Bob Brady

Former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo was back at his Kentucky federal prison Friday after a visit to a nearby hospital to investigate three heart blockages discovered during a checkup. Doctors have recommended that Fumo, 69, have heart bypass surgery to deal with one, in which an artery is 95 percent closed. U.S. Rep. Bob Brady (D., Pa.) said he had talked to members of Fumo's family, who said they were trying to determine where to have the surgery. Fumo's family had hoped to have him treated at a hospital in Philadelphia, but that will be difficult because he is a federal prisoner.

Bob Brady for Congress. Bob Brady for Congress? It's a hard endorsement for this Editorial Board to make, for obvious reasons. Mr. Brady is the epitome of the big-city party boss, successful at securing votes and sealing political deals, but without the policy-making skills one would expect in a member of Congress. If this race were only on issues, voters in the city's First Congressional District would do well to go with Libertarian John Featherman. He's an issues guy. Can't get enough of them - to the point that it's hard to get a word in edgewise in a discussion about HMO reform, drug policy or environmental regulations.

IT'S NOT too early to recommend Bob Brady as the best candidate for mayor of the city again because he's Philadelphia's "Person of the Year. " Brady acts alone in problem-solving, saving taxpayers from the unjustified salaries of self-styled "experts" who do nothing. Brady independently troubleshoots at all levels of government without a fancy resume and degrees, and has never failed at any problem placed before him, or any to which he volunteered to help resolve. Electing Brady, with his skills in mediating contract disputes, ameliorating political spats among his partisan peers and his use of common sense where political correctness has no practical value would be the best move for citizens of a city to whom he's clearly shown his love.

When Edgar "Sonny" Campbell learned that his grown son had been hit by a stray bullet a few weeks ago, he rushed to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He arrived to find someone else already there: U.S. Rep. Bob Brady. "He stayed the whole time," Campbell said. "He talked with the hospital administrators to make sure my son got everything he needed. That's the kind of friend he is. " Brady, the city's Democratic Party chair, is white. Campbell, its secretary, is black.

Bob Brady likes to tell the story of the time he refused a call from the president. Brady was at his office on Haverford Avenue one night hearing the problems and desires of constituents - not as a member of the U.S. House, but as Democratic leader of the 34th Ward. Before him sat a widow in tears. She was having a nasty problem with her toilet. Brady was about to tell her that he'd send over a couple of guys when a committeeman stuck his head in and said President Bill Clinton - this was back in the '90s - was on the line.

U.S. Rep. Bob Brady said Thursday afternoon that he will be presenting a check for more than $26,000 to the Overbrook Monarchs, the youth sports organization that lost thousands of dollars' worth of equipment last month. The team's sports equipment, as well as cooking equipment for game-day concessions, was stored in a trailer at its field at 66th and Callowhill Streets. Numerous items were taken, and others were damaged or destroyed during a burglary. The Monarchs were facing the possibility of a canceled football season because of the loss.

IT WOULD HAVE been an expense-account report to make my editors and the new millionaire owners (how you doing, guys?) very happy. I wanted to take U.S. Rep. Bob Brady out to dinner Wednesday night after his return from Washington, and it wouldn't cost a cent for him. Brady would not eat because he's on the weeklong Greater Philadelphia Food Stamp Challenge, organized by the Coalition Against Hunger and the Jewish Federation. The gimmick: Enlist celebrities to help illustrate how hard it is for the poor (including children, elders, the disabled)

BOB BRADY, the city's Democratic Party chairman for 26 years and a member of the U.S. House since 1998, is finally ready for his close-up. Brady, who was easily re-elected to another two-year term Tuesday, made the political rounds during the general election with a camera crew following closely. Brady said that Larry Platt , former editor of the Daily News and Philadelphia magazine, pitched a reality show on his life since Brady's not as "stuffy" as most members of Congress.

In a plush townhouse law office near Rittenhouse Square, under a gleaming chandelier, rich wood paneling and a woven tapestry of fox hunting, the roughly 80 lawyers and politicos had paid $250 a head to munch on egg rolls and shrimp tempura. It was just another night for Philadelphia's likely future congressman, Bob Brady, and his march toward his staggering goal of raising some $500,000 in just one month. The barrel-chested Democratic party boss was in a jovial mood when a reporter asked him about the money drive.

