On Oct. 2, the main steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art served as the backdrop for a press conference hosted by Greater Philadelphia First CEO Sam Katz, University of Pennsylvania President Judith Rodin, major local business leaders and the president of B101 Radio.

The purpose was to announce next month's HomeFront Greater Philadelphia homeland security conference that will take place on Nov. 20 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Center City.

Katz and Rodin also announced the formation of the new Department of Sept. 11 Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, also known as the Institute for Strategic Threat Analysis and Response (ISTAR).

The HomeFront conference is primarily Katz's concept. Why bring this up now? The premise is that even if everyone may be tired of hearing about 9/11, complacency is not a good thing.

Greater Philadelphia First is a think tank comprised of local business leaders and CEOs of various companies and nonprofits, including Osiris Group, a marketing and management consulting firm; the law firm of McKenna, Long & Aldridge; and the Aristotle Institute, a nonprofit educational initiative.

The all-day conference will be an open forum for discussing how prepared the region is to deal with terrorism. The conference will also address how businesses, learning institutions and average citizens can get involved.

Greater Philadelphia First, B101 Radio, Lincoln Financial Group, Universal Companies and Lockheed Martin are all conference chairs.

The cost of the conference will be offset by the $195 per-person admission price.

ISTAR will host a symposium on Oct. 18 at the Annenberg Center at Penn, called Strategic Thinking: How Climate, Disease and Socio-Political Structure Become Strategic Threats. This symposium is free and open to the public.

ISTAR came about after 9/11, when it was discovered that many of the terroristic threats such as bioterrorism, cyber-based attacks and nuclear aggression were already being researched at Penn by experts. This symposium will address these issues.

For more information on the HomeFront Greater Philadelphia homeland security conference call 215-966-6121 or access www.homefront-gp.com.

The Creative Class

On Thursday night, Johnny Dougherty, Brett Feldman, Mike Malloy and Lori Dumas hosted a $100-a-person fundraiser at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Center City. This event, like many more before it, targeted young professionals.

Dougherty is the treasurer of Democrat City Committee and the businessman for Local 98. He also has the ability to raise a lot of money and has been doing so for Rendell.

Rendell arrived looking exhausted from extensive campaigning and spoke very briefly on matters of investor confidence in the state.

Sharif Street attended and said he intends to run against State Rep. Frank Oliver in 2004. Street lost to Oliver in the last primary election.

Andrew Hohns also attended Rendell's fundraiser and said he is thinking about running against State Rep. Babette Josephs again. Hohns lost to her in the Democratic primary.

Former human relations acting supervisor and Bella Vista leader Vernon Anastasio, at the Rendell event with Second Ward leader Tony Palmiere, is now Babette Josephs' chief of staff. He replaced Scott Blacker, who was fired by Josephs for doing his personal campaign work during office hours at Josephs' Center City constituent office. Blacker is running against incumbent state Rep. Gene DiGirolamo in Bucks County.

Playing the Field

Marsico is the co-chair of Liberty City Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club and saw the field operation job as a good opportunity.

"I have a lot of contacts and people trust me," said Marsico, who used his recent 40th birthday party as a way to get donations for Rendell.

Marsico has been going all over the state with targeted lists of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to let them know that Rendell is supportive of their community.

Marsico is being subsidized for his efforts by the Rendell campaign but he also feels the cause is an important one.

"I'm out in the hinterlands," said Marsico, who attends coffee klatches and gay bars, wherever there is a high visibility.

There are a lot of LGBT voters out west and in the central part of the state that need to be tapped.

Correcting the Record