Jake Blumgart
@jblumgart.bsky.social
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Reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer
https://www.inquirer.com/author/blumgart_jake/
"Still, nearly a year into his second term, Americans see Mr. Trump less than they used to, according to a New York Times analysis of his schedule...Most of his public appearances fall between noon and 5 p.m., on average."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
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Shorter Days, Signs of Fatigue: Trump Faces Realities of Aging in Office
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/us/politics/trump-age-health.html
2 days ago
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Dave Weigel
3 days ago
Has this discourse cured anybody else's imposter syndrome? I'm not that smart but I have never had medieval peasant brain. No, the fucking computer isn't a person!
add a skeleton here at some point
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Jake Blumgart
Bloomberg News
3 days ago
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
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Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.
https://bloom.bg/49GcWpo
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Jake Blumgart
The Washington Post
3 days ago
Russia has gained less than 1 percent of Ukrainian territory this year. But President Putin said Russia is ready to keep fighting if Kyiv refuses to discuss a draft peace plan that demands deep military cuts and the ceding of territory Russia hasn’t yet taken.
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Russia’s tiny advances in 2025 sold Putin on inevitable victory in Ukraine
Grinding progress for Russia on the battlefield this year has resulted in thousands of casualties but enough progress for Putin to refuse any compromises in diplomacy.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/11/25/russia-ukraine-war-offensive-2025/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social
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Jake Blumgart
The Washington Post
3 days ago
Breaking news: Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) will not seek reelection, a seismic decision in D.C. politics that will bring to a close more than a decade in leadership.
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D.C. Mayor Bowser will not run for fourth term
Bowser, who has led D.C. over a turbulent decade, will not seek reelection in 2026, a decision bound to open up a highly competitive mayoral race.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/11/25/bowser-dc-mayor-reelection/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social
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"The D.C. business community recently launched an effort to 'draft' Bowser for a fourth term, saying it was not the time for 'on-the-job training,' but by then Bowser had largely made up her mind."
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
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D.C. Mayor Bowser will not run for fourth term
Bowser, who has led D.C. over a turbulent decade, will not seek reelection in 2026, a decision bound to open up a highly competitive mayoral race.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/11/25/bowser-dc-mayor-reelection/
3 days ago
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Come to this Pen and Pencil event I'm organizing with novelist Liz Moore in conversation with the great Dave Davies! It's the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Sign up on our janky website here:
penandpencil.org/content.aspx...
4 days ago
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Charlie Warzel
4 days ago
I wrote about the fake account blowup on X this weekend. A genuine post-truth nightmare and proof that these companies have polluted their platforms so thoroughly and traded reality for profit that they've undermined the very idea of what the internet is supposed to be.
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That MAGA Account Might Be a Troll From Pakistan
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/2025/11/x-about-this-account/685042/?gift=nwn-guseqS6cY1kVeEKZAcCrBXkH5imrvoYRXquoAEY&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
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Come to this Pen and Pencil event I'm organizing with novelist Liz Moore in conversation with the great Dave Davies! It's the Thursday after Thanksgiving. Sign up on our janky website here:
penandpencil.org/content.aspx...
4 days ago
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Carl Quintanilla
4 days ago
“.. This is X in 2025: Potentially fake accounts crying at other potentially fake accounts that they aren’t real, all while refusing to acknowledge that they themselves aren’t who they say they are — a Russian nesting doll of bullshit.”
@cwarzel.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
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Bryce Covert
4 days ago
Two years after Vermont passed a huge investment in childcare, more programs opened than closed for the first time since officials started keeping track
www.sevendaysvt.com/news/educati...
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Vermont’s Bold Investment in Childcare Is Largely Paying Off
Passed in 2023, Act 76 has increased state funding to help create more than 1,700 new childcare slots and enroll more than 4,000 additional kids in the state’s financial-assistance program.
https://www.sevendaysvt.com/news/education-news/vermonts-bold-investment-in-childcare-is-largely-paying-off/
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Jake Blumgart
Philadelphia Inquirer
4 days ago
NEW: Gov. Josh Shapiro is sending $220 million to SEPTA to help repair fire-prone Silverliner IV Regional Rail cars and a damaged overhead power system in the trolley tunnel. With the new capital funds, SEPTA will be able to restore Regional Rail to its normal capacity within a few weeks.
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Gov. Shapiro allocated $220 million to SEPTA to get Regional Rail back on track
With the new capital funds, SEPTA will be able to restore Regional Rail to its normal capacity within a few weeks.
https://www.inquirer.com/transportation/shapiro-septa-regional-rail-220-million-trains-20251124.html?utm_campaign=edit_bsky_traffic&int_promo=newsroom
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Feds suspect arson: "Two days before an apartment complex once hailed as a shining example of Philadelphia’s urban renewal went up in flames, its owner, embattled city landlord Phil Pulley, transferred the vacant property to a New York investment firm."
www.inquirer.com/news/phil-pu...
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Landlord Phil Pulley transferred ownership of West Philly apartments days before suspected arson, records show
Property records show the notorious landlord signed a deed transfer two days before the June 2025 fire. The new owners are now demolishing the building.
https://www.inquirer.com/news/phil-pulley-admiral-court-arson-west-philly-demolition-20251124.html
4 days ago
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This could be a problem for Mayor Parker's housing initiative
www.inquirer.com/politics/phi...
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HUD to cut funding for permanent housing for people who are homeless
Trump's plan is designed to "restore accountability" by cutting funds for permanent housing by two-thirds. Philadelphia received $47 million in housing aid from the federal government last year.
https://www.inquirer.com/politics/philadelphia/homeless-philadelphia-hud-trump-housing-20251124.html
4 days ago
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“In 2025, America built fewer homes per 100,000 people than it did in 2005, 1995, 1985 or 1975.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/o...
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Opinion | America’s Housing Crisis, in One Chart
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/opinion/housing-crisis-america.html
5 days ago
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What a headline
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/u...
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Patel Under Scrutiny for Use of SWAT Teams to Protect His Girlfriend
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/us/politics/kash-patel-girlfriend-fbi-protection.html
5 days ago
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www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/w...
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At Saudi Behest, Trump Vows to Seek Peace in Sudan, a Goal He Had Spurned
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/world/africa/trump-sudan-saudi-arabia-uae.html
6 days ago
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www.inquirer.com/news/cecil-b...
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City Councilmember Jeffery Young’s plan to relocate the Cecil B. Moore Library met with pushback from community who want to see it renovated
Councilmember Jeffery Young says he wants to build a new library nearby and convert the aging building into another public space.
https://www.inquirer.com/news/cecil-b-moore-library-jeffery-young-funding-20251122.html
6 days ago
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"Costs for goods and services are 25% above where they were in 2020. Even though the inflation rate is below its recent 2022 high, certain essentials like coffee, ground beef and car repairs are up markedly this year."
www.wsj.com/personal-fin...
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The Middle Class Is Buckling Under Almost Five Years of Persistent Inflation
Workers are growing tired of an economy in which everything seems to get more expensive.
https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/the-middle-class-is-buckling-under-almost-five-years-of-persistent-inflation-4d783aee?mod=hp_lead_pos7
6 days ago
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Fetterman: "Don’t assume that uncharismatic people have hidden depths...One can be dull and inept."
www.ft.com/content/68ee...
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The Labour government will deteriorate from here
Starmer and Reeves are unfit and their likeliest usurpers are worse
https://www.ft.com/content/68ee57b1-6d3c-4c17-999d-d993ee8f8a55
6 days ago
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Jake Blumgart
Philadelphia Inquirer
7 days ago
Philadelphia developers may soon benefit from a 20-year property tax abatement to convert large, underutilized properties into residences.
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20-year tax abatement to help turn schools into homes may soon be legal in Philly
Buried in the state budget is a provision allowing for the new abatement. It is now up to City Council and Mayor Parker to craft city legislation to support it.
https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/commercial/pennsylvania-state-budget-taxes-housing-conversion-projects-20251121.html?utm_campaign=edit_bsky_traffic&int_promo=newsroom
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Jake Blumgart
Philadelphia Inquirer
7 days ago
The Philadelphia Art Museum has named Daniel H. Weiss as its new CEO and director. His resume includes the Metropolitan Museum of Art and local colleges.
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Philadelphia Art Museum names a new director and CEO
Daniel H. Weiss was president of Haverford College and, for eight years, leader of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
https://www.inquirer.com/arts/philadelphia-art-museum-new-ceo-director-daniel-weiss-20251121.html?utm_campaign=edit_bsky_traffic&int_promo=newsroom
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Jake Blumgart
Philadelphia Inquirer
7 days ago
SEPTA's Zero Fare program could end next year. Advocates are pushing to save it.
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Free SEPTA fares for low-income riders could end next year. Advocates are pushing to save it.
The Zero Fare program needs permanent funding, argue advocates and some elected officials.
https://www.inquirer.com/transportation/philadelphia-zero-fare-septa-low-income-permanent-20251121.html?utm_campaign=edit_bsky_traffic&int_promo=newsroom
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Really interesting analysis
www.semafor.com/article/11/1...
