On Tuesday, April 20, 2010, the Community and Economic Development Committee chaired by Patty Kim had a meeting to discuss the City’s ten year tax abatement program. This is a program to give real estate developers a tax break for developing property within the City of Harrisburg. Tax breaks are important for the City to give and for real estate developers to get.
The Harrisburg neighborhoods have lost population since Hurricane Agnes. With a declining population, the City also had to deal with a declining tax base. At the same time, the City has to maintain the streets, garbage collection, and deal with a rising crime rate. Parts of the sewer system date back to the Civil War and are in need of serious repair. Many homes in Harrisburg are over 100 years old. Even more are in serious disrepair. Some have fallen down due to neglect. The City has pockets of blight due to abandoned and neglected homes. The City and School District debt situation does not help the “City Population Flight” situation either. Between the City and the School District, taxpayers owe over $1 Billion.
Here lies the reason for the April 20th meeting. This is one of several meetings that Chairperson Patty Kim promise to have with the public.
The City Government and Private Developers
City Council realized that they need private development in the City of Harrisburg. However, they are divided on how much development to have versus how much help to give long time home owners who have stayed in the City in good times and in bad time.
One faction led by President Gloria Martin Roberts wants to give homeowners tax breaks if they repair their homes. She sights that over 48% of property in Harrisburg is not taxable because of the State, County, and City Governments. She also noted that churches in Harrisburg and other non-profit organization cannot be taxed. Here lies her reasoning for lowering tax abatements for outside developers. The City needs tax money.
Other views brought forth at the meeting were more pro-developer. A Philadelphia council person spoke to the committee. He thought that Harrisburg should give up to 15 years of tax abatement to developers. The councilmen also is in favor of building apartment buildings with shops on the first floor to give residents a place to shop, have dry cleaning done, and give the residents places to eat. He said that Philadelphia, over the years, has been successful in raising their City population and reducing their blighted areas. Philadelphia targeted the “empty nesters.”
But investment takes money and comes with risk. Ten years ago Mayor Reed decided to take the risk of retrofitting the City Incinerator with Dauphin County’s help. It was supposed to be the answer to the City’s decreasing tax base with money to spear. Over $350 Million later, doubling the City’s debt, Harrisburg has an up to date incinerator that does not make the money that it was supposed to make for the City. Because of this failure, Harrisburg is faced with a bond payment in 2010 alone that is more than the total City budget.
Gloria Martin Roberts asked where this money is going to come from to give this tax abatement. The City is already is a bad debt situation. Ms. Roberts asked the young audience if they would stay in the City and use the services of the Harrisburg School District. Most of the audience said that they would stay in the City but send their children to private school.
My View Point!
Both the man from Philadelphia and Gloria Martin Roberts have good points. The Philadelphia councilmen talked about bringing in “empty nesters” into the City. “Empty Nesters” are people who want to move out of their large houses because their children are now grown and have moved away. Gloria wants to help out the property taxpayers already living in the city. We can do both if the City and its people are willing to do so.
The City employee “Grant Writers” can help with Ms. Roberts’s side of the program. These grant writers can find Dauphin County, Pennsylvania State, and Federal grants that can be used for home improvements such as energy saving appliances, window and other home improvements. Most residents in the City fall into the low income classifications. This could give these residents incentives to get needed work done.
Pennsylvania is second in senior citizen population behind Florida. The City can market itself targeting senior citizens just as Philadelphia has done. Many “empty nesters” don’t want to handle home maintenance and have no need for a school district. They would be ideal for condos or apartment living. Tax abatements can be used for this purpose.
As an investor, I know that any investment comes with risk. Here are the risks! It takes time to bring in shop owners and tenants. Do you know that the empire state building was finished in 1929 but was not fully occupied until 1956? So investor money would be at risk and we already seen one big building on Cameron Street that went bust recently. I don’t have to tell you about the Incinerator disaster. These are the things that Mayor Thompson and City Council must decide to do knowing all the risk to the City and its people.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
The Workings of the Fourth Crow
"Peggy is fulfilling The Prophecy of the Fourth Crow"
Reno alumna awards scholarships to students who overcome the odds
From
The Reno Gazette-Journal (rgj.com)
From
The Reno Gazette-Journal (rgj.com)
Reno alumna awards scholarships to students who overcome the odds
By Guy Clifton • gclifton@rgj.com • April 16, 2010
Peggy Solomon Grove knows well the road that 10 seniors from Reno High School have traveled because she has been on it herself.
Some are children from broken homes, in foster care, victims of abuse, from disadvantaged homes, but each has their own story to tell. At the same time, however, they also have stayed in school against nearly insurmountable odds.
And now, thanks to Grove, a 1960 Reno High School graduate who lives in Harrisburg, Pa., they will have the opportunity to attend college.
This past week, she awarded 10 graduating seniors full tuition scholarships to either the University of Nevada, Reno or Truckee Meadows Community College.
These scholarships, recommended by school counselors, were offered to students who have overcome unusual personal challenges and understand that getting a college education is one way they can help themselves, their family and others.
Solomon Rosenberg Scholarship
Grove established the Solomon Rosenberg Scholarship last year to honor two Mr. Rosenbergs who were instrumental in her life.
The first was Mr. Earl Rosenberg, her high school counselor, who she said saw in her something no one else had.
"In the middle of my junior year, he saw that I was struggling with my academic program and called me into his office to discuss my future goals," Grove said. "I told him of my predicament. My mother had been both physically and mentally ill most of my childhood. My step-father, often unemployed, was abusive and undependable."
The family lived north of Reno, at the base of Peavine Peak in a home that had no electricity or running water until the mid-1950s.
"It was rustic and pioneer-like to say the least," she said. "I had three younger sisters, and we were often not well cared for. We never had enough food or heat or clothes. I started working at the age of 10 sewing for people, plus for my sisters. I also was responsible for the cooking, cleaning and caring for my sisters."
