PNN’s mission is to engage, educate and empower our neighbors to make our City a better place to live. Here’s what’s coming up in each of these areas:
Engage: Join Our Online All-Hands Meeting on March 23rd
Educate: Tell Your Reps to Help Students in Need, Chinatown Meeting
Empower: Petition to Repeal Act 40, Bring Our Money Home
Annual "All-Hands" Membership Meeting
Saturday, March 23rd, 3PM-4:30PM, Virtual
It's our most important meeting of the year and it takes place tomorrow, Saturday, March 23rd starting at 3PM. Our annual All-Hands Meeting will be conducted virtually (via Zoom). And this year we need your help more than ever to defeat the looming threat to democracy from fascist Republicans.
We don't have to wring our hands in despair when we can put those hands (and feet) to work in the field to make sure that Philly does its part to halt the MAGA monsters.
Join us as we unveil our plan for preventing a catastrophic change in the White House and discuss the specific things we can do on the ground in Philly to advance the cause of justice in 2024.
You'll hear from D.A. Larry Krasner about Act 40, the blatant attempt to nullify the voice of Philly voters, and how this is part of a larger attempt by a minority party to subjugate the will of the American people. You'll hear from Councilmember Kendra Brooks on the State of the City and State Rep. Chris Rabb on the State of the State, and you'll have a chance to ask questions. And you'll hear from our Working Group activists on their plans for the year.
You don't want to miss this event!
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Sign the Petition to Repeal Act 40
We are calling on the Pennsylvania Attorney General to DECLARE Act 40 Unconstitutional and to REFUSE to appoint an unelected prosecutor to replace the lawfully elected District Attorney of Philadelphia. We also call upon the Pennsylvania General Assembly to REPEAL Act 40.
In effect, the law authorizes an unelected Attorney General to appoint an unelected special prosecutor who would then have the authority to strip Philadelphia’s Lawfully Elected District Attorney of jurisdiction in almost any case they choose.
Act 40 also takes away the power of the locally elected Mayor and City Council in that it allows an unelected official to take an unlimited amount of money from the city’s general fund, a function that is currently the sole responsibility of the Mayor and City Council who we elect.
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Bring Our Money Home!
The money we taxpayers and City union members pay into our local $8.4 billion Pension Fund now gets invested in soul-crushing corporations around the world, as picked by Wall Street financiers. Led by PNN, the Philadelphia Public Banking Coalition means to bring at least some of that capital home with a program of Economically Targeted Investments. That program would bring wealth-building investments directly into communities that have been starved for capital ever since the days when redlining was official government policy.
If you think it’s time for the Philadelphia Pension Fund to actually put its portfolio to work for Philadelphians, sign the petition demanding it do so, linked below. And stay ready for further updates, some of which will be coming tomorrow to our All Hands Event, and more soon.
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Meeting to Stop Chinatown Development
Wednesday, March 27th, 1PM, Old United Church of Christ, 151 N. 4th St.
Join allies to stop the development of Chinatown for a press conference at Old United Church of Christ this coming Wednesday at 1PM. You'll learn how the impact studies dome by developers do a disservice to the residents of Chinatown and our city and what we can do about it.
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Tell Your Reps to Vote "Yes" on HB 2063 to Help Students in Need
Every child in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is entitled to a quality education. We must ensure that taxpayer-funded scholarships are properly allocated and well accounted for. HB 2063 guarantees that at least 90% of taxpayer contributions will fund actual scholarships for PA students who live at less than 200% of the Federal Poverty level. Click the link below to send a letter to your State Representative and State Senator.
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Did You Know? Biden's Record on Crime
New FBI data confirms previous indications that crime in the U.S. declined significantly in 2023, continuing a post-pandemic trend and belying widespread perceptions that crime is rising.
The new fourth-quarter numbers showed a 13% decline in murder in 2023 from 2022, a 6% decline in reported violent crime and a 4% decline in reported property crime. That’s based on data from around 13,000 law enforcement agencies, policing about 82% of the U.S. population, that provided the FBI with data through December
“It suggests that when we get the final data in October, we will have seen likely the largest one-year decline in murder that has ever been recorded,” said Jeff Asher, a former CIA analyst who now studies crime trends.
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This Week in History
Mar 25, 1911 – Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. 146 immigrant workers, mostly women, died in a fire from which they could not escape. Legislation soon followed to protect worker safety.
Mar 26, 1953 – Salk Announces Vaccine. With polio crippling more than 50,000 citizens, Dr. Jonas Salk announced that his laboratory had found a vaccine to protect against what many called "infant paralysis" because it mainly affected children.
Thanks for your activism!
Tim Brown, Organizing Director
Or Send Donation to: Philly Neighborhood Networks, c/o Gloria Gilman, 121 S. Broad St, Suite 1710, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Contributions to Philly Neighborhood Networks using the above link are not tax deductible.
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