to the local community
because of their involvement in the wonderful Fishtown library.
The library has always been more than a mere reading room; it is
the hub of the cultural community, and a safe haven for our
families. When our girls were small, the library was a welcoming
place for a stroller. It instilled a life-long love of reading to
my toddlers, as it nourished my own reading and research
pursuits. Our girls used the library after school for homework,
and competed in exciting book challenges there in the summer months.
My eldest daughter, (now a Headstart teacher in West Philadelphia
who is pursuing her graduate degree in Social Work,) built a
model of the library in cardboard in second grade, wrote book
reviews for the Fishtown Star when she was in fifth grade,
volunteered at the library through her middle school years, and
took the children she babysat for to the library regularly when
she was in high school.
Fishtown wasn’t always an easy community in which to live, and
the current gentrification was not something we foresaw. The
local library has always served the members of the community as a
refuge from the violent streets. This library uniquely services
young and old, newcomers and old-timers, those with and without
financial resources. It is a place where people of all
backgrounds and speakers of all languages civilly gain access to
information, and that is the purest expression of democracy I
know. I can’t imagine the neighborhood without this tiny jewel.
The short-sighted budget cut will undoubtedly lead to long-term
disaster, and it is imperative that other “shared sacrifice”,
across the board solutions to the financial crisis be found.

Mr. Mayor Nutter
where did all the money go? You took office in January and now
10months later there is NO MONEY. What happened to all those
promises that you made? In April, citywide cleanup, free
transit that day, all the freebies given out that day... where
did that money come from.. you had money then and not now and
you now have to make ALL these DRASTIC CUTS all at the same
time. Libraries, when Children use something for the better,
you are taking that away.. Swimming pools, where children use,
you are taking them away. Do we not want OUR CHILDREN just
running the STREETS? No the good kids, will either not use
other facilities, because it in your eyes is not that far, but
in children's eyes, maybe they will be not be able to go there
alone without there parents. No child left behind, you left all
these children down.and maybe some of the kids who are running
the streets, may wake up and start using the libraries and
their afternoon programs. and as far as the Fire dept cuts,
you should be ashamed of yourself, we are now in a CODE ORANGE,
and you want to take away most needed safety personnel.You did
not take away a pumper truck or a ladder truck from YOUR
NEIGHBORHOOD. Well if I could turn back the time to election
day of November,2007, I certainly would reconsider my voting
for you to run this city.
You were elected to run this city upward, not into the ground.

Rallies! Get ready Mister Mayor... You have not seen nothing
yet... Most of these communities that you have hurt with your
cuts will make there voices heard.. around the city and around
City Hall.
How are other cities handling the financial crisis?
Are they cutting education and safety... I think not..If you
shut down fire companies, you are making a mistake and the
citizens also made a mistake on November 2007, when they voted
for you for Mayor... Change... looks like the same old
administration as before... just a bunch of broken promises..

Please push to collect back taxes before borrowing more money
from the government. No libaries should have to close. Spend
more effort collecting and not closing.

Philadelphia based owner location service is looking to help
the City of Philadelphia address the issue of vacant and
abandoned properties.

We Find Owners.com is addressing a major problem that many
areas of the country are dealing with today. Right now in the
United States there are hundreds of thousands of vacant
properties just sitting, abandoned, with no owner in sight.

It’s a common problem in many urban areas and it has been
growing rapidly since the major real estate crash in recent
years.

Many real estate investors, community development corporations,
and many non profit housing authorities are faced with the same
issue…….The owners do not keep their mailing address up to date
once they abandon the property, so it’s difficult to contact
them to address the issue and speak with them about the options
of selling.

We Find Owners.com has come up with a solution to this common
issue and hope to spread the word accross the country to assist
in solving this issue.

“It’s not about investors buying the property for pennies….It’s
about addressing the issue of blight and helping to sustain an
otherwise helpless neighborhood. Each vacant property that a
block has devalues the other homes on the block by thousands of
dollars. Our goal is to help people in these neighborhoods
retain their property values and allow those who wish to
acquire these properties a service that will solve the issues
that most services of our kind provide…” Says Tom Anderson,
founder of We Find Owners.com

“Our service is guaranteed” continues Anderson “If a person
wastes time and money tracking down an owner and never contacts
them, it is not in their best interests to focus on vacant
properties. It becomes expensive and time consuming. Our
service guarantees that we find the owners of the vacant
property and puts the buyer on the phone with the seller
directly. If we take the work and risk out of the process, then
they can focus on rebuilding communities.”

Anyone interested in learning more about this service can go to
the website at www.WeFindOwners.com

To call Tom Anderson directly you can reach him at 215-901-5916.

