Surprised you're getting downvoted on this. I guess I could live with the price for a special occasion but why they have to be so aggressive about diets?

Their website says: "Please note: Day-of menu substitutions cannot be accommodated, if you have a life-threatening food allergy please contact us prior to your reservation. Vegan and dairy-free requests cannot be accommodated."

I have a previously-not-life-threatening allergy or sensitivity to shellfish. Between their current menu and their attitude, I certainly wouldn't try my luck. And I guess vegans and vegetarians can take a hike too. An easy way to deal with the panoply of modern diet preferences would be to offer a variety of dishes and allow customers to choose...

I"m not a big fan of Steve's, they tuned my machine up once, charged $100 and didn't do much, as far as I can tell.

I had a really good experience a few years ago with a strange company called Eagle Enersave, that does sewing machines and... ceiling fans? They've since moved further out into the suburbs but have some google reviews referring to sewing machines, so I'm pretty sure it's the same outfit. https://www.yelp.com/biz/eagle-enersave-thorndale

In fall 2019 I tried to sew a costume on my 1960's Pfaff machine and bits of fun-fur got all over the inside and were, like, melting. My aunt suggested Gary from Eagle Enersave. He fixed the fun-fur problem and tuned it up great. Flash forward a few months, it's March 2020 and I'm ripping up dishtowels to make into masks. Somehow the machine jammed so that the needle and bobbin were out of sync and the needle was jamming into the bobbin case. It was horrible, like the Twilight Zone episode where the guy breaks his reading glasses. In desperation, I leave a message at 9pm on a weeknight on Gary's store answering machine, not sure when the store would ever be open or if he'd get the message. He called me back 15 minutes later, and walked me through a quick adjustment that involved temporarily disengaging the hand wheel in a way I didn't know was possible. And it's continued to work ever since then. A warm memory from a terrible time! Anyways, if I needed something done on my machine again, I'd drive it out there. Good luck with yours!

Remove all abandoned and low-use cars. I think this would free up enough parking to defuse the single-issue people for whom parking is a barrier to anything. Then, after the one day car removal blitz, we could have a whole different conversation about street cleaning, building more housing units, and bike lanes.

I don't know what kind of work you do, but be aware that jobs in Philly are not nearly as abundant as in NYC. If finding a job is a prerequisite for moving here, depending on what you do, it could take a while. My job is pretty specialized and it took me a few years to find the right one and move. And if I wanted to leave my current job, I'd likely have to move. There was a Pew study on this a few years ago... the "next job" is a big reason people leave Philly; they come here for one position but when it's time to move on, can't find another. Something to consider if in-person work is a goal for you.

Edit: found the link later. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2019/09/whos-leaving-philadelphia-and-why "36 percent of movers with a bachelor’s degree or a higher level of education cited jobs as their reason for relocating, three times as many as cited any other [reason for leaving]"

I love imagining a mad trail scientist designing this section of the trail for people heading outwards from the city. "First I'll have a little uphill to slow 'em down, then a lip of pavement that the people have to have enough momentum to get over. Then, BOOM, cobblestones! Then some giant rocks that they have to find a path between while other people come barreling through downhill in the opposite direction. Bwa ha ha!"

I didn't have time to reply to this post yesterday and am surprised that no one (that I've seen) has mentioned 5th Square yet. This is a PAC that has vision zero as one of their major issues. They send candidates detailed questionnaires on issues including the ones you're interested in, and publish the answers and make endorsements. I find that information makes it very easy to tell who's on board and who isn't. They don't have their 2023 info up yet but you can look at 2022 for examples of their questionnaires and endorsements. (You have to join as a member to vote in endorsing candidates but any can view the info.) https://www.5thsq.org/2022_election_center

100% of people will be affected by climate change, so getting people out of single-occupancy vehicles is a reasonable goal for any politician at any level.

The string bands are the only part I like and FWIW, /u/LePetitRenardRoux, probably the most distinctive kind of group to watch if you don't want to do the whole thing. (They're allowed to have wind and string instruments but no brass, so there are big ensembles of mainly saxophone and banjo players... it's a unique sound.) I usually start checking on TV at 11 but IIRC it's always massively late so I bet it could start well after 12. Also I've almost never bothered watching in person because the bands do their main performance at City Hall so unless you're willing to brave that crowd, it makes more sense to watch on TV.

Do you have contact info or a website for Mark? I googled him and found a LinkedIn that lists a company on whose staff page he doesn't appear. They might simply not list all their staff but it's confusing.

20th and Chestnut to 13th and Chestnut at rush hour.

It's pretty not cool in some ways. They've continually told people that instead of parking on certain streets, they can park in the bike lanes on Spruce/Pine. They've taken over a park (Fitler Square), put up some tents for a scene, and then put up signs assuring residents that it's just for filming, their neighborhood is not actually being sullied by the homeless. And the other day I saw one of the security people tell a few pedestrians that they couldn't walk down a certain street, even though there didn't seem to be anything going on there. If I lived closer to it I'd be blowing up the CP's office phone. Who agreed to this mess? I understand that there is some kind fo film office to facilitate things like this but it's gone on way too long and not worth it unless they've given the city millions and millions of dollars.

There is a pilot project at Carpenter Green Park as well--it's free.

Yeah, I do every other week for $12/month. Amusingly, they take away tons of garden waste in big paper bags as well, as long as I let them know in advance, so it's more of a "per pickup" than "by volume" kind of pricing system.

I originally found them when buying meals for a colleague whose spouse had died, but I buy a lot of meals for myself now too. The food is very good and it's local. You can buy gift certificates (which I think are on sale right now) so the person could choose their own meals from the menu (or, it might be better for you to choose if they're not too internet savvy, like an elderly person). Delivery is only on Monday afternoon/evenings and you have to order by 10pm Friday (tonight).

They used to, and they'd deliver too. Pick out the tree, they tag it for you, and deliver after they're done for the day. If that doesn't work, Rittenhouse Market is the way to go.

Never used it myself, but maybe http://uhurufurniturephilly.blogspot.com/p/donate-furniture.html

I don't think anyone's going to take the mattress, though. You can put it out with the regular trash as long as it's bagged, and you can get the bags at a hardware store.

Another vote for City Cat Vets on South St! When they saw my nervous cat recently, she stayed nervous but the vet tech fed her 3 churus during the exam and she put up with it quietly.

You can also build housing without destroying trees.

I don't see any way to do it and when I asked SEPTA_SOCIAL on twitter, they told me I had to go to the ticket counter at that location.

Mine also randomly stopped working recently. There is no way to transfer its balance to my new card other than going to 1234 Market! Ugh.

Not a direct answer to your question, but I have to maintain the tradition of somebody posting this on stolen package posts... I love Fishbox and use it even though I don't live especially nearby. It's worth the extra errand for me because I can use the address for even expensive packages (and share it with family for gifts that I'm not expecting or tracking myself). The owner is a young local entrepreneur. https://www.getfishbox.com/

I just ran into a colleague holding an avocado and asked if she's gotten it at the park yesterday. She looked at me like I was nuts and said "no, I got it from Whole Foods" and then I had to explain this entire thing so she wouldn't think I was in the habit of foraging trash from parks or something.