Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes

Category: Politics

Political news and coverage

  • The government shutdown is disrupting air travel. Sean Duffy visited PHL to blame Democrats.

    The government shutdown is disrupting air travel. Sean Duffy visited PHL to blame Democrats.

    The federal shutdown messaging war was in full swing at Philadelphia International Airport Friday, where U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed airline travel disruptions on Democrats, as air traffic controllers are slated to miss their first full paycheck next week.

    “If you’re seeing an increase in shutdowns right now, or delays, or cancellations, it’s because the Democrats won’t open the government back up,” said Duffy.

    Duffy also reiterated a Republican talking point, inaccurately accusing Democrats of pushing for a shutdown in order to extend health care to undocumented immigrants. Various policy experts, however, have found this claim to be false, as undocumented immigrants were already ineligible for Medicaid and insurance provided by the Affordable Care Act.

    Travel disruptions fueled by air traffic controller absences played a major role in pressuring politicians to relent and reopen government during the last government shutdown, which started in December 2018 and bled into the new year for a total of 35 days. As that shutdown dragged on, air traffic controllers who were working without pay began calling out sick, sparking major delays across the country.

    Though a PHL spokesperson said the airport has not experienced disruptions as a result of the shutdown to date, other hubs, including Newark Liberty International Airport, have. Duffy said while about 5% of delays are typically due to staffing shortages, that number has been as high as 53% since the shutdown began Oct. 1.

    Joining Duffy, Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, described how members report taking on side gigs delivering food or driving rideshares.

    Air traffic controllers were able to receive about 90% of their pay in their last check because most of their biweekly pay period fell before the shutdown.

    As more families feel the impact of the shutdown, Daniels said air traffic controllers would feel the stress at work and “instead of focusing on the safety of the American flying public, they’re now focusing on what they can’t afford to pay.”

    The visit to Philadelphia International Airport comes amid a back-and-forth between President Donald Trump‘s administration and Democrats. The White House’s official website has a “Government Shutdown Clock,” which tells visitors, “Democrats have shut down the government.” Other federal government sites blame the “Radical Left” or call the shutdown “Democrat-led.”

    Airports have not been immune to the shutdown messaging wars, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blaming Democrats in a video sent to the travel hubs to play — the Transportation Security Administration is part of Noem’s department and TSA workers are not being paid during the shutdown. PHL and several other airports have refused to play the video, citing federal limits on political messaging they can display.

    Just last week, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro‘s administration pushed back with its own messaging on the state Department of Human Services website.

    “Because Republicans in Washington D.C., failed to pass a federal budget, causing the federal government shutdown, November 2025 [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits cannot be paid,“ reads a banner on the website.

    For airports and travelers, the possibility of a prolonged shutdown brings the potential for disruptions during one of the most popular times to travel.

    What’s more, it could affect those in the Federal Aviation Administration’s training academy, hoping to become air traffic controllers. Those students continued to receive modest pay amid the shutdown — their instructors have not — but Duffy said money is slated to run out in as little as a week or two. The transportation secretary said fears of future funding issues have caused some students to drop out at a time the department is short some 3,000 air traffic controllers.

    TSA employees at PHL, meanwhile, are also suffering.

    Joe Shuker, Region 7 vice president for AFGE Council 100, which represents TSA employees there, said workers are being required to bring doctor’s notes if they call out, adding the cost of a copay to legitimately sick staff. Shuker, like Daniels, said employees were being encouraged to keep working.

    “However, at some point running out of money will be an issue,” he said as workers struggle to pay for gas, childcare, and mortgages.

    Duffy on SEPTA

    Ahead of his visit to PHL, Duffy wrote a blistering letter to Shapiro, blaming the Democrat for SEPTA’s financial woes and, in particular, for five Regional Rail train fires this year involving 50-year-old Silverliner IV cars.

    “Thankfully, no fatalities resulted, but the department will not stand by waiting for tragedy to strike,” Duffy told Shapiro. “If changes are not made immediately, it is only a matter of time before SEPTA’s crumbling commuter rail system erupts in flames and kills someone.”

    The governor clapped back. A spokesperson noted that Shapiro has fought for new, stable state funding for SEPTA and other transit agencies in the last two budgets — only to have Senate Republicans, who hold the majority in the chamber, kill the proposals.

    “Instead of issuing a press release, if Secretary Duffy actually wants to be helpful, he should call his fellow Republicans and get them to fund the governor’s mass transit funding package for SEPTA,” said Rosie Lapowsky, Shapiro’s press secretary. “We would be happy to provide their phone numbers.”

    The mass-transit agency has been pulling the 225 cars off the line for extensive safety inspections and repairs, acting on an Oct. 1 order from the Federal Railroad Administration, which regulates commuter rail. SEPTA also is installing a modern thermal detection system on the Silverliner IVs, which were built in the mid 1970s.

    The FRA order imposed a deadline of Oct. 31 and Duffy warned unrepaired rail cars could be ordered out of service if it is not met.

    “I want a great system for Philadelphia, that’s what I want,” Duffy said when asked about the letter at PHL. “If I can be helpful, I will, if I get resistance, we can we can be great friends, or we can be really bad enemies. I think we should be in the friend business and serve in this community.”

  • Killing of Kada Scott prompts hearing on Philly’s handling of domestic violence cases | City Council roundup

    Killing of Kada Scott prompts hearing on Philly’s handling of domestic violence cases | City Council roundup

    City Council will probe the Philadelphia justice system’s procedures for “protecting victims of abuse and domestic violence” following the killing of 23-year-old Mount Airy resident Kada Scott.

    Prosecutors have charged Keon King with murder and other crimes for allegedly kidnapping Scott, shooting her, and burying her body behind a closed East Germantown school in early October.

    King was arrested in two separate incidents in December and January in which authorities allege he violently assaulted an ex-girlfriend. In the second incident, he is accused of kidnapping her and choking her in his car.

    Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner held a press conference at his office regarding the death of Kada Scott on Monday, October 20, 2025.

