Media Mentions

Moffet Elementary has never shown up on a list of city schools that are proposed to be shut down. But the families and teachers at the South Kensington elementary school say the changes the Philadelphia School District has proposed amount to closing it.

Elected officials and family members of a Philadelphia-born Palestinian American are demanding an investigation into his death. Nineteen-year-old Nasrallah Abu Siyam was shot and killed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank in February, according to the...

An unexpected announcement took center stage at a Feb. 25 gala celebrating the 50th anniversary of Philadelphia Gay News. Millions of dollars in funding from state and local governments are on their way to benefit the William Way LGBT Community Center (WWCC) and The...

A few weeks ago, Mamadu Barry — a 28-year-old structural engineer and part-time Uber driver — was behind the wheel when he first spotted one, tucked away in a parking lot in University City. “I’m guessing they’re hiding them in there for now, getting ready to take...

PHILADELPHIA – Put it all back, a judge has ordered after the Trump administration removed mentions of slavery from the site of a historic house in Philadelphia where presidents George Washington and John Adams once lived. Federal judge Cynthia Rufe began her 40-page...

Philadelphia, PA – Yesterday, Governor Josh Shapiro announced Pennsylvania’s first-ever comprehensive Housing Action Plan, a statewide strategy to build and preserve more homes, modernize housing regulations, and break down barriers preventing people from finding...

As Penn’s graduate student union finalizes preparations for a potential strike on Feb. 17, support from local politicians, faculty members, and undergraduate students has intensified. If a strike is called, graduate workers would begin picketing at 9 a.m. next...

Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Pennsylvania’s first comprehensive housing action plan last Thursday in Germantown with plans for a $1 billion investment in a new critical infrastructure fund. He also announced plans to create a new position, Executive Deputy Secretary...

Penn Political Union hosted Pennsylvania state Sen. Nikil Saval (D-1) for a fireside chat on local housing issues on Monday. The Feb. 9 discussion focused on urban policy and housing affordability at local and federal levels. Vincent Reina, a Stuart Weitzman School of...

Hundreds of people attended a rally Tuesday afternoon at the President’s House site on Independence Mall to demand the return of the slavery exhibit that was abruptly removed by members of the National Park Service last month. With speeches from historians, faith...

State lawmakers have confirmed Gov. Josh Shapiro’s controversial nomination for the Board of Pardons over several objections, including that the pick has too frequently provided expert testimony that children can’t be rehabilitated. John S. O’Brien II – whose term on...

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro raised eyebrows among Democrats last week by going somewhere few other 2028 Democratic presidential hopefuls have been willing to go: directly criticizing the record of the Biden-Harris administration. In an appearance on X’s news...

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday confirmed John S. O’Brien II to the Board of Pardons, dooming a pressure campaign from clemency advocates seeking to defeat his nomination. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, nominated O’Brien, a doctor and attorney who...

With housing costs continuing to rise across Pennsylvania, State Sen. Maria Collett is rolling out a new package of legislation aimed at addressing affordability, homelessness, and the state’s limited housing supply, according to an announcement. Sen. Collett, a...

Democrats in the Pennsylvania Senate bemoan a “pie-in-the-sky” approach to America’s history taken by the Trump administration after crowbars and wrenches removed mentions of slavery at a historic Philadelphia attraction. That attraction is the President’s House, an...

About two dozen proposals related to immigration enforcement are percolating in the state legislature in response to the Trump administration’s crackdown and tactics – including increased reliance on county jails and local police departments. Lawmakers acknowledge...

After hundreds of demonstrators rallied against Trump’s ongoing immigration enforcement crackdown last week, Philadelphia councilmembers are set to introduce legislation to limit the activities of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the city....

As rumors swirl of a potential U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement surge in Philadelphia, two councilmembers are proposing new restrictions on the activities of federal agents in the city. Under one measure, all law enforcement officers would be barred from...

Dr. Peterson is joined by Senator Nikil Saval, who represents Pennsylvania’s First Senatorial District, which runs through the heart of Philadelphia. Senator Saval serves as Democratic Chair of the Senate’s Urban Affairs & Housing Committee; and leads the Senate’s...

