Green Jobs

Xavier Brown extended one hand into the thicket of vines and leaves and gently touched a sprouting green pepper. "This," he said, "is ours. " Brown, 17, stood on a cracked patch of concrete, admiring the small garden at West Philadelphia High School, one of a series of plots run by local youth through the Urban Nutrition Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania. This summer, 75 students at West Philadelphia, Sayre, and University City High Schools learned about nutrition, gardening, and cooking.

Union president Jim Savage doesn't represent the 400 workers who learned yesterday that Sunoco Inc. would permanently shut down the Eagle Point refinery in Westville, Gloucester County. But he does represent other Sunoco refinery workers - and he thinks they and other "old energy" workers are being left out of all the talk about new and green energy. "It has created a lot of anxiety," said Savage, who leads United Steelworkers Local 10-1. And no wonder. Old-energy jobs in mining, refineries, and electricity tend to be union jobs with decent wages and benefits.

Former Mayor Bill Green is apparently close to leaving his Philadelphia law firm to work for MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc., a New York investment company owned by Ronald O. Perelman, a former Philadelphian and long-time friend of Green's. Green, a partner at Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen, could not be reached for comment yesterday. But according to associates at Wolf, Block, his departure from the law firm is considered imminent. "I spoke to Bill recently and he said that nothing is final," said Charles A. Kopp, co-chairman of Wolf, Block.

It never ceases to amaze how politicians who shout to the sky that they are independent thinkers conduct themselves as if they're being led by the hand. Perhaps legislation clearly aimed at creating more jobs for electrical workers was State Rep. Bill Keller's bright idea. But how did he come up with it, given that the Philadelphia Democrat was a longshoreman, not an electrician? Hey, back in the day, Keller was also a member in good standing of the longshoremen's union. So maybe that's why he's running interference for an amendment pushed by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union.

THE FOOD in front of Shawn O'Hanlon looks like slop suited solely for a pig trough: leftover cheeseburgers, peas, bologna sandwiches and other bits stewing in the sunshine on concrete outside the old Holmesburg Prison. But to Laura Cassidy, it's liquid gold. "We have drive-bys every day, people asking: 'When's it going to be ready?' " Cassidy brags. O'Hanlon, an inmate laborer, pushes his shovel under the food and mixes it with wood chips before hurling it into a concrete bay, where it will decompose for a month or so into compost.

Excitement about green-collar jobs is sweeping our country: Presidential candidates have used the term in recent campaign speeches, and President Bush recently signed the Green Jobs Act of 2007, creating $125 million in funding for green-collar job development, including $25 million for green pathways out of poverty. Green-collar jobs, as defined by a November 2007 study by the City of Berkeley, Calif., are blue-collar jobs in businesses that improve environmental quality. The study cited such examples as biodiesel production and gas station jobs, green building, organic food production, large-scale composting, recycling, and public transit.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday awarded the state a $300,000 grant to recruit, train, and place Camden residents in "green" jobs. Seventy-two students will be trained at Camden County College to assess and clean up contaminated sites in Camden and elsewhere in the state. There are about 700 such sites in Camden alone. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which received the grant, will work with community organizations in the city to place graduates in environmental jobs.

A year ago, Mayor Nutter introduced his Greenworks Philadelphia plan, promising to make Philly the greenest city in America with new parks, better air quality and energy-efficient homes. Sounds daunting, right? But the impact of the plan is already visible. Over the past year, the city has improved recycling rates and added bike lanes to Center City streets. And Philadelphia received millions from President Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan to set up job-training programs and other green initiatives.

Mayor Nutter challenged college students to be more informed about the city's current economic challenges and to stay in the city when they get their diplomas, as he kicked off the 2010 Voter Awareness Initiative at La Salle University Thursday night. Nutter said that the city's budget is balanced and he credited President Obama and Congress for their work to boost the nation's economy. "The program is absolutely working," he said, adding that the city would not have been able to rebound from record-breaking deficits in the budget without the federal stimulus bill.

Indicates wheelchair-accessible. Events are free unless otherwise indicated. Symposiums & seminars Interfaith gathering commemorating the events of Sept. 11. Kesher Israel Congregation, 1000 Chester Pottstown Pike, West Chester; 610-696-7210. 7:30 pm Sun Top Secret America: The Rise of the New American Security State. Dana Priest, Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter, and Edward Turzanski, national security analyst at LaSalle University, will discuss the "top secret" world that the government created in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.