The Philadelphia Citizen
Philadelphia news that focuses on solutions to make the city better
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Latest posts
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Fun Things to Do in Philly this Week and Weekend
Spooky season is behind us, Philly, and looming ahead are cold days, warm comfort food, family gatherings, gift shopping…OK let’s keep things positive with cool things to do! This week Lectures on Tap comes back to South Philly, these tickets move fast so check out all their…
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Your Guide to the 2026 General Election
Philadelphia and Pennsylvania’s 2026 general election takes place Tuesday, November 3 from 7am to 8pm. This year, PA will either re-elect or elect a new governor, and Philadelphia will elect a new person to represent the 3rd District in the U.S. House of Representatives, and…
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Who Are The Next Citizens of the Year?
During last year’s Citizen of the Year Awards — what CEO/President Larry Platt likes to call the ESPYs of civic engagement — Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Jane Golden encouraged “everyone, please keep changing Philadelphia for the better, together.” It was a rallying cry in a room…
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Guest Commentary: The Midterm Threats’ Silver Lining
There are clouds gathering around the upcoming midterm elections. Donald Trump won’t rule out having armed federal agents at the polls, despite its clear illegality. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has already made arrests near active voting sites. The Department of…
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Port Richmond’s Progressive Glow Up
Change came quietly to Port Richmond, and it came before dawn. A year ago, four residents began taking early morning walks through streets lined with 100-year-old brick rowhouses in the working-class, mostly White community on the Delaware River north of Fishtown. Before the sun…
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What Happened to Chris Rabb?
I first met Rep Rabb — the populist moniker of our congressman-in-waiting, Chris Rabb — in the summer of 2018. The Philadelphia Citizen was hosting a “Business for Good” event at the then-Navy Yard offices of the financial services company now known as Future Standard. (Full…
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Guest Commentary: What Julius Erving Taught Me
Years ago, before my sons decamped for Philadelphia, I saw an interview with Sixers icon Julius Erving, who, as a teenager, had lost his younger brother Marvin to lupus. Dr. J. said that he always carried Marvin with him, which, he felt, gave him a slight advantage; His…
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RECAP: “Don’t Believe a Word That You Read” in Pat Croce’s New Book
In a mercurial life, there is only reinvention — and Pat Croce has done it masterfully. There have been many incarnations of Croce as a public figure over the years: In the 80s, he flashed onto our screens as the eccentric trainer of the Sixers and Flyers, and then as a personal…
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Things to Do This Week For America’s 250th
This year, the United States of America celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding. The American Revolutionary War was fought between April 1775 and September 1783, though the war for independence wasn’t “formalized” until the next year, when the Second Continental…
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Will Independents Decide if Democrats Take Back the House?
Can you believe it’s election season again? Election Day is next Tuesday, November 3, and early voting is already underway in many states. With just a few days to go, the political landscape looks very different from the one that brought Republicans back to power. President…
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Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival Takes on Migration
If you have seen the artwork from Philadelphia Asian American Film Foundation (PAAFF) promoting their annual film festival, you might have connected the stylized birds and delicate stars and arrows to migration, the theme chosen for their 19th annual film festival. “I think you…
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Ideas We Should Steal: Zero Gun Deaths
James Rodriguez walked out of federal prison in 2025 with no life plan. He’d spent three years of a 42 month RICO sentence for dealing drugs, and had no new place to live, no job, and no educational prospects. A gang member in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston since he was a…
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What to Do if You Run Into Federal Agents or Anyone Trying to Prevent Voting
In September 2020, a flyer began circulating online for a political rally in West Philadelphia’s Clark Park, one allegedly being organized by the far right group The Proud Boys. But when the day arrived, counterprotestors flooded the park — only for their own vigilance to get…
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Big Rube’s Philly: Jakai Bishop, a Philadelphia Inspiration
My friend of 30 years Jakai Bishop is what some people would call a “multi-hyphenate.” She’s been a model, an actress, a realtor and a construction worker. She grew up in North Philly — Francisville — and was first noticed for her presence. Not just her beauty, either: Jakai has…
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Why Philly’s Black Panthers Moved to Chester
On a sunny October afternoon, two members of the Black Panther Party, dressed head to toe in black with assault-style guns slung over their shoulders, patrolled the streets of Chester, Pennsylvania. Their names were Paul Birdsong and Tajh Carter. As they passed bustling…
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Citizen of the Week: Peggy Dolan
It’s a rare gift to be able to take tragedy and turn it into 50 years’ worth of service and support. Yet, that is exactly the path North Philly native Peggy Dolan, age 80, has taken. One morning in March 1972, Dolan went to wake her two-year-old daughter, Kelly Anne, and…
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The City Agencies Serving All Philadelphians Well
Have you ever noticed how Philly doesn’t have a lot of graffiti versus other U.S. cities or even towns — and this is true in nearly all parts of the city, rich or poor? Honestly, I had never noticed it until a few weeks ago. Listen to the audio edition here: I … Continue reading…
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Ideas We Should Steal: Philly as Real Estate Developer
Two months ago, I wrote about the rise of public asset corporations, and the National Housing Crisis Task Force published a playbook for building one. Atlanta, Chattanooga and Cincinnati are the early movers in the United States. Ireland’s Land Development Agency, capitalized…