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Brett Mandel at Philadelphia Forward is running a poll on pay-to-play and City Hall reform. It asks: "What Does The Primary Election Mean For The Reform Effort?" As of this morning, 94 percent said it means the reformers have won (37 percent) or might win (57 percent).

CAVEATS: The donations listed here in many cases are lower than reality. And some companies may be listed more than once with slight name variations. The list is verbatim, so to speak, based on employer names as written on disclosure forms. Only identical employer names were combined. No effort has been made to reconcile names that merely looked similar. As a result, the amounts given in some cases are surely lower than reality, although the data overall are accurate. (We provide the alphabetical listing for comparison of similar names). Also, a large number of disclosure forms contained no information for "employer" and those donations are not included here.

- Thomas Ginsberg

Our colleagues at the political blog Great Expectations are gathering an earful of complaints and advice for Michael Nutter before he enters office. He has promised to answer them. The earful includes (predictable) calls for abolition of the business privilege tax, more jobs, fewer casinos. See the main page here, the first round of comments here and the second round here. - Thomas Ginsberg

Shares of Urban Outfitters have gained more than 41 percent over the last year, outperforming rivals including The Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) and Abercrombie & Finch Inc. (NYSE: ANF), and the company expects the good times to continue. Last month, it launched a new store brand "inspired by the greenhouse."

As of April 30, the company operated 110 Urban Outfitters stores, most of which were in the United States. During the last fiscal quarter, it opened three stores in the U.S. and one in Canada. "We plan to open additional stores over the next several years, some of which may be outside the United States," the company said. All of the company's stores opened more than three years are expected to generate positive annual cash flow before the allocation of corporate overhead.

- Jonathan Berr

The NYT chimed in today with its Vernon Hill wrap-up. The paper didn't get an interview with the ousted chief of Commerce Bancorp. But it does get N.J. politicos to describe Hill's place in the South Jersey empire of George Norcross. And it finds a few more digs, literally, at Shirley Hill.

Courtesy bighornmountains.com

Shouldn't a township would know that? ...

Phil Goldsmith, former managing director of the city of Philadelphia, and now chief of Ceasefire PA, recently spoke with Inquirer columnist Monica Yant Kinney about businesses stepping up to help addess the worsening problem of violence and guns in the city. Not usually one to hold his tongue, Goldsmith opened fire (sorry) on business people for being more talk than action. Yant Kinney gave us her unpublished notes on the short conversation, printed here with Goldsmith's permission:

Yant Kinney: What will it take to get outcry from the business community and/or the rest of white/powerful Philly about the violence? Will it really take the shooting of a kid from Penn?
Goldsmith: Unfortunately, the answer is yes. If the homicides were occurring in Center City, God forbid, as opposed to where they do occur, you would have a much more engaged business community, a much different rallying impact. ... The business community, the Chamber [of Commerce] is actually on record in favor of one gun per month. They’re in favor of reporting lost/stolen [guns]. It’s one thing being in favor of something. It’s another actively getting your constituents involved.

Yant Kinney: Has the business community been asked to get involved?

Goldsmith: I don’t know if they’ve been asked, but I don’t think they have to be asked. My point is, what’s going on in Philadelphia, as well as in Reading, as well as Lancaster, as well as Allentown, this is just not a Philadelphia issue. It’s having an economic impact in the city. When Philadelphia makes the national news as it has, the past several months, there’s no way in the world that helps the business community, economic development or tourism in that city. It shouldn’t take having a white kid killed in Center City to galvanize the community in this city. It shouldn’t be that difficult for people to connect the dots. They know what to do if they want tax breaks. This is as important to the vitality of this city as well as the livability of the people who live here.”

Goldsmith also said, in a paraphrase from Yant Kinney, that the first thing businesses and universities ought to do is have a "more vocal role" in Harrisburg, where legislative efforts to fight the problem consistently have faced impasses or been watered down.

