Community Voice: Not Gentrification, but Waste

Yesterday’s post by Keith Benson triggered this interesting response from “SB” that I’ve bumped up from the comments section:  Newsflash: this has nothing to do with gentrification. And the schools aren’t being reformed, they’re being privatized. And not for “white people”, as you so claim. They’re being privatized for PROFIT. As for the other “amenities” … Continue reading Community Voice: Not Gentrification, but Waste

Community Voice: Camden, Gentrification, and Education

This guest post is by Keith Benson, a local teacher, resident, NJEA member, and Rutgers-Camden PhD candidate: On the heels of the Mayor and other city big-wigs touting the arrival of a new Philadelphia 76ers PRACTICE (“We’re talkin’ about practice!”) facility that will cost taxpayers $82 Million, and for that king’s ransom, yield a paltry … Continue reading Community Voice: Camden, Gentrification, and Education

Community Voice: What Can Small Businesses do for Camden?

It is with great pleasure that I share this guest post by James Yoakum, the owner and founder of Cooper River Distillers: I recently started a small business in downtown Camden called Cooper River Distillers. We’re just the second licensed and operating distillery in the entire state of New Jersey and my goal is to … Continue reading Community Voice: What Can Small Businesses do for Camden?

Community Voice: Tao, Planning and Graffiti

Lewis Bivona reached out to me to encourage me to share his new blog, South Jersey Planner, with my audience. It’s my pleasure to share an excerpt from one of his first posts on Camden, titled: Planning Idea: The Tao of Planning in Camden, NJ:  I was recently reading about assemblyman Angel  Fuentes, who represents Camden in the New Jersey … Continue reading Community Voice: Tao, Planning and Graffiti

Community Voice: New Urbanism Meets South Jersey

One of the things I hear all the time in Camden is that the city suffers because of the plethora of cheap towns with high quality of life immediately surrounding it. This post by frequent reader and commenter @thegreengrass (Joseph Russell) lays out the case for “What South Jersey’s Doing Right,” which helps show why … Continue reading Community Voice: New Urbanism Meets South Jersey

Community Voice: A Seat at the Grown-Up’s Table

This week has rightfully focused on teachers, as massive layoffs have taken center stage in Camden. Lost amid that struggle has been the voice of students. That’s why I’m particularly pleased to share this guest post, the first piece I’ve seen that highlights a student from a school slated to be closed. The post is co-authored … Continue reading Community Voice: A Seat at the Grown-Up’s Table