If an event you are interested in is not mentioned here, you may want to contact the sponsoring organization for more information.

Mary Mother of Mercy Parish in Glasboro, NJ has cancelled the AM and PM Gift Program.

Our Lady of Peace Religious Education Has canceled today’s 9:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Religious ED classes.

Saint Martin Of Toures in Philadelphia has canceled today’s CCD classes.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — This isn’t exactly “Love Train,” but it’s sort of like “Spread the Love Bus.”

“It’s just about going back to my community and doing some random acts of kindness,” says KeVen Parker, president and CEO of Ms. Tootsie’s Bar and Lounge on South Street in Philadelphia.  “Whether we know those people or didn’t know them, I just wanted to give back.”

Ms. Tootsie’s is a Southern comfort-food restaurant which recently won the Food Network’s award for best fried chicken in the country.

And what’s their secret?

“I wouldn’t dare tell you,” Parker says.  “I couldn’t tell — it’s a secret.  You can have some chicken, but not the secret.”

Parker has begun a year-long campaign to do random acts of kindness throughout the area.  First up was paying the grocery store bill for a woman named Shirley.

“She was very, very excited.  She didn’t expect it at all,” says Parker.

Every month, he will pick different people to help.

“It’s just really about spreading the love.  A lot of times, people look at when you’re doing something from a perspective of generosity, that it only goes to underprivileged or poor people.  But everyone needs a little love.”

And he welcomes your suggestions.

“If you come to the restaurant to dine, we have nomination cards, where you can nominated someone.  You can go on our web site and nominate someone, or you can just call us.   It’s just paying forward, just helping someone else.  It’s not even about the amount of money.  It’s not about how large or small the gift.  It’s about the generosity.  It’s about the act.”

That’s “Positively Philadelphia!”

“Positively Philadelphia” main page

If an event you are interested in is not mentioned here, you may want to contact the sponsoring organization for more information.

——————————————————————-

Church Women United in Philadelphia has canceled the meeting at Simpson House.

Lankenau Medical Center has cancelled childbirth education classes.

Overbrook School for the Blind Alumni Association has canceled today’s bingo.

Paoli Hospital has cancelled childbirth education classes.

Saint Charles Borromew in Bensalem has canceled bingo tonight.

State Rep. Cherelle Parker has canceled today’s 50th Ward town hall meeting at the Dorothy Emanuel Recreation Center.

——————————————————————-

If your organization’s public event is being canceled due to weather, contact the KYW newsroom at 215-238-7600.

If an event you are interested in is not mentioned here, you may want to contact the sponsoring organization for more information.

——————————————————————-

Bryn Mawr Hospital has cancelled tonight’s child-birth education tours.

Fiesta Dance Club closed this evening.

Paoli Hospital has cancelled tonight’s “Unite” support group meeting.

Phoenixville Hospital Atrial Fibrillation network is cancelled.

——————————————————————-

If your organization’s public event is being canceled due to weather, contact the KYW newsroom at 215-238-7600.

Black History Month

.

By Cherri Gregg

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Known as “Philly’s Rock Star,” Curt Chambers is a singer, songwriter, and musician. The Nicetown native has graced the stage with superstars such as rapper Eminem and hip-hop mogul P-Diddy.

His sound is unique — it fuses soul, rock, pop, and hip-hop.

Chambers says just being in Philadelphia helped lead him to music as a career.

“I kind of got kidnapped by the whole ‘Roots’ crew and movement in high school, and started out playing with the Jazzy Phat Nasties and Jaguar, and was a part of that Black Lillie movement. That was really where I developed my movement as a musician and a songwriter,” he recalls.

Chambers says he loves many things about Philadelphia, including the food — Silk City Diner at 5th and Spring Garden is one of his favorites.

But the thing he loves most, he says, is “the heart and passion of the city. It’s aggressive and it’s real. They’ll let you know if they feel you or not.”

Chambers, who has been nominated for a Grammy for his songwriting, and will be releasing a new solo album, “One Way Ticket.”

