Media Mentions
Chester County launches Whole-Home Repairs program for homeowners with low to moderate incomes
Pennsylvania homes are among the oldest in the entire country. And as they age, the repairs can be tough to keep up with. In Chester County, there are more than 3,000 such historic homes that are in need of upgrades, but some homeowners don’t have the means to fund...
Two local state senators introduce legislation for AAPI curriculum to fight anti-Asian hate
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Two local state senators have introduced a bill to create a more inclusive curriculum, saying it would reflect the diversity of Pennsylvania and help fight anti-Asian hate. "It is so important to be able to see yourself and for other people to...
Indian-American senator calls for AAPI-Inclusive curriculum in schools
New York: Indian-American Pennsylvania state senator Nikil Saval has introduced a bill to incorporate Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) courses in K-12 schools. Saval introduced Senate Bill 839 along with Senator Maria Collett last week to expand education and...
Philadelphia school climate and cafeteria staff threaten to strike if pay demands not met
Philadelphia school food service workers and climate staff say they are “sick and tired” of being underpaid and overworked and are threatening to strike if they aren’t granted a raise. “We are sick and tired of the unfair treatment. We are sick and tired out of...
Lauding the state bill that would incorporate Asian American and Pacific Islander history in Pa. school curriculum
Pennsylvania was ranked seventh in the nation for Asian hate-related crimes during the height of the pandemic, according to the Stop AAPI Hate National Report. AAPI stands for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. According to a study by the Center for the Study of...
Indian-American senator calls for AAPI-Inclusive curriculum in schools
New York, Sep 17 (IANS) Indian-American Pennsylvania state senator Nikil Saval has introduced a bill to incorporate Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) courses in K-12 schools. Saval introduced Senate Bill 839 along with Senator Maria Collett last week to expand...
Indian American senator seeks AAPI course in Pennsylvania schools
Two Pennsylvania state senators, Indian American Nikil Saval and Maria Collett, have introduced a bill that incorporates Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) instruction in K-12 schools. Introduced on Thursday, Senate Bill 839 will require the Department of...
Philly City Council bans supervised injection sites for drug use
After a raucous public comment period, Philadelphia City Council moved to ban supervised injection sites for narcotics across most of the city. Council voted 13-1 vote on Bill #230410 to ban any site that “that provides space for any person to inject, ingest, inhale,...
Philadelphia council bans safe-injection sites in most of the city
Philadelphia’s city council voted Thursday to largely ban facilities where people can consume illegal drugs under the watch of workers trained to reverse overdoses — a blow for advocates who say implementing such initiatives can help curb the deadly toll of the...
City bans supervised injections in most of Philly
Council passed a law on Thursday that effectively bans supervised injection sites for illegal drug users in most sections of the city, except for the 3rd Council District, which includes West and parts of Southwest Philadelphia. Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who...
Philadelphia lawmakers vote to prohibit supervised injection sites in most of the city
Philadelphia City Council voted Thursday to prohibit supervised drug consumption sites across most of the city, greatly imperiling the future of such a facility if the legislation becomes law. The bill, which passed 13-1 during Council’s first meeting of the fall...
Philadelphia City Council votes to block safe injection sites in most of the city
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — In a tumultuous return from the summer break, City Council passed legislation that would bar safe injection sites in most of the city, following heated public testimony. The bill changes zoning codes in nine out of 10 City Council...
Pa. lawmakers want state to require Asian American and Pacific Islander education
Two Pennsylvania lawmakers are championing a bill that would require the state’s children to learn Asian American and Pacific Islander history and culture in their classrooms. The goal is to combat a rise in racist crimes against people of AAPI descent with a more...
A new art space at Awbury Arboretum calls attention to Philly’s tree canopy
To emphasize the importance of expanding Philadelphia's tree canopy, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society is opening a public art space at Awbury Arboretum in Germantown. The Lightning House was built on the remains of a carriage house that dates back to 1783. The...
Little Amal, the giant 10-year-old Syrian refugee puppet, is coming to Philadelphia on Wednesday
She’s a 10-year-old refugee girl from Syria. Since 2021, she has walked more than 6,000 miles in 15 different countries. And she’s a giant, 12-foot-tall puppet. Little Amal has become a global symbol of the plight of refugees and their human rights since she was first...
Pa. could pass a ‘lemon law’ for homes to protect residents from shoddy construction
State lawmakers from Philadelphia are trying to pass new legislation that would help prevent rowhomes from being damaged by adjacent demolitions and reduce defects in newly built houses. Democratic sponsors don’t anticipate pushback from their Republican colleagues,...
Pennsylvania Senators Propose AAPI-Inclusive Curriculum in Schools
PENNSYLVANIA — State Senators Maria Collett and Nikil Saval this week introduced Senate Bill 839, aiming to incorporate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) curriculums in Pennsylvania schools. The move comes in response to a surge in bias crimes against people...
Pennsylvania senators introduce AAPI-inclusive curriculum bill to fight anti-Asian hate
TWO PENNSYLVANIA STATE senators introduced on Thursday a bill that incorporates Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) instruction in K-12 schools. About the bill: Senate Bill 839, introduced by State Sens. Maria Collett and Nikil Saval, will require the Department of...
Bill Educates & Fights Anti-Asian Hate In PA
HARRISBURG – Two PA state senators want to expand education and confront the rise in bias crimes against people of Asian American and Pacific Islander or AAPI descent. Montgomery County Sen. Maria Collett and Philadelphia County Sen. Nikil Saval have introduced Senate...
State Senators Collett And Saval Introduce Legislation For AAPI-Inclusive Curriculum To Combat Anti-Asian Prejudice
Hate is on the rise in Pennsylvania. Frequently inspired by ignorance and encouraged with dog whistles, a resurgence of bigoted rhetoric is being focused on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. State Senators Maria Collett (D-12) and Nikil Saval (D-1) introduced...