At 16, she went to work at Lerner's clothing store on Virginia Street and earned enough to buy a used car and began helping to buy food and propane for her family. There was little money left for a college savings account. Her grades started to slip.
"Due to a worsening of my home situation, I even contemplated quitting school," she said. "School had been my refuge. It was the only place where I received any praise or respect."
Encouragement
Rosenberg encouraged her to apply for two small scholarships: one from the Redi-Mix Concrete Company and the other from The Police Protective Association.
"These two small $150 scholarships were only enough to pay for my first two semesters at (UNR) and give me the hope that someday I would attain a college degree. This meant the world to me. Somebody believed enough in me to invest in me with a scholarship. It was the proudest day of my life when I walked across the stage on graduation night."
She attended UNR for three years and then transferred and graduated from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.
Another dream
In 1979, she met a second Mr. Rosenberg, who would help her realize another dream. "I wanted to start my own school for paraprofessional entry-level medical professionals," she said. "Mr. Ollie Rosenberg offered me a building that had been in a recent flood and was in great disrepair but would be rent-free for one year. Ollie would be the second Mr. Rosenberg to see something in my dreams."
She and Ollie Rosenberg later began a relationship that lasted until his sudden death in 1996, just two days before her entry into the hospital for a stem cell transplant for advanced breast cancer.
The school she started is now 31 years old. She sold it in 1987 and now manages commercial real estate holdings with the help of her two sons.
Trust, scholarships
After Ollie Rosenberg's death, Grove helped set up the Ollie Rosenberg Trust to award scholarships to at-risk students in Harrisburg, Pa.
Last year, she began awarding scholarships, using her own funds, to students from Reno High School. "I still have family out here," she said. "This is where I got my base, and this is about paying back and helping to teach kids about paying forward. During the interviews, I asked each student to remember this chance that they have been given and when they have graduated from college and are established, that they to need to consider giving this same opportunity to future students.
"I also told them that I expect them to do well and that I will be keeping in touch and bugging them if necessary."
Grove said that she has never sought publicity for any of her charitable donations, but she made an exception now because this year will be her 50th Reno High School class reunion, and she hoped that her example might spur other successful classmates to consider establishing similar scholarship funds.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Prepare for the 2011 Annual Charlotesville Family History Conference
http://charlottesville-fhc.org/
Charlottesville Family History Center was established in 1970. The Charlottesville LDS Family History Center (FHC) is one of more than 4,000 centers around the world providing training and resources to research family history and genealogy. The center provides free computer access to Family Search, Heritage Quest, and a multitude of on-line family history databases sponsored by the LDS church and others. Microfilm readers and printers are also available to access millions of film media records in the local collection or on loan from the Family History Library. Here is where you can learn to document your personal family history like I have with my family.
In 1803, Lacy Brown was born in Orange County Virginia. As a “Free Man” he moved to an area call a “Free Union.” Later it was called Stony Point, a suburb of Charlottesville, Va. Part of Stony Point was known as “Brown Town” because the land was generally owned by members of the Brown Family. Many of these Browns today still own the land handed down to them by their ancestors. “Free Unions” were areas where ex-slaves and captured Native Americans moved to so that they could not be recaptured and sold back into slavery.
After the Civil War (April 1865), a slave named Eliza Thorn, a half Cherokee, gathered up her family from Col. Francis Slaughter’s Plantation in Culpeper, Va. Bought a Conestoga Wagon and a team of Horses, bought cattle, and moved to Stony Point, Va. There, she bought 11 acres of land. This land existed in the family until the 1980s. Eliza Thorn made furniture in her spear time when she was not working for the master. This is how she made the money to move her family to Stony Point. In the 1970s, I had the opportunity to see bedroom furniture made by Eliza Thorn. She used wooden nails in her furniture. This is how she was able to finance her move.
Eliza Thorn had three families, the West, the Walkers, and the Thorns. I fall along the line of her daughter Eliza Walker who married Reubon. They had a daughter, Eliza J. Walker. Eliza J. Walker (born June 25, 1881) married George W. Blue in 1895 by Rev. Daniel Brown at Free Union Baptist Church. The Blue’s were Cherokee Native Americans. They probably took their last name from their Cherokee clan, the “Blue” clan. From 1803 to 1923, most of my family history on my mother’s side took place in and around Free Union Baptist Church. My family is still at service every Sunday at this church.
My Grandmother Eliza Blue (Born 1899 as Eliza Lucenda Blue) and Grandfather John Brown got married in this church that still stands and is still in service today. Most people called this Eliza, Lucy Brown. They caught a train headed for Pittsburgh Pa. because my grandfather found out that they had jobs in the steel mills in that City. But it takes money to travel by train and when they got as far as Steelton Pa., the money ran out. He went across the street and got a job with Bethlehem Steel. Both grand parents lived in Steelton until they died in the 1950s and 1960s. The family moved from generations of farmers to steel worker. Here is where the name Eliza was retired from use in our family.
My mother Jean Julia Williams, (born Jean Julia Brown) married William Jackson Williams II, a decendent of the Western Cherokee Nation. They moved to Pittsburgh Pa. Their children became administrators, healthcare workers, and computer scientist.
From 1923 to the present started the era of First Baptist Church in Steelton. The descendents of the Lucy and John Brown Family still worship in this church today.
My daughters, Stephanie and Amanda have a colorful family history on their mother’s side. While Eliza Thorn was a slave in Culpeper Va., Amanda Ann Porter became a slave. Amanda Ann Porter lived in a Native American village in Spottsylvania, Va. Slavery laws dictated that any Indian that could be caught can be sold into slavery. Indians did not have rights and could be killed or sold with no legal problems. A group of enterprising Virginia citizens raided her village, killed the men and sold the women and children into slavery. Amanda Ann Porter was one of these children sold into slavery.