We intend to ask the Chamber for response. Yes, the Chamber, led by Joseph Frick of Independence Blue Cross, and some other business people have been speaking up and taking some action about the violence and the need for busineess community involvement. But are they the exception? Tell us: What other business people are really stepping up? Funeral directors?

- Thomas Ginsberg

Heard In The Hall, an Inquirer blog, says today that the city along with Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is finally creating a new cable access system. It will be run by an entity called Philadelphia Public Access Corp. and will be available to Comcast customers. It's been several years in the making. One of its champions has been Gretjen Clausing. Some people think public-access TV has huge untapped potential as a promotional vehicle for small businesses. Then again, there's public-access entrepreneurs like Ugly George in NYC, who gained fame in the early 80's by convincing women to bare their breasts on Manhattan public access TV (now run by Manhattan Neighborhood Network. Stay, uh, tuned.

- Thomas Ginsberg

By a hefty margin, PhillyInc poll respondents say Philadelphia businesses have no particular responsibility to help to combat the city's worsening gun and violence problem. At least that's what they said in our unscientific and anecodotal, though perhaps indicative, online poll.

We asked: "Do local businesses and/or executives have a responsibility to help combat rising violence in Philadelphia?" The most popular answer, chosen by 45 percent, was: "No, their job is to prosper and create jobs, period." The second-most popular chosen by 29 percent was: "Yes, but they have shirked it and could do more." Two other options accounted for the rest. (Click below for bigger chart).

We were prompted by Philadelphia's ex-managing director Phil Goldsmith and Inquirer columnist Monica Yant Kinney, who say city businesses with so much at stake have been more talk than action on the problem. Responding to our poll and disputing Goldsmith, Mark Schweiker of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce insisted on the Chamber's blog that businesses have done quite a bit. Even so, he and Goldsmith do implicitly agree that businesses have a responsibilty to the community to help deal with the problem.

And that's where this poll is interesting. It seems most PhillyInc poll respondents think both guys are off-base on that point. In total, the share who answered "no" on whether business have such a civic obligation was 62 percent. That was 36 out of 58. (Yes, just 58 plus 1 write-in. We actually get hundreds of visits a day). You could argue, correctly, that our online poll is soft, anecdotal and unreliable. But perhaps no more unreliable than the way most people form opinions about what others think. Imagine it this way: Over the course of a year you attend 58 dinner parties, and 22 guests insist over apetizers that businesses ought to step up to the plate, while 36 scream during dessert that the job of businesses is business, period. For most people, just three people saying something make them think it's trend. Here's 36. Of course, that doesn't mean they're right. We intend to run Q&As with people on both sides of the topic. Stay tuned.

- Thomas Ginsberg

Marcia Gelbart at The Inquirer reports today on something akin to a great sign of relief that David L. Cohen has agreed to become the next chairman of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce a year from now. She quotes outgoing chairman Joe Frick telling a chamber conference today that Cohen's return to a civic role and Michael Nutter's impending election may help release some "pent-up energy" for a business-friendly tone from City Hall than they've had under Mayor Street.

- Thomas Ginsberg

Who's that with Girard-diCarlo?

- Thomas Ginsberg

Perhaps it was a secret hiding in plain sight. But Peter Rost at BrandweekNRX got our attention this morning by saying that Jeff Kindler at Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) not only contributes to Democrats but is a major supporter of Hillary Clinton for president. He bases this on a clear pattern of pro-Hillary campaign donations, and he poses this question:

Question is what this means as far as Hillary goes - if the big drug companies start to support her, she sure has come a long way since she tried to implement healthcare reform.

We also might wonder how this might play with other C-level pharma executives, who by and large are Republicans and support Republicans, according to our experiences and a raft of research. Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK)'s CEO Dick Clark is a registered Republican in Montgomery County. So is Wyeth's R&D chief Bob Ruffolo. The list could go on. And of course the industry's lobbying generally has been skewed toward the GOP, and the GOP has been skewed to support the industry. Then again, the political landscape for Big Pharma began changing last year with the Democratic takeover of the House. Stay tuned.

