Media Mentions
Brutal Beauty
Born from the ruins of the second world war, few architectural styles are as polarising – or aptly named – as brutalism. But the famously stark concrete monoliths – long since associated with communist countries – are having a moment. The thing about brutalism: It’s...
‘People are scared’: Philly senators agree crime is bad, but say Krasner isn’t the problem
State senators representing Philadelphia County aren't impressed by the impeachment push against the city's district attorney, Larry Krasner, by House Republicans. "They consistently refuse to allow Philadelphia to pass restrictions on guns in the city. They're trying...
The 2022 Philly Power 100
Philadelphia has been a locus of power for as long as such a thing has existed on these shores. Even before there were states to unite, the city lured those with ambition – political, economic, religious and cultural – and throughout the ensuing centuries, the path to...
The 100 Most Influential Philadelphians Right Now
fter three years of tumult, we’re in a moment of assessment as a city. Big changes loom — in our leadership, in our infrastructure, in the way we live our lives. We’re all busy picking up the pieces, seeing how they fit back together. Maybe those pieces fall into the...
State money for after-school program
An after-school program provider that serves seven South Philly schools received a $200,000 state grant. The grant was secured by state Sen. Nikil Saval and state Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler and awarded to Sunrise of Philadelphia, a community-based out-of-school time and...
Pennsylvania House Moves to Impeach Philadelphia’s Progressive D.A.
Republicans in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives filed articles of impeachment on Wednesday against Larry Krasner, the unabashedly progressive district attorney of Philadelphia, charging that he had been “derelict in his obligations” to prosecute crimes in a...
Temple Hospital employees picket amid potential strike
Temple University Hospital employees, represented by the Pennsylvania Association of Staff and Allied Professionals and Temple Allied Professionals, picketed in front of the American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet Conference at the Pennsylvania Convention Center...
Weekslong Philadelphia Museum of Art strike ends
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- On Monday at 8 a.m., employees entered the Philadelphia Museum of Art back on the job after the 19-day walkout. One worker raised a fist as he entered the museum doors. The deal was ratified on Sunday night by 99% of the union. "We feel very...
A Pennsylvania Program Will Provide Free Repairs – So Long As Landlords Don’t Hike Rents
In July, Pennsylvania’s legislature passed a law that could revitalize deteriorating homes across the state. The Whole Home Repair Act sets aside $125 million for grants to low and middle-income homeowners and forgivable loans for small landlords to repair or retrofit...
Hammering Democrats on crime, Pa. Republicans target a liberal prosecutor
PHILADELPHIA — Campaigning on crime and looking for boogeymen, Republicans in Pennsylvania have zeroed in on Philadelphia's progressive district attorney, a national leader on criminal justice reform who could be impeached just ahead of the November election. The...
What Socialist Politicians Can Do: An Interview with Nikil Saval
Nikil Saval was elected to the Pennsylvania State Senate in 2020. Insofar as there is a typical path to American public office, Saval didn’t follow it. The New York Times called him the “n+1 candidate” (after the magazine he used to co-edit); he was a reporter and...
Krasner impeachment hearings kick off, with witnesses — many on videotape — also placing blame on mayor and police commissioner
The Pa. House panel deciding whether to impeach District Attorney Larry Krasner began public hearings Thursday at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Inside, state lawmakers on the recently-formed Select Committee on Restoring Law and Order heard testimony from Philadelphians...
Philadelphia Ballet breaks ground on new building, quadrupling its size
The Philadelphia Ballet has ceremoniously broken ground on a new building that will nearly quadruple the size of its home on North Broad Street. Construction of the new five-story building of glass and steel, which will contain a black-box performance space, rehearsal...
Workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art are on strike ‘until we get the contract we deserve’
Unionised workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) began a strike against the museum today (26 September). This is the latest action that the museum’s union has launched since contract negotiations began in the fall of 2020. Over 100 members of the union, which...
Philadelphia Museum of Art workers strike, again
Workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art are on strike, forming a picket line early Monday morning at the museum’s North Entrance on Kelly Drive. The “wall-to-wall” union of about 180 workers from nearly every department at the museum has been negotiating for its...
Philadelphia Museum of Art Workers Go on Strike Indefinitely
Workers at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) went on strike today, September 26, as nearly two years of union negotiations have failed to yield a contract. The PMA Union staged a one-day warning strike on September 16, but now, workers say they are striking...
Federal Court rebukes Pennsylvania Senators for challenge to Delaware River ban on fracking
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed a lower court decision dismissing a legal challenge to a Delaware River Basin Commission ban on fracking operations within the Delaware River Basin. The challenge to the ban was filed by State Sens....
Criminal justice reform promises to remove barriers, clean slates
Knowing that Pennsylvania’s criminal justice system hasn’t always been just, Governor Tom Wolf took office with a goal to limit the negative consequences of contact with the system that can follow a Pennsylvanian for a lifetime. At the NoMo Foundation in Philadelphia...
Appeal To Delaware River Basin Fracking Ban Thrown Out By Judge
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third District threw out an appeal on Friday that contested the Delaware River Basin Commission’s ban on fracking. The appeal was dismissed for a lack of standing after being heard by a panel of three circuit judges. The appeal was...
Gov. Wolf’s Criminal Justice Reform Legacy: Removed Barriers, Clean Slates, and Opportunities for Success
Knowing that Pennsylvania’s criminal justice system hasn’t always been just, Governor Tom Wolf took office with a goal to limit the negative consequences of contact with the system that can follow a Pennsylvanian for a lifetime. At the NoMo Foundation in Philadelphia...
