This week in Philly we kick off Octoberfest season, welcome @wardruna.music-social.com and illuminate to the stage, celebrate Puerto Rican Day with the annual parade, co-host the Delaware River Festival, and much more! 

This week in Philly we kick off Octoberfest season, welcome @wardruna.music-social.com and illuminate to the stage, celebrate Puerto Rican Day with the annual parade, co-host the Delaware River Festival, and much more! 

One local witnessed firsthand the impacts of a stranger’s mental health crisis on their community, and on the individual themself. Learn how to help your neighbors– featuring a confusing municipal system and a simple solution. 

An inaugural report on the city’s nighttime economy suggests we’re thriving. But for whom? 

Last week, award-winning journalist Trymaine Lee talked his new book, A Thousand Ways to Die, at a Citizen and Free Library Author event. Watch the full event, and learn Lee’s account of violence on the Black American experience.  

Philly-based Strella Biotech aims to eliminate food waste – a major factor in climate change – and save food distributors hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Why the President and CEO of Center City District has high hopes for the long moribound corridor.

State Treasurer Stacy Garrity – who received the most votes of any PA candidate ever in her reelection bid last year – may already be the Commonwealth’s most successful female politician of all time. But is that enough? 

In 2025, adults need to know more than just reading and writing. The CEO of Philly’s largest adult education nonprofit argues for a new definition of literate.

Does Jimmy Kimmel have the right to satirize? A Temple Law professor who studies comedy and democracy on whether both are imperiled now.

A new era of cancel culture, executive theory, economics and…Bob Woodward on Robert Redford. 

When the old South Philly vo-tech school reopened as artist studios and makerspaces, not even its developer imagined what it would become in a single decade. Take a look inside the walls of Bok on its 10th anniversary. 

The head of the Clean Air Council warns: If you think climate change is bad now, just wait until Trump’s EPA really gets going.

The two-time, Super Bowl Champion, five-time All-Pro, and six-time Pro Bowler offensive lineman relies on a powerful tool he learned from the NFL and MMA broadcaster/trainer to strengthen his own mental health: authentic friendship. 

The 10-year tax abatement spurred the city’s growth. But recent policies may threaten that progress. 

MSNBC host and Citizen board member @velshi.com covers how the Supreme Court gutted constitutional rights by green-lighting racial profiling. 

The unsung holiday of Constitution Day occurred on Wednesday, and it is more important than ever this year. Longtime university president @elaine-maimon.bsky.social suggests an inspiring visit to an Independence Mall institution. 

A local attorney and bike crash survivor on what we must do to keep children safe on Philly streets.

A new tool offers once-and-for-all answers to what kinds of housing the city needs and exactly where. Will City Hall use it? 

The Main Line author, filmmaker and educator’s latest book is an allegory about the impact of gun violence on kids. 

A Germantown nonprofit offers Philadelphia students who’ve experienced gun violence the chance to tell their stories on the big screen. The result: healing.

Does Jimmy Kimmel have the right to satirize? A Temple Law professor who specializes in comedy and democracy sits down with The Citizen to discuss whether both are in peril now. 

Hoping for another win by the Birds this Sunday? If you need to channel good juju so we can beat the Rams, remember the feeling of the playoffs last season.  

We’re entering a new era in economics and the Free Speech debate. Also, Bob Woodward on Robert Redford? Read it all here. 

The right to protest is just one of the important civic duties protected in the First Amendment. If you’re planning on attending one – or organizing your own – know the rules, your rights and how to be safe. 

Literacy in 2025 isn’t just reading a sentence or signing your name; it’s learning how to navigate a world saturated with information and constant change. The CEO of Philly’s largest adult education nonprofit argues for a new definition.

Philadelphians’ skepticism about the City’s waste policies has led to an abysmal recycling rate. Here’s what really happens after you put out your blue bin– and how the City could do more. 

Philly roads are unsafe for bikers and pedestrians. Here’s how we can fix that. 

South Philly’s Bok Building is a lot of things – a rooftop bar, a makerspace for nonprofits and a haven for artists – and its success was doubted at first. Celebrate 10 years of the Bok, and view all it has to offer. 

Eagles legend Lane Johnson relies on a powerful tool he learned from the NFL and MMA broadcaster and trainer Jay Glazer to strengthen his own mental health: authentic friendship. thephiladelphiacitizen.org/lane-johnson...

Our search for the next crop of local heroes is well underway, and we need your input! 

This August was the coolest we’ve had since 2014. Want more summers like that? The head of the @cleanaircouncil.bsky.social urges us to speak out against the Trump administration’s EPA policies. 

A local tech innovator was an undocumented immigrant, and didn’t know it. Here’s how she suggests helping our immigrant neighbors. 

State Treasurer Stacy Garrity may be the Commonwealth’s most successful female politician of all time. But is she enough to beat Josh Shapiro? 

The Germantown nonprofit 5 Shorts Project allows Philly students who are victims of gun violence to share their stories on the big screen. The effects have been profound. 

A tax abatement in Philly spurred remarkable city growth, but recent policies may threaten this progress.

The President and CEO of Center City District has high hopes for the Market East block. What needs to be done for the area to reach its full potential?

Hallee Adelman’s new children’s book follows the main character after “The Horrible Day” – and her new fear of loud noises and persisting sadness. Learn about the new book on gun violence, and how it’s helping youth face trauma. 

The Supreme Court ruled that ICE can stop and search anyone based on what they look like. @velshi.com discusses what happens when the Fourth Amendment is undermined like this. 

A local attorney and bike crash survivor on what we must do to keep children safe on Philly streets.

The unsung holiday — this week — is more important than ever this year, argues a longtime university president, who suggests an inspiring visit to an Independence Mall institution.

This week in Philly we have Xponential Music Fest, Making Time Fest, Sausage Fest, Philly Fashion Week, stage premieres, the HEADstrong gala, and much more.

A new tool offers once-and-for-all answers to what kinds of housing the city needs, and exactly where. Will City Hall use it?

How we can turn spitting, ball-grabbing and hat-snatching bad behavior in sports into everything that is good about humans. 

A local vet and former U.S. Rep on what 9/11 and Charlie Kirk’s assassination tell us about the America we live in. A roadmap to unity.

A new City law – believed to be the first in the nation – requires gun shops to post signs discouraging Philadelphians from buying guns for those not allowed to own them. 

“When you care about a child…all you want to do is keep them safe. It’s the least our kids deserve from us.” As Lane Johnson heads to Kansas City to play the Chiefs, he shares the city’s innovative approach to mental healthcare. 

Hyundai raid, Charlie Kirk, urban militarization and CDC chaos. Find out what happened this week here. 

A legendary local journalist calls out President Trump for trying to erase America’s ugly past – and present – in Philly’s and the nation’s first federal memorial about slavery.

The nonprofit law firm endlessly fighting for PA students and their families is honoring three “champions” at a fundraising gala, including Citizen Board Member Jennifer Rice.