Chaka Fattah

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.

U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah still won't release his income tax returns in the mayoral campaign even though his wife yesterday was freed from a confidentiality agreement that had restrained him from disclosing her pay. Renee Chenault-Fattah, an NBC10 anchorwoman, said yesterday that the television station had waived the contract restrictions that barred her from disclosing her salary. But she still wants to keep her salary private. Fattah, the only one of the five major Democrats in Philadelphia's May 15 mayoral primary to decline to release his income tax returns, said Wednesday that disclosing the couple's joint income would violate the confidentiality agreement.

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

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 last time voters in Philadelphia's Second District dumped an incumbent congressman for a younger challenger, they struck gold: William H. Gray 3d. Elected at the age of 35, Mr. Gray soon became a force for urban needs that the Reagan administration was disregarding. With the support of his colleagues, he chaired the Budget Committee, led the Democratic Caucus, then won the job of majority whip. Mr. Gray, who's now president of the United Negro College Fund, made a real difference during his 13 years on Capitol Hill.

IT'S DISGRACEFUL that a mayoral candidate like Chaka Fattah says convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu-Jamal deserves a new trial. I have a brother and nephew on the Philadelphia police force. My brother has been shot at and beaten up twice disarming the bad guys with the gun. My nephew was shot at while investigating a robbery and had to shoot back, killing the robber. A mayoral candidate should have the backbone to keep the bad guys behind bars, especially a cop-killer. When a cop is killed in the line of duty, the killer should be put to death or spend the rest of his life behind bars.

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.

One of the nation's most closely watched congressional races is in Bucks County, where former Republican lawmaker Mike Fitzpatrick seeks the seat he lost in 2006 to Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy. Fitzpatrick, a former county commissioner, is well-versed on the issues and has a strong record on the environment. But he hasn't made a persuasive case for throwing Murphy out of office. The Eighth District is home to many moderates, and Murphy is a good fit for the district. The Inquirer endorses PATRICK MURPHY . Murphy was one of the first Democratic officials to support Barack Obama's candidacy for president, yet he has not been a rubber-stamp.

THERE WAS trauma and drama playing out behind the scenes Tuesday, in the hours leading up to the 20th annual Stu Bykofsky Candidates Comedy Night at Finnigan's Wake. What most of the audience didn't know was that Congress interrupted its summer hiatus to return to Washington to act on the Education, Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act on Tuesday morning, the day of the show. This could have pulled six of the 15 candidates out of the show - U.S. Reps. Chaka Fattah, Allyson Schwartz, Bob Brady, Jim Gerlach, Patrick Murphy and Joe Sestak.

A local nonprofit focusing on children's literacy, a charter organization that operates schools in Philadelphia, and other programs with local ties are among 49 nonprofits and groups nationwide that could receive federal funding for their work over the next five years. The groups are required to raise 20 percent in private matching funds by Sept. 8 to obtain the federal grants. The Children's Literacy Initiative, a Philadelphia nonprofit that provides literacy training and materials for teachers of prekindergarten through third grade, could receive $21 million, the U.S. Department of Education announced Thursday.