Bad Business

A lot of local media attention has been focused on the misdeeds of government. It's no wonder, given the alphabet soup of abuse, waste, and incompetence by the DRPA, PHA, and BRT. Not to mention the Bonusgate corruption scandal involving Harrisburg lawmakers; political mischief at the Philadelphia City Commissioners, and dubious no-bid contracting by the Philadelphia School District. But government agencies aren't the only ones falling down on the job. Corporate America has been plagued by scandal and greed as well.

Dignity - its price, cost, and value - emerges as such a central theme in the Arden Theatre's new production of Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun that there's no way the experience is just about repressed African American life in 1950s Chicago. The play addresses current racial issues as much as those in its own time - along with the perspective anyone needs for equilibrium in a money-obsessed world. First, though, one must settle into the particular landscape created with unassuming (and unassailable)

One idea to help reduce taxes for residents in the West Chester School District was lambasted this week as the "moral equivalent of stealing. " James Davison, a member of the school board's Property and Finance Committee, made the comment after hearing how others on his committee wanted to use interest earned in the capital projects fund for the general operating fund. At the committee's meeting Monday night, member Robert Specht made the proposal to reduce the pending tax increase by 1.7 mills by using $625,000 in interest.

A federally indicted concert promoter won't have to worry about his reputation becoming an issue in his efforts to win a liquor license for a proposed performance hall at 3rd and Callowhill streets. A Liquor Control Board hearing examiner yesterday prohibited testimony on co-owner Adam Spivak's past business dealings. That set back the case of neighbors and other opponents of the proposed hall who hope to block the transfer of a liquor license to the site. Lt. John McGeehan, a state police officer in liquor control enforcement, had planned to testify that Spivak, an owner of 3rd and Callowhill Corp.

Free enterprisers in America gloat over the failures of socialism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and President Bush has just offered the Soviets American experts to help them create a free market economy - including technical advice on how to set up a private banking system. Meanwhile here at home the system we are exporting is facing serious problems. The savings-and-loan crisis, for example, will cost the American taxpayer more than $200 billion in the next 10 years.

As the war in Iraq began, Philadelphia-area restaurants - believing that bad news meant bad business - had been bracing for the worst. But the war has not had much effect, according to an informal survey of restaurateurs. Even if you're French. As in Bill French, general manager of the McCormick & Schmick's seafood restaurant near City Hall. Though frequent protest marches around City Hall have hurt "a little bit," overall business has not suffered, he said. No worries even from those who are not French.

The threesome was enjoying a singular moment under the sun, alone in the crowd and downwind of the smoke from several grills - James Jones, Stephanie Wheeler and their small cardboard dish of pork lomein. Although there were many forkfuls of lomein left, Jones and Wheeler were mentally onto the next course. "We'll have a little bit of everything," said Jones, 30, of Norristown, cradling a Heineken. "Some chicken wings and spareribs, definitely. " "Sushi," said Wheeler, 27, a model from Manayunk.

Manny Rasper sees himself as a safety net for people who have been evicted from their homes. He concedes that his job - moving beloved possessions from a residence and placing them in temporary storage - can be a tough way to make a living. But the 85-year-old great-grandfather has been in the business for more than 40 years. During that time, he says he's calmed nerves, offered a shoulder to cry on, doled out free advice, and even slipped some money to single mothers with children.

On many mornings, Jack Stives, a leathery man in a blue baseball cap with an unbent brim, can be found squatting on the stone stoop outside G&G Automotive, staring off down Route 23. Business can get a little slow sometimes - even for this small town. At Stives' shop, gas prices start at $1.88. That can seem a little high to most people, even to longtime Elverson residents used to paying higher prices. At stations in Morgantown, just three miles away, gas starts at $1.55 a gallon.

The general manager of a liquidating firm emphatically denied yesterday doing nonprofit work for William Bresnahan, who is charged with 204 counts of theft and charity law violations. Testifying on the last day of Bresnahan's nonjury trial, Scott Thawler, who ran World Trade & Export Co., said he sold the goods Bresnahan gave him. He said he never promised to give them to needy people as Bresnahan has contended. "He offered us a better price so we started doing business with him," Thawler said of the relationship.

