The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 19

4 Thursday. Jdy 23. 1981 Philadelphia Inquirer 3-B METROPOLITAN- SEPTA votes cut in trains May offer Conrail 6-month contract 3 OAKLANE) FERN ROCK STATION ft Hfdttetptnd tnquHef tHANK HONiAHl Neighb Oak Lane home still speak-easy ma PlHlsdeluhia Inqutar J. KINGSTON COLEMAN Theresa Powell says that she illegally sold liquor but that she's not doing it anymore By Russell Cooke Inquirer StoflWrtler Theresa Powell was out of work two years ago when her husband walked out, leaving her with a houseful of children and hefty mortgage payments on a large stone home in Oak Lane. To support her family, she started cooking dinners and selling them to friends in her remodeled basement, a room that the previous owner had equipped with a bar, soda fountain and wall seats.

She installed a whirling, mirrored "disco ball" that her guests with beads of light as they danced to the beat of a stereo. Then last year, she said, she started selling them liquor, too. That's when her neighbors began phoning the police, and Mrs. Powell found herself accused of running a speak-easy. Had she lived elsewhere in any of the poorer, rowhouse neighborhoods where Philadelphia police say such establishments have flourished for years her basement club might not have attracted much notice.

But it was Oak Lane, where the spacious single-family homes are owned by professionals, police officers, city officials and judges and where the loud music and noisy late-night comings and goings disrupted the twittering of birds and, worse, residents' sleep. Prodded by irate neighbors, police raided Mrs. Powell's home in the 6400 block of North 11th Street and arrested her four times in the last 18 months on tharges of illegal liquor sales. She was convicted once and fined $150. Police call her home one of the biggest operations of its kind in the city, and they still have it under surveillance, although Mrs.

Powell argues that she has cleaned up her act. "A year ago I was wrong because I was selling liquor to feed my kids," she said in an interview-this week, "but I'm not selling liquor anymore." In fact, her parties had all but ceased since January, when Mrs. Powell was last arrested; and the neighborhood had calmed down until Friday night, police said. That was the night of Mrs. Powell's 41st birthday party, she said.

The angry calls to police resumed. Neighbors say they've been bothered by loud music, which sometimes continues until 6 a.m., and beer cans that litter lawns and streets. "There's no such thing as sleep over a weekend, with slamming yelling," complained a woman who lives down the block. "Every time I have a party, they call the police on me," Mrs. Powell said angrily.

"I was sitting out here earlier this weekl, and they had a splash party over there, across the street. I should have called the police." Lt. John Chandler of the north police division said Mrs. Powell does "a good business." As many as SO cars park outside the house, with people coming from all over the city and from New Jersey, he said. Protesting members of the Oak Lane Community Association said the ruckus concerning Mrs.

Powell is just one aspect of a downward trend in their neighborhood, and they're discouraged by it. "We used to enjoy walking up and down the street and say hello to neighbors, but now I'm afraid to do that," said an older resident. "We're on our way out. We're going to have to run my wife's afraid to go out alone." Yet many Oak Lane residents say they're afraid to be quoted by name or to affix their names to civil complaints let alone approach the Powell family. Mrs.

Powell, whose seven children and four grandchildren live with her, said much of the friction could have been avoided if, when she first opened her home business, neighbors had simply come forward. "You think one of my neighbors would come here and say, 'You By Fpedric N. Tulsky Inquirer Staff Writer The SEPTA board yesterday voted to slash train service and, if necessary, seek a six-month contract with Conrail in order to keep commuter lines running until a long-range solution to the transit authority's financial crisis is found. The board's action comes as it faces a deadline of Aug. 31, when Conrail has said it will stop running the area's 800 daily commuter trains because it considers SEPTA'S offer of $93 million in operating funds for the fiscal year unsatisfactory.

SEPTA Chairman David Girard-diCarlo said that the six-month contract would be offered only if SEPTA is unsuccessful in its other efforts to keep Conrail running the trains. The vote was, board members said, merely an effort to give the board time to find another way of running the trains either on its own or through another carrier. Conrail officials late yesterday left open the possibility that they would not accept even the six-month offer authorized by the SEPTA board yesterday. The commuter train service, which is used by an estimated 60,000 daily riders, has faced rising costs and 'declining ridership as ticket prices have skyrocketed. SEPTA officials have said train service can only be continued if there are cutbacks and Conrail greatly reduces its costs.

As a result, the board yesterday voted to cut back by more than one-fourth its daily service, effective Aug. 2. All diesel trains will be eliminated, and service on the Reading lines will be cut to hourly during off-. peak hours as of Aug. 2.

There will be no train service beyond Norristown on the Reading-Pottstown line, nor trains beyond Lansdale on the former Quakertown line. And the daily SEPTA trains to Newark will end Aug. 2. SEPTA officials have demanded that Conrail convince its workers to concede major labor reforms in order to bring its costs down to $93 million, the amount SEPTA budgeted for train service in the fiscal year that began July 1. Conrail estimated that it will cost $99 million to run the trains this year, even taking into account the reduced service approved by the board yesterday.

