Overall, I’m pretty happy with the season, though Andy Reid’s game day deficiencies roared their ugly head once again. The punt on 4th and 15 was, and always will be, a mistake. Yet it is undeniable that the Reid era has seen incredible, and lasting, success. One of these years it’s gotta happen right? What we’ll actually do then, I don’t know.

With the offensive line and most, if not all (pending Donte’ Stallworth’s contract situation), of the skill players returning the offense should be nasty whether it’s Donnie, Jeff Garcia, or even AJ under center. The defense of course is a concern with linebacker and strong safety performance of the most importance. I think the D-line will be okay next year with a hopefully healthy Kearse and a second year Bunkley in the lineup. Everyone says we’re going to lose Juqua Thomas to free agency sadly.

And Shawn Andrews is okay thank god. Having just read Michael Lewis’ The Blind Side I spent a lot of time this season paying attention to the offensive line. Andrews is amazing.

And perhaps a bit more motivation for the smokers amongst us to quit…?

Philadelphia Inquirer | 09/15/2006 | No smoking: Street OKs, then rips ban

When Mayor Street signed legislation yesterday that finally banned bar and restaurant cigarette smoking in Philadelphia, he could have done so before a bank of cameras in his ceremonial reception room, surrounded by white-coated doctors and tobacco-free children.

In political terms, it would have been a killer photo opportunity.

Instead, after two weeks of veto threats and back-and-forth sniping with the bill’s author, former City Councilman Michael A. Nutter, Street signed the bill in private. He notified a few allies via an early-morning e-mail and informed Council with a terse statement.

He eventually huddled with reporters in a City Hall side corridor, but repeatedly emphasized disappointment with the details rather than joy at achieving a broader goal.

“We have work that needs to be done before we can have a ban that I think we all can be really, truly proud of,” he said.

The scene represented an apt finale to the six-year push for a smoking ban, a spectacle in which the rivalry between Street and Nutter – who profess to see eye to eye about tobacco – often took center stage.

Though the ban passed City Council in June, Street waited until the last possible day to sign it. The political fisticuffs with Nutter lasted just as long.

As late as Wednesday afternoon, the mayor was saying he hadn’t made up his mind, reiterating criticisms of a provision that exempts outdoor cafes from the ban. Nutter had said he included the exemption in order to win enough support to pass the bill.

And even after Street signed it, he ripped Nutter for quitting City Council – in order to run for mayor – shortly after the narrow vote on the ban. Calling the resignation “unfair,” Street said Nutter’s absence left Council without enough votes to “fix” the bill.

In sharp contrast to the mayor, Nutter was exultant as he passed City Hall en route to his nearby campaign office.

“It’s incredible,” Nutter said. “It’s a great day for Philadelphia. There are few things that I’ve worked on that will bring more good benefit to the city. Thousands and thousands and thousands of people will benefit now from a smoke-free environment in Philadelphia. I am very pleased and very proud of the work that City Council did.”

It’s the same reason we love the little guy and will NOT be renewing our season tickets if BK trades him.

According to the AP report,

He believes such a mandate is unconstitutional and would disenfranchise some of the state’s most vulnerable residents. People including nursing home residents and poorer citizens might not have proper ID and thus could lose their right to vote under the legislation, Rendell said.

“At a time in our nation’s history when voter participation is dropping to alarming levels, the government should not be taking action that will turn away bona fide voters from our polls.”

This from the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Seated in front of a dozen of the city’s African American leaders, Democrats all, Rendell said at a news conference that House Bill 1318 would have the effect of denying some people their right to vote.

The legislation, he said, would discourage voting at a time when “we should be doing everything we can to increase voter participation.”

Meanwhile, Lynn Swann, Rendell’s likely Republican opponent next election, seems worried that without the new law not enough Democrats will be turned away from the polls. “The idea that presenting a form of identification would somehow disenfranchise people is as ridiculous as it is untrue,” his campaign dissembled.

The governor’s website lists 22 organizations urging a veto of House Bill 1318. Still to come: Even though passed by the legislature last Wednesday, the bill has yet to cross the governor’s desk allowing his formal veto.

• Stand Up for a Seat – Running for Office in 2006
Panel discussion with elected local officials in their 20s and 30s
Thursday, February 9, 6-7 p.m.
National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St.

• Winning a Political Office: Challenges and Strategies
Panelists include Phila. City Councilman Frank Rizzo, PA Assemblyman Thomas W. Blackwell IV, and NJ Assemblywomen Pamela Lampitt.
Thursday, March 9, 5-6:30
Behrakis Grand Hall at Drexel University, 32nd & Chestnut Sts.

The seminars are free; no advance registration is required. Direct inquiries to the Committee of Seventy’s Anne Mahlum (215-557-3600 ext. 103).

(via Philebrity)

A good place to start in Philadelphia is the position of Ward Committee Member– no experience is required, and there are almost 7,000 openings!

Here’s how it works: The City has 66 Wards which are divided into a total of 1681 Divisions– what are often called Precincts in other jurisdictions. Your Division is your immediate neighborhood. Each Division has just a single polling place (sometimes shared with neighboring Divisions), and the Democrats and Republicans can each have two Committee Members serving a few hundred voters registered in the party.

