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That's where I'd like to get to. Don't know if it can happen in Philly.

via Thomas Hawk

I arrived at the much ballyhooed High School of the Future, which was created in conjunction with Microsoft [greeted by much press and skepticism], eager to see what the gleaming white building looked like inside. I was hoping that the evening's forum would be held in some high tech auditorium, but it was in the cafeteria [which was gorgeous]. A smallish crowd of about 40 came out for the forum and they worked hard to discuss the issues for this Great Expectations event. Aside from the regular slideshow [.pdf] and intro, I learned a couple of new things. First off was that the 311 system has been around since 1990 and Baltimore, MD was the first city to use it. Baltimore's CitiStat was modeled after a NYC police data mapping program which was adapted to apply to all of the city's functions. Being where we were, when it came time to break into smaller groups, I went to the library (also a very cool space) to listen in.
Pictured above are Budget Director Steve Agostini [front] and Deputy Director of Performance Jeff Friedman.

With smaller groups, there was more time to talk about each person's concerns and we got right into it. Given that Philadelphia doesn't have control over the funding of its school system, the group concentrated on what the city could do to further education citywide. Margaret, a CCP staffer from Fairmount, started off by suggesting that everyone have access to good quality education whether it be a person's first time around or returning to school later on in life. Marguritte was concerned about the literacy rate in schools and the people working jobs once out of school. She blamed the notion of social promotion which ushers children through the system without addressing problems. Piggybacking on Marguritte's comment, Helen wanted to see more literacy programs opened up throughout the city. She also wanted to see the after school programs (which are not run by the School District) to be revamped to be more than rudimentary babysitting. Ivy, from West Philly, had watched programs on CNN addressing foods causing ADHD in children and wanted more nutritional awareness in and out of schools.

Zeroing in on how to guarantee good quality education in the city, Margaret started off by suggesting that if a person who graduated from high school can't perform basic functions at work, s/he should be able to go back to school without feeling bad about it. The group suggested a "Mayor's Guarantee" that a diploma is worth the paper its printed on and that a person with a diploma can read at at least a 6th grade level (the level of many daily newspapers like USA Today and The Daily News) - certainly a low bar, but progress has to start somewhere. To build on that guarantee, non-profit literacy programs which currently exist should be coordinated through a reinvigorated Mayor's Literacy Program. Marguritte remembered under the Goode administration that education was a top priority, but she no longer feels the same way. The Goode administration was pre-takeover of the School District by the state, but since the takeover, in 2001, the state has increased funding approximately 7% per year totaling $400M+; in the five years pre-takeover, state funding was stagnant [link].

But how to get the word out? Margaret suggested that educational issues also be included on the list of things 311 operators have training on. She suggested a database (once coordinated) to be ready for the operators so that when a person who wants to improve their grasp on reading calls in, an operator can easily direct them to a local resource. Jean, the group's moderator, noted that technology is likely the 4th "skill" kids will have to learn nowadays adding to the old Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. With access to computers and the internet being an issue to learn that new skill an issue, Margaret suggested partnerships with businesses who replace their computers on a regular cycle. That recycling of computers can lead to new jobs in the communities around the schools where people can be trained on how to wipe hard drives and install new software and placing the hardware within the classrooms and tech centers. Another group member pointed out the success of Project H.O.M.E.'s Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology Labs.

Moving onto Ivy's [pictured above] concern for improved nutritional awareness, Margaret started off the discussion by suggesting a city ordinance for labeling of all fast foods - more than the pamphlets which are available upon request at the chains around town. Marguritte suggested public service announcements with local big name athletes talking about nutrition creatively. Edna, a retired senior, noted how the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging mails out pamphlets containing information and $20 coupons once a year for seniors to use at local markets for fresh produce - why shouldn't a similar thing be done for every child entering the school system. I brought up The Food Trust which has a Nutritional Education program in place in Philadelphia already. Margaret suggested the city provide permits for empty lots to be gardened. For that, there's actually a group [disclaimer, I work with this group often] called the Philly Orchard Project which has been planting orchards around town, with the cooperation of communities, to bring access to fresh, locally grown produce to parts of the city where it can be hard to find.

