Cresheim Valley part of FEMA inspection
Damage evaluated during area tour, but federal aid is not guaranteed
by DENISE MAHER
Members of the Pennsylvania office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency took their first tour of the grim partial collapse of Cresheim Valley Drive last week, the first step in ascertaining whether federal monies can be secured to fund the rebuilding efforts for the popular roadway.
The funding could take weeks or, in the worst-case scenario, months to come through, according to city surveyor and engineer Joseph Syrnick, because “a lot of the programs are federal programs,” which are also funding the disaster relief efforts in Florida.
FEMA approved emergency funding for Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties Oct. 13, but at this point only individual property owners, not municipalities, are guaranteed to get aid, said Susan Greatorex, a spokesperson for FEMA’s field office in Harrisburg.
“The public assistance program that would affect municipal roads has not been turned on for this...
Labels abound in quiet campaign to oust Fattah
by MICHAEL J. MISHAK
When Stew Bolno accepted the Republican City Committee's nomination as their candidate to challenge five-term Democratic Congressman Chaka Fattah, he had hoped to convince voters of the costs and dangers of liberal ideology. With little more than a week until Election Day, Bolno has discovered few who want to have that conversation.
Devouring a late morning breakfast at Bob's Diner in Roxborough, the 56-year-old management consultant expressed his disappointment last week over unreturned calls and negative press.
Bolno, who was born and raised in Mt. Airy, has been dealt some poor cards in recent weeks. The League of Women Voters did not respond to his request to speak, he said. Though a Philadelphia Daily News piece gave him credit for his effort, the writer equated his campaign to "tilting at windmills" in a quest to realize an "impossible dream." And in perhaps the harshest blow, the Philadelphia Inquirer endorsed the incumbent Fattah, lending just one paragraph to Bolno, which...
Streetcars named desirable: historical society highlights Philadelphia tradition
by MEREDITH SONDERSKOV
Joel Spivak, co-author of Philadelphia Trolleys, will give a lively, illustrated lecture on the fascinating history of the streetcars whose tracks crisscrossed the city for nearly a century. Sponsored by the Chestnut Hill Historical Society, Spivak’s presentation will be on Wednesday, Nov. 3, at 7:30 pm at the Chestnut Hill Branch of the Free Library.
“You should be able to live in Philadelphia without owning a car. There was a time when you could travel all over the city on public transit — cheaply, comfortably and conveniently,” said Spivak, an architect by profession, a community activist and trolley historian by choice.
“All over the world, trolleys and light rail are making a major comeback. So what did Philadelphia do? We sold a whole batch of our old trolley cars to San Francisco in the 1990s. They’ve refurbished them and put them into service. Now they’re more crowded than the famous cable cars. Philadelphia just doesn’t seem to get it.”
Spivak’s enthusiasm for trolleys goes back to his childhood in West Philadelphia, when they were the main mode of transport and he and his friends could travel all over the city for free. His other interests are varied, from neighborhood preservation and beautification projects in Queens Village and South Philadelphia to organizing “The Philadelphia Row...