Educator and investigative journalist Ida B. Wells gave no quarter to white supremacists. Born into slavery in Mississippi during the Civil War, Wells led an anti-lynching campaign and became a prominent voice against racial violence and discrimination.
The City of Philadelphia and SEPTA are fighting release of records related to the Sixers’ proposal to build an arena atop Jefferson Station as ordered by the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records in 2023. The city and SEPTA appealed the OOR’s final determination. Their lawyers have asked whether I want to continue to pursue my records requests. If they want to end litigation, the city and SEPTA can simply stop litigating and turn over the records.
For more than two years, Philadelphia’s misleaders gaslighted the public into believing that all that was needed for the Sixers’ half-baked proposal to become “a done deal” was the approval of enabling legislation by City Council.
It is said that common sense is not so common. Neither Mayor Cherelle L. Parker nor City Council can grant the right to build on SEPTA property. Someone on Mayor Parker’s bloated staff should have had enough common sense to ask whether SEPTA was on board with the transit-oriented development.
We now know SEPTA was not on board. Then-interim General Manager Scott Sauer’s testimony before City Council’s November 19, 2024 public hearing should have ended the nonsensical notion that 76 Place would keep the transit agency from falling off the fiscal cliff:
The reality is that SEPTA simply cannot assume these new costs within the framework of its operating budget… SEPTA cannot shoulder the burden of expanded transit costs at 76 Place which would be in addition to the existing fiscal challenges.
Mayor Parker and 12 City Council members ignored the red flags. As I wrote in an opinion piece for the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Sixers’ billionaire owners knew the Federal Transit Administration was the shot caller in the 76ers arena saga:
SEPTA received federal funding to make improvements to Jefferson Station. In order to protect the “federal interest,” changes to the use of the station must be approved by the Federal Transit Administration. In other words, federal officials call the shots.
Sixers co-owner David Adelman tacitly acknowledged the crucial role played by Washington in a social media post following City Council’s 12-5 vote: “We look forward to pursuing the remaining approvals to make 76Place a reality.”
The Philadelphia 76ers billionaire owners gamed Philadelphia’s “corrupt and contented” ecosystem. When building an arena atop SEPTA’s Jefferson Station no longer served their interest, it was game over. The 76ers are staying in South Philly with their landlord-turned-partner, Comcast Spectacor.
The team has struck a deal with Comcast Spectacor to remain in the South Philadelphia sports complex, after more than two years of heated debate over moving to a potential new arena on East Market Street.
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The reversal is a stunning end to a saga that has dominated city politics for more than a year and a setback for Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and others who championed the $1.3 billion Center City proposal.
At a press conference, Mayor Parker said, “This is a curveball that none of us saw coming.” Well, I saw it coming. It was only a matter of time before the Sixers abandoned their public transit-oriented project.
The ballyhooed legislation City Council passed was little more than a zoning permit. Neither Mayor Parker nor City Council can give the billionaires the right to enter Jefferson Station. They need SEPTA’s and the Federal Transit Administration’s approval of the development project. The review process could take years.
So, the billionaires were negotiating a deal with Comcast Spectacor while Mayor Parker and City Council were carrying their water. Philly’s misleaders were not just played. In the immortal words of Malcolm X, they were had, took, hoodwinked and bamboozled.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of PHL Watchdog. In the words of legendary gospel singer James Cleveland, “I don’t feel no ways tired.”
As a longtime advocate for transparency and accountability, every year I resolve to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” That includes submitting as many open records requests as necessary to shed light on what is being said and done behind closed doors.
Some agencies may want to falsely label me a “vexatious” or “repetitive” requester. As vexing as the Right-To-Know Law is for corrupt public officials, I have no “vexatious intent.” The public has the right to know whether officials are acting in the public interest or doing the bidding of special interests.
As expected, City Council gave final approval to enabling legislation that gives the Philadelphia 76ers a zoning permit to build an arena in the footprint of the Fashion District. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said, “All of Philadelphia will benefit from this project.”
Truth be told, the 12 to 5 vote is a victory for the building trades unions and the Sixers billionaire owners. In this infamously “corrupt and contented” city, mayors and City Councilmembers genuflect to Big Labor. But neither Parker nor City Council has the authority to give the Sixers the right to enter SEPTA’s property. The billionaires now must get the approval of SEPTA and the Federal Transit Administration to enter Jefferson Station. David Adelman tacitly acknowledges this fact in a tweet sent after the vote:
We look forward to pursuing the remaining approvals to make 76Place a reality.
The enabling legislation does not include a solution to SEPTA’s recurring budget deficit of $240 million. The flex funding is a stopgap measure that bought SEPTA six months before the transit agency, again, faces a “death spiral.” SEPTA officials have already testified that the transit agency cannot be “burdened” with the operational costs of managing the demolition of the Fashion District, construction of the arena, and additional service to accommodate the 76ers’ schedule.
Philadelphia has ranked as the poorest big city in the country for decades. The high poverty rate is not a bug; it’s a feature. Philadelphia’s misleaders are not interested in reducing poverty because there’s a lot of money to be made by insiders and cronies managing poor people.
There is also a lot of money to be made by insiders and cronies with the Sixers’ proposal to build an arena atop SEPTA’s Jefferson Station. For more than two years, the billionaire owners of the Philadelphia 76ers have spent millions of dollars lobbying and spreading misinformation about the economic benefits of 76 Place.