    District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office requested bail to be set at just under $1 million in that case. A judge instead set bail at $200,000, allowing King to be released after posting the necessary $20,000. Krasner’s office did not appeal the bond decision.

    Prosecutors then withdrew both cases after the victim and witnesses failed to appear in court. Krasner has admitted that dropping charges against King for the second incident was a mistake because there was enough video evidence to proceed with the prosecution. But he also directed blame at the courts for letting King out on bail following each arrest.

    Philly DA’s Office says it was a mistake to withdraw earlier kidnapping case against the man charged with abducting Kada Scott

    “As the City of Philadelphia, I think we failed the young lady, right?” Council President Kenyatta Johnson told reporters Thursday. “You got two agencies, two city departments, pointing fingers at one another, and at the end of the day, that’s not going to bring resolution to the family. And so at the end of the day, that needs to be addressed. And so we’ll look at the system as a whole.”

    Council approved a resolution authored by Johnson that will allow the Committee on Public Safety to hold hearings on how the courts, sheriff’s office, district attorney’s office, and police department work to protect domestic violence victims.

    Kada Scott ‘a beacon of light and love’

    Remembering Scott: Council also approved a resolution by Councilmember Anthony Phillips honoring Scott’s life and legacy, describing her as a “a beacon of light and love, remembered for her faith, kindness and countless lives she touched.“

    Scott, who opened a beauty spa in Mount Airy when she was 19 years old, “was the kind of person who made others feel seen,” said Phillips, whose 9th District includes Mount Airy.

    Prosecutors have charged Keon King with the murder of Kada Scott, pictured.

    “Kada was a young woman whose light and kindness reflect the very best of us,” Phillips said in a speech on the Council floor. “She had vision and determination. She believed in the power of self-care, community, and purpose.”

    Councilmember Cindy Bass, whose 8th District includes the school where Scott’s remains were found, added that “it’s never been more important that we get our young men together.”

    “There is a vulnerability that exists, and protection is needed. Protection is important,” Bass said. “What we do and how we handle our situations in our community — there’s just so much to be done.”

    Childcare providers could get tax break

    Targeted relief: Councilmember Isaiah Thomas last spring pushed for the city to aggressively cut the business income and receipts tax, or BIRT.

    Johnson and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker ultimately went with a less aggressive schedule of tax cuts than Thomas had wanted. But the sophomore lawmaker is now trying another route to lighten the BIRT burden: cutting rates for a specific industry.

    Thomas on Thursday introduced a bill that would halve BIRT’s two tax rates for childcare providers, which are facing a nationwide crisis over costs, staffing, and financial viability. The gross receipts portion of BIRT would be reduced from 0.1415% to 0.07075% for daycare owners, and the net income rate would go from 5.81% to 2.805%.

    City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas wants to give daycares a tax break.

    “There’s one business and one industry in the city of Philadelphia that touches every district and a lot of families, especially working families, that are struggling,” Thomas said. “This legislation is another example of us trying to think through what we can do to support businesses who support families as well as families who are in need.”

    Regulatory bill sparked by Center City bike lane debate passes after arduous legislative process

    Unloading over loading zones: Heated fights over legislation with narrow impact are nothing new in City Council, where limited proposals often become battlegrounds in larger disputes over issues such as gentrification or the opioid crisis.

    But a bill on loading zones in parts of Center City, approved Thursday, may have set a new standard.

    The bill, which was proposed by the Parker administration and carried by Johnson, will allow the mayor’s administration to add or remove loading zones in parts of Center City without new ordinances from Council.

    It ultimately passed in a 16-0 vote, with Councilmember Brian O’Neill absent.

    But the journey to Thursday’s vote began with the high-profile death of a cyclist, involved a lawsuit, went through two rounds of amendments limiting and expanding its scope, and ended with plans for further proposals to tweak the law.

    The saga began when Johnson passed a bill making it illegal for vehicles to idle in bike lanes following the 2024 death of Barbara Friedes, who was killed while riding in a bike lane on the 1800 block of Spruce Street. Parker’s administration then adjusted loading zones in Center City streets with bike lanes, with the goal of providing spaces for residents who used the bike lanes for unloading their vehicles.

    After neighbors complained the loading zones would take away a handful of parking spots, attorney George Bochetto successfully sued the city, with Common Pleas Court Judge Sierra Thomas Street this summer ruling the administration did not have the authority to promulgate loading zone regulations without Council approval.

    The case led to the revelation that a 1980s city law granting that regulatory authority was somehow never officially codified, throwing into legal jeopardy hundreds of parking regulations promulgated over the last four decades. The bill passed Thursday was intended to fix that legal conundrum by reiterating Council’s intention to grant the administration that authority.

    A cyclist rides along Spruce Street.

    But Johnson and Councilmember Mark Squilla, whose districts include parts of Center City, at one point amended the bill so that it applied only to loading zone regulations and to the Spruce and Pine Streets corridors, which have bike lanes. They eventually reversed course on the geography of the bill, adopting a new amendment allowing it to affect all areas of their districts included in the old law. But they maintained the part of the original amendment narrowing its scope to loading zones and not other parking rules.

    Meanwhile, Councilmember Jeffery “Jay” Young Jr., whose 5th District also has a slice of Center City, removed his territory from the bill entirely.

    Next, Councilmember Jamie Gauthier is expected to work with the administration to fix the regulatory black hole in University City, which is part of her 3rd District. And Johnson said Thursday he may be open to revisiting whether the administration should be given explicit statutory authority to regulate other parking rules beyond loading zones in the affected area of his district.

    “We always have an open mind,” he said.

    Quotable: Honoring the late Philadelphia newspaper editor Michael Days

    Glory Days: Michael Days was a longtime editor of the Philadelphia Daily News, an executive at The Inquirer, and the inaugural president of the National Association of Black Journalists-Philadelphia.

    Michael Days, pioneering journalist who led the Philadelphia Daily News during its 2010 Pulitzer Prize win for investigative reporting, has died at 72

    He died on Saturday in Trenton at 72 years old. Council on Thursday approved a resolution by Johnson and Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson honoring Days “for his extensive career serving Philadelphians.”

