City Hall
Democrats Already Competing for Green’s Council Seat
Technically, Bill Green’s Council seat isn’t empty—that won’t happen unless and until he’s confirmed to his new job leading the School Reform Commission. But that isn’t […]
Bill de Blasio’s Big Ideas
Philadelphia’s well-documented inferiorty complex regarding New York City can often manifest itself as simple imitation. Stop-and-frisk, bike share, elevated train park: These are all ideas […]
5 Questions: Now That We Have a Land Bank, How’s It Going to Change the City?
Mayor Nutter’s signing of a new “land bank” bill on Monday was greeted with applause from the development community. Anne Fadullon, president of the Building […]
Cash Gifts Banned for City Employees
We don’t want to say that Philadelphia has a corruption problem, but isn’t it kind of weird that it’s taken until 2014 for the Philadelphia […]
Streets Department Can’t Pick Up Your Trash Because It Is Cold
Does your job let you slack off because it’s cold outside? No? Sucker. You should be working for the Philadelphia Streets Department.
Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Rate Is Down, But Only Because You’ve Given Up on This Failed Economy
Philadelphia Business Journal reports that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been in years—9.5 percent—but the Journal doesn’t quite understand why: “The Pew Charitable Trusts reports […]
Philadelphia to Philadelphia Streets Department: You Suck at Plowing
The last time we checked, which was mid-2013, Philadelphia Streets Commissioner David Perri was earning a cool $140,000 per year, which is about $118,000 more […]
Does Mayor Nutter Deserve More Credit for Philly’s Dropping Murder Rate?
Over on Twitter, journalist Patrick Kerkstra asks a really good question: Is it just me, or is plummeting homicide rate not getting the attn it […]
Cool Photo: The “Billy Penn Signal” Above City Hall
Update: The photo, Larry West says, is real! Quoth: The photo is 100% real. I originally uploaded it using my phone, and wound up just […]
Contractors Face New Requirements in the New Year
Plan Philly reports that City Hall is raising standards for building and demolition contractors starting in the new year. “The Department announced the new rules in a […]
The Paid Sick Leave Bill Exposes Republican Hypocrisy
Pennsylvania’s leaders may have fled the state over the weekend in order to enjoy a little time away from the riff-raff — that is, uh, […]
Philly’s Land Has Been Set Free!
At long last, the City Council has passed its land bank bill, making it the largest city in the country to have a land bank. […]
What Philly Should Have Learned From Baltimore About Land Banks
After two years of crafting a land bank bill that would streamline the messy, maddening process of buying land from the city, Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sanchez’s […]
Meet the Millennial Behind Philly’s LGBT Equality Bill
Last spring when I was covering Jim Kenney’s LGBT Equality Bill, I visited the councilman’s office in City Hall to learn more about it. During our […]
The Millennial Revolution: We Have the Potential to Change Politics
Fueled by pathetic voter turnout and anecdotally observed apathy, the narrative about young people in Philadelphia—so-called “new Philadelphians,” especially—is that they don’t care about local […]