Amanda Ann Porter was sold to a White slave breeder named Noah Smith. My ex-wife Amanda and my daughter Amanda Ann Williams III are named after her. Mr. Smith had children by Amanda. One was Thomas Porter. After slavery, Thomas Porter married Mary Yeager. In that day, it was not the custom for a non-white to marry a white woman. In fact, it could get you killed. To this day, General Yeager, the first man who broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 rocket plane in 1947, will not admit that they are related to the Porter family (See the movie, "The Right Stuff"). Thomas Porter had Thomas Porter II who had Amanda Ann Porter (Williams). Amanda Ann Williams had Stephanie Ann Williams (now Tulloch) and Amanda Ann Williams III.
Stephanie Ann Tulloch and Damine Tulloch now have a family, living in the Harrisburg Area. Damine is a Jamacian national. Stephanie is a line manager for Computer Aid, a multinational computer service company. Damine is a Satellite TV installer. They have a son Daniel. Damine is made up of Asian Indian, English, and Native Americans who lived on his home island nation.
By learning from the Charlottesville Family History Center, Fifth Annual 2011 Family History Conference, you will be able to construct your legacy and bring pride and confidence to your future generations.
Charlottesville Family History Center was established in 1970. The Charlottesville LDS Family History Center (FHC) is one of more than 4,000 centers around the world providing training and resources to research family history and genealogy. The center provides free computer access to Family Search, Heritage Quest, and a multitude of on-line family history databases sponsored by the LDS church and others. Microfilm readers and printers are also available to access millions of film media records in the local collection or on loan from the Family History Library. Here is where you can learn to document your personal family history like I have with my family.
In 1803, Lacy Brown was born in Orange County Virginia. As a “Free Man” he moved to an area call a “Free Union.” Later it was called Stony Point, a suburb of Charlottesville, Va. Part of Stony Point was known as “Brown Town” because the land was generally owned by members of the Brown Family. Many of these Browns today still own the land handed down to them by their ancestors. “Free Unions” were areas where ex-slaves and captured Native Americans moved to so that they could not be recaptured and sold back into slavery.
After the Civil War (April 1865), a slave named Eliza Thorn, a half Cherokee, gathered up her family from Col. Francis Slaughter’s Plantation in Culpeper, Va. Bought a Conestoga Wagon and a team of Horses, bought cattle, and moved to Stony Point, Va. There, she bought 11 acres of land. This land existed in the family until the 1980s. Eliza Thorn made furniture in her spear time when she was not working for the master. This is how she made the money to move her family to Stony Point. In the 1970s, I had the opportunity to see bedroom furniture made by Eliza Thorn. She used wooden nails in her furniture. This is how she was able to finance her move.
Eliza Thorn had three families, the West, the Walkers, and the Thorns. I fall along the line of her daughter Eliza Walker who married Reubon. They had a daughter, Eliza J. Walker. Eliza J. Walker (born June 25, 1881) married George W. Blue in 1895 by Rev. Daniel Brown at Free Union Baptist Church. The Blue’s were Cherokee Native Americans. They probably took their last name from their Cherokee clan, the “Blue” clan. From 1803 to 1923, most of my family history on my mother’s side took place in and around Free Union Baptist Church. My family is still at service every Sunday at this church.
My Grandmother Eliza Blue (Born 1899 as Eliza Lucenda Blue) and Grandfather John Brown got married in this church that still stands and is still in service today. Most people called this Eliza, Lucy Brown. They caught a train headed for Pittsburgh Pa. because my grandfather found out that they had jobs in the steel mills in that City. But it takes money to travel by train and when they got as far as Steelton Pa., the money ran out. He went across the street and got a job with Bethlehem Steel. Both grand parents lived in Steelton until they died in the 1950s and 1960s. The family moved from generations of farmers to steel worker. Here is where the name Eliza was retired from use in our family.
My mother Jean Julia Williams, (born Jean Julia Brown) married William Jackson Williams II, a decendent of the Western Cherokee Nation. They moved to Pittsburgh Pa. Their children became administrators, healthcare workers, and computer scientist.
From 1923 to the present started the era of First Baptist Church in Steelton. The descendents of the Lucy and John Brown Family still worship in this church today.
My daughters, Stephanie and Amanda have a colorful family history on their mother’s side. While Eliza Thorn was a slave in Culpeper Va., Amanda Ann Porter became a slave. Amanda Ann Porter lived in a Native American village in Spottsylvania, Va. Slavery laws dictated that any Indian that could be caught can be sold into slavery. Indians did not have rights and could be killed or sold with no legal problems. A group of enterprising Virginia citizens raided her village, killed the men and sold the women and children into slavery. Amanda Ann Porter was one of these children sold into slavery.
Amanda Ann Porter was sold to a White slave breeder named Noah Smith. My ex-wife Amanda and my daughter Amanda Ann Williams III are named after her. Mr. Smith had children by Amanda. One was Thomas Porter. After slavery, Thomas Porter married Mary Yeager. In that day, it was not the custom for a non-white to marry a white woman. In fact, it could get you killed. To this day, General Yeager, the first man who broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 rocket plane in 1947, will not admit that they are related to the Porter family (See the movie, "The Right Stuff"). Thomas Porter had Thomas Porter II who had Amanda Ann Porter (Williams). Amanda Ann Williams had Stephanie Ann Williams (now Tulloch) and Amanda Ann Williams III.
Stephanie Ann Tulloch and Damine Tulloch now have a family, living in the Harrisburg Area. Damine is a Jamacian national. Stephanie is a line manager for Computer Aid, a multinational computer service company. Damine is a Satellite TV installer. They have a son Daniel. Damine is made up of Asian Indian, English, and Native Americans who lived on his home island nation.
By learning from the Charlottesville Family History Center, Fifth Annual 2011 Family History Conference, you will be able to construct your legacy and bring pride and confidence to your future generations.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Can you afford Home Daycare?
