16 opinions that caught your attention in 2024

In the Enquirer’s Opinions section, we specialize in election season arguments, articles, and advocacy that matter to Philadelphians. In the final days of 2024, here are the reviews — written by you and us — that caught readers’ attention this year, as measured by online pageviews in the Philadelphia metro area.

The most important pieces we wrote:

By selecting Cabinet members who break with tradition and convention, “the Trump empire is creating its own reality,” Will Bunch wrote.

Kimberly Burrell, a lifelong Democrat who lives in Delaware, found herself facing a Donald Trump attack ad after the Restoration PAC quoted her from an MSNBC interview about the impact of gun violence.

Kerr Gaines took his 6-year-old daughter to Philadelphia during the week between Christmas and New Year’s last year. When it came time for them to catch the Amtrak back home in Washington, D.C., his daughter had to use the bathroom. A maintenance worker intervenes to clean a booth for use. “Philadelphia may be the poorest big city in the country, but it’s not poor in spirit. This place is full of people like… [Jorsh] “Those who step up to help others,” wrote Janice Armstrong.

On a trip to Ukraine in June, Trudy Rubin gave a rare interview with the country’s military intelligence chief, Kirilo Budanov.

After the disastrous debate between Trump and Joe Biden, the editorial board of The Inquirer magazine called on Trump to withdraw from the race. “If anything, Trump does not deserve to be on the presidential debate stage. Why even give him a platform?

Following the presidential election, three Latino members of The Inquirer’s opinion staff — Luis F. Carrasco, Helen Upeñas, and Sabrina Forfolias — react to Trump’s win, and what it means for the larger community.

The most important pieces I wrote:

Lydia Colina Washburn, a high school English language arts teacher, noted that many teachers balance multiple jobs and that people in her profession should be compensated fairly. “The district must get better at managing its internal assets,” Collina Washburn wrote.

Philadelphia Democratic Party Chairman Bob Brady has failed as a leader, says Brendan McPhillips, a senior adviser to Harris’ team for the Pennsylvania president. “Brady must do what is best for his party and his city, and step aside for a new generation of leadership,” McPhillips wrote.

Comcast Spectacor’s plan for the South Philadelphia Sports Complex would create one of the largest parking lots in the country, adding to congestion downtown, wrote Vukan R. Vuchic, a professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania. “Instead of striving to accommodate more and more cars, Philadelphia should make transportation more accessible,” Fucik wrote.

Tyler Lien, a medical student who works with unhoused people, explained that criminalization does not help people experiencing homelessness or substance abuse. “Instead, we must invest in non-punitive systems of care—that is, resources dedicated to substance abuse, mental health, housing, and other case management services that can ultimately connect people to permanent supports.”

Theo Fountain, who lived on the streets of Kensington from 2019 to 2021, wrote that harm reduction organizations were more able to help him than hospitals, prisons and rehabilitation settings. “What harm reduction services know — and Mayor Cheryl L. Parker does not seem to understand — is that it is up to the individual what they do with their life.”

Coercive drug treatment does not work, write substance abuse researchers and street harm reduction providers Emily Seeberger and Shoshanna Aronowitz. Some aspects of Philadelphia’s approach to Kensington’s ongoing opioid crisis are not supported by science but are instead a continuation of the decades-long failed war on drugs. “Instead of the current path of forcing people to choose between treatment or incarceration, we propose that the city adopt a public health approach that prioritizes harm reduction, expands the quantity and quality of treatment spaces available in Philadelphia, hires the workforce to support them, and provides low-barrier access to private medications.” With opioid use disorder.

Leo Walsh sold his car last year and began biking around Philadelphia, giving him a new perspective on the city. “I guarantee you a more beautiful Philadelphia is waiting for you outside the driver’s seat,” Walsh wrote.

“SEPTA’s pursuit of the bus revolution shows that the agency aspires to keep pace with the nation’s most innovative and effective transportation planning strategies,” wrote Jonathan Zisk, a master’s student in the City Planning program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Weizman School of Design. “And its efforts should be welcomed with social and political support.”

Taylor Kissinger, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, took a closer look at a controversial development project in Squirrel Hill. “With high demand for housing, Philadelphia neighborhoods can either remain affordable or remain sparsely populated. They cannot do both,” Kissinger wrote.

After purchasing and renovating a home in North Philly, Jasmine Schley developed close relationships with her neighbors. “More than anything, I am encouraged by people who continue to care about the community despite significant challenges,” she wrote.