CLOSE UP by Brian Rudnick

How would pro-life student regulate abortion?

A student who attends a Christian high school describes himself as "pro-life" and ponders how he would regulate abortion.

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I had off because I didn’t have a midterm test at school. I came in to work, 10:30 and after I’ll go sit down somewhere and study for the exam. WHAT’S THE EXAM ON? History, U. S. History. AND THIS IS AT..? Philmont Christian. AND WHAT ERA OF U.S. HISTORY DO YOU HAVE TO KNOW TODAY? It actually goes from the creation of the Constitution to modern day so we learn about cases and amendments, that stuff. DO YOU TALK ABOUT ROE V. WADE IN AMERICAN HISTORY CLASS? Yeah that’s one of the cases. WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT THAT DECISION? Which one is that, again? THE ROE V WADE RIGHT TO ABORTION DECISION? I’m definitely pro-life. I’m against abortion. A small percent of circumstances like rape and stuff like that obviously is really tough, a tough call but I think that even if someone isn’t born, the life is still important. HOW DO YOU BELIEVE THAT SHOULD BE REGULATED? It’s tough to say. I’m not sure, yeah, I’m not sure. Brett Steiger of Abington, Cedars Café, Forbidden Drive and Northwestern Avenue. Watch video here.

Israelis jail him for peaceful protest

Lucas Koerner from the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia talks about being seriously roughed up and arrested by Israeli police as seen in the video here during a trip with a peace group to Israel. He was subsequently jailed for two days for peacefully protesting the annual Jersulem Day parade which celebrates Israel's capture of East Jerusalem during the 1967 Mideast War.  Koerner reports that this was the first time that the parade was deliberately winding its way through an Arab neighborhood. Watch interview here.

Police Seargent to citizens: Get organized

HOW CAN WE HELP [YOU,] THE POLICE, DO YOUR JOB? The way citizens can help out the police department- we're supposed to work in partnership with each other. I would suggest that the best way is just to be visible. First, call us, 911, if you see anything that is suspicious or out of hand and the police can come and investigate it. But also, as a community, there's more that you guys have to take on your block. So it would be better to get organized and work with the police. You guys are out there every day, you're coming home from work, from school and play. You can just form up, you can have meetings on the corners that you identify as problem corners and inform us that you're doing it. Take charge of your block.

HOW DO THE PSA'S WORK?

The PSAs are police service areas and we've been up and running with the PSAs for at least two years already. Basically, we can identify problem areas, we can bring in specialists such as L&I, Abandoned Autos, on the specific problems you're having in the neighborhood. 

I NOTICED A YOUTUBE CHANNEL WHERE YOU HAVE VIDEOS,MAYBE SURVEILLANCE CAMERA? DO YOU KNOW IF THEY'RE EVER HELPFUL IN APPREHENDING ANYONE? With the technology these days, everything is helpful. If it's verbal, by telephone, or if it's video the detectives or police can definitely use it.

Philadelphia Police Seargent Michael Kennedy with daughter Lori after a Town Watch Meeting he helped lead at the 14th police district headquarters on Haines Street in Germanown, Philadelphia.

Watch video interview here.

Signature collectors know little about their candidate

A young woman, wearing a large white button reading "Official Democratic  Petitioner" was one of three individuals collecting signatures just inside the Chestnut Hill Pathmark on a petition for Donna Gentile O'Donnell who is running in the Democratic primary for Philadelphia's 8th District City Council Seat. [Yours truly ran and lost as a Green in the general election for this post in the 2007 general election] The young woman solicited a signature from a shopper whom she had just misinformed that O'Donnell is running for Commissioner. Her two companions appeared equally unacquainted and uninformed about O'Donnell or her platform. Nor was there any campaign literature in sight.

Watch video here.

 

THIS IS FOR WHO?

{Signature Collector 1]Donna O’Donnell. Donna O’Donnell

AND WHAT IS SHE RUNNING FOR?

Eighth councilmanic district.

IT’S A PRETTY GOOD SPOT YOU GOT HERE RIGHT INSIDE THE STORE.

Well, we’re just trying to be creative, that’s all

AND WHAT’S HER POSITION ON THE ISSUES?

You have to speak to her about that. I won’t speak for her.

WELL WHY ARE YOU SUPPORTING HER?

I think she’s a good candidate.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN HER?

Let me finish my job.