Bill 9-2010 – An Ordinance amending Title III, Public Safety Code, Part VII, Fire Laws, Section 3-903.14, day-care homes and center occupancies of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Harrisburg to eliminate the automatic sprinkler system requirement that is financially onerous to existing businesses, operates as a deterrent to new development, and ultimately raises costs of day care for City residents.
This is what Harrisburg City Council was working on the night of April 6, 2010 in a hot sticky City Council Chamber at City Hall. On one side was the State of Pennsylvania, the Harrisburg Fire Department, and the Fire Fighter’s Union. On the other side was a state daycare union and parents with children.
The State and the Fire Fighters
According to our State and Fire Fighters, our daycare centers are disasters waiting to happen. They argue what if a fire starts, How would the children, some not able to walk, get out of the daycare? They argue that they care about the safety of these children who can’t take care of themselves. A sprinkler system would put out most fires before they become serious enough to kill children. They claim that a system can be put in place starting at $8,000. The Fire Fighters President Eric Jenkins said that “You can’t put a price on a child’s life.”
The Plight of the Parents
I asked my daughter Stephanie Ann Tulloch about the cost of daycare and this is what she said about her son in daycare today. Her husband Damine Tulloch is from Western Jamaica and is a Satellite TV Installation Manager. Stephanie and Damine are about to have a second child in a few months. That child will also has to have daycare. They are in the upper working class but still struggle with daycare expenses. Here is what she said.
“Daniel goes to KinderCare on Londonderry Rd. The full time cost for a 4 year old is $172 a week. The cost for a 5 year old to go there for a half day because they are in Kindergarten for the other half is $118/week. The full time cost of an infant is $200 per week. Keep in mind that KinderCare, as well as many other daycare centers, offers a sibling discount of 10% off of the oldest child's tuition. Every year the costs rises so when the kids have a birthday and are transferred to another room (e.g. moves from the 3 year old room to the 4 year old room), the parent assumes that their price will drop since the price goes lower as the child’s age increases. But that is not the case because tuition rises along with inflation. For example, when Daniel was 3, we paid $172 per week. When he turned 4 we saw that the price for a 4 year old was $168. But soon after he turned 4, KinderCare informed us about their rate increase which put us right back at $172.”
“As long as the demand is high for childcare, the price of daycare will be high. Parents can no longer afford to stay home with their kids. Both parents must work in this economy. Also, the times when grandparents watched their grandchildren during the day are long gone due to the increase in the retirement age. Furthermore, most grandparents can't even afford to retire when they reach the retirement age. A parent(s) only alternative is daycare. Daycare is becoming a necessity, and is becoming an inelastic service like gasoline.”
Stephanie is a line manager of a Multinational Computer Service Company. She is also the Secretary of the Darnell L Williams Corporation. She has ideas about owning a large corporation of her own one day. This is what she believes. “My dream is to one day own my own daycare center and possible turn it into a franchise. We live in an area where the demand is high so there is a lot of money to be made. Daycare workers are cheap yet the revenue is high due to the high prices I would be able to charge in this market.”
http://www.kindercare.com/
Stephanie attended this same school, then called “Little Peoples Daycare” in the late 1980s and early 1990s. At that time, I paid $60 per week for her to attend Daycare. KinderCare is not the typical daycare. A KinderCare preschool education is for parents who want to give their children a head start in Grammar School. Some KinderCare organizations teach languages as well as advance subjects. By the time many KinderCare children start Kindergarten, they already know how to read on a first grade level, add and subtract numbers, and write the alphabet.
This is the Reality of the Situation!
At the meeting, the daycare workers said that they are the lowest paid workers in their industry. Most daycares are not as big as KinderCare. Most daycare services are run by a mother just trying to get by. State license Home Daycare can only have up to six children. As President Gloria Martin Roberts put it, they are not in it for the money. They are in it for the “love of children.” By mandating that these mothers place an $8,000 to $15,000 sprinkler system in their homes, the home child care mother would be forced out of business or forced to run an underground daycare center. If so, the state that regulates a home daycare today will not be able to regulate them if made to go underground. If that happens, the hopes and dreams of the fire department will not be realized. An unregulated daycare would place the children in more danger than they are in now.
Most parents that use home daycare in the City of Harrisburg are poor. Many are single family mothers who must work and can’t stay home with the children. Many make so little on their jobs that their income is supplemented by welfare. They cannot afford KinderCare caliber daycare.
My Opinion
First, Stephanie is a line manager and is working on getting her MBA. Once Stephanie runs the Business Plan Numbers, she will forget about starting a daycare center. The children will drive her crazy as well as the parents. The people in the daycare business love children and that is the primary motive, not money. If you like children barfing up on your carpet, if you like food fights, if you like to treat bumps and cuts, or if you like parents skipping their payments then this is the business you should start.
Second, why would the state pass such a law and mandate that every home daycare business have a sprinkler system? It is obvious that home daycare businesses can’t afford it. The parents that use these daycares can’t economically support it. But corporate daycare like Stephanie’s KinderCare can. It looks to me like the corporate daycare lobby talked to the State Legislators and got them to pass this law with the objective of running home daycare out of the business. Then corporate daycare would have less competition. They can raise prices more than what they are raised now. They can also control and take over the home care industry dictating prices and market share. The poor don’t have a lobby and they don’t have a clue that they are being attacked by corporate daycare companies.
Third, Harrisburg City Council is made up of five mothers. Mayor Linda Thompson is also a mother and a grandmother. They are not about to pass a law to put the Cities home daycare services out of business. Even the two men on Council didn’t like the Bill. Gloria Martin Roberts is not taking this bill out of committee in its present form. All six of the present council people want to create a compromise bill that will satisfy the state, the fire fighters, and home daycare providers.
Last, this bill affects a lot of families in the area. If it affected me, I would contact my State Representative and State Senator and complain about this law or if you like this Bill, give your support. I would also contact Harrisburg City Council and make my views known.
