Finally, people are noticing the bank closings in Philadelphia

Last month Wachovia silently closed one its North Philadelphia bank at Front and Alleghany.  It was a bank closing, like many of this city’s bank closings, that went unnoticed by much of Philadelphia and came unexpectedly to the citizens around it.  It marks a trend: the rapid closing of banks in low income neighborhoods. To add insult to injury, across the street from the vacant Wachovia bank a check cashing place opened up.  Such places are notorious for overcharging people to get their checks chased.  “Grand Reopening – Current 1 Check Cashing” read the sign. Continue reading

The Politics of Hope

By AC Missias from A Smoke Filled Room January 19, 2007 As long as we’re coming clean with early picks, let me say I strongly support Marc Stier for City Council At Large. It’s not just because I’ve enjoyed his lengthy chewy blog posts, but because I’ve been able to see him in action on the Neighborhood Networks Steering Committee (and on several critical early subcommittees), and he’s one of the most impressive folks working in the political and activist realms right now, and extremely dedicated to the principles he propounds. He seems to work 36 hours in a day, and yet still bring a sense of humor to difficult discussions, and all of those things mean that causes in which he is involved simply make progress faster than they would without him. Marc seems always to be incredibly well informed on every issue facing the city (he picks the brains of the experts… Continue reading