MOVE, Milton and Rendell’s friends: NinetyNine’s mayoral campaign-coverage week in review

At high noon each Friday during Philadelphia’s mayoral-primary season, NinetyNine will post a roundup of noteworthy stories from the previous week. Miss a couple days of coverage, or just want to catch up over the weekend? We’ve got you covered.

From NinetyNine and NewsWorks:

— Philly mayoral candidates talk public education, movies and weed with Central High students: Unlike the multitude of other mayoral forums organized this campaign season, this one also allowed the candidates to shake loose and dish one-word answers on the students’ pet issues. Things like weed, movies and cheesesteaks.

— Kenney releases plan to raise $105M for schools, bolster pre-K offerings citywide: With a retired teacher at his side Monday in a University City pre-K, mayoral candidate Jim Kenney released an education-policy paper that aims to raise $105 million and fully fund early childhood education “for three- and four-year old Philadelphians in need.”

— Tony Williams releases ethics-policy paper: With the pomp and circumstance of an email blast, mayoral candidate Tony Williams released a policy paper on “governmental and campaign ethics [which] focuses on transparent, citizen-centered government, enhancing integrity and ethical government standards and continuing campaign-finance reform” on Monday.

— Williams accuses opponents of stealing bank idea and MOVE leader disrupts candidates forum: The audience at Wednesday night’s forum was applauding Lynne Abraham’s comments when Pam Africa, a member of the radical group MOVE, began shouting from the back of the room, calling Abraham a “murderer.” Abraham was the judge who in 1985 signed the arrest warrants for some MOVE members before police dropped a bomb on the group’s house in West Philadelphia.

— Rendell: ‘I’m not likely to endorse’ anyone for mayor of Philadelphia: At a Tuesday morning press conference, the former Philadelphia mayor and Pennsylvania governor of told NinetyNine why he won’t likely officially back any of the six Democrats running in the May primary. “Because they’re my friends,” Rendell said.

— Milton Street may get stricken from the mayoral-primary ballot after all: Remember all those stories about T. Milton Street Sr. apparently fending off residency, registration and marital-status challenges and remaining eligible to appear on the Democratic mayoral-primary ballot in May? Well, not so fast.

— So, just who are the ‘three guys who may pick your next mayor’?: WHYY’s Dave Davies, with the help of education reporter Laura Benshoff, peels back layers of mystery surrounding the “three guys who may pick your next mayor.” Specifically, we’re talking about the principals in a Bala Cynwyd-based securities-trading firm who are funding an independent effort to support Tony Williams’ mayoral campaign.

— Al Dia’s mayoral-conversation event offers some insightful moments (and chaotic yell-talk!): In a jam-packed Center City co-working space, the sextet of Philadelphia Democratic mayoral candidates engaged in a lively (oft-Kafkaesque) “conversation” about an array of issues (including some for which Milton Street did not steal all the attention, which happened often on Monday night).

— Group backing Williams’ Philly mayoral bid spends more than $1 million (Off Mic): The independent political committee supporting state Sen. Anthony Williams for Philadelphia mayor has made another major TV ad buy, bringing the group’s media spending to more than $1 million, more than all the other candidates and committees in the race combined.

— WHYY to host five election-related events in April: We here under the NinetyNine/NewsWorks/WHYY umbrella do more than write and air stories about the city’s primary season. We also host related events! And — wouldn’t you know it? — there are several good ones coming up in April.

From elsewhere:

— Williams: Use tax breaks to lure biz to Philly neighborhoods (The Next Mayor): Mayoral candidate Anthony H. Williams outlined an economic development plan Wednesday that included the creation of a municipal bank, a revamped tax system, and tax abatements designed to lure large firms into Philadelphia’s neighborhoods.

— Mayoral hopeful Williams’ hallmark law was most widely used by his supporters (The Next Mayor): State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams’ legislative capstone — the state’s educational tax credits program — has generated scholarships for tens of thousands of children across the state in the past 14 years, including 53,000 in 2013-14. … The program has also created some interesting relationships among Williams, his staff and the billionaire partners at the Susquehanna International Group, strong school-choice advocates who collectively are the biggest users of the program and have bankrolled Williams’ political ambitions.

— Ferrick: Best not to forget Street’s past (The Next Mayor): To those too young to recall, T. Milton Street can be an imposing figure. He’s smart, has experience in politics dating back to the 1970s, and, at age 75, has lost none of his panache and his quick wit.

— Two couches … and what they tell us about the mayoral candidates (Al Dia): There are many observations to be made, and stories to be told, about the mayoral candidate event we held recently, but none more symbolically telling than this: given the choice, whom did the candidates want to sit next to?

— Negadelphia Is No More — Can the Mayoral Candidates Adapt? (Citified): The headline news from The Pew Charitable Trusts poll last week was clear: residents are feeling pretty damn good about the city, even if there are actually lots of reasons to worry. What does that mean for the mayoral race?

— Should You Be Fined for Not Voting? (Citified): State Sen. Anthony Williams is planning to introduce legislation to require all registered voters in Pennsylvania to go to the polls in general elections. Williams, who is running for mayor of Philadelphia in the May 19th Democratic primary, was inspired by favorable comments recently made by President Barack Obama about mandatory voting, his staff said.

— Abraham’s website gets a makeover, policy papers coming soon (Al Dia): Lynne Abraham’s campaign unveiled Tuesday a sleek and fully loaded website that brings her up to technological speed. It looks familiar.

— Underdog mayoral candidate Doug Oliver wants to keep young people in Philadelphia (The Daily Pennsylvanian): Most Penn students come to Philadelphia from a variety of cities, states and countries, but when they graduate, a vast majority of them will leave to work elsewhere. Doug Oliver, the Democratic candidate for Philadelphia mayor, wants to change that. In fact, part of his campaign platform is keeping young Philadelphians here.

— Ballot positions influence elections and some wonder if there is a better way (Philly Voice): Ballot order can play a significant role in elections, with candidates at the top of the ballot able to draw more votes, according to some experts.

— Phila. Mayoral Candidates Warned About Fundraising E-Mails To City Workers (CBS Philly): The Nutter administration is warning the six candidates for mayor not to send solicitations for donations to the government e-mail accounts of city workers. And they singled out one candidate — Nelson Diaz — for having done so.