Worthy or not, local pet projects imperiled

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, December, 2006 | by Adam Fifield

Bronal Harris works hard to keep teenagers off the street. Her North Philadelphia nonprofit, the Althea Gibson Community Education and Tennis Center, is dedicated to preventing youth violence through educational opportunities and after-school programs. During the past congressional session, U.S. Rep.

Bob Brady (D., Phila.) tacked a proposal onto an appropriations bill to provide the center with $350,000 to expand its services. But the money won't come to Philadelphia anytime soon. A plan to halt, at least temporarily, so-called pork-barrel spending has ensnared the Gibson center's money - and a lot more. The problems for Harris and others began this month when incoming Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill pledged to place a moratorium on earmarks - the special-interest dollars...