For area candidates, mixed results on Election Day
by MICHAEL J. MISHAK
Most 9th Ward voters went to bed on Nov. 2 with the knowledge that their vote helped clinch Pennsylvania for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. Still, the contest for the American presidency remained unclear, even for those who huddled in the glow of their television sets into the early morning hours, hoping the network anchors would give some indication of a decisive winner.
Ultimately, the fate of the race rested west.
Ninth Ward voters, uncertain of a presidential winner, propped their pillows with pride as one of their own was declared a winner before midnight on Election Day.
Jim Eisenhower, a longtime Chestnut Hill resident and former White House fellow in the Clinton administration, was declared the state's first Democratic attorney general since the position became an elective post in 1980.
The Philadelphia Inquirer boasted of the milestone in its early editions, but the victory was short-lived. For the second time in as many elections, the Associated Press called the race wrongly, with just more than 75 percent of the statewide vote counted.
Tom Corbett, the Republican candidate, did not concede, holding out for...
1,000-man march to converge on Germantown High
by MICHAEL J. MISHAK
In the wake of recent school violence, a coalition of local clergy and faith-based organizations plan to march on Germantown High School next week, hoping to draw at least 1,000 men, especially fathers, in an effort to squash rising tensions between neighborhood gangs, according to the Rev. LeRoi Simmons, executive director of Central Germantown Council.
The tension came to a head on Oct. 25 when Samuel Evans, 15, was shot in the back during a melee that involved scores of neighborhood youth just blocks from Germantown High School.
The march, scheduled for Nov. 16, is one in a series of recent youth outreach efforts, many of which were coordinated by local elected officials, including Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller and State Rep. John Meyers, Philadelphia Police and the School District of Philadelphia.
On Nov. 1, a community meeting at First United Methodist Church of Germantown served as a sounding board for parents, teachers and community activists as school and law enforcement...
New partner signs letter of intent with Chestnut Hill HealthCare, Penn
Chestnut Hill Health Care has announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Brentwood, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems for a proposed joint operating venture with the University of Pennsylvania Health System. The announcement comes less than a month after Vanguard Health Systems pulled out of a similar deal with CHHC and Penn, withdrawing its offer unexpectedly during negotiations with the university and the financially-troubled local healthcare provider.
The letter of intent guarantees the three parties an exclusive period of negotiation, but does not ensure a deal. "There's never really any guarantee until all the documents are signed," Chestnut Hill HealthCare spokeswoman Barbara Wilson recently told the Local. The terms of the letter of intent are confidential.
"We are really pleased that Community Health Systems, who have already worked with Penn, were willing to step up," Wilson said last week.
Chestnut Hill HealthCare, which includes Chestnut Hill Hospital, Chestnut Hill Rehabilitation Hospital and Springfield Residence, lost more than $3.5 million in operations in fiscal 2003. The institution has rebounded somewhat this year, operating at a "break-even point," Wilson reported.
"We have improved the financial position by more than $3 million from...