    Philadelphia Daily News Editor Michael Days celebrates with the newsroom after word of the Pulitzer win.

    A North Philadelphia native and devout Catholic, Days was revered as a principled reporter and editor, a mentor for young journalists of color, and a leader who helmed the Daily News when it won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting.

    Staff writer Ellie Rushing contributed to this article.

  • Comcast is one of 37 ‘patriot donors’ paying for Trump’s $300 million White House ballroom

    Comcast is one of 37 ‘patriot donors’ paying for Trump’s $300 million White House ballroom

    Comcast is among 37 corporations, foundations, and individuals donating money to build President Donald Trump’s proposed ballroom where the East Wing of the White House once stood, according to CNN and various news reports.

    The exact amount that the Philadelphia-based global media and technology company will be contributing toward the estimated $300 million construction cost was not included on a list of donors provided to news media by the White House.

    Comcast officials didn’t comment Friday.

    The company has supported Trump in the past. It donated $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee in December, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. And it made a $250,000 donation to his 2017 inauguration, according to CNN.

    Despite the contributions, the Trump administration has attacked Comcast-owned media outlets such as NBC and MSNBC for content he’s found objectionable.

    The 90,000-square-foot ballroom, to be named after Trump, could hold close to 1,000 people for state dinners and events, Time magazine reported.

    The project is not without controversy.

    Trump lacked approval for construction from the National Capital Planning Commission, which signs off on construction work and major renovations to government buildings in the Washington area, according to the Associated Press.

    Ethics experts wonder whether donors are looking for special consideration from Trump.

    Claire Finkelstein, a University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School professor and director of the school’s Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law, said the ballroom project rouses “a lot of concerns,” according to FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at Penn.

    “Is he really going to use it for the duties of his office, or will he entertain a lot of individuals trying to curry favor with the administration or him personally?” Finkelstein asked. She wondered whether it could be “a misuse of public real estate.”

    Others complain that the administration initially pledged not to demolish the East Wing, which turned out “to be a lie,” according to New York Magazine.

    Comcast joins an elite roster of ballroom underwriters, including Amazon, Apple, Google, Lockheed Martin, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and T-Mobile, according to NBC News.

    Also on the list are crypto, oil, and tobacco companies, owners of sports teams, and the foundations of several billionaires.

    Trump said he’ll contribute his own money to the ballroom’s construction, joining the list of what he calls “patriot donors.”

    Staff writer Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article.

  • What is the Shutdown Fairness Act 2025?

    The Shutdown Fairness Act 2025 is a GOP-backed bill that would pay federal employees who are working during the government shutdown, with Republicans continuing to put pressure on Democrats to reopen the government.

    Senate Majority Leader John Thune earlier this week announced the measure, Senate Bill 3012, as hundreds of thousands of federal workers will miss their paychecks, while the military, while paid Oct. 15, face missing their Oct. 31 paychecks. This as families face food security issues, with SNAP benefits stretched thin.

    Some Philly federal workers are working through the shutdown. It’s ‘awful’ and ‘depressing.’

    Senate Bill 3012, known as the S. 3012, is a measure that would pay federal employees who are working through the shutdown, including members of the military and contractors who support “excepted” work.

    Majority Whip Sen. John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, said live on the Senate floor on Thursday, Oct. 23, that there was “no single argument against passing it immediately” since it would pay the troops, Coast Guard, Border Patrol, members of ICE, air traffic controllers, TSA agents at airports, and Capitol police officers in Washington, D.C.

    The bill would provide “such sums as are necessary” to pay non-furloughed workers; however, Democrats have argued that all federal workers, including those on furlough, should be paid.

    Federal shutdown may bring a halt to food assistance for half a million Philadelphians

    The bill, sponsored by GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, applies only to “excepted” federal employees whose work is considered essential during a period of prolapsed funding. Those employees continue to work but cannot get back pay until the shutdown is over. Nonessential workers are placed on furlough, and also get back pay.

    The bill was first proposed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune this week. The legislation requires the backing of Democrats, but some have warned the bill would give power to President Donald Trump.

    “We know what will happen — any agencies that he doesn’t like won’t get paid,” Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, told reporters earlier this week, per CBS News.

  • Democrats in Upper Darby accuse a GOP council candidate and former police officer of racist posts

    Democrats in Upper Darby accuse a GOP council candidate and former police officer of racist posts

    Bob Yantorno, a Republican candidate for a seat on the Upper Darby Township Council, is facing scrutiny over material he posted three years ago that Democrats have decried as racist.

    Yantorno, 65, is a former commanding officer of the Narberth Police Department, a former paramedic, and a veteran of other law enforcement agencies. He’s running in the township’s 3rd District.

    Yantorno denies that anything he has ever posted was motivated by racism and said his social media comments reflected his outrage over incidents of violence.

    The controversy stems from posts Yantorno made in 2022 on Twitter, now known as X, in response to crime news stories from Fox 29 that involved Black suspects.

    “Take him out back n bullet in occipital section,” Yantorno wrote about a suspect from Drexel Hill charged with two homicides.

    “Arrest convict bury,” Yantorno wrote in response to a booking photo of a Camden man accused of rape.

    In a 2022 reply to an Upper Darby Police Department statement about a rash of thefts from automobiles, Yantorno wrote under four photos of young men in hoodies walking near cars but not stealing anything, “Common denominator?”

    The race of the men was not obvious from the photos posted by the department.

    Democrat Noah Fields, 25, who is running for one of two at-large council seats, neither of which Yantorno is seeking, condemned Yantorno in an interview for what he said was “shocking” and “hateful” speech, as well as “violent rhetoric.”

    Fields said that “racism has no place in Upper Darby.” He added that “this guy is calling for the execution of people without due process. The violent rhetoric we’re hearing on the national level is trickling down to local politics.”

    State Rep. Heather Boyd (D., Delaware), who represents Upper Darby, said the posts were “really upsetting, offensive, and disappointing.”

    She added, “We don’t want anyone in a position of influence to not consider people’s right to due process and the rule of law.”

