On a tree-lined street in West Mount Airy, solar panel installer Thomas Glenn confesses to a less than green past.“I was a litter bug,” Glenn, who was born and raised in Kensington, says. “I’d get a bag of chips, throw the wrapper on the ground, get some Kandy Kakes, throw those on the ground. I
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Some might say that lingering spirit energy has helped the Historic Fair Hill burial ground become a fount of goodwill, good food and learning in a struggling neighborhood. The 4.5-acre cemetery and gardens at 2901 Germantown Ave. sit on land that William Penn gave to his friend and fellow seeker of religious freedom George Fox,
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Future’s So Bright by Emily Kovach Ice cream trucks may be an iconic symbol of summer in the city, but are they really worth celebrating? Nostalgia may inspire a moment of happiness, and there is something wonderful about being out in the world and having dessert come to you, but the ice creams vended from
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The first thing you notice about “Please Plant This Book,” a collection of poems by Francis Daulerio with illustrations by Scott Hutchison, is that it is not a book.It’s eight packets of heirloom seeds, rubber-banded together. The fronts of each packet bare a drawing by the hand of Hutchison, the former lead singer and guitarist
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Can the legal system improve the quality of public education? A Pennsylvania Supreme Court case gives cause for optimism. But first, let’s review how the system works now.In the United States, your Zip code determines whether or not you have access to high-quality education. According to an NPR investigative study, a wide disparity in educational
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It was a hot August morning when Suzanne Hagner joined the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia for a ride from the art museum to the airport. They took off behind the museum and onto the Schuylkill River Trail, riding single-file, calling out, “Passing on the left!” as they rode by other cyclists and joggers. But one jogger,
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Over the past 75 years, Americans have relentlessly pursued liberation from household tasks. How we eat has been at the heart of this movement. Fast food, TV dinners and microwaves have all promised more free time—no more food shopping, cooking or, for the most part, cleaning. Unfortunately, that promised free time has been filled up
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Several years ago, Chinatown resident Anna Perng was grappling with her child’s autism diagnosis. For friends of hers in similar situations who had language barriers, access to information was even more challenging to find. When people started asking her for help, she became involved with a support group and decided to serve on the Philadelphia
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"So, what do your parents do [for a living]?”When a prominent law firm partner casually posed this question to a group of Penn Law students I was part of, I shifted uneasily. My peers responded with the professions held in the highest esteem in our country, and the most lucrative: They were the sons and
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More than 150 people met at the Gershman Y in April to discuss subtle safety changes to the bike lanes on Spruce and Pine streets. Not everyone was on board.For example, the Society Hill resident who told me that, first, we need to regulate what cyclists wear: Too many cyclists do not wear high-visibility neon
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