The National Park Service has taken down an exhibit at Philadelphia's Independence Mall that highlighted President George Washington's treatment of his enslaved workers. It's part of President Trump's campaign to address anything at national parks and monuments that...

(The Center Square) – If there’s one claim all Pennsylvania politicians can - and often do - rely on, it’s that the divided state government forces them to work in a bipartisan manner. It’s also the reason that many reforms are out of reach and many bills seem to...

Brutally cold weather hasn’t deterred demonstrators’ efforts against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the City of Philadelphia. On Monday, hundreds of protesters gathered in Center City as part of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Action,...

A Pennsylvania Republican state senator doubled down Thursday on remarks denigrating Philadelphia, despite backlash from prominent Philly Democrats. “Philadelphia wouldn’t be such a shithole” if District Attorney Larry Krasner prosecuted more crimes, State Sen....

PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A bold, art-inspired transformation of Center City officially began today as Avenue of the Arts, Inc. (AAI) broke ground on AveArts 2.0, a $150 million, decade-long initiative to reimagine the Avenue of the Arts (aka South...

While many Philadelphians rang in America’s 250th with the Mummers or at the inaugural NYE concert on the Parkway, one immigrant community celebrated the new year a few days later. And the party wasn’t for 2026; it was for 2765. “Karen New Year is a really precious...

Days after United States military forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Penn contacted students from Venezuela to acknowledge the unfolding “crisis” and offer academic and wellness resources. On Jan. 6, the College of Arts and Sciences’ CaseNet team,...

The night Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York, I was at a dinner gathering of fair housing and tenants’ rights advocates in New Jersey. The occasion was celebratory—we were marking fifty years since the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled...

Philadelphia saw a mix of celebration and protest on Sunday as residents reacted to news of a U.S. military attack on Venezuela and the capture of its president, Nicolás Maduro. President Donald Trump announced the attack in a post on his Truth Social platform at 4:21...

Venezuela native Gil Arends was unwinding at his South Philadelphia apartment Saturday when an X notification came through: “There’s no power in Caracas and we are hearing some explosions.” A panoramic video showed smoke rising from the capital city. “I was...

In a move to protect citizens from masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement and partnering law enforcement encounters, two Pennsylvania State Senators have introduced legislation that calls to unmask them. The “No Secret Police: Unmask ICE” is co-sponsored by...

As Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents continue to ramp up their efforts to detain and arrest civilians, State Sen. Amanda M. Cappelletti (D-17, Montgomery/Delaware) and State Sen. Nikil Saval (D-1, Philadelphia) introduced legislation that will prohibit law...

Public school officials statewide administered medication to reverse an opioid overdose 32 times during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Who received the naloxone dose and in which schools it was administered were not made...

Entering 2025, SEPTA faced a dire fiscal crisis that threatened to slash up to 45% of its service by the start of next year. For the roughly 790,000 people who use SEPTA's mass transit on an average weekday, the backbone of transportation in the Philadelphia region...

(The Center Square) – It was a wild ride in 2025 for the millions of Pennsylvania residents who rely on public transportation. And 2026 looks no calmer. Ideas were floated and rejected. Routes were suspended and resumed. Funding was denied then extended via emergency...

2025 has been a memorable year for Pennsylvania public transit, for better – and for worse. While the state’s budget impasse – and ongoing financial struggles for transit systems – created a rocky road for public transit statewide, in the Philadelphia region, the...

Congressman Brendan Boyle is co-sponsoring federal legislation to reverse part of President Donald Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” and restore billions of dollars for Philadelphia’s Chinatown Stitch and other defunded transportation projects around the country....

ICE Officers Masking, Homelessness Prevention, On the Issues with Sen. Nikil Saval (D)

Just weeks after federal authorities arrested an Uzbek terror suspect with a Pennsylvania-issued commercial driver’s license, state senators convened a fact-finding panel in Harrisburg to investigate the details — without directly addressing the widely publicized...

The continuing right-wing assault on libraries, books and the right to read has left state legislators across the country scrambling to pass legislation protecting libraries and guarding against censorship. Pennsylvania can be included in that number. In 2023, State...