Free Republic

Philadelphia’s mayor warned that election workers won’t start counting mail-in ballots until Election Day — and will take “several days” to tally results — adding a critical wrinkle to the election in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania, according to a report.In an open letter to Philadelphia residents, Mayor Jim Kenney urged patience, WCAU reported Monday.“After the polls close, and in the ensuing days, we will continue to need your patience,” reads the letter signed by Kenney and Lisa Deeley, the chairwoman of the Philadelphia City Commissioners.“Never in the history of this city have so many people voted by mail. By...

A lawyer for the Trump campaign is demanding answers from the Philadelphia Board of City Commissioners after a photograph appeared to show Mayor Jim Kenney violating election law, the Delaware Valley Journal has learned. Kenney explained his actions and said no laws were broken. The complaint is in a letter to the Board of Commissioners, obtained exclusively by the Delaware Valley Journal, and is a follow-up to one the Trump campaign sent last week. The new complaint was sparked by a picture of Kenney that appeared in Thursday’s Philadelphia Inquirer. Because of Pennsylvania’s laws against ballot harvesting, people can only...

The City of Philadelphia has announced legal action against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania over gun safety laws. City officials, including city council leaders and Mayor Jim Kenney announced the lawsuit during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. ---snip--- The lawsuit comes as gun violence reaches historic levels in the city with shooting incidents up 57% over 2019, and the number of shooting victims up 47%. The city also says the number of shooting victims under the age of 18 is up 67% over 2019.

Residents of Philadelphia, in case you haven't noticed, your mayor, Jim Kenney, has one set of increasingly onerous rules for law-abiding citizens, especially if they're in South Philadelphia. And Kenney has another set of rules for the so called "peaceful protesters" who are illegally occupying the formerly scenic Benjamin Franklin Parkway. In anticipation of the Eagles' home opener, Killjoy Kenney has announced that the city is banning tailgating parties at and around the Linc. To accomplish that goal, Kenney will close a half-dozen streets around the stadium, where fans are banned from attending the game against the Rams, from 6...

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney is apologizing after a photo showed him dining indoors at a restaurant in Maryland even as indoor dining in his city remains banned. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced some city businesses to close and others struggling to stay afloat with outdoor dining. The mayor's office confirmed that he went to a friend's restaurant on Sunday. The photo went viral by Sunday night. Kenney issued the apology in pair of tweets posted Monday afternoon. "I felt the risk was low because the county I visited has had fewer than 800 COVID-19 cases, compared to...

There are a lot of empty tables inside restaurants in Philly due to the orders of Mayor Jim Kenney, who nevertheless enjoyed indoor dining this weekend in Maryland. The Maryland restaurant is owned by the mayor’s friend; but Pa. chefs fume that the mayor is a job-killing hypocrite. Chefs and restaurant owners in Philadelphia are sizzling hot over a photo showing Mayor Jim Kenney, who banned indoor dining in Philly due to COVID-19, enjoying an indoor restaurant meal in Maryland. 6ABC in Philadelphia reports the mayor’s office confirmed that he went to a friend’s restaurant in Maryland on Sunday. This...

In response to events unfolding during protests in Portland, Philadelphia officials warned Monday that they will not stand idly by if President Donald Trump orders federal agents into the city to detain protesters. --SNIP-- District Attorney Larry Krasner, in a separate statement, said he would pursue criminal charges against any agents who violate the rights of protesters in Philadelphia:

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Philadelphia will waive all protest-related code violation notices issued from demonstrations between May 30 and June 30, Mayor Jim Kenney said Wednesday. The approved Law Department and Office of Administrative Review recommendation include disorderly conduct, failure to disperse, curfew violations and related offenses. More than 750 citations were issued. “My decision to wave these violations is not a statement on the validity of the individual citations,” Kenney said in a statement. “Rather, it is a recognition of the core concerns that caused thousands to demonstrate on the streets of Philadelphia. In waiving these notices, I recognize that...

uthorities in Philadelphia on Wednesday removed a statue of former Mayor and Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo, days after demonstrators tried to topple the monument. Mayor Jim Kenney ordered city crews to remove the statue from Thomas Paine Plaza, near Philadelphia City Hall, in the early morning hours Wednesday. Demonstrators protesting the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, a death that has spurred hundreds of peaceful and violent rallies nationwide over the past week, damaged and attempted to set fire to the 10-foot-tall bronze statue last weekend. Rizzo served two terms as Philadelphia mayor in the 1970s after spending three years...