Hear Cherri Gregg’s full interview with Curt Chambers in this CBS Philly podcast…

Download the podcast (runs 4′ 25″)

Black History Month

.

By Cherri Gregg

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Once a contestant on the TV show “Project Runway,” graphic designer Kristin Haskins Simms is the founder and designer of the fashion line Strangefruit.

Simms, who grew up in West Mount Airy, says she moved away to attend college, but returned back 12 years ago, wooed by Philadelphia’s eclectic evolution.

“I was, like, there are restaurants downtown, and cute restaurants!  And a combination of the food and the arts scene — that’s what really sold me on Philly,” she recalls.

Simms says one of Philadelphia’s best assets is the schools where young artists can learn and grow:

“They have great art programs. I went to Fleisher Memorial when I was a kid — I took some drawing classes there.  I also took an illustration class at Moore College of Art.”

Now, Kristin lives in Germantown.  And even though she sells her fashion all over the world, she says Philadelphia is home.

“Philly’s a great place to have your roots,” she says.

Hear Cherri Gregg’s full interview with Kristin Haskins Simms in this CBS Philly podcast…

Download the podcast (runs 5′ 22″)

Black History Month

.

By Cherri Gregg

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Known first for his dedication to soul food, KeVen Parker is the founder and owner of Miss Tootsie’s Soul Food, Miss Tootie’s Restaurant Bar Lounge, and a number of other companies dedicated to his eat-drink-sleep philosphy and his vision of creating a destination on South Street.

“I never thought Miss Tootsie’s would be a temporary staple,” Parker says. “I knew that it would be a permanent landmark in Philadelphia.”

Fifteen years ago, the West Philadelphia native quit his job and, with his mother, known as Miss Tootsie, opened their restaurant on faith.

“I always looked at Philly as a diamond in the rough,” he says.

Now, Miss Tootsie’s and Parker are becoming synonymous with soulful Philadelphia style.  And he says his style is as eclectic the city itself:

“In Philly, you get a little bit of DC, you get a little bit of New York, but it’s Philly.  It’s every thing you could ever wish for or hope for.”

Hear Cherri Gregg’s full interview with KeVen Parker in this CBS Philly podcast…

Download the podcast (runs 8′ 25″)

Black History Month

.

By Cherri Gregg

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Vidal Davis is one-half of the dynamic producing duo Dre & Vidal.  These Grammy Award winners have written songs for megastars including Michael Jackson, Usher, and Justin Timberlake.

Davis says his early days growing up in Germantown helped plant his roots in music.

“I came up in church, so I had to play the drums every Sunday,” he recalls.  “On Wednesdays I had to be at the service.”

He was in church when he met André Harris, and they teamed up to make magic.

“The chemistry we had as musicians, nobody else had it,” Davis says.

And Davis says he is proud to be from Philadelphia, and even more proud to be a piece of the city’s rich musical landscape:

“I love Philadelphia — the culture and history in this city alone is just amazing. You have the Academy of Music, then you have Dick Clark, then you have Gamble and Huff.”

Hear Cherri Gregg’s full interview with Vidal Davis in this CBS Philly podcast…

Download the podcast (runs 6′ 50″)

By Mark Abrams and Pat Ciarrocchi

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A funeral mass for the former spiritual leader of Philadelphia’s 1.5 million Catholics was being held today at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul, in center city Philadelphia.

Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, who led the archdiocese for more than 15 years, died last week at the age of
88 (see previous story).

The mass was set to begin at 2pm following a procession at 1:40pm.  Archbishop Charles Chaput is the principal celebrant. The Rev. Monsignor Louis D’Addezio was slated to deliver the homily.

Bevilacqua will be entombed in the crypt beneath the cathedral’s altar with a rite of committal.

The cardinal retired in 2003 but in recent months had become central to a child sex abuse case involving former priests and a former high-ranking church administrator (see related story).

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — There was a big party today at the Please Touch Muesum as the two-millionth visitor walked through the doors.

It wasn’t a typical Tuesday for two-year-old Jack Cassway and his mother, Cindy Burstein.

