The U.S. attorney general is often called the people’s lawyer because he or she serves the public interest by guarding the legal rights of taxpayers, residents, victims of crimes, and the environment.
But the attorney general is not supposed to be the White House consigliere, abusing the rule of law, carrying out political vendettas, and protecting the powerful.
Todd Blanche has shown he works solely for the president and not the people.
That is why he should not be confirmed after the Senate Judiciary Committee meets on Wednesday regarding his nomination to be the permanent attorney general.
Blanche, who has been serving as the acting attorney general, is willing to do whatever Donald Trump wants. He will even go to extremes to protect the president from political or legal trouble.
In fact, Blanche has not been able to separate himself from his prior role as Trump’s personal defense attorney, in which he was paid nearly $10 million by a political action committee.
He also led Trump’s criminal defense team in the federal classified documents and election obstruction cases brought by the Department of Justice, which he currently oversees.
Since joining the Justice Department, first as the deputy attorney general, Blanche has failed to carry out his sworn oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Instead, he has continued to do Trump’s bidding. Let us count the ways.
Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks with reporters during a news conference at the Department of Justice in November, as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, listens.Mark Schiefelbein
Blanche played a central role in the proposed $1.8 billion slush fund designed to compensate individuals claiming to be victims of political targeting, including insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Blanche defended the initiative before Congress. He later abandoned the proposal following bipartisan backlash, but refused to put the commitment in writing.
At the same time, Blanche handed Trump and his family broad immunity from audits by the IRS. The unheard-of perk — which a judge ruled Monday was self-dealing — could further embolden them to avoid paying taxes and as much as $100 million in penalties.
The Justice Department under Blanche, an election denier, is also taking steps to weaken election security instead of protecting voting rights.
Blanche was also deeply involved in plotting how to defend against the growing furor in the MAGA base demanding the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Two New York Times reporters detailed how Blanche participated in White House meetings last summer to discuss how to manage the fallout. One meeting was held in the Situation Room — a secure bunker reserved mainly for classified and high-stakes national security, not political scandals involving a pedophile who abused scores of young women and was a close friend of Trump.
Shortly after the strategy session, in a highly unusual move, Blanche met personally with Ghislaine Maxwell, the Epstein associate convicted of sex trafficking. None of the prosecutors involved in her case were included.
David Oscar Markus, an attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell, talks with the media outside the federal courthouse in Tallahassee, Fla., in July 2025 after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche met with Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Colin Hackley
After the meeting, Maxwell was transferred to a more relaxed minimum-security federal prison camp that critics said reeked of a quid pro quo of an easier time and a possible pardon in exchange for favorable testimony regarding Trump’s ties to Epstein.
Blanche has also slow-walked the release of the Epstein files. So far, only about half of the more than six million documents have been made public, despite Congress passing a law requiring everything to be made public by Dec. 19, 2025.
Many of the files released have extensive redactions. Even still, Trump’s name appears thousands of times in the files that have been made public. What else is being hidden?
Trump fired Pam Bondi as attorney general in April in large part because she did not move fast enough to indict his political enemies.
He installed Blanche as the acting AG, who quickly showed he got the message.
Blanche secured federal indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and the Southern Poverty Law Center, while opening sham investigations involving the writer E. Jean Carroll, former CIA Director John Brennan, and Cassidy Hutchinson, a former Trump aide.
The indictments and investigations of Trump’s perceived enemies reek of vindictive prosecution and abuse of power. Trump supporters who cheer the investigations should be wary of the dangerous precedent being set, the breakdown in the rule of law, and the demise of the Justice Department’s independence.
Everyone — including 100 former judges — knows Blanche is unfit to be attorney general.
We need just a few honorable senators to stop the madness before it is too late.
Jenkintown residents are building a playground this month.
Or at least, part of a playground.
“They’re not professional contractors,” said Darrell Campana of Eustace Engineering, which is handling land work, like regrading and water drainage. The playground company Kompan is installing the play equipment.
But local volunteers do plan to construct parts of the replacement for Jenkintown’s only playground on the last weekend in July after Eustace demolished the beloved Jenkintown Castle there in April.
The finished playground, dubbed Legacy Park, will include slides, swings, a toddler section, and an imaginative play area with a stage donated by Jenkintown Music Theatre, said Kelly Hudson, who spearheaded the roughly $1.3 million project as a volunteer on the newly formed playground board.
Residents have led planning and fundraising for the project as Jenkintown tries to balance its proud DIY ethos with the present-day constraints of construction, insurance, and liability.
Beloved Jenkintown Castle demolished
Playground renovation plans began after a 2024 inspection revealed several parts of the play area, which is next to Jenkintown Elementary, were unsafe.
The castle play area was built in 2002 and lovingly maintained by residents — which may be why the structure, expected to last about 12 years, lasted more than two decades said Nina Russakoff, a Jenkintown school board member who’s helping to coordinate the new project.
In a 2024 update on the damaged castle ahead of the renovation, school officials had to remind residents to stop fixing it themselves: “We know your intentions are good, but we need to … [follow] the recommendations of the engineer.”
Residents held a farewell picnic and fundraiser at the castle in March before it was destroyed.
The school’s nonprofit arm, the Jenkintown Education Foundation, and other community groups have raised about $1.5 million for the project known as Legacy Park, Hudson said. If the playground doesn’t go over budget, the remaining funds will be used to make further improvements to the park.
There are many older, community-built parks like Jenkintown’s in the Philadelphia area, said Scott Lean of Kompan, the company providing the play equipment, but that model has become less viable in recent years.
“The liability standpoint from doing a community build just seems a little risky in this day and age,” he said.
Residents help rebuild Jenkintown playground
Residents can still shape the playground’s future, though.
