Anti-violence programs delayed; Library job listings coming soon; Teacher shortage is statewide | Morning roundup

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DA held in contempt, but is city anti-violence spending working?

Harrisburg reps voted to hold DA Krasner in contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the Pa. House panel convened to impeach him.

• Democrats who voted for the motion — and there were several — mostly cited procedural issues, not the panel’s main issue: How Krasner’s policies have affected gun violence in Philly.

Beyond the DA, the city’s anti-violence spending is surging, The Inquirer reports, but job creation programs like READI keep getting pushed back. Lack of accountability and coordination is a common theme, BP reported last year.

Philly libraries look to extend hours, but still face staffing delays

As it tries to boost hours, the Free Library needs to fill 300 open positions — but, as several readers have noticed, the positions aren’t posted.

• Some job listings are coming soon, a spokesperson told Billy Penn, including for library assistant. They’re expected to be active around the third week of September.

Asha Prihar will look into the factors about why it’s so hard, but meanwhile you can sign up here to be notified as soon as open positions are posted.

RECAP: What else happened?

$ = paywalled

• Claims that Senate candidate Mehmet Oz was involved with animal abuse in research testing have been going viral. We looked into it, and like many internet memes, there appears to be some truth mixed with possible exaggeration. [Billy Penn]
• Across Pa., only 6k new teachers got certified last year, down from about 20k a decade ago. The shortage is having a bigger impact on school districts that serve communities with lower incomes. [WHYY]
• PennDOT is taking a close look at all the factors that caused Vine Street to flood last year, and modeling future flood risk as storms intensify in a warmer world. [WHYY’s PlanPhilly]
• Philadelphia’s life sciences industry is growing fast, and Drexel and Penn want to keep the resulting development close — which is likely to make University City much more dense. [Biz Journal$]
• Middle Child, the cult-fave sandwich shop in Center City, posted details about why prices are rising slightly. TL;DR: Ingredient prices have skyrocketed — eggs are up 180% and mayo’s up 56%, for example. [Instagram]

Weekly brief on gun violence prevention (with PCGVR)

We publish this report each week in partnership with the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting. 

• Gov. Wolf announced $100 million in new state grant funding for “effective community intervention” to curb gun violence across Pennsylvania. [Inquirer$/Pa. Gov]
• The creators of the Philly Truce app released a new album called “Zero Homicides Now,” featuring 10 hip hop and R&B tracks. [6ABC]
• After a triple shooting outside a Kensington elementary school, nearby families said it felt like the terrifying norm. New summer programming helped make parks feel safe, but it’s over. The city’s Safe Zone program provides extra police officers at dismissal times. [Inquirer$/Billy Penn/WHYY]
• Oakland implemented a regular “Town Nights” event series over the summer, and found homicides and firearms assaults dropped 40% on those evenings. [KQED]
• Calling all local TV news journalists, community leaders, and other experts: Later this month is the Better Gun Violence Reporting Workshop. Get in touch if you’re interested in attending. [PGCVR]

By the numbers in Philadelphia

• 62: Shooting victims recorded last week so far, vs. 47 the week prior. [City Controller via @PCGVR]
• 1,701: Shooting victims this year, up 5% from last year [PCGVR]
• 386: Year-to-date homicides, 3% ahead of last year’s pace and up 76% vs. five years ago [Philly Police]

MAYOR WATCH

Mayor Kenney starts at the Navy Yard for a groundbreaking (9 a.m.) on a $19M project that will reconstruct and add trees to the “quay wall,” aka the part of Broad Street that runs along the water.

Kenney then joins the virtual biweekly briefing on the city’s gun violence response (1 p.m.), which focuses on safety plans for this weekend’s Made in America festival. You can listen live on WURD Radio 900 AM/96.1 FM or watch on Facebook.

ON THE CALENDAR