Advertising

PLEASE take out those disgusting ads for "My Rich Uncle. " I read the paper during lunch, and nearly it looking at the picture of a couple missing the tops of their heads. I'm all for advertising, but do they think people are going subscribe to their company by grossing them out? I'm heaving just thinking about it! Lenise Johnson, Wilmington, Del.

James J. Brennan, 67, of South Philadelphia, a longtime advertising salesman for The Inquirer, died Friday, Feb. 3, at home of complications from Alzheimer's disease. Mr. Brennan was a Mummer, a traveler, and a Civil War buff, but above all, he was a skilled salesman and devoted family man. "He could sell ice to Eskimos," said his wife, the former Jacqueline Bonanno. "He was the love of my life. " "The sun really did rise and set in my father's eyes," said his daughter, Jennifer Brennan Matteo.

Raising new dough is on City Council's to-do list, and members see dollar signs on school buses. Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown introduced legislation Thursday that would allow advertising on the city's 1,250 school buses. That would yield roughly $1 million to help the school district, which recently said that it must cut another $61 million from its budget. "Some might argue that's a drop in the bucket, but when school boards have to figure out the difference between an art and music teacher or new textbooks or fewer costs, let's explore how we can fund those needed items," Reynolds Brown said.

A CONTROVERSIAL bill that would have allowed gigantic wall-wrap advertising on a single building near the Vine Expressway officially died yesterday as City Council wrapped its last session of the year. As promised, Mayor Nutter vetoed the legislation sponsored by Councilman Frank DiCicco that would have permitted the advertising on a building at 7th and Willow streets - site of previous lawsuits and fines related to an illegally erected ad. DiCicco managed to get the measure passed Dec. 1 with 12 votes - the number needed to override a veto - but some of those supporters were uneasy after letters from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and City Solicitor Shelley Smith warned the measure could have jeopardized federal highway funding.

Following a poll that showed a growing majority of Philadelphians concerned about the city's high tax burden, Mayor Nutter pledged Tuesday not to seek any new taxes in the coming budget, though some recent increases billed as temporary may become permanent. "The mayor has no intention of requesting a tax increase," his spokesman, Mark McDonald, said. City residents have endured four years of tax increases, including two "temporary" property tax increases, as the city has scrambled to make up for revenue lost from the recession.

MAYOR Nutter said yesterday that he would veto a controversial wall-wrap bill that City Council passed Dec. 1 despite a letter from the state saying that it violates federal law and jeopardizes federal highway funding for the city. The wall wrap, planned for a building at 7th and Willow, near Callowhill Street, would violate Federal Highway Administration regulations and the Highway Beautification Act because it would be within 660 feet of the Vine Expressway, according to the Dec. 1 letter from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

SUBSCRIBER SERVICES http://service.philly.com Foryourconvenience,youcanstartasubscription,temporarilystopdelivery, registeraservicecomplaint,reviewyourrecentbilling history, or pay yourbill onlineby contactingusatourWeb site, http://service.philly.com . You can also call our toll-free customer service number: 1-800-222-2765. The Customer Service Center is open Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. You can reach us at 1-800-222-2765.

Anthony J. D'Lauro Jr., 80, formerly of Blue Bell, a retired advertising executive and owner of DiNardo's Famous Seafood in Old City, died of pulmonary fibrosis Wednesday, Sept. 14, at Physicians Regional Hospital in Naples, Fla. When he was working in advertising, Mr. D'Lauro took clients to the original DiNardo's restaurant in Wilmington. He used to say he could gauge clients' personalities watching them cope with platters of hard-shell crabs, a daughter, Jane DiNola, said. In 1976, Mr. D'Lauro opened DiNardo's Famous Seafood at Third and Race Streets, with partners Bill DiNardo and Ralph Patrone.

On a day when City Council wrapped up years of work on several major bills and bid adieu to six colleagues with more than a century of combined experience, Councilman Darrell L. Clarke was looking to the future. Clarke, who is slated to become Council president Jan. 2, introduced two bills Thursday at the final meeting of the term, perhaps offering a preview of his leadership. Both bills seek ways to generate money for the city without raising taxes - something the Nutter administration has been forced to do three years in a row. "I think it's time for us to come up with another strategy," Clarke said.