Project leaders are recruiting volunteers for the community build weekend from July 30 to Aug. 2. The residents will be supervised by experienced crew leaders, with a meal and free childcare for people who volunteer a shift.
Residents will be working on drumming stations, a sign language fence, and log seating carved from trees felled on the school grounds.
An illustration of the DIY projects that Jenkintown residents will work on during the volunteer weekend planned this month for the town’s new parkLegacy Park Community Board
In the meantime, land work will continue this month, although several retaining walls are already in place, Campana said.
Volunteers may be playing a smaller role in playground construction this time around, but it was local residents who fundraised most of the park’s budget.
Large donations came from fastener factory SPS Technologies and other local businesses, a state grant, and several families, with more than 1,600 individual donations.
What will Jenkintown’s new playground look like?
Volunteers also led the design of the new playground with guidance from students, teachers, and parents.
The layout will be different from the old playground: All play areas will be visible to teachers calling children back from recess, Hudson said, and the equipment will be situated so that kids can play without distracting students inside during school hours.
“Most screaming will move to the new location,” Russakoff said.
Residents wanted to ensure the new play equipment is both accessible and durable, Hudson said: “Everything the kids touch in Jenkintown is 10 times over because it’s the only playground. It gets used heavily.”
Slides, swings, mountaineering ropes, and a toddler area are set to be finished around the start of school, Lean said. The theater area will open later this fall.
Legacy Park will be open to the public outside school hours, and the toddler area will stay open during school when students aren’t at recess.
Jenkintown School District “has an outsized impact on the community around it,” the borough’s state representative, Napoleon Nelson, said in a statement on the project. “Its grounds are open to all, Jenkintown residents and non-residents alike.”
Hudson said Jenkintonians want the playground “to be a community project that benefits the most people.”
“We’re very prideful about our small little town.”
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
An apartment building with living conditions that Camden’s mayor described as “deplorable” just two years ago has undergone a transformation thanks to a $130 million overhaul.
Now under the ownership of Hudson Valley Property Group, the 321-unit building is nearly unrecognizable following top-to-bottom renovations that were completed in August 2025. Each unit was equipped with new kitchens, bathrooms, HVAC, and more as residents remained in the building throughout the construction process via on-site relocation.
Formerly known as Northgate 1, the long-troubled North Camden apartment building has been transformed by a $130 million renovation.Linda Pedroso
The building’s future as affordable housing has also been secured for the next 20 years after the company extended the property’s Section 8 contract, ensuring residents for 96.5% of the units pay no more than 30% of their income on rent. The Encore is also restricted to households earning no more than 60% of the median income.
“They did everything they said they were going to do as far as fixing up the units and giving us a lot of amenities and other things like that,” said Karen Merricks, a nearly 30-year resident of the building and president of the tenant’s association.
Built in 1962 and now called The Encore, the apartment tower overlooking the Benjamin Franklin Bridge was viewed at the time as a sign that Camden’s future was bright.
Billed as a luxury residence, the building featured amenities like a swimming pool, a shopping “colonnade,” an underground garage, and a two-story penthouse with private roof deck access.
But the vision for the tower never materialized, and soon saw high vacancy rates and an ownership change decades later.
The Encore includes a playground, gym, business center, and community room for residents in North Camden.Linda Pedroso
The building continued to deteriorate over time as maintenance requests went unanswered, units were illegally sublet, and it became a site for drug activity, Merricks said.
“Just a lot of chaos and confusion,” Merricks said of that time.
For the first time in her nearly three decades as a resident, she began to feel unsafe in the building she called home.
Merricks was not alone, which is why safety was one of the first things Hudson Valley worked to address when they took ownership of the building in 2024, said Andy Cavaluzzi, cofounder and partner of Hudson Valley Property Group.
“A tremendous amount went in there because we wanted to be able to change not just the physical side of [the building]. … We were changing the whole perception and the culture, and that starts then with the operations and security,” Cavaluzzi said.
They worked on developing a security plan for the building that included a small number of armed personnel as well as major upgrades like cameras, access control, perimeter fencing, and vehicular gates.
“Now I’m back to feeling safe,” Merricks said. “They have armed guards here, security to make sure that no one’s coming in, roaming the hallways, smoking drugs in the exits, and stuff like that. That’s all been eliminated.”
‘Every part of the building was touched’
Hudson Valley Property Group spent about $150,000 on each unit’s renovations at The Encore.Linda Pedroso
New York-based Hudson Valley Property Group specializes in projects like The Encore — buying rental properties with troubled histories and preserving affordable apartments and undertaking extensive renovations.
They spent about $150,000 renovating each unit, in addition to building-wide infrastructure improvements like all new plumbing and electrical, and exterior repairs, Cavaluzzihe said.
“Every unit was touched, every part of the building was touched,” he said.
Residents can also take advantage of a fitness center, a computer lounge, a community room, and a children’s room with an indoor playground. Through a partnership with Citizens Bank, Encore residents also have free internet service for the next 15 years.
Shared by hundreds of residents, the building also now has a working laundry room for the first time in years, he said.
The site of the former pool is now an urban farm in partnership with Highlands Alliance where residents can learn how to grow their own food and have first dibs on any produce that is harvested before it is sold at local farmer’s markets. The revenue generated from sales will go back into running the farm, Cavaluzzi said.
The Encore has an urban farm on site where residents can learn to grow their own food.Linda Pedroso
“Affordable housing doesn’t mean it’s a place that it’s less expensive rent but you’re going to have a lesser living experience,” he said. “That’s not what it means and it doesn’t have to mean that.”
Camden Mayor Victor G. Carstarphen said he was “impressed” by the enhancements, and called the transformation “simply remarkable” in a statement.
