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Letter
from the Executive Director
This month's
letter is dedicated to all of the people and organizations that
contributed the goods, services and cheerful support that made our move
possible. (See for yourself at our office warming, details
below.) We literally could not have done it without you:
REAL ESTATE BROKERS/ADVISORS
Tactix Real Estate Advisors, LLC: Kartik Patel, Glenn Blumenfeld
and Greg Lugones
MOVING CONSULTANTS
Watchdog Real Estate Project Managers: Natasha Cave, David
Heckler and Kiera McDonaugh
LAWYERS
Morgan Lewis LLP: Melissa W. Brown, J.J. Broderick and Leah S.
Raup
TELEPHONES/INSTALLATION
Cozen O'Connor: Joseph C. D'Urso, Amy Freese and Brian Gillam
Heavy Water Ltd.: Charles Franklin and Ameena Tabassum
MOVERS/INSTALLATION
The Riff Group: Mary Ann Schmidt, President and Bob Schlear
Wayne Moving & Storage: George Louderback
FILE CABINETS
Fox Rothschild: Stanley S. Cohen and Lisa Conti Roy
FURNITURE/WORK STATIONS
boomerang, Inc.: Seth DeForest, President
Devon Consulting: Joel Adams
Corporate Facilities: Peggy Kelly
ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES AND SERVICES
Belles Network Services: Robert Pasquarello
OUR NEW BUILDING
United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania: Susan Forman, Vice
President, Special Projects
Cushman & Wakefield
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Ellen Friedell
Roosevelt Hairston, Jr.
Reliable Copy Services, Inc.
Carl Singley
Tucker Law Group LLC
The Weiser Law Firm
White & Williams, LLP
Our new space is more than just an office - it is place to interact
more productively with one another and our clients, a place to engage
more volunteers in our work, a place that allows us to direct more of
our resources to our mission...in short, it is our opportunity to do
more for those who need us most.
THANK YOU ALL!!!
Jennifer R. Clarke
Executive Director
P.S. Click here to join
those listed above and make a gift today in support of our move.
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Join us for an office warming party on December 3rd!
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The Law
Center's staff, interns and volunteers can't wait to welcome you to our
beautiful new office! Please join us to help celebrate our new
space:
When:
Thursday,
December 3, 2009, 5-7pm
What: Tour our new office! Light refreshments will be served.
Where: The Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, United
Way Building, 1709 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia,
PA 19103. Map/directions
This event is free and open to all of our friends, clients and
supporters, but space is limited, so registration is required.
REGISTER NOW!
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Truancy fines place excessive burden on families in
Lebanon, PA
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The Law Center's Michael Churchill is representing United
We Stand Lebanon, a group of parents challenging the Lebanon School
District's truancy policy. The parents, all whom are racial or ethnic
minorities, oppose the district's imposition of fines when their
children are late for or absent from school. They allege that the fines
set by the District exceed the $300 per citation state limit. In some
cases parents have accrued fines in excess of $10,000; other parents
have been imprisoned for failure to pay, and their children sent to
foster care. Mr. Churchill said, "We should be developing
ways to alleviate the problem (of truancy) rather than levying
excessive fines to threaten people. That just doesn't work." Read more....
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Progress in Florida Medicaid Case - Class certified,
Trial set for early Dec.
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September 30, 2009 -- The Law Center's clients in a
Medicaid case on behalf of more than one million children in Florida
achieved two preliminary victories when the judge issued orders
certifying a class that includes children who are enrolled in Medicaid
as well as those who are eligible for Medicaid but are not yet enrolled
in the program. The judge also denied the defendants' motion for
summary judgment, paving the way for a trial beginning December 7,
2009.
In his order on the motion for class certification, the judge
concluded, among other things, that Florida has a responsibility to
attempt to enroll eligible children. In his order denying
the motion for summary judgment, the judge made the significant
decision not to rely on decisions in other circuits in which the courts
had determined that Medicaid only requires states to reimburse doctors
and dentists for care they give to children. Instead, the judge
held that the law in the Eleventh Circuit requires states to ensure
that medical and dental care is actually being promptly provided to
children. Read more...
"Medicaid suit
focuses on physicians' pay," Herald Tribune, November 1, 2009
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Clean Air Council seeks green job creation &
accountability in PGW plan
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October 23, 2009 -- The Law Center's Public Health and
Environmental Justice Project filed intervention papers on behalf of
our client, the Clean Air Council, in a Pennsylvania Public Utilities
Commission (PUC) proceeding. Clean Air Council seeks to intervene as a
party in the PUC proceedings to represent the public's interest in
clean air and in attainable green-collar jobs that pay a living wage,
and to demand greater detail and coordination in the implementation of
PGW's proposed voluntary Energy Conservation and Demand-Side Management
Plan.
Read more....
Follow the EJ Project
on Twitter
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Congrats to our friends at the Philadelphia Association
of Paralegals!
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We congratulate Philadelphia Association of Paralegals (PAP) on winning
the Association Pro Bono Award which was given by their parent
affiliate, the National Federation of Paralegal Associations on
November 2nd!
We can't imagine a more appropriate recognition for this group.
PAP's dedicated members have been organizing monthly work nights at the
Law Center for over two years, coming by after their work day has ended
to help us with projects ranging from filing and scanning to document
preparation for cases. Above, Linda Johnson, Judy Stouffer,
Kimberly Powell and Kathy Stevenson at a recent Work Night.
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Independence Foundation challenges Law Center friends:
double the impact of your support!
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The
Law Center is pleased to announce that the Independence Foundation has
once again challenged our new and long-time supporters to increase
their impact!
If you are:
A
new Law Center supporter making your first gift
OR
A
previous donor making an increased gift
your contribution will be matched by the foundation.
Make your gift today!
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Use GoodSearch for your holiday
shopping and give to the Law Center at the same time!
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If you do your
holiday shopping online, don't forget about GoodSearch! Every time you
shop online at 1,000 participating stores including Amazon, eBay,
Target, Apple, Staples, Expedia, etc., a percentage of your
purchase can be designated as a donation to the Law Center! Also,
one penny will be given to the Law Center for every web search. Visit www.goodsearch.com or download the
toolbar to your browser and start getting involved today! To give you a
sense of how the money can add up, the ASPCA has already earned more
than $30,000!
GoodSearch is
powered by Yahoo and uses advertising fees to give back to non-profit
organizations and charities. It has been featured in the NY Times, the
Wall Street Journal, CNN, Oprah Magazine, Good Morning America and
more.
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Spread the word
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Click on the button above to add email addresses and forward
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Visit the Law Center's Website for more on our work:
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