Calls for Ethnic Studies and AsAm Studies in NY, PA & CA
The fight for the teaching of Asian American studies is being waged this school year from K-12 through college. In Southern California, Anaheim Union High School District is offering a course about the Korean American experience. It’s believed to be the first of its...
Grassroots Housing Reparations
In the midst of the racial protests following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Randal Wyatt started helping Black homeowners in Portland, Oregon fix up their houses to ensure they could stay in their homes and pass on the property to their children. It was, he...
Around Town – Rental Improvement Fund launched in Philly
PHDC announced the Rental Improvement Fund, which offers eligible landlords citywide forgivable and zero percent interest loans to cover the cost of much-needed repairs and maintenance in exchange for rent stability. PHDC recruited landlords who had previously worked...
Pennsylvania’s dangerous landlord-tenant law persists
Back in April, I wrote about the serious problem of landlord-tenant officers in Pennsylvania, who have extraordinary power with very little training. I detailed the March case of 35-year-old Angel Davis, shot in the head and nearly killed by a so-called...
Philly is offering loans for landlords to repair properties and maintain the city’s affordable housing
Philadelphia’s small landlords — those the city relies on to provide affordable housing for its residents — can apply for millions of dollars in state and city funds in a new loan program that aims to fix and preserve their aging rental homes. The city’s established...
PHDC Launches Rental Improvement Fund
PHILADELPHIA — August 23, 2023 — PHDC announces the Rental Improvement Fund (RIF). This program offers eligible landlords citywide forgivable and 0% interest loans to cover the cost of much-needed repairs and maintenance in exchange for rent stability. PHDC recruited...
Philly officials introduce Rental Improvement Fund for small landlords to repair properties
“When I first heard of the program, (my reaction) was disbelief. I’m going to get all these things fixed, at no cost?” Steve Hawkins said across the street from his property in West Philadelphia Wednesday morning. Hawkins, who purchased the home in 1999, was one of...
‘A win-win’: New repairs program seeks to stabilize Philly’s stock of affordable housing
A new citywide program is expected to help hundreds of small landlords in Philadelphia make needed repairs to their properties while keeping the units affordable to tenants amid rising rents. The Rental Improvement Fund offers two types of loans — 10-year forgivable...
Landlord-tenant office releases new eviction guidelines
Training and transparency are key elements of new eviction procedures released Friday by the Landlord and Tenant Office of the Philadelphia Municipal Court. The new guidelines will take effect starting this week, when the moratorium on evictions end. The eviction...
Building a Green, Equitable Economy: A Conversation with Steve Dubb, Rithika Ramamurthy, Johanna Bozuwa, and Daniel Aldana Cohen
Steve Dubb: Could you talk a little bit about the background of the current state of Green New Deal advocacy in the US, and how the Climate and Community Project emerged from this political moment? Johanna Bozuwa: The Green New Deal officially came onto the...
Pa.’s Whole-Home Repairs money is in limbo despite Shapiro’s budget signature
Money for a popular program to fund basic repairs and energy efficiency upgrades in homes across much of Pennsylvania is still not free to flow to counties, despite Gov. Josh Shapiro signing the budget last week. $50 million for the Whole-Home Repairs Program is among...
The Whole-Home Repairs program is remaking the housing landscape
The Thompsons' home repair wish list was growing longer by the year. The couple from Ridgway in Elk County, both of whom are disabled, had needed a new roof, front porch and more remediation for several years. “The deck of the porch was falling through to the point...
Philly’s landlord-tenant officer expected to resume evictions, despite shootings and a lawsuit
Philadelphia’s landlord-tenant officer may soon be back in business after putting a brief moratorium on evictions. Marisa Shuter, the court-appointed attorney who oversees the city’s unusual and controversial system of using private security contractors to perform...
Has the Socialist Moment Already Come and Gone?
Bernie Sanders arrived in Ann Arbor in late winter, his future to be decided in two days. Thousands of students thronged the University of Michigan campus, gripping their blue-and-white signs, one so overcome with emotion she battled back tears as Sanders spoke. Above...
Woman shot in the head during eviction sues Philly’s landlord-tenant officer, others
A woman who was shot in the head during an eviction earlier this year is taking the matter to court. Angel Davis, a former resident of Girard Court Apartments who suffered a traumatic brain injury when she was shot by a security contractor hired by the city's...
‘We Failed You’: Victim Of Landlord-Tenant Officer Shooting Files Lawsuit As Legislators Step Up Pressure
After three shootings in four months, the pressure continues to mount on Philadelphia Municipal Court to change how it handles evictions.
Landlord-tenant office faces lawsuit over shooting, reform push
Momentum appears to be building behind an effort to reform Philadelphia’s eviction system, as a woman who was shot in the head during a lockout earlier this year filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the landlord-tenant officer. Several state and local lawmakers stood next...
Philadelphia woman shot in head while being evicted takes her case to court
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A woman who was shot in the head by the person serving her an eviction notice is suing Philadelphia’s landlord-tenant officer and pushing the city to make some changes to how it manages evictions.
Philly woman shot in the head during eviction sues landlord-tenant officer
A Philadelphia tenant and city officials are calling on the state to get involved and take action against the landlord-tenant officer whose contractors have been involved in multiple shootings during evictions in the past four months. Angel Davis -- a 35-year-old...
Philly’s for-profit eviction system slammed in lawsuit after security contractors shot tenants
A Philadelphia woman who was shot in the head by a private security contractor hired to remove her from her home filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit Tuesday, challenging the city’s unusual for-profit eviction system. An attorney representing Angel Davis, a former tenant...