Newsroom
As strike deadline looms, politicians and faculty offer support to graduate student union
As Penn’s graduate student union finalizes preparations for a potential strike on Feb. 17, support from local politicians, faculty members, and undergraduate students has intensified. If a strike is called, graduate workers would begin picketing at 9 a.m. next...
Gov. Shapiro announces $1 billion housing plan, new executive role
Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Pennsylvania’s first comprehensive housing action plan last Thursday in Germantown with plans for a $1 billion investment in a new critical infrastructure fund. He also announced plans to create a new position, Executive Deputy Secretary...
Penn Political Union hosts state Sen. Nikil Saval for housing policy discussion
Penn Political Union hosted Pennsylvania state Sen. Nikil Saval (D-1) for a fireside chat on local housing issues on Monday. The Feb. 9 discussion focused on urban policy and housing affordability at local and federal levels. Vincent Reina, a Stuart Weitzman School of...
‘I don’t need my history erased’: Rally for return of President’s House slavery exhibit draws hundreds to Independence Mall
Hundreds of people attended a rally Tuesday afternoon at the President’s House site on Independence Mall to demand the return of the slavery exhibit that was abruptly removed by members of the National Park Service last month. With speeches from historians, faith...
Lawmakers confirm Shapiro’s Board of Pardons nomination over objections
State lawmakers have confirmed Gov. Josh Shapiro’s controversial nomination for the Board of Pardons over several objections, including that the pick has too frequently provided expert testimony that children can’t be rehabilitated. John S. O’Brien II – whose term on...
Can Josh Shapiro “Get Sh*T Done” on Housing?
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro raised eyebrows among Democrats last week by going somewhere few other 2028 Democratic presidential hopefuls have been willing to go: directly criticizing the record of the Biden-Harris administration. In an appearance on X’s news...
Shapiro pick for Board of Pardons wins Pa. Senate approval despite opposition from public defenders, clemency advocates
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday confirmed John S. O’Brien II to the Board of Pardons, dooming a pressure campaign from clemency advocates seeking to defeat his nomination. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, nominated O’Brien, a doctor and attorney who...
State lawmakers push housing reforms as affordability worsens across Pennsylvania
With housing costs continuing to rise across Pennsylvania, State Sen. Maria Collett is rolling out a new package of legislation aimed at addressing affordability, homelessness, and the state’s limited housing supply, according to an announcement. Sen. Collett, a...
Senator Saval Joins Commemoration of Philly’s Historic Carpenters’ Hall
Pa. Dems blast feds’ removal of slavery history in Phila.
Democrats in the Pennsylvania Senate bemoan a “pie-in-the-sky” approach to America’s history taken by the Trump administration after crowbars and wrenches removed mentions of slavery at a historic Philadelphia attraction. That attraction is the President’s House, an...
What is the fate of some two dozen ICE bills before Pa. state lawmakers?
About two dozen proposals related to immigration enforcement are percolating in the state legislature in response to the Trump administration’s crackdown and tactics – including increased reliance on county jails and local police departments. Lawmakers acknowledge...
City councilmembers to introduce legislation restricting ICE operations in Philadelphia
After hundreds of demonstrators rallied against Trump’s ongoing immigration enforcement crackdown last week, Philadelphia councilmembers are set to introduce legislation to limit the activities of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the city....
With raucous rally and legislation, councilmembers push back against ICE in Philly
As rumors swirl of a potential U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement surge in Philadelphia, two councilmembers are proposing new restrictions on the activities of federal agents in the city. Under one measure, all law enforcement officers would be barred from...
Senator Nikil Saval On LIHEAP
Dr. Peterson is joined by Senator Nikil Saval, who represents Pennsylvania’s First Senatorial District, which runs through the heart of Philadelphia. Senator Saval serves as Democratic Chair of the Senate’s Urban Affairs & Housing Committee; and leads the Senate’s...
National Park Service dismantles slavery exhibit in Philadelphia
The National Park Service has taken down an exhibit at Philadelphia's Independence Mall that highlighted President George Washington's treatment of his enslaved workers. It's part of President Trump's campaign to address anything at national parks and monuments that...
Bill requiring local support for ICE introduced in Senate
(The Center Square) – If there’s one claim all Pennsylvania politicians can - and often do - rely on, it’s that the divided state government forces them to work in a bipartisan manner. It’s also the reason that many reforms are out of reach and many bills seem to...
ICE operations in Philadelphia have immigration advocates on high alert
Brutally cold weather hasn’t deterred demonstrators’ efforts against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the City of Philadelphia. On Monday, hundreds of protesters gathered in Center City as part of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Action,...
After backlash, an Allentown GOP senator stands by the expletive he used to describe Philly
A Pennsylvania Republican state senator doubled down Thursday on remarks denigrating Philadelphia, despite backlash from prominent Philly Democrats. “Philadelphia wouldn’t be such a shithole” if District Attorney Larry Krasner prosecuted more crimes, State Sen....
PA Senate and House Philadelphia Delegations Denounce ICE Violence, Reaffirm Support for Immigrant Communities, and Call for Action
In a joint statement, 18 Pennsylvania state senators and state representatives serving legislative districts across Philadelphia expressed solidarity with communities across the country fighting the influx of ICE violence and reiterated the need for state and local...
Philadelphia Breaks Ground on Ten-Block Transformation in Center City
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A bold, art-inspired transformation of Center City officially began today as Avenue of the Arts, Inc. (AAI) broke ground on AveArts 2.0, a $150 million, decade-long initiative to reimagine the Avenue of the Arts (aka South...