Back to the big group for the final Q&A session, the panel gathered up front for questions. The Inquirer's Chris Satullo asked the group what they noticed while talking and looking over the notes. Councilman Curtis Jones noted how all these issues are so interconnected. Poverty leads leads to crime which is a sign of lack of education and a lack of good jobs. Dealing with all the problems all at once is a daunting task and he told the group to look at the budget [Fiscal Year 2009 .pdf] and see what the city is truly concerned about. And taking a look at the pie chart on page 13, one can see that the city plans to spend $230M on prisons while Parks & Recreation will get $58M and Streets $33M. Approximately $2.4B is committed to city personnel costs which equals 60% of the $4B budget and is, according to Budget Director Agostini, typical of major cities.

One attendee asked about the customer service training for the new 311 operators. Councilman Jones said that since January (when he took office), there had been approximately 600 customer service calls with a 60% - 70% closure rate. Many if not most of the calls are easy answers to questions or simple fixes. It's those remaining 35% or so that really takes the work and there will be ample training. He shared a funny statistic that the #1 call into his office was in regards to raccoons. He laughed and said that he never would've guessed that raccoons would be the #1 issue that his constituents call for help.

The gentleman above asked about the deplorable operation of health centers. How there are so few, the lines are too long, how doctors leave before all patients are dealt with and the wait for a prescription is too long. Councilman Jones agreed that the conditions are deplorable. He pointed out that there was a single ER in the 4th district and it was in Roxborough. There are no health centers in the district at all. He said that thankfully, there is money in the budget and the situation, at least in the 4th, will get better and soon. Another gentleman up front asked about manufacturing jobs coming back to the city. Councilman Jones talked of a company from Inchon, Korea which is set to open up shop in the 4th. That company will build trolley cars which will be used in Philadelphia. Yes, Philly is getting a local source for the trolley cars people ride every day. The factory will create 300 blue collar, family supporting jobs in the city. Looking further down the line, Jones said that green jobs is the future of Philadelphia - like the technology which went into the LEED Gold certified school building the group was in that night.

The item above is a Merkur 1904 classic double edge safety razor. Egged on by Tony's post looking into safety razors then his following two posts on wet shaving, my old interest in the art was once again piqued. I watched a bunch of mantic59's YouTube videos and read up a little bit on the gear involved and voila. I hate buying the crazy expensive packs of disposable cartridges. I figured that this initial investment would pay for itself in a year or so.

The final straw was seeing the Burt's Bees (now owned by Clorox) kit above (which did not come with the Merkur razor or the styptic pen, but also came with aftershave and lip balm [given to Lady]) for sale at Whole Foods. I figured that the whole package was a bargain over what I'd pay for things separately, especially starting out. The shave brush is boar's hair (as opposed to synthetic or badger hair) and the soap is glycerin based - which is what I've read is recommended. So I took the plunge and got the kit. The next day, I got the razor at top along with 5 Wilkinson blades, but the razor came with a Merkur brand blade so I stuck that one in there first so I'll have something to compare the Wilkinson blades to when the time comes. The styptic pen is for the nicks you get while shaving. You just dab the end of it over the cut and presto, the bleeding stops.

Now anyone that knows me or knows my ethnic background would probably know that I don't have much facial hair. Yeah yeah. That doesn't mean I shouldn't have fun while shaving though. The feel of the razor is nice and hefty. The process of lathering up is fun. The sound of hairs being sliced away with a platinum coated blade is incredibly gratifying - much better than the scratchy noise from a Mach3.

