Trash

On people you know are talking trash about you: When someone wants to share a third party's juicy/hurtful/critical comments about me, I like to reply, "Her opinion of me is none of my business. " Stops 'em dead, and I love the expression on her face as she tries to sort out what I said.   On parents who accentuate the negative: I struggled with a mother who was negative about everything I did. With therapy, and prayer, I learned to handle my anger, frustration, and sadness at having a mother with whom I could share little.

SPRINGTIME is when the flowers bloom, the days become longer and winter coats are banished to the closet for a few dark, lonesome and linty months. But in Philly, even something as sweet as springtime comes with an attitude. 'Tis the season when Philadelphians in some neighborhoods guard their faces during a gust of wind to avoid being pelted by cigarette butts, condom wrappers and whatever else is caked onto the crumbling sidewalks. Since the weather was nice earlier this week, I took a little field trip up North 5th Street and found a trio of trashy tragedies during my jaunt from Oxford Street, in the Ludlow section of North Philly, to Allegheny - on the northern edge of Fairhill.

Wilson Goode Jr. is the most consistent presence at Council's budget hearings, so it was no surprise that he was the first member at Wednesday night's opening session - and the only one who arrived early. The hearing was in the basement of St. John's A.M.E. Church, in the far corner of Southwest Philadelphia. Once things got started - a full half-hour late - Goode informed the standing-room crowd that he had been baptized in the church upstairs. "Consider this budget process blessed starting here," he said.

A CITY councilman wants to talk trash. Kenyatta Johnson introduced a resolution yesterday calling for hearings to examine the effectiveness of ordinances that address illegal dumping and littering along business corridors. "Throughout the 2nd Councilmanic District and the city, littering and short-dumping has always been an issue," Johnson said. "We want everyone to play a role in cleaning Philadelphia. " Johnson said he wants an update from agencies such as Licenses and Inspections on the enforcement of laws.

As the man in charge of the city's sanitation, Carlton Williams has a thankless job. Despite being the innovator behind the Recyclebank rewards program and the BigBelly trash cans, his is the type of behind-the-scenes public service that usually gets noticed only when something goes wrong. That is why he was a little concerned when Mayor Nutter called him early Friday morning, while he was taking his children to school. "I said, 'Who missed their trash?' " Williams joked.

Notice all that trash swirling around Philadelphia neighborhoods, tossed about by the recent heavy winds? Today, you have a chance to do something about it. Registration opens for residents who want to volunteer, or submit project proposals, for the city's Fifth Annual Philly Spring Cleanup. Organizations can submit project proposals until March 30. The cleanup, which is run by the Philadelphia Streets Department, is scheduled for Saturday, April 14. The motto: "Keep Up the Sweep Up!"

As the man in charge of the city's sanitation, Carlton Williams has a thankless job. Despite being the innovator behind the Recyclebank rewards program and the Big Belly trash cans, his is the type of behing-the-scenes public servant that usually gets noticed only when something goes wrong. That's why he was a little concerned when Mayor Nutter called him early Friday morning, while he was taking his children to school. "I said, 'Who missed their trash,'" Williams joked.

NEW YORK - Bernard Hopkins unlocked his iPhone so he could reveal the backdrop. It's his mug shot from his incarnation more than 2 decades ago. During a news conference nearly 2 hours earlier to promote Hopkins' April 28 light-heavyweight rematch with Chad Dawson in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall, Dawson attempted to disgrace Hopkins by pestering the Philadelphia native about the controversial ending to their last fight. Dawson also dubbed Hopkins a "punk. " When it was Hopkins' turn to speak on the podium, he declined.

THE ACTIONS of retired police Captain Ray Lewis, as reported in the Daily News , was appalling. As a retired Philadelphia police officer, Lewis' behavior during the Occupy Philadelphia on Independence Mall was an embarrassment to not only Lewis, but the Philadelphia Police Department in general. Additionally, I'm a Vietnam veteran and am well aware of our First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and assembly. However, to hide behind the First Amendment and demonstrate in full police uniform goes beyond the pale.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection wants to know who tossed an 'antique medical kit' containing Radium-226 in some construction trash. The kit was discovered in a Chester County trash bin on Jan. 19, along with a load of construction debris. The box set-off a radiation alarm at Waste Management's Norristown transfer station, according to a DEP release asking for the public's help. "The radioactive material may have been contained in the kit for more than 80 years," The DEP's Bureau of Radiation Director David Allard said.