- Thomas Ginsberg

Mark S. Schweiker of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce says businesses are pivotal to the city's anti-violence efforts and blames the media for missing it. On the other hand, health-insurance company CEO William George says businesses could be doing even more to combat violence.

And so it goes. In the last couple of years, many horrific slayings in Philadelphia, a rising homicide rate and an intense debate over gun-control laws have led officials, residents and activists to scour the community for solutions. The city business establishment says it has joined in efforts to tighten gun laws and improve the job situation. That claim has been questioned by former Philadelphia Managing Director Phil Goldsmith and Inquirer columnist Monica Yant Kinney. In our unscientific, anecdotal online survey on the topic, most respondents indicated they think businesses need to focus on prospering and creating jobs, period. (See all our previous posts here.)

Now we've conducted Q&As with two thoughtful leaders on the topic: Schweiker of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber, and George of Health Partners, a nonprofit health plan. These CEOs don't seem to disagree in substance as much as in tone and focus. Each insists they are not adversaries on the topic. In fact, their approaches strike us more as complimentary than contradictory, maybe even the foundation for some new efforts.

Both Q&As are published in full below. Or you can jump straight to the Schweiker Q&A or the George Q&A. Shorter versions are appearing in print today and tomorrow in The Inquirer's business section. Please, feel free to comment, pontificate or criticize (politely, please).

Philadelphia has snagged $60 million in federal tax credits for development projects along commercial corridors citywide. So crows Mayor John Street and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., which competed against other places for the funds.

Give the city credit for pursuing the money, although its publicity was a week late and bit curious. According to the city's press release, PIDC was "the only allocatee in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in this fifth round of awards." Yes, but the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, which administers the grants, lists at least eight allocatees from other places that will be investing in projects specifically in Pennsylvania, meaning credits may be available on the ground here, whether or not they come through PDIC. (There are 10 listed for New Jersey.) An odd omission from the city, although technically PDIC is correct in calling itself the only allocatee from Pennsylvania that facilitate credits.

According to the PDIC, "the New Markets Tax Credits Program permits taxpayers to receive a credit against federal income taxes for making qualified equity investments. The credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year credit allowance period."

- Thomas Ginsberg

Well, listen to a story about a man named Vern ... as in Vernon Hill, founder and ousted chief of Commerce Bancorp (NYSE: TD). The Courier-Post reported today that Hill has gotten part of his large residential property in South Jersey declared farmland and has claimed roughly $60,000 in tax credits (his property tax bill was $270,331). What does he harvest? Roughly $1,000 per year in firewood. We'll give him a call.

- Thomas Ginsberg

Jim Rohr, the chief executive of PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC), and PNC's regional president, Bill Mills, today are unveiling an infusion of funds to support a pilot math curriculum at the North Philadelphia Head Start Program, part of the bank's $100 million decade-long charitable effort. That's great. But there's something else interesting here: the bank is specifically tying its action to calls to fulfill the hopes of the 1997 volunteer summit. Its spokesman Edward Kozmor attached the following note to the top of the press release to Inquirer reporters:

One business angle stems from a commentary that ran in the Inquirer last Thursday: "Ideas on easing poverty reflect a sense of its burden on Phila.," by Douglas Pike. Look at the background material below and I'll think you will find a good story that answers some of the questions posed by Mr. Pike's commentary.

It's telling that anti-poverty and community-building concerns may now constitute a hook for publicity about corporate charity efforts. PNC's donations (evidently a long time in the works and part of a broader charitable vision) happen to come as people seem to be making more noise about local businesses' role in fighting Philadelphia violence and poverty. This past week, organizers of the "Call to Action" anti-violence program, including A. Bruce Crawley, pleaded specifically for "corporate Philadelphia" to support them. And today, Lynne Korman Honickman -- the philanthropist and wife of retired bottling kingpin Harold Honickman -- has launched a new city campaign against gun violence. It's enough to make one wonder: Does the city need some kind of summit meeting again, this time to coordinate these disparate efforts of businesses and activists?