“You know, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing to be the two-millionth visitor to the Please Touch Musem,” Burstein said after she and her son were singled out by museum officials.  “Let’s go for it!”

Laura Foster, president and CEO of the Please Touch, says they’ve been in their new location in Fairmount Park for 3½ years, and it has proven a boon.

“On 21st Street it would have taken us 11 years to get that many people,” Foster tells KYW Newsradio.  “We have really expanded our audience, and many more children and families are able to come here and have a great time.”

Jack and his family receive a two-year membership to the museum, and his parents receive a dinner for two.

“Princes & Paupers”

.

By Pat Loeb

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The “Occupy” movement has based its call to action on the concentration of wealth in the top one percent of Americans, but what exactly are the social implications of income inequality?

Historian James Adams coined the phrase “the American dream” in 1931.  It’s not motor cars and high wages, he explained, it’s a dream that everyone will be able to attain “the fullest stature of which they are capable… regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”

Sister Nora Nash, director of corporate social responsibility for the Sisters of St. Francis, in Aston, Pa., sees income inequality killing the dream.

(Sister Nora Nash. Credit: Pat Loeb)

“You are beginning to see a lot of people in our society who have become disenfranchised,” Nash (right) told KYW Newsradio recently.  “Not only have they become disenfranchised, but you see other things take over such as crime, drugs, and illnesses.”

These are social ills that have long been associated with poverty, but sociologists have found rates of illness, mortality, and behavioral health issues correlate even more closely with income inequality.

(Prof. Robert Kaufman. Credit: Pat Loeb)

The clearest social casualty of income inequality is upward mobility.  People have a harder time climbing the ladder when the rungs are farther apart and, as Bob Kaufman, head of the sociology department at Temple University, notes, being born wealthy is the best way to become wealthy.

“The social capital, of course, is much higher for people in more well-off, better-to-do neighborhoods, in terms of the contacts and resources that they have,” Kaufman says.

That seems unfair to activist minister Micah Sims. He doesn’t begrudge the wealthy their advantages but he thinks there should be more equality.

(Micah Sims. Photo provided)

“This is really about creating a level playing field where everybody has the right to enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” Sims (right) says.

Listen to the podcast…

VIDEO: Sociologist Richard Wilkinson presents results of studies on income inequality and social outcomes.

VILLANOVA, Pa. (CBS) — Like Philadelphia (see related story), Villanova University has a “One Book” author which it celebrates each year.

This year, Villanova has selected Jamie Ford, author of Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, as its  “One Book Villanova” author.  He’ll be appearing at the school tonight, at 7:30pm.

The book is about the Japanese internment camps of World War II and their effect on a community — and in particular two children who have become friends: one Chinese and one Japanese.

Click To Listen To Kim Glovas’ Full Interview with author Jamie Ford in this KYW Specials Place Podcast

Ford says the discrimination and misguided policies of that era are something that transcend time.

“We make really poor decisions out of fear and panic, knee-jerk reactions,” he tells KYW Newsradio.  “We get into unnecessary wars, we do things that we regret later that, at the time, in the heat of the emotion, it seemed to make sense and validate what we did.”

He says the same kind of poor decisions and reactions came after 9/11 and are still being played out on the border with Mexico over immigration.

He says we still have a way to go to deal with these issues and process them, without fear.

BERLIN, N.J. (CBS) — Children from a Catholic school in South Jersey have raised more than a thousand dollars to help repair the statue of the Virgin Mary atop Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Camden, NJ.

The statue was damaged by the earthquake that rattled the east coast last August (see related story) and was removed from its rooftop perch in November (another related story).

Principal Don Monforto of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Regional School (second from right in photo) says the drive began in December, and he admits he didn’t expect the kids to raise much money.

“We were collecting food products for a parish in Camden, we were having a Christmas cookie collection for another cause,” he recalls, “so I figured we would collect a couple dollars.  (But) the kids went above and beyond — they raised over $1,100, all in coins!”

