http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/ Citizen Voices on Philadelphia's Future en Copyright 2010 Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:46:41 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/greatexpectations Please update your online bookmarks. All entries up to this point will continue to be located here, our MovableType location.]]> http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/06/weve_moved.html http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/06/weve_moved.html Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:46:41 -0500 Citizen blogger Bill Rowland returns for a second "A City That Works" forum, this time with members of Young Involved Philadelphia. He writes: The May 29th Great Expectations forum was a bit different than many of the others recently held. Located in the bowels of the Philadelphia Inquirer building on North Broad Street, the event was held in conjunction with Young Involved Philadelphia, a grassroots nonprofit organization that aims to increase civic engagement among young Philadelphians. Like peanut butter and jelly, they go well together… Winding my way through a Get Smart-like maze (the original, Don Adams version) I found the basement venue filled with a mix of project organizers, event attendees and city officials chatting over light finger food. A few brief conversations revealed that this was an introduction to the Great Expectations project for most attendees. In addition, a quick poll found that most people were in an information gathering mode and assessing volunteer opportunities.]]> http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/06/common_ground_at_a_city_that_w.html http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/06/common_ground_at_a_city_that_w.html Citizen Bloggers City Services Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:42:29 -0500 Marianne Malloy is a citizen blogger from West Philadelphia. She attended the May 20 Great Expectations neighborhood forum. She writes: I attended the 9th Great Expectations forum at the University Square Apartments at 39th and Market Streets. I wasn’t sure quite what to expect, as it was the first Great Expectations event that I have attended. As soon as I walked in the room, I was immediately struck by the atmosphere. The tables were filled with a diverse group of people eating dinner together and getting to know each other. I was surprised by the diversity of the ages of the participants in attendance. There were college students, young professionals, concerned parents, and retirees. It was immediately refreshing, welcoming, and encouraging to see this wide range of citizen participation. The evening got started with some opening remarks and a presentation about the city's budget and strategic plan. Afterward, the participants had the opportunity to talk about measurable goals and outcomes in order to make these lofty plans a reality. One of the facilitators said that this forum was to act as a megaphone. They want to take our voices and amplify them. In other words, our ideas and concerns will be broadcast to the Mayor’s Office and the community at large. It seemed like a great opportunity and I was ready to get started. We had the opportunity to break into groups to discuss the strategic goals in more depth. I decided to join the Jobs and Economic Development group. I thought that this would have been a very popular group, but we were one of the smaller ones. However, it was a lively, passionate group. ]]> http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/customers_of_the_government_a.html http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/customers_of_the_government_a.html Citizen Bloggers City Services Fri, 30 May 2008 19:10:07 -0500 Citizen blogger Albert Yee visits the High School of the Future, where "A City That Works" forum was held on May 19. He writes: I arrived at the much ballyhooed High School of the Future, which was created in conjunction with Microsoft [greeted by much press and skepticism], eager to see what the gleaming white building looked like inside. I was hoping that the evening's forum would be held in some high-tech auditorium, but it was in the cafeteria [which was gorgeous]. A smallish crowd of about 40 came out for the forum and they worked hard to discuss the issues for this Great Expectations event. Aside from the regular slideshow [.pdf] and intro, I learned a couple of new things. First off was that the 311 system has been around since 1990, and Baltimore was the first city to use it. Baltimore's CitiStat was modeled after a NYC police data mapping program, which was adapted to apply to all of the city's functions. Being where we were, when it came time to break into smaller groups, I went to the library (also a very cool space) to listen in. Pictured above are Budget Director Steve Agostini [front] and Deputy Director of Performance Jeff Friedman. ]]> http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_may_19.html http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_may_19.html Citizen Bloggers City Services Fri, 30 May 2008 14:09:55 -0500 Citizen blogger Albert Yee focuses on the Ethics Group discussion that was part of the May 15 "A City That Works" neighborhood forum held at Einstein Medical Center. He writes: The Great Expectations crew headed up to Einstein Medical Center for a forum on making the city a better place with city staffers listening attentively to 75+ citizens who came out for the discussion. This was my first time seeing new Budget Director Steve Agostini in person (Inquirer appointment story) as he was unable to make it to the two previous forums I attended in this series. He struck me as a person who genuinely cared. He was at ease in front of the room with a mic; he was glad to chat with anyone and everyone in the room no matter the topic. Along with Agostini, there were 9 other city staffers from various offices including a large contingent from Councilwoman Marian Tasco's office, but the councilwoman was not in attendance. Once the pleasantries were out of the way and the staffers got through with their quick presentation [.pdf], the attendees broke themselves up onto five groups to tackle an issue important to them. I listened in on the largest group of the night: Ethics. ]]> http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_talking_abou.html http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_talking_abou.html Citizen Bloggers City Services Wed, 28 May 2008 17:07:00 -0500 Citizen blogger Peak Johnson