- Thomas Ginsberg

The IRS says it's looking for new revenue agents for expanded operations in King of Prussia, Reading and Lancaster. But its help-wanted ad made us wonder momentarily if tax scofflaws have anything to worry about: "You'll receive excellent federal benefits, exceptional training, plus time to enjoy life."

Following up on our boilerplate press release post yesterday, James Browning, director of PennPIRG, got back to us yesterday evening. We told him that Pennsylvania, contrary to his statement that it "lags" the national trend, actually is ahead of the national average in the study. He paused, then said:

"PennPIRG has been calling for greater accountability by the state, to know how tax dollars are spent, and sunshine is the best antidote for [problems]."

He continued: "In making the argument for Pennsylvania to do more, and in talking about this with (PIRG chapters in) other states, the argument we're making is it's not keeping up with the latest technology in this area. Given the great possibilities of the Internet, it lags behind other states."

We responded that we completely agree that disclosure and sunshine are crucial and noted we work for a publication (The Inquirer) that has actively lobbied for strong sunshine laws. But we pointed out, again, that the study does not support his use of the term "lag" for Pennsylvania and is ranked next to New Jersey in the study at No. 12 nationwide.

He said: "The state making improvement is New Jersey. ... Jersey has made improvements recently. The argument is keeping up with the joneses."

Not getting anywhere. So we switched and asked why his press release seems to be a boilerplate statement used by several states. It uses an identical quotation attributed to several PIRG directors in different states, and even uses the pronoun "she" instead of "he" in his own case. So was that really his quotation?

Browning: "I certainly talk to other PIRG people on these trends. There were conservations about the issue. ... My thoughts and PennPIRG's statement is here. ... I stand by this statement. ... My predecessor was female, and I have a couple former press releases from her. ... That's just a typo. ... It's just my mistake -- it has nothing to do with this issue."

The issue? OK, I asked again how PIRG can advance this issue by claiming something -- Pennsylvania lagging the nation -- that its own evidence doesn't support?

Browning: "Our position on 'lagging' is there's a lot more that needs to be done that Pennsylvania is not doing."

Will let this speak for itself. We would note that the last time we wailed on somebody for boilerplating their press releases, they owned up to it quickly.)

- Thomas Ginsberg

Philadelphia borrowed an additional $200 million last week, prompting the three major bond-rating agencies to review the city's fiscal prognosis just in time for incoming Mayor Michael Nutter.

Standard & Poor's (rating "BBB") says the city now owes an average $5,000 per resident -- "very high" -- to pay for past projects such as the Eagles and Phillies stadiums, Mayor Street's slum clearance plan, and a 1990s attempt to bail out a city retirees' pension fund. It notes future budgets are based, in part, on yet-unbuilt casinos, payments from the troubled Philadelphia Gas Works, and flat wages for city workers in next year's contract negotiations.

Moody's Investors Service ("Baa1"): Philadelphia shows "improving, although still weak, demographic and economic trends, modest property-value growth, and a heavy burden of tax-supported debt."

Fitch Ratings Inc. ("BBB+"): The city's plan to keep cutting wage and business-privilege taxes "will require significant cost-cutting measures and revenue enhancements." Fitch analyst Jessalyn Moro commented to us further: "Philadelphia's rating is far below average. The debt load is among the highest." She said the "only real option" was to keep paying it off. The city is so deep in debt, it cannot borrow much more on a net basis: "They are pretty close to the limit."

- Joseph N. DiStefano

The back-and-forth over gun control in Pennsylvania and elsewhere has not, typically, included a detailed state-by-state breakdown of the job-and-tax impact of the hunting and firearms business. Until now, courtesy of a new study from the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, the National Shooting Sports Fundation, and several other groups.