*******************
Harrisburg City Council Website. http://harrisburgcitycouncil.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=51
Present your view about this Bill to City Council by phone, email, or slow mail.
The Pa. State House of Representative’s Website.
http://www.house.state.pa.us/
If you are against this law, contact your Representative and tell him that you want it changed. The Pa. State Senate Website
http://www.pasen.gov/index.cfm
If you are against this law, contact your Senator and tell him that you want it changed.
This is what Harrisburg City Council was working on the night of April 6, 2010 in a hot sticky City Council Chamber at City Hall. On one side was the State of Pennsylvania, the Harrisburg Fire Department, and the Fire Fighter’s Union. On the other side was a state daycare union and parents with children.
The State and the Fire Fighters
According to our State and Fire Fighters, our daycare centers are disasters waiting to happen. They argue what if a fire starts, How would the children, some not able to walk, get out of the daycare? They argue that they care about the safety of these children who can’t take care of themselves. A sprinkler system would put out most fires before they become serious enough to kill children. They claim that a system can be put in place starting at $8,000. The Fire Fighters President Eric Jenkins said that “You can’t put a price on a child’s life.”
The Plight of the Parents
I asked my daughter Stephanie Ann Tulloch about the cost of daycare and this is what she said about her son in daycare today. Her husband Damine Tulloch is from Western Jamaica and is a Satellite TV Installation Manager. Stephanie and Damine are about to have a second child in a few months. That child will also has to have daycare. They are in the upper working class but still struggle with daycare expenses. Here is what she said.
“Daniel goes to KinderCare on Londonderry Rd. The full time cost for a 4 year old is $172 a week. The cost for a 5 year old to go there for a half day because they are in Kindergarten for the other half is $118/week. The full time cost of an infant is $200 per week. Keep in mind that KinderCare, as well as many other daycare centers, offers a sibling discount of 10% off of the oldest child's tuition. Every year the costs rises so when the kids have a birthday and are transferred to another room (e.g. moves from the 3 year old room to the 4 year old room), the parent assumes that their price will drop since the price goes lower as the child’s age increases. But that is not the case because tuition rises along with inflation. For example, when Daniel was 3, we paid $172 per week. When he turned 4 we saw that the price for a 4 year old was $168. But soon after he turned 4, KinderCare informed us about their rate increase which put us right back at $172.”
“As long as the demand is high for childcare, the price of daycare will be high. Parents can no longer afford to stay home with their kids. Both parents must work in this economy. Also, the times when grandparents watched their grandchildren during the day are long gone due to the increase in the retirement age. Furthermore, most grandparents can't even afford to retire when they reach the retirement age. A parent(s) only alternative is daycare. Daycare is becoming a necessity, and is becoming an inelastic service like gasoline.”
Stephanie is a line manager of a Multinational Computer Service Company. She is also the Secretary of the Darnell L Williams Corporation. She has ideas about owning a large corporation of her own one day. This is what she believes. “My dream is to one day own my own daycare center and possible turn it into a franchise. We live in an area where the demand is high so there is a lot of money to be made. Daycare workers are cheap yet the revenue is high due to the high prices I would be able to charge in this market.”
http://www.kindercare.com/
Stephanie attended this same school, then called “Little Peoples Daycare” in the late 1980s and early 1990s. At that time, I paid $60 per week for her to attend Daycare. KinderCare is not the typical daycare. A KinderCare preschool education is for parents who want to give their children a head start in Grammar School. Some KinderCare organizations teach languages as well as advance subjects. By the time many KinderCare children start Kindergarten, they already know how to read on a first grade level, add and subtract numbers, and write the alphabet.
This is the Reality of the Situation!
At the meeting, the daycare workers said that they are the lowest paid workers in their industry. Most daycares are not as big as KinderCare. Most daycare services are run by a mother just trying to get by. State license Home Daycare can only have up to six children. As President Gloria Martin Roberts put it, they are not in it for the money. They are in it for the “love of children.” By mandating that these mothers place an $8,000 to $15,000 sprinkler system in their homes, the home child care mother would be forced out of business or forced to run an underground daycare center. If so, the state that regulates a home daycare today will not be able to regulate them if made to go underground. If that happens, the hopes and dreams of the fire department will not be realized. An unregulated daycare would place the children in more danger than they are in now.
Most parents that use home daycare in the City of Harrisburg are poor. Many are single family mothers who must work and can’t stay home with the children. Many make so little on their jobs that their income is supplemented by welfare. They cannot afford KinderCare caliber daycare.
My Opinion
First, Stephanie is a line manager and is working on getting her MBA. Once Stephanie runs the Business Plan Numbers, she will forget about starting a daycare center. The children will drive her crazy as well as the parents. The people in the daycare business love children and that is the primary motive, not money. If you like children barfing up on your carpet, if you like food fights, if you like to treat bumps and cuts, or if you like parents skipping their payments then this is the business you should start.
Second, why would the state pass such a law and mandate that every home daycare business have a sprinkler system? It is obvious that home daycare businesses can’t afford it. The parents that use these daycares can’t economically support it. But corporate daycare like Stephanie’s KinderCare can. It looks to me like the corporate daycare lobby talked to the State Legislators and got them to pass this law with the objective of running home daycare out of the business. Then corporate daycare would have less competition. They can raise prices more than what they are raised now. They can also control and take over the home care industry dictating prices and market share. The poor don’t have a lobby and they don’t have a clue that they are being attacked by corporate daycare companies.
Third, Harrisburg City Council is made up of five mothers. Mayor Linda Thompson is also a mother and a grandmother. They are not about to pass a law to put the Cities home daycare services out of business. Even the two men on Council didn’t like the Bill. Gloria Martin Roberts is not taking this bill out of committee in its present form. All six of the present council people want to create a compromise bill that will satisfy the state, the fire fighters, and home daycare providers.
Last, this bill affects a lot of families in the area. If it affected me, I would contact my State Representative and State Senator and complain about this law or if you like this Bill, give your support. I would also contact Harrisburg City Council and make my views known.
