Philly News Briefs: 4/25/16
1.) For the next seven weeks, Philadelphia will experience a little taste of China. Franklin Square is currently decked out in beautiful Chinese lanterns and other thematic adornments, including thousands of lights. Philadelphia was chosen from among all northeast cities to play host to the festival, which is touring the United States. Amy Needle, president of Historic Philadelphia, confirmed that it was a tremendous honor. The Philadelphia Chinese Lantern Festival was brought to life by the work of more than twenty Chinese artisans, who worked almost ceaselessly for a month and a half to put the festival together. There is a four story pagoda and a 21-foot-high dragon that is 200 feet long and weighs 18,000 pounds. Not only does the festival celebrate Chinese heritage, but it is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Franklin Square as well.
Bernie Sanders, along with most of the other major contenders for presidential nomination, are in Philadelphia today.
2.) Tomorrow marks the Pennsylvania presidential primary, and most of the candidates are in or around Philadelphia on the eve of the occasion. John Kasich, Ohio’s governor, stopped by late this morning to shake hands and meet supporters at the Penrose Diner in South Philadelphia. Republican frontrunner Donald Trump is in town as well, attending a 4 p.m. rally at West Chester University. Competitor Ted Cruz isn’t in town; he is campaigning in Indiana. On the Democratic side, both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are in town. Sanders has a rally at Drexel at 8 p.m. followed by a town hall meeting that will be televised on cable. Clinton, for her part, will have a rally outside City Hall at 7:30 followed by her own televised town hall meeting.
3.) Speaking of Bernie Sanders, he has come out against Mayor Jim Kenney’s proposed soda tax. In Sanders’ view, it is a tax that will disproportionately impact the poor. “It is a totally regressive tax, and right now, at a time of massive income and wealth inequality, when the wealthy are getting wealthier — many of them pay an effective tax rate lower than working people,” Sanders said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “You have large multinational corporations not paying a nickel in federal taxes. That’s where you get the money. Somebody’s making $20,000 a year and they buy a bottle of soda, I don’t think you charge them $0.30 more for that bottle of soda.” Sanders stressed that he supports universal pre-kindergarten education, the cause for which the soda tax is intended, he just believes it should be funded otherwise.