    Asked about the posts in an interview Wednesday, Yantorno initially said he was unaware of their existence.

    “I have no idea what you’re talking about. What Democrats are saying is slanderous. People put stuff out there about me that’s not true,” Yantorno said. “All I can tell you that in the Narberth Police Department, my reputation was stellar.”

    Yantorno said he didn’t know how posts with his name, photo, and personal details got onto X. His page says he joined the platform in 2022 and features a profile photo of him in police uniform.

    He bristled at being called racist. He added, “I would never put a picture of somebody of any color and disparage them because of their race.”

    Yantorno said that personal experience has made him sensitive to race bias. He said that when he and his first wife, whom he identified as a woman of color, moved into a house in Stonehurst, an Upper Darby neighborhood, someone stuck a cross in their lawn.

    It was, Yantorno said, a symbol of hatred aimed at his then-wife.

    Similarly, he said, when he was a police officer in Yeadon, he and his former wife “fell in love” with a house they wanted to buy, but had to back out of the deal because their real estate agent said if they moved in, “someone would burn down the house and the real estate office.”

    Yantorno added without being asked: “You will never see anything from me online using the N-word. That’s not how I roll, brother.”

    A statement emailed Thursday by the Upper Darby Republican Campaign Committee included remarks attributed to Yantorno that differed from his original explanation.

    In the new statement, Yantorno no longer said he was unaware of the posts. Instead, he said, “those comments reflected my frustration and anger over the senseless violence in our community and had nothing to do with race.” He added that “claims of racism are offensive and absurd.”

    A GOP committee statement, which was not attributed to a specific person, emphasized Yantorno’s commitment to public service and said that he does not deserve a “fabricated inference that has no basis in reality.”

    Jeff Jones, an Upper Darby real estate developer who has been a Republican candidate for the council in the past, defended Yantorno.

    “I read the tweets. They were comments made by a gentleman 35 years in law environment who’s seen criminals and victims at their worst, and the frustration came through in those tweets,” said Jones, who is Black.

    Melissa DiNofia-Bozzone, Yantorno’s Democratic opponent for the 3rd District seat, declined to comment on the posts, saying, “I’m focused on running a positive campaign.”

    Friends describe Yantorno, a veteran, as a gregarious person with a desire to help his community.

    In 2020, he biked across the United States to raise money for families of slain police officers. He also did the ride, he said, for the family of Daniel Faulkner, the Philadelphia police officer who was killed in 1981. Mumia Abu-Jamal received the death penalty for the shooting, which was later reduced to a life sentence without parole.

    Yantorno is also the author of a 1995 crime novel set in Philadelphia called Brutal Mercies. According to the publishing company, Trafford, the story opens with “a horrific act of mutilation” in Overbrook that “leaves the police asking, ‘Why?’”

    Staff writers Katie Bernard and Ryan W. Briggs contributed to this article.

  • Johnny Doc played a pivotal role electing his brother to the Pa. Supreme Court. Ten years later, things are different.

    Johnny Doc played a pivotal role electing his brother to the Pa. Supreme Court. Ten years later, things are different.

    As Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty knocked on doors in Northeast Philadelphia last month, a voter made a connection.

    Peering out his front door on a sunny September day, the man asked if the mild-mannered and smiling white-haired justice standing on his front porch was related to former labor leader John Dougherty. Widely known as “Johnny Doc,” the former head of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and a onetime kingmaker in state and local politics was sentenced last year to six years in federal prison on embezzlement and bribery convictions.

    Despite the public fall from grace, the voter said he missed John Dougherty’s leadership in Philadelphia, adding that he believed Dougherty had been good for workers in the city. They are brothers, Kevin Dougherty confirmed.

    Justice Kevin Dougherty (left) canvasses with his son, State Rep. Sean Dougherty (center) in Fox Chase Sunday Sept. 7, 2025, stopping at the home of a voter. The elder Dougherty is one of three Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices up for retention.

    The justice had spent the day asking voters in his neighborhood to keep him and two other justices on the state’s Supreme Court for an additional 10-year term. At that stage, many voters were not even aware of the typically sleepy and nonpartisan contest on which both parties are spending millions in the lead-up to the Nov. 4 election.

    But in this year’s unusually high-profile state Supreme Court retention race, the connection has, in some circles, become unavoidable. Republicans seeking to oust Kevin Dougherty and two of his colleagues, all initially elected as Democrats, have sought to tie the judge to his brother’s misdeeds. The justice, a son of South Philadelphia who previously led Philadelphia’s Family Court, has sought to distance himself, and has seen the continued support of labor unions in his retention campaign.

    “Over the course of 25 years as a judge, including ten years as a Justice on the Supreme Court, Justice Dougherty has had the privilege and the benefit of meeting a multitude of Pennsylvanians including the working men and women of organized labor,” Shane Carey, Kevin Dougherty’s campaign manager, said in a statement. “Our campaign is proud to receive their support, as well as the support from almost 5,000 other individual donors.”

    How Johnny Doc helped elect his brother to the Supreme Court in 2015

    Kevin Dougherty didn’t choose to be related to one of the city’s most prominent power brokers, but he certainly benefited from his brother’s former union’s help, with significant support from the politically powerful Local 98 during his 2015 campaign for the state bench.

    Local 98, where John Dougherty was the longtime business manager, contributed more than $620,000 during Kevin Dougherty’s 2015 campaign for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Local 98’s spokesperson at the time also served as Kevin Dougherty’s campaign manager and appears from campaign finance filings that year to have been paid by Local 98. The union also spent more than $480,000 on in-kind contributions for “professional services,” mailers, merchandise, and more.

    Justice Kevin Dougherty talks with volunteers before they head out the canvass in Fox Chase Sunday Sept. 7, 2025. Dougherty is one of three Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices up for retention.

    Kevin Dougherty is the only justice up for retention from Southeastern Pennsylvania. The other justices, Christine Donohue and David Wecht, live in Pittsburgh. They will each appear on the November ballot with no party and no home county. Voters will simply be asked “yes” or “no” whether each individual justice should be retained for another term.