*******************
Harrisburg City Council Website. http://harrisburgcitycouncil.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=51
Present your view about this Bill to City Council by phone, email, or slow mail.
The Pa. State House of Representative’s Website.
http://www.house.state.pa.us/
If you are against this law, contact your Representative and tell him that you want it changed. The Pa. State Senate Website
http://www.pasen.gov/index.cfm
If you are against this law, contact your Senator and tell him that you want it changed.
Monday, April 5, 2010
The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side!
People are always trying to win arguments by using race, color, class, living standards, ethnic groups, or sex. That is because the grass is always greener on the other side that the people know nothing about. That is why the definition of an expert in any subject is “a person from out of town.” For example, you know because of your prejudice that everyone living in your area knows nothing about the subject in question so you have to get the information from someone in say -- Japan, China, New York, LA, or Denver. Susie, the homeless lady, is not credible about the subject because she has no home, no money, and smells. You hear the same thing that Susie told you yesterday from Michele Obama. Mrs. Obama’s information must be correct even though Susie said the same thing. Susie for some reason is still wrong.
A Black woman called me over the weekend and told me Black people can’t run the City of Harrisburg. We need more people in the Jewish Community running the city because the Jewish people know how to stick together. Another Black lady called me and told me that Black people don’t know how to stick together because they want to follow the White Man all the time. Then I heard from another Black Woman who thinks that the City should be run by International people brought from outside the City of Harrisburg because no one here Black or White knows what they are doing.
Black people are not the only ones that do this. A family made up of 70 people of Pennsylvania Dutch, German, and Susquehanock Native American descendents surprised me with a birthday cake and gifts in Northern Pennsylvania on Easter Afternoon. They are considered White people among their neighbors. One woman asked me why she was a very white person while her father and a few of her Aunts and Uncles were darker. Some of her cousins were also dark. No one was as dark as me. But the majority of them were very white. One of her Uncles started suggesting that this line of talk was going to make me think that this family was not worthy of my friendship because I may think that I am better than they are.
I was shocked about 11 years ago when I ran for Pa. State Representative. One woman of Japanese decent came up to me and thanked me for running for office. She claimed that I was running to represent people like her who are kept down by the controlling classes.
When I worked at Westinghouse Electric Corporation in the 1980s, the management from England and the US were talking about how well the Japanese ran their companies. I had to sit in many meetings where the guest speaker was from some company in Japan. Then we had to try to use their methods in our management. If these brainiac managers would have waited 5 to 10 years, they would have seen that the Japanese economy was stagnant and that the Japanese were moving their production lines to China and India. After seeing the Japanese Economic Disaster, I said to some of my former workers, “So much for the Japanese way of doing things.”
With an economy only 20% as large as the US, I hear that the Chinese will be taking over the world economy soon. But I heard my High School History teacher tell us the same thing in the 1960s. My high school history books, written in the 1950s, told me that the US was obsessed with the “China trade” since the beginning of the 19th Century. But the Chinese have to control their currency to keep imported goods from over running the country. That is because the Chinese think that everyone else makes better products than they do.
Why did Columbus come to America in 1492? It was because he was trying to find a way to the Far East to set up trade and make money. Why? Because the people in the Far East made “good stuff” and the people in Europe didn’t! After World War II everyone in the world wanted to buy an American car because we made cars so well. Boy did that change in the 1980s!
It doesn’t matter who you are, the grass is always greener than it is in your back yard. It does not matter if you are talking about the City of Harrisburg, the United States, or the world. If you don’t know the people, then they must know what they are doing. People you know never do!
A Black woman called me over the weekend and told me Black people can’t run the City of Harrisburg. We need more people in the Jewish Community running the city because the Jewish people know how to stick together. Another Black lady called me and told me that Black people don’t know how to stick together because they want to follow the White Man all the time. Then I heard from another Black Woman who thinks that the City should be run by International people brought from outside the City of Harrisburg because no one here Black or White knows what they are doing.
Black people are not the only ones that do this. A family made up of 70 people of Pennsylvania Dutch, German, and Susquehanock Native American descendents surprised me with a birthday cake and gifts in Northern Pennsylvania on Easter Afternoon. They are considered White people among their neighbors. One woman asked me why she was a very white person while her father and a few of her Aunts and Uncles were darker. Some of her cousins were also dark. No one was as dark as me. But the majority of them were very white. One of her Uncles started suggesting that this line of talk was going to make me think that this family was not worthy of my friendship because I may think that I am better than they are.
I was shocked about 11 years ago when I ran for Pa. State Representative. One woman of Japanese decent came up to me and thanked me for running for office. She claimed that I was running to represent people like her who are kept down by the controlling classes.
When I worked at Westinghouse Electric Corporation in the 1980s, the management from England and the US were talking about how well the Japanese ran their companies. I had to sit in many meetings where the guest speaker was from some company in Japan. Then we had to try to use their methods in our management. If these brainiac managers would have waited 5 to 10 years, they would have seen that the Japanese economy was stagnant and that the Japanese were moving their production lines to China and India. After seeing the Japanese Economic Disaster, I said to some of my former workers, “So much for the Japanese way of doing things.”
With an economy only 20% as large as the US, I hear that the Chinese will be taking over the world economy soon. But I heard my High School History teacher tell us the same thing in the 1960s. My high school history books, written in the 1950s, told me that the US was obsessed with the “China trade” since the beginning of the 19th Century. But the Chinese have to control their currency to keep imported goods from over running the country. That is because the Chinese think that everyone else makes better products than they do.
Why did Columbus come to America in 1492? It was because he was trying to find a way to the Far East to set up trade and make money. Why? Because the people in the Far East made “good stuff” and the people in Europe didn’t! After World War II everyone in the world wanted to buy an American car because we made cars so well. Boy did that change in the 1980s!
