Giving Back to the Community

Over the years, as a result of this funding, programs at KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy, St. Anthony of the Padua in Camden, and the Brooklawn School District have served hundreds of children.

Giving back to the community is a family affair for Bernard and Shirlee Brown, their daughter Anne Koons, their son Jeff and his wife Tracy.

CAMDEN CITY NJ–The Cooper Learning Center recently received $50,000 from the Bernard and Shirlee Brown Foundation, the Anne Koons Brown Foundation and the Jeff and Tracy Brown Foundation. This generous donation will go a long way to help children with dyslexia and other learning difficulties learn to read and become happy, lifelong learners.

The Cooper Learning Center, with offices in Voorhees and Moorestown, has offered parents and children access to the most advanced, scientifically-proven methods for accurately assessing and treating children’s learning difficulties, combined with expert clinical support for the possible causes of learning disabilities.

“Learning to read is something that no one can take away from you,” said Koons, a successful real estate agent whose son benefited from the Cooper Learning Center 25 years ago. “We had such a positive experience and I have recommended countless people to Dr. Selznick. It’s a privilege to support this program.”

Richard Selznick, PhD, licensed psychologist, author of four books on learning issues, and the Director of the Cooper Learning Center, and his staff, ensure that children learn in a caring and supportive environment that diminishes insecurity and self-consciousness while fostering comfort and trust.

“Seeing a struggling learner grasp a concept that has been a challenge is extremely rewarding,” said Selznick. “We are grateful to the Koons and Brown families for supporting our efforts over the years to help children realize their full learning potential. They have been extremely gracious in their support of the children.”

Donations from Koons and her family have allowed the Cooper Learning Center to provide its reading services to children who would not otherwise have access to such a program. Over the years, as a result of this funding, programs at KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy, St. Anthony of the Padua in Camden, and the Brooklawn School District have served hundreds of children.

“All of my life, our parents have championed meaningful causes benefitting those in need,” said Jeff Brown, president and vice chairman of NFI. “We are proud to support a local resource where children, and their families, faced with learning challenges feel understood and are treated in a compassionate way.”

“

The more you read, the more you know, oh the places you will go

,” and thanks to Anne Koons and the Brown family, more children are overcoming their learning challenges to go so many wonderful places!

For more information about The Cooper Learning Center,

click here

Pictured Above:

Top (L-R): Jeff and Tracy Brown, Bernard Brown, Anne Koons and Shirlee Brown

Bottom: Participants of the Cooper Learning Center’s Summer Reading Institute with Dr. Selznick, Anne Koons and Cooper staff.

5 Resume Tips to Wow Recruiters in 2020

Gloucestercitynews.net (February 1, 2020)–Let’s say you found a job posting where you believe your skills will fit like a glove. You applied to it by sending a resume and not only did you not get the job, but you also didn’t even get called in for an interview.

What do you think might have gone wrong?

image unsplash.com

It is safe to assume at this point that the fault lies within your resume.

Without a perfect resume, a recruiter will never even know what they missed. Being the first point of contact, your resume needs to be flawless. It is through this piece of document that you are going to dazzle the recruiter and score a place in the shortlist.

These are the 5 resume tips that will wow any recruiter in 2020:

Structure your resume in neat sections

Structuring your resume not only makes it look appealing, but it also breaks down the information in brief relevant sections. This helps the recruiter take in one piece of information at a time and thus makes it easy to read and comprehend.

The presentation of information on a resume is more important than the information itself. Wrongly presented, it will have no impact on the recruiter and thus has no relevance. So, be incredibly careful about what you put in your resume and how you display it.

The first thing you need to do is decide what sections will go on your resume.

Compose the following sections in the order given below to cover every information a recruiter needs to know about you:

Header

Personal Information

Profile Title

Summary

Key Skills

Professional Experience

Education

You can also add additional sections like ‘Certifications’ or ‘Additional information’ if you have data that can be filed under these. Add these sections only if they are relevant to the role you are applying for and you are positive that adding this information will favor your chances at a shortlist.

2. Make your resume easy to read

Most resumes that get tossed are due to their length or bulkiness.

These

statistics

by CareerBuilder show that 66% of employers said a resume should be one page long for new college graduates and 77% agreed that it should be at least two pages long for seasoned workers.

