New PAC director expected to be named
Kelvyn Anderson, interim director of the city’s Police Advisory Commission, is expected to receive a promotion to the position of executive director, PAC members said this week.
Four members were present at the PAC’s Nov. 19 meeting, not enough for a quorum so that official action could take place. But those in attendance publicly expressed support for Anderson’s promotion. Anderson, 53, former PAC deputy director, has been with the commission for about 12 years. He began serving in the interim role in July, after PAC executive director William M. Johnson was relieved of his duties. Anderson recently received a pay raise to reflect his additional duties, bringing his annual salary to $61,500, according to personnel records. PAC secretary Chuck Volz said he will ask the five PAC commissioners not at the meeting if they’ll support the promotion. Volz said the results will be announced at next month’s PAC meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. Dec. 17 at the PAC office, 990 Spring Garden St., seventh floor. “We’re going to give Kelvyn the title [of executive director],” Volz predicted. “We’ve been restructured from top to bottom, and we’re looking forward to a leaner, meaner, more effective PAC.” In other business, PAC internal rules have been revised so that officers, including chair, co-chairs, secretary and parliamentarian, can serve longer than two years in their leadership roles. On another subject, PAC members said they’re waiting for the Nutter administration and Philadelphia City Council to fill nine vacancies on the panel. They expressed hope that the vacancies will be filled shortly. PAC members also said they continue to work on a final report about the Nizah Morris incident, and hope to release it within the coming months. Morris was a transgender woman found with a fatal head wound in 2002, shortly after receiving a ride from Philadelphia police. The homicide remains unsolved, and PAC members said they continue to sift through evidence in the case.
City pays to settle prison lawsuit
Four women who sued the city for incarcerating them in the same cell with a transgender woman have received $8,000 each from the city to settle the case.
Jabrina T. Barnett, Maria Cachola, Katiria Chamorro and Yazmin Gonzales claim their privacy rights were violated when they were required to share a cell with a pre-operative transgender woman, Jovanie Saldana, at the Riverside Correctional Facility.
Last November, the women filed suit in federal court, each seeking more than $100,000 in damages, claiming Saldana subjected them to unwanted advances and sexual harassment. They also claimed that Saldana would leer at them and make inappropriate comments about their anatomy.
Their attorney, Brian F. Humble, confirmed the city paid $32,000 to settle the case.
Prison Health Services, a privately run company that provided medical care to city inmates, also paid an undisclosed amount of money to settle the case, Humble said.
There was no acknowledgement of wrongdoing by any party to the litigation.
Mark McDonald, a spokesperson for Mayor Nutter, had no comment. Philadelphia Prison System spokesperson Shawn Hawes declined to comment. Mediation unsuccessful in trans case
Litigation has resumed in the employment-discrimination case of transwoman Janis Stacy after attempts to mediate the dispute proved unsuccessful.
Last week, a briefing schedule for the case was issued by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Two years ago, Stacy sued LSI Corp. in federal court, claiming she was terminated from her engineering position because of her gender, gender identity and disability.
Stacy, of Kunkletown, worked at the Allentown electronics firm for about 10 years prior to her termination in 2008.
On Sept. 12, U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno dismissed Stacy’s lawsuit, citing insufficient evidence of discrimination.
Stacy promptly appealed Robreno’s ruling to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Stacy’s attorneys must file their opening brief by Dec. 24, then LSI has 30 days to respond. Stacy’s attorneys have 14 days to respond to LSI’s brief.
Stacy’s lawsuit alleges adverse employment actions dating back to 2005, when she started transitioning at work.
But LSI contends that Stacy was terminated due to workforce reductions and because she lacked the requisite skills to help move the company forward.
Scott B. Goldshaw, an attorney for Stacy, had no comment for this story, nor did LSI attorney Robert W. Cameron.
— Tim Cwiek
FIGHT hosts gala
Philadelphia FIGHT will celebrate its annual We Remember Gala at 6 p.m. Nov. 30 at the Racquet Club of Philadelphia, 215 S. 16th St. The event will include a silent auction, food, live music and a portion of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on display.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.fight.org/donate or call 215-525-8628. — Angela Thomas