First, we'll grant that these new numbers come from some groups with a pro-hunting and pro-gun agenda. And they amount to a smart tactic to enlist more stakeholders in their cause. But their numbers, based on an independent analysis of U.S. Census Bureau survey statistics, are worth noting anyway:

The report says that Pennsylvania's 933,000 hunters -- almost all of whom use firearms -- spent an estimated $1.7 billion on their pastime in 2006, which was the second-highest nationwide, after Texas. That spending in turn supported an estimated 28,000 jobs statewide (also second, after Texas). When anglers are added, the totals rise substantially. Pennsylvania's 1.4 million hunters and anglers together accounted for $1.7 billion in state wages, $371 million in state and local tax revenues and 51,000 jobs in Pennsylvania. (Spending by New Jersey hunters alone (minus the anglers) was by contrast much lower, about $193 million (No. 38), and state job impact was 2,700 (No. 41).)

Those are not marginal numbers for Pennsylvania. Sure, a lot of it seems due to fishing. When the anglers are added to all states, Pennsylvania also drops out of the No. 2 spot in total spending, surpassed by more watery states like Florida and California. But one point remains: the Second Amendment means big bucks in the Keystone State.

- Thomas Ginsberg

The Pew Charitable Trusts has taken a hard look at pension funds for state employees nationwide and concludes that, among other states, New Jersey "has done an abysmal job of keeping up with annual funding requirements." Its report says N.J. is facing retiree-health-care costs of $109.6 billion but has set aside only $86.5 billion.

Pennsylvania is in slightly better shape but also faces a shortfall.

Nationwide, Pew found 50 states overall face a 15 percent shortfall.

Try not to be surprised, but a survey of financial advisors picked a "Democrat in the White House" as their greatest economic worry for 2008. "Recession" came in fourth behind "Global unrest" and "U.S. economic growth." Berwyn-based Brinker Capital's latest quarterly survey had 236 respondents.

Mayor Michael Nutter's honeymoon extends to the out-of-town business press. Forbes magazine has an interview in the Jan. 28 issue. In it, he repeats many of the stump statements that helped him get elected. But Forbes' writer David Whelan paraphrases as follows:

He argues that earlier city policies to spur job growth, which amounted to coddling the biggest employers with incentive packages, have failed.

And in case your small business in the city has kept you too busy to read what Nutter has been promising to do to help, there's this:

Nutter intends to start out slowly, first by eliminating the 0.15% tax on business revenue. Then, during his first term, he plans to trim the corporate profits tax from 6.5% to 4.4%. Some day, he hopes, new businesses will pay no taxes for the first two or three years.

(Thanks to Brett Mandel's Philadelphia Forward newsletter for the head's up.)

- Mike Armstrong

The stereotype of business and Republicans being joined at the hip is getting shaken in New Jersey.

An Associated Press story today has this comment by a Republican legislator on the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce's support for Gov. Corzine's plan to raise tolls on the state's highways:

It's a sad day when folks who claim to represent businesses support a plan that will hike the E-ZPass bills of every business and their customers by 800 percent.

That quote came from Sen. Anthony Bucco (R., Morris), who also urged members - those would be businesses - to leave the chamber.

Here's what chamber president Joan Verplanck gave as her group's rationale for supporting the efforts of Corzine - a Democrat - to get the Garden State back on solid financial footing:

The Governor's proposal represents a new way of thinking in Trenton and his out-of-the-box approach must be commended and seriously considered as an important first step. Let me make it clear that much thought - and spirited debate - went into the formulation of our position. This was not simply an easy yes or no decision - or a rubber stamp of all that has been proposed to date. Countless hours went into analyzing the minute details of an extremely complex plan.

Read the chamber's official statement on its Web site.

Corzine may be a few years from his days heading Goldman Sachs, but obviously the state chamber's leaders are voicing confidence that New Jersey's chief executive can financially engineer a turnaround.

- Mike Armstrong