One of the things that drew me to Germantown was the amount of space to plant things in the ground. I’ve had my share of container gardens in concrete backyards that left me wanting to grow more plants. What I really wanted was enough space to grow my own food. In a time when supply
MoreCouncilman Squilla Delays Controversial Zoning BillCouncilman Mark Squilla, 1st District, announced June 12 that he would delay consideration of a bill he introduced regarding the Central Delaware Zoning Overlay. Urbanist PAC 5th Square’s petition to withdraw the bill garnered over 500 signatures after it was announced that the bill would increase the maximum allowed building
MoreI’m With Her by Heather Shayne Blakeslee A breezy summer it is not. The mood of our politically bifurcated country continues to be tense and dark. We’re watching the wartime bonds we forged with our European allies fray, and our democracy feels fragile. And now the U.S. has made a cynical show of abandoning the
MoreNature’s Miracle Worker by Heather Shayne Blakeslee In the same way that friends in rural areas might know the difference between a tree branch hitting the side of the house and someone knocking on the door, city dwellers learn to distinguish—before we’ve even turned around—the sound of a car behind us from the hiss of
MoreInterfaith Walk for Green Energy Culminates After 100 milesAn interfaith, intergenerational group of activists concluded their 100-mile trek through PECO’s service area, a demonstration dubbed the Walk for Green Jobs and Justice. About 40 walkers began the journey May 8 at Morris Chapel Baptist Church in North Philly, and upon their return to the city
MoreIllustration by Corey Schumann Trees of Life interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee When historian Jill Jonnes sat down to write her book “Urban Forests: A Natural History of Trees and People in the American Cityscape,” it was with the intention of looking at our past relationship with trees in order to see into the future
MoreIllustration by Abayomi Louard-Moore The Energy Bottom Line by Jerry Silberman Editor’s note: This is Part Three of a series that concludes in July. Question: Which kind of energy is the most efficient?The Right Question: How much energy does it take to get energy? The most important aspect of energy that most people have never
MoreIllustration by Jameela Wahlgren Uphill, Both Ways essay by Ginger Osborne It amuses me when I hear young cyclists complain that some car driver yelled at them while they were biking. Yelled at them. This upsets them. Being yelled at. I started riding a bicycle around Philadelphia in the mid 1970s. There were no bike
MoreIllustration by Carter Mulcahy A Fisherman’s Tale essay by Stephen Kurian Working as a forester for the Idaho Department of Lands, I befriended a fellow hunter named—no lie—Hunt. During long hours in the wilderness, he’d entertain me with stories of fishing adventures in Bristol Bay, Alaska: the bracing water, the impetuous weather, working day and
MoreAre the Golden Arches a Golden Ticket? interview by Heather Shayne Blakeslee Journalist David H. Freedman, a skeptic of the first order, has a lot to say about those he calls “the Pollanites,” by which he means devotees of food writer Michael Pollan. Freedman thinks that an unfounded belief that farm stands and unprocessed food
MoreNatural Law & Order by Heather Shayne Blakeslee America watched in fascination last year as an armed, native-born, private militia occupied Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Some were convicted and others were acquitted on charges that included conspiracy to obstruct federal officers, firearms violations, theft and depredation of federal property. One protester died trying to
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