The Why: Philly Explained

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross vowed to fire some of his officers involved in a scandal over offensive Facebook posts — but whether those firings stick isn’t up to him. Max Marin, a reporter for WHYY’s Billy Penn, explains why there’s a good chance those cops will get their jobs back.

VisionQuest, a for-profit company, wants to open a center in North Philly that would house60 unaccompanied immigrant teen boys. WHYY’s Laura Benshoff explains why the city, immigrant rights groups, and some of the company’s own staff are pushing back — and why the battle is bigger than Philadelphia.

A dispute over a bill to end a cash assistance program devolved into chaos in the Pennsylvania Senate recently. Video of the incident quickly went viral — Republican Majority Leader Jake Corman is seen shouting over Democratic Sen. Katie Muth as she speaks in violation of Senate rules. WITF’s Capitol Bureau Chief Katie Meyer explains why the Democrats conspired to break the rules that day and what the incident says about the state of state politics in the social media age.

Independence National Historical Park is the fourth most visited national park in the country, but Philadelphia Magazine reporter David Murrell says it’s falling apart. During his visits to Independence Hall and other buildings in the park, he documented peeling paint, plaster falling off walls, and, in some cases, serious safety issues. Why aren’t Independence Hall and its park better maintained? And what does that say about the American government that was born there?

Disclosure: WHYY President Bill Marrazzo is chair of the Independence Historical Trust.

Philadelphian Marion Stokes recorded nearly a million hours of television over her lifetime, on more than 70,000 VHS tapes. Was she an archivist documenting culture and the 24-hour news cycle before the internet, or a hoarder who prioritized her tapes over everything else? Filmmaker Matt Wolf, who produced a documentary about Stokes, explains why she embarked on this ambitious project — and why it’s taken on new meaning after her death.

Dangerous weather watches and warnings are on the rise. The National Weather Service in Mt. Holly, New Jersey has issued 140 severe thunderstorm warnings in 2019 so far — more than triple the number from last year. Rachel Hogan Carr with the Nurture Nature Center in Easton explains why cellphones across the region keep lighting up with alerts, and why meteorologists and social scientists are rethinking the way they warn us about the weather.

Philadelphia Energy Solutions says it’s closing after an explosion and fire that destroyed one of its units last month. But it was not the first fire in the oil refinery’s 150-year history and the second in only two weeks. StateImpact Pennsylvania reporter Susan Phillips explains why this latest incident was the tipping point for the facility in South Philly.

As local newspapers in the Philly suburbs continue to shrink, dozens of scrappy, new media startups have risen to fill the gaps in coverage. WHYY’s Laura Benshoff explains what that’s doing to the quality of local journalism, and why those changes are affecting local communities.

In 2017, Wilmington experienced its highest levels of gun violence ever. But the following year, shootings dropped by 60%. WHYY reporters Mark Eichmann and Chris Barrish explain why the city once dubbed “Murder Town USA” was able to bounce back so quickly. Their documentary “Rebound from Murder Town” debuts Sunday at 6 p.m. on WHYY-TV.

Katie Brennan says she was raped by a member of N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy’s campaign staff in 2017. She reported the alleged assault to the police, members of the campaign, transition team, and eventually, the governor’s staff, but the man she accused of attacking her didn’t face charges and was later hired by the Murphy administration. WHYY reporter Joe Hernandez explains why Brennan’s case could now bring about some changes in state law.