Immigration: Councilman Mark Squilla Helps Serve Immigrant Communities
Councilman Mark Squilla is the councilman for the First District in Philadelphia City Council. Squilla is the representative for several Philadelphia neighborhoods such as Chinatown, Kensington, Bella Vista, Northern Liberties, Fishtown and Port Richmond. A native of South Philadelphia, Squilla has been engaged in public service for close to 30 years, serving on the Philadelphia Democratic […]
Bella Vista: An Immigrant Himself, Eugene Desyatnik Now Serves As The Bella Vista Neighbors Association President
Eugene Desyatnik is the president of the Bella Vista Neighbors Association. Desyatnik, a naturalized citizen hailing from the former Soviet Union, has lived in Center City for more than 12 years, recently moving to Bella Vista with his wife and children. The BVNA, a nonprofit organization, helps facilitate various city services to a very diverse […]
Immigration Law: Joe Gordon Explains The Ups And Downs And Political Shifts
Joe Gordon has been an immigration lawyer since 2012. His office may be based in North Philadelphia at 4719 N. Broad St., but his work takes him throughout the city and the effects are felt around the globe. Gordon is an all-around family man – practicing family-based immigration law by day and spending his evenings […]
Comedy: Laughing Matters
“I was wondering why stand-up is good,” said Shane Gillis, a stand-up comedian who has been performing for about six years. “It’s just because you get to pay money to sit in a room and hear a guy tell the truth and you don’t see that anywhere else.” When people go to a comedy show […]
Strawberry Mansion: A Family Man Who Helps Lead His Community
For the past 54 years, Alfonso Glenn has lived in Strawberry Mansion. Born in the 1960s, Glenn has experienced decades of change, but still believes some of the same issues plague his community. Growing up during the peak of the city’s crack epidemic, Glenn found himself dealing drugs on the corner because it was the […]
East Passyunk: Victim/Witness Services of South Philadelphia Reaches Those Needing Help In Community
The Victim/Witness Services of South Philadelphia is a non-profit organization that has offered free support and advocacy to victims and witnesses of crimes in South Philadelphia since its establishment in 1989. The advocates from the Victim/Witness Service work with victims of crimes that occur within the three South Philadelphia police districts. These districts are the […]
City Politics: Larry Krasner Campaigns For District Attorney In North Philadelphia, Kingsessing
Nearing the end of his campaign for the November 7 election of new district attorney in Philadelphia, Larry Krasner doesn’t get a day off. The long-time defense attorney is recognized in Philadelphia and beyond as a man who has sued the city’s police department a whopping 75 times, representing individuals and groups including ACT UP, […]
Bridesburg: Residents Suggest Isolation And Community Create Its Neighborhood’s Safe Streets
From May 26 to June 25, the Bridesburg section of Philadelphia reported zero violent crimes, making it the only neighborhood in the city that can stake such a claim, according to a live-tracking data set compiled by the Federal Census Bureau and the Philadelphia Police Department. The working class neighborhood is tucked away in North Philadelphia, […]
East Falls: Town Watch Is Appreciated but Understaffed
Once every month, Mary Jane Fullam organizes meetings for the East Falls Town Watch, an organization that she has been a part of since its inception in 1998. Since then, she has assumed the role of president within the organization. The East Falls Town Watch consists of 12 people, with Fullam running the entire nonprofit […]
How To: Overturn A Wrongful Conviction If Innocent
Innocent people get convicted for crimes they did not commit, but how often it happens is impossible to determine. The Philadelphia District Attorney’s office recently added to its Conviction Review Unit (CRU) in an effort to right the wrongful convictions of innocent people. This year it overturned the conviction of two people, including Shaurn Thomas […]