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A Brief Timeline of South Philly Through the Ages
40,000 BCE– 10,000 BCE Paleolithic peoples enter North America. The Lenape settle territory along the Delaware Watershed. Buffalo roam. 1631 Dutch settlers establish a foothold […]
Should We Be Afraid of the Mariner East Pipeline?
It was dark outside, around 5 a.m., when the flames took over the sky. Neighbors described it like this: a loud hissing noise. A massive […]
Independence National Park Is an Embarrassing Mess. Why Doesn’t Anyone Care?
“Get in the pen.” That’s the first strange thing you’ll hear when you take a tour of Independence Hall, the birthplace of American liberty. I’ve […]
More Philly Hospitals Are Becoming “Baby-Friendly.” Maybe That’s Not a Good Thing.
Less than 12 hours after Benny enters the world, she’s rolled into my room in a plastic bassinet. I can tell she’s on her way […]
The So-Philly Tale of How the City Nearly Sold My House Without Telling Me
In July of 2017, when I was eight months pregnant with my second child, my husband and I learned, rather by chance, that the city […]
Philly Used to Be a Cat Town. Now It’s Gone to the Dogs.
When I moved to this city fresh out of college in 1978, I brought with me my cat, Julio, who’d been living (illicitly) in my […]
Trump, Sex, and G-Strings: The Juicy Story Behind Newtown Athletic Club
“How you make a G-string just disappear?” This question, posed thoughtfully by the rapper Tyga in his song “Dip,” booms through the gym. I keep […]
The Forgotten Victim of the Salvation Army Building Collapse
As soon as I heard the accent, I knew it would all be okay. It was close to midnight, and I was coming home from […]
Acme Was Once the Dominant Supermarket in Philly. What Went Wrong?
Acme president Jim Perkins, a 55-year-old man with a retired football player’s bulk, steamrolls through his flagship Paoli store, past the bank, the Starbucks, the […]
Bryce Harper Isn’t From Here, But He Was Born to Play in Philly
Bryce Harper had been set up to fail. It wasn’t a position the great baseball prodigy — he whose greatness had been foretold from the […]