Philly declares Independence from Billionaires
No. 109 | July, 6, 2026
City News
Trump’s Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, and Mayor Parker collaborated on a video promoting America 250 celebrations, which included a plug of the President’s House.
A court in Philadelphia ruled this week that the federal government has the authority to install Trump’s preferred, white-washed panels at the President’s House slavery exhibit. The new panels minimize both George Washington’s history of enslavement and America’s dark past.
A new ruling from a federal judge found that Philadelphia’s ban on face coverings by ICE agents violates the supremacy clause of The Constitution.
Community leaders are raising funds to rebuild the William Way LGBT Center, located in Philadelphia’s Gayborhood. The building served as a resource and meeting space for Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ community for 50 years, but is currently closed due to being uninhabitable.
Temple University President John Fry made a statement saying layoffs are “inevitable”, citing reduced student enrollment as the cause of their deficit. Temple is calling on its various bodies to cut a total of $60 million. Fry, who previously left Drexel with a deficit and layoffs, has an estimated compensation of $2.5 million, placing him among the highest paid university leaders in the country. The starting wage for a student worker is $7.25 an hour.
Philadelphia based restaurant mogul, Stephan Starr has settled a case concerning one of his D.C. restaurants with the National Labor Relations Board. In a show of how weak the NLRB has become under the Trump administration, Starr must only post signage promising not to union bust anymore.
Mayor Parker’s “One Philly: Unity Concert for America” was riddled with controversy. First, Parker decided to hire ESM productions, a for-profit company, to manage this year’s July 4th concert instead of the non-profit, Welcome America. The change cost Philadelphia taxpayers $15.5 million.Dangerous thunderstorms paused the concert and forced its fireworks display to occur after 2:00 am, to the distaste of many residents.
State News
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of upholding Birthright Citizenship -- a right guaranteed under the 14th amendment of the Constitution. Pa Governor Josh Shapiro called for “radical reform” of the court after three justices dissented on the opinion.
The Court also ruled, in a 6-3 decision, to uphold a state’s “right” to discriminate against transgender athletes and ban them from participating in sports matching their gender identity. Currently, 29 states have implemented such bans, with more states likely to follow suit. Governor Shapiro has previously taken a lukewarm stance on trans athletes rights, saying that he supported them, but declined to commit to vetoing similar legislation in Pa.
For the fifth year in a row, Pennsylvania lawmakers have failed to deliver a budget on time with senate Republicans opting to leave for a holiday break before the deadline arrived. If the deadlock continues, schools across the Commonwealth may once again need to borrow money and cut programs in order to open their doors for the school year.
Data centers are taking Shapiro’s advice to produce their own energy by constructing seven new gas-powered plants across Pennsylvania. These plants would produce 68 million tons of carbon dioxide, the equivalent of doubling the number of cars across the state – which would drastically increase fracking, disproportionately impacting low-income communities.
A mass casualty incident was declared in Berks County after over 100-people had to be treated for heat related illnesses at an event to see the largest steam-operated locomotive, Union Pacific’s Big Boy.
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The Weekly Rose
Pennsylvania progressive groups led by Veterans Against Fascism, including PhillyDSA members, marched this weekend to “Declare Independence from Billionaires”