State, Local Lawmakers Attack ‘Politically Motivated’ Effort to Remove Progressive Philly DA – Call It ‘Stunt’
PHILADELPHIA, PA – Civic leaders and elected officials rallied here Wednesday on behalf of embattled, progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner, calling the effort to remove the prosecutor from office by the Pennsylvania House “unconstitutional and politically...
People’s Action and national coalition launch Lead Together, new American Rescue Plan website and resource hub for local governments and community-based organizations
New York, N.Y.— On September 8, 2022, a diverse coalition of political advocacy and membership-based organizations released Lead Together, a new website and hub for community organizers securing American Rescue Plan funds for those who need it most. The site serves as...
State Sen. Nikil Saval: We Can Collaborate to Meet Deep Needs
n 2020, organizer Nikil Saval ran for office on a platform that included housing rights and a Green New Deal for Pennsylvania, and defeated a powerful Democratic State Senator. Less than two years later, Sen. Saval seized on the opening created by the American Rescue...
Building Schools Back Better
Something unexpected happened in Pennsylvania politics recently. A leftist state senator got bi-partisan support from archconservatives in one of the most ideologically divided states in the country. Though the breakthrough didn’t happen in the arena of education...
Why Does Building Inspection Fail Tenants? A Professor Explains
In a housing crisis, much of the attention goes to keeping people housed, building new housing and keeping that housing affordable. But the deteriorating quality of much urban housing – and the impact this can have on the day to day lives of tenants – often fails to...
Philadelphia Museum of Art workers authorize strike
Members of a union representing staff at the Philadelphia Museum of Art authorized a strike in a near-unanimous vote Tuesday night. Local 397, part of AFSCME District Council 47, has been negotiating its first contract with the institution’s administrators since the...
Tree clearing for FDR park wetland sparks outrage
The renovation of a popular park in South Philadelphia is attracting renewed criticism over the cutting down of trees. The multi-year, $250 million transformation of FDR park kicked off this spring with the groundbreaking of a new welcome center. The city recently...
‘A one-stop shop for home repairs:’ Nikil Saval talks up Dems’ $125M new program
One of the biggest victories for both Democrats and Republicans in this year’s state budget was the inclusion of a $125 million home repair program – better known as the Whole-Home Repair Program – that will provide grants of up to $50,000 for people to repair,...
Introducing Local 80, a new Philly union focused on organizing coffee shop floors
A new local union connected to Philadelphia’s branch of Workers United is aiming to bring positive change to the city’s food service industry. Called Local 80, its goal is to aid burgeoning union campaigns throughout the city, and they’re fielding plenty of interest....
Disabled in the workforce: How a local Philly organization is training a generation of workers
Ms. Jane’s first work assessment with SpArc Philadelphia begins in the afternoon at a volunteer organization in Northeast Philly, about an hour and a half from Center City. They prepare meals for those in need, and albeit a small operation, the organization welcomes a...
Your View: Wealthy use race, gender and religion to divide working class
For years, we’ve watched elected leaders sow division in our state. They’ve tried to prevent LGBTQ kids from playing sports. They’ve attacked school curricula that teach our kids about the long struggle for racial equity in our country. Most recently, they held up our...
Program to disperse grants, loans of up to $50K to homeowners, landlords in county
As part of this year’s budget, Pennsylvania legislators included a new funding source to benefit the state’s housing market while maintaining the status quo in other areas. Folded into the state government’s budget this year came a new program, the Whole Home Repairs...
PA Lawmakers Celebrate New Program to Tackle Affordable Housing Crisis
HARRISBURG, Pa. (ErieNewsNow) - This afternoon in Philadelphia, lawmakers and housing advocates celebrated $375 million in new investments to address the affordable housing crisis in this year’s budget. Pennsylvania has some of the oldest homes in the entire country....
PA Lawmakers Celebrate New Program to Tackle Affordable Housing Crisis
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WENY) - This afternoon in Philadelphia, lawmakers and housing advocates celebrated $375 million in new investments to address the affordable housing crisis in this year’s budget. Pennsylvania has some of the oldest homes in the entire country....
New grant adds $375 million in state funds to target repair of crumbling homes in Pa.
Elected officials took a victory lap in Wynnefield for a hard fought win in Harrisburg. State Sen. Vincent Hughes drove home the point that there is more money in the state budget than ever before for housing assistance. “The state of Pennsylvania was spending $55...
Sealing the Cracks in Weatherization and Home Repair
High utility bills and years of deferred maintenance have forced many low-income homeowners and renters in Pennsylvania to live with lead paint, drafty windows, leaky roofs, exposed wiring, mold, and other health hazards. Many residents endure these conditions because...
Pennsylvania – Investments to Address Housing Crisis
Governor Tom Wolf was joined by members of the General Assembly, housing advocates, and stakeholders in Philadelphia to celebrate the critical $375 million investment in the 2022-23 budget addressing the affordable housing crisis. “Safe, affordable housing is...
Gov. Wolf, General Assembly Celebrate Critical Investments to Address Affordable Housing Crisis
Today, Governor Tom Wolf was joined by members of the General Assembly, housing advocates and stakeholders in Philadelphia to celebrate the critical $375 million investment in the 2022-23 budget addressing the affordable housing crisis. “Safe, affordable housing is...
How Pennsylvania’s New Whole Home Repair Program Can Help You
Pennsylvanians can soon access state assistance to pay for needed home repairs thanks to a new program. Included in the state’s 2022-23 budget is $125 million for the Whole Home Repair Program, which is geared toward helping lower to middle-income residents who might...
Home repair program funded in budget
tate Sen. Nikil Saval announced a $125 million appropriation in Pennsylvania’s 2022–23 budget to establish his Whole-Home Repairs Program. Saval issued the following statement: “Every person has a right to a home that is safe — a home that is healthy. But right now,...