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Daniel Pearson @dpearsonphl.bsky.social · 4d

www.inquirer.com/opinion/jay-...

No bike lane from Jeffery Young; no state budget from Kim Ward | Shackamaxon

In this week's column, Jeffery “Jay” Young takes councilmanic prerogative to new lows, NYC outdoes Philly, and Kim Ward dumps the budget for the Emerald Isle.

www.inquirer.com

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Daniel Pearson @dpearsonphl.bsky.social · 16d

www.inquirer.com/opinion/poli...

Welcome to Shackamaxon, a new column about government and politics | Daniel Pearson

Named for the site where Lenape chiefs would meet to settle disputes, Shackamaxon, by The Inquirer's Daniel Pearson, offers viewpoints on the work of elected officials in Philadelphia and Harrisburg.

www.inquirer.com

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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · Jun 25

Okay now that I've celebrated Mamdani's win, and now that it looks unlikely he'll face any real trouble in the general, I'm going to re-up my concerns about his free bus proposal and cross my fingers that he gets some good advice as mayor. publiccomment.blog/p/no-such-th...

No Such Thing as a Free Bus

How I'm thinking about Zohran Mamdani's fare-free bus proposal

publiccomment.blog

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Jake Blumgart @jblumgart.bsky.social · Jun 20

www.inquirer.com/opinion/sept...

I wouldn’t be here without public transit | Opinion

While my family owns a car, we don’t rely on it. From my experiences, I know that the kind of freedom public transit offers is just as vital as the thrill of of the driver’s seat I craved as a boy.

www.inquirer.com

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Nilo @nilo.bsky.social · Jun 20

Great post from @dpearsonphl.bsky.social

Jake Blumgart @jblumgart.bsky.social · Jun 20

www.inquirer.com/opinion/sept...

I wouldn’t be here without public transit | Opinion

While my family owns a car, we don’t rely on it. From my experiences, I know that the kind of freedom public transit offers is just as vital as the thrill of of the driver’s seat I craved as a boy.

www.inquirer.com

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Daniel Pearson @dpearsonphl.bsky.social · Jun 4

those are op-eds from guest contributors.

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Daniel Pearson @dpearsonphl.bsky.social · Jun 4

They got laid off

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Russell Richie 🔰🌐🏗🚲🏳️‍🌈 @drussellmrichie.bsky.social · Jun 4

I think the closest thing to this is the Philadelphia @inquirer.com

Reconstructionist @unavaleable.bsky.social · Jun 3

like there isn't a flagship newsroom with an editorial board that has a will to fight

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Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · May 28

Hilariously on-the-nose paragraph about a Cambridge NIMBY: white professor of African art history uses ChatGPT to analyze the city’s demographics if you exclude…uh…any young adult affiliated with a university (but of course not the professors like her) www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Other arguments tapped into town-gown tensions between Cambridge's student population and its older homeowners.
Suzanne Blier, a Harvard professor of African art history and a board member (and president-elect) of the Cambridge Citizen Coalition, used ChatGPT to analyze the city's demographics, arguing that if you exclude shorter-term residents attending college (as well as graduate students, post-docs and interns), the average age of a Cambridge resident rises to 42-to-46 years old, not the more inclusive age of 30.6 - a number, she writes, "often used in an ageist and disparaging manner to negate the views of older residents who attend meetings."

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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · May 28

BREAKING: Trump administration's effort to stop NYC's congestion pricing is blocked, as Judge Lewis Liman, a Trump appointee, issues a 109-page opinion granting a preliminary injunction to the challengers defending the congestion pricing program.