So, do yourself a favor and optimize the length of your resume. Discard all the fluff and only keep the essential information that a recruiter needs to know on your resume.

This eye-tracking

study

suggests that recruiters spend an average of 7 seconds on a single resume, that is not enough time for them to go through everything in detail. This means recruiters are only focusing on a few key points before making their decision about a candidate.

A cluttered resume might turn their interest off immediately as they won’t have any idea where to start looking for the required information.

To ensure that your resume gets read at least once, use one-liner bullet points instead of paragraphs to describe your past roles & responsibilities in the ‘Professional Experience’ section.

Further, categorize points under relevant subheadings and highlight the important information to draw the attention of recruiters towards it.

3.Write effective professional experience statements

However high your qualifications may be, they won’t score you a job if you haven’t presented them effectively on your resume.

Following are a few actions that you can take to make your resume more effective:

Bring the STAR method into action as it brings a cause-effect relationship in your statements. STAR stands for:

S stands for the ‘situation’ that demanded your contributions.

T stands for the ‘task’ you performed.

A stands for the ‘actions’ you took to perform the assigned task.

R stands for the ‘result’ in the form of an achievement figure.

An example of using this method can be seen in this one-liner point: “Delivered

10+ articles

weekly which increased the web site’s

traffic by 20%

”

Include as many achievement figures as you can while keeping them relevant: These numbers will help you back up your claims and make you look like a competent and useful asset. Performance figures prove that your contributions were helpful for the company.

For instance in the example, “Delivered

10+ articles

weekly which increased the web site’s

traffic by 20%

” the number of articles and the web site’s traffic is achievement figures.

Use

action verbs

to begin each one-liner point as it gives a tone of assertiveness to your resume. Words like ‘Managed’, ‘Spearheaded’ can give your resume a wow factor.

4.Keep your resume relevant to the job you are applying for

An irrelevant resume is not going to help you get any interviews. For instance, it makes no sense to mention your first job as a busboy or the many internships you did if you have been in the workforce for over 10 years.

Volunteering experience, internships, and similar information are required by inexperienced professionals or students, not someone who has already made their mark in the professional world.

These tips will help you keep your resume relevant:

If you have changed industries and your old job doesn’t fit anywhere near the new profile you are targeting, leave it off your resume.

People with more than 3 years of experience do not need to mention internships or volunteering experiences.

Use keywords as it helps you get past the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). Recruiters set the ATS to explicitly look for keywords in resumes before shortlisting them. You can find these keywords in the job description of your target job. Select the keywords that apply to you and customize your resume accordingly.4

Never forget to mention your contact details

4.Keep your resume relevant to the job you are applying for

Even if your resume got shortlisted, a recruiter will never be able to contact you to further your prospects if they do not have any means of contacting you.

So before you submit your resume, make sure that you have correctly input all the necessary contact details in your resume which include:

Contact Number

Email Address

Current Location

Conclusion

Looking back, these are the 5 resume tips to wow recruiters in 2020:

Structure your resume by filing information under relevant sections.

Enhance the readability of your resume by cutting out any clutter and highlighting important information.

Make your resume effective by using the STAR format, using action verbs, and including performance figures.

Increase the relevancy of your resume by only including relevant information and using keywords.

Provide the correct contact details to enable a prospective employer to easily touch base with you.

Author’s Bio:

Aditya Sharma

On a quest to help professionals across the world land their dream jobs, Aditya lives and breathes

Hiration where he’s a Co-Founder and the unofficial CPO (Chief Problem-solving Officer) of the AI-powered

online resume builder

and platform to help job-seekers find their way in the treacherous job market.

Philadelphia Union II Announce 2020 Home Opener

Union II to play first game of 2020 campaign at Talen Energy Stadium against Loudoun United FC on Saturday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m.

CHESTER, Pa. (Jan. 2020)

– Entering the 2020 season as the newly rebranded Philadelphia Union II, the club, in conjunction with USL Championship, today announced that Union II will host rival Loudoun United FC in the club’s 2020 home opener. The match is set for Saturday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. The ESPN Linear Broadcast schedule, as well as the complete 2020 regular-season schedule, will be announced in the near future.

