Historic March on Washington August 28, 1963.

Fifty years ago this week, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his pivotal “I Have a Dream” speech in front of a crowd of over 250,000 civil rights supporters during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28, 1963. It was one of the largest human rights political rallies in the country and was instrumental in advancing civil and political rights for decades to come.

This Wednesday, in honor of the 50^th anniversary of the march, neighborhood organizer Algernong Allen will hold an audio playing of Dr. King’s famous speech in Cedar Park on 49^th Street and Baltimore Avenue at 6:30 p.m. The event, titled “March on West Philly,” is free and open to the public.

While no formal discussion is planned for after the event, Allen encourages community residents to stay and discuss both the speech and strategies for advancing civil rights.

“I wanted to celebrate the beauty of the original March on Washington, and felt that others would like to be able to do the same in some way,” Allen wrote in an e-mail to West Philly Local. “I want people to walk away more connected, more neighborly to those neighbors who look different, and reminded that there is still work to do.”

Some progress has been made in the five decades since that historic march, but civil rights are still under threat from Voter ID laws introduced and passed through state governments, the disproportionate number of people of color incarcerated, disparity in wages between genders and races and law enforcement profiling. So Allen hopes that the event can also mobilize West Philly residents to work together “to cultivate and extend the borders of a good quality of life”—to continue the fight for Dr. King’s dream.

“To those on the front lines of the civil rights movement, we owe a debt. A debt which we repay by our continued diligence in creating a world for our children in which our society, marches toward the highest aspects of our humanity,” Allen said. “Dr. King’s speech symbolizes and articulates that.  This is how we can say thank you, and rebroadcast the message of the movement that inspired the man.”

–Annamarya Scaccia

So, we’re passing this along in case you forgot: There’s a primary election tomorrow in the city. You could be forgiven if you didn’t remember. On the Democratic side, District Attorney Seth Williams is running unopposed and there’s a dizzying list of judges running. The hot nomination is for City Controller, the city’s auditor of financial affairs. The office has a four-year term and no term limit.

Incumbent Alan Bukovitz is running against Brett Mandel and Mark Zecca for the Democratic nomination. Bukovitz is in his second term as City Controller. Until 2004, Mandel worked in the City Controller’s office on the Financial and Policy Analysis Unit. Zecca is a former Assistant District Attorney.

There’s a Republican in this thing too – retail expert Terry Tracy. He is running unopposed for the City Controller nomination.

Former Assistant District Attorney Daniel Alvarez (Facebook page) is the lone Republican candidate for District Attorney.

Other local offices include: Judge of Court of Common Pleas, Judge of Philadelphia Municipal Court (3 vacancies), Judge of Traffic Court (3 vacancies), Inspector of Elections. Statewide offices include the Judge of the Superior Court.

A list of candidates for the various judge seats is here.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can check your registration information and find your polling place here.

The primary elections are on May 21 and here’s an opportunity to meet a candidate for Judge of Common Pleas. Timika Lane, who is a West Philadelphia local and chief legal counsel to State Senator and Democratic Whip Anthony H. Williams, will be at the University of Pennsylvania on Wednesday, April 24 for a meet-and-greet.

Timika is an advocate for people of color, women, children and low-income communities (her campaign video is available here) and has experience serving as an attorney in the Philadelphia court system (see another video here).

The event, which will be held at the LGBT Center at Penn (3907 Spruce St) beginning at 5:30 p.m., is free and open to the public. Everyone is welcome to bring their questions and discuss local issues. You can RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/326682774121772/

Today is the mail-in deadline for registering to vote in the May 21 primary. You can check your registration status online here. If you know you are registered, no reason to do it again unless you moved, changed your name or your party affiliation. Your registration must be postmarked by today to be eligible.

The local offices that will be decided this year include: District Attorney, City Controller, Judge of Court of Common Pleas, Judge of Philadelphia Municipal Court (3 vacancies), Judge of Traffic Court (3 vacancies), Inspector of Elections.

Statewide offices include the Judge of the Superior Court.

The most notable local race will be for City Controller, where incumbent Alan Butkovitz faces non-profit exec Brett Mandel and attorney Mark Zecca for the Democratic nomination. Current District Attorney Seth Williams is running unopposed for the party nomination.

– Mike Lyons

It’s no secret: property taxes for many in West Philly, especially in gentrifying neighborhoods, will increase beginning next year. Some will see dramatic increases under the city’s new Actual Value Initiative (AVI), which is designed to rectify disparities in assessed home values.

Check the assessed values of nearly every plot in the city using the clickable and zoomable map below.

Some estimates put the number of property owners who will see an increase at about 60 percent. Most of those will be modest increases. But residential properties on some blocks will see their taxes double – or more. For example,  property taxes on the east side of the 400 block of 51st street could rise as much as 270 percent. A caveat is in order here. Although the assessed values are right, the map is based on a 1.34 percent tax. City Council will set the actual rate in the spring and will also consider relief measures for the hardest hit property owners.

Property owners can also appeal assessments (see “AVI tools and resources” below).

Property owners will receive new assessments this week by mail, but the assessments are already accessible online thanks to the city’s efforts to make home values transparent. The clickable map below produced by the non-profit news and information organization Axis Philly shows the new assessed values. The darker the red, the higher the likely increase. If the property owner received a homestead exemption, that should be noted on the map.

Obviously, it’s too early to predict how these new values may impact neighborhoods. Part of the appeal (and higher sale prices) of homes in “up and coming” neighborhoods in the city like Fishtown, Graduate Hospital, Powelton Village and University City were low property taxes. So the tax increases themselves will likely impact sale prices (and “actual value”).

For property owners who live within the Penn Alexander catchment, the new assessments come on the heels of an announcement from the School District of Philadelphia that the school will implement a kindergarten registration lottery. The school has already said that spots in the elementary school are not guaranteed for new children in the catchment.

Many renters could also see a bump, depending on what type of property they live in. Many large apartment complexes will see a drop in assessed value and their taxes, while homes converted into apartments are more likely to see an increase.

Large commercial properties will likely see the biggest drop. Taxes on the CVS property at 43rd and Locust, for example, could drop as much as 20 percent. But many properties that house small businesses will not fare as well.

How will the new assessed values impact you? Will it drive people and businesses out of your neighborhood?

The clickable map (press “collapse” to reduce the size of the search window):

AVI tools and resources:

• Pew Report: The Actual Value Initiative: Overhauling Property Taxes in Philadelphia.
• Appeal your assessment
• AVI Calculator
• Newswork.org’s Taxipedia.

 – Mike Lyons

Four more years. pic.twitter.com/bAJE6Vom

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) November 7, 2012

The 2012 presidential election is over and president Barack Obama has been re-elected for the 2nd term. Being a strong democratic base, there are no surprises about how West Philly residents voted in this election. Here are some results by wards (click on the links to see ward maps):

Ward 27 (91.30 % precincts completed):

Ward 24 (100% precincts completed):

Ward 46 (100% precincts completed):

Ward 51 (100% precincts completed):

Ward 60 (95.65% precincts completed):

Ward 6 (100% precincts completed):

Ward 44 (100% completed):