Participation is Power :: September 2, 2017

After a cyberattack-induced hiatus from telephone town halls, I was finally able to hold another on the evening of Wednesday, 6 September. It was a great opportunity to talk about reading and the new school year with my guests, Siobhan Reardon and Chris Caputo of the Free Library of Philadelphia and Carrie Turner of the Cheltenham Township Library System. Reading is the foundation for learning and opportunity. The libraries offer many reading programs for young and older residents. In addition, the libraries are also looking for volunteers. I also had the chance to talk about the incredibly successful reading camps we held this summer – nearly 300 students participated – and the Back to School Celebration with more than 300 people that took place on 26 August.

We are all looking forward to a great new school year. I will also be holding another telephone town hall in late October. The focus will be on election integrity with Pennsylvania Secretary of State Pedro Cortes. If you are interested in participating, please get in touch with my office at (215) 242-8171. Details to come!

New Parking at Broad and Olney Intersection

On 7 September, I joined leadership from the community, businesses, LaSalle University, Einstein Healthcare Network and SEPTA in officially announcing seven new public parking spaces at the intersection of Broad Street and Olney Avenue. Previously marked as cab stand and bus parking, the spaces had not been used for those purposes for many decades. In addition to providing added incentives for residents to stay in the neighborhood when shopping, these spaces will encourage the thousands of people who travel through this corridor every day to stop by.

The joint effort between my office, community leaders and proprietors to revitalize the commercial corridor is ongoing. The Philadelphia City Planning Commission has also proposed an ambitious plan for redevelopment and growth in the area, as part of its “Philadelphia2035” campaign.

We don’t expect changes to happen overnight, but in the time that my office has been working closely with the business owners here, we have already seen real improvements. I look forward to continued progress at Broad and Olney.

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Saturday, 9 September: Unity Day in Abington is again sponsored by the Willow Grove NAACP. Unity Day will be filled with fun, food, games and tons of resources. My staff will be on hand with information on how we can help you. The event goes from 9am to 5pm and will be held at Crestmont Park.

Monday, 18 September: Session in Harrisburg starts back up. While we are currently only scheduled to be in Harrisburg for one week this month, I hope that my colleagues will join me in my “no budget, no break” commitment. If we do not have a revenue package to cover the $32 billion in spending approved by 20 September, we should stay in the Capitol until we do!

Reading & Back to School: Telephone Town Hall

New Parking at Broad and Olney Intersection

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