    Republicans working to oust the three justices this year have tried to leverage Kevin Dougherty’s past support from his brother to encourage voters to oppose his retention.

    Scott Presler, an influencer aligned with President Donald Trump who has more than 2.4 million followers and runs a political action committee aimed at registering Republican voters, posted an AI-generated image of John Dougherty behind bars, tying, without evidence, Local 98’s contributions to Kevin Dougherty’s 2015 campaign to his brother’s convictions.

    “Coincidence?” Presler wrote.

    Johnny Dougherty, the former IBEW business manger, and his attorney Gregory J. Pagano as they leave the U.S. District Court, Reading, Pa. on the day he was sentenced to 6 years in prison Thursday, July 11, 2024.

    For months, the conservative influencer has posted on social media urging followers to vote against retaining Kevin Dougherty and his colleagues, citing the times his name was mentioned during John Dougherty’s trials, such as when prosecutors alleged the justice received free home repairs or snow removal on the union’s dime. Kevin Dougherty’s lawyer at the time of the embezzlement trial said the judge never knowingly accepted services paid for with union funds.

    While door-knocking in September, Kevin Dougherty dismissed attacks against him related to his brother as “misinformation,” noting his decades-long career as a judge.

    Kevin Dougherty, 63, spent more than a decade as a Common Pleas Court judge in Philadelphia before his election to the state Supreme Court. During his tenure on the state’s highest court, he has authored majority opinions and is leading a statewide initiative to improve how Pennsylvania’s judicial system interacts with people with behavioral health issues.

    “I spent close to a quarter of a century being a judge,” Dougherty said on a sidewalk in Northeast Philly. “I just don’t accept people’s comments and judgment. I want to know what the motive behind those comments are. Some of these comments are just partisan … and I believe in my reputation.”

    The justice should be vetted on his own merits, said John Jones, a former U.S. District Court judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania who was appointed to the bench by former President George W. Bush.

    “You can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your relatives,” Jones, now president of Dickinson College, added. “You have to judge the justice on his own merits. This is not a country where we favor guilt by association.”

    This time on the campaign trail, Kevin Dougherty has new familial support. State Rep. Sean Dougherty, a Democrat who was elected last year to represent parts of Northeast Philadelphia, has joined his dad to stump for his retention.

    Kevin Dougherty still has broad union support, including from Local 98

    With John Dougherty no longer at the helm of Local 98, labor unions in Pennsylvania this year still overwhelmingly supported the justice for retention, contributing $665,000 to Kevin Dougherty’s campaign as of September. While trades unions contributed the most of any interest group to all three justices — for a total of $903,000 as of the latest filings — Kevin Dougherty is the largest beneficiary of that support.

    Among those contributors: Local 98. The union, which has reorganized and distanced itself from John Dougherty since he was first convicted in 2021, gave $70,000 to Kevin Dougherty’s retention campaign.

    “IBEW Local 98 does not support candidates based on personal relationships,” said Tom Lepera, Local 98’s political director, in a statement. “We support candidates who understand and stand up for the needs of working men and women in organized labor. Justice Dougherty, along with Justices Donohue and Wecht, have consistently demonstrated their commitment to protecting the rights and interests of middle-class workers across this commonwealth.”

    Kevin Dougherty’s campaign did not respond to several questions this week about his brother’s role in his 2015 campaign or whether his brother’s reputation has influenced the retention campaign.

    Anti-retention material featuring President Donald Trump as Uncle Sam was on display at Republican rally in Bucks County last month headlined by Treasurer Stacy Garrity, a candidate for governor. The material is from Early Vote Action, a group led by GOP influencer Scott Presler.

    Union leaders insist their support for Kevin Dougherty this year has nothing to do with his brother and is a reflection of his quality work in the judiciary. Labor unions often support Democratic candidates, who are often seen as more beneficial to unions and their priorities.

    “It’s about keeping good judges on the bench,” said Ryan Boyer, leader of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, an umbrella organization of local trades unions once commanded by John Dougherty. This year, the building trades gave just over $33,000 to each justice.

    “We don’t live on Mars where we don’t know that sometimes familial connections can be there,” Boyer said, “and they try to exploit those things.”

    Nonpartisan and Democratic groups favor Dougherty’s tenure on the bench

    Like his colleagues running for retention, Kevin Dougherty has earned broad support from nonpartisan and partisan groups alike.

    Dougherty was recommended for retention by the Pennsylvania Bar Association, which is a rigorous, nonpartisan decision based on a jurist’s behavior on the bench, and endorsed by several law enforcement organizations.

    Lauren Cristella, CEO of the Committee of Seventy, the Philadelphia-based good-government group, noted that the justice was never charged or found guilty of wrongdoing.

    Justices David Wecht, Christine Donohue and Kevin Dougherty sit onstage during a fireside chat at Central High School on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 in Philadelphia.

    “The Committee of Seventy relies on the findings of law enforcement and professional oversight organizations, such as the Bar Association, when evaluating judicial candidates. This year, the Pennsylvania Bar Association has evaluated Justice Dougherty and recommended him for retention. Our focus remains on transparency, accountability, and maintaining public trust in Pennsylvania’s courts,” Cristella said in a statement.

    Dougherty and his fellow justices have also gained the support of Gov. Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s popular Democratic governor, who in a fundraising email to Pennsylvania Democrats on Thursday urged voters to mark “yes” on retaining Dougherty, Donohue, and Wecht.

    Justice Kevin M. Dougherty listens during a Courtroom Dedication Ceremony at the Supreme Court Courtroom in Philadelphia City Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025 in Philadelphia.

    “The threats to our freedoms are coming from all directions, and we need a Court that stands up for what’s right,” Shapiro said in the email. “Justices Donohue, Dougherty, and Wecht have proven that we can count on them to protect freedom, reproductive rights, and the rule of law.”

    In a statement to The Inquirer, Kevin Dougherty didn’t mention his brother by name.

    “With regard to my personal relationship I love my big brother. For obvious reasons, my brother is not participating in my Retention campaign,” he said.