[Signature Collector 2]…. She’s going to be one of the electors for City Commissioner….

CAN YOU TELL ME SOMETHING ABOUT HER?

[Signature Collector Jay Scott] Well, from what I’ve been told by my office, she’s been a city official for about 20 years and she seems like a fair person. And we feel as though the Democratic Party couldn’t be represented any better.

IS SHE OUT HERE TODAY?

No we came up here on our own because we’re trying to solicit and we don’t know the area good but we figure because the supermarket is where people shop on Saturdays and department stores, we’d try to affiliate that with that information.

DOES SHE  PAY WELL FOR COLLECTING SIGNATURES?

I couldn’t go in for  answers because I’m not getting paid but so much but it’s OK.

Israeli traded sand for snow, hopeful for democracy in Egypt

Along the cleared paths of the Morris Arboretum, visitors enjoy a snowy winter wonderland. Jacob and Sarah Pinto come frequently to the arboretum with their sons Shachar (right) and Yishai, to  experience the trees or an outdoor concert.

Jacob, a native Israeli, says of his family's relocation here two years ago that they’ve traded sand for snow. He says it does snow in Israel but only in the Golan Heights and only for a couple of weeks each year.

When asked about the situation in Egypt, he expressed hope that the country, Israel's neighbor and enemy-turned friend, will have a real democracy.

Watch video here.

Movie buffs snatch up favorites at TLA Video, set to close next week

  

“WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WHEN THE TLA CLOSES?

Kelly Carroll: "On demand."

WHAT DO WE LOVE ABOUT MOVIES?

Mark Keintz: “The thing I like about movies is it lets me be vicarious so I see things that I might want to do myself but really wouldn’t dare do. Like “Lawrence  of Arabia” - I like the landscape, I like the story, I like the times.”

Kelly Carroll of Mount Airy and Mark Keintz of Chestnut Hill visited the TLA Video store to get some bargains on videos the store is selling before it closes in a matter of days. Kelly expects to begin watching on-demand which her family already has at home. Watch video here.

Peace High School Students talk about guns and Martin Luther King Day

WE WOULDN’T BE CELEBRATING MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY IF HE WERE STILL ALIVE AND NOT ASSASSINATED BY SOMEONE WHO WAS A LITTLE CRAZY, WITH A FIREARM. I’M THINKING THAT IT’S TIME TO REPEAL THE SECOND AMENDMENT. YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE BUT NO RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS. WHAT’S YOUR OPINION ABOUT THE ARIZONA SHOOTING AND THE VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTINGS?

“Most of us agree that the second amendment should be revised as to who’s allowed to carry a gun. We learned that in certain states you can carry concealed weapons. There’s no law against it. They force some colleges to allow students to carry concealed weapons…. There should be some sort of test to pass, not just filling out paperwork.” Breanna Hawkins, right.

“We’re actually learning about that in our English class. We have a lot of opinions about what happened what should have happened … Maybe it’s time for the police to also step up and go through the streets and find those people that are selling the guns and people that are buying them illegally. Most teenagers that have firearms are getting their guns illegally from the streets.” Brittany Moldey, left.

Brittany and Breanna, eleventh graders at the Parkway Northwest High School for Peace and Social Justice in Mount Airy, were welcoming prospective students and their parents on Saturday as part of their required community service. On Martin Luther King Day, Parkway students will help paint the lunchroom and others are volunteering to cook with younger children at the Waldorf School, also situated on the New Covenant Church campus in Mount Airy.

Watch video interview here.

AAA's Evelyn Houck rescues stranded Christmas Eve drivers

Evelyn Houck, a blond haired, blue eyed, AAA flatbed truck driver and mechanic whose home base is in Southwest Philadelphia made a call late Christmas Eve afternoon to a customer in Chestnut Hill. Houck jumpstarted the car to the delight of the customer who needed to pick her dog up at the pet store where it had been left, apparently, for a Christmas “do”. Houck expected things would get busy very shortly when some shoppers making last minute purchases at the Cheltenham Mall would return to their cars to sadly discover that they didn’t have their keys or had a flat tire or couldn’t start their car for one reason or another. This is the third consecutive Christmas Eve Houck has worked. She enjoys rescuing stranded drivers. Watch video here.

