Other bits

Two bits about Phila neighborhood developments:

• Center City to get more sidewalk lighting, always good for pedestrians, which means residents + visitors. Specific areas targeted for this round of improvements are Washington Square, Pine Street, Market Street Bridge, and 22nd and Arch streets -- I see the fingerprints of activist civic associations (WashWest, esp.), but hope they can find some bucks for the Fitler area eventually; I used to live there and it feels safe but can be extremely creepy at night.
  (via PoliticsPhilly)
  
  
• Extending the already tangible westward creep of Civilization (gentrification) on South Street, a major condo development is now planned for the 1300 block (read: just before Broad). A parking lot will go and more pricey Kimmel-proximal housing (some already presold) takes its place.
  (via America's Hometown)

In unrelated news, a story about tax notions circulating in Harrisburg includes the news that some Philly-area Republicans want to shift the tax burdon from property owners onto wage-earners and shoppers. That's what we need -- county-by-county tax structure. This appears to be a response to the failure of Act 72, which would have used casino monies to help defray school budget costs.

Update: I originally intended this post to be two groupings of two stories, but then I couldn't find a link for the fourth story (#2 about taxes). Ray Murphy now provides coverage (it was a press conference but not yet a story) of the new proposal by state Rep. Dwight Evans to establish a Pennsylvania Earned Income Tax Credit, which would provide a boost to the poorest of the state's working poor.