Our final voting briefing of the 2020 election.
All tagged 2020/10
Local Races: PA District 5
An overview of the two candidates running for the PA District 5 seat in Congress: incumbent Mary Gay Scanlon and challenger Dasha Pruett.
Humans of Swarthmore: Lucy Saxon
My family moved here in 1989. I’ve grown up in Swarthmore since I was five, and had a wonderful, really an idyllic childhood, running around the woods. And I feel so lucky that we have the college here, and I was able to attend so many amazing concerts and dance programs, terrific pieces of theatre.
Big Doings at Little Crum
On a recent Saturday, the Friends of Little Crum Creek Park board member Andrew Bunting gave a tour of the park to fellow board members, the mayor, and some borough council members. He wanted to show the progress volunteers have made in restoring the stream banks and surrounding woods, and in creating a wetland. He also outlined the challenges that remain. They are working to reestablish in the park at the eastern end of Swarthmore. Free to read and share
Local Races: 9th State Senate District
A preview of the candidates running for Pennsylvania’s 9th State Senate District. Tom Killion, the incumbent, has represented Pennsylvania’s 9th State Senate District since 2016. John Kane, the challenger, says Harrisburg is dominated by “lawyers and career politicians who only act when their campaign donors need something.”
Manifesting Beauty: Jeannine Osayande Seeks Joy and Change Through Dance and Stories
Jeannine Osayande was born in Swarthmore in 1960 to Betty Ann (née Coleman) and Donald Lee. Her mother taught at Nether Providence Elementary School, and her father was Swarthmore’s first Black policeman. In time, he would become the town’s chief of police. Little Jeannine and her two older sisters, Annette and Donna, lived with their parents in the Historically Black Neighborhood of Swarthmore, in the same house Osayande lives in now. Growing up, she was surrounded by family, and by neighbors who were family, too. Osayande likes to tell the story of how African dance found her on a street corner in Harvard Square. “The drums were playing, and a dancer suddenly pushed me into the circle,” she recalls. “And I knew what I wanted to do with my life.” Free to read and share
Voting Briefing
A short follow-up to earlier articles about voting from the Swarthmorean.
Humans of Swarthmore: Stories of Belonging
Humans of Swarthmore is an effort to help us get better acquainted with the people who make up this place we call home. What actually makes us a community and not just people who all happen to live in the same place? What is it that binds us together? This week, we feature Ptah Osayande.
Subdivision Gets the Green Light
After hearing from neighbors, developers, and engineers, and deferring to the legal expertise of borough solicitor Robert Scott, Swarthmore Borough Council voted to approve the subdivision of 686 N. Chester Road at its October 5 work session. The council had the choice between voting for one of two proposed plans for the property, or of voting to reject both.
Forest Primeval, Landscape Suburban: Springfield Trail Hidden in Plain Sight
One morning not long ago, I parked my car less than half a mile from Swarthmore town limits and embarked on a wooded loop hike of about five and a half miles. I crossed countless brooks and encountered four humans and 16 bird species. The route was the Springfield Trail, a rare mix of the forest primeval and the landscape suburban. Free to read and share
Let the Good Wines Flow
Mushroom strudel. Citrus-cured salmon. “Duck duet” risotto. Those were some of the dishes on the menu when Village Vine, Swarthmore’s first-ever wine bar and bistro, celebrated its grand opening last week. On the wine list: selections from Italy, Turkey, Chile, and upstate New York, among many other places. For owners Lori Knauer and Jill Gaieski, opening day was a long time coming. Free to read and share