Jake Blumgart
@jblumgart
Covering commercial real estate for the @PhillyInquirer. Formerly of @Governing, @NewStatesman, @WHYY and @PlanPhilly.
I wrote a piece for @TheAtlantic this weekend about why the I-95 rebuild went so well, and why it may not be applicable to other major infrastructure projects. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
“US popularity collapses worldwide -China now more popular worldwide than the US -Israel emerged as the country with the worst global reputation" The 2025 Democracy Perception Index canvassed more than 110,000 respondents across 100 countries. politico.eu/article/usa-po…
Not sure people in the US realise this - the bubble shuts out all voices - but there is a swelling, global wave of revulsion against the US. Never seen anything comparable in my life
"Doctors are famished to the point that they have dizzy spells as they make their rounds, medics say, and the journalists documenting their caseloads are often too weak to even walk to the clinics." washingtonpost.com/world/2025/07/…
Vietnam has replaced China as the major source of US imports for many simpler manufactured goods.
It’s quiet in Harrisburg… too quiet……….. While Philly residents and schools brace for SEPTA cuts and late state funds, there’s no rush in Harrisburg. w/ @newskag inquirer.com/news/pennsylva…
Love to see both of the @PLCAReporters on the homepage of @PhillyInquirer 🌟 give them both a follow, and read their work! By @EisenElena inquirer.com/news/pennsylva… By @DiFonzoVince7 inquirer.com/news/pennsylva…
Mayor Parker hired Renee Chenault-Fattah - former news anchor, attorney, wife of disgraced Congressman Chaka Fattah - to a $170k job leading the city’s human rights commission Ngl this story is mostly a recap of the other political relatives Parker hired: inquirer.com/politics/phila…
A luxury a-frame lodge, farmland, an active natural gas drilling site... part of over $4M in real estate, tied to ATM businessman Daryl Heller, that could get swept up in bankruptcy. My latest @LancasterOnline lancasteronline.com/news/local/ove…
An Allentown grandfather’s reported deportation went viral. Then discrepancies emerged. Here’s what we know. inquirer.com/news/pennsylva…
NEW: "Each bed at the detention camp is expected to cost $245 a day — roughly the price of one night this week at the Intercontinental Miami hotel." Right now, Florida taxpayers are footing the bill. miamiherald.com/news/local/imm…
My radical policy idea is that it should not take eight years to fix the intersection that keeps killing people inquirer.com/transportation…
"So what’s working? Original reporting can break through the noise and even overcome, at times, the hurdles that social-media companies have created." nymag.com/intelligencer/…
this is cool
A rural Pa. general store gets a boost as the state helps reopen its only gas pump, following Inquirer report inquirer.com/life/outdoors/…
AIA Philadelphia is selling its Arch Street HQ inquirer.com/real-estate/co…
A new apartment building slated for East Mt. Airy aims at families AND affordable studios inquirer.com/real-estate/ho…
Scoop: Anti-woke warrior Bari Weiss seeks more than $200mn (up to $250mn!!) for media start-up The Free Press ft.com/content/0f1ce3… via @ft with @annaknicolaou @IvanLevingston @DanielThomasLDN
Shore towns get no federal dollars for beach replenishments for the first time in almost 30 years inquirer.com/news/new-jerse…
“City employees in DC 33 will also be able to take four days of leave for the death of a close family member, and one day of leave in the event of the death of other family members” inquirer.com/politics/phila…
Breaking News: The EPA said it would eliminate its scientific research arm and begin firing hundreds of scientists, after denying that it intended to do so. nyti.ms/4500xIU
The US desperately needs a home construction boom. But it's not happening. New homes completed plunged in June to the lowest level since January 2022. Building permits and housing starts are also at some of the lowest levels since the pandemic. Yes, zoning rule changes would…