Jenkintonians residing here since 2006 might have experienced a twinge of deja vu upon reading the latest email from Superintendent Jill Takacs. That year, the school district completed construction of “the link”, connecting the elementary and high schools, paying for it with debt that weighs on its budget today. While the facility provided improved working conditions for administrators, it improved nothing about educational outcomes for the children they teach. The […]
Borough Council / Livestream / Parking
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There is no parking problem in Jenkintown
Why we may have too much parking. Last Thursday evening, Jenkintown Borough Council held a special meeting and open forum to discuss parking management. Given how everyone seems to complain about the parking as much as they do the weather, one might think that more than ten people would show up to discuss what they might actually do about it. Nonetheless, it is admittedly rare when I have something positive […]
Latest News / SEPTA
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Eighty-Six Apartments Planned Near Train Station
JOSS Realty retunes Pitcairn property for the post-COVID era. Jenkintown Borough released its agenda for next week’s meeting yesterday, and one item stands out. Council will vote to send borough solicitor and Kilkenny lapdog Patrick Hitchens to represent Jenkintown as Cheltenham Town Council discusses the latest plans for the Pitcairn property. Page 49 of the 49-page agenda PDF document is a notice from the neighboring township, which states: APPEAL NO. […]
Latest News / Old York Road
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More Apartments = More Cars = More Taxes.
All those reading this who’d rather live in Willow Grove, raise their hands. Anyone? Beuller? Jenkintown now has — or will soon have — three new apartment projects under construction on Old York Road. This is not only unsettling for those who hope for a long-term revival for Jenkintown, it is dangerous. There’s been little to no commercial development in Jenkintown for the past ten years. There is no plan […]
Latest News
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Is Jenkintown Matters Ethical?
Of all the overheated accusations hurled at Jenkintown Matters found on social media, a lack of ethics is maybe the most curious. According to at least one follower of the Jenkintown Community Page (group), citizens publishing research about their local government on their own blog without revealing their names is unethical. Ethics, as I understand it, helps us understand the difference between good and bad, and simply put, something “bad” […]
Borough Council / Latest News
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Borough Finances — Who’s Responsible?
Mismanagement, opacity, and complacency combine to diminish the community. What’s next? With the Borough’s finances now finally in such a state that it has to actually consider disbanding our police department, it bears reminding of what we wrote here in 2019: Make no mistake, Jenkintonians: We are sailing into some stormy seas. We ended the last fiscal year with a half-million dollar deficit, this despite ten years of national economic […]
Jenkintown Police / Latest News
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Why the Borough is Broke
Mismanagement, opacity, and complacency combine to diminish the community. What’s next? With the Borough’s finances now finally in such a state that it has to actually consider disbanding our police department, it bears reminding of what we wrote here in 2019: Make no mistake, Jenkintonians: We are sailing into some stormy seas. We ended the last fiscal year with a half-million dollar deficit, this despite ten years of national economic […]
Latest News
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What the 15 Minute City Gets Wrong
Creating walkable communities need not be a contest between conflicting interests. Here’s how everyone gets what they want. This story originally appeared in Randy by Name, our new Substack. Recipe for an American Renaissance: Eat in diners. Ride trains. Shop on Main Street. Put a porch on your house. Live in a walkable community. Those of us who keep abreast of the sustainable development movement, as I have since about […]
Latest News
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Walking the walk: government reporter explores the reasons for Fort Worth’s crumbling sidewalks
This article is republished by permission. by Emily Wolf, Fort Worth Report December 31, 2022 During the holiday season, Fort Worth Report journalists are remembering their favorite stories of 2022. Click here to read more essays. Fort Worth residents have been responsible for shouldering the full cost of sidewalk repairs in front of their homes and businesses, or face misdemeanor citations, for more than 60 years. Now, the city is […]
Commentary
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What the audit tells us
We always come back to this transparency thing because it reminds us of Deborra Sines-Pancoe’s assertions that she’s working hard to make sure that your borough government is as transparent as possible. She’s said so on several occasions, usually as an attempt to defend herself right after she worked to keep something under wraps.
Jenkintown Police
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Court forces release of Jenkintown PD audit
A heavily redacted audit of the Jenkintown Police Department released by court order reveals morale, organizational, and financial problems going back at least five years.
Latest News
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Did Jenkintown Council rightly target police budget for cuts?
Blaming budget woes on COVID, Council spotlights the size of the borough’s police force Last year, the Borough and the Jenkintown Police Benevolent Association agreed to a new four-year contract that determines compensation and benefits for our police force. This agreement was the subject of much discussion and not a little controversy that involved the fate of Jenkintown’s K-9 unit. Most residents wouldn’t otherwise read this contract nor did they […]
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