Opinion: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

CONCLUSION
Plaintiffs have established a likelihood of success on the merits for their claims that
Defendants acted arbitrarily and capriciously by purporting to terminate the VPPP Agreement in the February 19 Letter except for the portion of Plaintiffs' argument resting upon Defendants' failure to perform a subsequent NEPA review. Plaintiffs have adequately shown that they would be irreparably injured absent an injunction, and that the balance of the equities and the public interest support an injunction. Because each factor weighs in favor of a preliminary injunction, Plaintiffs' motions for a preliminary injunction are GRANTED.
Consistent with the above findings of fact and conclusions of law, the Court issues the
following injunction:

Defendants Sean Duffy, in his official capacity as Secretary of the United States
Department of Transportation, Gloria M. Shepherd, in her official capacity as Executive Director of the Federal Highway Administration, the United States Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration as well as all persons identified under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d)(2), including all of Defendants' respective officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and all other persons who are in active concert or participation with any of the
foregoing, are enjoined from taking any agency action founded on the February 19, 2025 letter from Secretary Duffy to Governor Hochul purporting to terminate the VPPP Agreement and
rescind federal approval for New York's Central Business District Tolling Program, including any
action to enforce compliance with or implement (1) the February 19 Letter, (2) Defendants'
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Case 1:25-cv-01413-LL Document 132 Filed 05/28/25 Page 109 of 109
purported termination of the VPPP Agreement, or (3) Defendants' purported termination of the Tolling Program. For the avoidance of doubt, Defendants are enjoined from taking any of the
"compliance measures" set forth in the April 21, 2025 Letter including withholding federal funds, approvals, or authorizations from New York state or local agencies to enforce compliance with or
implement (1) the February 19 Letter, (2) Defendants' purported termination of the VPPP Agreement, or (3) Defendants' purported termination of the Tolling Program.
The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to close Dkt. Nos. 82 and 88.
SO ORDERED.
Dated: May 28, 2025
New York, New York
LEWIS J. LIMAN
United States District Judge

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Daniel Pearson @dpearsonphl.bsky.social · May 27

Driving would have taken the same amount of time and required me to spend the whole time behind the wheel so yes.

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Daniel Pearson @dpearsonphl.bsky.social · May 27

It is so jarring because I've taken it to Harrisburg and Lancaster and it is plenty fast along those routes.

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Daniel Pearson @dpearsonphl.bsky.social · May 27

Imagine how many people would travel the route if
The tracks in Virginia were made smoother, allowing for trains to travel at 100 MPH instead of 40-50MPH.
The trains came every 2 hours instead of twice daily.
We had HSR from PHL to DC.

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Daniel Pearson @dpearsonphl.bsky.social · May 27

My wife and I used Amtrak to attend a wedding in Charlottesville. It was okay, but it really should have been much better. It took 5 hours when it should take 3. We had to get to 30th St by 530AM. It was a slow and bumpy ride south of DC. The train was packed despite all that.

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Daniel Pearson @dpearsonphl.bsky.social · May 27

People love to claim that Americans just don't want to ride trains but even the inadequate service offered by Amtrak is super popular.

Central NJ Yimby 🏗️🚲🚇🇺🇸 @princetonyimby.bsky.social · May 27

If you are hoping to take a vacation on Amtrak this summer, you may be out of luck because strong demand has led to a lack of tickets and very high prices. I guess that is good news for trains in general, if they are *too popular*!?! www.trains.com/trn/news-rev...

Strong Amtrak summer demand triggers sellouts, high prices, despite some capacity gains: Analysis - Trains

CHICAGO — Sellouts in coach and high prices in sleeping cars, if space is available at all, are the rule rather than exception in a News Wire survey of Amtrak long-distance trains as summer arrives. T...

www.trains.com

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Daniel Pearson @dpearsonphl.bsky.social · May 27

Evil is not the right word to describe the downside of Mamdani. He wants good things, but his plans to give up fare revenue and borrow billions for housing could have terrible consequences for NYC. Cuomo and Adams are bad men, on the other hand.

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Daniel Pearson @dpearsonphl.bsky.social · May 27

City Council and local Democrats are leaving Philadelphians vulnerable to protect a political ally. Even worse, their support for Bilal undermines their criticism of the President at a time when we cannot afford hypocrisy.

www.inquirer.com/opinion/edit...

