Civic writing.
Pieces on Philadelphia policy, access to capital, the commercial corridors where our businesses grow, and housing people can afford. Written as a citizen, from the work I do with business owners every day.
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Boycotting a Restaurant Is Not Going to Save Gaza
Today a group of protesters rode through Philadelphia with a list of local restaurants and a demand that the establishments must go. A boycott of a restaurant in Philadelphia does not protect one Palestinian child, and it is not going to save Gaza.
Read article →Childcare Help Should Start With Single Mothers
Philadelphia is debating a new tax on companies that replace workers with machines, and the debate should include a decision about where the money goes. If the city helps with daycare costs, the help should start with single mothers.
Read article →Poverty Is an Income Problem
Philadelphia's poverty rate rose to 20.4 percent in 2025, up from 19.7 percent the year before. One in five of our neighbors now lives below the poverty line, and the work of making poverty rarer begins with income.
Read article →Show the Five Sales
Philadelphia tells each homeowner what the city believes the home is worth, but the notice shows none of the sales behind the number. The homeowner should be able to see the five sales that did the most to set that value.
Read article →Spend the Housing Money
The City Controller reports that Philadelphia has spent $38 million of the $278 million budgeted for the first phase of the H.O.M.E. Initiative. The money was appropriated. The bottleneck is delivery, and the fix is to fund the capacity to move it.
Read article →Make Creative Philadelphia Permanent
Question 2 on the November 3 ballot would write Creative Philadelphia, the city's office for arts, culture, and the creative economy, into the Home Rule Charter. What it does, and why permanence matters.
Read article →Pennsylvania’s New Investment Map Leaves Kensington Out
Pennsylvania’s draft Opportunity Zone map cuts Philadelphia from 82 areas to 44 and leaves most of Kensington out, even though its tracts still qualify. Ten spots are still open before the Governor sends the final list on October 28.
Read article →Your Ballot Has to Get There
A mail ballot counts only when the county has it in hand by 8:00 PM on Election Day. Philadelphia just added four new drop boxes, and they make that last step easier.
Read article →Let City Work Go to City Businesses
Question 1 on the November 3 ballot would let Philadelphia favor small and local firms for city contracts. What it does, what it costs, and why it matters.
Read article →One Front Door, and a Human on the Other Side
What I did not realize is that the city already has a tool that is a permit navigator tool, Philadelphia Permit Navigator, which has been poorly advertised.
Read article →An AI filed a fake murder tip in Philadelphia. The city needs a public AI policy.
An AI submitted a fabricated homicide tip to a Philadelphia police website in July. Philadelphia needs a public AI policy: disclose testing, publish the AI inventory, and write a response protocol.
Read article →Give Philly Kids a Real Lyft
Guest commentary by Amaury Abreu on the proposed Philadelphia rideshare tax for schools, and a fairer approach to funding education.
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