I tracked the results of Philly's new "Wellness Court," a fast-track court which offers diversion to drug treatment or a same-day trial. The city loses touch with most (usually unhoused) people they arrest in Kensington, and two people have since died from overdoses. bit.ly/3J1kHvc

Grateful for this in-depth reporting from @emilykrizzo.bsky.social for @kensingtonvoice.bsky.social on Philadelphia's Wellness Court (forced treatment program). It's primarily creating a backup of bench warrants for people who just really need housing. www.kensingtonvoice.com/new-fast-tra...

Turns out Philly is budgeting $167 million of its opioid settlement money for Riverview Wellness Village, long-term recovery housing. The city isn't planning to spend any more settlement funds on Kensington quality-of-life efforts, like it did in 2023. www.kensingtonvoice.com/philly-opioi...

City council is pressing Parker administration for Kensington Wellness Court data. But the city's top public safety official offered little data on the initiative’s effectiveness, saying, “It’s just too early to tell.” www.kensingtonvoice.com/en/city-coun...

Mayor Parker's administration is ending a community-led grant program funded by opioid settlement dollars. It allowed residents to decide where money flowed in the neighborhood. www.kensingtonvoice.com/en/parker-ad...

This week, Mayor Parker launched the Kensington "wellness court" — a fast-track court that targets people who use drugs by arresting them for summary offenses like disorderly conduct and obstructing the sidewalk. Wednesday was the first day of the pilot. How it went: shorturl.at/GSTow

Really appreciate @kensingtonvoice.bsky.social following up on what happened to the people arrested on the first day of Philly's wellness court. www.kensingtonvoice.com/en/three-arr...

"In Philadelphia, 942 Black men born from 1951 through 1970 died of overdoses over a five-year span ending in 2022." www.inquirer.com/health/older...

ICYMI: A man died in police custody this week, after he was arrested for narcotics possession in Kensington. Drug paraphernalia was found in his cell. Sam Lew of Abolitionist Law Center says, "the city has blood on its hands.” www.kensingtonvoice.com/en/man-dies-...

where could a girl go for a good piece of cake in the great city of philadelphia? real answers only

*loud whisper* OBJECTIVITY DOES NOT EXIST "No news outlet is truly objective. When I was metro editor at the Chicago Tribune, I didn’t green-light every story. I chose the ones that my fellow journalists and I thought were the most relevant to our city and our readership. It was a judgment call."

Public speakers at this Philly school board meeting are holding up this story and calling for the district to do more to protect teachers speaking out in support of Palestinian students

Kensington’s Willard Elementary School is getting its first playground. It’s also getting something less whimsical: a bullet-resistant fence. Both have an unusual funding source: drug companies. www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia...

Students at Philadelphia’s Willard Elementary School are getting their first playground — paid for by the drug manufacturers that fueled the opioid epidemic in their backyard. Spend some time with this excellent @emilykrizzo.bsky.social story today if you can www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia...

Six Kensington schools are using opioid settlement money to build a playground, a fitness center, a drum line, hire a bilingual climate specialist, and so much more. A full break down of the $2 million, in collaboration with @ChalkbeatPHL: www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia...

Philly schools traumatized by opioid crisis use settlement money to remind kids ‘they’re special’ https://www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia/2024/12/05/schools-use-opioid-settlement-money-to-create-safe-spaces-for-students/

Quetcy Lozada's bill that bans mobile service units from most of Kensington has passed through committee. “We have prioritized harm reduction and the harm reduction way for a very long time, while ignoring an entire community of people,” Lozada said. www.kensingtonvoice.com/en/philly-ci...

My employer, the School District of Philadelphia, should be ashamed of how it’s treated teachers in the past year.

My first for @theintercept.com: theintercept.com/2024/12/03/p...

“With that many Palestinian students in our school, I would not be able to sit right with myself if, as a teacher, didn’t do anything while a genocide is happening.”