As part of an ongoing effort to explore how technology can be utilized to improve government function, City Controller Alan Butkovitz announced Wednesday that the city has been using drones to inspect dangerous buildings in neighborhoods across Philadelphia. Butkovitz and his team selected four locations around the city to test the drone’s capacity to make…
Councilman William Greenlee wants to do something about the young users of the popular electric scooter balance board, nicknamed the hoverboard. Greenlee introduced the legislation Thursday and is hopeful that it will get passed. If successful, the bill would require parents to pay a $25 fine if their children are not wearing any type of…
Under Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration, the city of Philadelphia has its first digital director. Stephanie Waters, the former digital director for Kenney’s campaign, officially took the reins of her new title just last week. She’s still getting used to her new position, learning the ins and outs of City Hall — and getting use to…
Guest: Peak Johnson, Joe Turner, Jake Blumgart, Frank Kubach, Terrence Lewis Today Radio Times goes to the movies. We’ll start off with the most anticipated film of the year, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” which opened last night. Marty talks with two diehard Star Wars fans — PEAK JOHNSON, a Philadelphia writer who contributes…
It was just two years ago that Philadelphia’s own Rocky 50k run made its debut. What started as a joke by Philadelphia Magazine writer Dan McQuade has quickly evolved into a yearly tradition for hundreds of runners from across the country. (There was even a baby named in its honor!) Created by ultra-runner Rebecca Barber, the serpentine…
When Zakiya James attended Woodrow Wilson High School in her native city of Washington D.C., she quickly exhausted the curriculum that was being offered to her there. Zakiya, 14 at the time, was not being challenged and her mother, Shawna Malone, could see that. Malone attempted to enroll her daughter into higher-level courses at Woodrow,…
I have never experienced the plight of homelessness, but I’ve seen many people throughout the streets of downtown Philadelphia who have. For the last six years, I have worked as a barista part time at the Philadelphia Free Library. I get homeless customers as well as the regular patrons of the library. Sometimes they arrive…
It happened earlier this month when Shawn Jorden, 25, was handed his degrees in Psychology and Liberal Arts from the Community College of Philadelphia, a goal that he had initially thought was out of reach. Jorden attended Indiana University before attending CCP but because of the university’s tuition and cost of living, he was forced…
I remember when walking across the stage on graduation day, just last May, and how uncertain I was about entering the “real world” with a bachelors in journalism. Would I be accepted in the field? Would I be able to obtain a job? What challenges would I be facing next? I never expected to obtain…
Students gathered at the School District’s headquarters late Thursday afternoon to participate in a “die-in” to protest the grand jury decisions not to indict police officers in the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. They also honored the death of Laporshia Massey, a Philadelphia student who died last year after suffering an asthma attack…