Political connections and councilmatic privilege are a detriment to the zoning process.
January 23, 2010
Here is a short video testimony from the Philadelphia zoning reform workshop hosted by the University of Pennsylvania and WHYY. I attended as the representative from my civic association.
- Login to post comments
Tax amnesty a costly proposition
by Adam Lang
December 17, 2009
THE TAX AMNESTY first proposed by Councilwoman Joan Krajewski and City Controller Alan Butkovitz is wending its way through Council.
I publicly criticized this idea when Krajewski initially proposed it on Aug. 31 and their idea hasn't gotten any better with age. In fact, it has now added more than $12 million in costs for taxpayers.
Their plan is that if people with unpaid taxes come in and pay all of the principal, they will get fees and half of the interest waived. In other words, if you had the means to pay your taxes and you just simply chose not to, City Hall would cut you a break.
You Close the Deficit: Adam Lang
On December 2, 2009, Adam Lang was a guest contributor to The Philadelphia Daily News online column "It's Our Money".
The topic was:
It's Our Money is asking various experts and advocates to share some suggestions for how the city should deal with the $31 million deficit it has projected for this fiscal year (and remember, because it's the middle of a fiscal year, the city can't raise taxes).
Adam Lang's response, as well as others', can be seen here: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/our-money/You_Close_the_Deficit_Adam_...
Veterans, Homelessness and an Opportunity to Change the World
by Adam Lang
For Veterans’ Day, a friend of mine invited me to a community awareness event to examine issues involving veterans and homelessness. The catalyst for the night was the airing of the show HGTV Change the World: American Heroes Project. The show told the heart wrenching stories of two veterans, in St. Louis and Philadelphia, and the issues they have gone through since leaving the military. In the backdrop of their stories, HGTV and many local volunteers fixed up their homes to help increase their quality of life and show they have not been forgotten for their service to us and our country.
Is Councilman Clarke Beatable?
by Adam Lang
November 14, 2009
Councilman Darrell Clarke, of the 5th council district, recently put forward more zoning legislation in his district that effectively requires many businesses to go through his office to start up. This prompted a discussion among many about the possibilities of him being beaten in an election for 2011. For the sake of discussion I have performed the following electoral analysis based on his previous primary election in 2007. I chose the primary since it doesn’t require any serious look at the numbers to know a Republican campaign in that district would be uphill across the board.