It doesn’t matter who you are, the grass is always greener than it is in your back yard. It does not matter if you are talking about the City of Harrisburg, the United States, or the world. If you don’t know the people, then they must know what they are doing. People you know never do!
Friday, April 2, 2010
State Supported Robbery
Have you heard of State Supported Terrorism? That is when a country or state supports terrorist by giving them moral support or material support to cause terror among the population of another country or group of people. Well I am going to tell you about State Supported Robbery. That is when a country or state support corporations or legal people by giving them legal support to take your money from you without you knowing about it. I am going to give you examples of this crime then I am going to tell you what we are going to do about it.
On March 9, 2010, a member of my family accessed a Jobs website to create a resume and start looking for a job. What they did not know was that when they entered my home phone number the website took that along with information from my computer and sent it to a company called “Teleconnect.” That company charges for message storage services for land line phones. They never contacted me or anyone in my home about starting this service nor did they send information about how to use this service. But the charges for $14.99 per month went on my Verizon Phone Bill. When I got home on April 1st, I opened my Verizon Bill that just came in the mail that day. I noticed that my bill was higher than usual. I make it a habit to check the details of my bills as soon as they come. This is when I noticed the “April Fools” joke that this company was trying to pass by me. I called them immediately and cancelled the service then I complained to them that I don’t appreciate company’s placing charges on my bill without my knowledge. Next I called Verizon and complained to them.
Verizon has a “Block” called a “Carrier Restriction” that you can put on your phone to stop companies from placing charges on your phone without authorization. This type of thief is called is “slamming.”
If the Criminal Corporation or company sends you an email like the one below telling you that you don’t have to contact your local phone company, contact them anyway. Make sure that you place a “Carrier Restriction” or “Block” on your phone.
*************************
Dear ,
At your request, your account with Call Me Central has been cancelled and a refund was issued for on . There is no need to contact your phone company. The account has been cancelled and no further charges will be incurred. Please note that it may take up to two billing cycles to have this credit appear in your phone bill.
If we can be of any further service, please call 800-211-1790, or email us at support@callmecentral.com.
Sincerely,
Call Me Central Customer
Care Call Me Central Services
1601 North Sepulveda Boulevard,
166 Manhattan Beach, California 90266
Toll Free Number 800.211.1790
*************************
Some of you may have experienced companies changing your local or long distance carriers to other services without your knowledge. One unemployed person came to me and asked if I could help find out why their phone bill kept increasing. I reviewed his bill and found that he was paying for $30 of services that he was not using and did not ask for. Over 18 months he paid a total of $540 to corporate thieves.
What can we do about it?
This is “State Supported Robbery.” The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States Government knows that this is going on but they see no reason why they should protect the people against such theft. This is why you have to do something about it.
First contact your phone service provider and place a “Carrier Restriction” on your phone so that no one can place charges on your phone bill without your knowledge. Calling instructions are on your phone bill.
Second contact your state and federal representative and tell them that you want them to pass a law to protect you from “slamming.” Tell them to make “slamming” illegal. Tell them that if they don’t want to protect your money then you will vote for someone who will. This is an election year for many state and federal legislators so use your vote to get what you want. Remember, these same people just gave these same companies your tax money so that they could stay in business. At least your elected officials can do something to keep them from stealing more of your money.
Third, review your phone bill each month and call the phone company if you see charges that you don’t understand or that you did not ask for.
If you live in the City of Harrisburg, these are your political leaders who can do something about this problem!
Pa. State Representative Ron Buxton 512E Main Capitol Building PO Box 202103 Harrisburg, PA 17120-2103; Phone (717) 783-9342; Fax (717) 787-8957
State Senator Jeff Piccola Senate Box 203015 Harrisburg, PA 17120- 3015; Phone (717) 787-6801
US Congressman Tim Holden 1721 North Front Street Harrisburg, PA 17102; Phone (717) 234-5904; FAX: (717) 234-5918
US Senator Arlene Spector 711 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING Washington, DC 20510; Phone: (202) 224-4254;
US Senator Bob Casey 393 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510; Phone (202) 224-6324
US President Barack H. Obama http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
If you don’t live in the City of Harrisburg or you would like your representatives email address, here are a few websites that can help you find your representatives.
The Pa. State House of Representative’s Website. http://www.house.state.pa.us/
The Pa. State Senate Website http://www.pasen.gov/index.cfm
US House of Representatives http://www.house.gov/
US Senate http://www.senate.gov/
The White House http://www.whitehouse.gov/
On March 9, 2010, a member of my family accessed a Jobs website to create a resume and start looking for a job. What they did not know was that when they entered my home phone number the website took that along with information from my computer and sent it to a company called “Teleconnect.” That company charges for message storage services for land line phones. They never contacted me or anyone in my home about starting this service nor did they send information about how to use this service. But the charges for $14.99 per month went on my Verizon Phone Bill. When I got home on April 1st, I opened my Verizon Bill that just came in the mail that day. I noticed that my bill was higher than usual. I make it a habit to check the details of my bills as soon as they come. This is when I noticed the “April Fools” joke that this company was trying to pass by me. I called them immediately and cancelled the service then I complained to them that I don’t appreciate company’s placing charges on my bill without my knowledge. Next I called Verizon and complained to them.
Verizon has a “Block” called a “Carrier Restriction” that you can put on your phone to stop companies from placing charges on your phone without authorization. This type of thief is called is “slamming.”
If the Criminal Corporation or company sends you an email like the one below telling you that you don’t have to contact your local phone company, contact them anyway. Make sure that you place a “Carrier Restriction” or “Block” on your phone.
*************************
Dear ,
At your request, your account with Call Me Central has been cancelled and a refund was issued for on . There is no need to contact your phone company. The account has been cancelled and no further charges will be incurred. Please note that it may take up to two billing cycles to have this credit appear in your phone bill.
If we can be of any further service, please call 800-211-1790, or email us at support@callmecentral.com.