Dignity - its price, cost, and value - emerges as such a central theme in the Arden Theatre's new production of Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun that there's no way the experience is just about repressed African American life in 1950s Chicago. The play addresses current racial issues as much as those in its own time - along with the perspective anyone needs for equilibrium in a money-obsessed world. First, though, one must settle into the particular landscape created with unassuming (and unassailable)

Flu season may be gone, but City Council's debate over paid sick leave is just heating up. Last week, a Council committee voted in favor of the "Promoting Health, Families, and Workplaces" ordinance, which would give workers in the city a certain number of earned sick days each year, the amount depending on where they are employed. The bill now goes to Council for a vote, which could happen as early as this week. This bill is the brainchild of the Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC)

First in a series that looks at the NL East teams.   IT WASN'T all that long ago that a big-market team in the Northeast emptied its wallet each winter in an attempt to win the National League East even before pitchers and catchers reported to Florida. Built around homegrown, All-Star infielders, the team's management aggressively attacked the free-agent market to add future Hall of Famers, former Cy Young winners and fellow All-Stars to the roster. It was an endless pursuit of perfection (and hopefully, the postseason)

By Paul Decker Even after more than 30 years of selling the tourist attractions of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and, most recently, Valley Forge and Montgomery County, I still wonder at the natural and historical treasures of our national parks. Think Independence and Valley Forge National Historical Parks, Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, the breathtaking Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in the Poconos, and the sobering Gettysburg National Military Park. There are few places more beautiful, historic, or inspirational than these.

SUMMERTIME. Used to be, the eatin' out was easy - especially for Philadelphians seeking a hot table on a hot Saturday night. A decade ago, even Center City's most popular places, from little epicurean Vetri to big trendy Buddakan, had empty seats on a Saturday night in July or August. As Jeff Benjamin, who helped open Vetri on Spruce Street in 1998, remembers, the city's summertime turn-of-this-century restaurant business was "just nonexistent. " (Translation: No business is bad business.)

As the Flyers await a puff of smoke from Nashville - white means they get Shea Weber, black means he remains a Predator - here's something to think about. Back in December, Weber took a blow to the head. He was expected to return for the next game, but didn't feel right during a skate. He wound up missing four games with a concussion. This is worth bringing up for reasons other than bumming out Flyers fans. The team's interest in Weber is high enough to inspire a $110 million offer sheet because the Flyers' own shutdown defenseman, Chris Pronger, apparently had his career ended by a concussion last season.

The NFL's franchise tag, which somehow survived in the lockout-forged collective bargaining agreement, can be used in different ways. It can be a minor bit of necessary paperwork on the way to a fair and honorable deal, or it can be a major weapon deployed by a team to impose its will on a player. Let's hope the Eagles' application of the tag on DeSean Jackson is more like the former than the latter. Their history offers mixed signals. In the past, the Eagles used the tag as a blunt instrument in dealing with linebacker Jeremiah Trotter and defensive tackle Corey Simon.

Helping workers helps business I can't agree with Ramesh Ponnuru's right-wing diatribe "The president's cursed crusade" (Dec. 14). To say that the Depression was the result of a tight money policy may bear some truth, but it seems self-evident that it was mainly a matter of manic optimism fueled by capitalist greed, and followed by a generous dose of economic reality. Henry Ford never went to business school to learn the quarter-to-quarter profit maximization techniques that all too often pass for good management in our country.

A lot of local media attention has been focused on the misdeeds of government. It's no wonder, given the alphabet soup of abuse, waste, and incompetence by the DRPA, PHA, and BRT. Not to mention the Bonusgate corruption scandal involving Harrisburg lawmakers; political mischief at the Philadelphia City Commissioners, and dubious no-bid contracting by the Philadelphia School District. But government agencies aren't the only ones falling down on the job. Corporate America has been plagued by scandal and greed as well.

I take exception to your editorial "Nutter's rough year" (Sunday), which claims the "business community" backs the mayor's decision to delay tax cuts until 2015. The only business-related organization you quoted in support was the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, which should be ashamed for no longer being an advocate for tax reform. The majority of business people in Philadelphia that I know are furious with Mayor Nutter's decision. Candidate Nutter promised to phase out the gross-receipts portion of the business privilege tax over five to seven years.