By Josh Truman

PHILADELPHIA, PA / DECEMBER 12, 2009 / DIVERSE NEWS — With the exterior having an almost White House look next to its twin, the Free Library, Philly’s family court, along with its terrazzo flooring and marble accents, gives you the ‘feeling’ of a place of honor. But it has its politics like every place else.
But sure, there are some good stories that come out of here and you will hear about it in the news when it does -like every 3 years or so- and it always gets good press with almost masonic mystique.

What doesn’t get good press is the horror stories. Of course, to protect family confidentiality laws, only initials can be given.

Last week, in one of many cases over the past 14 years, M.S. (a Disabled American Veteran) was once again denied custody of his child. This after very disturbing incidents claimed by the child (you can guess) from one of the mother’s boyfriends. Yet, the court is making a path for the mother, after rehab (‘parenting classes’), to gain custody – but not the Muslim father, just supervised visitation. The father had never been part of that type of abuse but the court and its Semitic judges, who just ‘happened’ to be assigned to all of M.S.’s custody cases, have found ways and means to deny him custody. M.S. had called many lawyers over the years about this discrimination but it kept coming. Read More »

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Pennsylvania regulatory and legislative leaders Thursday announced new initiatives for ensuring school safety. PFT President Jerry T. Jordan, who represents 18,000 teachers and staff working in the School District of Philadelphia, released the following statement on the proposal:

“Today’s news conference is an important step in addressing the serious issues surrounding school safety, but tougher reporting requirements and more school interaction with law enforcement officials will not make schools safer because we can’t legislate safe schools.

“We can, however, reduce disruption and violence by providing schools with resources to adequately guide and supervise students and school-based programs that engage students, teach social skills through interaction and create a sense of acceptance and belonging to the school community.

“In Philadelphia, few public schools today have enough extracurricular activities, like school bands, newspapers, yearbooks, choirs, drama clubs, student government, intramural sports and other extracurricular activities, that encourage student participation, teach teamwork, responsibility and cooperation and foster a sense of belonging to a community. In addition to being fun, school clubs and extracurricular programs offer the potential to teach respect, cooperation, social connectedness and community engagement as effectively as anti-bullying programs and conflict resolution programs, which should be standard in our schools.

“There are laws on the books and school district policies to address weapon violations, thefts and assaults on students, teachers and school staff. What’s lacking is consistent enforcement of rules, uniform consequences for violent and disruptive behavior and research-based remedial programs to address underlying causes, including academic failure, family dysfunction, unmet health needs and psychological and behavioral issues.

“Instead of focusing on solely more regulations, tougher reporting requirements and bigger bureaucracies, perhaps we should remember that we are dealing with youngsters who need guidance but who can be taught appropriate social skills through non-academic activities, which can also be fun.”

Finally, after 30 years, Roman Polanski, a child molester, has been arrested in Switzerland.

Google via AP

Polanski was flying in to receive an honorary award at the Zurich Film Festival when he was apprehended Saturday at the airport, the Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement. It said U.S. authorities have sought the arrest of the 76-year-old around the world since 2005

-Josh Truman

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Pennsylvania education and veterans officials today lauded the efforts of public and private schools across the commonwealth who are reaching out to discuss alternative placements for students of the Scotland School for Veterans’ Children, which is scheduled to close at the end of this school year.

The latest outreach comes from the nationally-renowned Milton Hershey School, which has organized two events over the next two weekends to introduce Scotland students and families to its academic offerings and picturesque campus in the rolling farmlands of Hershey.

“The response of public and private schools serves as an example to us all that Pennsylvanians pull together to help during difficult times,” said Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak. “To date, more than half of Scotland’s 270 students have begun making plans to enroll in new schools next year, and fully half of those already have enrolled in their new schools.”

The outreach efforts, which have included direct contact with Scotland students and families as well as extending application deadlines and the scheduling of open house events especially for Scotland families, will significantly ease the transition for students and families as Scotland School enters its final weeks of operation, the secretary said. Read More »