coronavirus
Police, fire, and streets departments lag behind as Philly extends vaccine mandate for city employees
About 81% of the municipal workforce is fully vaccinated against COVID. | From: Billy Penn (Read more.)
Month: January 2022
Education
In a podcast, Penn Wood students cover Pa.’s fair education funding trial from the inside out
Three Penn Wood High School students have been co-hosting a podcast, “PENNding Funds,” to cover the historic trial the best way they know how — by highlighting their own experiences and the conditions within their school. | From: WHYY (Read more.)
Latest
Community leaders raise funds for trans focused LGBTQ+ Safe Haven
The leaders of Ark of Safety LGBTQ+ Safe Haven, a faith-based nonprofit that runs out of Next Level Revival Church, are working towards getting the safe haven component of the organization off the ground. It would welcome all LGBTQ+ community members, but would prioritize trans women of color. Ark of Safety co-founder and co-president Tatyana Woodard set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to operate the safe haven, which has so far reached $2,695 of its $20,000 goal. | From: Philadelphia Gay News (Read more.)
Civic and Community Engagement
In MLK’s honor, 15 little libraries will pop up in the spring, thanks to carpentry apprentices
A shop full of carpentry apprentices and experts came together Saturday morning in Northeast Philadelphia for the General Building Contractors Association’s annual MLK Day of Service project. The apprentices are part of the group’s free Carpenters’ Apprentice Ready Program, or CARP, a collaboration with the Carpenters Joint Apprentice Training Center of Philadelphia. | From: WHYY (Read more.)
Community and Family
Philly hits a ‘crossroads’ of environmental justice at ex-PES oil refinery
Billboards, web ads, and SEPTA banners tout a fresh start for the South Philly refinery site, one that’s green, sustainable, and good for neighbors. Meanwhile, the site’s new owner is seeking permits to continue to store and sell potentially hundreds of millions of gallons of petroleum — and surrounding communities feel betrayed. | From: PlanPhilly (Read more.)
Community and Family
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.)
Education
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.)
Community and Family
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.)
coronavirus
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.)
Education
Open the Doors to Higher Ed
A longtime university president calls on local colleges to steal an idea from Michigan: recruit and educate the nearly 17,000 foster kids in Pennsylvania. | From: The Citizen (Read more.)