Sincerely,
Call Me Central Customer
Care Call Me Central Services
1601 North Sepulveda Boulevard,
166 Manhattan Beach, California 90266
Toll Free Number 800.211.1790
*************************
Some of you may have experienced companies changing your local or long distance carriers to other services without your knowledge. One unemployed person came to me and asked if I could help find out why their phone bill kept increasing. I reviewed his bill and found that he was paying for $30 of services that he was not using and did not ask for. Over 18 months he paid a total of $540 to corporate thieves.
What can we do about it?
This is “State Supported Robbery.” The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the United States Government knows that this is going on but they see no reason why they should protect the people against such theft. This is why you have to do something about it.
First contact your phone service provider and place a “Carrier Restriction” on your phone so that no one can place charges on your phone bill without your knowledge. Calling instructions are on your phone bill.
Second contact your state and federal representative and tell them that you want them to pass a law to protect you from “slamming.” Tell them to make “slamming” illegal. Tell them that if they don’t want to protect your money then you will vote for someone who will. This is an election year for many state and federal legislators so use your vote to get what you want. Remember, these same people just gave these same companies your tax money so that they could stay in business. At least your elected officials can do something to keep them from stealing more of your money.
Third, review your phone bill each month and call the phone company if you see charges that you don’t understand or that you did not ask for.
If you live in the City of Harrisburg, these are your political leaders who can do something about this problem!
Pa. State Representative Ron Buxton 512E Main Capitol Building PO Box 202103 Harrisburg, PA 17120-2103; Phone (717) 783-9342; Fax (717) 787-8957
State Senator Jeff Piccola Senate Box 203015 Harrisburg, PA 17120- 3015; Phone (717) 787-6801
US Congressman Tim Holden 1721 North Front Street Harrisburg, PA 17102; Phone (717) 234-5904; FAX: (717) 234-5918
US Senator Arlene Spector 711 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING Washington, DC 20510; Phone: (202) 224-4254;
US Senator Bob Casey 393 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510; Phone (202) 224-6324
US President Barack H. Obama http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
If you don’t live in the City of Harrisburg or you would like your representatives email address, here are a few websites that can help you find your representatives.
The Pa. State House of Representative’s Website. http://www.house.state.pa.us/
The Pa. State Senate Website http://www.pasen.gov/index.cfm
US House of Representatives http://www.house.gov/
US Senate http://www.senate.gov/
The White House http://www.whitehouse.gov/
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The Big Myth
So you think you can say anything that you want? You think that what you say is guaranteed by the constitution? I hear people say that you have the right to free speech under the first amendment to the constitution. I learned that in Public School. Yes you do but everyone else has the right to punish you for using it.
I turned on the TV this morning and watched a news story about three ER Nurses who worked at a hospital in the City of Harrisburg, Pa. They logged on to their website that had nothing to do with the management of hospital where they are employed. They said some things that the hospital did not like. They were called in by management and fired. What they said was not bad but it was enough to make some powerful people at the hospital upset enough to call for their dismissal. Yes, they had the freedom to talk about their work or about events in the community but their jobs were not protected by free speech. That is the point. You can say anything you want but if someone that controls your income doesn’t like what you say, you can still lose that income.
You think that you are covered because you work for a government under union protection? You don’t have to think about someone going after you because you have rights under the constitution? About 16 people working for the State of Pennsylvania thought that. A state employee decided to make jokes about President Obama and sent the jokes by email to 16 other state employees. The 16 employees sent them to other employees. One of them sent it to their supervisor. The supervisor thought the joke was funny and sent it to others outside of the state government. Someone sent the joke to a member of the FBI. The FBI came knocking on the door of the state. They wanted to investigate the original 16 state employees for “Threats against the President of the United States.” This is a Federal Crime.
They took the employees computers and suspended three employees without pay pending an investigation by the FBI. The union could not help them. The state could not help them. They had the freedom to tell a joke about the President but the Federal Government has the right to take it out of context and punish the 16 people for telling the joke. Three of the state employees have no income.
My point is that the constitution was written at a time when a person said something -- they were killed for it. In many countries today people are still killed for something that they said. The Constitution of the United States defends your right to stay alive despite something that you said. However, it does not protect your right to say something without retaliation by other people, governments, or corporations. That retaliation is usually directed at your income.
Darnell L Williams
I turned on the TV this morning and watched a news story about three ER Nurses who worked at a hospital in the City of Harrisburg, Pa. They logged on to their website that had nothing to do with the management of hospital where they are employed. They said some things that the hospital did not like. They were called in by management and fired. What they said was not bad but it was enough to make some powerful people at the hospital upset enough to call for their dismissal. Yes, they had the freedom to talk about their work or about events in the community but their jobs were not protected by free speech. That is the point. You can say anything you want but if someone that controls your income doesn’t like what you say, you can still lose that income.
You think that you are covered because you work for a government under union protection? You don’t have to think about someone going after you because you have rights under the constitution? About 16 people working for the State of Pennsylvania thought that. A state employee decided to make jokes about President Obama and sent the jokes by email to 16 other state employees. The 16 employees sent them to other employees. One of them sent it to their supervisor. The supervisor thought the joke was funny and sent it to others outside of the state government. Someone sent the joke to a member of the FBI. The FBI came knocking on the door of the state. They wanted to investigate the original 16 state employees for “Threats against the President of the United States.” This is a Federal Crime.
They took the employees computers and suspended three employees without pay pending an investigation by the FBI. The union could not help them. The state could not help them. They had the freedom to tell a joke about the President but the Federal Government has the right to take it out of context and punish the 16 people for telling the joke. Three of the state employees have no income.
My point is that the constitution was written at a time when a person said something -- they were killed for it. In many countries today people are still killed for something that they said. The Constitution of the United States defends your right to stay alive despite something that you said. However, it does not protect your right to say something without retaliation by other people, governments, or corporations. That retaliation is usually directed at your income.
Darnell L Williams
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
