August 26: Waterfront “ski lodge” pop-up | Yelp for landlords | Political setback for driverless cars | Parking garage makeover

Terrible landlord stories are a dime a dozen, but a new site, Whose Your Landlord, created by Temple grad Ofo Ezeugwu could help make things better by empowering tenants to rate their landlords. Diane Mastrull spoke with Ezeugwu about what he hopes to accomplish: “There had only been sites to rate apartment buildings but not the actual human element behind their upkeep, Ezeugwu said. ‘We didn’t start it to bash landlords,” he said. ‘The intention was to hold people more accountable for their actions.'” 

Is Jefferson buying the naming rights to Market East Station? A tipster sent Technical.ly Philly a screenshot of a new SEPTA map with “Jefferson Station”, complete with new Jefferson logo, in place of Market East. For now, SEPTA won’t confirm whether a deal is really in the works.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles forced Google to add a steering wheel and brake to its autonomous car prototype. This is the key political issue to watch with autonomous vehicles – will politicians require humans to sit in the driver’s seat, and be capable of taking over the wheel at any time? Some of the most revolutionary potential benefits of autonomous vehicles – autonomous taxis, vehicles designed for purposes other than transporting humans – hang in the balance.

One of the ugliest members of the PPA’s “family of garages” will become a much more beautiful and inviting place by July 2015. The parking garage at 8th and Filbert is undergoing a serious make-over, with an updated facade, new vendor spaces, and underpass lighting. Lighting the underpasses is important because they are pedestrian crash hot-spots. Seven pedestrians got hit by cars on this underpass between 2008 and 2012, and 9th Street saw 12 pedestrian crashes. This area of Market East is one of the top ten most dangerous places for pedestrians in the city.

While it’ll be sad to see the Spruce Street Harbor Park pop-up go away after this weekend, this year’s Waterfront Winterfest concept sounds intriguing: “[Emma] Fried-Cassorla said the waterfront group is riffing on variations of a ski lodge theme, the type of a warm, cozy environment that would make the area feel inviting, even on dark, frigid nights. Like the harbor park, Winterfest – which runs from Nov. 28 to March 1 – will include plenty of free activities, and spots for people to get something to eat and drink.”