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View: What Donald Trump likes about Zohran Mamdani
It suits both men to cast themselves as enemies of a corrupt system.
https://www.semafor.com/article/11/10/2025/what-donald-trump-likes-about-zohran-mamdani
6 days ago
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Jake Blumgart
Phil Gentry
6 days ago
Bit of a buried lede here that Mayor Parker reveals that she is “most excited” to give tax breaks to developers to convert closed public schools into apartments, just as the school district whose board she appointed is getting ready to close a bunch of public schools.
add a skeleton here at some point
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Jared Brey
15 days ago
How Illinois Made a ‘Transformational' Investment in Transit
www.governing.com/transportati...
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How Illinois Made a ‘Transformational' Investment in Transit
The Illinois legislature passed a bill with $1.5 billion to support transit in the Chicago area and statewide. It was in the works for years.
https://www.governing.com/transportation/how-illinois-made-a-transformational-investment-in-transit
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Mayor Parker successfully lobbied Harrisburg to allow the city to create a 20 year tax abatement for the conversion, and demolition, of underutilized buildings to residential uses. She says an affordability component will be part of her bill next year:
www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
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20-year tax abatement to help turn schools into homes may soon be legal in Philly
Buried in the state budget is a provision allowing for the new abatement. It is now up to City Council and Mayor Parker to craft city legislation to support it.
https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/commercial/pennsylvania-state-budget-taxes-housing-conversion-projects-20251121.html
7 days ago
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Jake Blumgart
Joey Politano🏳️🌈
8 days ago
The US is losing blue-collar jobs for the first time since the pandemic—year-on-year job losses have hit 59k as manufacturing industries lose jobs at a rapid pace while growth in construction & transportation has nearly zeroed out
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City Councilmember Mike Driscoll cited my report yesterday when he condemned PHA's layoff of building trades union members, and said he is encouraging the Housing Committee to look into it:
www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
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Philly Housing Authority plans to lay off almost 300 workers in 2026
The layoffs come as the authority is pursuing an ambitious expansion plan.
https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/commercial/philadelphia-housing-authority-layoffs-announced-20251119.html
7 days ago
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Jake Blumgart
James Fallows
8 days ago
Yes. I have done this.
add a skeleton here at some point
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"While shootings citywide are down about 55% compared to three years ago, they have fallen even more in Kensington."
www.inquirer.com/crime/a/kens...
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Kensington now has fewer shootings and people on the streets. But the open-air drug market persists.
Nearly two years into the city's efforts to shut down Kensington's open-air drug market, some of the neighborhood's most chronic challenges are slowly improving. But is the drug crisis too entrenched?
https://www.inquirer.com/crime/a/kensington-philadelphia-crime-rates-drug-market-addiction-resources-20251120.html
8 days ago
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Zoning legislation to enable an affordable housing complex in West Philly was successfully defended in court yesterday, as the latest in a series of lawsuits by an oppositional neighbor went down to defeat.
www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
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West Philly affordable housing project could finally advance, almost 6 years after it was proposed
A Cedar Park neighbor of a planned 104-unit affordable housing development lost a lawsuit that challenged the city's zoning change to facilitate the project.
https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/cedar-park-west-philadelphia-affordable-housing-lawsuit-20251119.html
8 days ago
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CP Kenyatta Johnson is repealing his zoning bill from last year that would have enabled a mega project by Hines and Mark Nicoletti in the stadium district:
www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
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A newly vacant site near Philly’s stadiums could become a huge apartment, office, and entertainment complex
Council President Kenyatta Johnson introduced a zoning bill earlier this month that would allow the proposed development.
https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/commercial/philadelphia-stadium-complex-live-casino-development-apartments-office-building-20241124.html
8 days ago
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one of the crazier construction lawsuits we've seen:
www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
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Contractor caused construction of the W and Element hotels to go ‘off the rails,’ judge finds
A judge found that the the construction contractor, Tutor Perini Building Corp., subcontracted the concrete work to a company that botched the job and denied the issues for months.
https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/commercial/w-hotel-element-construction-delays-lawsuits-20251119.html
9 days ago
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www.inquirer.com/food/restaur...
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One of Philadelphia’s Michelin-recommended restaurants will be closing for good on Friday
Laurel had announced its shutdown months ago. The Michelin accolade will not change it, says chef-owner Nicholas Elmi.
https://www.inquirer.com/food/restaurants/laurel-restaurant-east-passyunk-closing-20251119.html
9 days ago
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PHA is laying off many of its building trades union members who are on staff
www.inquirer.com/real-estate/...
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Philly Housing Authority plans to lay off almost 300 workers in 2026
The layoffs come as the authority is pursuing an ambitious expansion plan.
https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/commercial/philadelphia-housing-authority-layoffs-announced-20251119.html
9 days ago
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Jake Blumgart
ryan cooper
9 days ago
pretty convincing
nymag.com/intelligence...