joined Great Expectations at the May 14 neighborhood forum to talk about city services. He writes: After arriving at the Inquirer/Daily News building, I sat down quietly waiting for the forum to get under way. (Though before sitting, I had to grab some of the food that was available. My favorite at every Great Expectations event: lasagna and meatballs.) After the schedule was broken down of how things were going to go, we were able to disperse into our small discussion groups. The group that seemed appropriate for me was Public Safety. When picking this, it had dawned on me that it really is time for Philadelphians to stop being afraid and to start feeling safe again. We have to stop being negative all the time and start believing in the positive to help change the city that we are living in. However, when listening to the discussions within the group, it became clear to me that I was out of touch with what was going on in Philly. (Give me a break; I just finished high school not too long ago.) It seemed that one of the biggest concerns of this group was trying to find a way to build better connections with Philadelphia Police and to actually being able to talk to them. I had offered the success with my community as an example. Because there are so many great programs and opportunities being put back into my community, we have a good relationship with some of the officers of the 23rd District, who sometime drive around to make sure things are ok. In addition, there is an annual dinner out together at the Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology where we invite most of the officers to thank them for all that they do. ]]> http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_may_14.html http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_may_14.html Citizen Bloggers Fri, 23 May 2008 16:51:32 -0500 Citizen blogger Peak Johnson's last post touched on the "stop and frisk" issue. Here, he responds to several of the comments readers made to the post. He writes: It hasn’t been long since my last post, and already I’m writing another. Blogging is so much fun I wish I had discovered it sooner. I though I would attempt to answer some questions left for me in the comments area of my last post. My last entry revolved a little around "stop and frisk." I wrote about the opinions of the two wonderful ladies who allowed me to take their photo. The post, I don’t think, really delivered my opinion of "stop and frisk." So here it is: A lot of African-Americans see "stop and frisk" as a way for the police to abuse their power; I’m sure many are aware of this. Furthermore, it is viewed as racial profiling. However, my outlook is that if it helps limit crime in communities like mine in North Philadelphia, then it can’t be all bad. Also, if some people would not portray themselves negatively just for the heck of it, then officers probably would not have a reason to search them at all. ]]> http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/citizen_blogger_responds_to_st.html http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/citizen_blogger_responds_to_st.html Citizen Bloggers Crime Fri, 23 May 2008 16:23:34 -0500 Albert Yee took a trip up to the Northeast to sit in on the neighborhood forum held May 9 at the Klein JCC. He writes: Last Friday morning, approximately 70 citizens trudged through the driving rain to the Klein Jewish Community Center in the Northeast on the morning of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski's funeral. Public safety was on the minds of many of those in attendance of the fourth installment of the "A City That Works" Great Expectations forum. The crowd of citizens were all seniors (except for one twenty-something lady named Trina) and only a few had been to a previous Great Expectations forum. As a result of the funeral, the city's top brass who are normally present at the forums were not in attendance. Moderators Chris Satullo of the Inquirer and Harris Sokoloff of UPenn took on the responsibilities of answering questions regarding city services as best they could and collected note cards with yet more questions at the end of the meeting. District 10 Councilman Brian O'Neill dropped by for about 20 minutes before heading downtown for the funeral. While he couldn't stick around, one of his staffers, Bill Rapone, stayed behind to answer questions from the councilman's constituents.]]> http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_may_9.html http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_may_9.html Citizen Bloggers City Services Tue, 20 May 2008 13:57:38 -0500 Citizen blogger Bill Rowland takes a look at the May 13, 2008, neighborhood forum focusing on city services. (Bill's own blog can be read at http://phillyfoodguys.com/). He writes: Arriving at the Lutheran Seminary on Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia’s Mount Airy neighborhood, I was really looking forward to the evening’s proceedings. I’ve been to several Great Expectations events, and I’ve always walked away energized by the collaboration and teamwork by seemingly diverse people. Tuesday night in Mount Airy was no exception… The evening began with dinner followed by a few obligatory remarks by Tom Ferrick Jr., who summarized the evening’s agenda and quickly made it clear that establishing Customer Service Standards for Philadelphia was our “theme of the evening.” Attendees would participate in one of five breakout sessions to provide input on how to measure customer service. Using several budgetary reports as background, the floor was quickly turned over to Budget Director Steve Agostini and his staff who clarified the somewhat cryptic data using a variety of reports, including: A PowerPoint Presentation; the 2009 Budget-in-Brief; the 2009 Operating Budget; and the City’s Five Year Plan. I think that attendees were impressed at how clearly this seemingly complex information was conveyed. Furthermore, I appreciated the pragmatic manner in which the mayor’s staff seems to be approaching the challenges that face the city – without blaming prior administrations, in a business-like fashion. Full of the basics and a few sandwiches, attendees were then dispatched to breakout sessions covering each of the administration’s strategic goals: Public Safety, Education, Jobs and Economic Development, Healthy and Sustainable Neighborhoods, and Ethics. I chose Ethics because I feel that they are the cornerstone of an effective government. ]]> http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_may_13.html