Franklin Towne Charter students with a check from the Rohm and Haas Foundation in 2008. The school was one of two Northeast charter schools cited by the city controller's office this month.

Two Northeast charter schools have been cited for profiteering by the City Controller’s office in a recent investigation.

Controller Alan Butkovitz’s investigation of 13 city charter schools “found repeated examples of complex real estate arrangements in which charters leased or rented facilities from related nonprofit organizations,” according to the Inquirer.

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Here’s a summary of the week’s Northeast news we didn’t cover. See others here.

Escaped convict Oscar Alvarado has been captured as of Monday.

Kamilah Alvarado, 22, Dean Ortiz, 33, and Crysta Otto, 27, of Barnett Street near Erdrick, in Mayfair, face charges for holding up the apprehension of the escaped convict by hiding him inside a Motor Inn in Trevose. Alvarado is accused of murdering a woman in October 2008.

Keep reading for break-ins at Franklin Mills Mall, a sentence for an ex Northeast charter school board president, and more. continue reading »

Here’s a summary of the week’s Northeast news we didn’t cover. See others here.

George Washington High School alums John Dunlop and Chris Reid coached against each other Thursday during the  PIAA Class AAA boys’ soccer city championship game, with Reid managing his alma mater, the Public League champion, and Dunlop coaching the Catholic League champion, Father Judge, against his former Eagles. NEast Philly will have photos of the matchup.

More links below, including a prison sentencing, political victory and more. continue reading »

Election day is tomorrow, and being an off year (no mayoral or presidential candidates), voter turnout in Philadelphia is typically low. But voting is always important – especially for the offices in this election.

Tomorrow at the polls, you’ll have the chance to elect candidates for two citywide offices – District Attorney and City Controller – in addition to six judicial positions.

Some of these candidate have ties to the Northeast, while others have made the rounds at many civic association meetings.

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Democratic District Attorney candidate Seth Williams was one of three candidate to address GBCL members last night.

“It’s going to be a brief meeting for tonight’s important game,” Greater Bustleton Civic League President Bernice Hill told antsy residents at last night’s monthly meeting. Though the room was full, the sense of urgency to wrap up the meeting in time for game one of the World Series was palpable.

Not wasting time, GBCL  board members got right down to business following some announcements, and introduced their three guests for the evening: incumbent Democratic candidate for City Controller Alan Butkovitz, Republican candidate for City Controller Al Schmidt and Democratic candidate for District Attorney Seth Williams.

Next Tuesday, Nov. 3 is election day. See where you vote here. continue reading »

Democratic district attorney candidate Seth Williams discusses the city's geographic assignments at the Lawncrest Civic Association meeting.

The Lawncrest Civic Association hosted many guests at its meeting last night, with Democratic District Attorney candidate Seth Williams being the highlight.

“No matter who you are or where you live,” Williams said, “everybody wants the same things: a good job, to go home to your family and be safe.” As the potential new district attorney of Philadelphia, Williams promised the packed meeting he’ll take steps to provide those things for the city. continue reading »

Incumbent Democratic candidate for city controller addresses the Parkwod Civic Association.

Parkwood Civic Association President Mike Hatala got right down to business at last night’s meeting, leading with the Pledge of Allegiance, then calling up the group’s guest: incumbent Democratic city controller candidate Alan Butkovitz.

Butkovitz will face off against Republican candidate Al Schmidt in the Nov. 3 election. The Democrat first addressed what he said have been  the three focal points of his past year as city controller:

• spending time looking at failures in service
• emphasizing money and viability as an important role in the city’s collection of funds
• being an independent voice in analyzing Mayor Nutter’s budget and financial plans

Continue reading for a recap of the rest of meeting, more from Butkovitz and a numerical break down of the city’s finances. continue reading »

Courtesy of Al Schmidt, Republican candidate for City Controller.

Meet Al Schmidt. He’s running for a low-profile office during increasingly tough times. Schmidt is the Republican candidate for City Controller, running against incumbent Democrat Alan Butkovitz.

The City Controller is responsible for overseeing government spending and auditing the appropriate agencies, something Schmidt says Butkovitz hasn’t done, and something he vows to do himself, if elected.

Note: NEast Philly also conducted interviews with incumbent Alan Butkovitz and one of his opponents in the Democratic primary, Brett Mandel.

Name: Al Schmidt
Raised: North Hills, Pittsburgh
Lives: East Falls
Position: candidate for City Controller, former senior analyst for the Government Accountability Office
Education: Vincentian Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, PA.  Allegheny College undergraduate.  Ph.D. from Brandeis University in Boston, MA.
Family: Wife Erin and 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Maggie

Continue reading for an interview with Schmidt about his goals as potential City Controller, and his relationship with the Northeast. continue reading »

Incumbent Alan Butkovitz, far left at NEastPhilly and WHYY's debate, won the Democratic primary for city controller

By Shannon McDonald

Alan Butkovitz, incumbent Democratic candidate for city controller, won yesterday’s primary race, in which he ran against Brett Mandel and John Braxton.

Butkovitz faced off against his opponents in three debates, one co-hosted by NEastPhilly.com and WHYY. The Castor Gardens resident will go up against lone Republican candidate Al Schmidt in the November general election.

Updated: 9:37 a.m. 5/8/09

By Shannon McDonald

NEastPhilly.com and WHYY partnered last night to host a debate for the city’s three Democratic candidates for city controller, Alan Butkovitz, John Braxton and Brett Mandel. The debate was moderated by WHYY’s Chris Satullo and took place in the John Perzel Community Center, where the Mayfair CDC operates. Among the hot topics were real estate taxes, department audits and the day-to-day duties of Philadelphia’s city controller. WHYY has audio and video clips from the debate, courtesy of Alan Tu.

Tension was high at last night’s debate for the three Democratic candidates for city controller. Incumbent Alan Butkovitz joined his opponents Brett Mandel and John Braxton at a table in the front of the community room at the John Perzel Community Center in Mayfair, where insults flew back and forth and compliments were few.

On more than one occasion, moderator Chris Satullo had to reign the three men in, at one point commenting that the atmosphere had “gone from zero to nasty.”

A common theme of the night seemed to be Braxton’s and Mandel’s questioning Butkovitz on annual audits, the focus of previous debates between the men. Mayor Michael Nutter’s endorsement of incumbent Butkovitz also came up multiple times.

The two challengers took several shots at Butkovitz regarding what they considered his neglect for a major duty of the city controller position.

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