Entering their second season playing at Talen Energy Stadium, Union II went 1-0-1 against Loudoun last season. The Union earned a 5-2 victory at home against the expansion-side and DC United affiliate, including goals contributed by returning 2019 team assist-leader, Zach Zandi and rookie midfielder Issa Rayyan.

The club is also set to travel to Charleston Battery for the inaugural home match at Patriot Point on Saturday, March 28.

Union II supporters can secure their seats in Talen Energy Stadium for the home opener as well as purchase season tickets, partial plans, group tickets and single season game when they go on sale Friday, Jan. 10 at PhiladelphiaUnion.com/2. Additionally, Philadelphia Union Season Ticket Members will receive general admission for all Union II matches with their plans, with the option of upgrading to reserved seating at a discounted rate.

Philadelphia Union II rebranded in late 2019 to further cultivate and streamline the player pathway from the academy to the first team. The club will play its home games at Talen Energy Stadium while also offering the chance to train alongside the first team at the Power Training Complex.   For a full list of the 2020 USL Championship home openers

click here.

Pennsylvania\’s House Republicans Unveiled Bills to Help Human Trafficking Victims

Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Bryan Cutler speaks during a news conference Jan. 22, 2020, in Harrisburg. Image courtesy of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

By Steve Bittenbender |

The Center Square

HARRISBURG, PA–Pennsylvania’s House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a series of bills they say will help victims of human trafficking in the state.

With more than 1,200 reported cases of trafficking in the state over the last 13 years, state Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, told a crowd gathered at the Ryan Rotunda in the Capitol Complex that it’s a crisis issue for the state.

According to Insider Monkey, Pennsylvania ranked 10th nationally with 127 cases reported in 2017. The site also noted that Pittsburgh ranked 10th as well among all U.S. cities. In most cases, victims of human trafficking endure sexual violence and exploitation.

“This package of legislation addresses many issues,” said Cutler, the House majority leader. “We must see the urgent need to step up efforts to combat trafficking as part of the wider battle for human rights. We need to create a culture where people no longer stay silent about the abuse they are suffering and where the legal systems take such violence seriously.”

In all, the package includes six House bills, a Senate bill and a House resolution, the latter of which would recognize January as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month.

In addition to aiding victims of trafficking, some of the bills also stiffen penalties for those convicted of trafficking. For example, state Rep. Barry Jozwiak, R-Berks, sponsors House Bill 161, which would make the trafficking of infants a first-degree felony. State Sen. Kristen Phillips-Hill sponsors Senate Bill 60, which would increase penalties for those convicted of trafficking and patronizing a victim of sexual servitude. Those offenses, too, would become first-degree felonies.

Another bill, House Bill 2175 sponsored by state Rep. Meghan Schroeder, R-Bucks, would expand the list of offenses where prosecutors could call an expert witness to inform juries about sexual violence and how trafficking victims may respond to violent acts. Meanwhile, House Bill 2174 sponsored by state Rep. Natalie Mihalek, R-Allegheny, would keep defendants from using a trafficking victim’s past as evidence in their defense from prosecution.

Mary Quinn, the president and CEO of the YWCA of Greater Harrisburg, said her agency has helped nearly 300 trafficking victims over the last five-plus years. Through that work, she said, she’s realized those victims suffered from complex trauma and need special resources. By pushing these bills through the Legislature, she hopes it can help bring more resources to the victims.

In some cases, the victims themselves find themselves being prosecuted. York County District Attorney Dave Sunday noted a drug death case where his office initially prosecuted a young woman who handed the victim the lethal dose. However, in working with the defense attorney and advocates, they soon realized the defendant in the case was being exploited and kept from her family in New Jersey.

Jennifer Storm, the state’s victims advocate, said cases like the one Sunday discussed show that previous efforts have worked in helping identify victims. However, more work remains to be done.

