Media Mentions

The only mistake Pennsylvania can make during this budget season is not spending big. That should be easy considering that tax collection revenues exceeded estimates by a whopping $3 billion and the American Rescue Plan brought the state another $7.3 billion. But...

On Friday, July 9, at the popular South Philly playground and diverse gathering place, Mifflin Square Park, the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia (CAGP) held a press conference to address an anonymous threatening letter they received a week prior. The...

The tragedy that unfolded two weeks ago has led all of us to look inward with a simple question: Could what happened at Champlain Towers happen here? The answer is yes. The catastrophe in South Florida must be a lesson for us all. It must serve as a reminder that...

The minority chairman of the Senate urban affairs and housing committee said Tuesday he thinks the General Assembly ought to examine what lessons can be taken from the Florida condo collapse. State Sen. Nikil Saval, D-Philadelphia, said Pennsylvania buildings may not...

Was Gov. Tom Wolf trying to put a good face on the $40.8 billion state budget recently passed by the General Assembly, calling it a “good budget?” While Wolf was happy the Legislature passed the budget ahead of the June 30 deadline; it contained none of the...

Anticipating a busy summer for takeout boozy drinks, Thomas Tell — a Lackawanna County bar owner — stocked up on sealable containers and drink carriers. But now that cocktails to-go are off the menu at Pennsylvania bars and restaurants, thanks to a legislative pile-up...

During a global pandemic, when most people were stuck at home every day, all day, there was one TV show Americans couldn’t stop watching: “The Office.” Viewers spent more than 57 billion minutes in 2020 on Netflix binge-watching the sitcom’s paper company drones —...

Just in time for sultry summer evenings that could have been brightened by a mojito or two from the corner bar, the Pennsylvania Senate on Friday did not act on legislation — passed Thursday in the House — that would have permanently allowed cocktails-to-go....

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania legislature on Friday advanced a $40 billion budget package that sends more money to the state’s poorest school districts, includes no new taxes, and saves billions of federal relief dollars. Unlike in years past, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf...

(WHTM) — During the pandemic, restaurants were allowed to sell cocktails to-go. Many say it was a lifeline during a dark time. House Bill 1154 would let restaurants and bars sell customers cocktails to-go post-COVID. The bill sailed through the House, but in the...

Parkway Corp., a major Philadelphia parking garage operator and real estate developer, is seeking millions in state development grants for the construction of a downtown office tower that has already broken ground. The tower, at 2222 Market St., will house a new...

The Pennsylvania Senate narrowly approved a bill Wednesday to continue allowing to-go cocktails despite Democratic objections over an amendment that also authorizes manufactured ready-to-drink cocktails. House Bill 1154 passed 26-24, but goes back to the House for...

HARRISBURG — A desire to support shutdown-ravaged bars and restaurants disintegrated Wednesday into a verbal tennis match that ended when the state Senate passed a bill that would let the businesses sell mixed drinks to go but — in the minds of its detractors — does...

Gov. Tom Wolf says the revenue from enrolling in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative will provide funding to train workers to move out of jobs in the fossil fuels industry while allowing the state to ramp up its effort to combat climate change. “Participating in...

Harrisburg, Pa. - Dispelling the harmful stereotype that hardworking and experienced adults will not benefit from a minimum wage increase, Jennifer Berrier, acting secretary of the Department of Labor & Industry, joined Sen. Nikil Saval; and a Westmoreland County home...

Opposition is rising to a City Council proposal to slash Philadelphia’s parking tax rate by nearly a third, in exchange for the promise of better pay and more work for lot employees and a boost to the city’s economy. The city’s tax on parking lot revenues is already...

HARRISBURG, PA — Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier recently joined Senator Nikil Saval, a Westmoreland County home health aide and Giant Eagle worker today to call on the legislature to raise the wage to $12 an hour with a pathway...

HARRISBURG (KDKA) – A state official says it’s time to immediately raise the state’s minimum wage. Some call them heroes: front-line workers putting themselves at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. READ MORE: Man’s Body Found In Moon Twp., Police Investigating Case As...

After more than a year of pandemic-related stress and upheaval, attorneys could be looking forward to this summer's opportunities to unwind. Here, Law360 looks at six books wage and hour attorneys recommended...

