Gun Laws Poll

The poll about stronger gun laws has closed. The question was "Do you think stronger gun laws will reduce gun violence in Philadelphia?" This is how it ended:

• 13 out of 30 people said it would reduce gun violence.
• 8 out of 30 said it would not reduce gun violence.
• One thought it would make no difference one way or the other.
• 8 out of 30 said it might help but it would not be significant.

So roughly 43% think that it will definitely help and the rest say no or not much. Clearly we are divided on this issue.

So where does that leave us? Fumbling around as usual. Here are some of my incoherent thoughts:

• People who are straw buyers of weapons that are later used in a crime should be prosecuted as accessories to that crime. I don't know why it is not done now but those folks are far worse than drug dealers and should be treated the same as the criminals who later commit the crime.
• The mostly young people who are the perpetrators of violent crime are on a one way track to nowhere and I wonder why we have let them come to this. It's really easy to say it's not our problem but we are certainly going to pay now or later when we have to support them for the rest of their lives in prison. Why is it that the wealthiest nation in the word can't educate its children and put them on track to a positive life? Might it be that we just don't care enough?
• Have you met a criminal lately? If you think you have not, I would hold on to that thought. The prisons in this country run people though at an astounding rate. They bring them in, hold em and then send them out. Whatever problem they had before they went in are untreated and here they go on the cycle again. They are all over Frankford because it's a great inexpensive place to live. Hooray for us. If any area should support an effective criminal reentry program, it's us. Just don't ask us to do it for the entire city.
  

I would appreciate your comments and I'll publish them in a future post.

Crime in Frankford

The details of the shooting last night at Orthodox and Torresdale have been well publicized. The only positive is that the undercover cops were not killed. No thanks to the shooter, he did his best. I posted a new poll over to the right. Take a look and voice your opinion.

Poll has closed

Before I retire the current poll I wanted to recap the results. 15 people cast a vote and 13 of them prefer Nutter. 1 went for Taubenberger and 1 would prefer somebody else.

We are fortunate in this election to have had quite a few good choices in the primary and now in the general election. In any case, Vote.

Why vote when the results seem clear already. Well the next mayor is going to have a full plate of issues to deal with very quickly. The public support that he carries will give him the political clout to be more effective and get done what needs to be done.

This could be the first election of a new era in Philadelphia. We certainly need one.

Poll of the month

A new poll has been posted over to the right. Who do you want to be the next mayor of Philadelphia. Feel free to weigh in with your opinion.

Last month's poll "Will the sale of the Third Federal building to NET be good for Frankford?" has been retired. For the record the results were:

• Yes - 50%
• No - 24%
• Will make no difference - 26%

Poll of the month

There are only 3 more days left to vote on the poll this month. The question was "Will the sale of the Third Federal building to NET be good for Frankford?"

As of this morning 31 readers responded and only 8 expressed a definite opinion that it will have a negative impact on Frankford. 14 said it would be positive and 9 said it would make no difference at all.

This issue is complicated by the fact that none of us has a crystal ball. The mission of NET is a necessary one in the society we live in today and because of the demographics it is more needed in Frankford than some other locations.

But the big question for me: does the presence of service providers like NET in our neighborhood bring more people to Frankford to use the services than would have otherwise resided here in the natural course of events. I do not know the answer.

If NET is as well run as it could be then this can actually be a plus for Frankford avenue. To the public the NET presence will not be apparanent. The bank will continue to use the Avenue side of the building. NET clients will use the entrance in the rear of the building where the parking lot provides great access.

The building will be improved and add some value for future use and at some time if a more valuable use becomes available NET will be able to cash out and relocate.

We will see but there is not harm in taking the optimistic side in the debate.