And, the railroad said, SEPTA must be willing to pay whatever it actually costs to run the trains. On that basis, Conrail officials notified SEPTA in late June that the carrier would not run the trains beyond late August. SEPTA officials have gone to the Interstate Commerce Commission, and are ready to go to court, in an effort to find someone to order Conrail to continue running the trains. But should those efforts fail, the board yesterday indicated, SEPTA js ready to offer Conrail $25.7 million in subsidies for the next six months. Combined with ticket sales, that would amount to about $50 million for the six-month period.

SEPTA board members said they anticipate that they can trim the costs greatly in the later part of. the fiscal year to remain within the $93 million that SEPTA says is available. The offer still does not indicate that SEPTA is willing the actual costs of running the trains. A Conrail spokesman said yesterday that the railroad cannot accept any offer without such a provision. The spokesman added, however, that Conrail could not comment on the offer until it is received and evaluated.

SEPTA board members, meanwhile, emphasized that even if Conrail agrees to the contract through the end of this year, long-term problems remain. SEPTA officials are studying plans to take over train service a proposal that board member Judith Harris said yesterday she is prepared to veto. She called on SEPTA to find another company to run the trains, something that SEPTA officials said they will pursue. Neighbors say her basement is a speak-easy; Mrs. Powell says she serves only meals there aren't tougher on speak-easy operators.

One community association" member said, "All over the ghetto there are private speak-easies on every corner. But this is not the ghetto, and the judges just don't see the difference." Speak-easies were more common when taprooms had to close Sundays, said Inspector Joseph A. Rapone of the south police division. The speak-easies, often set up around someone's kitchen table, usually serve five to 15 customers, he said. "It was ajways somebody's 'birthday' when we raided a place," the inspector said, laughing, "but the cake was always, hard as a rock." charge of selling liquor without a license.

Another person arrested at her home, Anthony R. Sturgis, 26, of North Philadelphia, was found guiltyon the same charge and was fined $150, police said. Two of the three previous prosecutions against Mrs. Powell were dropped by the district attorney's office, and she was found not guilty on a similar charge in October. Philadelphia police and Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board agents report that speak-easy prosecutions have a low priority; first offenses generally are not taken to court in the city.

Neighbors in Oak Lane say they're frustrated that the-laws need a loaf of But no, they called the police instead," she said, She has not worked, she explained, since she was injured in a work-related accident two years ago. Mrs. Powell, who is black, said she doubted that her neighbors would have complained as much if she were white. Police said that black homeowners had also complained. "I'm not going anywhere.

They're not going to run me out of here," she said. "All I want to do is live in peace. And I'm not going to stop having parties." Last month in Municipal Court, Mrs. Powell was found guilty on a Coleman unveils redisricting plan represented by Brian J. O'Neill.

Street's district, which lost the-most population" during the 1970s, would be expanded northward. O'Neill's district, which lost the least, would lose portions of the 56th Ward in Rhawnhurst and Burholme. Coleman's Eighth District would add portions of the Ninth Ward in Chestnut Hill and East Mount Airy. That area is now in the Ninth District, which is represented by Louis C. Johanson, who is on leave from the council while he appeals his Abscam conviction.

All 10 districts would be redrawn under Coleman's plan, but in some districts the changes would be relatively minor. Under the City Charter, the council must redraw the districts within six months of the publication of the federal census. The charter requires that each of the council districts contain roughly one-tenth the city's population. That would amount to 168,821 people to each district, according to the census, published in March. The new district boundaries would become effective for the next council election in 1983.

Several council members said they supported Coleman's plan and expected it to win approval. "It seems to be a fair plan," Street said. "I have no objection to the changes. They seem reasonable to me." Street's district, where the population dropped by about 50,000 during the '70s, would be expanded to include parts of the 16th Ward now in Coleman's Eighth District, plus most of the 37th Ward, now in the Seventh District, represented by Harry P. Jannottl.

All the North Philadelphia areas By Roger Cohn Inquire' Sufi Writer City Council President Joseph E. Coleman yesterday announced a plan for redefining the boundaries of the 10 council districts to conform with She city's population losses as reflected in the 1980 census. In outlining his plan, which will be submitted to the council next week, Coleman noted that all 10 council districts had lost population during the 1970s. The city's population de-' clined from 1,949,996 in 1970 to in 1980, according to the census. "No district picked up population," Coleman said.

"We're talking about losses which district lost the least, and which district lost the most." Under Coleman's plan, the most extensive boundary changes would be in North Philadelphia's Fifth District, represented by John F. Street, and the Northeast's 10th District, that would be added to Street's district are predominantly black neighborhoods. O'Neill's 10th District would lose the southernmost portion of the 56th Ward to Jannotti's Seventh District and a portion of the 57th Ward near Pennypack Creek to the Sixth District, which is represented by Joan L. Krajewski. A portion of Krajewski's district that is near Allegheny Avenue in Richmond and Kensington would go to the First District, represented by James J.