But now for a little product review. The Burt's Bees stuff doesn't cut it. The soap doesn't lather up too well. From what I've seen on various YouTube videos, I should be getting a much thicker lather from the soap. I've tried different amounts of water to soap ratio, but it just doesn't work out. I can get what looks like the right kind of lather, but it just fades away quickly. Who knows - it may be my technique, the brush, the soap, the hardness or softness of the water in the house… But all the while, I'll be getting the technique down with the blade which is the most important (and dangerous!) part. It's quite a different experience from the pivoting plastic heads I've been using for the last 7 or so years (used even less gratifying electric shavers prior). You have to lock the wrist and use shorter strokes on flat parts of the face. Lucky for me, I have gigantic and flat cheekbones which are, apparently, safety razor friendly. I've nicked myself a couple of times so far, but not as bad as I've done with a Mach3 when I'm hurrying along a little too much which left me with 3 parallel lines on my chin.

I bought my non kit stuff at a store on 13th St just north of Walnut St. It's a store full of knives and shaving/clipping instruments. The razor was $24.99 (better than any price I saw online), the single cartridge of 5 blades was $4.99 (can get blades for much cheaper in bulk, but this is a first try), the Colonel Conk styptic pen was $2. An 8-pack of Mach3 Turbo blades at CVS is around $20. The process of making what was once a mere grooming chore is now a more fun. I don't expect it to continue to be a joyous occasion each time I shave, but it'll be more fun than before for sure. Now I'll be on the lookout for shave cream/soap/brush reviews - a whole new set of blogs for me to read!

The Great Expectations crew headed up to Einstein Medical Center for a forum on making the city a better place with city staffers listening attentively to 75+ citizens who came out for the discussion. This was my first time seeing new Budget Director Steve Agostini in person (Inquirer appointment story) as he was unable to make it to the two previous forums I attended in this series. He struck me as a person who genuinely cared. He was at ease in front of the room with a mic; he was glad to chat with anyone and everyone in the room no matter the topic. Along with Agostini, there were 9 other city staffers from various offices including a large contingent from Councilwoman Marian Tasco's office, but the councilwoman was not in attendance. Once the pleasantries were out of the way and the staffers got through with their quick presentation [.pdf], the attendees broke themselves up onto five groups to tackle an issue important to them. I listened in on the largest group of the night: Ethics.

With ethics being one of the big points of the new mayor's campaign, I thought that this would be an interesting group to listen to and perhaps their views on the new mayor and what his promises meant to them would come up. The group quickly got to work defining what it thought ethics was. Keisha, from East Oak Lane, [speaking above] defined ethics as honesty and transparency within the government. Barbara thought ethics went hand in hand with accountability. Ken, a pastor from the area, said that ethics is resolution. He also wanted people in government to be honest enough to admit that they don't know the answer at times. The group wanted people in government to be willing to take risks to do the right thing. I thought Nutter's signing into law of five gun bills (Inquirer article) in defiance of the state was a step in the right direction. Philadelphia, being a city of first class, should be able to enact more stringent laws than the state feels necessary.

So with the group's definition/expectations in place, how to quantify results? While one person wanted 100% satisfaction, Keisha would settle for 75%, or simply, an improvement from the current situation - a decidedly low bar for many. Moderator Harris Sokoloff of UPenn asked the group how that improvement could be measured. The group wanted to be able to see fewer repeated mistakes like trash not being fully picked up from each block. They wanted to be able to track all of the complaints. Barbara wanted a follow up call to her more serious complaints.

One woman wanted physical letters generated with pertinent information from each call automatically mailed out within 30 days of each call. Joyce, a former PGW employee on the customer service side, said that was something PGW enacted after their customers demanded it. If PGW could do it, the city should she added.

Cheryl wanted simple expectations met: if she's told she'll receive a call in 5 days and gets a call back 14 days later, that's not good enough. She also wanted to see the city employees treated wll by their bosses. After all, if they're not treated well, how can they be expected to treat people over the phone well. The group added that incentives may be the way to go. Joyce suggested bonuses in cash, vacation days or free meals as possible incentives for good customer service.

My favorite part of each night has become watching people go around and reading over the notes of the other 4 groups. Seeing citizens interact with city staffers about points brought up in the breakout groups; people scribbling down notes; people taking cell phone photos of the notes like above. The interest in each others' thoughts makes it that much clearer that everyone in the room really cares and wants to make things better in their city - they're not simply showing up for some free grub.