The 4th grade raised the most money for the statue’s repair, which will be underway for some weeks to come.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A murder victim’s widow joined police and public officials today in asking for the public’s help in finding out who killed her husband near a busy Philadelphia intersection last month.

Just a block from North Broad Street, at Girard and Watts, police say someone shot and killed 50-year-old Kevin Drinks on the evening of December 10th, in front of the furniture store where he worked.

“My husband has three children, five grandchildren; he’s just a loving, God-fearing man, and we can’t figure out who would want to kill him,” said Keyna Drinks (at far left in photo).  The Citizens Crime Commission today announced a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of her husband’s killer.

“We want justice for Kevin. Just come forth! We just need to know what happened. We want justice for anyone who was killed in this city,” she said, adding, “I believe someone is being buried today.”

Pennsylvania state representative Curtis Thomas joined police officials in asking for more community involvement in reporting and stopping crime.

Then, a vigil was held on the spot Drinks died, and songs from those who loved him.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Free income tax assistance is available once again for low and moderate income residents of Philadelphia and Delaware counties.

It’s the 10th year that the Campaign for Working Families (CWF) has been in place in Philadelphia, where low and moderate income families in Philadelphia can get tax returns prepared for free by IRS-certified volunteers.

(Mildred Chavarria, director of operations for CWF. Credit: John McDevitt)

“Many of our sites are located throughout the community, and partners and agencies give us their space and  their computers so that we can have a tax site and make it happen,” said Mildred Chavarria (right), director of operations for CWF, today at City Hall.  “We could not do this work without them.”

Families in Philadelphia or Delaware County who have less than $50,000 in income and individuals who make less than $20,000 are eligible.

For more information about the Philadelphia program, including a list of free community tax sites, go to cwfphilly.org or call 311 during business hours.

In Delaware County, go to the web site www.delcoad.org or call 610-543-5022, ext. 228 for more information.   To schedule an appointment, go to the web site www.caadc.org, or call 610-891-6327 or 610-874-8451 and tell them you would like to make a tax appointment.

ABINGTON, Pa. (CBS) — A Montgomery County family is raising money for their effort to put up billboards in the area advertising for a kidney donor for their ailing mother.

Aretha Swift of Abington (far left in photo) just turned 52. She suffers from diabetes, is in renal failure and on dialysis.

Doctors say she needs a new kidney, and she’s been on the transplant list for more than a year, but so far nothing.

Now, her three kids are raising money to put up billboards, hoping to get a match more quickly.

Swift says she’s been overwhelmed by the generosity of people — many of whom she doesn’t even know.

“I say thank you — people really do care,” she told KYW Newsradio today. “I mean, in the midst of what’s going on in the economy, people really have been coming out of their pockets and giving, people I don’t even know.”

If you think you can help, contact Jean Berte, the transplant coordinator at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, at 215-955-6486 to set up an appointment for a blood test.

Swift says those with blood types O or B would be good matches. The family has also set up a Facebook page (“Support for Aretha”) for people who want to donate money.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The Philadelphia theatre community is mourning the death of Jiri Zizka, co-founder of the Wilma Theater.

The Wilma Theater web site on Wednesday evening had a tribute to Zizka, surprising many.  Less than 60 years old, Jiri Zizka had passed away.

“We’ve got a community of theatre artists that are heartbroken,” says Margie Salvante, executive director of the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, who credits the Prague-born director for making The Wilma a prominent theatre.

“The Wilma has established itself not only as one of the flagships of Philadelphia theatre but has garnered a national and international reputation,” she said.

Zizka and his wife, Blanka, became founding artistic directors in 1981.  Throughout his career in Philadelphia, Jiri directed more than 70 productions, earning countless Barrymore Award nominations.   The Wilma Theater is located on South Broad Street (the “Avenue of the Arts”) at Spruce, diagonally across from the Kimmel Center.

“That recognition is just one example of the impact he has had on this industry,” Salvante says.

