Philly remembers MOVE bombing
No. 50 | Monday, May 19, 2025
City News
Forty years after Philadelphia police bombed the MOVE house, activists and scholars gathered to demand that the story be told on the community’s terms, not the state’s.
A Philadelphia teacher who was harassed and eventually suspended for her teaching activities related to Palestine has filed a lawsuit against the school district on the grounds of anti-Islamic bias.
The mayor and members of City Council have spent at least $2 million in taxpayer dollars on mailers, billboards, and other ads to promote their work. Government watchdogs say the spending could be seen as self-promotion rather than public education.
More details are emerging in the feud between the CCP board and recently ousted President Generals. Among the most explosive claims is that board chair Epps, a senior advisor at Bellevue Strategies, has used his position for "cronyism and self-dealing."
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta—former Hillary delegate, Bernie hater, and habitual election-loser—spiraled on Twitter over co-vice chair David Hogg’s call for the DNC to primary conservative, Trump-friendly Dems. Now, the DNC is voiding their elections entirely.
After DOGE wrongly declared a West Philly woman dead, she spent the last six months fighting to reclaim her benefits.
At long last, the Schuylkill River Trail extension has reached South Philly. The cable bridge connection officially opened on Sunday.
State News
Bucks County’s sheriff quietly signed onto a deportation program that would allow local law enforcement to carry out warrants on behalf of ICE. A move like this would typically require approval from county commissioners, prompting a legal challenge from the ACLU.
MontCo Commissioners Neil Makhija and Jamila Winder have vowed to not deputize their cops as ICE agents. Advocates have been pushing for the implementation of a welcoming county policy to meet this moment that calls for bold local protections for immigrant communities.
Pittsburgh residents vote next week on an amendment to the city charter that would bar the city’s public water utility from being sold to a private company. The change would prevent the city’s public water from falling victim to a wave of privatizations that have left a third of PA counties with expensive, private water systems.
After Crozer-Chester Medical Center was stripped for parts and eventually closed by a private equity firm, Governor Shapiro championed legislation that he hopes will stop similar events from happening in the future. The proposed law would give the Attorney General the power to stop healthcare sales and mergers deemed damaging to the public interest.
The Penn State board of trustees will vote on whether to close 7 of their 20 campuses across the state. Faculty from across the state have spoken out against the proposal, saying that they have been completely shut out of the decision that will trigger the largest remake in the university's history.
Governor Shapiro hitched a ride on billionaire Michael Rubin’s luxury helicopter at least nine times last year—a value of $68,000. It's legal to accept this kind of gift, but it's ethically dubious.
Amer Bargouth was sworn in as Towamencin Township’s fifth supervisor—the seat that once belonged to Laura Smith whose viral Sieg Hiel sparked her resignation in February.
Pittsburgh’s mayoral primary has quickly become a referendum on the soul of the Democratic Party itself, with millions in dark money pouring in and internal divides shaping a race that could define the city for years.
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