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City Employees
; "Cover Story :: City Employees")
Who They Are, What They Do, What They Make
by Doron Taussig
Public opinion about city workers ranges from "selfless public
servants" to "lazy good-for-nothings," but a lot of those opinions, it
seems to us, aren't based on much. We wanted to know more.
James Dougherty Jr.
Construction Plans Review Specialist, Licenses & Inspections
Dougherty's job is to make sure large construction projects are up to
"the minimum standard of the code" on everything from fire caulking to
sprinkler systems.
Raymond Jackson
Street Crew Chief II, Department of Streets
A typical trash crew — one driver and two throwers — eventually learn one another's rhythms. "Like a basketball team," Jackson says.
Erica Young
Program Coordinator, Carousel House, Department of Parks and Recreation
Young runs programming at Carousel House, the city's recreational facility for people with mental and physical disabilities.
Ray Banas
Materials Selector, Free Library of Philadelphia
In choosing books, Banas talks to publishers, keeps an eye on professional
and academic reviews, and also bears in mind the community surrounding
each library.
German Madera
Forensic Scientist, Police Department
Though he knows there's more money in the private industry, in his line
of work, Madera says, "you have job stability, 'cause there's always gonna
be drugs."
Lauren Medley
Community Health Nursing Supervisor, Health Center 2
In the private sector, Medley administered a lot of bedside care; at a
health center, most people walk in. "The most exciting thing is either
people have respiratory problems, or fainting," she says.
Sgt. Edwin Cruz
Training Supervisor, Philadelphia Prison System
When Cruz first felt pepper spray, "I thought my eyes were gonna pop out of my
head," he says. Now he stands in front of recruits as they experience
the sensation for the first time.
Fred Gigliotti
Social Worker, Office of Supportive Housing
Gigliotti is responsible for making sure shelter residents are on track, and, if not, motivating them to get on track.
Kevin H. Williams
Street Repair Supervisor, 4th Highway District, Department of Streets
Kevin Williams began at quite possibly the lowest rung on the city's employment ladder: cleaning toilets at the airport.
Tonya Green
Network Support Specialist, Licenses & Inspections
Green generally has a queue of requests to deal with, and she's taken to speaking in some very tech-y jargon.
Richard Drain
Departmental Aide, Department of Behavioral Health and Mental Retardation Services
Drain's a "certified peer specialist" and facilitator for the
Wellness Recovery Action Plan, which means part of his time is
spent visiting facilities, talking to addicts to persuade them that "recovery is possible."
Pearl Knox
Social Work Trainee, Department of Human Services
Knox enjoys the interaction with clients, she says, but has been taken
aback by how easily one thing going awry can
throw off her whole schedule.
Loose Canon:
Need Privacy? Pick Up a Paper.
What does free cost?
by Bruce Schimmel
A decade or so into the digital age, many more of us are questioning
the real cost of free. We're rethinking Google's fine print, which
ultimately lets law enforcement spy on us.
Feedback:
School MazeThe convoluted, high-stakes process of applying to ... public high school?
by Kirstin Lindermayer
The things now being asked of Philadelphia's middle schoolers when
they apply to high school — not just getting good grades and taking
standardized tests, but writing essays and scheduling interviews — bear
a striking resemblance to the college application process.
Dispatch:
The Witness
Icepack by Mike Newall
Kamal Murray had been called to testify against the person who allegedly shot him.
Amorosi on the news, nightlife, gossip and bitchiness beats.
by A.D. Amorosi
Hey, jerkoffs: May is National Masturbation Month.
A Million StoriesMichael Nutter is not on Twitter | Springsteen rules, Joel drools | The anti-casino grove | Two grand slams!
The Bell CurveCity Paper's Quality-o-Life-o-Meter
When news breaks in Philadelphia, we make jokes.
First Friday FocusLori Hill's First Friday Hit List
by Lori Hill
Proximity Gallery | Mount Airy Contemporary Artists Space | Gallery Joe| And Then There's ... Sage Projects
Arts Picks:
Lessons Learned
Colson Whitehead
Through May 7, free, Mew Gallery, 906 Christian St., 215-625-2424, mewgallery.org.
by Holly Otterbein
Calling Lea D. Sorrentino's illustrations "cute" doesn't offend her.
Colson Whitehead
Tue., May 5, 7:30 p.m., free, Free Library, Central Branch, 1901 Vine St., 215-567-4341, freelibrary.org.
by Molly Eichel
The MacArthur Prize winner, whose fiction includes John Henry Days and The Intuitionist, will read from his new novel, Sag Harbor, about an angsty, middle-class black teen who finds his place in the world during summer break.
