World

Petition against treatment center; Parents push back; Weekly gun violence brief

ADMIN 05/15/2024

More than 900 people have signed an online petition urging the city to pause a plan to operate a drug treatment center on Girard Avenue in Fairmount.

“The lack of community engagement in this process is alarming,” wrote the petition’s author. BP’s Meir Rinde found it’s unclear whether the Fairmount facility is already being used to treat drug users from Kensington and how it fits into the larger plan to address drug use and trafficking. Continue reading…

The city is adding beds to a homeless shelter at the site of the former Philadelphia Nursing Home on Girard Avenue in Fairmount. (Google Maps)

As some states and cities like Philadelphia look to take a more aggressive approach in enforcing existing drug laws, parents who lost children to overdoses push back against criminalization.

“As long as we see people who use drugs as criminals, they’re not going to get the services and support that they need,” said Susan Ousterman, who lost her son Tyler to an overdose death in 2020. Continue reading…

Terri Spina shares a tearful hug at the opening ceremony of the Philadelphia Overdose Memorial Garden at Thomas Paine Plaza in 2022. Spina holds a photo of her daughter, Ginamarie Vicent, who died of an overdose at the age of 31. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

RECAP: What else happened?

$ = paywalled

• Pa. Dems proposed legislation to allocate $5.1 billion in new funding for public schools to close an unconstitutional gap between the wealthiest and poorest districts that was declared unconstitutional. It faces opposition from Republicans in the Senate. [Capital-Star]

• The Parker admin is working on a plan to deliver 30,000 units of housing over the next four years. However, her proposed budget currently reneges on $8 million in funding for 70 affordable housing units on the former UC Townhomes site, previously committed by the Kenney admin. [WHYYx2]

• Ne-Yo and Kesha will headline the 2024 Wawa Welcome America concert on July 4 to round out a weeks-long celebration that starts around Juneteenth. [WHYY]

• In a bid to shore up its streaming subscription numbers, Comcast plans to offer a discounted streaming bundle with Netflix, Apple TV+ and Peacock by the end of May, but hasn’t revealed price details. [PhillyVoice]

• A new medium-sized music hall is slated to begin construction in late fall of this year as part of Comcast Spectacor’s planned revitalization of the South Philly sports complex and surrounding neighborhood. [Inquirer$]

• What makes rocks in the Wissahickon sparkle? Earth and environmental science students might recall mica, but that is only one of the minerals at play. [City Cast]

Weekly brief on gun violence prevention (with PCGVR)

We publish this report each week in partnership with the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting.• A Philly anti-violence group wants to expand peace patrols and expand its offerings by making it a paid job. [NBC10]

• Guns are being stolen from cars at triple the rate they were 10 years ago, firearm safety group Everytown says. [PBS]

• Stay alert everywhere, as a South Philly mom discovered when she found a loaded gun at a Queen Village playground. [Philly Mag$}

By the numbers in Philadelphia

9: Shooting victims recorded last week, vs. 21 the week prior. [Philly Police]
352: Shooting victims as of May 9 were down 45% vs. the previous year. [PCGVR]
95: Year-to-date homicides, down 37% vs. last year’s pace; down 20% vs. five years ago [Philly Police]

MAYOR WATCH

Mayor Parker will speak at the Committee of Seventy’s Women in Public Leadership Event at the Great Stair Hall in the Philadelphia Museum of Art at 10 a.m.

At 6 p.m., Parker will host the latest “One Philly” budget town hall at General A. George McCall Elementary and Middle School, 325 S 7th St..

ON THE CALENDAR

🎣 Wednesday, May 15: Family Fishing
Leave work early to go fishing with the family in FDR Park at this free program that provides rods, tackle, bait, and an opportunity for fun in nature. Free. (4 to 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday through August 7)

🎨 Friday, May 17: East Falls Village Art Show
The Falls of Schuylkill Library returns as host to this showcase of neighborhood photography, needlework, model-making, pottery, painting, drawing and more. Meet and chat with the artists. Free. (1 p.m.)

🎶 Friday, May 17-Saturday, May 18: Live OUT Loud!
Celebrate PRIDE and the outgoing artistic director of the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus at this tribute concert. $35-65 tickets. (8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Saturday)