Philadelphia’s elected officials must hold the sheriff’s office to account for its incompetence | Editorial

Much-needed reform is impossible if Democratic power brokers and City Hall officials don't stop enabling a sheriff's office that struggles to perform its most basic duties.

www.inquirer.com

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Reposted by Daniel Pearson

John Wiseman @lemonodor.bsky.social · May 18

There were no drones, and (I think) the government was nervous about telling the public that given the number of politicians who lost their minds to drone delusion. reason.com/2025/05/09/w...

Newly released documents show what the feds knew about the New Jersey drone scare

Even after the Biden administration realized the most alarming claims were bunk, it didn't publicize the evidence it had.

reason.com

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Chris @chrisbybikes.bsky.social · May 1

Ken Burns is doing a Nimby college town circuit!

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electricjen.bsky.social @electricjen.bsky.social · Apr 30

If you did not get to purchase a fresh soft pretzel right in your classroom for recess in grade school, I’m sorry.

Rob Hanna @robhanna.bsky.social · Apr 30

Philly consumes like 6x the national average in pretzels, and it's such a commonplace thing we take for granted that we hardly ever talk about it.

Having said that, I have noticed soft pretzel slippage over the past couple decades. And ee need to remain vigilant and step our shit up.

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Adam Bonin @adambonin.bsky.social · Apr 30

Update: Commonwealth Ct has ordered judicial candidate Michael Huff removed from the primary ballot. TL;DR: It was his burden to prove that he no longer intended Bala Cynwyd to be his permanent home, and the Court did not find his testimony credible that he had fully moved to Phl & intended to stay.

C. The Totality of the Circumstances Factors
There is no dispute that Candidate resided in Montgomery County for
many years. Nevertheless, to be clear, we find that Candidate, by living in Bala
Cynwyd for 20 years and raising a family with his wife, “fixed his family home and
principal establishment indefinitely” in Bala Cynwyd. See id. at *7. Candidate’s
domicile in Montgomery County “is presumed to continue until it is shown to have
been changed and where a change is alleged, the burden of proving it rests upon
whoever makes the allegation . . . .” See id. Thus, Candidate bears the burden of
proving that he is now domiciled in Philadelphia.

Additionally, before addressing each of the factors, we discuss our
assessment of the credibility of Candidate and some of the witnesses, as they inform
the weight we give their testimony and other evidence. Unless otherwise stated
herein, we generally disbelieve Candidate’s testimony, including his testimony that
he would remain in Philadelphia following an election loss, based on his demeanor
and temperament, i.e., it rang hollow. See Daniels, 828 A.2d at 1052-53.11

Further
informing our assessment, we note that Candidate’s license to rent the Greene Street
property expired in 2022, yet he continued to collect rent. See Ex. R-3. We are

(citation omitted); cf. Commonwealth v. DeJesus, 58 A.3d 62, 86-87 (Pa. 2012) (vesting in the
factfinder the discretion to consider other factors as needed to decide the legal question at issue).
11 So there is no misunderstanding, Candidate’s expression of his intent to remain at Greene
Street is not dispositive or controlling. See Huff II, 2025 WL 1187222, at *13. We examine the
entire record.

deeply troubled by a judicial candidate collecting rent for almost three years without
a license. Candidate’s apparent inattention to such legal requirements detracted from
his credibility. We also find Candidate not credible because his presence at the
Greene Street address is belied by the electric bills, particularly during the summer
months of 2024, when he allegedly lived in the second-floor apartment with his
daughter.

The testimony of the two Greene Street apartment tenants was also
suspect, but only to the extent their testimony purports to establish Candidate’s daily
or regular presence at the Greene Street address. Candidate is their landlord, and
thus we view the tenants’ testimony with a degree of skepticism given the power
dynamics inherent in a landlord-tenant relationship and their testimony as to his
presence did not always have the ring of truth. See Daniels, 828 A.2d at 1052-53.
Against the backdrop of our credibility findings, we next discuss the testimony and
evidence for each of the factors.

