Phila. City Council Presses Ahead With New Structure For L&I Oversight
Despite the plea for delay from the mother of a woman killed in the 2013 Market Street building collapse, the proposed charter change got City Council committee approval.
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Despite the plea for delay from the mother of a woman killed in the 2013 Market Street building collapse, the proposed charter change got City Council committee approval.
The Neshaminy students at the center of the national controversy were front and center in City Council chambers, honored for their decision to ban the word "Redskin" in their school paper.
It was in November of 2013 that a Council committee approved a top-to-bottom overhaul of billboard regulations. But, like many compromises, the measure left both activists and billboard companies unhappy and the measure was sidelined.
There was plenty of squirming in City Council chambers this morning, as lawmakers convened a hearing on the vexing problem of bed bugs.
Rich explains why he is tired of talking about Ferguson. He talks to City Councilman David Oh about the stalled sale of PGW, Ryan Berk, who confronted a man impersonating a military veteran at the Oxford Valley Mall, and Karen Montgomery, whose son Shane went missing in Manayunk the night before Thanksgiving.
Andrew Stober, chief of staff in the Mayor's Office of Transportation, says Titan Advertising will build 300 more bus shelters and share ad revenue with the City of Philadelphia.
Councilman David Oh (right photo) wants any tax payment more than a year overdue to be automatically be turned over to a collection agency.
Mayor Nutter says paid sick leave is a "complicated policy question that profoundly affects employees and employers." He previously vetoed two bills passed by City Council.
Neilson has introduced a bill that would give a wage tax refund to veterans who become Philadelphia police officers, firefighters, paramedics, or prison guards.
Today was City Council's final chance to introduce the required legislation before the PGW sale agreement expires at yearend.
One former employee of an airport contractor, a wheelchair attendant, tearfully recounted being fired because of her activity in support of a fair wage.
Mayor Nutter testified that the sale of PGW is a "once-in-a-generation opportunity, with no comparable alternatives."
Councilwoman Marian Tasco, who also chairs the city's Gas Commission, scolded the mayor for, in her view, excluding City Council from the bidding process.
Joe Chambers, a 17-year-old senior at Ridley High School, jumped into action as the vehicle caught fire nearby with the officer trapped inside.
Andrew Stober, of the Mayor's Office of Transportation, testified that apps that allow an on-street parking space be sold by one driver to another should be banned in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia's new zoning code -- which took effect two years ago -- changed the way that some daycare centers get city approval. One councilman urged a return to the former process.
Local activist Patrick Duff has filed a federal lawsuit against Philadelphia City Council claiming that Council violates the First Amendment by limiting the topics of speeches made during its weekly meetings.
"Hang in there, because we're going to come up with a better plan," councilwoman Marian Tasco told her colleagues.
The 88-year-old victim was left to live in squalor and roam the streets with bags on her feet for shoes.
Monkey Parking is a free iOS app that lets people announce where they are parked, and then take bids on who wants rights to park in that space next.
Nutter, still fuming over City Council president Darrell Clarke's decision to scuttle the PGW sale without a public hearing, is hoping that public pressure will force City Council to reverse course.
The deal, worth nearly $2 billion, needed City Council approval but the legislation was never introduced, nor hearings scheduled.
Council David Oh wants local performers to be guaranteed roles on stage when taxpayers help foot the bill for a play, musical or concert.
"Neighbors have had bed bugs, and it's creeping into their properties," Squilla says, describing anecdotal evidence from constituents.
The changes were spurred by the deaths of two firefighters who perished in a warehouse fire in Kensington in 2012.