http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_may_13.html Citizen Bloggers City Services Sat, 17 May 2008 18:32:33 -0500 Citizen blogger Susan Zalenski took part in the May 5 "A City That Works" Forum in Councilmanic District 7. She writes: On Monday, May 5, about 45 people gathered at Holy Innocents Church, 1337 E. Hunting Park Avenue. I’ve been attending GE forums in neighborhoods other than my own – it really gives me a chance to see what goes on in other communities and oftentimes have a chance to check out an unfamiliar area of Philadelphia. It is amazing how you can live somewhere for so long and still see new things (and still get lost). After the overview of the Fiscal Year 2009 City Proposed Operating Budget (presentation here) and strategic goals (see the 5-year plan), participants gathered into break-out groups to discuss one of the following: Public Safety, Education, Ethics, Jobs and Economic Development or Healthy and Sustainable Neighborhoods. My initial choice would have been Healthy and Sustainable Neighborhoods, but I then decided to go with Jobs and Economic Development. Three years ago, I was fortunate enough to find employment in my ZIP Code, and I have been singing the praises ever since. (For nine years, I commuted 50 miles/day.) Also, the company I work for has a significant location in Philadelphia, but we will be relocating in a couple of years…fortunately, to another Philadelphia location! It pleases me to see that (at some level) my company realizes the importance of being in Philadelphia. ]]> http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_may_5.html http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_may_5.html Citizen Bloggers City Services Wed, 14 May 2008 15:14:42 -0500 Citizen blogger Albert Yee took part in the May 7 "A City That Works" Forum in Northeast Philadelphia. He writes: It's time for another set of Great Expectations forums! This time around, it's a set of forums called "A City That Works" held, once again, in each of the 10 City Council districts. At each stop, a set of city officials from the Mayor's Office, Performance Office and Budget Office will be present. A post from the first forum in South Philly is already here on the G.E. blog. About 50 people were on hand for last night's forum (including about 10 staffers). The Inquirer's Chris Satullo told the crowd that this was approximately the 100th forum and the fourth one at the John M. Perzel Community Center in the Northeast. Satullo polled the sizable crowd to see how many had been to previous forums, and you can see above that most of the crowd knew the drill pretty well; I saw a lot of familiar faces from previous forums.]]> http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_may_7.html http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_may_7.html Citizen Bloggers City Services Fri, 09 May 2008 15:53:21 -0500 Margit writes: I had the pleasure of attending the first of 10 forums to be held in the coming weeks on April 29, 2008. It took place at 7 p.m. at St. Gabriel’s School, 2917 Dickinson St. I was one of about 50 citizens that showed up for the event. Although this forum did not take place in my particular neighborhood, I felt a sense of community among those there. We were all there to talk about making our city a better place under our new mayor. The night started out looking at some budget numbers. The proposed budget for FY 2008-09 is $3.897 billion, which was presented by the mayor’s budget director Steve Agostini and assistant budget director Julie Wertheimer. This part of the presentation was a little bit dry. I can’t say that I honestly understand where this money comes from, where it goes, and since I still need help filing my 1040 EZ, I would be the last person to turn to for help understanding these numbers. However, I was struck by the revelation that two-thirds of the city’s budget goes to payroll, pension, and other employee benefits for city workers. ]]> http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_april_29_for.html http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/05/a_city_that_works_april_29_for.html City Services Fri, 02 May 2008 12:55:40 -0500 attend one of the others; District 1, in particular, also covers part of South Philly. But the program is essentially the same no matter where the forum is being held. If you belong to or know about civic group that you think could help get the word out about the forums, please let us know. -- The Great Expectations Team ]]> http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/04/mayor_nutter_makes_a_surprise.html http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/04/mayor_nutter_makes_a_surprise.html City Officials City Services Michael Nutter Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:07:03 -0500 http://www.greatexpectations07.com/node/400. Registration is required. You can register online or call the phone line, 215-854-5956, and tell us your name, the date of the event you'd like to attend, and how many people are in your group. ]]> http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/04/a_city_that_works.html http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/04/a_city_that_works.html City Services Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:58:12 -0500 Citizen blogger Susan Zalenski returns to the Great Expectations blog to filed her report from the final neighborhood forum. The District 9 session focused on the final version of the Citizens Agenda for Philadelphia's Future. She writes: The original City Council District 9 meeting was rescheduled due to “weather.” (It had snowed the day before the meeting.) A group of 50 or so citizens, civic leaders and City Year volunteers showed up at Albert Einstein Memorial Hospital to review the finalized Citizens Agenda for Philadelphia’s Future on Tuesday evening, March 25th. Some background: District 9 covers Chestnut Hill, East Germantown, East Mount Airy , Glenwood , Hunting Park, Logan, Morton, Nicetown, Ogontz, Penn Knox, Rising Sun - Tioga, Southwest Germantown, West Central, West Mount Airy, Westside and Wister neighborhoods. District 9’s City Council Person is Marian Tasco, who joined the meeting later for the Q&A.]]> http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/04/the_original_city_council_dist.html http://blogs.phillynews.com/philly/greatexpectations/2008/04/the_original_city_council_dist.html Citizen Bloggers Citizens Agenda City Services Leadership & Reform Taxes & Budget Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:19:05 -0500