Laura McCrystal
Philly Inquirer
Philadelphia, PA, United States
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Past articles by Laura:
Photos of Philadelphia’s Dîner en Blanc at Logan Square
Picknickers dressed in white descended on Logan Square for the annual event. → Read More
Philly’s vaccine mandate for city employees takes effect Jan. 14. Thousands remain unvaccinated.
Employees face unpaid leave and termination if they don't comply. The city is still negotiating with some of its labor unions. → Read More
FEMA expected to open testing site in Southwest Philly
The site, promised last week by President Joe Biden’s administration, would be able to do at least 500 tests per day. → Read More
Philadelphia will try to regulate COVID-19 test sites after confusion over pop-up tents
The pop-up testing tents that falsely claimed to have FEMA funding are shut down. But the incident exposed flaws in the testing system. → Read More
Philly officials warn residents against using pop up COVID-19 testing sites in Center City
LabElite, the company offering the tests and claiming to have federal funding, had tents at 13th and Chestnut and 15th and Chestnut last week. The company is based in Chicago. → Read More
Philadelphia promised $68 million in new antiviolence spending. How it’s going.
Experts in violence prevention say Philadelphia’s strategy should be more targeted and focused on areas with the most need. → Read More
Dispute escalates between Mayor Kenney and two elected officials over Philly’s gun violence plan
City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart and Councilmember Jamie Gauthier published a half-dozen letters between their offices and the administration showing them repeatedly ask for clarification on programs. → Read More
Philly could require proof of vaccination for indoor dining, like New York
The proposed mandate would bring Philly closer in line with cities like New York and San Francisco that have required proof of vaccination since August for entry at restaurants. → Read More
Montgomery County DA asks U.S. Supreme Court to review the state court ruling that freed Bill Cosby
District Attorney Kevin Steele is appealing a June ruling that set Bill Cosby free. → Read More
City Council will debate limits on outside employment in wake of Bobby Henon’s bribery conviction
Maria Quiñones-Sánchez plans to introduce legislation next year with rules to prevent corruption. → Read More
Restaurants left out of Philly’s ‘streeteries’ legislation worry it will be impossible to get approval
City Council is expected to pass a bill in December making outdoor dining structures permanent in the city, but only in some areas. → Read More
Philadelphia police say the tragedy in Wisconsin shouldn’t deter Thanksgiving Day parade goers
The parade route will be blocked off “as best as humanly possible," police say. → Read More
Philadelphia announces COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all city workers
City workers who aren’t fully vaccinated by Jan. 14 could lose their jobs. → Read More
Bobby Henon showed up to City Council. No one said anything about his conviction.
Henon introduced one zoning bill and voted on other legislation in his first Council meeting since his conviction. → Read More
COVID cases are rising again in Philly, and only 5% of kids are vaccinated
Philadelphia urged vaccination of young children to head of what could be another COVID-19 surge in the city. → Read More
Streeteries could become permanent in Philly — but only in certain areas
The legislation, advancing through Council, would make some streeteries permanent, but leave councilmembers in conttol in other areas. → Read More
Everyone’s asking when the pandemic will be over. Here’s how we’ll know.
If COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations did eventually reach levels usually associated with the flu, would that be a reasonable benchmark for saying the pandemic was over? → Read More
Bill Cosby is out of prison. But a juror who convicted him wants to help define consent in Pa.
Cheryl Carmel learned during jury deliberations that Pennsylvania has no legal definition of consent. Now she is seeking to change that. → Read More
Here are the community groups getting the first $2 million of Philly grants to combat gun violence
The city still has $20 million left to give from its new grant program meant to address the gun violence crisis. → Read More
A judge ordered Philadelphia to remove the plywood box covering the Christopher Columbus statue in Marconi Plaza
A lawyer threatened to have supporters of the statue remove the plywood during a Columbus Day parade. → Read More