September 18: #PHL2015 announcements galore | City Hall apron upgrade | How to be a mom biker | R5 says goodbye to First Unitarian

Yesterday was a big day for 2015 campaign news. former City Solicitor Ken Trujillo announced his campaign yesterday morning, followed by a pre-campaign announcement from long-time former judge and DA Lynne Abraham, a biographic video from former Court of Common Pleas Judge Nelson Diaz, and the release of housing developer Ori Feibush’s introduction video in the District 2 Council race.

Chris Brennan smells politics in the timing of Abraham’s campaign pre-announcement and Controller Alan Butkovitz’s press release attacking the municipal employee phone line, and Neil Oxman of the Campaign Group thinks Ken Trujillo could be the 2007 Michael Nutter of the 2015 campaign.

The apron of City Hall, right next to Dilworth Park, has taken a beating from two years of construction, and the city is starting the process of upgrading the public space there, too. The Central District plan doesn’t call for any curb extensions or traffic calming facing JFK, and there are only a few token bump-outs on the 15th Street side of Dilworth.

Philadelphia is the only city-county government in the state of Pennsylvania, so PA’s problems with fragmented local government don’t have the same resonance here as they do in Pittsburgh/Allegheny County, where “83 distinct municipalities manage the sewer system that serves the greater metro area.” 

Sean Agnew’s taste-making promotions agency R5 Productions will be scaling back from booking all-ages (mostly) punk and hardcore shows at the First Unitarian Church on 21st St. It’s a happy story ultimately, following from the success of R5’s two other permanent venues, Union Transfer and Boot and Saddle, but those of us who were of the concert-going age in the early-to-mid 2000’s probably feel a little melancholy about the news.

The conventional wisdom is that parents need cars, even in the city, but interestingly there is a small group of Philly parents who use cargo bikes instead of, or in addition to a car. You can learn about family biking at an event this Sunday at Fleischer Art Memorial.

The introduction of “transportation network companies” like Uber and Lyft in San Francisco has led to a decline in business for traditional taxi companies as more people are opting to use the newer services.

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