Tag: philadelphia

The city of brotherly love becomes the city of utterly garbage

District Council 33 has reached its breaking point. The bigger question now is: How long until the entire city of Philadelphia does too? Until then, garbage will keep rising—along with the stakes.

Something strange is happening in Philadelphia right now—a real-life social experiment unfolding in real time, and it’s not one the city signed up for. The so-called “City of Brotherly Love” is quickly becoming the City of Utter Garbage.

Sanitation workers—members of District Council 33—have gone on strike. So have workers from the Water Department. Even 911 operators briefly joined the picket line before court orders forced some of them back to work. But the most visible—and pungent—impact is coming from the absence of sanitation services.

The union’s grievances are real: they say wages haven’t kept up with inflation, cost-of-living increases have been ignored, and the value of their essential work has gone long unrecognized. And now, Philadelphia is about to learn just how valuable these workers are.

@fox29philadelphia

It’s been a little less than 24 hours since District Council 33, Philadelphia’s largest workers’ union, went on strike and dumpsters are already overflowing at designated trash drop-off sites.

♬ original sound – FOX 29 Philadelphia

Garbage is already piling up on street corners on day one of the strike. Giant dumpsters set up by the city—meant to act as temporary collection points—were filled by the end of the first day. Overflowing trash is now stacking beside them, baking in the 90-degree heat.

Mayor Cherelle Parker urged residents to drive their garbage to one of these dozens of authorized sites. But that suggestion is tone-deaf at best. Nearly 480,000 Philadelphians don’t own a vehicle. So unless you plan to walk your garbage in the summer heat through a city already buckling under stress, you’re out of luck.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTjEBpmwX

What we’re witnessing isn’t just a labor dispute—it’s a test of urban resilience. How long can a modern American city function without basic sanitation? At what point does trash become not just an inconvenience but a public health crisis? And what happens to the social fabric when the very people who keep the system running say, “Enough”?

Meanwhile, Mayor Parker and other city officials have accused some individuals of deliberately opening fire hydrants to sabotage water pressure—another alarming sign of social tension in the midst of this strike.

One thing is clear: this is going to get worse before it gets better.

This happened before–July 1 1986.. about 40 years ago. That one lasted 20 days and was pretty rotten. 2025’s may not be better.

District Council 33 has reached its breaking point. The bigger question now is: How long until the entire city of Philadelphia does too? Until then, garbage will keep rising—along with the stakes.

Saturday night shooting in the city of brotherly love: Philadelphia mass shooting

At least 3 killed, 11 injured in mass shooting on South Street

At least three people were killed and 11 injured when multiple people opened fire in the busy South Street area of Philadelphia Saturday night, police said.

Officers were patrolling the area when they heard gunfire shortly before midnight, Philadelphia Police Inspector D.F. Pace said, adding the officers observed “several active shooters shooting into the crowd.”
One officer was “within about 10 to 15 yards” of one of the individuals firing into the crowd and shot at the suspect, Pace said. “We’re uncertain whether he was struck or not, but the officer was able to get that individual to drop his gun and flee,” the police inspector said.
— Read on www.cnn.com/2022/06/05/us/philadelphia-south-street-shooting/index.html

South street is a popular location for nightlife, bars, and restaurants ..

Philly correctional officers are quitting in huge numbers

In July, after 18 years as a correctional officer, Malloy joined an exodus of 25 workers each month who have been leaving jobs at the city jail complex in Northeast Philadelphia during the pandemic. Some, like her, were midcareer workers who had envisioned staying on through retirement. They quit, they told The Inquirer, amid what they described as a mounting mental-health and public safety crisis.

Several described experiencing panic attacks on the job, and said they had begun taking prescription antianxiety medications. Others described physical illness they believed resulted from the stress of long hours and unsafe staffing levels.
— Read on www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/panic-attacks-and-20-hour-workdays-why-philly-correctional-officers-are-quitting-in-droves/ar-AASqyFh

20 hour workdays and panic attacks…

Warrant: 5-year-old might have started deadly Philadelphia fire !!

Investigators are looking into whether a 5-year-old child who was playing with a lighter set a Christmas tree on fire, sparking a conflagration that killed 12 family members in a Philadelphia rowhome, officials revealed Thursday.

That disclosure was included in a search warrant application as city and federal investigators sought to determine the cause of the blaze, the city’s deadliest in more than a century, which took the lives of three sisters and several of their children early Wednesday.

