Opinion
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Community in FishtownFrom Factories to “Maker Spaces,” Has Fishtown’s Next Working Class Heyday Arrived in Yoga Pants?
There's something I really don't get when people say that Fishtown is 'gentrifying.' I mean, I know what they're saying. They're saying that people are moving here and that rents…
Conrad Benner | 10/01/2015 -
FeaturesThe Local Lens: A Guide to Philadelphia Poets
The City of Philadelphia is currently looking for a new Poet Laureate, following the end of current poet laureate Frank Sherlock’s term. Duties of the Poet Laureate include mentoring young…
Thom Nickels | 09/25/2015 -
FeaturesWhat “Dude It’s Rude” Complaints Tell Us About SEPTA, and Each Other
When SEPTA created its “Dude It’s Rude” riding etiquette campaign last year, it did not do so in a vacuum. Cities like Boston and New York had already unveiled similar…
Randy LoBasso | 09/23/2015 -
OpinionMemoirs From Philadelphia Gay News: The Local Lens
The Spirit’s new management hosted a one year anniversary party last week — an occasion that brought together many of the paper’s contributors and reporters. Later in the evening, a…
Thom Nickels | 09/18/2015 -
FeaturesThe Local Lens
The announcement of a proposed 14,000-square-foot Fine Wine and Good Spirits Shop at 12th and Chestnut Streets got me thinking about how Pennsylvania needs to get out of the liquor…
Thom Nickels | 09/11/2015 -
OpinionThe Local Lens
There’s been a lot of incessant talk about the upcoming papal visit — bridge closures, security checkpoints, surprise dead-end streets, no-car zones, closed businesses and more. It’s no wonder that…
Thom Nickels | 09/04/2015 -
EducationAn Open Letter to Parents and Students as We Go Back to School
Students, let me invite you into my classroom on the first day of school. Every year, after the usual housecleaning of learning names, checking schedules and introducing ourselves, I shut…
Frank Stepnowski | 09/02/2015 -
OpinionThe Local Lens
Harvard Square, a triangular plaza in Cambridge, Mass. surrounded by parts of Harvard University’s campus, was as good a place to live as Paris or Berkeley in the late 60s…
Thom Nickels | 08/27/2015 -
OpinionThe Local Lens
There are seven historic house museums in the City of Philadelphia and each one has a unique history. These houses are the city’s link to its historic past. One of…
Thom Nickels | 08/21/2015 -
Features in KensingtonNew to the Riverwards: Sleepy Drivers and Late Saturday Night Observations
2:15 AM, Saturday night. Kensington. I was enjoying one of those slow, quiet conversations that crop up among party stragglers as we finish off the last few bottles of cider.…
Teagan Kuruna | 08/14/2015 -
OpinionThe Local Lens
As residents of Philadelphia and readers of a community paper within the city, most of what we discuss in these pages is about The City of Brotherly Love. But what…
Thom Nickels | 08/13/2015 -
FeaturesThe Local Lens: Memories of Vienna
When people ask me, what is my favorite European city, I usually answer Vienna. Vienna is similar to Paris, only people are friendly. And almost everyone speaks English. It…
Thom Nickels | 08/06/2015