Theater Review:
Fine-Tooned
Something Intangible
by Mark Cofta
Philly playwright Bruceh Graham tackles '40s Hollywood through a thinly disguised look at Walt Disney.
Dance Review:
Get Physical
KaleidoscopeMegan Mazarick's Avatard
by K. Ross Hoffman
What stops Avatard from being merely a hokey, if energetic,
novelty piece, what makes it not just reflexively entertaining but
engagingly artful and actually provocative, is of course the dancing.
Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens | deadwhale.com | Whore Moans | The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards
Arts Picks:
Lucia di Lammermoor
Appetite
Show Some Love
Philadanco
Sat., May 2, Tue., May 5 and Thu., May 7, 7:30 p.m., Helen Corning Warden Theater, 1920 Spruce St. (sold out); May 9, 7:30 p.m., Walter K. Gordon Theater, Rutgers-Camden, 314 Linden St., Camden; $48-$83, 215-735-1685, avaopera.org.
by Peter Burwasser
The mad scene is a dependable staple of the opera composer's bag of tricks, and no one did it better than Donizetti.
Appetite
Thu.-Sun., April 30-May 3, $20, Wolf Building, 340 N. 12th St., 800-838-3006, volcanousa.org/productions.html.
by Lauren F. Friedman
Sarah Sanford is well-known in Philly theater circles for her work with Pig Iron, but she's been cheating on us — with Toronto.
Show Some Love
Reception Fri., May 1, 5-8 p.m., through May 30, AxD Gallery, 265 S. 10th St., 215-627-6250, aigaphilly.org.
by Holly Otterbein
With advertising, big paychecks and CEOs often wrapped up in it, it's easy to forget that graphic art is art, too.
Philadanco
Thu.-Fri., April 30-May 1, 7:30 p.m.; Sat., May 2, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.; Sun., May 3, 2:30 p.m.; $34-$46, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad St., 215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org.
by Deni Kasrel
Heeding the spirit of springtime, Philadanco presents "New Faces:
Choreographers for the Future," featuring premières by several fresh,
flourishing dancemakers.
Casualties of WarA filmmaker follows a family from Laos to Brooklyn over 23 years in this Academy Award-nominated doc.
by Cindy Fuchs
Betrayal — actual and perceived — is pervasive in Nerakhoon.
Midnight Madness
Late-night classics at Ritz at the Bourse
by Molly Eichel
Beginning this Saturday night with Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future ("Where we're going, we don't need roads"), the program will run for seven weeks, ending with Hayao Miyazaki's breathtaking Spirited Away on June 20.
Tokyo Sonata
City Paper Grade: A-
by Shaun Brady
As he is increasingly debased in the outside world, Ryuhei exercises
his authority at home in increasingly arbitrary and violent fashion,
but he is unquestioned by long-suffering wife Megumi
until the truth is spoken aloud.
Repertory Film
Your weekly guide to local film events, festivals and under-the-radar screenings.
Send repertory film listings to molly.eichel@citypaper.net.
Reconsider Me:
Point Taken
PJ Harvey
When is a PJ Harvey record not a PJ Harvey record? When she shares the line above the title with John Parish.
Music Picks:
The Dears
Junior Boys/Max Tundra
Adele
Del tha Funkee Homosapien
Bat for Lashes
Peter, Bjorn and John
Mountains
Adam and Dave's Bloodline
The Living Things
King Khan & THE Shrines
Tue., May 5, 9 p.m., $15, with Great Northern and Eulogies, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 866-468-7619, johnnybrendas.com.
by Michael Pelusi
Their music is filled with epic arrangements, swelling crescendos and
outsized emotions. In a live setting, they can sound positively
rapturous.
Wed., May 6, 8:30 p.m., $12-$14, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.
by K. Ross Hoffman
On the bedroom electronic pop spectrum, Max Tundra's giddy, fractured
Day-Glo excesses mark a near-polar opposite from the Junior Boys'
elegant, restrained tech-soul.
Adele
Sun., May 3, 8 p.m., $29.50, Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St., 215-627-1332, ticketmaster.com.
by Deesha Dyer
With a retro-soul voice echoing Joni Mitchell, Britain's Adele is taking a victory lap to confirm her Stateside success.
Sun, May 3, 7:30 p.m., $14, all ages, with Bukue One and Mike Relm, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.
by Deesha Dyer
The Monkees-inspired "Mistadobalina" carried his 1991 debut album, and
"Clint Eastwood" made that Gorillaz CD a must-have in 2001.
