My neighbor went up on the 26th and said they had face-painting for the kids etc. for the opening, along with discounted water ice. I haven't been by to see if they're open on a regular basis yet.

'course today is not exactly a water ice kind of day....

__________________
Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding. -- Justice Louis D. Brandeis

It finally happened. I am citing one of my work-procrastinatory blogs in another work procrastinatory blog. I wave my magic wand and "AABRA-Cadabra" here it is!!!

http://www.youngphillypolitics.com/b...039s_water_ice

Ugh. I had seen this the other day on the IMC site and was hoping it wasn't going to get any airplay.

__________________
Czar of the 26th Ward.

What in the hell is wrong with Al Alston? Segments of the black population in Brewerytown are suffering from real problems - poverty, lack of a real education, poor social/work skills, etc. - and he wants to expend energy boycotting an ice cream shop. The man is absolutely shameless.

Assuming the story is true that a young girl was raped by two people who were employed by Rita's Water Ice, it is absolutely irrelevant to the opening of the store on Girard Avenue. #1) I think I read the rape occurred 8 years ago. And #2), everyone is employed by someone; why is the employer to blame? Did the rape occur during work hours on company property? If not, there is NO connection between the rape and the employer. That's as stupid as blaming the City if a City employee gets caught with child porn on his computer. That's a dumbass employee who should be fired....the City isn't responsible for his/her enjoyment and procurement of child porn.

I guess Al needs to keep his name in the press somehow...even if it means dragging up years old issues that no one has every heard of...what an *******!

If you read the letter AABRA demand compensation for the girl and a job fair (which AABRA no doubt would operate itself) from Rita's. Basically by saying to the victim they will get her money, they get to pick up an issue to sew racial disharmony and maybe get a kickback in the form of a "jobs fair" for themselves in order to make their organization seem more relevant. Its cheap opportunism on the rape victim's misfortune.

__________________
A song that says it all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqITJFGyq4s

OMG. I just read his letter. WTF? A "representative group of residents and business owners"? Who? What? I'm a resident and business owner of Brewerytown and I wasn't invited. And where's the outraged community? I've never heard of this before, and I've been in this neighborhood for over 5 years. And, per my earlier message, what I don't understand the connection between Rita's the corporation and the actions of its employees, assuming they were off company property.

If this gets any bigger than the ultra leftwing blogs, I would suggest interested parties contact Mr. Rudolph and the Jacksons and assure them AABRA is a fringe association that does NOT represent the larger community, and that they should proceed full steam ahead with trying to open up and operate a business in a struggling neighborhood. A neighborhood that needs all the legitimate businesses it can get. I love how he ends his letter with "...help end this nightmare....for our community". What nightmare? This neighborhood is NOT traumatized by that rape at Veteran's stadium. This neighborhood is traumatized by the undereducated, the alcoholic and drug addicted, the disadvantaged and disenfranchised. And Al's not doing a damn thing about that!

Yes, all 5 of them.

__________________
Czar of the 26th Ward.

"After an August 2000 Phillies game, an 11-year-old girl from New York said she was raped by three teenage boys who worked at a Rita's Water Ice stand in Veterans Stadium.
That October, after a Family Court hearing, Judge Abram Frank Reynolds found two of the boys - John Scaruzzi and Michael Ibbetson - guilty of rape.
The judge acquitted the third boy, Joseph Fabrizzio. All three teens lived in South Philadelphia.
More than four years later, a civil jury concluded the girl was not raped and said the Phillies, a defendant in the civil lawsuit, were not negligent.
The girl and her mother filed the civil suit in Common Pleas Court in 2002. "
.fa_inline_results, .fa_inline_results.left { clear: left; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 10px; width: 220px;}.fa_inline_results.right { margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0;}.fa_inline_results h4 { margin: 0; font-size: 12px; border-bottom: 1px dotted #c3d2dc;}.fa_inline_results ul { list-style-type: disc; list-style-position: inside; color: #3769DD; margin: 0 0 15px; padding: 0;}.fa_inline_results ul li { margin: 0; padding: 0;}.fa_inline_results ul li.title { color: #333; list-style-type: none; font-weight: bold;}.fa_inline_results ul li.articles { color: #333; list-style-type: none;}Here's a tidbit I found about this case. Assuming this is accurate, the girl is from NY, not from Philadelphia, and certainly not from this neighborhood, so why Al thinks this neighborhood is traumatized and on edge about this case is beyond me. And, since, in the civil trial, the defendant was the Phillies and NOT Rita's Water Ice, I assume the sex took place somewhere other than on Rita's property. So, again, I don't know how Al can make any connection between the two. I'm beginning to think he is actually opposed to businesses in Brewerytown, unless he controls them. It's interesting that he wastes time drumming up support for an 8 year old non-issue for this area, but says NOTHING (to my knowledge) about the videotape of the police beating of those three guys a week or so ago. If he truly cared about black people, and not just his own aggrandizement, wouldn't he be protesting the actions in that videotape. I just don't get him...he's mum on alleged police brutality, but he'll pick on a little ice cream shop that has nothing to do with an 8 year old crime.

im not sure that i understand. the funny thing is that good things usually come out of stuff like this, like when al tried to attack phillyblog for being racist. in the end he looked like an ass. so what ever. so we come out and support the business, what else can we do. i am excited that ritas is here. so what happens when 5 people refuse to go to ritas...im not sure much will happen out of this. the more people put into his crap the more he feels like he is important. ignore the child when it is doing things that call for attention.

__________________
www.rob-sutherland.com

I went by tonight and saw some guys were painting. I asked one of them when it would open and he said "hopefully soon". He said they were having some sort of licensing or inspection problems that should be resolved shortly.