Philly News Briefs: 1/8/16

1.) Under Mayor Jim Kenney, Philadelphia will be aiming to reduce its prison population by 34 percent over the next three years. News reports state that the city has applied for a $4 million McArthur Foundation grant to give funding to the plan. Kenney and other city officials haven’t released many details of the plan to reduce prison crowding, but say that it was developed through cooperation between the courts, police, and prison systems thanks in part to a $150,000 McArthur grant. Kenney has stated that he believes there are other alternatives to prison for many offenders, including drug treatment services and psychiatric help. He says that the city will go forward with the plan to reduce prison populations even without the grant, but that the timeline will have to be lengthened.

The Mummers Parade drew plenty of controversy this year, although not the mummers pictured here.

2.) The Mummers Parade this year drew a firestorm of controversy. The popular New Year’s Day tradition was filled with mummers in fantastic and outrageous costumes, but there were some sprinkled in there that many say were over the line. These included mummers in brownface wearing sombreros, some dressed as tacos, and one in a modified giant box of Froot Loops with Caitlyn Jenner’s face on it. The controversy has carried so far that there were complaints made to the ACLU. Unfortunately, says Mary Catherine Roper, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, the mummers have a First Amendment right to create whatever displays they see fit, even if they are offensive. On the other hand, there has been a push from within the mummers community to clean up their collective act. If change comes from within that is perfectly fine, said Roper.

3.) This winter marks a new record for the books: the latest in the season that Philadelphia has gone without snow. Even in the “snowless” winter of 1972-73 there were at least flurries before this date, which hasn’t happened so far in 2015-2016. Blame warmer Atlantic waters courtesy of El Nino. The last time there was an El Nino, in the winter of 1997-98, there was just one inch of snow total for the entire winter. And history has shown that mild Decembers usually don’t lead to heavy snow in January and February. Only time will tell when Philadelphia will get some snow!