WHYY: Fire-Ravaged Building Resonates with Meanings

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“We’ve actually asked homeless people to stay in abandoned properties to watch them for us.”

The day after a four-alarm fire engulfed the former Thomas Edison High School in North Philadelphia, several people were drawn to the abandoned building: a teenage urban explorer, the developer who owns the land, an alumnus of the school’s last all-male class. Each reflects on their relationship to this historic building, one of countless abandoned properties in the city.

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{Photo: Courtesy of Urban Atrophy}

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WHYY: Closing of Olney Credit Union Leaves Confusion in its Wake

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“The people here are poor. And here it says to call a legal service in Texas, but we are in Philadelphia.”

Borinquen Federal Credit Union in North Philadelphia was the 11th to be liquidated in 2011 by the National Credit Union Administration. On the day of its closure, the Puerto Rican community it served was confused by the notice posted on the door with instructions on how to reclaim their money.

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{Photo: Lindsay Lazarsky}

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WHYY: Family, friends and neighbors shocked by arrest in Strawberry Mansion playground killing

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“I know in my heart that he didn’t do nothing like this. The media is doing their job. But I’d like for them to get to the facts.”

In the aftermath of one of Philadelphia’s most deadly weekends, lives across the city are changed. A shooting at a local playground left three children injured, and one man dead. Police arrested Amir Jamal and charged him with the shootings. Jamal’s family and friends maintain he’s innocent. The police department disagrees.

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{Photo: Mara Zepeda}

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WHYY: Philly Job Fair Draws Thousands

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“Yep…we actually call them the 30-year-old interns.”

Thousands of people packed the Grand Slam Career Fair at Citizen’s Ballpark. The job fair included about 70 area employers, ranging from bartending schools to financial services to hospitals to WaWa. This spot news report relates six lessons learned.

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