Chaka Fattah

Former Gov. Ed Rendell and former Mayor W. Wilson Goode have launched a fund-raising effort to pay the legal bills of U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah's son, who has been under federal investigation for months. Rendell said he agreed to pitch in after Rep. Fattah contacted him for help. Rendell, in an interview, estimated that the Philadelphia congressman and his wife had spent $250,000 to help Chaka "Chip" Fattah Jr., 30, and said the costs had become a "little bit of a struggle" for the family.

Harrah's Philadelphia has sued U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah's son for allegedly bouncing $16,000 worth of checks at the Delaware County casino, the latest in a string of lawsuits filed since the FBI raided the young Fattah's home and office in February. Just two weeks ago the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union sued Chaka Fattah Jr. for $17,467, alleging that he failed to make payments on a loan there. Ronald Sarachan, a lawyer for Fattah Jr., to declined comment about the suits. Attorneys for Harrah's did not respond to requests for comment.

U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah's energy and attention to detail have enabled him to get good things done, even as a minority party member of a particularly partisan Congress. The Philadelphia Democrat's $140 million High Hopes/21st Century Scholarship plan became law earlier this month. The program seeks to motivate disadvantaged sixth graders to stay in school through mentoring, tutoring and a promise of federal aid for college to students who persevere in learning. Urging children as young as 12 to think about higher education - and helping them get ready for it - helps counter the feeling that poor children aren't "college material.

Penna. Second District This is solidly Democratic turf covering West and Northwest Philadelphia and reaching into Montgomery County's Cheltenham Township. The mostly urban district includes pockets of poverty, but primarily middle-income voters. The Case for Fattah Democrat Age 49 Philadelphia U.S. Representative Over nearly a dozen years in Congress, Chaka Fattah, 49, has developed a laser focus on initiatives that boost the higher-education prospects of urban teens.

With all of his political clout, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah should be well-positioned to abide voluntarily by Philadelphia's new campaign-contribution limits. This would be the year to do it, as civic leaders are mounting an all-out effort to change the city's pay-to-play political culture. All the right elements are there for Fattah: high profile, strong political base, 25 years a public-policy wonk and lawmaker, married to a local TV news anchor. Yet the veteran Democratic lawmaker is among several would-be mayoral candidates dancing around the limits by delaying a formal campaign announcement.

If residents want to save their borough from crime, drugs and joblessness, they should organize and lead their leaders. That was the message from U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Phila.), the featured guest at a three-hour session organized by Montgomery County Commissioner Joseph M. Hoeffel 3d, a Democrat who is up for reelection next month, and his campaign partner, Joan Nagel. The meeeting, held at the Montgomery County Library, was attended by residents, borough officials and politicians.

Participants in the National Town Watch Night Out/Drug Free In '93 March and Rally gathered last night at Queen Lane and Pulaski Avenue in Germantown. The event is part of a public awareness campaign to help reduce the demand for drugs. State Sen. Chaka Fattah served as campaign chairman.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will receive a $1.7 million federal grant to train pediatric residents, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.) announced Wednesday. The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under its Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Program, Fattah's office said in a statement. "These federal resources are critical to CHOP and its mission as one of the world's best children's hospitals," Fattah said. - Inquirer staff

HEY, CHAKA Fattah, that was real nice getting oil from the Venezuelan government of Hugo Chavez, a man who wants to destroy our way of life. And how many people on your list to receive the discount oil have cell phones and cable TV? I hear Osama bin Laden has some electric blankets he is not using. Why don't you get in touch with him? Because, as you have stated, it is not political. Charles Schaal Philadelphia

The U.S. Department of Education will award Community College of Philadelphia a $600,000 grant under the agency's Predominantly Black Institutions program, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah announced Friday. The money will let the college develop programs to serve more low- and middle-income African American students, Fattah (D., Pa.) said in a news release. The one-year grant is expected to be renewed for three more years, for a total of $2.4 million through 2014-15, the release said. More than half of the college's almost 25,000 degree-seeking students are African American, the release said.