By a vote of 12-4 on December 12, 2024, City Council gave preliminary approval to legislation enabling 76 Place to move pass the first round. Councilmembers Jamie Gauthier, Rue Landau, Nicolas O’Rourke, and Jeffery Young Jr. voted against the enabling legislation. Councilmember Kendra Brooks, a staunch opponent of the arena, was absent.
The Sixers made it pass the first round with an assist from Philadelphia’s misleaders. The enabling legislation does not give the billionaires the right to construct an arena on SEPTA’s property. They will need more than the building trades unions to get the approval of SEPTA, which is teetering on the brink of a “death spiral,” and President Donald Trump’s Federal Transit Administration.
This has been a banner year for Lee Morgan. From listing of “The Sidewinder” in the National Recording Registry, dedication of his historical marker, publication of my essay about his masterpiece by the Library of Congress, and federal, state and city citations, Lee is finally getting the recognition he deserves. There are more accolades to come in 2025.
The only discordant note was the resurfacing of misinformation. The Philadelphia Inquirer published a false claim that Lee Morgan’s gravesite had “vanished.”
The reporter did not interview Lee’s family. If he had, they would have told him about White Chapel Memorial Park’s troubling history. If he had bothered to read the Google Reviews, he would know that poor maintenance of the grounds is an ongoing problem. The story wasn’t just rehashed fake news. It was a missed opportunity to shed light on the broader issue of accountability that impacts families whose loved ones are interred at White Chapel.
Putting aside the news article for now, Lee Morgan’s gravestone is in disrepair and fading. Please make a donation to preserve this endangered cultural resource. Donations will fund the restoration of Lee’s gravestone and the installation of a memorial bench, complete with a QR code linking to a digital tribute wall where donors can leave text, audio, or video tributes.
Lee Morgan was not just a jazz innovator; he was an advocate for racial justice. Now, it’s up to us to do him justice. Together, we can turn Lee’s gravesite into a place of reflection and inspiration.
For more than two years, Philadelphia 76ers co-owner and 76 Place hype man David Adelman crowed that the Sixers’ proposal to build an arena atop SEPTA’s Jefferson Station is a win for the city. Adelman regaled sycophants on X/Twitter and sports podcasters. But the billionaire was a no-show at City Council’s hearing on their proposal. City Councilmember Cindy Bass rightly asked:
Who thought this would be a good idea? I’m suspecting that it’s the owners of the Philadelphia 76ers, none of whom felt the need to come and discuss their vision or concept with us today which is quite inappropriate and disrespectful and just really callous.
The billionaires prefer to discuss their “vision” behind closed doors. So, Adelman sent their G Team – Alex Kafenbaum, senior vice president and head of development for Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment (HBSE owns the Sixers), and David Gould, HSBE’s chief diversity and impact officer.
Kafenbaum and Gould should have been benched. Denise Clay-Murray of The Philadelphia Sunday SUN wrote:
To understand just how badly the first two days of hearings on the proposed arena for your 76ers went for the Parker administration and the Sixers themselves, you’d have to return to your school days.
We all have had that moment where we’re staring at a test and asking ourselves, “How am I going to pass this?” It’s a feeling that usually comes when you don’t study as much as you could have and aren’t quite as prepared as you could have been.
You knew the test was coming. It was clearly marked on the syllabus. You had plenty of time to study for it because the teacher had told you several times that it was coming. You even got a study guide with everything you needed for the test.
[…]
But the only response that Council heard more than “I don’t know” is “No,” which was uttered by Gould and Kafenbaum a lot when it came to the Community Benefits Agreement, the upgrades of SEPTA’s Jefferson Station that would be needed for this project due to the increase in traffic, and just about everything else.
City Council has kicked off public hearings on the Philadelphia 76ers’ proposal to build an arena atop SEPTA’s regional rail Jefferson Station. Council President Kenyatta Johnson said:
Mayor Cherelle Parker’s Administration made the proposed Sixers arena legislation available to the public back in late September. Councilmember Mark Squilla, whose Council district the proposed arena would be located, introduced the 13 pieces of legislation on October 24. Councilmember Squilla has been working very hard over the past two years in addressing the concerns of his constituents.
Now that the legislation has been introduced, Council and every Council member is now going through our legislative process and I expect spirted Committee of the Whole hearings on this proposed arena. Councilmembers will have the opportunity to ask questions of officials from the Sixers, the Mayor Parker Administration, and others about the proposed arena project.
Council has launched a website to give the public up-to-date information, including the public hearing schedule.
As the first hearing was getting underway, SEPTA released a notice of public hearing on their plan to increase fares 29 percent beginning January 1, 2025. The higher fares would be “paired with major service cuts.” SEPTA Chief Operating Officer Scott Sauer said:
Today we stand with our feet on the edge of the fiscal cliff. With major service cuts and fare increases, this is the beginning of what we’ve been saying is the transit death.
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We are managing the decline of SEPTA… Rail lines will become so infrequent that they will be useless to most of our customers.
The Sixers’ proposed arena is a public transit-oriented project anchored to a transit system on death watch. Let the 76 Place games begin.
Campaign ads have saturated the airwaves, social media, email and text messages for months. But you – the voter – will have the last word. More than half of registered voters have already cast their ballot, according to Gallup. If you have waited until Election Day, it’s time to put a vote on it.
If you experience a problem at your polling place, help is at your fingertips. Text or call 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).
PHL Watchdog 