News Briefs: Monday, December 6, 1999

Rendell names new school board members Local businessperson Michael Karp, former teacher Helen Cunningham and civic leader Ernest Jones were chosen from a pool of 20 candidates. They will join incumbents Dorothy Sumners Rush and Andrew Farnese on the nine-member board. Communications Professor Larry Gross, English Professor Peshe Kuriloff and attorney Lucy Hackney -- wife of former University president and current History Professor Sheldon Hackney -- were on the list, but were not named to the board. Hackney said she was delighted to hear that Cunningham, a close friend, would be on the board, and that she herself was not disappointed. "We talked and said that we would both feel really good if either she or I was appointed," Hackney said. Gross and Kuriloff could not be reached for comment yesterday. Although Rendell consulted with Mayor-elect John Street prior to making his decision, come May, under a new policy, Street will have the option of retaining or rejecting Rendell's appointments. -- Frank Cho GOP candidate Katz to talk in Logan Hall Defeated mayoral candidate Sam Katz will speak to students from Penn for Katz and the College Republicans tonight in the Terrace Room in Logan Hall at 7:30 p.m. Katz posed a formidable challenge to Mayor-elect John Street with his moderate conservative platform focused on tax reform. He lost to Street by approximately 10,000 votes, the closest mayoral election in modern city history. College senior Patrick Ruffini, a Katz volunteer and a Penn for Katz member, organized the event, which he said will provide many supporters with the opportunity to meet Katz "A lot of people in our organization worked very hard for him," Ruffini said About 60 students were involved in Penn for Katz and several other students volunteered for the campaign Ruffini said the structure of the event has not been determined, but Katz will most likely speak about his campaign and the future of Philadelphia. -- Catherine Lucey Forum to be held on campus development A public forum on the University's campus development plan, which outlines ground rules for future architectural and landscaping projects on campus, will be held today from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in College Hall Room 200. The Office of the University Architect and the Olin Partnership -- a local landscape and architectural design firm chosen last April to conduct a campus development review -- will discuss transportation issues concerning the University, including public transit, automobile, bicycle and pedestrian traffic. "This is the chance to get everyone in the community to tell us what they think," said Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning Professor Laurie Olin, who founded the Olin Partnership, adding that bicycle transportation is "extremely interesting to a lot of people right now." Two fatal bicycle accidents on campus this semester highlighted the issue among the University community. Wharton freshman Michael Yang was killed in October when the bicycle he was riding collided with a truck at the intersection of 33rd and Spruce streets. And just a week earlier, 70-year old Benjamin Tencer, who was taking classes at Penn as part of a special program for senior citizens, died two days after being hit by a car at the intersection of 34th and Walnut streets. A steering committee and five individual working committees -- composed of students, faculty and staff -- were appointed last April to examine issues that affect campus life, including academic purpose and environment; student, faculty and administrative life; historical preservation; transportation and maintenance. A second forum, focusing on campus life issues, will be held December 13 at 3 p.m. in the same room. -- Karlene Hanko