I’ve dogged Philly Mag a lot over the years, and will certainly continue to gleefully do so. However, I must give credit where credit is due: they have an excellent cover story this month on the murder epidemic in our city. And I also appreciate editor Larry Platt’s feelings on this topic: Last week, when our cover story on Philadelphia’s murder epidemic came out, it was met with some eye-opening examples of civic denial. The Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association accused us of sensationalizing because we didn’t say on our cover that “the murder problem exists primarily in North Philadelphia.” I responded by pointing out that we’re one city, one Philadelphia, and great cities tackle their problems head-on. Moreover, history has proven that you can’t flourish in the long run by perpetuating your own tale-of-two-cities narrative; you can’t maintain your soul while pretending that five-year-olds getting caught in the crossfire a mile to the north are not your problem. You do that and you can say goodbye to our upsurge in tourism, dining and the arts. You do that and you become Detroit.
Kick ass, Larry (btw, I’m being serious here, not facetious. I feel the exact same way that Larry does. ONE needs to be more than a logo for our football team. It should be the logo for our city.) This issue was so good, I’ve decided to forgive you for the parking lot debacle at the Best Of Awards!