The panel of city staffers took their seats at the front of the room after everyone had some time to look at the notes around the room. From left to right: Derek Green (Councilwoman Tasco's office and 2006 At-Large City Council candidate), Anuj Gupta (Budget office), Julie Wertheimer (Budget office), Agostini, Dana Wilson (Budget office), Steve Kennebeck (Chief of Staff, Managing Director). Sokoloff asked what struck them while listening in on the groups and looking at all the notes. Green said he was made even more aware as to how hard it is to get things done for the average citizen. He said he receives calls in Councilwoman Tasco's office every day from people who need help after exhausting calls to various city agencies. He can end up helping the people with their problems, but he agrees that it shouldn't take a call from a council office. The Inquirer's Chris Satullo asked the panel to tell the group a little more about the city's soon to be 311 system. Agostini said that the call takers would be housed on the 1st floor of City Hall and that initially, the room would hold about 60 people and have the capacity for 100. The system will be 24/7/365. Gupta added that Philadelphia is the 50th or so city to institute a 311 system and that there is a tried and tested rollout schedule of functionality.

Walter wanted to know how the citizens could be assured that things would actually get done - no empty promises. Agostini said that the PhillyStat program has already yielded results. In a recent meeting, it was revealed that the homicide rate was down in the first quarter as compared to last year.

The funniest part of the night was when one participant asked who they should call if they had a complaint in regards to a 311 operator. Wilson laughed and said she had no idea (neither did anyone else on the panel). Gupta came to the rescue with a suggestion: Baltimore's CitiStat system has their operators call back, randomly, 10% of the incoming calls at the end of the day for citizen feedback. That functionality is built into the PhillyStat software and could be activated down the line.

Sharon, from East Oak Lane and a Tasco staffer, asked what the police force was doing in terms of diversity training. Agostini asked the room to look at the front panel. Before them were people of a mix of backgrounds: Indian, gay, Puerto Rican, Jewish, white, black, male, female. "We are diversity" he said, and they were committed to it. This guy is a leader.

After the Q&A session was over, people milled about the room. Not one, not two, but three city officials took time to speak with the woman above who wanted some additional clarification on one of the questions she asked. The rest of the panel was roaming around the room talking to various groups as well. The Great Expectations staff was busy organizing all the notes for transcription and tidying up the conference room graciously provided by Einstein. I made my way out of the maze that is Einstein and hopped on the Broad Street Line back to Center City thoroughly impressed with the city's new Budget Director. If he's this passionate about things partially related to the city's budget, I can't imagine what he's like when jumping into the numbers.

Every Wednesday from last week through mid-November, Farm to City brings to City Hall it's very own farmers' market. The market is open from Noon to 6p and is right in the inner concourse. Above is a shot of the end stall selling cut flowers and herbs (I bought some nice chives from this stall) in front of Billy Penn's tower.

There were 3 stalls on opening day including the one above selling strawberries, asparagus and various jams (which people eagerly tasted). My friend Joanna, who is a market manager for Farm to City, tells me that they'll be up to about 7 or 8 when it's full with 2 youth groups selling their produce too! One of the groups is Mill Creek Farm (profiled in the CityPaper); I forget the name of the other group, but I do remember that they are being helped by the good people at Weaver's Way Co-op.

Above is a shot of the asparagus on sale at the same stall mentioned earlier. In addition, there was also a stall selling farm fresh eggs. It's a beautiful day outside - if you're around City Hall between Noon and 6p, head on over to check out the scene. Farm to City runs a bunch of other markets in town as well and they can be found here.

You haven't lived until you've seen a pig race. Four little piggies running around a short track. Took them a second to get going, but they did. Then they stopped just short of the finish line and then started up again to finish up and go back into their pen. The squealer in green took the checkered flag.

I had a blast shooting my friends' wedding out in Lancaster on Saturday. It was a long day, but 2k+ photos later, I was home. And now, they're off in paradise.

Head on out to the Country Barn to see the fun.