Jane Roh, spokesperson for District Attorney Larry Krasner, confirmed the contents of the search warrant, which was first reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
— Read on apnews.com/article/philadelphia-deadly-house-fire-607262c2246918d64ee85c4ad5f3b4a1

This is tragic and getting worse

Philadelphia fire kills 13 people, including 7 children, officials say

Firefighters found “heavy fire” in a kitchen area in front of the second floor, and there was “nothing slowing that fire from moving,” Philadelphia Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy said.
Thirteen people were killed; two others were taken to hospitals; and eight people got out by themselves, Murphy said.
“It was terrible,” Murphy said. “This is probably one of the worst fires I ever been to.”
Twenty-six people lived in the three-story building — eight on the first floor, and 18 on the second and third floors, fire officials said.
The housing authority was not aware 26 people were living in the building, said Dinesh Indala, the agency’s senior executive vice president of operations. The agency is checking how many were allowed to live there, he said.
— Read on www.cnn.com/2022/01/05/us/philadelphia-fairmount-fire/index.html

What a horrible horrible day in the city ..

Vaccinated only permitted to eat indoors in Philadelphia

Philadelphia officials announced Monday that proof of a COVID-19 vaccine will soon be required to eat inside a restaurant or food establishment.

The rollout begins January 3, Philadelphia Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole said.

More..

Officials said the mandate applies at places where people can eat together indoors, like indoor restaurants, bars, sports venues – including the Wells Fargo Center, movie theatres, catering halls and cafes.

Examples of places where the vaccine mandate will not apply include schools and daycares, hospitals, grocery stores and convenience stores and soup kitchens

Philadelphia universities on alert: FBI warning of ‘unspecified’ threat on Monday October 5 2015 // The University of Pennsylvania, Temple University and Drexel University sent out alerts. Authorities said they had no knowledge of specific threat to students or to a particular university

Philadelphia universities on alert: FBI warning of ‘unspecified’ threat on Monday October 5 2015 // The University of Pennsylvania, Temple University and Drexel University sent out alerts. Authorities said they had no knowledge of specific threat to students or to a particular university

MORE FROM PHILLY.COM: 

The threat indicated that the violence would take place Monday at 2 p.m., according to statements posted on several school websites.

The statement on Drexel’s site indicated that the threat came via social media.

“Since the shooting last week at a community college in Oregon, the FBI has seen similar social media postings throughout the country,” the Drexel posting reads.

The statement posted on Penn’s website reads: “In an abundance of caution we are working closely with Federal and local Law Enforcement Agencies to monitor this unspecified threat The Division of Public Safety has increased our police, security officer and CCTV patrols.”

The schools also said in their statements that security patrols would increase on campus Monday.

The schools will be operating normally on Monday, but the statements urge students to report any suspicious activity.

Philadelphia universities on alert: FBI warning of ‘unspecified’ threat on Monday October 5 2015 // The University of Pennsylvania, Temple University and Drexel University sent out alerts. Authorities said they had no knowledge of specific threat to students or to a particular university

Philadelphia universities on alert: FBI warning of ‘unspecified’ threat on Monday October 5 2015 // The University of Pennsylvania, Temple University and Drexel University sent out alerts. Authorities said they had no knowledge of specific threat to students or to a particular university

MORE FROM PHILLY.COM: 

The threat indicated that the violence would take place Monday at 2 p.m., according to statements posted on several school websites.

The statement on Drexel’s site indicated that the threat came via social media.

“Since the shooting last week at a community college in Oregon, the FBI has seen similar social media postings throughout the country,” the Drexel posting reads.

The statement posted on Penn’s website reads: “In an abundance of caution we are working closely with Federal and local Law Enforcement Agencies to monitor this unspecified threat The Division of Public Safety has increased our police, security officer and CCTV patrols.”

The schools also said in their statements that security patrols would increase on campus Monday.

The schools will be operating normally on Monday, but the statements urge students to report any suspicious activity.

Philadelphia Chef dishes criticism on Philadelphia:  On Papal Visit: ‘Didn’t Need To Close Every Street, Scaring Most People’

Philadelphia Chef dishes criticism on Philadelphia:  On Papal Visit: ‘Didn’t Need To Close Every Street, Scaring Most People’

Now that the Pope is back in Rome, we need to take a good hard look in the mirror and wonder if the security nightmare was imposed on us or created

In Philadelphia, that look has begun

One Philadelphia chef took to Facebook to share how he felt about the planning of the massive event.

Marc Vetri writes, “We’re clearly all thrilled that Pope Francis is here. Never has there been a Pope in history that people have such admiration for while having such a gentle voice that transcends all religions and all walks of life. I can say that I was thrilled that the Pope has chosen Philadelphia to spread his message…and I remain thrilled.

My only regret is the decisions of Philadelphia leaders. Instead of engaging the citizens and businesses around this great city in welcoming the Pope, they have instead decided to roll out the red carpet for everyone making the pilgrimage, and roll us up in the carpet to place in storage until Monday. I imagine a man like this Pope would like to see Philadelphia as is. We are the fabric of this city yet it seems as if the people that make this city great were by in large… an afterthought.”