Among the many reporting experiences accumulated in my 13-year career as a journalist, a walk in Philadelphia’s John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in 2022 stands out as one of the most memorable. I was invited there by various leaders from the Black birding community, who were in town to celebrate the 3rd Annual Black Birders
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On July 19, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to list the Delaware River breeding population of Atlantic sturgeon as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The Act breaks species at risk of extinction into geographic populations with their own specific habitat protections and recovery plans. Atlantic sturgeon tend to breed
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When Philadelphia city officials cut the ribbon on a new composting operation on Rising Sun Avenue in the Northeast last month, it was one of those seemingly rare moments where everybody wins. Philadelphia officials were able to begin diverting food waste from 50 recreational centers scattered throughout the city, with the promise of more to
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On June 12 New England energy company Eversource broke ground on a networked geothermal pilot project in Framingham, Massachusetts. The geothermal pilot, a collaboration between Eversource and Framingham’s local government, aims to showcase the viability and benefits of geothermal technology in residential areas. The pilot program is set to span several years, with selected homes
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When news first broke of the catastrophic failure of a strip of I-95 this weekend, many initial reactions bouncing around the internet were classic Philly culture. Funny T-shirts were made; people sporting local long-‘O’ accents were interviewed; jokes about nearby Four Seasons Total Landscaping abounded. This is so Philly seemed to be a consensus take.
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At a recent investment industry conference, Tim Buckley, CEO of Vanguard, was asked about socially responsible, environmentally sustainable investing. “We’ve run out of time,” he jokingly claimed, uneasy about responding. According to climate activists like myself, Vanguard has “run out of time” to show the kind of leadership needed to avert the worst effects of
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Birds can fly safer around Springside Chestnut Hill Academy thanks to third graders who installed a window film with a pattern of white polka dots. On May 11 students at the school, which partnered with Bird Safe Philly, applied the window film in an effort to keep birds from getting injured or killed in collisions
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The Trust for Public Land has released its 2023 edition of ParkScore, which rates and compares park systems for cities across the country. Philadelphia is pretty much where it was in 2022, ranking 31 out of the 100 most populous cities in the country this year versus 32 last year. Behind that ranking are several
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The fourth annual #BlackBirdersWeek 2023 will take place nationwide May 28 through June 3, with events intended to raise the visibility of Black birders and build community. #BlackBirdersWeek took flight in 2020 as a result of social media discussions within the #BlackAFinSTEM community following an incident in New York City’s Central Park in which a
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The renovation of the Cobbs Creek Golf Course hit a small hurdle on May 10 as the Cobbs Creek Foundation sought approval from the Philadelphia Art Commission of the next phase of its construction, a pumphouse and reservoir for irrigating the golf course, with the commission asking the foundation to return at a future meeting
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Today’s the day! Philadelphians are taking to the polls to choose party candidates for mayor, City Council, judges and other elected posts. (It’s also the last day — until the next election cycle, anyway — for the robo-texts, campaign flyers and attack ads. Hooray!) Grid has endorsed Helen Gym in the Democratic mayoral primary race,
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