Candidate’s utility bills constitute the most telling evidence
undermining his purported domicile. The electric bills for the two-bedroom unit
range from a mere $10.35 in May 2024 to a high of only $50.90 in July 2024, with a
March 2025 bill of just $32.45. Ex. R-6.13

The March 2025 bill further indicates an

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average daily use of merely 3.7kWh and a total monthly use of 112kWh. Id. The gas
bills are similarly negligible, ranging from $2.86 in May 2024 to $28.69 for January
2025. Ex. R-7.

We are simply not persuaded that these extraordinarily low utility bills
for a two-bedroom unit with a single window air conditioner accurately reflect
Candidate’s presence. See Minerd, 753 A.2d at 230. The implausibility of these bills
is particularly evident for the summer months when Candidate claims his daughter
Madeline also resided there. See id. Further, we note that any utility bills addressed
to the Greene Street second-floor unit could merely reflect Candidate’s ownership
or role as landlord rather than his physical presence.

12 This factor appears to incorporate the other relevant factors identified by the Huff II
Court. See Huff II, 2025 WL 1187222, at *11 (citation omitted).
13 Specifically, the electric bills reflect a low of $10.35 in May 2024, $29.85 in June, $50.90
in July, $44.13 in August, $36.61 in September, $32.44 in October, $31.55 in November, $29.06 in

After careful consideration and reflection, we weigh factor (3) in favor
of neither party. The evidence presented in support of this factor neither proves nor
disproves Candidate’s physical presence and intent to remain. We weigh factor (5)
slightly in Candidate’s favor, as we believe the evidence presented for this factor
proves Candidate’s physical presence, but not necessarily an intent to remain, in
Philadelphia. We weigh the remaining factors against Candidate, i.e., the evidence
presented for those factors does not prove Candidate’s physical presence and intent
to remain in Philadelphia permanently. Accordingly, after careful assessment of
Candidate’s credibility, as well as the credibility of the other witnesses, and after
considering the totality of circumstances, we respectfully cannot find that Candidate
has established a simultaneous physical presence at 6618 Greene Street and a genuine
intent to permanently make 6618 Greene Street his principal home. Should
Candidate decide to run next election, any change in the factual circumstances may
weigh more heavily in his favor—but not at this time, not on this record, and not
based on our present evaluation of his demeanor and temperament.

Turning to the remedy, Candidate cannot cure his nomination petition
for a Philadelphia judicial office with an address outside of Philadelphia. Because
the objections are material, we must set aside, as a matter of law, Candidate’s
nomination petition. See 25 P.S. § 2937.

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Will Bunch @willbunch.bsky.social · Apr 30

1. The Philadelphia Inquirer isn't owned by a cowardly and conflicted billionaire, but a nonprofit foundation. In 2024, we tackled the "The Trump Threat" of authoritarianism head on, with more than 40 hard-hitting editorials. Many of you took notice, and now, so did the prestigious Poynter Institute

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Daniel Pearson @dpearsonphl.bsky.social · Apr 30

I’ve been trying, but my team has nine people and no digital staff bs the Times having 150 people.

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Daniel Pearson @dpearsonphl.bsky.social · Apr 25

Instead of forcing devastating cuts on the system, Harrisburg Republicans should be crowing about how their past efforts have kept SEPTA from seeing the same level of cost inflation as similar transit agencies.

www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...

No more excuses — Harrisburg Republicans must find a way to fully fund SEPTA | Opinion

In years past, GOP lawmakers have demanded that SEPTA improve public safety on buses and trains, or kicked the can down the road on a broader funding plan. It's time for legislators to step up.

www.inquirer.com

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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · Apr 21

Too many Americans lose their driver's licenses b/c of debt (which doesn't affect other people's safety) and too few b/c of reckless driving (which absolutely does).

fedcommunities.org

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