A controversial approach to fix Kensington | Morning Newsletter

Happy Halloween. 🎃 Expect it to be dry but chilly.

Freshman Philadelphia City Councilmember Quetcy Lozada has a controversial proposal to handle the billion-dollar opioid trade in Kensington: stronger law enforcement.

Our lead story details her rejection of progressive policies and her goal to aggressively enforce drug laws.

— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Councilmember Quetcy Lozada wants the city to ramp up law enforcement to handle Kensington’s open-air drug market that has plagued the neighborhood and brought with it some of the highest rates of gun violence in the city.

Keep in mind: Kensington’s issues are complex. There’s sprawling homeless encampments, piles of trash, and immense human suffering. Police estimate that there are as many as 80 blocks where open-air drug sales bring in thousands of dollars a day, and that clearing a corner is short-lived. More drug dealers quickly move in.

Lozada, a Democrat, believes the situation has festered because the city focused its resources and attention on the people who use drugs and “moved too far off of people who are actually living and working there.”

She envisions a day when the city could involuntarily commit people in addiction to “stabilization centers” where they could choose long-term treatment or face criminal charges. This strategy would almost certainly face legal and practical hurdles.

Reminder: As a freshman lawmaker, she championed major legislation to ban supervised drug consumption sites in most of the city.

Learn more about what she calls a “Marshall Plan” for Kensington.

After a year of controversy, we now know the winning design for Philly’s new Harriet Tubman statue and the sculptor behind it.

Alvin Pettit was chosen out of the 50 artists who applied to the city’s Office of Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy. When it’s complete, it’ll stand tall outside of City Hall.

Reminder: The decision comes after the city faced pushback for offering a direct $500,000 commission to artist Wesley Wofford without seeking community input or proposals from other artists.

Who is Alvin Pettit?

The sculptor and painter serves on the executive board of the Jersey City Arts Council and is the owner of Alvin Pettit Studio, where he works on large-scale private commissioned art projects.

Does he have other notable artwork?

He recently created the 9-foot bronze statue of civil rights leader Mary Jane McLeod Bethune that stands outside the entrance of Jersey City’s Bethune Park. He also painted the two-block-long Jersey City Black Lives Matter mural.

Check out his vision for the Harriet Tubman statue.

The sheepskin king of Pennsylvania, Pat Garrett, performed onstage with which musical artist?

A) Ariana Grande

B) Taylor Swift

C) Katy Perry

D) Kelsea Ballerini

Think you know? Check your answer.

💭Wondering: Can Democrats can maintain control in the Philly suburbs?The Chester County commissioners’ race will be a test.

👀Watching: There are growing calls to ban gas-powered leaf blowers over noise and air pollution.

Hint: Radio personality at WDAS-FM 🎤

ANTSY JACKPOT

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Harriet Williams, who correctly guessed Monday’s answer: Michael Nutter.

Thanks for hanging out this morning. Have a spooky night, and stay safe out there. 👋🏽