Rocks

The Democratic State Committee yesterday approved the censure of Sen. M. Joseph Rocks for supporting Republican Frank L. Rizzo in the race for mayor of Philadelphia. The unanimous vote was the first step toward removing Rocks from the committee, said state party Chairman Lawrence J. Yatch. The censure would take effect upon Yatch's determination that Rocks is publicly and openly supporting the Republican candidate. Once that determination is made, Yatch said, he is required to write a letter to Rocks asking him to cease his support of Rizzo, the former Democrat who is running against Mayor Goode, the Democratic incumbent.

Can Democrats overcome their penchant for self-destruction and unite to bury Republican state Sen. Joe Rocks once and for all? Call that the $15,000 question in the 4th Senatorial District. In a race already attracting statewide interest because of the abortion issue and because control of the Senate could be in the balance, Democrats smell blood for several reasons: Party registration. Rocks, twice elected as a Democrat, has never run as a Republican in the heavily Democratic district.

Republican state Sen. Joseph Rocks stood in front of a closed trash-burning plant in Roxborough Wednesday and painted himself as the environmentalist senator whose crusade led to the plant's shutdown in 1988. Yesterday, two non-partisan lawyers who worked on the plant's shutdown said Rocks played no role in the legal fight that actually closed the facility. The lawyers said, in effect, that Rocks was spreading political smog. "It was the community groups and PILCOP who did it," said Jerome Balter, a lawyer with the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia (PILCOP)

The Summerdale Civic Association took time out this week from its battles over auto thefts, zoning, vandalism and vacant houses to honor two benefactors: City Councilman Jack Kelly and state Sen. M. Joseph Rocks. The two Republicans were honored by more than 90 members of the organization at a standing-room-only meeting Monday night at the Houseman Playground, Summerdale and Godfrey Avenues. Kelly was saluted for his work in helping the 18-month-old group organize and for providing staff assistance until the association could stand on its own and tackle neighborhood problems.

Bob Ucciferri, proprietor of Cherry Hill Stone, wants to capitalize on the "keep up with the Joneses" attitude among homeowners. Ucciferri sells rocks, mostly, to round out the gardens his customers are building to decorate their yards and, perhaps, to get one up on their neighbors. "This is a real trendy area," he said. "There are a load of landscapers here, and they are all busy. . . . "People have the attitude, 'If the Joneses over here get landscapers to cut their grass, well then, I better not be seen out there pushing a mower.

YOU WANT PRETTY? Watch Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins go deep in the hole, snag the ball, pivot, and fire a perfect throw to Ryan Howard at first. So smooth, so effortless. You want sweet? Watch Rollins round the bases, a blur of speed and agility. You want excitement? You've got J-Roll. Jimmy Rollins this week was voted the National League's Most Valuable Player. It is a well-deserved honor, if we do say so ourselves. The little shortstop with the surprising home- run power was one of the players who made last season's team fun to root for. J-Roll is a throwback.

Pavement's "Cut Your Hair," a scalding commentary on fledgling rock bands from the current Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, contains one verse that sounds like a classified ad: "No big hair/Chops a must/Songs mean a lot. " It's a bit of mockery, but Saturday at the sold-out Trocadero, the rising stars of independent-label rock made at least part of it ring true: The songs did mean a lot. There were few guitar solos, and fewer moments of musical...

The a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock filled the Academy of Music last night with the sounds of struggle, endurance and hope straight from the womb of history. For 2 1/2 hours, five voices - a sixth member of the all-woman group is a signer for the deaf - ebbed and flowed from the ancient, beckoning African rhythms to the new-age melange of gospel, folk, blues, jazz, rap and reggae they are known for. Wrapped in flowing swaths of brilliant hues, Sweet Honey often surpassed its musical impact with its visual presence by echoing melodies with graceful hand gestures and dancing.

John Bush, who won $1,000 in the Daily New Home Run Payoff contest, is a rocker in more ways than one. The 25-year-old Phoenixville man is a geologist who likes - what else? - rock music. He wasn't listening to the radio when Gregg Jefferies smacked the contest-winning homer that put the Phillies ahead, 5-2, in the sixth inning of last night's loss to the Florida Marlins. Instead, he was listening to the Foo Fighters at the Electric Factory. When he returned home and learned of his good fortune, Bush was truly stunned.

A tremendous explosion, felt and heard as far away as South Jersey, ignited a five-alarm fire this morning at the Atlantic Oil refinery at Passyunk and Schuylkill avenues in South Philadelphia. One employee, Pete Sanduski, suffered facial cuts when he was struck by flying glass. Fire officials said the blast, which broke windows and rocked homes in several South Philadelphia neighborhoods, occurred at 9:21 a.m., blowing the top off a tank containing what a refinery spokesman described as "sour water" - various waste by-products used in the refining process.

