We haven\u2019t even reached the Ides of March yet, but there\u2019s plenty of drama and intrigue in and around Philadelphia City Hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With Council returning to session one week before Mayor Cherelle Parker\u2019s annual budget address, and foreign affairs having an impact at home, councilmembers have a lot on their plate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With this week\u2019s whirlwind of news in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection, City & State is offering a roundup of what you may have missed \u2013 and what\u2019s on the horizon at home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Officials demand investigation into Palestinian American\u2019s death<\/p>\n
Both state and local officials have weighed in on the killing of Nasrallah Abu Siyam, a 19-year-old born in Philadelphia who was shot and killed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank in February, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry and witnesses.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia City Council honored Siyam and welcomed his family to the chambers on Thursday, and Gov. Josh Shapiro issued a letter calling for an investigation<\/a> into Abu Siyam\u2019s death.\u00a0<\/p>\n Councilmembers Rue Landau and Nicolas O\u2019Rourke introduced a resolution Thursday to honor Abu Siyam\u2019s life and call for accountability.\u00a0<\/p>\n And in his letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Shapiro urged Bondi\u2019s office to conduct an investigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the killing of Mr. Abu Siyam and similar incidents in the region demand a diplomatic response, I hope you will agree that the death of a citizen of our Commonwealth under such circumstances also requires a criminal investigation, as prescribed under the law, to ensure accountability and provide answers to the Abu Siyam family,\u201d Shapiro wrote.<\/p>\n Abu Siyam is the second Palestinian American to be killed by Israeli settlers in less than a year. In a press conference with relatives and local officials, Jonathan Kuttab, a human rights attorney, said he is working with Abu Siyam\u2019s family to bring a civil case against 501(c)3 organizations in the U.S. that he said are supporting Israeli settlers\u2019 attacks in the West Bank.\u00a0<\/p>\n Organizers said some members of the Abu Siyam family who traveled from the Philadelphia region to the West Bank for Nasrallah Abu Siyam\u2019s funeral have been stranded there due to flight cancellations and travel restrictions after the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran began last week.<\/p>\n SEPTA gets boost from feds and potential bump from Philly<\/p>\n Transit talk was positive this week, for once. The Philadelphia region\u2019s transit system announced it\u2019s finalizing service plans for the six World Cup matches scheduled at Lincoln Financial Field later this year and the Lemon Hill FanFest that will accompany FIFA festivities.\u00a0<\/p>\n SEPTA is getting roughly $5.5 million<\/a> from the Federal Transit Administration to assist the additional service plans. The federal investment comes as part of the $8.47 million awarded to the region to strengthen transit capacity ahead of the games.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n And on Thursday, Mayor Cherelle Parker sent legislation to City Council seeking to encourage more apartment construction around SEPTA stations, in hopes of boosting ridership.<\/a> The bill, part of a package of zoning legislation, is looking to kill two birds with one stone by increasing transit ridership and increasing the city\u2019s housing stock. It would do so by expanding existing law to allow more properties near a SEPTA station to receive benefits, allowing developers to build more homes. The previous range \u2013 within 500 feet of a station \u2013 would be expanded to 1,320 feet, or a quarter of a mile.\u00a0<\/p>\n Smoke shops on the spot<\/p>\n City Council Majority Leader Katherine Gilmore Richardson introduced a pair of bills Thursday to crack down on what she calls \u201cintoxicating substances,\u201d also known as the unregulated products being sold at smoke shops and corner stores.\u00a0<\/p>\n The bill, which seeks stronger enforcement against the sale of kratom and other hemp-derived products, is part of Gilmore Richardson\u2019s push to remove nuisance businesses that she says can attract crime and worsen the quality of life in a neighborhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n The second bill would give the city greater enforcement against stores\u2019 landlords if an illegal smoke shop was operating in their storefronts and had received previous notification of their wrongdoing. Gilmore Richardson said the legislation mirrors the illegal-smoke-shop accountability measure used in New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Together, these two new pieces of legislation will really strengthen our enforcement mechanisms and ensure that we are using every tool in our toolbox to continue to make our communities safer and support their long-term well-being,” said Gilmore Richardson.\u00a0<\/p>\n School closure plan doesn\u2019t sit well with many<\/p>\n The School District of Philadelphia\u2019s 10-year facilities plan, which initially called for the closure of 20 of the district\u2019s 307 buildings, isn\u2019t sitting right with students, parents and councilmembers, even after the revision to limit closures to 18 buildings.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n