On May 4, Pennsylvania State Senator Nikil Saval joined Andrew Zitcer, PhD, program director for Drexel University’s graduate program in urban strategy, in discussion for an ongoing event series, “Urban Strategy in the Present Tense,” sponsored by the Lindy Institute...

Lakshmi Iyer feels like she’s caught between two worlds. The 45-year-old financial service worker lives in Exton with her family, and has been watching with horror as COVID-19 cases have surged in her home country of India. Her Twitter feed is full of people back home...

A Philadelphia activist who’s been fighting SEPTA for years over a natural gas generator. A Southwestern Pennsylvania environmentalist who lives near ground zero of the state’s fracking boom. And an Erie union member who works for a rail manufacturing company that...

In the first few minutes of Joe Versus the Volcano, the 1990 surrealist rom-com, Tom Hanks clocks in for his job at an artificial testicle company, housed in a bleak, factorylike building overrun with flickering, audibly buzzing fluorescent tube lights that cast a...

From the U.S. Capitol to the halls of statehouses across the land, this week’s guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin murder case has reignited calls for police reform and for a new look at the way the United States conceives of law enforcement. And you can count...

As the verdict convicting Derek Chauvin was read in a Minneapolis courtroom, it was broadcast through a loudspeaker someone had set up outside Philadelphia’s City Hall. It flashed across phone screens and prompted honks from cars and shouts of “Black Lives Matter!”...

One of the main things Terriq Thompson remembers about Benjamin Franklin High School, where he graduated in 2019, is that it was hot. In particular, he remembers his first day of his senior year. It was an unusually warm September, and that day, it was 90 degrees...

When Nikil Saval won his primary election in 2020 against the establishment Philadelphia candidate Rep. Larry Farnese Jr he made history as the state’s first South Asian member of its legislature. But for him, the post and the history he made means little compared to...

(The Center Square) – COVID-19 was the top topic of discussion at Tuesday’s General Assembly hearing with the Department of Military & Veteran Affairs. Acting Adjutant General Mark Schindler told legislators all six veterans’ homes have implemented safety measures per...

Throughout the pandemic, the whole nation struggled with fulfilling their basic needs such as food and shelter. But one bright spot in Philadelphia was its ability to positively manage a pending eviction crisis through City Council initiatives that halted evictions...

The first round in the ongoing lawsuit challenging the Delaware River Basin Commission's authority to ban fracking in its jurisdictional waters has gone to the State Democratic Caucus. A knockout blow could be landing as soon as April. "About two weeks ago in New...

Delaware County set up a website and will soon have a hotline go live for those interested in applying for the Emergency Assistance Rental Program. Applications won't be accepted until April 1. However, pre-registration is available at delco-era.com. A hotline at...

In the aftermath of the fatal shootings in Georgia, state officials are speaking out against violence and bias targeting Asian Americans, both around the nation and in Pennsylvania. A white gunman has been charged with fatally shooting eight people at massage parlors...

There were any number of ways that state Sen. Cris Dush, R-Jefferson, could have responded to a murderous rampage in Georgia on Tuesday night that left eight people dead, six of them Asian-American women. But a digressive lecture accusing the chamber’s only...

PHILADELPHIA (Mar. 15, 2021) — District Attorney Larry Krasner today encouraged workers to refer potential crimes committed by employers to the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office (DAO) as workplaces start to reopen due to increased vaccination efforts. The Worker...

Mayor Jim Kenney and health commissioner Tom Farley announced the addition of five new City-run mass vaccination sites throughout the city, two of which are located in South Philly. The addition comes just one week after four South Philly elected officials – City...

When it's past bedtime on the East Coast, the latest stories and images from Myanmar light up the internet and spread around the world. The latest blockade setup by protesters to block military vehicles. Calls for help for food and water, or phone access to evade the...

Work has officially begun on a new $42 million distribution center within a mile of the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal. PhilaPort officially broke ground on the 201,621-square-foot warehouse on March 4 near 3rd Street and Pattison Avenue, and the new facility is...

Saying his breathing is “labored” and that there’s “pressure” in his chest, supporters of Mumia Abu-Jamal are again calling for the 66-year-old to be immediately released from a Pennsylvania state prison. During a Wednesday morning news conference outside of the...