Category: Public Policy

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Academic Freedom at Temple

  By Education, Higher Education

David Horowitz, the leftist turned rightist who made a fortune as a best selling biographer of Kennedys and Fords, and who has recently been criticizing left wing radicals in our universities, turned up at a State House of Representatives hearing held at Temple last month. He has been pushing an “academic bill of rights” that would, among other things, prohibit professors from using their classrooms “to advocate for their political and partisan views on controversial matter that are irrelevant to their field of expertise” or “pressure students into adopting their personal opinions;” and that would also prohibit them from “grading students on the basis of their political, social or religious opinions.” I had thought that Horowitz’s campaign had some merit. I have learned however, that Horowitz is about as interested in fair and balanced teaching as Fox News is interested in fair and balanced reporting. Continue reading

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The Potential and Danger of Gentrification

  By Economic Development, Neighborhoods, Philadelphia

Middle income people, both black and white, are now interested in moving into (or back into) the city especially in neighborhoods near Center City. There is enormous potential in that movement. But there is enormous danger as well. Continue reading

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Gambling and Its Alternatives at Wissahickon and Hunting Park

  By Casinos, Philadelphia

The Budd Company site, at the corner of Wissahickon and Hunting Park Avenues, is one of four potential sites in the city for a gambling casino. Residents from the immediately adjoining neighborhoods, Nicetown and East Falls, have joined together to oppose gambling at this location. I believe that residents and community associations throughout the Northwest ought to join our neighbors in this fight. Continue reading

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A Proposal to Ban Smoking

  By Health Care, Philadelphia, Smoking

Thank You Councilwoman Marian Tasco It is time to ban smoking in restaurants and bars in Philadelphia. The health consequences for both patrons and staff are well-documented. And there is a better chance for this to happen soon, now that Marian Tasco has introduced smoking-ban legislation to Council. Councilwoman Tasco’s relationship with Mayor Street is not much more warm and fuzzy than Councilman Nutter’s. But getting the smoking issue out from under the ongoing tension between Street and Nutter has to be a help. Continue reading

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The Price of Freedom

  By Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties

Defenders of liberty are fond of quoting Thomas Jefferson’s dictum that “it does me no injury for my neighbor to say that there are twenty Gods or no God.” But, while liberty has never had as great a champion as Jefferson, this statement misleads us about the price of freedom and why it is worth paying. For the truth is that liberty and freedom can injure us both as individuals and as a political community. Those who are willing to support freedom only when the costs are low, are just fair weather friends of freedom. Consider some of the burdens of freedom. First, there is the expense of protecting the exercise of liberty. Unpopular groups engaged in political protest require police protection and make de­mands on sanitation departments as well. Second, our security is, on occasion, compromised by the exercise of free speech. The invocation of national security as a means… Continue reading

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Trolleys and Buses

  By NW Philly, Philadelphia, Transportation

Another Trolley Dustup in Mt. Airy We in Mt. Airy have been having one of our periodic dust-ups with SEPTA. Without giving us any warning SEPTA covered over the trolley tracks on a few blocks of Germantown Avenue. To add insult to injury, they did this right in front of our local eatery, the Trolley Car Diner. SEPTA argued that this was the most efficient way to fix the road bed around the tracks, whose deterioration has lead to a number of accidents in the last few years. When SEPTA covered over the trolley tracks, many of us in the Northwest got upset because we want our trolley back on Route 23, which was once the longest trolley line in America and, perhaps, the world. When buses replaced the trolley SEPTA committed itself to eventually bringing the trolley back. (That same commitment recently led to the restoration of the route… Continue reading

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The Slavery of Today

  By Philadelphia, Urbanism

Activism and Serendipity I sometimes ask activists I know how they chose to get involved in a particular issue. Often the answer is serendipity. An activist had a friend who got them involved in an issue or were working for an organization that took a new issue. That is more or less how I got involved in public transit activism. SEPTA threatened to close the R8 train line, which is vital for West Mt. Airy and, at the time, I was the President of our civic organization, West Mt. Airy Neighbors. So I jumped into the frey not because I played with toy trains as a kid but because I had to do something to save the train line around which Mt. Airy grew. Continue reading

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A First Step to Public Financing

  By Elections and Voting, Philadelphia

A few days after the November general election, and the tremendous victory for the Ethics Reform Charter Change, I started talking to other members of the Ethics Reform Coalition about public financing of our political campaigns. Many of us had talked on and off about public financing of campaigns as our ultimate goal. But few thought that we had any real chance of adopting this dramatic reform anytime soon. First there was the business of creating an independent Ethics Board and strengthening limits on campaign contributions for those who receive contracts and other benefits from the city. Legislation to accomplish these tasks was adopted by City Council in early December of last year. Even when that was done, most reformers thought we were in for a long wait before public financing of campaigns came to Philadelphia. Continue reading

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The kind of WMAN We Need

  By NW Philly, Philadelphia, Published Op-Eds, Urbanism, West Mt. Airy Neighbors

Published in the Mt. Airy Times Express, June 2005 West Mt. Airy Neighbors (WMAN) is just beginning our annual membership drive. This, year, our membership drive is more important than ever. The results of the membership drive will determine the kind of organization we will be in the next few years and beyond. Continue reading

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Trolleys, the public good, and political will

  By Published Op-Eds, Transportation

Chestnut Hill Local, June 16, 2005 Many of us involved in public transit issues in Northwest Philadelphia are eager to see the return of the 23 Trolley on Germantown Avenue. Indeed, public transit activists around the world are seeking to create or recreate the trolley systems, which now go under the name “light rail.” Trolleys are much more energy efficient than buses. Each trolley can carry far more people than a bus, while at the same time giving each rider a bit more room and a much smoother ride. Most people prefer riding trolley to buses and evidence from around the world suggests that transit ridership declines when buses replace trolleys.   Ridership has declined on the 23 line by at least a third since the buses started running in place of trolleys on Germantown Avenue. Reviving the 23 trolley would be particularly beneficial in Northwest Philadelphia where the trolley could… Continue reading