Driving across the bridge from Philadelphia, the building is hard to miss. Before renovations, it was clear to anyone driving by that it was in disrepair.
Now, the building stands out for a different reason.
Repairs to the facade and roof along with new windows, glass doors, and balcony fencing have transformed the tower “from this amazingly big eyesore that was there” into a beacon of positivity for the city, Cavaluzzi said.
“This is like Camden showing anyone else who wants to come in like, ‘Look, they were able to do it. This is what we want, this is what we expect,’” he said. “We want to be able to to elevate the city and we’re not OK with the status quo.”
In the center of Ashburn Alley at Citizens Bank Park, Yoshinobu Yamamoto was surrounded by dozens of media members standing shoulder-to-shoulder, pushing their way through the crowd with mics in hand to ask the Dodgers pitcher a question.
And standing shoulder height to the other media members, getting pushed around in the middle of it all, was 12-year-old Philadelphia native Isabella Gonzalez.
12-year-old Philadelphia native Isabella Gonzalez getting right in the middle of the action for media day pic.twitter.com/LMw0iCHiSc
“So, I’m actually claustrophobic, I hate tight spaces,” Gonzalez said. “But when I was over there, because of how wild it was, I started to get smushed in. Everyone slowly started closing in.
“So, I felt someone’s shoulder go on my cheek. I didn’t want to be rude and fully shove them. Because like everyone was ahead of me, so I’m like rushing over. It was so chaotic. But I think it was easy to deal with because I can just be like, ‘Oh, excuse me.’ Or give them a light [shove].”
Despite her fear of tight spaces, she found her way to the front of the crowd, took a deep breath, and let her voice be heard.
My name is Bella. Congratulations on making it to All-Stars. I’m from Philly, but my family background is from Costa Rica and Puerto Rico. I have a question for you.
After getting out of the crowd, she let out a sigh of relief and was onto her next assignment: an interview with Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo — and this interaction would hold a special place in Gonzalez’s heart.
Earlier this year, Luzardo filmed a video for Gonzalez informing her that she was selected to serve as a Players Exchange Student Correspondent, where she would be interviewing MLB players during All-Star media day. Since then, he’s been a favorite for the Phillies fan.
Philadelphia student Isabella Gonzalez, 12, served as a Players Exchange Student Correspondent, interviewing MLB players during All-Star media day on Monday.Ariel Simpson
“My favorite [interview] was Jesús Luzardo,” Gonzalez said. “Obviously, he made a video for me. So, knowing that he was the player who made me a video and that the whole class had to watch me see that video, it made me happy because I feel like I could make a few connections toward him. My dad always told me about him … He was just telling me that he’s a really good guy and be proud that’s the man who made you a video.”
Gonzalez, a seventh-grader at Decatur Elementary School in Northeast Philly, has been part of the MLB’s Players Exchange program for a year. The program, designed for 11- to 14-year-old students, teaches collaboration, communication, and global connection through insight from MLB players.
Ahead of media day, Gonzalez was able to prep with her own media tour — making an appearance on PHL17.
Now, after conducting a number of her own interviews, pushing through crowds of reporters, and overcoming a fear of tight spaces, the 12-year-old is already thinking about a career in reporting.
“Everyone’s like, ‘You speak so fluently, you sound so good,’” Gonzalez said. “I’m like, maybe that’s going to be my future. One of my aunts messaged my mom and was like, ‘We’re going to have a reporter in our family.’ I was on the news on Friday and my mom was like, ‘I’m surprised how comfortable she was.’ How I got comfortable was I was just pacing around the green room.”
And after a day full of interviews in the heat, Gonzalez tied her hair up, tossed on her Phillies hat, grabbed her claw clip and was ready to enjoy the rest of the All-Star Weekend experience — attending the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game.
“What I found the most best about the whole thing was being able to learn more about the players and being able to ask any questions,” Gonzalez said. “I also like how they didn’t just give a tiny answer. They told you the reason behind the answer.”
State lawmakers left Harrisburg on Sunday without approving a new sentencing structure for second-degree murder convictions, all but ensuring Pennsylvania will miss a court-imposed deadline to replace a law the state’s highest court struck down as unconstitutional because it barred judges from weighing individual culpability.
The legislature’s failure makes it exceedingly likely that judges across Pennsylvania will soon have to sentence people convicted of second-degree murder without a legislatively enacted sentencing range to guide them. It also sets the stage for what is expected to be years of litigation over the roughly 1,100 people already serving mandatory life-without-parole sentences.
The political stalemate leaves thousands of people — incarcerated Pennsylvanians, victims’ families, and attorneys — waiting to learn what happens next.
“In the absence of a law, there’s going to be a lot of chaos and a lot of confusion,” said Sean Damon, director of strategic partnerships for Straight Ahead, a decarceration advocacy organization.
Gov. Josh Shapiro said Sunday that he agreed with the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the mandatory sentencing law as unconstitutional, but had hoped lawmakers would reach a compromise before leaving Harrisburg.
Shapiro said he spent much of the final two days of session trying to bridge the divide between House Democrats and Senate Republicans. Though no agreement emerged, he said that House procedural maneuvering left a legislative vehicle available should negotiators eventually strike a deal before a July 24 deadline to rewrite thelaw.
“I’d like to see the legislature act on this and not just leave it up to every individual county to act,” Shapiro said.
‘Someone’s going to need to act’
Until the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling in March, the state was one of only two that still required life without parole for every second-degree murder conviction — a category of homicide that generally applies to deaths committed during certain felonies, including cases in which a defendant played a role in the crime that led to the death.
In their decision, the justices said courts must consider the facts of each case and the defendant’s culpability before deciding on a punishment.
But the high court stopped short of deciding whether its ruling applies retroactively to people already serving those sentences. And it delayed implementing its decision for 120 days to give lawmakers time to rewrite the law.
Since March, judges across the state have postponed sentencing defendants convicted of second-degree murder while awaiting action from the General Assembly.
That action never came.
Lawmakers adjourned for the summer with 12 days remaining before the Supreme Court’s stay expires and with no realistic path toward a compromise. Republicans and Democrats spent months advancing competing visions for replacing the unconstitutional law but failed to bridge deep disagreements.
Senate Republicans twice approved legislation that would replace the mandatory sentence with a minimum term of 35 years to life, allowing parole eligibility after 35 years — or after 20 years for prisoners at least 70 years old.
House Democrats backed legislation that would cap future second-degree murder sentences at 50 years while allowing many people already serving mandatory life-without-parole sentences to seek parole after 25 years. The proposal, supported by the Philadelphia Bar Association, the Defender Association of Philadelphia, and District Attorney Larry Krasner, never advanced to a vote in the House.
House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery) said Sunday that Democrats have a legislative path prepared, so when they reach an agreement they can swiftly pass it and send it to Shapiro’s desk.
Asked whether that could happen before July 24 despite no additional voting days currently scheduled, Bradford replied: “We’re hoping to get something accomplished.”
Republican Attorney General Dave Sunday urged lawmakers this weekend to reach an agreement before the deadline, warning that failing to enact a new sentencing law would leave courts without clear guidance and could allow some people now serving life-without-parole sentences to become immediately eligible for release.
“It is dangerously inadequate for the House to allow the deadline to pass without a substantive and realistic proposal that includes sensible sentencing ranges with the option of a life sentence for the most serious offenders and protections for the victims of these horrible crimes,” Sunday said.
Sen. Wayne Langerholc (R., Cambria) voiced similar concerns during a committee meeting Saturday.
“Someone’s going to need to act in the House, or else this risks 1,100 violent offenders being released onto the streets of our commonwealth that we cannot afford to have,” he said.
A ‘free-for-all in the courts’
The Supreme Court cannot create a new sentencing range itself because establishing criminal penalties is the legislature’s responsibility. But advocates say Pennsylvania has already faced a similar situation.
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles were unconstitutional, Pennsylvania enacted a new sentencing law that applied only to future cases. Four years later, when the high court ruled that decision applied retroactively, judges had to resentence hundreds of incarcerated people without legislative guidance.
Many attorneys expect a similar pattern after July 24. Judges will continue sentencing people convicted of second-degree murder on a case-by-case basis until lawmakers or appellate courts provide clearer direction. At the same time, attorneys representing people already serving mandatory life-without-parole sentences are expected to begin seeking new sentencing hearings.
Because the Pennsylvania Supreme Court did not decide whether the decision applies retroactively, that question is also expected to return to the justices.
“We reasonably believe that if this matter is brought to them [the justices] again, they will mandate mass resentencing,” said Damon, of Straight Ahead.
Some criminal justice advocates argue that individualized sentencing hearings before judges are preferable to replacing one mandatory sentencing scheme with another because judges are better positioned to weigh a person’s role in a crime, rehabilitation while incarcerated, and risk to public safety.
“Even though it will be a free-for-all in the courts,” said Celeste Trusty, a consultant for criminal legal reform organizations and former state legislative affairs director of FAMM, “people serving the now-unconstitutional mandatory life-without-parole sentences would also likely fare better” under individualized resentencing than under the failed bill.
Even so, the absence of a statewide framework is likely to place enormous demands on courts, prosecutors, and public defenders, particularly in Philadelphia, where more than 500 people are serving mandatory life-without-parole sentences for second-degree murder — about half the statewide total.
Keisha Hudson, chief defender of the Defender Association of Philadelphia, estimated each resentencing would require about $40,000 in attorney time, investigators, mitigation specialists, and other resources — roughly $24 million if every potentially eligible Philadelphia case returned to court.
She said defenders are expected to shoulder much of that work but lack the resources to handle the oldest cases, including about 30 that predate the creation of the office’s homicide unit in 1993.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner did not respond to an interview request.
Nab a table at Collingswood’s Sabrina’s Cafe at 11 a.m. on a Sunday without a wait? Good luck with that.
A dinnertime walk-in at one of the town’s many vaunted restaurants might be easier. On a weekday, you’ll practically be a shoo-in.
Despite its reputation as a South Jersey dinner destination — owing to longtime red-sauce staples like Villa Barone and Il Fiore and newer fine-dining joints like Hearthside and June BYOB — restaurant owners on Collingswood’s popular Haddon Avenue say business isn’t booming on weeknights.
With thinner margins brought on by the higher costs of food, supplies such as to-go containers, and labor, it’s getting harder for some of these spots to get by.
The Camden County town of 14,000 is hopping with energy on weekend days thanks to the beloved Saturday morning farmer’s market, a bevy of city-organized events, and Collingswood’s variety of stores. But the energy on Haddon Avenue often fizzles come evening.
Business owners of all types point to one main reason: Collingswood is dry.
“During the day on Saturday when we’re prepping, there are people walking around everywhere, but on the weekdays after 5 o’clock, there’s just nobody walking around,” said Dominic Piperno, chef and owner of Hearthside, which opened on Haddon Avenue in 2017.
People walk along Haddon Avenue in Collingswood. Elected officials and business owners say the town needs more experiential businesses.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Piperno said weekday evenings have become increasingly quiet in the past few years. There was a boom just after COVID-19 restrictions lifted, when folks were happy to get out of their homes, but it didn’t last. He and other Haddon Avenue restaurant owners say inflation and the rising cost of living are partly to blame, with disposable income for many out the window.
Giovanni Barone, whose family has owned and operated Haddon Avenue Italian restaurant Villa Barone for 32 years, thinks the town could make some changes to support restaurants. He motioned toward nearby Haddon Township, which has long allowed alcohol sales and on-site consumption.
There, “on a weekday night — Wednesday or Thursday, for example — I drive down the street and it’s packed,” Barone said. “We’re losing a bit of that piece of the pie.”
A thriving daytime scene
Yet amid the challenges, Collingswood’s share of Haddon Avenue is experiencing a wave of new businesses filling long-vacant storefronts and injecting fresh daytime activity.
Kaival Patel of John’s Friendly Market in nearby Haddon Heights is preparing to open a convenience store-like concept in Collingswood with a deli case and prepared foods in the former Wawa space, likely this summer.
The business was courted by Collingswood Commissioner and Deputy Mayor Amy Henderson Riley. She campaigned with Mayor Daniela Solano-Ward on the promise of ensuring downtown continued to welcome diverse business owners and shoppers of various income levels. James Maley, a commissioner since 1989 and Collingwood’s mayor from 1997 until Solano-Ward took office, continues to serve as a commissioner.
“We’re replacing Wawa in our own way,” Patel said. “We’ve heard that people used to get their groceries from Rite Aid next door that closed, too, so we’re going to try to add groceries as much as possible.”
Nearby, a bank that has sat empty for years is primed for a new life as a three-storefront building topped with condos, said Keller Williams real estate agent Pat Ciervo. The parking lot will become public parking, Ciervo said — a perk for that end of downtown.
Charm bar and permanent jewelry studio Chatterbox celebrated its first anniversary July 4. Business has been good for owners Douglas and Nikki Coleman. People are eager to support a Black- and family-owned business, Douglas Coleman said.
Douglas and Nikki Coleman at their business Chatterbox in Collingswood.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
“Weekends have been very steady for us,” he said. Weekday business fluctuates, “but this has become a destination for people, just the store in itself. We’ve had people come from Boston and Virginia.”
Lindsey Ferguson, Collingswood’s director of business and community development, praised the store.
“We have loved the addition of Chatterbox because, simply, their business model includes waiting for your jewelry, so people then walk around and shop” at other businesses on the avenue like suburban birding store House Finch or Occasionette gift shop, she said.
Ferguson would like to see more so-called experiential businesses like Chatterbox and nearby pottery-painting studio All Fired Up! And she’d like to add nighttime businesses “that can kind of lift everybody up.”
Ends of the Earth, a cigar lounge that recently debuted in Collingswood’s former fire station, is open until 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday — a welcome evening addition, according to Ferguson.
Ferguson said the chasm between daytime and nighttime foot traffic along Haddon Avenue dates to the pandemic years, when some businesses began closing earlier.
But that lack of deep overlap between so-called daytime and nighttime businesses has left Collingswood’s restaurant scene in the lurch.
The inside of Douglas and Nikki Coleman’s business Chatterbox in Collingswood.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
‘Let’s not mess this up’
Liquor was prohibited by ordinance in Collingswood in the 19th century, dating back to its Quaker roots.
Now Collingswood’s three-person Board of Commissioners, which includes Henderson Riley and Solano-Ward, is considering a resolution to put liquor sales on the ballot in November.
“It’s a conversation we need to keep having as a community,” Henderson Riley said. “It would be an influx of cash into the town that would be up to voters to decide.”
In 2015, Collingswood voted to allow craft breweries, and now Raccoon Taproom operates on Haddon Avenue under a state-issued limited brewery license. The license allows operator Swedesboro Brewing to serve beer in the taproom.
Chef-owner Dominic Piperno (left) with line cook Christopher Ross at Hearthside in Collingswood in 2023.Michael Klein / Staff
Henderson Riley said officials are concerned about how to equitably distribute the restaurant and retail liquor licenses. Collingswood would receive up to four, based on its population, which isn’t enough for all of its dinner-serving establishments. And if they are auctioned to the highest bidder, Ferguson noted, out-of-town restaurant groups could come in and create even more competition for licenses.
“We want to keep restaurants open. We want to keep our downtown thriving,” Henderson Riley said. “We see neighboring towns that are open a little later than us, and the main reason is liquor.”
And as a result, Henderson Riley said, the restaurants in those neighboring towns have a lower price point for their food.
Nearby Haddonfield is also a dry town but allows businesses to operate under state-issued manufacturing licenses — not just for beer — and is now home to a brewery, a winery tasting room, and a distillery. Piperno, of Hearthside, sees how these businesses help feed the area’s restaurants, even if the restaurants can’t sell alcohol.
“My wife and kids and I will walk Haddonfield at night, and like on a Monday, Tuesday, it’s jamming,” Piperno said. “It just has helped that downtown a lot, especially with younger families.”
Piperno said Fridays and Saturdays at Hearthside are still “jammed,” but “it’s really hard to survive this industry with just two really busy nights.” The restaurant plans to relocate to Haddon Township in 2027, where it will have a liquor license.
“It’s a bittersweet thing for us because we love Collingswood,” Piperno said, “but something has to change.”
Still, for Collingswood, much already has. Former Mayor Maley is owed much of the credit, says Henderson Riley, the deputy mayor.
The downtown pocket park with a “Collingswood” sign.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Henderson Riley recalled Maley’s efforts to attract new homeowners by incentivizing converting former duplexes into single-family homes, and appeals to Philadelphia’s LGBTQ+ population to move across the bridge.
“Part of what drew us here was what he used to call the Collingswood story,” Henderson Riley, who has lived there for 15 years, said. The businesses and restaurants that germinated from it are the basis of Haddon Avenue’s reputation today.
Nikki Coleman, of Chatterbox, grew up in Cherry Hill and has watched throughout her life as Collingswood’s downtown transformed from a dingy strip into a robust retail scene. She has shared her observances with her husband.
“This has been a great case study for how to take a town and really bring a certain dynamic to it that I think a lot of other small towns wish they had,” Douglas Coleman said. “I don’t know if we’re doing anything wrong, but it’s more of a ‘Let’s not mess this up.’”
It was the first weekend of summer break. Abigail Gillon, an honor student, had just finished sixth grade. She was free.
“My last text to her was at 2:14” on June 14 last year, said Abby’s mom, Lori Kralle.
An hour later, Kralle received a call from an emergency room nurse about her 12-year-old daughter.
Abby had been riding an electric scooter with her best friend, Isabelle, in Aston Township. The girls were sharing the scooter when they drove off the curb and fell into the street. They were struck by an oncoming car at 2:22 p.m. Emergency responders found them holding each other in fetal position, Kralle said. Abigail died two days later. Her friend was severely injured.
“It didn’t just tear away and take away Abigail’s life, it took apart everybody’s life, her friends and family,” Kralle said.
Lori Kralle with her daughter, Abby Gillon.Lori Kralle
Last year, more traffic crashes causing injury and death in Philadelphia involved electric bikes and scooters than manual ones, according to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation data. The finding highlights a new reality in which e-bikes and e-scooters present a major safety problem, the state confirmed.
The high numbers of injuries and deaths point to the need for legal clarity, statewide safety regulations, and new infrastructure to protect users of e-bikes, e-scooters, and bicycle riders from cars and trucks, traffic safety advocates contend.
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“There’s a lot of technology out there and there is no real enforcement and regulation,” said Nicole Brunet, president of PA Safe Roads PAC. “It’s causing devices to be on the road that are unsafe.”
In 2025, e-bikes and e-scooters were involved in 197 crashes on city streets, excluding interstates — a 40% increase over 2024. Four riders were killed and 193 were injured in those collisions, PennDot figures show.
Meanwhile, 193 reported crashes involved standard bikes, more numerous in the city than their electric cousins, as well as traditional foot-propelled scooters, the state figures indicate.
E-bikes and scooters are poorly defined in Pennsylvania law. The ambiguity makes it hard for governments to identify problems; PennDot did not analyze separate crash data for the electric devices until 2024, for instance, due in part to uneven reporting.
A delivery driver riding an e-bike drives past an intersection on Walnut Street in West Philadelphia on Tuesday, July 7, 2026.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
State law authorizes the use of low-speed electric bikes — those that weigh less than 100 pounds, have engines that generate no more than 750 watts, and travel below 20 mph — on public roadways. E-scooters are not street legal in Pennsylvania.
This narrow definition, however, does notdifferentiate among the many new types of electric bikes or e-scooters for sale, which can reach speeds of 60 mph or even 100 mph.
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Two states, two speeds
Governmental response has been uneven, with neighboring states moving in opposite directions and local jurisdictions sometimes banning e-bikes and e-scooters or enacting bespoke rules.
“What we’re seeing right now is sort of a wild, wild west,” said State Sen. Tim Kearney, a Delaware County Democrat.
Kearney wrote and introduced “Abby’s Law” — SB 1008 — in September last year.
The bill says no person under 16 could operate a privately owned “low-speed electric scooter” on public roads; a helmet would be required until age 18. The bill would set a uniform 20 mph speed limit and prohibit tandem riding on e-scooters.
Local police would issue summonses for those and other traffic violations by riders. Municipalities could increase penalties for second and third violations, as long as the fine is no more than $250.
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In New Jersey, former Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, signed the most restrictive electric cycling law in the nation on his last day in officeearlier this year. The law, which takes effect later this month,requires all e-bike users to obtain a license and register their devices with the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, even if they do not go over 20 mph.
Models that can travel between 21 and 28 mph or have a throttle are classified as “motorized bicycles” and must also have liability insurance. The lower-powered e-bikes provide “pedal assist,” which cuts off at 20 mph.
Enforcement could be tricky, especiallyat the Shore. The MVC says out-of-state visitors can ride legally, but language in the law appears to grant the exemption just to people who have registered devices in their home states. That is not an option in Pennsylvania.
The MVC is now taking reservations for appointments; officials have acknowledged the deadline might need to be extended.
E-scooters with a top speed of 19 mph are legal.
In Pennsylvania, more than a year after Abby Gillon’s death, Kearney’s bill has not had a public hearing or a vote in the Senate.
“We need to get people to acknowledge what’s actually happening on the road, and then stop sticking our heads in the sand about the various bureaucratic reasons not to move forward with it,” Kearney said.
Wide use, thin information
Government officials face challenges identifying and classifying the many varieties of electricbikes and scooters — also known as micromobility vehicles — transportation activists and state officials said. That makes information, including about crashes, hard to come by.
PennDot, for instance, began counting electric bikes and scooters separately from pedal cycles, unmotorized scooters, and pedestrians for its annual tally of crashes only in 2024.
A man gets ready to leave on his electric shooter in Center City.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
After a vehicular crash, law enforcement is required to report to PennDot details of crashes that involve injuries, fatalities, or significant damage to vehicles.
Regarding the data prior to 2024, Robert A. Ranieri, crash-analysis manager at PennDot, said via email: “I don’t find that fully reliable since we didn’t look at all the narratives and the police may not have reported them properly at the time.”
While his office works to verify the data, “not all reports are touched by my staff,” Ranieri said.
Similarly, the crash data on electric bikes likely include vehicles known as e-motos, which look like pedal bikes but go faster than 20 mph, said John Boyle, research director at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.
In general, e-motos being lumped in with e-bikes is causing a lot of issues as communities and states try to regulate the higher-speed micromobility devices, Brunet said.
E-scooter law is ‘basically ignored’
The recently released PennDot data include at least 92 crashes in Philly involving e-scooters, which are technically illegal to ride on public streets in Pennsylvania.
Last year, there were four reported fatalities involving e-scooters, though they made up only 14% of micromobility devices, according to the Bicycle Coalition’s 2025 bike count data.
Standard bikes, in comparison, resulted in the same number, a total of four deaths, last year.
“Some of the e-scooters have a top speed of 60 mph, which is crazy fast,” Boyle said, but “the law is basically ignored.”
There is a gray market of electric scooters and bikes available for purchase, transportation experts told The Inquirer.
“You can purchase electric bikes or scooters for $800 on Amazon and they have 1,000 to 2,000 watts,” Boyle said.
The bikes are sometimes marketed as “Class 2,” meaning their motor tops out at 20 mph, but with a few basic adjustments can easily go faster, Boyle said.
A man rides an electric scooter down a bike lane near Drexel University’s campus.Aidan T. Gallo / Staff Photographer
Motorcycles, unlike e-motos, have quality standards and regulations. When it comes to selling a motorcycle in Pennsylvania, dealerships are required to handle legal requirements, title transfers, and state registrations.
Reiningin the manufacturers and dealers of electric bikes, motos, and scooters is an important step, Boyle said, but the state first needs to better define in the law what electric bikes and scooters are.
Brunet, president of PA Safe Roads PAC, said her organization supports the Safe System approach to transportation safety, which involves education, enforcement, and infrastructure.
“Philly just needs to keep building better bike infrastructure. … There is definitely a lot to do to make roads safer so that the people choosing these devices get home safe,” Brunet said.
Several bills to regulate e-scooters have been proposed in the state legislature, but none have been passed.
Special legislation gave Pittsburgh the right to test a shared e-scooter rental program in partnership with Spin, a private company, from 2021 to 2023, when the trial expired.
Kinkead called it a success, noting her north Pittsburgh district has steep hills and limited transit links.
“What I saw … was not college kids goofing around, it was people who were trying to get around the North Side with grocery bags,” Kinkead said at a recent public hearing on the bill.
The city had 230,000 unique e-scooter users during the test, said Ryan Seiferet, who managed the program for the Pittsburgh Department of Mobility and Infrastructure.
A survey of about 1,000 participants showed 44% of e-scooter riders used them to get to work and one-third to travel between transit stops and home. Regular users tended to have low incomes.
While rules are needed in the state, especially for privately owned scooters, “We want to make sure we aren’t penalizing or disincentivizing a valuable micromobility travel option” for people, said Jessie Amadio, an organizer for Philly Bike Action.
The electric scooter program was relatively safe, with one reported injury per 17,000 rides, according to a DOMI report.
Electric scooters going against directed traffic flow at Market Street at 15th in Center City.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
News site Next Pittsburgh found, however, that a handful of the injuries were serious and, in some cases, life-threatening. Spin planned to deploy scooters with larger tires for stability, the site reported.
Kinkead said shared e-scooters can be tightly controlled in agreements between a city and an e-scooter firm; in Pittsburgh, the scooters could not exceed 15 mph, enforced by software. E-scooters stopped working if the rider strayed into a town that did not allow them.
Philadelphia, however, is opting out. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration asked that the city not be included in the shared e-scooter bill, said State Rep. Ed Neilson, a Democrat who represents a Northeast district and chairs the House Transportation Committee.
“Because of the historic nature of the city and the millions of people that come every year, we just don’t want to block or impede that,” Neilson told colleagues in the hearing.
Most agree that the state needs to take some sort of legislative action soon.
“Getting as far as we have gotten [with Abby’s Law] on the Senate’s desk and to still not have anything signed or put into order is very frustrating,” Lori Kralle said.
“What does it take? For another mother to get that phone call?” she added. “I don’t wish that on anybody.”
One of your recent editorials detailed the U.S. Supreme Court’s political overreach, which only underscores my belief that reforming the court is the most urgent issue of constitutional reform facing the United States. It has long been the most conservative — if not reactionary — branch of the federal government, and also the most unaccountable. Its justices serve life terms with no binding ethics code over their conduct, which has grown increasingly corrupt. Since John Marshall’s obiter dictum in Marbury v. Madison (1803), it has exercised an unquestionable power — conferred on it nowhere in the Constitution — to alter and overturn duly passed legislation. In fact, theirs is a power that, as noted by Thomas Jefferson, would — if exercised — fatally undermine the rule of law. It has done so ever since, giving sanction to a century of slavery and another of Jim Crow, among the many rulings that have over the years impeded the progress of freedom and democracy for all Americans, most recently in the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. Now, following the template of a former Republican operative and Supreme Court justice himself, Lewis Powell, it has achieved a standing right-wing majority that may, if unchecked, endure for decades, and has already, in the current Roberts Court, inflicted great damage on matters ranging from gun laws to environmental protection to campaign financing and election districting. No genuine reform of the many problems that face and divide us can be hoped for without dealing with a Supreme Court that is now at war with the other branches of the state and federal judiciary. Jefferson was right: We have created a monster. It is time to cut the claws it has grown.
Robert Zaller,Bala Cynwyd
Atrocity of ICE
The killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Houston isn’t just a tragedy — it is a systemic outrage. Coming on the heels of the fatal federal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, a terrifying pattern is undeniable: federal immigration enforcement is operating above the law, destroying lives on American soil with zero transparency.
The corruption runs deeper than the pull of a trigger. It has been reported that three other people were in the vehicle with Mr. Salgado Araujo during the incident. Instead of being protected as vital witnesses to a fatal shooting, they are currently being pressured by the government to sign self-deportation orders, according to a civil rights organization. ICE is actively and deliberately attempting to eliminate them to bury the truth.