November 23, 2008

Dear Councilmembers,

Two weeks ago Mayor Nutter announced the closing of 11 branches of the Free
Library – 20 percent of the system – shutting their doors permanently within the
month, on December 15.

I am writing as an avid reader and a concerned Philadelphian - please find a way to
keep these 11 libraries open. They are treasures. Some of these branches are over
100 years old. A lot of them survived the Great Depression, and are still thriving. All
of them are havens of imagination and ideas in the bleary wasteland of everyday
life. They are more than books – they are de facto day care centers, and often the
only place thousands of Philadelphians can access jobs and educational resources
on the Internet.

Since Nutter's office announced the cuts, many have come forward with ways to save
money – including an astonishing editorial from the Daily News on the fact that the
Eagles owe the city $8 million. We have other options. Once you close these
libraries, the chances of them coming back are very slim.

The closer a library is to the community, the more it is used and valued. We have
one of the best library branches in the country. We would be fools if we didn’t fight
to preserve it.

Sincerely,
Hannah Miller

Dear Mayor Nutter:

Chinatown is under assault yet again -- having been run
rough-shod in the location and building of the now land-locked
convention center they are being wholly disregarded as a valued
community with the abrupt and unexplored relocation of the vastly
unpopular slots casinos. There is not a city or town anywhere
which has seen more benefits than detriments after inviting the
hungry snake that is slots gambling into their communities.

Increases in tax revenues and the creation of jobs is trumped by
the dramatic increase in addictive gambling and the social and
economic disasters this engenders. Cavalier cynacism is
displayed by the City in this latest assault on Chinatown as
Asians are especially prone to gambling addictions; both legal
and illegal gambling has destroyed families and lives.

Whenever the city involves itself too much in planning and
manipulating the natural development, disaster follows. In the
1970s Chestnut Street promenade -- closed to all but bus traffic
-- became a crime-ridden wasteland in short order with
once-highend shops fleeing the city or moving to Walnut Street.
The attempt to solve the crime and traffic problems created was
to allow busses and bikes to share the road -- two very
incompatible modes of transit. Cars were reintroduces more
recently, but no right turn allowed off the street -- leading to
many illegal maneuvers to try to navigate the chaos of it all.
The Gallery also has failed as a shopping destination because the
city was too much involved in selecting and influencing the
retail tenants.

It was not long ago the city proposed (perhaps a red herring to
distract real estate speculators with government connections)
that Chinatown absorb a baseball stadium! What a fiasco that
would have proven to be, and fortunately it was located adjacent
to other sporting arenas where the traffic and congestion could
be better absorbed. (Every study shows that sports patrons do
not go forth to spend in the surrounding communities anyway.
They bring traffic, trash and drunken riots.)

Why must the charming and successful Chinatown neighborhood
always be the whipping boy of the city? You proposed a 1500 foot
buffer when Fishtown and Northern Liberties neighborhoods were at
stake -- and they fought for years against the seeming inevitable
imposition of these predatory businesses into their midst. Why
no buffer for the thousands of residents of Chinatown? Why wedge
these unwanted albatroses into the city's business district at all?

Look at the impoverished disaster that was the neighborhoods of
Atlantic City surrounding their casinos -- and they were
full-service casinos, not just the low-end slots parlors. Look
at New Orleans and any other city that has allowed this
value-less practice into their cities. You will witness at the
doorstep of city hall, the further demise of Market East, and the
rise of the parasites that feed off this heinous industry -- pawn
shops and dive bars.

No neighborhood or business district has been elevated anywhere
by the introduction of slots gambling. The increased use of
police resources to deal with the inevitable increases in crime,
domestic abuse, and traffic congestion will be enormous. And the
social cost has proven to be very high.

These casinos build monolithic structures -- devoid of windows or
street retail and tend to ruin the street scape -- segregating
rather than integrating with the surrounding businesses.

The Commonwealth and our former Mayor Rendell have all but shoved
this concept of casinos in Philadelphia down our throats. At
every turn removing the rights of citizens to determine the fate
of their own community. And we are still gagging our present
Mayor also now joins in the assault you once pledged to protect
us from.

Casinos halt development, create traffic, generate crime, do not
enhance their neighborhoods, cultivate gambling addicts and lead
to general deterioration of the quality of life in an
ever-increasing web around them.

There are regions of this state that would actually welcome and
benefit from this type of development. I would "bet" there are
regions of Philadelphia's former warehouse and manufacturing
districts where no residential neighborhoods exist that would be
far better suited to house this type of high volume,
low-intergration business.

Casinos are best located in places where those who are vulnerable
-- addicts, the impoverished and the under-aged -- do not have
such easy access. They should be a destination, not an evil
plopped down in a citizen's back yard by an indifferent government.

