South Philly Review

All four former residents vying for a spot on the bench Tuesday will continue their tenures or begin their terms in January.

Filling two of the seven open positions in the Court of Common Pleas, former Sixth Street and Snyder Avenue resident Adam Beloff was elected with 11.4 percent of the vote, while Judge Angeles Roca was elected to her first full term with 11.6 percent, according to the city's Web site http://www.phillyelectionresults.com. Gov. Ed Rendell appointed the former 13th Street and Washington Avenue resident to the Common Pleas' Domestic Relations Division last year.

Seventy-five percent voted "yes" to retaining Judge Annette Rizzo, formerly of Girard Estates, to another term in the Civil Division of the Common Pleas, according to the state's Web site, http://www.electionreturns.state.pa.us.

As for the Municipal Court, Grays Ferry native Joseph C. Waters Jr. received about 20 percent of the vote, enough to fill one of the four open spots.

Taking over for District Attorney Lynne Abraham is Seth Williams, who received 74.9 percent of the vote over Republican challenger Michael Untermeyer, while incumbent City Controller Alan Butkovitz held on with 71.9 percent of the vote over Republican Al Schmidt with almost 95 percent of the precincts reporting, according to the city's Web site.

For the birds

Two food drives to aid the hungry are being held as Thanksgiving nears.

A 24-hour Canned Food-A-Thon will take place at McDonald's, 2851 Grays Ferry Ave., noon Nov. 7 to noon Nov. 8. Bring canned goods and non-perishable items to the Grays Ferry fast-food eatery for Paul "Earthquake" Moore's creation of Thanksgiving baskets for needy families. The items will be distributed throughout the Philadelphia and Delaware counties Nov. 21 from New Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, 7001 Woodland Ave.

For more information, contact 215-385-2696 or e-mail earth_quake1@hotmail.com.

Philabundance is holding its annual Thanksgiving Turkey Round-up 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 7.

The goal of the nonprofit that aids the hungry is to round up 1,000 turkeys to make meals for families in need at holiday-time. Bring a frozen bird with its receipt to Philabundance, 3616 S. Galloway St., or make a donation toward the purchase of a turkey.

For more information, call 215-339-0900 or visit www.philabundance.org.

Keeping safe

Runaways and other children and teens in crisis have somewhere to turn that is just a text away.

In Washington, D.C., Oct. 15, National Safe Place launched Txt 4 Help, a 24-hour safety program that connects youths with a Safe Place in their area. By texting the word "SAFE" and their location to 69866, youths will receive an address for the closest Safe Place site and a contact number for a nearby youth shelter.

Of the nearly 17,000 locations nationwide, three are local: Wal-Mart, 1601 S. Columbus Blvd.; the Ford PAL Center, 631 Snyder Ave.; and the Michele Cutner PAL Center, 20th and Catharine streets.

Each year, an estimated two million youths run away, according to National Safe Place of Louisville, Ky. Most leave home to escape a problem they cannot solve, such as abuse, according to 2006 Department of Justice statistics.

Last year, 8,042 kids received help at a Safe Place site and another 8,499 contacted a Safe Place site or shelter after learning about the program through school or community education.

No shushing