Polite concern will not stop this. Citizens must aggressively pressure Congress to mandate independent, external criminal investigations into federal use-of-force incidents, ending the corrupt practice of internal self-policing. Federal agencies must be answerable to the public, starting with the mandatory release of unedited body-camera footage. We must force systemic accountability before more blood is shed.
Maria Duca, Philadelphia
Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.
DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have four children, two of whom have congenital health issues we’ve been managing. One child is leading a “normal” life and is a spunky little kid. Our other child may be more impacted down the road, and we continue to seek answers. If people ask how either one of them is doing, we are open to sharing. Depending on how close we are to family or friends, we may share a bit more or a bit fewer of the details. It’s an approach that has been working, and in return, we mostly receive supportive feedback.
The issue is that my father-in-law always has a comment to make. I am sure he means well, but he tends to give responses like, “Oh, that’s probably nothing,” “Well, she looks fine to me,” or “One day, this will all be behind you.” It gets under my skin. His responses are either dismissive of our concerns or they downplay the extent of the illness, especially when it’s related to the underlying health concerns.
I always bite my tongue. With our more impacted child, I have been hesitant to share anything because I don’t want to hear his comments. The matter is serious from what we know right now, and my husband did share some of it with his parents because he felt they needed to know. With things now in the open, I expect follow-up questions from them.
To prepare for more comments, how can I respectfully let my FIL know they are unnecessary and, at times, hurtful to us because we are doing so much to care for our children? I’m afraid one of his next comments will be the last straw for me, and I don’t want to react disrespectfully.
— ANXIOUS DAUGHTER-IN-LAW
DEAR DIL: Your father-in-law may be attempting to put a positive spin on a difficult subject when he downplays the problems your child is facing. The way to deal with this would be to gather your thoughts and have an honest conversation with him about how it makes you feel. If you do, there is less likelihood of your exploding upon hearing what may be his attempt to be supportive.
** ** **
DEAR ABBY: I am writing for your help in bringing attention to a disability issue I find unacceptable. I am partially deaf. I use closed captions on televisions and online. However, I am increasingly frustrated that televisions in public places like hospitals, doctors’ waiting rooms, restaurants, etc., never have closed captions activated. Public places are required to have disability parking, so why can’t my disability be accommodated? I’m hoping you can make these public places aware of this simple accommodation for the hearing-impaired public.
— CINCINNATI CC ADVOCATE
DEAR CC ADVOCATE: In many regions and many businesses, it is the norm to mute the volume and turn on the captions for the comfort of everyone. Often, the television chatter is an unwelcome distraction, or, in a more social space, it would be impossible to hear the audio even if you wanted to. For those who haven’t caught on that this is the practical way to go, I’m happy to spread the word. In public areas, television programs are better seen than heard!
ARIES (March 21-April 19). Your new moon paradox: Certainty and wonder held together. The secret is letting convictions provide direction while curiosity keeps them alive. Beliefs are likely to change over time, but values don’t have to. Mantra: “I stand for what I know and stay open to discovery.”
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Your new moon paradox: Trust yourself and learn from others. The secret is remaining teachable without surrendering your inner authority. Advice becomes useful when filtered through your own experience. Mantra: “I listen with respect and choose my own path.”
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). Your new moon paradox: Shine and share the spotlight. The secret is understanding that another person’s success doesn’t diminish your own light. Generosity turns achievement into connection rather than competition. Mantra: “I celebrate what is mine and what belongs to others.”
CANCER (June 22-July 22). Your new moon paradox: Lead and listen. The secret is trusting your vision while remaining open to wisdom, which can come from any direction. Influence grows where people feel heard. Mantra: “I offer my perspective and welcome what others see.”
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Your new moon paradox: Play a role and stay real. The secret is to remember that what you do is not who you are. Mantra: “My title is a tool, not a prison. My heart shines through all I do.”
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Your new moon paradox: Be important and be ordinary. The secret is realizing that a meaningful life is built from small moments as much as grand ones. Significance wears everyday clothes. Mantra: “I value my place in the story and the day before me.”
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Your new moon paradox: Discipline creates freedom. The secret is recognizing that structure can support spontaneity rather than limit it. The practices you maintain today become options available tomorrow. Mantra: “I build strong foundations for a life that can expand.”
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Your new moon paradox: Be yourself and keep evolving. The secret is knowing that authenticity isn’t a fixed destination. Growth doesn’t betray who you are. It reveals more of you and expands what’s possible. Mantra: “I welcome change without abandoning myself.”
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Your new moon paradox: Take the game seriously and remember it’s a game. The secret is full participation without attachment to the outcome. Effort matters, but so does delight. Mantra: “I give my best and leave room for surprise.”
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Your new moon paradox: Stand out and belong. The secret is contributing your distinct gifts without requiring everyone to mirror your perspective. Strong communities are diverse. Mantra: “I bring my whole self to the circle and make room for others.”
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Your new moon paradox: Create yourself and accept yourself. The secret is building toward the future without declaring war on the present. Ambition and self-respect can travel together. Mantra: “I honor who I am while welcoming who I’m becoming.”
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Your new moon paradox: Seek recognition and stay grounded. The secret is enjoying appreciation without making it the source of your worth. Applause is pleasant, but identity runs deeper. Mantra: “I receive praise with gratitude and remain rooted within.”
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (July 14) You are remarkably equipped and perfectly adapted to getting what you need in this Year of the Hummingbird. Your “wings” create astonishing movement. You’ll accomplish much through precision and keen observation — it’s like you can smell opportunity. More highlights: Your talent pays dividends. Family closeness; nuanced and specific communication. Important introductions at festive occasions. Leo and Aquarius adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 6, 31, 12, 8 and 14.