Find us 10,000 citizens of this city who actually want these
casinos and let us hear their reasons for supporting it. Even
the weakest of impact studies -- a mere phone call to sister
cities who have invited this in with similarly mis-guided
expectations and short-sightedness -- and you will be given a
litany of reasons to change course now before it's too late.

Slots casinos are not the dens of glamour one might mistakenly
conjure with images of well-heeled patrons engaged in light
gaming and spilling forth to spend funds on dining and
entertainment throughout the city. Rather they attract the most
desperate of gamblers, the old, the poor who can little afford to
lose what they inevitably feed into the ravenous machines.

When the crime and desolation sets in, I don't think the
Commonwealth will be there with a helping hand as they are so
readily there now with the grasping hand.

Perhaps if a location can be found that does not offend
hard-working residents, the battles will end. Less attention
should be paid to what politically connected individuals will
make money on land speculation based on the casino location than
where they will do the least harm and, if even possible, the most
good.

I think this requires a map of the city, an overlay of
residential neighborhoods, and a true desire to do no harm to
your present tax-paying, hard-working citizens.

And please stop decimating Chinatown. It is an intact treasure
that's endured enough assault already.

Dear Mayor Nutter:

I am disheartened that you have signed into law two zoning bills
that are designed to put a large-scale slot parlor in the heart
of our historic city - on Market Street directly between
Independence Hall and City Hall, and that create a 24 block
district (from 6th Street to Broad Street and from Chestnut to
Arch Streets) in which casino zoning would be made permissible.
Many Philadelphians are disturbed that, in spite of public
testimony before the Planning Commission and City Council that
ran 99% against enacting the two Center City casino zoning bills
into law, both bodies passed the bills virtually unanimously
(one Planning Commission member courageously dissented) --
without any studies to back up the plan and with almost no
public discussion or debate among the members of either body.
There is a real fear that any future forums for public testimony
before the Planning Commission, City Council, or the
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, will simply be window
dressing to bolster the claim that a real process is taking
place.

I recall when you ran for the Democratic seat for Mayor of
Philadelphia, you gave your full support to the citizen driven
ballot initiative that required a 1,500-foot buffer zone between
casinos and neighborhoods. I applauded your announcement,
immediately after taking office in January, of the creation of a
citywide master zoning plan. Philadelphians were hopeful that
the master plan would create the kind of vision for the entire
City of Philadelphia that was created by Penn Praxis for the
Delaware waterfront - one that all Philadelphians could embrace.

Your support of the buffer between neighborhoods and casinos,
and your initiative to create a master plan, are undermined and
contradicted by the fast track legislation that legalized zoning
for a 5,000 machine slot parlor in Center City Philadelphia.
Thousands of Philadelphians simply cannot understand how a slot
parlor could end up in the heart of Philadelphia -- immediately
adjacent to three thriving city neighborhoods, and at the
disposal of tens of thousands of office, service and government
workers, commuters, and young people -- without any meaningful
public debate, cost analysis or independent economic or social
impact studies to determine that this is an acceptable location
for a casino.

They wonder how zoning for a high impact development of this
magnitude could be enacted into law without a comprehensive
analysis of the potential impacts taking place first. They
wonder what happened to your campaign promises to protect
neighborhoods and to change the culture of ad hoc zoning and
back room deals. Are they to believe that only some
neighborhoods deserve the physical buffer and not others?

Philadelphians deserve a true planning process by which all
possible sites in Philadelphia are evaluated for the two casinos
slated for Philadelphia under Act 71, to determine the least
damaging locations. I ask for you to honor your pre-election
statement that you "do not support gambling as an economic
development tool," but which is the very argument your Deputy
Mayor Andrew Altman and Terry Gillen have been using to support
the Market Street location. Please demonstrate the leadership
that caused the majority of Philadelphians to rally around you
in last year's mayoral election and begin a genuine alternative
site selection process.

Copies to my representatives in City Council

Dear Mayor Nutter:

I respectfully request that you do not sign into law Bills No.
080741 and 080742, involving respectively, zoning for the
proposed Foxwoods Casino on Market Street between 10th and 11th
Streets, and the creation of a 24 block district in which casino
zoning would be made permissible. The borders of the district
are from 6th Street to Broad Street and from Chestnut to Arch
Streets.

I recall when you ran for the Democratic seat for Mayor of
Philadelphia, you gave your full support to the citizen driven
ballot initiative that required a 1,500-foot buffer zone between
casinos and neighborhoods. I also applaud your announcement,
immediately after taking office in January, of the creation of a
city-wide master zoning plan. Philadelphians are hopeful that
the master plan will create the kind of vision for the entire
City of Philadelphia that was created by Penn Praxis for the
Delaware waterfront.