Former Gov. Ed Rendell and former Mayor W. Wilson Goode have launched a fund-raising effort to pay the legal bills of U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah's son, who has been under federal investigation for months. Rendell said he agreed to pitch in after Rep. Fattah contacted him for help. Rendell, in an interview, estimated that the Philadelphia congressman and his wife had spent $250,000 to help Chaka "Chip" Fattah Jr., 30, and said the costs had become a "little bit of a struggle" for the family.

Harrah's Philadelphia has sued U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah's son for allegedly bouncing $16,000 worth of checks at the Delaware County casino, the latest in a string of lawsuits filed since the FBI raided the young Fattah's home and office in February. Just two weeks ago the Philadelphia Federal Credit Union sued Chaka Fattah Jr. for $17,467, alleging that he failed to make payments on a loan there. Ronald Sarachan, a lawyer for Fattah Jr., to declined comment about the suits. Attorneys for Harrah's did not respond to requests for comment.

Even if he can't run for Congress as an "independent," Jim Foster's name still can appear on the November election ballot, Commonwealth Court ruled late Tuesday. The court said he could be listed as the "Philadelphia Party" candidate and might yet be designated the "Independent" nominee. Foster wants to run against incumbent Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), but when he filed his 125-page petition on Friday in Harrisburg as an "independent," state election officials rejected his signatures on the ground that another member of his party already had filed.

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will receive a $1.7 million federal grant to train pediatric residents, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.) announced Wednesday. The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under its Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Program, Fattah's office said in a statement. "These federal resources are critical to CHOP and its mission as one of the world's best children's hospitals," Fattah said. - Inquirer staff

The U.S. Department of Education will award Community College of Philadelphia a $600,000 grant under the agency's Predominantly Black Institutions program, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah announced Friday. The money will let the college develop programs to serve more low- and middle-income African American students, Fattah (D., Pa.) said in a news release. The one-year grant is expected to be renewed for three more years, for a total of $2.4 million through 2014-15, the release said. More than half of the college's almost 25,000 degree-seeking students are African American, the release said.

The leaders of a new partnership among the city, the school district and music-mogul-turned-developer Kenny Gamble's community-development organization are set this morning to announce a $1 million investment in the Grays Ferry and Point Breeze neighborhoods. The money will be used to bolster educational needs, remove blight and create new economic opportunities in the South Philadelphia communities - which are among the city's most distressed. Grays Ferry is home to less than 1 percent of the city's population but has more than 10 percent of those in the federal government's Section 8 housing program, according to one estimate.

In last week's grim aftermath of the shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz., politicians shared their own real stories of threats. Among them was former City Controller Jonathan Saidel, who not only was the subject of threats while in office, but also learned the hard way to mind his own rhetoric. During a fiery speech in support of the Delaware River dredging project at an International Longshoremen's Association rally in 2001, Saidel singled out Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert E. Andrews of New Jersey, who had spoken out against the project.

Forgive Mayor Nutter if he's caught wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey. After being saddled with a crushing recession that forced him to cut spending and raise taxes, the mayor must find ways to squeeze money from a state government that has less to give - and that will in January be controlled entirely by an opposing political party. Consider the case of Pennsylvania's governor-elect, Tom Corbett. He is not just a Republican but a Westerner whose home is in Allegheny County. As such, he is everything that Gov. Rendell is not - and he's no Eagles fan to boot.

PHILLYCLOUT IS still trying to figure out what comes as more of an Election Day surprise: That state Rep. John Perzel and state Attorney General Tom Corbett were lumped together on a sample ballot that read: "Save Your Neighborhood & Save Your State. " Or that both men had incredibly close races in Northeast Philadelphia's 64th Ward, where Perzel is ward leader. It was odd to see Perzel and Corbett paired on the ballot, first spotted by Capitolwire.com bureau chief Pete DeCoursey , because the attorney general charged the representative last November with illegally using $10 million in state funds to coordinate political campaigns.

DAHLIA THOMPSON was eight months behind on her mortgage. She was expecting the foreclosure notice. But when it finally came yesterday, she still couldn't believe it. She scanned every line looking for a reason to believe that this wasn't the last word. "They sent me a list of places to go for credit counseling," she said. "I have an appointment Thursday. "But I lost my job. I don't have the money to pay. " Her son was 7 and her daughter just 8 months when they found the little corner house at 1122 Somerville Ave. 15 years ago. She had no trouble paying the $362 monthly mortgage for the first 14 years.