When Jerome Shabazz started Overbrook Environmental Education Center (OEEC) in 2002, he set about transforming a former EPA brownfield site into a community space where the neighborhood could connect with nature. Today, it’s a verdant oasis on Lancaster Avenue’s commercial corridor. “It’s the intersection of environment, public health and community,” Shabazz says. But OEEC doesn’t
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On October 12, Indigenous People’s Day, radio station WURD (96.1 FM/900 AM) held an on-air Environmental Justice Summit in partnership with Bartram’s Garden and From the Source Reporting Collaborative. Part of the station’s EcoWURD initiative, the day-long summit included speakers and panels discussing high-level topics such as leadership in environmental justice as well as grassroots
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In the fight against the spread of COVID-19, Philadelphia has employed hotels as COVID Prevention Spaces to house homeless, elderly and health-compromised populations. One such space, the Holiday Inn Express at 13th and Walnut streets, is scheduled to cease providing that service today. The hotel has served as a shelter for the homeless since April.
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In 2006, the board of The Philadelphian, a condominium located on Pennsylvania Avenue, faced a financial dilemma. A previous Board of Directors had allowed necessary upkeep to fall by the wayside for years, leaving the 1960s building in desperate need of repairs. Rundown appliances, poorly insulated areas, and many more interior issues were creating high
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Nafis Middleton, a local rapper and anti-violence activist known as Fis Banga, was detained on Tuesday, December 15, by Philadelphia police from the 35th District in what he describes as “a traffic ticket gone wrong.” Middleton, 27, has been writing and producing anti-violence skits and raps for more than five years, but this week he
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Suppose you hopped on a vehicle that not only took you to another neighborhood but to a different place in your spirit. For Philadelphians, a journey with such a touch of magic is as close as SEPTA driver Gary Mason’s trolley. Mason tricks out his trolley for different holidays and revels in riders’ responses. Mason,
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After operating for more than 8 years, Spring Garden music hotspot Voltage Lounge is being forced to close its doors after falling behind on rent. “At some point in the near future we will get that space back from Voltage,” says Craig Grossman, general partner at Arts + Crafts Holdings. Arts + Crafts Holdings, which
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David Rose—or Javat Agni, his Indigenous name—wasn’t aware of Germantown’s history until graduate school. As a descendent of the Cheraw people (aka Saura) of the Sauratown Mountains, he knew of the horrors settlers brought upon Indigenous peoples. “My whole life, growing up, we didn’t hear all the best stories about the settler states. We [heard]
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In the weeks and months leading up to any election, campaign signs begin to crowd lawns, medians, and planters, and all roads can seem like battleground interstates. The 2020 elections were no different in Philadelphia, with rival campaigns for Senate and House seats, PA Attorney General, PA Auditor General, and State Treasurer adding to the
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They needed somewhere to go. In March 2020, the City of Philadelphia began to disperse the homeless population that had settled around the Pennsylvania Convention Center, citing fears of a COVID-19 outbreak. Then in May, the city cleared the Philadelphia International Airport of its homeless population as well. In total, 51 people were cleared from
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