Daniel Pearson

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/opinion/poli...

No Such Thing as a Free Bus How I'm thinking about Zohran Mamdani's fare-free bus proposal

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...

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/opinion/sept...

Great post from @dpearsonphl.bsky.social

those are op-eds from guest contributors.

They got laid off

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

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."

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...

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' 108 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

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...

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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...

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.

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...

Ken Burns is doing a Nimby college town circuit!

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

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.

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

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

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.

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...

Debt-related license suspensions put the brakes on employment Debt-related driver’s license suspensions can keep people out of the workforce and make it hard for businesses to find and keep the employees they need.

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).

Good morning from … {checks notes} … the Supreme Court of the United States

Constituents to Chuck Grassley: "Are you bringing back that guy from El Salvador?"

Senior Citizen: “If I get an order to pay a ticket to pay $1200 and I just say ‘no’, does that stand up? Because he just got an order from the Supreme Court and he just said ‘screw it’”

“I’M PISSED!”

I can’t believe I’ve sunk a decade of my life into covering this asshole, I wanted to do other things like I’ve never gotten back into video games

Even (especially) on TikTok they know that norms around bus fare have broken down

SEPTA’s proposed cuts are ‘catastrophic,’ say Philly leaders In the worst-case scenario, 55 bus routes would be eliminated, five Regional Rail lines shut down and 66 stations closed. Other service would be reduced and trains would stop running at 9 p.m.

State Rep. Morgan Cephas is right. “We have to invest in each other in order for Pennsylvania to thrive”

www.inquirer.com/transportati...

Cuts to election security programs threaten to make Trump’s Big Lie a reality | Editorial Funding and personnel reductions at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency may make elections less secure, while voter ID legislation could disenfranchise millions.

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