Lucien Blackwell is out. Bob Brady, apparently, is in. That was the word yesterday as the political landscape in Philadelphia shifted dramatically. Blackwell, who served in Congress from 1992 to '95, announced in the fall that he planned to seek the First Congressional District seat vacated in November by Rep. Thomas M. Foglietta, who went off to become U.S. ambassador in Rome. Brady, the city Democratic chairman and a close friend of Blackwell's, had been dithering for weeks about whether also to run. He had said he did not want to split the party.

In the wake of a grand jury report depicting a Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission awash in bribes and bid-rigging, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady is vouching for his man. His man who worked at the turnpike, that is. Brady (D., Pa.) said Thursday that "one of the most honorable people I know" is Melvin Shelton, his longtime friend and political ally, who now faces theft charges for alleged personal use of a turnpike car and falsifying of work hours. "He told me he did nothing wrong, and I believe him," Brady told The Inquirer.

Parx Casino will give $250,000 each year to sponsor the Philly Cycling Classic in 2013 and 2014, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady said Thursday. Parx will be the name sponsor for the June 2 race, which just weeks ago was thought dead for this year after previous organizers were unable to find new sponsors. Parx is joined by New Penn Financial, which will contribute $100,000 for 2013. Also, Philadelphia Federal Credit Union will contribute $50,000 this year, and Sunoco $25,000. This year's race is expected to be shorter than the traditional one but will retain its key feature, the climb up the Manayunk Wall.

PHILADELPHIA will have a bike race this year, and it will climb up the Manayunk Wall. The new 2013 race, dubbed the Philly Cycling Classic, will be organized by a nonprofit team of sporting-event professionals, cycling advocates, business and community leaders, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady said Thursday. After David Chauner, founder of the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship, said there would be no race due to rising city costs and loss of sponsors, Brady met with other local elected officials, cycling enthusiasts and corporate leaders.

AFTER A DAY full of meetings with elected officials, corporate representatives and community and cycling groups, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady said Friday that he was hopeful that there might be a 2013 bike race in Manayunk after all. "I don't want to lose 2013," said Brady. "I'm a traditions type of guy . . . salt pretzels and all of that. The bike race is known throughout the country as a great bike race. Everyone loves the [Manayunk] Wall. " Organizers of the famous annual Philadelphia International Cycling Championship said this week they've have been forced to cancel the race because its biggest corporate sponsor, TD Bank, has pulled out. Brady plans to soon begin fundraising to revive this year's race.

Former State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo was back at his Kentucky federal prison Friday after a visit to a nearby hospital to investigate three heart blockages discovered during a checkup. Doctors have recommended that Fumo, 69, have heart bypass surgery to deal with one, in which an artery is 95 percent closed. U.S. Rep. Bob Brady (D., Pa.) said he had talked to members of Fumo's family, who said they were trying to determine where to have the surgery. Fumo's family had hoped to have him treated at a hospital in Philadelphia, but that will be difficult because he is a federal prisoner.

IN THE SPIRIT of the civil-rights leader whose memory we honored this week, I have a dream concerning the just-canceled 29th Philadelphia International Cycling Championship, scheduled for June 2. I have a dream that the event will be rescued. I have a dream that when U.S. Rep. Bob Brady meets Friday at 11 a.m. with city, race and Manayunk officials, he will find a way to offset the rising expenses, the given reason for the cancellation. I have a dream that the event will find a new corporate sponsor to front about $1 million.

Few bosses of big companies win many popularity contests. Even fewer do when they break up the companies and sell off the parts. Still, it was striking that months after Sunoco Inc.'s Philadelphia refinery was saved from closure, the former CEO of the energy company could inspire such animosity from a panel of insiders who'd gathered to recount how the rescue was accomplished. The occasion was a Friday symposium organized by the Temple University Center on Regional Politics. At a panel discussion on how political, business, and labor leaders cooperated to help find buyers for two of the three threatened refineries, U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, a Philadelphia Democrat, voiced publicly what others had said privately.

PHILADELPHIA Traffic Court is under the microscope as the feds investigate whether politically connected drivers received special treatment. But that doesn't seem to be discouraging would-be candidates from seeking seats on that court in the May 2013 primary election. Several people have already expressed interest to U.S. Rep. Bob Brady , chairman of the city's Democratic Party. They include Barbara Deeley , who knows what it feels like to work at an agency of significant interest to federal prosecutors.