Larry Kane Journalist

Larry Kane

Journalist

"We have hundreds of municipalities in three states. We have governors of states, township executive directors, county managers - and we have horrible purchasing options in this area. We need to get a conference immediately somewhere in this area, called by the governors, county executives and the mayor of Philadelphia to form an organization called A.P.A.: Area Purchasing Agency.

"We've got millions of dollars of waste in government all through the area through antiquated purchasing procedures. Let's say you are purchasing paper, which is more and more expensive, especially recycled paper. Let's say you are purchasing tires for vehicles. Let's say you are purchasing books for schools. You use the purchasing power of a large organization to save a lot of money.

"And I think if Gov. Corbett, Gov. Christie and Gov. Markell don't take a look at this, they are making a huge mistake."

---

We've gotten lots of response to our call for readers' One Great Idea. Here is one:

"I'm a Philadelphia artist who has lived in Center City for over 35 years. I walk for miles every day.

"The city should engage a parking engineer to simply walk up and down city streets to determine where more parking spaces can be placed. It is obvious to me that signage is often placed arbitrarily, perhaps because a pole or fixture is already in place. Surely a couple of hundred spaces could be created! "

Do you have One Great Idea? E-mail us at OneGreatIdea@phillynews.com.