YOU’RE WORKING CHRISTMAS EVE.  Unfortunately, yes I am but you know what? At least I’m out here helping the people get on their way – [pointing to customer] saving your dog… You know everybody’s at the mall doing their Christmas shopping. So probably around 6 o’clock, that’s when the mad rush starts- getting home from the mall to their house – car didn’t start, car keys in the car locket out, flat tire, overheat, you know, all that fun stuff…I’m the only one in my shop now that’s a female doing this job but there are a couple other tow operators that work for different companies that are in this business, too.  AND HOW DO YOU GET THE HONOR OF HAVING THE FLAT BED? I love it. It gets the job done. Let me tell ya, this baby gets the job done. Cars with broken axels, ball joints, tie rod ends. Trying to get those babies up there is a hassle but ya know what? I get them up and I get them down. Rollovers, flip-overs, all those, yes, I do everything…. Some people don’t understand when they have a car, some dealerships don’t even show them where the spare tire is and they’re usually underneath the vehicle. You have to pop open the back, get underneath, and you have to see for yourself that there’s a spare. AND YOU HAD ONE TODAY? Yes, I did, and she was very happy that I didn’t have to tow her.  WAS SHE SURPRISED? Oh yes, she was very surprised that I jumped out of the truck… The big muscular guy – I get out of my tow truck and he just says one word “Gimme the jack.” It takes him twenty minutes to kindly walk back over and say, “Can you give me a hand?” I gave him a hand, showed him how to do it and now he went on his way. And now he’s probably going to call back triple A and ask for a guy now.”

 

Heavy traffic at "Snorkel" mail box

MANY PEOPLE DEPOSIT MAIL AT THE CHESTNUT HILL DRIVE-BY MAILBOX ON GRAVERS LANE DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Despite the surge in email and corresponding drop in postal mail, "snail mail" is far from a thing of the past. Especially at holiday time, many people prefer to send greetings or gifts that their recipients can hold in hand.

In recent years, in response to the decline in letter mail, the Post Office has removed many corner collection boxes and, according to spokesperson Cathy Yarosky, periodically conducts density tests to gauge use. A box will be removed if there are fewer than 25 items deposited [daily] during the test. “It costs the Postal Service money in fuel and time for our letter carriers to drive to that mailbox and collect the small amount of mail. Removing the box is simply good business sense in that respect.”

The so-called “snorkel” box at 13 West Gravers Lane is the only one of its kind in the the Chestnut Hill collection area and very popular with drivers such as Kathleen McDevitt and Rose Malley who work nearby and swung by one afternoon to make deposits.

Customers can deposit envelopes either through the regular, pedestrian-side mouth or from a car window through the street-side extension slot. Pedestrians sometimes unnecessarily walk into the street to use the opening meant for drivers.

Letter collector Patrick McKenna arrived about 5:30 pm one recent evening shortly after a customer was seen to have trouble stuffing her envelope in; he emptied a box crammed full to the top. The box is three quarters full other times of the year, McKenna said.

McKenna was unconcerned about handling stamped packages weighing over the limit in violation of the “13 ounce rule” affixed to the box which says that due to “heightened security,” mail over the limit must be taken to a retail service counter or will be returned to the sender  For security reasons, Yarosky would not comment on what makes a 12.9 ounce package inherently less risky or how postal employees avoid risk when they handle mail weighing more than 13 ounces.

Going door to door for college financial aid

“My name is Anice Austin and I am a culinary arts student at Montgomery County Community college. I am going door to door to ask for a donation to help me pay for my tuition. I am trying to be a chef in Philadelphia and surrounding areas as best as I can. I have thirty-three credits toward my goal. I need thirty more. Here’s a letter from the KEYS Program validating that I am enrolled in the college. Here is my roster for the classes that are needed in this program. I am encouraged with culinary because I feel that during the recession period it’s hard for people to get by. So I figured if I pick a major that’s recession proof- food- it’s hard for people not to eat and survive.” AND HOW ARE YOU DOING WITH THE COLLECTIONS? “I’m doing pretty good. I’ve gotten so far a third of the way there. I have also tried the scholarship programs but being as I enrolled so late, I missed the deadline.” WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO COOK? “I like to cook everything. My favorite is Caribbean foods. So I’m good with the curried chickens and the oriental meals. I really like everything- baking, cooking, pastry chef. Those things cover a lot of territory. So for me, that’s my baby.” Anice Austin of Germantown, going door-to-door in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia. Watch video here.