April 25: Behind-the-news look at PlanPhilly’s tax delinquency app

Philly is abuzz with talk about the thousands of tax-delinquent and vacant properties that blight our neighborhoods. Patrick Kerkstra has been knee-deep in these issues, delivering data-driven reporting as part of a special series for PlanPhilly and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Curious about the work behind the tax-delinquency series? Join us for lunch at WHYY on Wednesday.

PlanPhilly is hosting a free lunchtime talk about the tax-delinquency app on April 25 as part of Philly Tech Week. You’ll see a demo of the web-based tax delinquency app, and learn about the partnership between PlanPhilly and the Inquirer that enabled the app’s development. Our panelists include Patrick Kerkstra, the Inquirer’s Rob Kandel (Multimedia Projects Editor) and Julie Busby (City Editor), eConsult’s Kevin Gillen, and PlanPhilly’s Managing Editor Matt Golas will moderate the discussion.

We think it’s a cool opportunity to get an inside look at how one of PlanPhilly’s features took shape. We’re looking forward to talking about the challenges and opportunities in data-driven reporting, explaining how PlanPhilly and the Inquirer work together on this series, and we’ll even offer a preview of work to come.

So join us, won’t you? It’s free, there will be food, and it’s an hour long.

Register online for our Tax-Delinquency App Demo and Discussion at WHYY (6th and Race), on Wednesday, April 25 from Noon-1pm. Be there.

And, in case you missed it Patrick Kerkstra was on Radio Times on Tuesday, talking about property vacancy and tax-delinquency alongside Managing Director Rich Negrin and neighborhood activist Christopher Sawyer. The show is archived online and you can listen in here.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal