Recent Articles from this Writer

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  Could black cloud of refinery explosion create a golden opportunity for Philadelphia’s clean energy goals?

  Jeanette Miller was overjoyed when she heard the news that Philadelphia Energy Solutions was closing its sprawling South Philadelphia refinery, which had the unenviable reputation of being the city’s biggest single source of air pollution.“Oh my God, it was a…

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  Plot twist: Land Bank seeks to repurpose vacant properties, but critics say progress is slow

  On the 2200 block of Ingersoll Street in the Sharswood section of North Philadelphia, three abandoned row homes sit boarded up on a strip dominated by empty lots.Only a dwindling handful of occupied buildings hang on, a familiar scene in…

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  Removed from the Row: Jewelers Row tenants vacate five historic buildings as demolition looms

  Jewelers Row tenants emptied their stores and packed their boxes in five of the street’s historic buildings on Tuesday with a mix of anger, relief and optimism.Days before a May 31 deadline to vacate the buildings, one tenant who has…

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  Jewelers’ Row tenants get eviction notices right as city steps up efforts to preserve historic buildings

  It looks like the end of the line for Maryann Ritter and the other tenants of Philadelphia’s venerable Jewelers’ Row, who have been fighting plans by the developer Toll Brothers to demolish five historic buildings in the city section to…

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  Making the grade?: Philly public schools show signs of progress after dark days of closures and deficits

  Alexander Nieto-Perez remembers the time he started coming to South Philly’s Vare-Washington Elementary School as a pre-K student, and says there’s a whole lot more going on at the school now.As a 12-year-old in seventh grade, Alexander says his school…

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  Philly courts’ epic fail: Judges and attorneys defend city judicial system after new ‘hellhole’ designation

  In September 2017, a Philadelphia jury awarded $57.1 million to a woman who used a defective pelvic mesh implant to treat her urinary incontinence, then had a second device installed and endured several subsequent surgeries because the new implant also…

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  Keep the wrecking balls at bay: Underused religious buildings find ways to attract community groups

  Situated in the Cobbs Creek section of West Philadelphia, the Wharton-Wesley United Methodist Church once had a congregation of close to 700 people.But today that has dwindled to 150, and only about a third of those show up for services…

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  New report claims city could save millions by providing lawyers to residents in eviction cases

  Nateria Morrison had ceiling leaks in three rooms of her one-bedroom West Philadelphia apartment, and then lost electricity to half of the property.Her landlord didn’t fix any of it despite Morrison’s repeated requests, so in February this year, she started…

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  Closing in on 5 years, has Mantua’s Promise Zone designation laid a foundation for poverty reversal?

  Calvin Player had never heard of his section of West Philadelphia being designated as a Promise Zone despite having lived in Mantua for all of his 59 years.But he’s been keenly watching all kinds of improvements to his neighborhood that…