In the News
New law calls for additional police training in response to 8-year-old’s shooting death
Elected officials from throughout the state joined the family of slain 8-year-old Fanta Bility on Monday to discuss new legislation aimed at providing police with additional training. Bility was killed by police gunfire on Aug. 27, 2021, when officers fired at a...
Harrisburg Democrats should push past partisanship and approve Lifeline Scholarships
It takes guts to do what State Sen. Anthony H. Williams did. During a recent state Senate Education Committee meeting, Williams delivered a fiery sermon about the sad state of affairs in his district’s public schools, sharing the frustrated pleas of parents seeking...
Senate Education Committee revives school voucher program at center of last year’s budget fight
A bill reviving the school voucher program killed by House Democrats during last year’s budget debates passed the Senate Education committee with bipartisan support on Tuesday. The program, called the PASS scholarship, would allow most students in the state’s...
Governor Shapiro Hosts Ceremonial Bill Signing with Meek Mill, Legislative Leaders, and Reform Advocates, Enacting Historic Probation Reform Legislation to Create More Fairness in Pennsylvania’s Criminal Justice System
Harrisburg, PA – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro hosted a ceremonial bill signing of the bipartisan Comprehensive Probation Reform legislation, formerly SB 838, ensuring probation serves as a tool to help Pennsylvanians re-enter their communities...
How to prevent traffic deaths in Philadelphia
On Nov. 19, more than 100 family members, concerned citizens, and elected officials gathered in Hunting Park to remember the victims of traffic violence. As of Wednesday, at least 116 people have died this year from traffic violence in Philadelphia. This includes 52...
Hilco breaks ground on former PES refinery with plans to redevelop as e-commerce and life sciences hub
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Three years after buying the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in Southwest Philadelphia, the redevelopment company Hilco broke ground on converting the site to an e-commerce and life sciences hub called the Bellwether District.
Hilco Redevelopment Partners Breaks Ground on Vertical Construction at The Bellwether District
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP) broke ground today on the first phase of vertical construction on The Bellwether District's 1,300-acre South Philadelphia site. Governor Josh Shapiro, Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, U.S....
The Progressive Allergy to Solutions
Two weeks ago, we delved into how state House Dems politically miscalculated by seeming to reject a bipartisan budget deal that would have funded public schools at a historic rate while, at the same time, providing $100 million for private school vouchers. Hello,...
Amazon says its Southwest Philly warehouse will open in October. It’s one of two projects pushing development in the area.
Industrial redevelopment is picking up in Southwest Philly: Amazon has told officials it will at last open its two-year-old, three-blocks-long complex adjoining Bartram High School by October, hiring the first of at least 200 workers. It will be the largest Amazon...
Delco fire company will disband after racist remarks caught on video
Delaware County fire company suspended pending investigation into alleged racist comments
Collingdale teen, 2 police officers honored for saving children in icy pond
Delaware County advocates gather to call on the release of Leroy Evans
State Sen. Anthony Williams responds to racist comments allegedly made by members of Delco fire company
Penn under pressure to fire law professor over anti-Asian comments
Pressure is building on the University of Pennsylvania to take disciplinary action against law professor Amy Wax for saying the U.S. is "better off with fewer Asians and less Asian immigration." Driving the news: State Sen. Anthony Williams joined other elected...
Amy Wax’s term at Penn Law should be scrapped, lawmakers say
Philadelphia-area lawmakers and advocates joined a growing chorus on Thursday condemning the latest racist statements made by University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax, calling for the school to revoke Wax’s tenure and an investigation into her employment....
Calls for Penn law professor’s removal after racist comments against Asians
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A University of Pennsylvania law professor is under fire again for remarks that elected leaders are calling racist and xenophobic, and they want the tenured professor to be removed. University of Pennsylvania Law Professor Amy Wax said...
Law Schools Often Have Little Recourse When Tenured Faculty Become PR Headaches
As the latest controversy involving Penn Law professor Amy Wax demonstrates, law schools face an uphill battle in seeking to discipline tenured faculty members over "extramural" statements. What’s a law school to do when a tenured faculty member makes public comments...
Philly lawmakers call on Penn to revoke professor’s tenure after racist comments
Philadelphia leaders and politicians, led by Sen. Anthony H. Williams, convened Thursday to condemn anti-Asian comments made by University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax. The public officials questioned why Wax remains at the university as a tenured professor...
Lawmakers call for Penn to revoke professor’s tenure after racist comments: ‘We do not stand for hate speech’
Philadelphia-area lawmakers and advocates Thursday joined the rising chorus condemning the latest racist statements made by University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax, calling upon the school to revoke Wax’s tenure and scrutinize her employment. Standing outside...
UPenn law professor accused of making hateful remarks about Asian immigrants
PHILADELPHIA - A long-tenured professor at the University of Pennsylvania is under fire for alleged controversial comments she made about the Asian immigrant community on a podcast. Law Professor Amy Wax appeared on The Glenn Show last December and spoke about the...