On Tuesday, I went out to Lancaster, with Lady as my co-pilot, to scout the location of a wedding I'm shooting on Saturday. It was awesome. The venue is called the Country Barn Farm Market and it's a working farm complete with hogs, chickens, turkeys, cows, sheep, goats, rabbits and much much more. Above are two of the three turkeys we saw outside roaming the grounds. They "gobble gobbled" up a storm when I was by them.

Just wanted to share a quick photo of what's in store. I really hope that the weather holds out so I can take some photos outside on the grounds of the actual farm. The interior of the barn, where the party will be, is great looking too, but the animals are running around outside. The coolest part of the wedding itinerary? In between the vows and dinner is… a pig race. It's actually scheduled in. 5.45pm. Pigs. Racing. Awesome.

Last Friday morning, approximately 70 citizens trudged through the driving rain to the Klein Jewish Community Center in the northeast on the morning of Sgt. Liczbinski's funeral. Public Safety was on the minds of many of those in attendance of the fourth installment of the A City That Works Great Expectations forum. The crowd of citizens were all seniors (except for one twenty-something lady named Trina) and only a few had been to a previous Great Expectations forum. As a result of the funeral, the city's top brass who are normally present at the forums were not in attendance. Moderators Chris Satullo of the Inquirer and Harris Sokoloff of UPenn took on the responsibilities of answering questions regarding city services as best they could and collected note cards with yet more questions at the end of the meeting. District 10 Councilman Brian O'Neill dropped by for about 20 minutes before heading downtown for the funeral. While he couldn't stick around, one of his staffers, Bill Rapone, stayed behind to answer questions from the councilman's constituents.

The turnout was great and the interest in Public Safety was so great that two groups had to be formed. Sokoloff [above] picked up a marker and jumbo note pad and lead the group. But since I recently sat in on a Public Safety group, I listened in on the conversation with the Healthy and Sustainable Neighborhoods group. But before things got started, I was seated across the table from Harold who asked me: How will Philadelphia become the safest large city in America? He was reading one of the goals set by the Nutter administration. I told him that it would be a long process with a quarter of the city in poverty. He countered by saying that if people have jobs, there would be less crime as there would be less of a need to resort to crime as a means for survival. But where will those jobs come from.

The Neighborhoods discussion got off to a great start brainstorming as to what a healthy neighborhood looked like. One citizen called for a local spot to pay bills one citizen called for a local place to pay bills. She said that her family used to pay bills at a local Shop Rite; why couldn't a mini City Hall like the ones in the far NE and North Philly be opened in the area? A call for the local papers to act more as advocates for the citizens. But the conversation took a tangential stroll discussing litter - more trash cans, prettier trash cans, an argument over just cans or cans with plastic bags… I took the time to take a scan of the room to see what else people were talking about.

I saw Councilman O'Neill [above] talking with several constituents about things I was out of earshot to eavesdrop on. He had left by time I looked for him again later that morning but Rapone [below] remained and fielded questions.

Back to Neighborhoods and I heard Ruth wanting to see business owners intermingle with each other as well as getting more involved in the community. Another group member said that language barriers may prohibit such interaction. Ruth countered by saying everyone should learn English as immigrants in the past had done here in Philly. One group member said that her parents, who were immigrants, didn't want her to learn the language of her parents at all so that she wouldn't be at a disadvantage in school with the other kids; it's the opposite now she said. Arthur said that the Russians are the ones in the NE who are least likely to assimilate - why? Bernie hypothesized that the Irish and Italians were the same way when they first arrived, but now after being more comfortable in the area, are more open to intermingling. Just give the Russians more time he pleaded.

Satullo took to the mic after the brief lunch break to recap the morning and get the Q&A part of the meeting started. He asked each group what they accomplished and what they noticed when reading each other's notes. Maurice noticed people were all concerned with crime and traffic in the area. Beth, one of the Public Safety moderators, said that traffic was a large concern. With so many seniors in the area, crossing the large main roads was hazardous. The group complained that the traffic signals changed over too quickly and wanted the city to look into the issue. Satullo said that out of all the forums, this was the first time traffic came up as an issue on its own (I'm gonna guess a lot of people brought up traffic along with the casino issue too). Satullo's drive to the NE through the driving rain had him being a supporter of looking into the traffic situation in the area. Rapone, who at this point was not speaking on behalf of the Councilman, but as a fellow citizen (but slightly more in the know than the average Jane) said that traffic studies could be commissioned, but that they take a long time and could yield an unfavorable answer.