“We’re here to craft a more trauma-informed justice system,” she said.

published here with permission of The Center Square

NJ Religious Leaders Guilty of Conspiracy To Evade Paying Millions in Taxes

NEWARK, N.J. – The leader and the main treasurer of the Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ were sentenced to federal prison today for their respective roles in a scheme in which both men caused the church to pay millions of dollars in personal expenses for the leader that the leader then omitted from his personal tax returns, U.S Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Jermaine Grant, 44, of Burlington Township, New Jersey, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and Lincoln Warrington, 49, of Bergen County, New Jersey, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison. Both men previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martini to Count One of the indictment against them, charging them with conspiring to defraud the United States. Judge Martini imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

Grant and Warrington used their leadership positions in the church to divert to Grant millions of dollars belonging to the church and its members for Grant’s personal use and benefit. The defendants used a variety of methods to carry out the scheme. For example, Grant and Warrington created a purported entertainment company that portrayed Grant as an industry mogul whose wealth was derived from his success in the industry, thereby concealing from church members that his lifestyle was supported entirely by the church and donations from its members. Grant and Warrington also used the church’s money to pay Grant’s other personal expenses, including payments for rental real estate properties, vacations, high-end luxury items, and private school tuition for Grant’s minor children. Grant, with Warrington’s assistance, then omitted these benefits from his individual income tax returns, resulting in the evasion of a substantial amount of tax due and owing to the United States. In total, Grant and Warrington concealed millions of dollars in income from the IRS, and failed to pay at least $250,000 in taxes.

The plea agreements in this matter include a requirement that the church will develop and present to the United States a plan designed to ensure the church’s compliance with applicable federal income tax laws going forward. Before the United States returns to the church certain cash and property seized during execution of the search warrants in this case, the compliance plan must address the disposition of that cash and property and ensure that they are returned for the benefit of the church rather than for the personal benefit of Jermaine Grant or any other individual.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Martini sentenced Grant and Warrington to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Gregory W. Ehrie, and IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge John R. Tafur, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencings.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret A. Mahoney, Senior Trial Counsel for the National Security Unit in Newark, and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig.

Defense counsel:

Grant: Gerald Lefcourt Esq., New York

Warrington: Richard Levitt Esq., New York

NJ Pick-6 Rises to $2.4 Million for Feb. 3. Drawing

TRENTON (Jan. 31, 2020) – The Pick-6 drawing on January 30 produced seven winners of $2,957 for matching five out of six white balls drawn. The $2.4 million drawing will be held Monday, February 3, 2020.

The winning numbers for the Thursday, January 30, drawing were: 01, 06, 12, 19, 26 and 49. The XTRA Multiplier was: 05. By adding XTRA for an additional $1.00 per play, winners are able to multiply their non-jackpot prizes by the XTRA number drawn.

Acting Executive Director James Carey announced that there were 414,039 tickets purchased for the drawing and of those sold, thousands were prizewinners! For correctly matching four numbers, 467 ticketholders won $41 each and 81 others won $205 each with the addition of XTRA. Moreover, for correctly matching three numbers 7,969 ticketholders won $3.00 each and 1,297 others won $15 each with the addition of XTRA. 8,647 ticketholders each won $2.00 for correctly matching two numbers with the addition of XTRA on their purchase.

DNREC Fish & Wildlife Police Blotter: Jan. 20-26

Reminder for the week: Deer, duck, and dove hunting seasons ending

DOVER (Jan. 31, 2020) – DNREC’s Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police conserve Delaware’s fish and wildlife resources, promote boating safety, and protect the public through outreach, education, and law enforcement. To help achieve public compliance with laws and regulations, officers from Jan. 20-26 made 1,177 public contacts and responded to 67 complaints regarding possible violations of laws and regulations or requests to assist the public.

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police Actions

Officers issued a total of 54 citations for the following listed violations related to:

Wildlife Conservation:

Unlawful to provide a guided hunt on division lands, unlicensed hunting, hunting license forgery, hunting migratory waterfowl without required HIP number, hunting migratory waterfowl without required federal waterfowl stamp, hunting migratory waterfowl without required state waterfowl stamp, possession of unlawfully taken waterfowl, failure to check antlered deer within 24 hours, failure to purchase a hunter choice tag prior to killing an antlered deer, failure to tag antlered deer, possess/transport an unlawfully taken antlered deer, failure to tag antlerless deer, failure to check antlerless deer within 24 hours, unlawful to purchase, sell, attempt to sell antlerless deer or antlerless deer parts, hunting deer with a firearm during archery season, unlawful use of dog training area*, and trespass to hunt.

