Shannon McDonald
NEast Philly
City Planning Commission holds first public meeting for Lower Northeast District [NEast Philly]
Residents of a Northeast Philadelphia planning district used a map to identify their neighborhoods' strengths, opportunities and weaknesses.
This is a story I wrote, shot video and took photos for and published to NEast Philly, the hyperlocal news website I own/edit in Northeast Philadelphia.
As the City of Philadelphia continues implementing portions of its comprehensive plans, meetings have kicked off around the city in 18 identifiable regions. There, city planners will meet with residents to single out neighborhoods’ strengths, weakness and opportunities. Each district will eventually implement a plan that makes better use of neighborhoods and their assets. Continue reading
Zoning Board overturns application Holmesburg methadone clinic [NEast Philly breaking news]
A neighborhood rally against a proposed methadone clinic in Holmesburg, summer 2011. Photo/Stephen Schultz for NEast Philly
This is part of a series I’ve written, shot video and taken photos for and published to NEast Philly, the hyperlocal news website I own/edit in Northeast Philadelphia.
I got a call today from Pa. Rep. Kevin Boyle’s office informing me Philadelphia’s Zoning Board of Adjustment had revoked an over-the-counter permit for a methadone clinic in Holmesburg, a Northeast Philadelphia neighbor.
It’s not the end of the story, but it’s a milestone in series of reports NEast Philly has done, starting with the news we broke in July 2011.
I got a call just before July 4th from a Holmesburg resident who wanted to know how a methadone clinic was opening in her neighborhood without anyone realizing. I called legislators and the civic association and the story unfolded, eventually making headlines city-wide. Continue reading
New owners for Stokes property just as Planning Commission enters Holme Circle [NEast Philly]
The Stokes property in Northeast Philadelphia was recently purchased by a developer.
This is a story I wrote, shot video and took photos for and published to NEast Philly, the hyperlocal news website I own/edit in Northeast Philadelphia.
Reporting on civic association meetings is one of the most challenging things I do for NEast Philly. It’s an hour or three spent with residents who have the deepest knowledge of a neighborhood possible. There are often vague references to extinct properties, multiple and disjointed topics of discussion and a free-for-all “new business” discussion.
But every now and then, a group’s meeting comes together in a way that makes it enjoyable to write. And the published product is better for it. Continue reading
Talking new media publishing at Uncapped Live
The whole Uncapped crowd at Sigma Sound studio. Photo courtesy of 215mag.com.
Why was I involved with the Vitamin Water #UncappedLive event series Sept. 6? Part of the 16-day celebration of music, media, arts and other niches was the New Media Unplugged event hosted by two.one.five. magazine and Technically Philly at Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound studio.
I joined editors from Geekadelphia, Drink Philly, Naked Philly and Generocity, among others for a pretty informal discussion about my work with NEast Philly. Continue reading
Introducing District 172: NEast Philly’s investigative reporting series
Late last year, NEast Philly, the hyperlocal site for Northeast Philadelphia that I own and edit, was awarded an Enterprise Reporting Fund grant from J-Lab.
A handful of Philadelphia publications were given $5,000 grants to collaborate with other news organizations to produce in-depth reporting. Continue reading
Metro Philadelphia freelance articles
As part of my company’s partnership with Metro, Philadelphia’s most widely read daily newspaper, I contributed one freelance story every other Wednesday, to be featured in the paper’s Northeast zone. The partnership ran from April 2010 to September 2010. Below are the pieces I’ve done. You can see all the PDF images here.
My latest project: NEast Philly
Posts on here have been sparse, and for good reason. I’ve been spending the past few months working on my latest project, NEastPhilly.com.
NEast Magazine is a magazine for Northeast Philadelphia – a large, but widely ignored region of Philadelphia. I’ve been working with many people to help set up the Web site and generate content. Continue reading