Bat for Lashes
Fri., May 1, 8:30 p.m., $12-$14, with Lewis & Clarke, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.
by M.J. Fine
For all the mystic imagery Natasha Khan conjures on Two Suns, she's fighting a battle close to home.
Fri., May 1, 9 p.m., $20-$32, with Luke Top and Chairlift, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, worldcafelive.com.
by K. Ross Hoffman
Living Thing is PB+J's fourth or fifth album, depending on how you count, but it plays like a classic "difficult third."
Mountains
Fri., May 1, 8 p.m., $10, all ages, with Moral Crayfish and Kuschty Rye Ergot, First Unitarian Church Chapel, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.
by A.D. Amorosi
Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp do on their third album what Eno and Fripp started on Evening Star and No Pussyfooting.
Adam and Dave's Bloodline
Fri., May 1, 9 p.m., $10, with Jotto and Faux Slang, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 866-468-7619, johnnybrendas.com.
by John Vettese
Adam Garbinski and Dave Petersen (ex-Marah) are finding their focus.
Thu., April 30, 9 p.m., $13-$15, with Electric Six and Human People, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 866-468-7619, johnnybrendas.com.
by A.D. Amorosi
Lyricist/singer Lillian Berlin — inspired by the wily beat writings of
Kerouac and Jim Carroll — and the rest of the Berlin family were
showing off their brand of American rage before Green Day got ripe.
King Khan & THE Shrines
Thu., April 30, 8:30 p.m., $12-$14, all ages, with BBQ, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 866-468-7619, r5productions.com.
by K. Ross Hoffman
Like the meticulous revivalist funk of Sharon Jones, King Khan channels a specific '60s aesthetic — Nuggets-style garage psychedelia — with strict, scary precision.
Coast GuardedBar Amalfi plays it a little too safe.
by David Snyder
What's frustrating is that there are several dishes here that show
quite clearly that Bar Amalfi is capable of rising above the middle of the
pack.
Serving Time
Stogie Joe's Tavern
by Trey Popp
They don’t make bars like they used to. Except when they do.
What's Cooking
Get Out!
by Lauren Fleming
Headhouse Farmers Market Opening | Kensington, Fishtown and Port Richmond Restaurant Week | Eats and Beats Benefit Dinner | Drink a Beer ... Save the Earth | Cinco de Mayo at Xochitl
Feeding Frenzy
Restaurants opening, closing and pending
by Drew Lazor
Kibitz Room | Noble American Cookery | JT's Philadelphia House
Agenda Lead:
Beauty School Dropouts
Showcasing unconventional good looks at the Catwalk Tragedy Tour.
by Lauren F. Friedman
"Miss America is pretty consistent — you get a specific type of shape
and look in your mind. Catwalk [Tragedy Tour] is everything and
anything that people are — it's a chance for people to represent
themselves and be celebrated for being themselves."
Where We Won't Be:
An Evening With The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Would you pay top dollar to hear the former Secretary of State speak?
by Lauren F. Friedman
When Condoleezza Rice opens her mouth, the first thing that comes out should be an apology.
Just Opened:
Agrimony & Everlast
Learn to relax at Northern Liberties' new massage/aromatherapy practice.
by Christina Shaffer
Matt Beck and Sarah Wilson offer a more
affordable slice of paradise at their new wellness practice, located in
the Random Tea Room & Curiosity Shop.
Shopping Spree:
Fashion Forward
by Felicia D'Ambrosio
20 Percent Off Tuesdays at Philadelphia Vintage | Pin-Up Workshop with Bombshell Betty | 15 Percent Off Mother's Day Spa Packages | Plaid Pony Vintage Trunk Show
Just Do It:
FOUND with Sound!
by Lauren F. Friedman
On Tuesday, FOUND founder Davy Rothbart will read from his new book, Requiem for a Paper Bag, and share some recent finds, while his singer-songwriter brother plays songs inspired by discovered items.
On the DL:
Hyperbolic Crochet
Needle, thread ... chemistry?
by Lauren Fleming
This First Friday, visitors will be able to make coral reefs, chemical
structures and single-celled organisms — all out of yarn.
In The Event That...:
You Can Stand The Heat
Valborgsmssoafton Celebration
by K. Ross Hoffman
Here in Philadelphia, the origins of the Valborgsmssoafton festivities
at the American Swedish Historical Museum are somewhat shrouded in
mystery.
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