Calls continue for action against Penn professor who made anti-Asian comments
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- There are growing calls for the tenure of a University of Pennsylvania law school professor to be revoked after she said the country is "better off with fewer Asians." Amy Wax made the comments during an interview in which she stoked fears about...
Pa. Senate backs legislation to allow guns to be carried without permit
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Tuesday approved two veto-bound firearms bills, including one to allow people to carry a loaded gun openly or concealed, without a permit, and another to punish municipalities that impose firearms ordinances that are...
GOP senator’s plan to issue election subpoenas ‘stopped’
HARRISBURG – A backer of former President Donald Trump's effort to carry out an Arizona-style “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania's 2020 presidential election suggested Thursday that fellow Republicans in the state Senate are blocking his efforts.
NYC’s primary should inspire Philly to change our votes | Opinion
New York City has become the first major American city to complete a primary election through ranked choice voting. This alone is a historic win for the Black, brown and marginalized people of New York City. The candidates who received 50% of the vote in this primary...
Whistleblowers detail alleged abuse at Delaware County juvenile detention center
DELAWARE COUNTY, Pa. - Shocking revelations about what allegedly went on behind closed doors at a juvenile detention center in Delaware County. "We're here because of systemic abuse. The systemic abuse of children," public defender Chris Welsh said. Delaware County's...
Call For Action After Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center Shut Down Over Abuse Allegations
DELAWARE COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) — In Delaware County, a call for action after a detention facility for children was shut down over allegations of abuse. The Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center was closed earlier this month. The public defender’s office says it...
Pa. lawmakers urge sweeping reform after Delco youth facility closure
Just over a week after Delaware County’s president judge emptied the county’s youth detention center in Lima, state and local officials called for dismantling a juvenile-justice system where they said abuse is endemic. “How many times does this have to happen before...
Pennsylvania state senator: People of color are falling ‘way behind’ in vaccinations
Fight over close race mars first day for Pennsylvania Senate
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A bitter dispute erupted on the floor of the Pennsylvania Senate on Tuesday when majority Republicans blocked a Democratic incumbent from being sworn in because his GOP challenger has disputed the razor-thin election results. Lawmakers were...
Gov. Wolf pushes for plan to help Pa. communities struggling with climate change impacts like flooding
Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday ordered the state Planning Board to come up with recommendations on land use, planning, zoning, and storm-water management that would reduce flooding in communities affected by climate change, such as Philadelphia’s Eastwick section that was...
PA State Senator Anthony Williams speaks out calling for reform in police policy
Family, local officials gather to denounce the defacing of Sgt. Wilson mural
WEST PHILADELPHIA - A group of Philadelphia officials joined the family of a fallen police office in gathering to denounce the defacing of a mural dedicated to that officer. Over the weekend, police say a mural of Sgt. Robert Wilson III on the 6000 block of Baltimore...
Philly officials, residents gather to denounce vandalism of the mural of slain Police Sgt. Robert Wilson III
City and state legislators, police commanders, and community residents gathered Tuesday morning in Southwest Philadelphia to denounce the weekend vandalism of the mural of slain Sgt. Robert Wilson III, calling the spraying of anti-police graffiti on the public art...
‘A slap in the face’: West Philadelphians, police decry vandalism of mural honoring slain sergeant
A crowd of city officials and West Philadelphians gathered Tuesday morning to condemn the recent vandalization of a mural honoring Police Sgt. Robert Wilson III, who was killed in 2015 by two gunmen while trying to stop a robbery. On Sunday, the mural, located near...
Senator Williams promotes the Racial Equity Solutions Tour
After recently recovering from the coronavirus, Senator Anthony Williams is hosting the Racial Equity Solutions Tour on Zoom
Pennsylvania is becoming more racially diverse. And that could be a big deal for the 2020 election.
Amilcar Arroyo recalls that when he first came to Hazleton, a small city in southern Luzerne County, in 1989, he was one of just a handful of Spanish-speaking people who lived there. But things have changed so much since then. Almost 60% of the people who now live in...
Pa. Senate unanimously passes bill to reform probation system; supporters call it a ‘milestone’
The Pennsylvania Senate unanimously approved a bill to revamp Pennsylvania’s probation system Wednesday, a step criminal justice reform advocates have long awaited. Advocates and lawmakers have said the probation system is preventing people from rebuilding their lives...
Pennsylvania State Sen. Anthony Williams Speaks With Eyewitness News About Coronavirus Diagnosis
Civil Asset Forfeiture Under New Scrutiny Amid Calls for Police Reform
At a time when politicians of all stripes are thinking of ways to reshape the criminal justice system, an oft-overlooked law enforcement practice is receiving new scrutiny. Civil asset forfeiture, the process of police departments confiscating property they suspect is...