  • Trump backs off planned surge of federal agents into San Francisco after talking to the mayor

    Trump backs off planned surge of federal agents into San Francisco after talking to the mayor

    ALAMEDA, Calif. — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he’s backing off a planned surge of federal agents into San Francisco to quell crime after speaking to the mayor and several prominent business leaders who said they’re working hard to clean up the city.

    Trump had been threatening to send the National Guard to San Francisco, a move Mayor Daniel Lurie and Gov. Gavin Newsom said was unnecessary because crime is on the decline. Separately, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents began arriving at a Coast Guard base in the region earlier Thursday for a possible ramp up of immigration enforcement, a move that drew several hundred protesters.

    It was not clear if the president was canceling a National Guard deployment or calling off immigration enforcement by CBP agents. At his news conference, Lurie said he could not clarify and could only repeat what the president had told him. Lurie said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “reaffirmed” Trump’s commitment on Thursday morning. DHS oversees CBP agents as well as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    “The Federal Government was preparing to ‘surge’ San Francisco, California, on Saturday, but friends of mine who live in the area called last night to ask me not to go forward with the surge,” Trump posted on social media. “I spoke to Mayor Lurie last night and he asked, very nicely, that I give him a chance to see if he can turn it around.”

    Specifically, Trump said he heard from Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. He said the federal government could handle crime better than city leaders, and he indicated he could still send agents in the future.

    At an afternoon news conference, Lurie said he welcomes the city’s “continued partnership” with the Drug Enforcement Agency and other federal authorities to get illegal narcotics off the streets and contribute to San Francisco’s falling crime rates.

    “But having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery,” the mayor said. Trump’s assertions of out-of-control crime in the city of roughly 830,000 have baffled local and state leaders, who point to statistics showing that many crimes are at record lows.

    Newsom’s office said on X: “Trump has finally, for once, listened to reason — and heard what we have been saying from the beginning. The Bay Area is a shining example of what makes California so special, and any attempt to erode our progress would damage the work we’ve done.”

    Protesters assembled just after dawn at Coast Guard Island in Alameda, California, where CBP agents were arriving before Trump made his remarks. Several hundred people stood outside the facility, with many singing hymns and carrying signs saying, “Protect our neighbors” and “No ICE or troops in the Bay.”

    Police used at least one flash-bang grenade to clear a handful of demonstrators from the entrance as CBP vehicles drove onto the base. Organizers urged protesters to remain peaceful, as a line of Coast Guard officers in helmets watched from just outside the entrance.

    Protester Gala King participated in an interfaith vigil against the federal crackdown and in support of immigrants.

    “The Bay Area is a beautiful place full of diversity, and we are here to protect that,” King said. “Our faith traditions, our interfaith traditions, call on us to stand on the side of justice, to stand on the side of those that are most marginalized, that are most targeted right now.”

    Coast Guard Island is an artificial island formed in 1913, and the Coast Guard first established a base there in 1926. The island is owned by the federal government and is not open to the general public, so escorts or specific government ID cards are required for visitors. The Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

    Trump has deployed the Guard to Washington, D.C., and Memphis, Tennessee, to help fight what he says is rampant crime. Los Angeles was the first city where Trump deployed the Guard, arguing it was necessary to protect federal buildings and agents as protesters fought back against immigration arrests.

    He has also said they are needed in Chicago and Portland, Oregon. Lawsuits from Democratic officials in both cities have so far blocked troops from going onto city streets.

  • A new effort to catch illegal dumpers is underway in Philadelphia

    A new effort to catch illegal dumpers is underway in Philadelphia

    Four tires, twenty grand.

    That’s the message Philadelphia city officials want to send to people considering illegally dumping garbage in the city as a new enforcement unit hits the streets.

    The officers are armed with violation notices that could cost dumpers $5,000 per item. That means that tossing four tires into a vacant lot — which several years ago would have resulted in a ticket for a couple of hundred bucks, max — can now run a violator the price of a Honda and result in arrest.

    The new unit of 40 officers focused on identifying the people who dump is part of an expanded task force that Mayor Cherelle L. Parker announced on Thursday. The group also includes a dozen people who monitor 400 surveillance cameras placed near frequent dumping sites, as well as partners in the police department who investigate severe cases.

    “Part of the reason why people think it’s open season to illegally dump in the city of Philadelphia … it’s because they never thought that enforcement would occur,” Parker said. “Besides it being unsightly and unhealthy for people, it’s a crime.”

    City officials said they have brought 17 cases against people who dumped waste illegally so far this year, resulting in more than $3.7 million in collected fines.

    The mayor said her administration would ramp up that effort with the initiation of the task force.

    “Philly ain’t playin’,” she said.

    Members of the new Illegal Dumping Task Force stand during an introductory press conference with Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker and the Office of Clean and Green Initiatives on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, at 10th and Courtland Streets in Philadelphia.

    The program is one tenet of Parker’s plan to clean up the city, which was a key campaign promise when she ran for mayor in 2023. Since she took office last year, the administration has implemented a variety of strategies, including twice-weekly trash collection in parts of the city, block-by-block street cleanups on a semiannual basis, and bolstered graffiti abatement.

    Did Mayor Parker’s plan to clean every block work?

    Parker made the announcement while standing in North Philadelphia’s infamous Logan Triangle, the 35-acre plot that has been an eyesore for the better part of 50 years. It was once home to hundreds of rowhouses, but the families moved out in the 1980s when it became clear their homes were sinking into the bed of the Wingohocking Creek.

    Today, the triangle is a cautionary tale of failed redevelopment — a place where ideas like a basketball center or a dirt bike track or an apple orchard have never been realized. It is now, and has long been, a dumping site.

    It’s also the site where, last week, two people were arrested for unloading trash, said Carlton Williams, the city’s director of clean and green initiatives.

    Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker (right) and Carlton Williams (left) of the Office of Clean and Green Initiatives announce stricter laws to combat illegal dumping during a news conference at Logan Triangle, a frequent dumping site at 10th and Courtland Streets, on Thursday in Philadelphia.