Your support of the buffer between neighborhoods and casinos,
and your initiative to create a master plan, are undermined and
contradicted by the fast track zoning now before City Council
that would put a large-scale slot parlor in the heart of our
historic city - directly between Independence Hall and City
Hall.

Without proper planning, a 5,000 machine slot parlor could end
up in Center City Philadelphia --- immediately adjacent to three
thriving city neighborhoods, and at the disposal of tens of
thousands of office, service and government workers, and
commuters --- without any meaningful public debate or
independent economic or social impact studies to determine that
this is an acceptable site for a casino. Experts in planning
agree: high impact development of this magnitude should start
with a comprehensive planning process and then be followed by
the zoning process.

Philadelphians deserve a true planning process by which all
possible sites in Philadelphia are evaluated for the two casinos
slated for Philadelphia under Act 71, to determine the least
damaging locations. We ask for your leadership in this endeavor
by taking the first step - please veto these two zoning bills.

Sincerely,

Copies to my representatives in City Council

Dear Mayor Nutter:

I respectfully request that you do not sign into law Bills No.
080741 and 080742, involving respectively, zoning for the
proposed Foxwoods Casino on Market Street between 10th and 11th
Streets, and the creation of a 24 block district in which casino
zoning would be made permissible. The borders of the district are
from 6th Street to Broad Street and from Chestnut to Arch Streets.

I recall when you ran for the Democratic seat for Mayor of
Philadelphia, you gave your full support to the citizen driven
ballot initiative that required a 1,500-foot buffer zone between
casinos and neighborhoods. I also applaud your announcement,
immediately after taking office in January, of the creation of a
city-wide master zoning plan. Philadelphians are hopeful that the
master plan will create the kind of vision for the entire City of
Philadelphia that was created by Penn Praxis for the Delaware
waterfront.

Your support of the buffer between neighborhoods and casinos, and
your initiative to create a master plan, are undermined and
contradicted by the fast track zoning now before City Council
that would put a large-scale slot parlor in the heart of our
historic city - directly between Independence Hall and City Hall.

Without proper planning, a 5,000 machine slot parlor could end up
in Center City Philadelphia --- immediately adjacent to three
thriving city neighborhoods, and at the disposal of tens of
thousands of office, service and government workers, and
commuters --- without any meaningful public debate or independent
economic or social impact studies to determine that this is an
acceptable site for a casino. Experts in planning agree: high
impact development of this magnitude should start with a
comprehensive planning process and then be followed by the zoning
process.

Philadelphians deserve a true planning process by which all
possible sites in Philadelphia are evaluated for the two casinos
slated for Philadelphia under Act 71, to determine the least
damaging locations. We ask for your leadership in this endeavor
by taking the first step - please veto these two zoning bills.

GAMBLING IS NOT A HEALTHY INDUSTRY. IT'S STILL A VICE.

Sincerely,
Ruth Sine
Copies to my representatives in City Council

Dear Mayor Nutter:

I respectfully request that you do not sign into law Bills No.
080741 and 080742, involving respectively, zoning for the
proposed Foxwoods Casino on Market Street between 10th and 11th
Streets, and the creation of a 24 block district in which
casino zoning would be made permissible. The borders of the
district are from 6th Street to Broad Street and from Chestnut
to Arch Streets.

I recall when you ran for the Democratic seat for Mayor of
Philadelphia, you gave your full support to the citizen driven
ballot initiative that required a 1,500-foot buffer zone
between casinos and neighborhoods. I also applaud your
announcement, immediately after taking office in January, of
the creation of a city-wide master zoning plan. Philadelphians
are hopeful that the master plan will create the kind of vision
for the entire City of Philadelphia that was created by Penn
Praxis for the Delaware waterfront.

Your support of the buffer between neighborhoods and casinos,
and your initiative to create a master plan, are undermined and
contradicted by the fast track zoning now before City Council
that would put a large-scale slot parlor in the heart of our
historic city - directly between Independence Hall and City
Hall.

Without proper planning, a 5,000 machine slot parlor could end
up in Center City Philadelphia -- immediately adjacent to three
thriving city neighborhoods, and at the disposal of tens of
thousands of office, service and government workers, and
commuters -- without any meaningful public debate or
independent economic or social impact studies to determine that
this is an acceptable site for a casino. Experts in planning
agree: high impact development of this magnitude should start
with a comprehensive planning process and then be followed by
the zoning process.

Philadelphians deserve a true planning process by which all
possible sites in Philadelphia are evaluated for the two
casinos slated for Philadelphia under Act 71, to determine the
least damaging locations. We ask for your leadership in this
endeavor by taking the first step - please veto these two
zoning bills.

Sincerely,

Copies to my representatives in City Council

Hello





PLEASE KEEP ENGINE 39 IN SERVICE.

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