fineprint

Julie Lee

Less words, more story.

by Rebecca Bellville, Brian Hickey and Tasha Kates

Calling all Tarot Cards
Just the other day, Philadelphia police announced that a Center City fortune teller was — gasp — scamming customers. So as to not tempt the fates, we told them we'd lend a helping hand. According to Cpl. Jim Pauley, a 35-year-old Philadelphia woman claims that between November 2000 and August 2003, she'd been going to Julie Lee: Psychic Reader's Sansom Street "office" to have her tarot cards read. From here, it's best to let the police report do the talking:

"The advisor later identified as Julie Lee Stevens convinced [the victim] that she had negativity around her. … In order to remove the negativity, she would need to purchase gold coins, crystal and incense sticks. This would help in aligning the complainant's sharkas (mind and heart)."

The "sharka"-aligning efforts set the victim back about 12 large. When she told the adviser she was broke, she was allegedly told "she could suffer from cancer if she did not continue." Having raided 1740 Sansom St. and charging Stevens with theft by deception, fortune telling and other offenses on June 8 — cops busted the front door in — police now hope other potential crystal-ball victims will call investigators at 215-686-3396.

"What I want to know," quips police spokesman Inspector Bill Colarulo, "is if she was so good at seeing the future, why didn't she know we were coming before we got there?"
— Brian Hickey

Darth nader
If you're not for John Kerry, you're against him. So says Don Morabito, executive director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, who doesn't want people voting for Ralph Nader again this November.

Naderites continue to scour Pennsylvania for the 25,697 signatures that would put the consumer advocate and 2000 Green Party candidate on the ballot. They say Morabito's argument is flat-out bunk.

"Kerry is really stealing votes from Nader as far as I'm concerned," says Susie Abulhawa of Nader's campaign in Philadelphia.

While Nader's supporters are confident about getting the independent on the ballot — oddly, Republicans and Democrats need just 2,000 signatures to get on the primary ballot-- statewide Nader coordinator Sasha Azar won't divulge how many names they already have. "I don't give out numbers to the press," he says. "We don't want people reading into numbers. But we're doing relatively well."

A May 27 poll by Quinnipiac University in Connecticut showed 6 percent of Pennsylvanians supporting him. In 2000, when he arguably cost Al Gore the White House, Nader got 2 percent of the vote. Still, state House Minority Leader Bill DeWeese wants Nader off the ballot so much that he has a petition on his Web site to persuade him to stay out of the race. It had 363 signatures as of Tuesday morning. While Azar calls the petition "undemocratic," local Kerry spokesman Mark Nevins predicts Pennsylvania will go Democratic this year, even though it is a highly contested state despite whether Nader is on its ballots. Morabito agrees.

But, he says, "we want to make sure" Nader doesn't detract votes. He noted that the state party wants voters to "understand that a vote for Nader is a vote against Kerry."

While Morabito calls himself "a big fan" of Nader the consumer advocate, he says the candidate just doesn't know when to quit. "Who am I to say that they shouldn't vote for Nader if they believe in his platform and his ideas and everything else?" Morabito says. "If you're a practical politician, as I am, you don't want anyone to vote for Nader."
— Rebecca Bellville

Ship Shape
School's out for summer. So now, some kids can take to the open seas. Philadelphia City Sail is a nonprofit group that holds educational sailing programs for children ages 10 to 17. When it was created in 1990, the program just held sailing sessions during the summer. It has since expanded to teach lessons throughout the year that line up with the city's math and science curriculum. Director of science and education Wendy McCarthy said the program helps kids develop leadership skills and gives them time for self-realization.

City Sail's summer sail program will kick off next Monday. Kids will spend the first three days on City Sail's 75-foot schooner North Wind, where students will review sailing skills such as finding pH. On the fourth day, the kids will anchor on the Delaware River and spend the night in the regal white-and-red boat under its gleaming white sails. Some participants return in August to join the advanced group, which spends five days navigating the Chesapeake Bay. Kids are responsible for taking watches on deck, planning meals and keeping the boat tidy.

"The goal is to give these inner-city kids hands-on experience and a sense of what their skills are," McCarthy said. "We help build responsibility."
— Tasha Kates