Boating & Boating Safety:

No boating safety certificate and no throwable preserver aboard as required for vessels 16 feet long or longer.

Public Safety:

Failure to display required hunter orange during a firearms deer season, possession, purchase, ownership, or control of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited, possession of heroin, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Other:

Impede a lawful hunt, trespassing after hours on a state wildlife area, operating an unregistered motor vehicle on a state wildlife area, fictitious motor vehicle tags, driving with a suspended or revoked license, loitering, and criminal impersonation.

Includes citation(s) issued at the C&D Canal Conservation Area.

DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife recognizes and thanks the majority of anglers, hunters, and boaters who comply with Delaware’s fishing, hunting, and boating laws and regulations. The public can report fish, wildlife, and boating violations to the Delaware Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police by calling 302-739-4580 or using the free smartphone DENRP Tip app downloaded from the Google Play Store or iTunes App Store. Wildlife violations can be reported anonymously to Operation Game Theft by calling 800-292-3030, going online to

http://de.gov/ogt

, or using the DENRP Tip app; Verizon customers can connect to Operation Game Theft directly by dialing #OGT.

Are you AWARE?

Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police remind hunters that deer, duck, and dove hunting seasons are coming to an end:

Duck season ends Friday, Jan. 31

Dove season ends Friday, Jan. 31

Deer Archery and Crossbow seasons end Sunday, Feb.2

Deer Muzzleloader season ends Sunday, Feb. 2 (archery equipment and crossbows can be used during muzzleloader season)

Although many hunting seasons are ending, Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police encourage the public to report game law violations as soon as possible. Some illegal activities that should be reported include:

The use of an artificial light to illuminate wildlife, also known as spotlighting, in any manner, including from a motor vehicle, for the purpose of hunting or observing

Target shooting on state wildlife areas (target shooting on private property is allowed seven days a week, within the parameters of local, county, and state ordinances)

Shots fired from or across a public road or right-of-way, or within 15 yards of a public roadway

Carrying a loaded weapon in a vehicle or vessel in association with hunting

For more information on hunting – including hunter education, licensing, hunting and trapping seasons, limits, regulations, wildlife area information, and more, with sections devoted to deer, small game, turkey, and migratory birds – click on

2019-2020 Delaware Hunting & Trapping Guide

. Wildlife area maps with area-specific regulations are available online at

Wildlife Area Maps

Voorhees Police Dept. Alert: Help Prevent Crime Participate in Safe Cam Program

VOORHEES TOWNSHIP NJ –Crime prevention is a cooperative effort between those we serve and our agency. In furtherance of the concept of community partnerships, the Voorhees Police Department is

requesting residents, businesses, and organizations that have security cameras in place on their property to complete a short registration form.

The registration does not give the Voorhees Police Department access to your camera system, but allows our agency to maintain a data base of active cameras in the event a crime occurs in the area. For example if a burglary occurs down the street from your property, we would know your camera may have captured an image of a vehicle or suspect that could connect us to the suspects involved in the burglary. A detective would phone you and ask to review the footage. Participating properties will receive a decal with the official Voorhees Police Safe Cam logo to display as an additional deterrent to crime.

Camera Registration

Address/Location

Voorhees Township Police Department

1180 White Horse Road

Voorhees Township, NJ 08043

Contact

Emergency: 9-1-1

Non-emergencies: 856-428-5400

Making Birthday Celebrations Even Better

(NAPSI)—Birthdays: we all have them, and we all have a chance to make them memorable for the people we care about. From unique ideas for celebrating to top birthday gifts at any age, here are some ways to put the happy in these special occasions, turning every birthday into a “birthYAY!”

A World of Birthday Wishes

No matter how you express it, the love you feel when wishing someone a happy birthday is universal. So the next time a friend or family member’s big day comes around, surprise them by saying it in a different language. Strut your international style by reciting your best Bosnian, “Sretan ro?endan”, or Bulgarian, “Chestit Rozhden den.” Or show off those superior language skills in Swahili, “Siku ya kuzaliwa ya furaha,” or Swedish, “Grattis på födelsedagen.” Get the whole list online and get ready to send your best birthday wishes!