    Not only could those people face criminal penalties, but the administration is focused on levying hefty fines and holding dumpers responsible for cleanup costs. The city is also newly fining people who hire contractors to short dump.

    “We’re gonna hit you where it hurts: in the pocketbook,” Parker said.

    Tackling the city’s notoriously bad illegal dumping problem will be a multiyear effort, and Parker has made stronger enforcement a priority. A study conducted in 2019, prior to her tenure, estimated that the city was spending nearly $50 million annually to address illegal dumping, but 90% of that was for cleanup and not prevention.

    Despite the spending, many in the city say dumping sites are a major problem. A 2023 Lenfest Institute for Journalism/SSRS poll of 1,200 Philadelphians found that six in 10 residents believed reducing dumping should be a top priority for the mayor. Concern was most acute among residents who are low-income, Black, and Latino.

    For many Black, brown, and low-income residents, illegal dumping is a crisis

    City Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, a Democrat and a Parker ally whose district borders Logan Triangle, said the administration’s focus on illegal dumping can begin to remedy what she described as “extremely stressful” situations for residents who have long watched waste pile up near their homes without abatement.

    “Our residents have done their part, and those calls for help went unanswered for a really, really long time,” Lozada said. “But today feels different.”

    How to report illegal dumping

    Anyone who sees illegal dumping happening can call 911. Residents who want to report illegal dumping after the fact can file a complaint through 311.

  • Carousel House will be Philly’s ‘flagship’ rec center. But people with disabilities will have to wait until 2028 to reunite.

    Carousel House will be Philly’s ‘flagship’ rec center. But people with disabilities will have to wait until 2028 to reunite.

    In March 2023, Kathryn Ott Lovell, then Philadelphia’s parks and recreation commissioner, announced that the plan to build a new Carousel House in West Philly was finally coming together.

    The city’s only recreation center dedicated to people with disabilities had closed its doors temporarily in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, then permanently in 2021. City officials said years of deferred maintenance had made it unsafe.

    “I’m excited to stop talking and start doing,” Ott Lovell said during the 2023 presentation at the Please Touch Museum.

    The city’s disability community was also excited to reunite at Carousel House. To many, the rec center on Belmont Avenue had become like a second home, with dances, movies, swimming, arts and crafts, and summer camp.

    The city’s youth wheelchair basketball team was looking forward to returning to its home base. Since the rec center closed, the squad has been practicing in New Jersey.

    Two and a half years later, however, Ott Lovell has moved on to a new job, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker has replaced Jim Kenney, and the Carousel House plan is still in the design phase.

    The new ribbon-cutting date: summer 2028.

    “I know this is a point of pain for many people, the timeline associated with this project,” Aparna Palantino, a deputy city managing director, acknowledged at a meeting Tuesday night announcing the “relaunch” of the project.

    The previous plan called for Carousel House to reopen this year.

    Palantino, who heads the city’s capital program office, said the expected cost of the project had risen from $35 million to $40 million. The work will still be funded primarily with beverage-tax proceeds, but the city had to line up grants to cover the difference, as well as conduct additional environmental and structural analyses.

    “The result of all that is this amazing space that will provide so many more opportunities than the former one did,” Palantino told an audience of several dozen.

    Aparna Palantino, deputy managing director of Capital Program Office, speaks with attendees during the Carousel House Rebuild Community Relaunch at the Please Touch Museum on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Philadelphia. The Carousel House project is estimated to be completed in Summer 2028.

    The state-of-the-art rec center will preserve some parts of the iconic Carousel House building and include two basketball courts, a heated lap pool and an activity pool with a zero-entry sloping entrance, a computer lab, a gym, a sensory room, and other amenities.

    Carousel House families miss their old home, as Philly eyes a new rec center plan for people with disabilities

    That all sounds great to people like Mike Martin, who has used a wheelchair for the last 30 years and has been going to Carousel House since the late 1990s. Such a place is needed in Philadelphia, where an estimated 17% of residents have a disability.

    But the lengthy delays in the project have Martin, 74, questioning whether he will ever see the vision become a reality.

    Martin and others would have preferred for the city to fix the existing building four years ago, when rec centers were reopening after the COVID-19 shutdown. A 2021 “Save the Carousel House” protest failed to sway city leaders.

    “The design is way more than I think we expected, not that we’re complaining at all,” said Martin, who serves on the Carousel House advisory committee. “We’ll see what kind of political will there is to push this through. I just don’t want to get my hopes up is what it comes down to.”

    Once a model

    Carousel House was considered a milestone when it opened in 1987: a city-funded rec center, specifically for people with physical and cognitive limitations, three years before the Americans with Disabilities Act would be signed into law.

    The Carousel House is pictured in Philadelphia’s West Fairmount Park on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. The city said it was permanently closing the recreation center for disabled people due to the facility’s deterioration.

    But in recent years, disability-rights advocates, both locally and nationally, have come to view that approach as outdated and even discriminatory. How is telling people with disabilities to go to one center, they ask, any different from designating centers for Black people, LGBTQ+ people, or other identity groups?

    “People with disabilities shouldn’t have to go to one place. That’s segregation, no matter how you look at it,” Fran Fulton, the late Philadelphia disability-rights activist, told The Inquirer in 2022. “There is no doubt having people who know how to work with children and adults with different types of disabilities is an advantage. But it doesn’t have to be just Carousel House.”

    Sadiki Smith (right) stands to dance as music therapist Madison Frank (left) with her guitar leads a music therapy session at Gustine Recreation Center Tuesday, November 29, 2022. Since the closing of the Carousel House, the city’s only rec center for people with physical and intellectual disabilities, many of the programs have moved to Gustine.

    The city was already moving in that direction before the pandemic with its long-term Rec for All inclusion plan. The goal is to eventually make the city’s 150 rec centers accessible to all residents. The new Carousel House will be open to all people in the surrounding neighborhoods, not just those with disabilities.

    That is welcome news for Lucinda Hudson, president of the Parkside Association of Philadelphia, who attended Tuesday’s meeting.

