And here I thought Yasir Arafat had my annual Craven Persistence Award all locked up.
But along comes the billboard industry to make a run for it.
When last we left the industry, it was licking its wounds over the defeat of Council Bill 629.
You remember that turkey.
It would have changed Philadelphia law to forbid taxpayers and many community groups from appealing zoning decisions to the courts.
The bill was dressed as a general measure to, harrumph, modernize the zoning code. But that was a ruse.
It was really intended to target one group - SCRUB, the anti-billboard and anti-blight group headed by Mary Tracy.
Over the years, favored billboard companies in Philly made deals to erect boards in places and ways that violated the city's 1991 billboard ordinance, which basically froze the number of boards at 4,000 citywide.
Tracy and her group went to court to fight those political deals. And she won - time and again, in both local and state appeals courts.
How to stop her? Simple. Write a law that forbids groups such as hers from appealing to the courts. After all, we can't let the law trump a deal.
After much debate, City Council passed 629 last fall. To his credit, Mayor Street vetoed it.
So that's the end of it?
Not at all.
If at first you don't succeed....
Chapter Two
Chapter Two opens in a meeting room in Harrisburg on Monday.
The House Appropriations Committee, considering a passel of bills, is offered an amendment to Senate Bill 1100. Most of the content of the amendment is innocuous, but there is a provision at the end that does... guess what?
Strictly forbids SCRUB and community groups from appealing zoning decisions involving billboards.
Of course, the bill doesn't mention Tracy's group by name. It simply says that in a city of the First Class:
"In the case of an appeal involving outdoor advertising, only an aggrieved person shall have a right to appeal."
The courts have defined an "aggrieved person" as someone who lives within a short distance of a project, usually within 500 feet.
Under state law, Philadelphia is the state's only First Class city.
I called Tracy yesterday to get her reaction to this latest gambit. She was sputtering mad.
"I'm not usually speechless, but this has nearly got me there," she said. "What have we done that is so terrible? All we've done is try to get the city to enforce its own law on billboards."
Who is responsible for SB 1100?
That was darned hard to figure out yesterday. The bill is on a fast track - it could come up for a vote in the House as early as today.
Stealth amendment
No one was willing to step forward and claim authorship of this stealth amendment.
State Rep. Dwight Evans (D., Phila.), who is minority chair of the committee, told me he didn't write it.
In fact, Evans said all the Democrats on the committee voted against it when it came up Monday.
That narrows the list of suspects to... the Republicans. And who is the Big Dog Republican in the state House? Why, it's our own State Rep. John Perzel (R., Phila.), the House majority leader.
I couldn't get an answer from Perzel's office yesterday about SB 1100. But, if you oppose this bill, may I suggest you call him and let him know? His phone number is 717-787-2016. You can fax him at 717-783-7225.
In the meantime, stay tuned. State Rep. Greg Vitali (D., Delaware) told me that if SB 1100 does come up for a vote, he has an amendment to strike the billboard provision.
"Why should we make it tougher for citizens to appeal these decisions?" Vitali asked. "To have a special rule for such a narrow use smacks of favoritism and influence peddling. It is repugnant."
Someone say amen.
Contact Tom Ferrick at 215-854-2714 or tferrick@phillynews.com.