The Ethics group called for standards of service to be implemented across all departments. Satullo took the time between the groups reporting in and the full Q&A session to report on a trend in Philly in relation to the national economy. He said that Philadelphia tends to be a operate on a more even keel than the rest of the nation; when there are boons across the nation, Philadelphia's isn't as high and when a recession hits, Philadelphia doesn't get hit as hard. This, he said, was due to Philadelphia's very diverse local economy. To drive the point home even further, he reported that there weren't too many foreclosures in the city compared with the rest of the nation, but according to this Daily News article from the 12th, it may get much worse very soon.

Sticking on the subject of people's homes, Nate asked a rather touchy question, especially in front of an audience of fixed income seniors: Why wasn't the city performing a full valuation reassessment of homes for proper property tax collection? There was an audible near hiss from the crowd. Satullo answered the touchy question as best he could based on the response from previous forums. He said that the people in favor of these full valuations are usually those who would fare well and those against it are those who know they'll come out paying much much more each year. There were calls for protection for seniors if a full valuation taxation were to go into effect. Nate slunked down in his chair a bit.

Myles noticed lots of people concerned with the city needing more money and asked if the city would agree to an independent, outside of PA agency, audit of the city's books.

Rapone said that universities, newspapers and agencies perform such audits on their own dime from time to time, but it would be up to the mayor to ask for such an audit. I believe the City Council would then have to approve such an expense.

Warren noted that there were some $400M in uncollected real estate taxes owed to the city. He clarified that by saying the $400M was the deadbeats sitting on parcels of land and not the people living paycheck to paycheck falling behind on payments who need real assistance, not penalties. He wanted to see the city aggressively go after the deadbeats for a hunk of change which could possibly pay the salaries and pensions of hundreds of new cops. Rapone suggested that prior administrations had not gone after the monies because the city had enough money to not go after it. But now as the budget is tighter than in the past, the city needs the money more and Mayor Nutter may be the one to go after it in a more aggressive manner.

I had to leave a few minutes early due to my reading of the schedule incorrectly a few days prior to the event. Unfortunately, I had made a reservation for my PhillyCarShare to end before all was said and done. Off I went, back into the rain, but I'll be at another forum in North Philly to hear what's on the minds of another group of Philadelphians looking to make the city a better place.

I took a trip up to the incredibly beautiful Morris Arboretum on April 27th with Andi. It was the 75th Anniversary of the arboretum as a public garden and they were opening their doors to all comers for free. And as a special treat, they were allowing, for the first time, they were allowing people into the Bloomfield Farm section of the arboretum complete with a tour of the old Grist Mill. It's an incredible place and I'll surely be back there, $10 admission and all. Above is a photo of dawn redwood trees in the arboretum. Yep, that's right - Philadelphia has redwood trees. Crazy.

The arboretum is large, but not so large that you can't cover it all in a day's walk. Paths are well laid out along with ADA-approved accessible routes. Lady and I have become more and more interested in Kingdom Plantae recently and it was great to see all the great things that grow in the region. It as also great to walk through the place with Andi who knows quite a bit about flora. It's places like this that make me want to get a macro lens. Head over to Andi's post which is chock full of macro shots from the trip.

As an added bonus, we met up with Tony and Anne in the Bloomfield are of the arboretum for the Grist Mill tour. Always great to catch up with them and even better in such an incredible setting! I highly recommend the trek out there to visit. Come July the roses will be in full bloom.

And here's a flickr set of photos from the trip.

My new nephew as of 11.31a Friday. Dylan came in at 8lbs. 5oz. and according to my mom, my sister had a relatively easy delivery.

My brother, and the rest of my family, went to see him yesterday and MMS'd the pic above to me in the afternoon. I can't wait to see him in person.