DAILY GRINDER: Nevada Pol Makes Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Endorsement
Former Nevada Senatorial candidate and noted crazy person Sharron Angle has decided to make an endorsement in the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race. Her pick: David Christian. She notes his commitment to working with Vietnam veterans and getting them jobs. She calls Gov. Tom Corbett’s recent endorsement of Steve Welch “indecent and immoral.” Of...
Continue ReadingDAILY GRINDER: Rendell Says Papers, Owners to be Separated by ‘Firewall’
Buzz Bissinger hosted Michael Smerconish’s radio show yesterday and featured Ed Rendell to talk about the potential purchase of the Philadelphia Media Network. Rendell said he doesn’t personally have any money to invest in the company and that if he and others owned the PMN, the newsroom would be a “firewall” between reporters and people like himself...
Continue ReadingDAILY GRINDER: Gov. Tom Corbett Signs Shale Bill in Private
Gov. Tom Corbett finally signed that Marcellus Shale extraction fee, in the privacy of his office last night. The final law was 174 pages long and establishes setbacks between wells and waterways/buildings. The most “controversial” part (because it could be construed as a “tax” and Corbett promised not to raise or create any new taxes) is the per-well...
Continue Reading
Update: Deal Struck Between Mortgage Leaders and States; City Council not Happy
Image: Shutterstock Last week, Philadelphia City Council passed a resolution asking Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly to pursue legal action against banks that’ve been involved in mortgage abuse. In so doing, Council was urging the state to not accept a deal the federal government had been negotiating with the five biggest banks accused of predatory...
Continue ReadingCity Council Introduces ‘Land Bank’ Bill—Advocates See Hard Work Ahead
Today, City Council introduced its much-awaited ‘Land Bank’ bill, which would create a “quasi-public entity to hold and manage vacant land” in Philadelphia, utilizing community members, CDCs and government. About 30 people showed up to today’s hearing in support of the bill, most of whom were members of the Coalition to Take Back Public Land. Marcus...
Continue Reading
Philadelphia City Council Says No Deal for Mortgage Lenders
Image: Shutterstock Philadelphia City Council passed a resolution this morning calling on the Federal Taskforce of States Attorneys General to pursue legal action against banks that’ve been involved in mortgage abuse. The Resolution, introduced by Councilwoman Maria Quinones Sanchez, is a direct rebut to the federal government, which has been working out a...
Continue ReadingPhiladelphia City Council Introduces Resolution Denouncing Anti-Foreign (Sharia) Law Bill [UPDATED]
Philadelphia City Council members Curtis Jones, Jr. and Maria Quinones Sanchez have introduced Resolution 120031, which sends an overnight package straight to Harrisburg containing one (1) middle finger. The Resolution, as yet unnamed, “Urg[es] the Pennsylvania General Assembly to reject House Bill 2029 as unnecessary and inconsistent with our core constitutional...
Continue Reading
Drink to Your Schools: Councilwoman Brown Introducing 3 a.m. Bar Curfew Bill
Blondell Reynolds-Brown City Council is back in session, and for bargoers around the city, that means one thing: Time to get on that 3 a.m. bar bill Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown floated early last summer. It began like this: She posted to her Facebook page, “Do you support extending weekend bar hours in Philadelphia to 3AM & sending proceeds to...
Continue ReadingCity Council to Introduce ‘Land Bank’ Bill
After tons of debate and activists’ push regarding a potential Philadelphia land bank to deal with vacant property and blighted land, City Council is expected to introduce a Land Bank Bill in one week, on February 2. The bill, co-sponsored by Bill Green and Maria Quinones-Sanchez, is similar to what activists had been pushing for and may solve the city’s...
Continue Reading‘Ban the Box’ Officially a Thing
Congratulations, career criminals. Your potential future employers will no longer ask you if you’ve ever been convicted of a crime before your first interview in Philadelphia. After that, you’re on your own. Because a law called ‘Ban the box’ — which essentially bans companies in the city from requiring applicants to check the box in...
Continue Reading
