“Dad, Why Do People Own Guns?”

"School shooting" has been a familiar phrase my 11-year-old’s whole life.

Days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting, I am still shaken as a parent and disheartened as a human being. I walked into my first-grader's classroom on Monday to read to the class. Looking at each smiling innocent, it was impossible to begin to imagine the profound illness it would take to walk into such a classroom intent on killing. While we struggle to comprehend this act, we know all too well that in this country we continue to allow easy access to the weapons that facilitate massacre after massacre.

When Voter Turnout in Philadelphia Really Matters

If you don’t cast a ballot in local races, old Philly wins.

Polls were crowded and lines to vote were long on Election Day here in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. It is a political maxim that voters engage and turn out for presidential elections. But, in the four years between the presidential contests, Philadelphia polling places can be awfully lonely. If we are going to make Philadelphia the city we know it can be, we have to change that fact and come out to vote in local races—as they can be much more important to our day-to-day lives than national contests.

Quick Guide to Ballot Questions in Philadelphia

A look at what "yes" or "no" means for the city on four questions on Tuesday’s ballot.

Looking forward to next Tuesday’s election, most voters are consumed by the presidential contest and other federal races, but Philadelphia voters will also be able to weigh in on a number of ballot questions that deserve some thoughtful consideration. Here is how I approach the tradeoffs involved with these issues.

AVI Could Be as Easy as ABC

Philadelphia must not screw this up.

With the Actual Value Initiative pushed back until 2013, we can take our time to make real estate assessments fair and accurate in a careful and considered manner. Happily, we already have an action plan and we can make it work without taxing Philadelphians out of their homes.

City Hall Would Really Rather You Didn’t Help Yourself

Ori Feibush’s civic disobedience proves the city’s powerful would rather protect themselves than Philadelphians.

Philadelphia has found a new folk hero in Ori Feibush, the scrappy developer who, at his own expense, cleaned up a city-owned vacant lot that was a source of blight and decay in Point Breeze. For too long, the city has neglected its responsibility to maintain properties it owns, which become weed- and trash-strewn lots that attract short-dumping and vermin as they frustrate residents who look to government for help. So, it is certainly understandable that some decide to stop looking to government for that help.

Mayor Nutter Is Hiding Your Money

A look at three ways City Hall kept Philadelphians in the dark.

In the kingdom of the blind, it is said, the one-eyed man is king. But, when it comes to trying to track our money by looking at the city budget, we Philadelphians are kept in the dark no matter how many eyes we use. It's our money, but it's often hard to see where it is going because the city's number-crunchers do their best to keep the lights out. Examples from recent weeks show how blind we really are when it comes to trying to see how our money is spent.

I’ll Take Philadelphia Politics Over National Politics

Want your vote to really count? Cast a ballot in a local election.

I am generally a guy who focuses on Philadelphia matters, but with presidential politics and party conventions dominating all manner of media, it's hard not to pay attention. When I do, I can't help but notice some profound differences in how elections play out on the national level. In many ways, Philadelphians should be jealous of the way elections are contested, but the rules of the game here give us much more influence over who represents us. Most don't realize it, but individuals can, and do, make a big difference in local elections.

All That Is Wonderful and Terrible About Being a Philadelphian

A look at my sheet of unused 1964 World Series tickets.

As the old song goes, "I'm sitting here a thinking about those Philadelphia Phillies and some may think I'm talking 'bout baseball." Like so many Philadelphians, I spend far too much of my time and energy concerned with the fate of our boys of summer. But, while I am still mourning for the 2012 Phillies, I join so many other fans in hope for the future of our team—and our city.

Mayor Nutter’s Five-Year Plan Doesn’t Add Up

Why Philadelphia’s financial babysitters should ask for a revise.

Last week, Mayor Nutter submitted the City of Philadelphia's plan to raise and spend public money for the coming five years to Philadelphia's state-established financial-oversight agency for review and approval. This is how it has been ever since Philadelphia flirted with bankruptcy two decades ago. But, this year, the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (PICA) must reject the plan for the first time ever, and return it to the Mayor for revision because this Five-Year Financial Plan just does not add up.