    “It’s well needed, and I think the community is pleased with how it’s coming together,” Hudson said. “We need a facility to be inclusive for all, and to support the handicapped community.”

    Worth the wait?

    Palantino said that while the Carousel House project has faced significant delays, city officials have continued to work behind the scenes. It is the largest project in the city’s beverage-tax funded Rebuild program, which has so far committed or spent $470 million.

    She believes the new building will be worth the wait.

    “It will be a universal space, so an entire family can come here and enjoy the amenities. The former Carousel House was a little more restrictive in the population it served,” Palantino said in an interview. “This will be the flagship rec center in the city when it’s completed.”

    Attendees look at blueprints during the Carousel House Rebuild Community Relaunch at the Please Touch Museum on Oct. 21.

    Families that frequented the Carousel House, however, are running out of patience.

    The Gustine Recreation Center in East Falls has continued some of the programs for people with disabilities, including music therapy, basketball, and social groups. But that center doesn’t have the space and amenities that Carousel House provided.

    “It’s just not the same,” said Tamar Riley, whose 43-year-old son had been going to Carousel House since he was 12.

    “Hopefully we can get this off the ground,” Riley, president of the advisory council for Carousel House, said of the plans presented this week. “It’s been a really long time. I know it’s going to be a beautiful place once the city gets it up and running.”

    The closure of Carousel House also forced Katie’s Komets, Philadelphia’s team in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association, to move its weekly practices to RiverWinds Community Center in West Deptford, Gloucester County.

    ‘Like a family’: Wheelchair basketball competition in West Philly is fierce (but in a good way)

    As a result, there is only one Philly player on the team, according to Joe Kirlin, who with his wife, Roseann, created a fund to support the team. The team is named after their late daughter.

    “The problem is city kids just can’t get over there,” Joe Kirlin said.

    Caroline Fitzpatrick (right), 14, of South Jersey, talks with friends during the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation’s 24th Annual Katie Kirlin Junior Wheelchair Basketball Tournament in Philadelphia on Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Fitzpatrick plays on Katie’s Komets team from Philadelphia.

    He said wheelchair athletes in the city are missing out on potential college opportunities. This year, all three high school graduates on Katie’s Komets received scholarships to play college wheelchair basketball.

    “That wouldn’t have happened if they didn’t start as kids playing wheelchair basketball,” Roseann Kirlin said.

    Lorraine Gomez, a community activist and president of the Viola Street Residents Association in East Parkside, said after Tuesday’s meeting that she appreciated the city’s efforts to keep the surrounding neighborhoods informed about the project.

    Gomez is looking forward to being able to use the indoor pool and walking track in the winter, and said people with disabilities also deserve “to have their space back.”

    “This is what the community needs,” Gomez said. “It’ll be a place where we can stay in touch with each other.”

    For Hudson, of the Parkside association, the most important thing now is to break ground.

    “So many things get put on the books, but don’t happen,” Hudson said. “This has got to be built.”

  • More than 300,000 Pennsylvanians need help heating their homes. The federal shutdown has delayed that assistance.

    More than 300,000 Pennsylvanians need help heating their homes. The federal shutdown has delayed that assistance.

    More than 300,000 Pennsylvanians who struggle to pay their heating bills will need to wait longer for assistance from the state government due to funding stoppages caused by the federal government shutdown.

    The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services said in a news release Wednesday that Pennsylvania will delay the opening of this year’s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) until at least Dec. 3 because of a pause in federal funding due to the shutdown. The program was originally scheduled to open on Nov. 3.

    The opening date for the program will be reassessed once the shutdown ends and is contingent on the state receiving the delayed federal funds, Brandon Cwalina, DHS press secretary, said in a statement Thursday.

    LIHEAP distributes benefits to utility companies or home heating fuel providers for Pennsylvanians who need assistance paying their heating bills. The state has received more than $200 million each of the last two years from the federal government to carry out the program.

    Pennsylvania Human Services Secretary Val Arkoosh said in the news release that the program “is especially critical for older adults and low-income families” as colder months approach.

    Once DHS receives federal funding after the shutdown ends, the department will begin accepting LIHEAP applications and will continue processing applications that had been received during the shutdown.

    This announcement comes the same week that DHS said nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians will not receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) next month if the shutdown continues. The food assistance program provides $366 million a month to low-income people in Pennsylvania, including roughly 500,000 in Philadelphia.

    Joline Price, an attorney in the energy unit at Community Legal Services who works with clients to advocate for their access to water, heat, and electricity, said many of the same households could be affected by a lack of SNAP benefits and assistance in paying their heating bills, creating a “huge and devastating impact.” The program assisted 56,000 Philadelphia households last season, she noted.

    “Even if some of these benefits become available later in November, they’re gonna be making really serious choices between food and utilities,” Price said. “It’s gonna be — I don’t even know that I have the words — it’s going to be bad.”

    Other resources are available in the meantime — for instance, some electric and gas companies offer assistance programs — but there are gaps that remain with LIHEAP help beginning later than expected. For instance, Pennsylvania has an annual winter utility shut-off moratorium for qualified residents from Dec. 1 through March 31, though it does not eliminate any outstanding home heating bills, DHS said.

    Prior to Dec. 1, low-income Pennsylvanians who are already “drowning” in utility costs could see their electric or gas shut off, Price said.

    “Until then, folks are vulnerable to having their electric or their gas shut off, which would then bring them into the winter without safe heating sources,” Price said.

    Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and members of his administration are arguing that impacts to crucial services are on the shoulders of Republicans in Washington, who hold both chambers of Congress and the White House. Meanwhile, Republicans are blaming the shutdown on Democrats because the majority party cannot pass funding legislation in the Senate without at least seven Democrats crossing the aisle.

    Arkoosh echoed Shapiro’s messaging Wednesday, saying of LIHEAP: “Inaction from the Republican-controlled Congress now threatens access to this assistance.”

    “I urge Congress and the White House to recognize the serious consequences that limiting heating assistance will have on the health and safety of people in Pennsylvania. Congress must come together for a solution that protects people most at risk,” she said.