Jiri Zizka pursued other opportunities in 2010 but remained as a consultant to The Wilma.  Blanka Zizka is still there as artistic director.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Philadelphia area legislators gathered today to criticize a series of moves by Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett that they say are aimed at cutting programs for poor people.

“The attack on poor people is unconscionable, and we need to stand up and tell them to stop the madness,” said state representative Michelle Brownlee, who was among a dozen speakers who charged that recent moves by the Corbett administration had no apparent rationale other than to punish those with low incomes.

The most recent change — imposing an asset test for food stamp applicants (see related story) — will actually cost the state money, according to George Matysik of the food bank Philabundance, because food stamps are paid for by the federal government and spent in local grocery stores.

“That’s cutting $85 million dollars in economic activity coming into the Commonwealth, that’s coming to Pennsylvania corporations, that’s coming to Pennsylvania small businesses,” he said.

An administration spokesperson says she hears that taxpayers support the asset test.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — There will be a lasting memorial to the late Cardinal John Foley on the campus of his alma mater, St. Joseph’s University.

It used to be called the campus commons.  Now, it’ll be known as the Cardinal John Foley Campus Center, named after the former Vatican spokesman who died last month (see related stories).

Story continues below photo…

(Credit: Mike DeNardo)

—–

University president-elect Rev. C. Kevin Gillespie thinks it appropriate that the center was at one time a chapel.

“Sacred space,” he notes.  “We want to continue that tradition.  The sacredness of welcoming prospective students and their parents.  It’s a sacred hospitality.  And Cardinal Foley was somebody who embodied that welcoming spirit.  A great sense of humor, but also wisdom.”

Foley was an alumnus of St. Joe’s, Class of ’57.

His friend Mike Morris, a 1956 graduate, donated the money for the Cardinal Foley Campus Center sign that will be formally dedicated in April.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Four hundred students from a North Philadelphia charter school attended a new feature film today and took part in a discussion about the legendary Tuskegee airmen of World War II.

Students of the Imhotep Institute Charter High School went on a field trip — an “on-site learning experience” — to the Pearl movie theatre, on North Broad Street, to view the movie Red Tails and talk about the topic.

“We wanted to show them the history of the Tuskegee airmen,” says history teacher Curtis Davis (far left in photo), “and show them that blacks were involved in World War II and wars before that.  And a lot of those stories are not taught in school, and at  Imhotep we value African history and African-American history, so we definitely teach our children about all this.”

Ryan McKinney, a junior, appreciated the underlying lesson.

“They rose above the racism, they rose above the stereotypes or the bigotry, and they became one — not black, not white, but American,” he said.

Read Bill Wine’s review of “Red Tails”

By David Madden and Robin Rieger

TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) – A New Jersey state senate committee today approved a measure that would pave the way for gay marriage in the Garden State, even as Governor Christie indicates he will veto the plan as now presented.

Cheers drowned out the groans following an 8-4 Senate Judiciary Committee vote along party lines Tuesday in favor of legislation known as S-1, recognizing same sex marriage in New Jersey.

“Marriage equality has a vast reservoir of popularity in New Jersey. People see there is marriage equality in six other states,” said Steve Goldstein from Garden State Equality.

“We’re going to continue to fight this in the assembly,”said Jim White from the New Jersey Council of the Knights of Columbus.

Christie — opting instead to support a public referendum on the question — made his feelings known during a town hall meeting.

“I think this is an issue that should not rest, solely on my hands, in the hands of the Senate President or the hands of the speaker or the other 118 members of state legislature,” said Governor Christie. “Let’s let the people of New Jersey decide what is best for the state.”

Supporters argue that civil unions enacted years ago leave the door open to discrimination because they can’t describe themselves as being married. Fran Farese was among those now in civil unions who told horror stories of how those unions weren’t recognized in public.

“I’m tired of being patient, I’m tired of pretending that ‘separate but equal’ works, because it doesn’t.  Civil unions don’t work,” she told the committee.

But Len Deo of the New Jersey Family Policy Council countered that only 13 complaints have been filed from over 5,400 civil unions, and only one was found to merit state action.