Making the Most of Milestones

We all know that one person who loves to stretch their day of celebrating into a whole week…or even a month! And while any age is worth recognizing, milestone birthdays are the perfect opportunity to get a little carried away. How about welcoming each new decade with a unique way to celebrate? Turning 30? Think of 30 fun things to do, however big or small. Feeling adventurous? Go skydiving, bungee jumping or rock climbing with a few of your closest friends. Like to keep it low key? A new hairstyle, massage or treating yourself to a gift of flowers or chocolates is a great way to go. Check out more awesome ideas and start planning.

Now Trending: Buzz-Worthy Birthday Surprises

Speaking of birthday gifts, nobody knows more about finding the right one than the team at 1-800-Flowers. Which gifts rise to the occasion? Truly original is the way to go, and their very own decorative birthday flower cakes take the cake. New to the collection is a vibrant floral cake creation, designed to brighten their celebration at any age.

Fall is a popular birthday season, the perfect time for sending their new Harvest Glow Bouquet, a farmhouse-style design full of rustic charm. And because you can never go wrong with a classic, their exclusive Magnificent Roses—in radiant red or passionate purple—leave a lasting impression.

Plants are having their moment, and 1-800-Flowers is now offering more green and blooming beauties than ever. Try a unique, new glass succulent terrarium, or their best-selling Happy Birthday Succulents by Lula’s Garden. And because birthdays were made for indulging, 1-800-Flowers is serving up some exclusive hand-dipped strawberries from the newest addition to their family of brands, Shari’s Berries.

So there you have it! The scoop on making birthdays special, straight from the experts. For more on sending smiles for birthdays, or any day, call 1-800-FLOWERS, visit

www.1800flowers.com

, or visit a retail store. To find one nearby, visit

florist.1800flowers.com

PA Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell Guilty of Spending Charity Donations on Vacations/Luxury Items

By Kim Jarrett |

The Center Square

Harrisburg PA (January 2020)–A former Democratic state representative who officials say took money from her nonprofit and spent it on vacations and luxury items was sentenced to three months behind bars.

Pennsylvania state Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell (center) will resign from the Legislature and plead guilty to corruption charges, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Photo courtesy of Rep. Johnson-Harrell\’s website

Former Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell also was sentenced to 8½ months of house arrest, 11½ months on parole, and then two years of probation following her guilty plea to felony charges of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, perjury, and misdemeanor charges of tampering with public records, according to a statement from Attorney General Josh Shapiro. She pleaded no contest Thursday to two misdemeanor charges of reporting by political candidates and committees, statement of financial interests in a Philadelphia courtroom.

Johnson-Harrell was the founder of the Philadelphia-based Motivation, Education and Consultation Associates (MECA). The nonprofit operated personal care homes starting in 2013 for people who could not support themselves for a variety of reasons.

After officials found residents in unlivable conditions, the homes were abruptly shut down by MECA, “kicking residents to the curb, leaving them to find new living arrangements or enter into actual treatment,” Shapiro said when announcing the charges against Johnson-Harrell in December. “But Johnson-Harrell continued to collect monthly rent payments from MECA funds for these properties despite the fact that the organization was no longer using them.”

Johnson-Harrell diverted an estimated $500,000 to her personal and campaign accounts, according to Shapiro’s office.

“This Philadelphia community would have been in a better place had this former public official invested MECA’s money into the people who needed the care she promised,” Shapiro said. “Instead, the community received no help as Johnson-Harrell spent MECA money on fur coats, Porsche car payments and expensive vacations for herself.

Johnson-Harrell stepped down in December after Shapiro announced the charges, and she disputed some of the allegations against her but said she intended “to accept responsibility for any actions that were inappropriate.”

The legislative seat was formerly held by Democrat Vanessa Lowery Brown, who resigned after she was convicted in December of 2018 on bribery charges. Johnson-Harrell took office in March 2019 after winning a special election.

“Corruption erodes the trust that is built between government entities and citizens,” Shapiro said. “Philadelphia is entitled to honest services and, hopefully, the good people here will begin to receive them now that justice has been served.”

A special election to fill Johnson-Harrell’s seat will be held Feb. 25.

published here with permission of The Center Square