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia residents were asking questions after a group of people armed with bats and other objects took to the streets Monday night in Fishtown. And Mayor Jim Kenney provided his answer during a noon news conference Tuesday: "Going forward, any displays of vigilantism will not be tolerated, period," Kenney said.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has implemented a mandatory city-wide curfew that goes into effect at 8 p.m. Saturday night. The curfew will remain in effect through 6 a.m. Sunday, according to the Philadelphia Police Department’s Twitter page. The curfew means only persons with essential duties will be permitted outdoors. The news comes after hours of violent protests at City Hall and on the surrounding streets.

--SNIP-- This is why we can’t have nice things. It’s obvious that despite the escalation of this deadly virus, people are not respecting courteous requests from state and local governments to stay at home. Either Philadelphians don’t understand what it means to practice social distancing or simply do not care to. None of this is okay. As irresponsible behavior continues, more and more people are put at risk of exposure. We are now at that part of the pandemic where we should stop requesting and start enforcing. Playtime is over. Mayor Kenney, for the good of the city and its...

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney immediately called for increased gun control in the wake of an alarming incident where a convicted felon shot and wounded six police officers attempting to serve a drug-related warrant. “Our officers need help,” he told CBS News. “They need help. They need help with gun control. They need help with keeping these weapons out of these people’s hands.” He doubled down in his call for gun control when he told ABC News, “If the state and federal government don’t want to stand up to the NRA and other folks, let us police ourselves. Our officers deserve...

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney announced the abrupt resignation of his city's police commissioner Richard Ross Tuesday amid reports of sexual harassment and racial and gender discrimination within the police department. Calling himself "disappointed," Kenney, in a statement, said Ross has been "a terrific asset to the Police Department and the City as a whole." "New allegations of sexual harassment as well as gender and racial discrimination among the rank and file have recently been brought to my attention," Kenney added.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, echoing President Trump’s weekend tweets aimed at four Democratic congresswomen, said Tuesday that the president would “have to go to hell” if he ever went back where he came from. Kenney made the comment while speaking at an event to help illegal immigrants facing deportation, according to KYW-TV. Kenney reportedly veered off script, saying he had a vision that one day Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and former Acting ICE Director Tom Homan will be standing “outside of heaven” in a “cyclone-fenced dungeon” for eternity because “what they’re doing now is so anti-human, antithetical, anti-American, anti-decent,...

City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart released a report Tuesday night stating $33.3 million is missing from the City of Philadelphia's main cash account. Besides financial discrepancies, the report also found issues ranging from outdated technology to inadequate staffing. "My office has opened a fraud investigation," Rhynhart said. According to the report, the discrepancy dates back several years. The report states other city accounts have not been reconciled by the Treasurer's Office, some since 2010.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney called President Trump a "tyrant" who "is trying to turn this country into a dictatorship." The mayor made the comments on CBSN on Tuesday morning after the White House disinvited the Philadelphia Eagles from a celebration for the team's Super Bowl victory. "Cities need to stand up in this country, and many mayors have stood up in this country against this tyrant," Kenney said. "He is trying to turn this country into a dictatorship by ignoring the courts and by saying and doing what he wants, by ignoring the Department of Justice ... and in the...

Philadelphia Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney said “so what” if a “clean” DREAM Act gives DREAMers the opportunity to provide their undocumented immediate relatives with a path to U.S. citizenship. ---SNIP--- Kenney said Rep. Pat Meehan (R-Pa.) and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) should vote for a clean DREAM Act as Irish-Americans. When President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals was rescinded in September, Toomey said, "Congress needs to pass legislation to accommodate these young people while simultaneously addressing the other challenges within our deeply broken immigration system, including stopping dangerous sanctuary cities, strengthening border security, and cracking down on companies that...

Despite backing what became one of the nation’s first successful soda taxes, Mayor Jim Kenney is now blaming businesses for the resulting spike in the cost of sugary beverages. “They’re gouging their own customers,” he said of retailers who have been passing along some of the costs associated with the new tax.

Mayor Jim Kenney, who lead the charge for the passage of his city’s “soda tax,” is lashing out at the business community over higher prices, even accusing retailers of attempting to stir up resentment for the tax in the community . . . The 1.5 cents per ounce tax on sugary drinks is implemented at the distribution level, meaning that retailers must choose how much of the cost to pass onto consumers at the shelves. . . . “From Jan. 1, it’s been completely dead,” Mohammad Alqtaishat, owner at Roxborough’s M&M Market, told Billy Penn. “I’m not making money at...