“Marriage is not a creature of statute, invented by the New Jersey legislature or any other government,” he said.

State senate president Steve Sweeney, a proponent of the gay marriage measure, insisted this bill will proceed in spite of the threat of a gubernatorial veto.

—–

If an event you are interested in is not mentioned here, you may want to contact the sponsoring organization for more information.

If your organization’s public event is being cancelled due to weather, contact the KYW newsroom at 215-238-7600.
————————

Bethany United Church of Christ in Northeast Philadelphia has cancelled church services.

Enon Chapel Baptist Church in Center City has cancelled morning church services.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Bridgeport, PA has canceled CCD classes.

Saint Martin of Tours in Northeast Philadelphia has cancelled the CCD program.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Saying they want to limit corporate influence on American elections, about a hundred demonstrators took to the streets of center city Philadelphia this afternoon in an attempt to gather support for a Constitutional amendment to overturn a contentious 2010 US Supreme Court ruling.

Organizers of the protest say the “Citizens United” ruling two years ago (January 21, 2010) toppled dozens of federal and state laws and could lead to a corporate takeover of the electoral process.

The 5-4 decision by the US Supreme Court permits corporations, unions, and other special interests to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to advocate the election or defeat of political candidates.

“Our elections can be bought secretly yet directly by companies bigger than the economies of most nations across the globe,” says Steve Strahs of the group Move To Amend.

The protesters marched from Thomas Paine Plaza near City Hall, down Market Street to the federal courthouse at Sixth Street.

Move To Amend has begun a state-by-state effort to get Congress to reverse the high court.  It would take a two-thirds majority vote in Congress, followed by ratification by state legislatures in at least 38 states.

———-

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A Port Richmond business is bringing attention to the problem of bullying by getting a group of talented kids participating in a series of plays on the topic.

—–

Audio of rehearsal…

(Actor:)  “I get bullied all the time, and when I come home it’s no different.”

(Actress:)  “What do you mean, you get bullied all the time?”

—–

Eleven-year-old Dwon Peeples is the boy in this scene.  He is performing in the three-part series of plays about bullying.

“My character is Brandon,” Peeples tells KYW Newsradio.  “He is a boy who gets bullied in school and then he gets bullied at school by his older sister.”

The Le’nora Modeling and Talent Agency in Port Richmond is showcasing the plays on bullying at the agency’s theatre.
” I though it would be a great idea to start addressing this in the city of Philadelphia, to see where it comes from,” says CEO and founder Rhonda Stone.  “I met a kid that was really aggressive, but he was aggressive because his mother was aggressive to him.”

Kids, many from the inner city, learn acting, singing, and modeling at the agency.   Many industry professionals volunteer their time there.   And for those who can’t afford the classes, scholarships are available.

For more information, go to lenoramodeling.com.

Hear John McDevitt’s expanded report in this CBS Philly podcast…

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — With the impending closures of a number of Catholic grade schools and high schools in our area (see related story), affected students and their families are now taking a look at their options.

One of the tools being offered to those students is “shadow days” — allowing them to spend the day at another school they may want to attend.

Nazareth Academy High School in Northeast Philadelphia (photo above) is just one of many in the area that will be accepting students from schools that are closing — in this case, girls from Conwell Egan and St. Hubert’s.

Claire Marie Rossi is a Nazareth sophomore who took a St. Hubert’s student under her wing for a “shadow” day.

(Claire Marie Rossi hosted a "shadow" student for a day at her school.)

“We followed my schedule for the day,” Rossi (right) tells KYW Newsradio.  “First we went to physical science with Dr. Fisher, then we went to theatre arts class with Mrs. Greco, then we went to my honors English class.  Then we had lunch.”

Rossi said her shadow did well in class and hopes to come to Nazareth next year.

What does the current student body think about the new girls coming in?

“Everyone here is really welcoming,” Rossi says, “and we all have such a great time here.  It’s really like a family.  I’ve met some of my closest friends here — they are probably going to be bridesmaids in my wedding.”