SEATTLE - Swept down one waterfall and about to plunge over a much larger one, a 13-year-old boy managed to climb onto a one-foot-wide rock in a gushing Washington state river - and then stayed there for 81/2 hours until rescuers finally saved him early Sunday morning, sheriff's officials said. The teen was out hiking with his father and his father's friend about 5 p.m. Saturday when he began wading in the river above Wallace Falls, at a popular state park near Gold Bar, 45 miles northeast of Seattle in the Cascade foothills.

The Emmy for bad taste goes to ... Lifetime! The cabler has greenlighted a documentary series about the lives of Whitney Houston's surviving family members in the wake of the diva's death. "The multi-generations of the ... family will bravely reveal their lives as they bond together to heal," says Lifetime suit Rob Sharenow. Houston Family Chronicles is the brainchild of Whitney's brother Gary's wife, Pat, who pitched it before Whitney's untimely death. "The unexpected passing of Whitney certainly affects the direction of the show," Pat says.

In an era of fashionista rappers with gangsta attitude, such as Nicki Minaj and Azealia Banks, it's awesome — even necessary — that Eve make her return. At 33, Philly's self-proclaimed "pit bull in a skirt" can show up any of her imitators. She proved as much during an intimate (200 people) gig Wednesday at Fishtown's funky Kung Fu Necktie. From her earliest days as one of the Ruff Ryders to her own pop-hop hits ("Who's That Girl?") and a klatch of smash collaborations with Gwen Stefani, Eve was always the queen of swagger.

They come for the humblest of plumbing products, the brass shower stem. From New York, New Jersey, Delaware, or just around the corner, old home lovers and cost-conscious flippers program their GPS units for the intersection of Fifth Street and Champlost Avenue seeking an $11 or a $19 solution to a leaky faucet. They've looked everywhere by the time they wander into the overstuffed time capsule called Fern Rock Hardware. It's always their last stop. Once inside, they realize it should have been the first.

HUMBLE AND unassuming, Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn does not like to talk about himself. Ask him about his confidence, the minutes he chews up nightly in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the tough assignments he draws, and Coburn is more likely to deflect praise to his teammates. Ask Flyers coach Peter Laviolette, though, about Coburn and he will tell you about one of his team's unsung heroes through the first five playoff wins this spring. "Since I got here, Braydon Coburn has been a rock," Laviolette said.

Music The Campus Consciousness Tour starring J. Cole and Big K.R.I.T. Though one can't be completely certain as to how conscious of university status, matriculation, or curriculum vitae either rapper is, don't doubt the entertainment factor of having J. Cole and Big K.R.I.T. together. The sturdy Def Jam rapper K.R.I.T., a highly regarded producer as well as a fierce-flowing MC, dropped both his major-label album Live From the Underground and his new mix tape, 4Eva N a Day, within the last year, and the mouth from Mississippi thrills throughout both Southern-fried recordings.

KEVIN YOUKILIS hit a grand slam, Jarrod Saltalamacchia homered twice and the visiting Boston Red Sox roughed up Philip Humber in a 10-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Youkilis, mired in an early-season slump, hit his second career slam into the rightfield bullpen during a five-run third inning against Humber, who was making his first start since pitching a perfect game in a 4-0 victory at Seattle on Saturday. There was no such suspense Thursday. Humber walked leadoff batter Mike Aviles in the first, snapping his streak of 29 straight batters retired.

MOSCOW - Tens of thousands prayed outside Moscow's main cathedral on Sunday to show their support for the Russian Orthodox Church in a controversy over a punk rock protest that has added to political tensions in Russia. Christ the Savior Cathedral was the scene of a brief surprise performance in February by a female punk rock group protesting Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency. Three members of the band Pussy Riot remain in police custody and face up to seven years in prison on charges of hooliganism.

The Bandstand studio at 46th and Market Streets was old, dreary, and dark — that is, until Dick Clark appeared. Then the lights punched on like a bolt of sunshine, and the gym-like bleacher seats were rolled out with businesslike authority. A certain buzz circulated among the teenagers: Bandstand was about to begin. I went to the studio several times and, on one occasion, took part in one of Clark's famous spotlight dances with a girl I didn't even know. I was able to waltz past the guards at the entrance because I knew one of the regulars.

HE WAS VOTED "Most likely to sell the Brooklyn Bridge" by his high-school classmates. But Dick Clark did much more than that. He sold America on a kit bag of rowdy trouble and seductive pleasures. And he did so fordecades —from those lurid "Great Balls of Fire" goosed by Jerry Lee Lewis and the hip, grinding come-ons to do "The Twist" evoked by Chubby Checker, to the coded drug-'n'-revolution messages he let fly on national TV from the Jefferson Airplane, and the totally tarty aura of Madonna that became America's obsession.