Tayoun. Coleman said that, unlike in past years, when chairmen of the city's political parties often prepared redis-tricting plans, he had personally drawn up this proposal in consultation with other council members. He said his plan involved no gerryman: dering, the unfair arrangement of boundaries for political purposes. "If you look at the map," Coleman Joseph E. Coleman All districts to change said, pointing to a representation of his plan, "you don't see any slivers here or any jiggers there.

We did it in a fair and open way, without any gerrymandering." Can the school district be put hack together again Analysis would agree to defer scheduled pay raises, to save $55 million. The city, whose financial health is noticeably improved over recent years, would turn over $30 million to $40 million. The state would release about $60 million to $70 million in special education money it has withheld in a dispute with the school system. That could total as much as $165 million. "Then you refinance the bonds, roll over some deficit and we're home free," said another school official.

"At least, that's the scenario they're playing." Unfortunately, the scenario has three obstacles: the PFT, the city and the state. Over and over, Murray has warned that unless his union's contract is honored to the letter, the teachers will strike. Under' the rescue plan, most of the contract would be honored class size limits and preparation time wojild be restored, and most laid-off teachers would be re hired, in keeping with the union's no-layoff clause. But that contract also calls for a 10 percent pay raise this September, and Murray says it must be paid. There will be no deferral.

"We've made our sacrifices," Neal Kiner, Murray's administrative assistant, said yesterday. "The bottom line is, the contract's got to be intact." Part of Murray's problem may be union rival Ryan, who might seize upon such a concession during the PFT's next election, in 1983. It also might be the membership jn general, which struck for 22 days last fall to obtain the current contract and is eager for the salary boost. Another potential problem is the city. While its officials will not comment on their strategy in the upcoming Takiff meetings, several school officials said this week that the city would probably insist not only on deferrals of wage increases by the PFT, but also on some layoffs.

By demanding Jpyoffs, the city could virtually count on a strike, even if the union were willing to forgo its wage increases. "They're Ithe city getting tough," said a school official. "They need to be able to show that they've solved the problems of the school system long-term, and layoffs are their way of showing that." Lastly, the state might find it difficult to simply release most of the disputed special education money, because to do so for Philadelphia would create a demand from other school systems to do so for them as well. "I don't see the governor coming around and helping Philadelphia without helping the rest of the state," said one school official. "I don't think he can get away with it." Even if all parties were willing to agree to such a plan, there is another problem: Nobody wants to agree to it before the other guy does.

"The union says, 'You go and the others say, 'No, you go said the district official. For the moment, it will be up to Takiff to do the coaxing. PFT still simmers the power struggle between incumbent president John Murray and former chief negotiator John Ryan that has often influenced union tactics. Nobody seems eager to help anybody else. And, in the end, this may be the year of no solution.

The school district, after living on borrowed time and money, may finally be facing a massive retrenchment of program and personnel. Humpty Dumpty may stay on the ground. That said, some officials, in guarded private analyses, have not given up hope that there may be a way out even this year. "If you had asked me two months ago," said one state official, "I would have said that the situation was impossible. Now, I'm beginning to feel more optimistic." "It's doable," a school official said.

Under a rough outline now taking shape, all parties involved would have to sacrifice. The school system's unions, principally the PFT, By Thomas Ferrick Jr. and Steve Twomey Inquirer Staff Writers J. Like Humpty Dumpty, the Philadelphia School District tends to fall down a lot. Just about every summer, In fact.

This year is no exception 3,511 employees laid off, 12 schools closed, pay raises scrubbed, class sizes increased, teacher-preparation time slashed and a strike set for Sept. 10, all because of an awesome budget deficit projected for the 198182 school year. But, unlike the nursery rhyme, every year all the thing's men school officials, city officials, union 6fficials, state officials have managed to put it back together again, before its students return in the fall. This year's rebuilding begins tonight. At 6 o'clock in a third-floor conference room at City Hall, Common Picas Court Judge Harry A.

Takiff will begin his persona campaign to jawbone yet another financial mira- cle into place. Instead of ruling on a lawsuit brought by the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) that seeks to block the massive cuts, Takiff last, week proposed a series of meetings' to air the problem and suggest solutions. Until recent days, there was virtually no hope among the participants that they would, as in prev ious years, find a way out of their fine mess. For one thing, the problem has never been so great. While the size of the deficit fluctuates substantially, depending on the official and the hour, it hovers somewhere around $200 million far greater than any other year.

For another, the politics do not seem ripe for a solution. Mayor Green is feuding with the school board and Superintendent Michael P. Marcase. City Hall and llarrisburg have had their spals. And within the.