South Philly Resident Louis Lozzi Wins Teaching Prize

I was pleased to see that an old friend of mine, Louis Lozzi, won a teaching prize.

The South Philly Review offers a piece on him and the prize.

The South Philly native was one of three teaching grand prize winners of the Citadel Heart of Learning Awards.

Louis Lozzi, a Pennsport resident who teaches at Paul Robeson High School for Human Services, was honored as a grand prize recipient on May 2 at the Mann Center for Performing Arts during the Citadel Heart of Learning Awards ceremony, which honored a total of 31 teachers from the Philadelphia region. 

Lozzi won a personal prize of $5,000 while earning an additional $5,000 for his school. He was the only grand prize winner from the School District of Philadelphia and was joined by Deb Rooney, Bradford Heights Elementary of the Downingtown Area School District, and George Hankins, Colonial Middle School of the Colonial School District. The 28 other honorees all earned $1,000 in gift cards to spend in their classrooms.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link: 

South Philly resident Lozzi wins teaching prize - South Philly Review 

Thank You South Philly Police: South Philadelphia Residents Hold Support Our Police Rally

Bill Chenevert at the South Philly Review reports on the pro-police rally held this past Sunday in South Philadelphia.

On Sunday afternoon, disk jockey Russ Ferrante’s black pickup truck crept up South Broad Street with nearly 75 South Philadelphians marching from Oregon Avenue to City Hall. They carried American and police flags and handmade signs that read “Thank You South Philly Police” and some that said “Police Lives Matter.” It was a rally organized by Carol Lanni’s Taking Our South Philly Streets Back titled “Support Our Police.”

It was a mostly low-pitched event, save for Ferrante’s mood-elevating pop tunes. And while the country still feels the ripples of the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, Lanni stressed that it’s not about race — it’s about building safe communities and acknowleding that police officers will do a better job and go the extra mile if they feel encouraged and respected by the communities they serve.

“They’re human beings. They’re running short-staffed because the city only gives them so many cars or officers for each district,” Lanni, a resident of the 2600 block of South Bouvier Street, said. “I believe the police are not getting the fair shake that they need. We all have to follow laws, and these guys are out there risking their life and limb daily, in hot and cold weather, with no guarantee that they’re going to come back [home].” 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.southphillyreview.com/news/cover-story/Locals_hold_support_our_police_rally-290204961.html

Environmental Active Duty At Former South Philly Defense Center, Known Locally As The Quartermaster

R. Jonathan Tuleya at the South Philly Review offers a piece on the environmental clean-up of the former Defense Department compound in South Philadelphia, known locally as the Quartermaster.

Eight years and millions of dollars later, one could argue the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia property looks about the same as it did when the process to clean it up and turn it over to the city began.

They'd be right.

The portion of the property near 26th Street and Oregon Avenue -- part of a larger parcel that once supplied clothes and food to U.S. soldiers deployed around the world -- is still flat and barren.

But what the casual observer can't see is what's happening about 20 feet below the site soon to house a shopping center.

According to the most recent calculations, 770,000 gallons of petroleum have been sucked from the infamous plume lurking beneath parts of the DSCP and the old Passyunk Homes property immediately to the south.

An estimated 1.5 million gallons remain. The good news is "it's not growing," said Mike Heffron, project manager for Tetra Tech FW, the environmental engineering firm hired by the Department of Defense to conduct the remediation.

Richard Bell, the Base Realignment and Closure programs environmental coordinator for the DSCP, is satisfied with the progress made by Heffron and his crew.

"These guys are doing a very fine job," Bell said. "The regulatory agencies seem very satisfied with the work, as does the community."

The completion date for the cleanup is uncertain.    

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.southphillyreview.com/news/active_duty_at_dscp-69404092.html

You can also read about the reuse of part of the old Quartermaster by the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center via the below link:

http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2013/06/delaware-valley-intelligence-center.html

Note: The above link also links to my Counterterrorism magazine piece on the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center as well as a history of the Quartermaster.