Winter Fire Safety 101
In commemoration of the lives lost, and to prevent future tragedies, FunTimes Magazine offers these fire safety tips. | From: Fun Times (Read more.)
New mutual aid fund at the school near the Fairmount fire aims to help families — and combat student inequity
Bache-Martin Elementary is located in a well-off neighborhood, but the district considers 90% of its enrollment economically disadvantaged. | From: Billy Penn (Read more.)
Philly community groups could get priority in sale of thousands of vacant city lots under new bill
For decades, community gardeners have tended to abandoned land in neighborhoods redlined by the insurance industry, neglected by government and ignored by developers. Yet as values rise across the city and builders see opportunity in long-overlooked lots, gardeners find themselves fighting to hold onto the spaces they’ve cultivated. | From: PlanPhilly (Read more.)
Philly court is packed for eviction hearings, as omicron rages and rental assistance ends
coronavirus
Last year, the court relied heavily on Zoom meetings and staggering in-person hearings to avoid overcrowding. But it reverted to a pre-pandemic schedule in early January. | From: The Inquirer (Read more.)
Philly parents push back against in-person learning
coronavirus
With the winter break fast ending and Hite adamant that in-person learning would continue amid the current surge of Omicron cases, several parents’ groups, ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand, organized petitions and sickouts — plans to hold their children out of school — demanding their voices be heard. | From: Metro Philly (Read more.)
Pa. parents, don’t miss this $100 gift for the education — and health — of each child under 3
It may not sound like a lot of money now, but thanks to the magic of compound interest, the Keystone Scholars contribution can seed a child’s future education, which can mean better health too. | From: The Inquirer (Read more.)
Bebashi offering new support group to trans people of color
The team at Bebashi Transition to Hope continues to provide a safe spaces for transgender and gender nonbinary people of color through the support group The Healing Place, part of the organization’s Melanin Magic program. Melanin Magic offers a variety of services to trans and gender nonconforming folks, including access to Bebashi’s Trans Necessities Closet, HIV/STI testing and PrEP. | From: Philadelphia Gay News (Read more.)
How the pandemic response has failed young people: Student debt
I graduated into a pandemic saddled with debt. | From: Generocity (Read more.)
The LGBTQ+ Generational Wealth Gap Is a Serious Issue. This Is Why.
The LGBTQ+ Generational Wealth Gap Is a Serious Issue. This Is Why. It’s no secret that LGBTQ+ people face a range of financial challenges that heterosexual people simply don’t need to contend with. Less discussed (Read more.)
Philly court is packed for eviction hearings, as omicron rages and rental assistance ends
Last year, the court relied heavily on Zoom meetings and staggering in-person hearings to avoid overcrowding. But it reverted to a pre-pandemic schedule in early January. | From: The Inquirer (Read more.)
Multiple families lived in the apartment where 12 died. Philly’s lack of affordable housing points to why.
At least 14 people lived in the Fairmount apartment consumed by fire. “Who makes a choice to be in that type of situation?” a tenant advocate said. “They did what they had to do, you know?” | From: The Inquirer (Read more.)
Help Keep Philadelphians Warm
As temperatures stay low, many Philadelphians will urgently need to find warmth over the next several weeks. Here, some simple, impactful ways you can support them. | From: The Citizen (Read more.)
Philly has few affordable homes for multigenerational families. There are no plans to change that
Two days after 12 people died when their apartment caught fire, Philadelphia Housing Authority CEO Kelvin Jeremiah said the agency had “absolutely no indication” the intergenerational clan wanted to move out of their four-bedroom unit. But even if the family members did want to leave as relatives have told reporters, the agency would have struggled to accommodate them, especially if the family wanted all 14 to stay together in a bigger home. Of the roughly 14,000 units in its portfolio, the Philadelphia Housing Authority doesn’t have any big enough to house a group that size. | From: PlanPhilly (Read more.)
My building has 18 tenants and no fire extinguishers. Preventing tragedy requires more affordable housing
The news of the rowhouse fire that killed 12 people last week came as a devastating shock to our city. Yet as I watched the news unfold, it only took a few minutes for me to realize the same tragedy could’ve easily happened at my home in Nicetown. | From: PlanPhilly (Read more.)
Winter Fire Safety 101
In commemoration of the lives lost, and to prevent future tragedies, FunTimes Magazine offers these fire safety tips. | From: Fun Times (Read more.)
Philly community groups could get priority in sale of thousands of vacant city lots under new bill
For decades, community gardeners have tended to abandoned land in neighborhoods redlined by the insurance industry, neglected by government and ignored by developers. Yet as values rise across the city and builders see opportunity in long-overlooked lots, gardeners find themselves fighting to hold onto the spaces they’ve cultivated. | From: PlanPhilly (Read more.)
SEPTA will spend $3.6 million to bulk up social services for homeless people and drug users
The deployment of social-outreach workers on SEPTA transit is set to increase eight fold. | From: The Inquirer (Read more.)
Philly’s first-of-a-kind Driving Equality Bill is now law
The legislation will go into effect in 120 days, and prohibits traffic stops for certain low-level offenses. | From: AL DÍA (Read more.)
