Commentary

Philadelphia City Council wants the School District of Philadelphia to be a little closer to accountable to the city’s residents. By Denise Clay-Murray When the School District of Philadelphia came before Philadelphia City Council a little over a week ago to talk about its budget, Council asked a lot of questions about the district’s facilities…

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Chris Mansfield & Durrell Hospedale | PHL City Council During last Thursday’s Philadelphia City Council meeting, everyone got a lesson on how impactful third parties can be. By Denise Clay-Murray Every four years — usually when we’re about to vote for President of the United States and Jill Stein, America’s favorite political cicada, emerges —…

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Chris Mansfield & Durrell Hospedale | PHL City Council Because of some of the decisions made during last Thursday’s Philadelphia City Council meeting, the upcoming session should be interesting. By Denise Clay-Murray If there’s one group of people that I really appreciate due to the amount of time I spend in Philadelphia City Hall, it’s…

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Durrell Hospedale | PHL City Council Last Monday, Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke’s package of Safe Healthy Homes bills passed out of the Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and the Homeless. Again. By Denise Clay-Murray Last Tuesday afternoon, the saga of Philadelphia’s Landlords vs. Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke continued when two of the city’s landlords amended their suit…

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Mayor Cherelle Parker announced that the tax on ride share she proposed in her Fiscal Year 2027 budget was going to be .80 more than planned. Council wanted to know why. By Denise Clay-Murray Before I begin this column on the first week of Philadelphia City Council’s hearings on Mayor Cherelle Parker’s 2027 fiscal year…

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On Thursday, Philadelphia City Council was scheduled to vote on Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke’s Safe Healthy Homes package. Instead, it’s headed back to committee. By Denise Clay-Murray It’s not every day that my Hanging In The Hall life and my president and board member of the Society of Professional Journalists life intersect. In fact, I try…

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Durrell Hospedale | PHL City Council Hanging In The Hall During Thursday’s Philadelphia City Council meeting, Council voted to let voters decide if the City Charter’s resign-to-run rule should be abolished. But after reading it, I’m not sure if the third time is going to be a charm. By Denise Clay-Murray Thanks to many of…

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Guest Commentary By Fatim Byrd I spent my childhood preparing for the classroom, long before I realized the profession was preparing for me. In the 1990s, my mother pulled me out of Philadelphia’s public schools — not because she didn’t believe in public education, but because the system around it was underfunded, understaffed, and unsafe….

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Philadelphia’s homeowners are getting sticker shock thanks to their property tax bills. Councilmember Quetcy Lozada and her fellow City Council members would like to know why, and how to fix it. By Denise Clay-Murray The only state in which I’ve ever paid property taxes is New Jersey, and it’s something I don’t ever want to…

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Chris Mansfield | PHL City Council Philadelphia City Council introduced a package of bills designed to serve notice on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. By Denise Clay-Murray I can always tell what the hot topic is in Philadelphia City Council by who is lining the halls in front of Council Chambers on Thursday mornings….

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