Committee Members actively support party causes and candidates for higher offices. They’re the link between the neighborhood and the larger political world and have some say in selecting local party leadership. Committee Members often help neighbors interact with City bureaucracies– it’s the essence of retail politics.

All Committee Members are chosen in the May Primary. To run, you must be 18+ and registered in the party. You’ll need signatures of 10 supporters (call 215-686-3460 for forms), collected between Valentine’s Day and March 7. Now’s the time to get moving. Make a difference!

Other offices up for grabs this spring: State Committee Member (100 signatures required) and State Assembly Representative (300). Call 717-787-5280 for forms.

No vacancies? Note that none of the current State Assemblymen from Philadelphia have said that they won’t be running again.

Back on Oct. 3, Dianah Neff, the city’s Chief Information Officer, announced an agreement with Earthlink under which the ISP would finance and build a city-wide Wi-Fi broadband network for Wireless Philadelphia (WP), a non-profit set up specifically for this project. Neff, who also heads the WP Executive Committee, said that final contract negotiations would take 60 days, to be followed by City Council’s approval process and a January construction kickoff. The project would be complete by the end of 2006.

That 60-day period has just ended, but negotiations are still in progress, according to today’s Daily Pennsylvanian. Neff now expects final agreement with Earthlink later this month after Council has begun its long holiday break. The optimistic timetable now calls for Council to to start a one-month-minimum approval procedure Jan. 24, and finalize the contract in time for a rescheduled March construction launch. The completion date is still slated for the end of 2006, Neff says.

Construction consists of installing several thousand shoebox-size antennas mostly on city-owned telephone poles. Technically, new areas can go hot as soon as their antennas are installed, meaning that a gradual rollout is possible as construction progresses.

Neff often refers to the WP plan as Mayor Street’s project. She credits her boss, a long-time Blackberry user, as the visionary behind WP.

Earthlink, until now primarily a dial-up ISP, is moving into a new business area. They will finance, build, and manage WP as well as sell wholesale services to the various ISPs to which end-users ultimately subscribe. To “bridge the digital divide,” –a phrase often used by WP– discounted access rates of about $10 per month will be offered to qualifying residents. In its work with comunity groups and schools, WP plans to use some revenue to provide low-cost computers and train users.

I was far from pleased when I learned of the Phillies replacement for Ed Wade. Don’t get me wrong – ridding the organization of Wade was the best decision since trading Bobby Abreu to the Astros for Kevin Stocker. A close second has to be signing free-agent Danny Tartabull, who broke his foot on his 7th at bat of the season and retired the next season. But I digress…

Frustrated by the old-school mentality of this franchise, I prayed for a young, up-and-coming replacement. Why not pluck an assistant GM from a perennially successful organization such as the Braves, Twins or Indians? Instead, the Phillies went with Pat Gillick, an old-school GM with a proven track-record from his days in Toronto and Baltimore. And that was what I feared most – with very little to prove, Gillick appeared to be another Wade-like pawn, carrying out Dave Montgomery & Co.’s dirty work while taking the heat from the media and the fans.

Thus far I have (thankfully) been proven wrong. Gillick is off to a tremendous start. First, he didn’t overpay for 34 year-old Billy Wagner, who, although he remains a top-10 closer, is far from worth the 4 years and $43 million given to him by the Mets (think Tom Glavine!). More importantly, I really like the Jim Thome–Aaron Rowand trade. There is no doubt that if Thome is healthy, he will have a fantastic year, especially as the DH at homer-friendly Comerica Park. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him hit 40+ homeruns, especially with Paul Konerko alongside him in the lineup.

However, the Phillies had no place for him with the emergence of Ryan Howard. With this trade, the Phillies dumped half of Thome’s salary, provided Howard the reassurance of his role within the organization and received in return a young and very solid CF. Rowand plays tremendous defense, covering great ground in center field and sacrificing his body to make an out. Moreover, his offense is certainly above average; he is a career .283 hitter, including .310 with 24 HRs and 69 RBI in 2004. With the Rowand trade, our lineup should take on the following appearance:

Jimmy Rollins – SS
Chase Utley – 2B
Bobby Abreu – RF
Pat Burrell – LF
Ryan Howard – 1B
Aaron Rowand – CF
David Bell/Abraham Nunez – 3B
Mike Lieberthal – C
Pitcher

My other wish for the Phillies was for them to pursue Nomar. It made sense for them to offer him a one year, incentive-laden contract and play him at 3B. However, after the Nunez signing, I don’t think that will happen.

Fortunately, both Bell and Lieberthal only have a year left on their deals. Offensively and defensively they are the overwhelming weak links. I understand they are untradeable (no team in their right mind would take such bad players with such expensive contracts), but I would still like to see the Phillies go out and sign a replacement for one of them. Why not pursue catchers Ramon Hernandez or Bengie Molina? Both are fabulous defensive catchers and above-average offensive players. More importantly, they would both be drastic improvements over Lieberthal. I know that would mean swallowing Lieby’s $7.5 mil, but the Phillies have extra money with Wagner leaving via free agency along with the salary relief from Thome’s money coming off of the books.

Overall, I am pretty pleased with the lineup the Phillies will put on the field for opening day, 2006. The Phillies have a solid nucleus of young players (sans Bell/Lieby), an above-average offense (sans Bell/Lieby) and an excellent defense (sans Bell/Lieby).

What is certainly missing is pitching, which I will address in my next column.