Opinion
KEEP (News)
Of Course Philadelphia Cares About Independence Historical National Park
A simple response to your July 2019 article asking whether anyone cares about Independence Historical National Historical Park is … absolutely! Over the last many […]
Of Course Penn Is Complicit in Amy Wax’s Racism. Of Course Penn Should Fire Her.
In 2017, University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax co-wrote a controversial op-ed for the Philadelphia Inquirer suggesting that America’s social and political problems are […]
Outdoor Smoking Bans Are Spreading — and Useless
Let’s get one thing out of the way: Smoking kills you. It’s the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, and every year half […]
It’s Time for LGBT Affairs to Break Free of the Mayor’s Office
The executive director of the city’s Office of LGBT Affairs, Amber Hikes, announced last week that she is stepping down after two years of serving […]
What Philadelphia Is Losing When It Loses Hahnemann Hospital
As a physician, I recently have been devastated by the news that the hospital in which I practice and teach is closing. Philadelphia Academic Health […]
The Disastrous Consequences of DA Larry Krasner’s “Reforms”
It was an interesting social experiment: What happens in a major metropolitan city like Philadelphia when you elect a district attorney whose primary goal is […]
If You Think Helen Gym Is “Philly’s AOC,” You’d Better Look Up “Progressive” Again
It didn’t take much for me to swear at my computer on Tuesday morning when I read the Philadelphia Inquirer feature story that frames City […]
I Tried the “New” Center City Sips. You Can Keep It.
Summertime downtown used to be fun, thanks to the booze-infused phenomenon known as Center City Sips. Every Wednesday in June, July, and August, I would leave […]
Want Philly to Stop Being Written Off as “Killadelphia”? Get Serious About Poverty.
From Friday through Sunday this Father’s Day weekend, there were 22 shootings, 32 victims, and six homicides in Philadelphia. Amid these multiple tragedies, more Philadelphians […]
Why Should Philly Cops Who Made Racist Facebook Posts Get a Second Chance?
Last Friday, more than 150 community members rallied at Philadelphia Police Department headquarters to protest more than 300 officers who had just been exposed as […]
Darrell Clarke, Gentrification Is Gentrification — Even If the Developer Is Black
“All my skinfolk ain’t kinfolk,” the legendary Black writer Zora Neale Hurston once said. This quote goes double for Black developers who profit from land […]
Shake-Ups and Sure Bets: Four Major Takeaways From Tuesday’s Primary
On Tuesday, empires fell, diversity flourished, and a new sheriff came to town. While some outcomes of the 2019 Democratic primary in Philadelphia were all […]
Why We Desperately Need to Reform Judicial Elections in Pennsylvania
It’s difficult to imagine a more important role in our community than that of a judge. Judges, especially trial judges, make decisions that shape the […]
60 Seconds of Fear on Broad Street
I know well the vagaries of the Schuylkill and thought I had left home with plenty of time to get into Center City. But the […]
What I Learned at the Mayoral Debate From Philly’s “Super Voters”: Older Black Women
If you ask any political strategist to identify the most sought-after voting bloc within Democratic party at large right now, they will tell you older Black women […]