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A Theory of Dumb
What if the cause of Americans’ collective cognitive decline is, simply, each other?
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/american-adult-lower-iq-scores-cognitive-decline-technology-flynn-effect.html
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Jonathan Tannenwald
10 days ago
This by
@mlsist.bsky.social
is quite a bombshell.
www.theguardian.com/football/202...
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MLS executive who built a powerhouse faced allegations of sexist, racist and homophobic behavior
Philadelphia Union sporting director Ernst Tanner denies the allegations, which prompted a recently-concluded MLS investigation that could not corroborate them
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/nov/18/philadelphia-union-ernst-tanner-mls-investigation
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The New Yorker wrote up The Big Picture pod!
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
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What’s the Best Movie About the Subway?
“The Big Picture” podcast has interviewed Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicolas Cage. It recently hit the 92nd Street Y for a live show to pick the best New York films in six categories.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/24/whats-the-best-movie-about-the-subway
10 days ago
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"Mr. Mamdani’s campaign did not want volunteering for him to feel like work, but like a chance to meet new people...His vision of the city, the campaign said, is of a joyful place — one where New Yorkers can spend less time slogging and more time hanging."
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/n...
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A Little-Noted Element Propelled Mamdani’s Rise: Gen Z Loneliness
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/nyregion/mamdani-young-voters.html
11 days ago
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Aww id go to court for this precious lil guy too
www.inquirer.com/news/gary-ca...
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Meet Gary, the cat who ended a friendship and cost $25,000 in legal fees
After two former roommates in Philadelphia couldn't agree on who should keep the cat, the matter went to civil court.
https://www.inquirer.com/news/gary-cat-legal-dispute-pets-property-20251116.html
12 days ago
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www.inquirer.com/news/philly-...
12 days ago
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fascinating story
www.inquirer.com/crime/philly...
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Three weeks after drug raids on a Kensington block, Philly police are continuing to restrict access to the entire street
Philly police officers are checking identification of anyone who wants to access the block in Kensington.
https://www.inquirer.com/crime/philly-police-restrictions-weymouth-street-kensington-20251114.html
13 days ago
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“slot machine look-alikes — known as skill games — yet again avoided any form of regulation or taxation.”
www.inquirer.com/politics/pen...
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The winners and losers in Pennsylvania’s new $50.1 billion budget
The breakthrough deal capped a saga that featured bitter partisan fights, months of stalled negotiations, and a dramatic resurgence of Pennsylvania’s rural-urban divide.
https://www.inquirer.com/politics/pennsylvania/pennsylvania-state-budget-2025-winners-losers-20251114.html
13 days ago
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www.inquirer.com/opinion/cind...
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The killing of Kada Scott ratchets up a clash over development in Germantown | Shackamaxon
Did a City Council member block the sale of a vacant school building where the body of the 23-year-old recent college graduate was later found?
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/cindy-bass-ken-weinstein-kada-scott-murder-vacant-properties-20251114.html
14 days ago
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Jake Blumgart
Dave Jorgenson
15 days ago
Top executives cannot shut up about AI. … but is it helping?
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" Though there’s a tendency to sort elected officials into de facto parties — labor and business, progressive and moderate, endorsed by The Stranger or The Seattle Times Editorial Board — Harrell never fit quite so cleanly into those categories."
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
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Mayor Bruce Harrell concedes race for second term to Katie Wilson
Bruce Harrell aspired to be the first two-term mayor in Seattle in decades, but fell short in the closest mayoral race this century. He waited a day to concede.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/mayor-bruce-harrell-concedes-race-for-second-term-to-katie-wilson/
15 days ago
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www.inquirer.com/politics/phi...
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Philadelphia shoppers will soon have to pay 10 cents for a paper bag
Though her administration had been critical of the measure, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker declined to veto the bill, allowing it to become law without her signature.
https://www.inquirer.com/politics/philadelphia/mayor-cherelle-parker-city-council-paper-bag-fee-20251113.html
15 days ago
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Another round of business curfews and restrictions were introduced in City Council today, this time for much of Girard and Fairmount avenues in North Philly
www.inquirer.com/politics/phi...
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A Philly lawmaker has proposed a ‘temporary moratorium’ on puppy breeding | City Council roundup
“Right now, healthy and adoptable dogs are being euthanized in our shelter simply because there’s no space,” Councilmember Cindy Bass said.
https://www.inquirer.com/politics/philadelphia/city-council-puppy-breeding-moratorium-20251113.html
15 days ago
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