January 5, 2006 Issue
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January 5, 2006 Issue
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Classified Chestnut Hill Local Webmaster Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or ©2005 Chestnut Hill Local Winner of Three |
From our readers
Have a happy holiday, dear editor Please tell Joe Baker Jr., who wrote in his letter to the editor [Local, Dec. 29, 2005], “It is not as if all three holidays fall on one weekend, as they most certainly do not,” that if he would block out the anti-semitic and racist propaganda long enough to pay attention to the world around him he would realize that Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa did indeed fall on the same weekend this year. Merry Christmas Joe! Seth Shapiro
Open to everyone I read your editorial in the Dec. 29 issue with interest. I would like to comment on the sentence about the man with the large dog coming into your office.As one who sat in your chair for three and a half years and worked at the Local for 23 years before that, I can tell you that the open door policy to the editor is a tradition that has its pluses and minuses. The pluses are that you meet a variety of people (and dogs) who give you story ideas and who renew your respect and support for the diverse and busy life in the Chestnut Hill-Mt. Airy area. Sometimes, the best ideas came from people I saw on the Avenue or who made unplanned stops at the Local while they were doing errands. The minuses of an open door policy are that occasionally, people and dogs can be intimidating. I hope that the treatment you have received from some quarters does not cause you to close your door. You need to reach out to people. My long-time boss, Marie Jones, considered herself an ambassador and attended (or sent a representative) as many local events as possible. Remember that the Chestnut Hill Local is a community newspaper for an area where people really care about their neighborhood and folks who live and work there. Try not to take things personally. (I know that is hard.) The Local belongs to the members of the Chestnut Hill Community Association, so it belongs to many of the people who contact you. I assume you have joined the CHCA, and are therefore, part of the community. (Past editors and CHCA leaders meant ‘community’ to mean anyone who was part of or cared about the Community Association and its interlocking organizations such as the Chestnut Hill Business Association, the Parking Foundation, the Senior Center, Teenagers Inc., and the Historical Society. They did not mean “community” in the geographic sense.) I hope that in 2006, you will be able to focus the news on the activities of local organizations and people. Katie Worrall
Check the calendar Joe Baker’s letter to the editor last week (“Politically correct?”) showcased his amazing ignorance and laziness. One quick glance to this year’s calendar would have revealed to Mr. Baker that Chanukah did indeed begin on the evening of Dec. 25, and Kwanzaa begins every year on Dec. 26 — both of which occurred during the issue week of the Dec. 22-28’s Local. It’s great that the Local acknowledged all three holidays appropriately. If Mr. Baker wanted to rant about the liberal leftists using the Local to take over the universe, he really should have limited his letter to that topic and left the holidays alone. At least the Local checked their facts! On a separate note, I’m very sad to read the continuing saga of behind-the-scenes happenings at the Local these days. It seems like there are a lot of people around the Hill that need to get a grip on what’s really important in life and stop trying to fill their apparently empty days (how else would they have time for such unbelievable pettiness and childishness?) by trying to make themselves feel worthwhile by belittling others. What I’ve read from the Interim Editor makes her seem very down-to-earth, sensible, and even entertaining. Recent Local issues have had much more community information and much less internal reporting that no one cares about. Thanks! Jessica Taylor
Rezoning ordinance On Wed., Dec. 21, 2005, the Springfield Board of Commissioners approved a rezoning ordinance for the Tecce property by a straight party-line vote of four Republicans vs. two Democrats, with one abstention. The ordinance will allow high-density housing for an age-restricted community on this 41-acre property in the environmentally sensitive Panhandle portion of Springfield Township. Its passage further weakens Springfield’s AAA zoning, a progressive, lower-density zoning classification that had protected the Tecce property as well as numerous other Township open spaces. Some who would defend this vote will say that the board compelled the developer to meet the demands of the community. It is true that last minute negotiations between Tecce and the Friends of the Springfield Panhandle (FOSP), a nonprofit community organization, led to a public commitment on his part to reduce the planned development from 66 homes to 54, vs. the 39 possible under the existing AAA zoning. But this justification, as well as others voiced by some commissioners, entirely misses the significance of this most unfortunate decision. The commissioners who voted for the Tecce ordinance failed completely in their obligation to represent the interests of the township’s citizens. There was clear community consensus against the proposal, demonstrated by over 300 protest signatures, the objections of the Springfield Planning Commission and several respected environmental organizations, and the voice of many citizens at two well-attended public hearings. Not a single Springfield resident spoke in favor of Tecce at these hearings, and Tecce was unable to prove any hardship to justify the proposal’s passage. Yet in the end, the majority of the board sided with one man against the will of the community and the better interests of Springfield Township. Open space and responsible zoning are issues that unite Springfield citizens regardless of party affiliation. Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike were ill-served by the actions of the board’s Republican majority, two of whom, Gillies and Schaum, remain on the board as the new term begins. Our ultimate power to change this behavior lies with the ballot box. Let’s make certain we have long memories about this issue, and demand that our future candidates defend our community’s interests against those who would usurp them for undue personal gain. Brennan J. Preine
Never good enough No news is good news. Apparently. The spectacularly described spectacular event gracing page 2 of The Chestnut Hill Local, Dec. 22, may have been news. But it wasn’t. By-lined by the president of the CHCA, it was everything a photo-op is — posed, contrived, and illuminating in an amusing and accidental way. It failed to report if the Holiday House Tour met with the financial goal so confidently touted at the December Executive Committee meeting of the CHCA. Pre-event ticket sales as well as walk-ups should have been tallied by the end of the day. “Volunteer” is a word invoked with tedious regularity. It implies service freely given. It’s used to describe a generosity of spirit and labor. And yet, and yet, this article names a number of members of the board of directors for whom the donation of time and energy looked more like “business strategy” than a gift to the community. Martha Haley
Good work Just read your column, Carole, and thought it was great! The vast majority of us support what you are trying to do and are upset about the polarization within our community. Keep up the good work. Joe Mechem
Positive difference in 2006 We are discouraged and embarrassed by the way some members of our community have treated the interim editor of the Local, Carole Boynton. Having attended the acrimonious meeting at the library on Nov. 7, we should probably not be surprised. Of course there are, and will be, differences of opinion about how the Local should be run and how it should represent us. But there is absolutely no excuse for the incivility and obnoxious behavior that apparently continues to be exhibited toward Ms. Boynton. Chestnut Hill is not a museum, nor is it a model village. It is an attractive and unusual enclave in a large and diverse city. There are many things that need our attention if Chestnut Hill is to continue to thrive within the larger context of the City of Philadelphia. Let’s put our collective energy and resources into making a positive difference in 2006. It’s time for some members of our community to grow up and stop obsessing on their “little world.” Have some trust in others to do a good job, and let them get on with it. Anita H. Gratwick
Who’s on first? Lately I have noticed that the most interesting news in the Local is on page 4 in the box listing the staff positions. Jim Sturdivant and Michael Mishak are gone, replaced with interim editor Carole Boynton, and associate editor Shawn Hart. Shawn Hart is now gone. Nancy Berger moves to managing editor for one week, then operations manager and is replaced by Ellen Weiser as listings editor. Ellen Weiser is now gone. The advertising manager has been gone for a while. Perhaps you should give the staff box column status and call it “Mayhem on the 2nd Floor,” or “Where has my Local gone?” I want my old staff back. Noah Bruce |
