Miniority construction divide, new PECO substation, gangs and the city, pedestrian app redlines

Citypaper wonders if the city’s new minority hiring rules for public construction jobs truly help change the largely white face of union construction projects? Some advocates think the Mayor’s executive order is weak because it lacks noncompliance penalties and contracting targets for minority-owned businesses. Will union campaign money keep it that way?

Two years and $60 million later, PECO’s new Peltz substation is finished, the Business Journal reports. The new substation will serve parts of Center City and University City, and replace the 106-year old Schuylkill substation.

Philadelphia is off to a violent start this year, but as Metropolis editor Tom Ferric points out, the overall trend is a reduction in crime since the gangland days of the 1970s. But some things don’t really change. In their two-part story this week, Metropolis traces the new wave of street gangs and how turf-wars and gang violence plays a huge role in our city’s crime. And the police don’t want to talk about it.

Want to avoid unsafe neighborhoods on your walk home? There’s apparently an app for that. Next American City reports that Microsoft has patented a new pedestrian-oriented navigation app that would allow users to reroute around “unsafe neighborhoods.” It’s contemporary redlining, and heaven knows how the algorithms behind the app determine “unsafe.”

The Buzz is Eyes on the Street’s morning news digest.