After seeing the redesign plans for McPherson Square Park and Library, residents asked for more shade, and requested the library stay open during construction.
Backpack season is underway! We’ve got lots of places for you to scoop up new school supplies before classes start – plus a few opportunities to get wet and cool off on hot days.
McPherson Square Library, which has been closed since June 21st due to a broken air conditioning system, may reopen by next Tuesday in time for a meeting with the City of Philadelphia’s Rebuild program.
Emily Rizzo is the Accountability Reporter for Kensington Voice. She mostly covers the city’s response to the opioid and housing crises in Kensington, with a focus on how new policies and initiatives affect the community.
After seeing the redesign plans for McPherson Square Park and Library, residents asked for more shade, and requested the library stay open during construction.
Council member Quetcy Lozada’s bill that bans mobile service units from most of Kensington’s 7th District will not take effect on the expected date — Sunday, July 27.
In Kensington, a neighborhood already grappling with public health challenges related to the decades-old open-air drug market and opioid crisis, residents say the AFSCME District Council 33 strike exposes longstanding problems including illegal dumping, homelessness and a lack of city support.
The bill imposes strict permitting, time, and location limits on medical providers offering wound care and addiction treatment as well as any organization offering basic necessities like food, water, and clothes.
The bill would authorize police and crisis lines to initiate a 302 — an involuntary psychiatric hold of up to 120 hours for people considered a danger to themselves or others.
Students from Gloria Casarez Elementary School in Kensington lined up to testify in support of the legislation, carrying handmade signs that read: “No needles,” “Don’t sell drugs,” “I just want to be a kid,” “We want to be able to play outside,” and “I want to feel safe.”
The amendments, approved in a 12-3 vote, would require mobile providers to obtain permits while also imposing strict location and time limits on their operations.
The Overdose Prevention and Community Healing Fund, or Prevention Fund, used a community-led grantmaking process to distribute $3.1 million to 43 organizations in 2024.
