December 29: Smith Playground | Tax delinquency data | Tech companies in Center City

The Washington Post dives into the ethical quandaries posed by driverless cars. Should they swerve out of the way of a stray schoolbus or, even if it means sacrificing their own passengers?

Ethan Crouch, the “affluenza” teenager from Texas, was arrested with his mother in Mexico. Crouch killed four pedestrians while driving drunk and was given a light sentence after his lawyers argued that his privileged upbringing was psychologically damaging.

Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, Mayor Michael Nutter, and Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin broke ground on a renovation at Smith Playground in South Philly.

The city has finally released data related to property-tax delinquency. It’s been a long time coming, as Juliana Reyes explains on Technical.ly.

Tech companies are moving into Center City for the density and the short, multimodal commutes, the Inquirer reports. “Having the flexibility to have 30 developers in Philly who can ride their bikes to work is no longer a differentiator, it’s a necessity to remain competitive.”

In case you missed Jim Saksa’s excellent story last week, the Inquirer takes a look at the delays to SEPTA’s new payment technology. Meanwhile, Sandy Smith looks at the biggest transportation stories of 2015.

Philadelphia Magazine, which once called Old City the “land of 1,000 Snookis,” says the neighborhood has “grown up.” Bars have begun cracking down on the worst types of drunkitude, and Job Itzkowitz has been doing a bangup job at Old City District, James Jennings reports.

Three pieces of juicy clickbait from CityLab: An Italian town has banned wood-fired pizza because of concerns about air pollution, a French power plant runs on le force du fromage, and nine of the worst architectural renderings of the year.