THE 8:30 REPORT: This Morning in Philly
Welcome to Garbage City, U.S.A.: The Nutter administration has announced that it’s looking into the idea of charging a “pay as you throw” rate for trash collection, replacing the current tax-supported model. The goal? Increasing the city’s recycling rate by providing a disincentive for throwing away plastics, cans and bottles. The reality? Piles of stinking mess in front of abandoned lots and houses, plus the occasional murder when people put their costly Christmas detritus on someone else’s curb. [Daily News]
At least the Bulgarians understood English: The trifecta of fewer available work visas, increasing gas costs, and a weakening dollar has led to more American teenagers working seasonal jobs at the Shore this year. The successive waves of temporary immigrants, most recently from Eastern Europe, who have filled these jobs for the last few decades are actually better off staying home to work in their own growing economies. The end is nigh. [KYW]
Lawmakers bully schools into fighting bullies: A new Pennsylvania law, first introduced in 2002 by a state senator concerned about the connection between bullying and the Columbine attacks but passed only last Friday, mandates that all schools in the state develop and adopt an anti-bullying policy by January 1, 2009. For once, the Philadelphia school district was ahead of the curve, having had an anti-bullying system in place since 2001. [Metro]
July 14th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Yeah I really hope we can stop this Pay as You Throw thing. It’s just another case of extra taxes under the guise of environmentalism. I simply don’t understand why the consumer must bear the brunt and cost of the environmental disasters that manufacturers create. How about taxing the manufacturers of products with excess packging or non-biodegradeable packaging? What about puatting a deposit on returnable bottles?! Hello! This was good for people in the past, why not now? Stop reaming us taxpayers, we already pay for trash pickup.