With the Chicago-area soda tax falling apart after only a few months, could the same soon happen to a similar sweetened beverage tax in Philadelphia? A new survey from the city’s Controller claims that the majority of retail businesses in the city have been harmed by the tax. [More]
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Philadelphia Learns That Soda Tax May Be A Bad Long-Term School Funding Solution
By 8.22.17
Here’s the problem with “sin” taxes, like those on alcohol, tobacco, and fizzy beverages: You can use those taxes to raise money for a specific purpose, or to encourage citizens to consume less of the thing being taxed, but you can’t hope for both. That’s what Philadelphia has learned as its tax on sweetened beverages has failed to raise as much money as the city hoped. [More]
Philadelphia Accuses Wells Fargo Of Discriminating Against Minority Mortgage Borrowers
By 5.16.17
Philadelphia has become the latest city to accuse one the nation’s largest banks of deliberately pushing minority mortgage applicants into home loans that cost more than these borrowers would have received if they were white. [More]
Comcast Customer Not Thrilled To Find His Bedroom Cable Box Is Named The “F- Palace”
By 4.14.17
A Comcast customer says he was mortified to find out — through his pre-teen son, no less — that, according to the Comcast website, the set-top box in the family’s master bedroom has the delightfully profane name of “F- Palace.” [More]
Verizon FiOS Customers Say They Were Tricked Into Paying For Unnecessary Set-Top Boxes
By 4.12.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
If you’ve got Verizon FiOS and you’re paying fees each month for multiple cable boxes, you may be wasting a lot of money. The pay-TV provider has an app that will give you live access to FiOS on your TV through a number of devices that are less expensive than a leased set-top box. Is it deceptive for Verizon to let its customers continue paying for leased boxes without advising them of cheaper options? [More]
Coca-Cola, Pepsi Will Pull 2-Liters From Philadelphia Over Soda Tax
By 3.22.17
The recently enacted sugary drink tax in Philadelphia has not been without controversy, including a soda industry lawsuit, unhappy consumers, and push back from lawmakers. The two biggest names in soda are now making drastic changes to the products they offer — and the people they employ — and blaming it on the tax. [More]
State Lawmakers Push Back Against Philadelphia Soda Tax
By 2.6.17
The beverage industry’s efforts to derail Philadelphia’s new controversial tax on sweetened drinks have thus far been unsuccessful, leading to higher prices and unhappy customers when the tax went into effect on Jan. 1. Now, dozens of state lawmakers are going after the city’s tax, calling it an “impermissible sales tax” that “sets a dangerous precedent.” [More]
Uber User Claims Driver Beat Him And Left Him In “Pool Of Blood On The Pavement”
By 1.6.17
Increasingly popular ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft continue to be dogged by allegations of bad behavior by the drivers who use these popular platforms to connect with customers. The latest incident involves an Uber driver accused of assaulting a passenger after refusing to take him to his destination. [More]
People In Philadelphia Aren’t Psyched Over New Soda Tax
By 1.4.17
With the start of the new year comes the start of several new laws, including a tax on sugary drinks in Philadelphia. While shoppers knew the extra cost was coming, that hasn’t stop them from being surprised when they set that bottle of soda on the checkout counter. [More]
Man Takes Down Anti-Santander Billboards After Bank Sues For False Advertising, Defamation, Trademark Infringement
By 11.14.16
A Philadelphia man who is upset with Santander Bank wanted to voice his opinion in a pair of recently posted billboards in the city. His message was short-lived, however, after the bank responded by filing a lawsuit against him in federal court. [More]
Ride-Hailing Services Are Legal And Regulated In Philadelphia: Now What?
By 11.4.16
Ride-hailing apps, or transportation network companies (TNCs), have been in sort of a legal gray area in Philadelphia, but as of today, hailing a ride will be completely legal. Earlier today, the governor of Pennsylvania signed legislation that regulates the services. Like all laws, it’s imperfect, and stakeholders including taxi drivers and people with disabilities have complaints about it. [More]
UPDATE: Court Overturns Judge’s Order Barring Uber & Lyft In Philadelphia
By 10.7.16
This week, a Common Pleas court judge in Philadelphia issued an order barring ridesharing services like Lyft and Uber’s UberX from operating in the city. This afternoon, an appeals court has overturned that order, allowing these companies to offer rides in Philly (which they hadn’t stopped doing anyway). [More]
Beverage Industry Takes Philadelphia To Court Over Soda Tax
By 9.14.16
A few months back, the city of Philadelphia became just the second city in the U.S. to successfully pass a tax specifically on soft drinks, adding $.015/ounce to the price a distributor pays for sodas — including diet drinks — and other sweetened beverages. As expected, the beverage industry has fired back with a lawsuit challenging this tax, alleging that it illegally duplicates a state tax and diminishes the purchasing power of low-income Philadelphia residents. [More]
City-Owned Airport Can’t Reject Ads Just Because They Aren’t Selling A Product
By 8.26.16
If a city-owned facility is going to sell advertising space to bring in revenue, to what extent can the city restrict the content of those ads before crossing the line into government-ordered censorship? This week, a federal appeals court confirmed that when a city enacts a wholesale ban on certain types of ads, it’s gone too far. [More]
PA Governor Signs Bill Authorizing Temporary Truce Between Uber & Philadelphia
By 7.13.16
Not even 24 hours after a Philadelphia judge repeated her previous stance that the UberX car service is operating illegally in the city, the governor of Pennsylvania signed into a law a bill that authorizes a 90-day truce between Uber and the city’s Parking Authority. [More]
Judge Rules Uber Is Still Illegal In Philadelphia, Despite Temporary Truce
By 7.13.16
In response to a petition from taxi drivers, advocates for disabled riders — and even some Uber Black drivers — a Philadelphia judge has said that Uber’s UberX car service is operating illegally in the city, regardless of a deal reached last week to allow UberX to temporarily operate in Philly without threat of legal action. [More]
Uber Can Operate Legally In Philly During Public Transportation Snafu
By 7.7.16
Even though Uber vehicles are readily available throughout Philadelphia, many of the ride-hailing company’s services are still illegal in the city. But with more than 115 regional rail cars pulled from service last weekend over safety concerns, a temporary truce will allow Uber to operate without threat of fines or arrest in the City of Brotherly Love.
[More]
