Community

OLIVER "ALI" Robinson had an imposing family legacy to live up to. His mother, Frances "Mom" Williams, was a legendary community leader and civil-rights icon. His older brother, the late Hardy Williams, was a state senator whose run for Philadelphia mayor in 1971, although unsuccessful, paved the way for other African-Americans to seek public office. Ali made his own reputation as a civic leader, political activist, and founder and leader of organizations devoted to providing services to often-neglected young people.

Twenty years ago, after waiting for a newspaper job that never materialized, Colombian émigré Hernan Guaracao, a trained journalist, created Al Día, an eight-page newsletter published from his home in North Philadelphia. It began as a "hobby," Guaracao said in a recent interview, but it had a serious purpose: to present news of interest to Spanish-speaking readers in a format that challenged media stereotypes about Latinos. Today Al Día flourishes as the leading Spanish-English weekly of Southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, and Delaware, a region of a half-million foreign-born Hispanics and their descendants.

For the last five months, six middle-age, out-of-work parents have been cramming their brains with information about medical billing, patient privacy, hardware, software, and customer service. If all goes according to plan, they will graduate in May with four industry certifications and a job offer from one of the many Montgomery County companies in need of their newfound skills - NextGen, Teva Pharmaceuticals, SunGard, Unisys, etc. "If I could just get my foot in the door, I feel like I could show off my talents and work my way up," said Stuart Novey, 48, of Ambler.

Gregory Scott was trying to protect his mother's West Philadelphia front porch. The community leader known to friends as "Chops" lost his life Wednesday night in an ongoing dispute to keep an unwelcome relative away from the Delancey Street home, family members said. Thursday night, two men - including a cousin of the victim's - were charged in his slaying. Police said James Scott, the cousin, shot Gregory Scott after the latest episode in a series of confrontations that stretched over a year.

By all accounts, Luis Medina is a gentle giant, a burly 21-year-old who lives with his parents. The autistic young man often retreats into "his own world," a neighbor said. The Camden police officer who lives across the street is known in his department as a quiet man, too: a "good cop" and a 12-year, second-generation veteran of the force, Police Chief Scott Thomson said. He and the Medina family had moved to the 2800 block of Arthur Avenue around the same time, almost two decades ago. On Friday afternoon, the police officer, reportedly believing someone was breaking into his house, shot Medina and his caretaker as Medina banged on his front door and the caretaker tried to get him back to his own house.

ON FRIDAY (Feb. 15), I read Christine Flowers' piece on two females with different views on the Penn State scandal, both advocating for a brand of justice. And it struck me that there are two other, quite-different females out there, also working to find justice after a horrible tragedy, coping with its aftermath. It's a mother named Latifah Rashid and her daughter. For the girl, her battle will be lifelong, to regain and ensure her self-worth and dignity. For Latifah, the battle will be equally long, a struggle to provide enough comfort and protection.

LINDA Rowe has lived in her two-story South Philly brick house for 28 years, most recently on a fixed income. Rowe, 58, who lives on Cantrell Street near 8th, is disabled and has been struggling over the years to keep up with her property-tax bills. She owes more than $2,240 in back taxes that have piled up since 2008. But come next year, Rowe fears what could happen when the city moves to a new property-tax system based on market values - known as the Actual Value Initiative.

Jean Gaasch had traveled the world over, but she believed that in the end, God would not ask her where she had been, only what she had done for the greater good. If so, he had best make himself comfortable. He'll be there awhile. Mrs. Gaasch died of pancreatic cancer on Saturday, Feb. 9, at home in Moorestown. In her 82 years, she wrote a thousand local newspaper columns, taught hundreds of third graders, and raised her hand for many a community cause. But chief among the talking points: She helped craft the future of the arts in South Jersey.

Christopher Thomas still has the recruitment letter the University of Pennsylvania sent him when he was a senior at Philadelphia's Central High School in 1993. But Thomas would not actually get to the Ivy League campus for 19 more years - three children, several jobs, and a lot of life filled the interim. He finally arrived through a route some might find unusual - the local community college. Thomas, 37, graduated from the Community College of Philadelphia last year and entered Penn in the fall with the goal of becoming a teacher.

Ryan Snell, 18, racked up almost enough college credits for two associate's degrees before earning his high school diploma. Homeschooled by his parents, the Moorestown teen simultaneously took 30-some classes at Burlington County College for more than 100 credits. He has applied to Wharton and a handful of other prestigious schools. While his accomplishments are impressive, they are not unusual in the Snell family. Both of Ryan's older brothers, Jake and Tom, took dozens of classes at the county college while being homeschooled.