In the News

State Sen. Art Haywood (D – 4th Dist.) recently hosted a “Back to School” celebration at the Recreation Center in Germantown. The event the end of a successful summer camp program and the beginning of the new school year. “The main thing we wanted from this event was...

Two ideas — one from the right, one from the left — to fix Pennsylvania’s budget woes just might (if put together) get state finances back on track. It’d take some doing and compromise. So right away you figure, eh, no chance. But what passes for fiscal management in...

Pennsylvania expects to spend between $24 million and $30 million in start-up expenses to comply with federal requirements to make state-issued identification cards more secure, less than a third of what PennDot said it would cost five years ago, state transportation...

Senator Art Haywood recently convened leadership from local advocacy groups to urge state legislators to raise the minimum wage in light of ongoing budget delays. “With a revenue package not yet approved, the legislature still has an opportunity to include a raise to...

Following is a listing of executive and legislative action for the week of Aug. 14. Both houses of the General Assembly stood in recess subject to the call of each chambers' leaders at press time, with committee hearings scheduled beginning Wednesday. Read More at the...

State Sen. Art Haywood wants new laws against domestic terrorism to honor the Virginia woman killed in Charlottesville. In the wake of nationwide outrage over white nationalists' demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, a Philly politician is calling for a...

Among way too many news releases flooding my inbox, one last week caught my eye as a good summation of the budget process. A release from Rep. Rosemary Brown (R., Monroe) carried this headline: “Brown Introduces Hands-Free Driving Legislation.” Perfect. Let’s let...

Before I finish that sentence, I gotta give a big shout-out to the approximately 100 persons who withstood nearly 100 degree heat on August 1 in the battle to save Cheyney University. I also gotta give a big shout-out to the influential leaders who accepted the...

Having been founded as a small nomadic church of 60 people, New Covenant Church of Philadelphia proves the power of holistic ministry, as they have grown into a network of Christian believers and partners that have touched thousands of lives through service and...

NORTHWEST PHILADELPHIA >> Young Northwest Philadelphia school children are increasing their reading prowess this summer, thanks to the Read to Succeed program for those entering first to third grades. Sessions are being held at the John F. McCloskey Elementary...

Despite assurances from Gov. Tom Wolf that he would use his veto power and opposition from school safety experts and Pennsylvania's largest teachers union, the state Senate green-lighted Wednesday a proposal to let teachers bring their guns to school. In a 28-22 vote,...

Citizen advocacy isn't easy but is important so a Philly state legislator's teaching it. It’s risky to ask readers to extend themselves on topics to which the vast majority barely pay attention. So it was with trepidation that, in a column last week, I challenged...

We are facing a retirement crisis in Pennsylvania. Currently the fourth-oldest state in the nation, the commonwealth's senior population is only growing. By 2020, more than one in four Pennsylvanians, or 3.5 million people, will be aged 60 or older, according to...

The April 3 passage of a law rolling back the Federal Communications Commission's restrictions on internet service and telecommunication providers selling customer data has given way to a new internet privacy measure in the state Senate. On March 28, the U.S. House of...

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A Montgomery County senator raises questions of fairness in investigating cases in which an officer uses force with a firearm. Local district attorney's typically oversee those investigations, but some say the DAs office is too closely tied to...

State Sen. Vincent Hughes has called for the resignation of Sen. John Eichelberger, chair of the Senate Education Committee, following the Republican senator’s comment that inner city students would fare better in less-intensive academic tracks, as opposed to being...

Philadelphia activists opposed to President Donald Trump joined like-minded protesters in cities around the country on Monday for a President's Day rally disavowing the new administration, continuing a month of steady dissent that has filled the streets of Center...

Over President’s Day weekend, protesters took to the streets of Philadelphia to rally against President Donald Trump and his month-old administration’s policies and actions. Marching on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Feb. 19, hundreds of people gathered to condemn...

The Chestnut Hill Business District has received $500,000 from the state to improve pedestrian lighting and safety along Chestnut Hill’s commercial corridor. State Senator Art Haywood presented a check from Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – New faces appeared at the Capitol Wednesday in honor of Black History Month, but they’ll be sticking around long after February ends. A now-permanent display remembers notable, influential African Americans from Pennsylvania. Visitors might...

ABINGTON >> There’s nothing like a $1 million shot in the arm to put smiles on the faces of the medical care professionals at Abington Hospital-Jefferson Health. The hospital received a $1 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant toward...

ABINGTON >> When handed an oversized novelty check worth $1.4 million, sometimes it’s hard to know what to say. State Sen. Art Haywood, D-4, and state Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-153, presented the Abington Board of Commissioners with a much-awaited bequest Dec. 8....

In the past few years several high-profile police-involved shootings have received national media attention and nationwide protests. In the wake of police shootings of African-American men in Tulsa, Okla., Charlotte, N.C., and elsewhere new protocols regarding...

NORTHWEST PHILADELPHIA >> The effort to economically revitalize Northwest Philadelphia was spurred on by a new $1 million grant from a state economic development fund, state Sen. Art Haywood, D-4, said. “The new state grant will help with the revitalization of...

Nearly a dozen state and local lawmakers Monday called for more money and staff to combat the "crisis" of childhood lead-poisoning in Philadelphia and elsewhere in the state. Several Philadelphia council members also said the city must enforce existing laws to crack...

Nearly a dozen state and local lawmakers Monday called for more money and staff to combat the "crisis" of childhood lead-poisoning in Philadelphia and elsewhere in the state. Several Philadelphia council members also said the city must enforce existing laws to crack...

Abington - Jefferson Health received a $1 million state grant to help pay for a $3.1 million renovation of two floors of Abington Hospital's Widener building, state Sen. Art Haywood (D-Philadelphia/ Montgomery) said Friday. The grant was from the state's Redevelopment...