10 opinions that caught your attention in 2023

At The Inquirer Opinion section, we specialize in arguments, essays, and election season endorsements that matter to Philadelphians. As 2023 comes to a close, here are the 10 opinions that most caught readers’ attention this year, measured by online page views in the Philadelphia metro area.

On Jan. 3, tow truck driver Dave Torres spotted a car pulled to the side of the road, the driver waving at passing motorists to ask for help. The driver was Latasha James, and she was giving birth. Torres used a shoestring from a sneaker found in a back seat to tie off the umbilical cord.

“There are so many headlines out of Philadelphia about people being apathetic, callous, and unkind. It was wonderful to hear about a stranger who went out of his way to help a woman in need with no expectation of anything for himself,” wrote columnist Jenice Armstrong. “That’s the part of Philly that doesn’t make the headlines or nightly news often enough.”

In the mayoral primary election, The Inquirer Editorial Board was swayed by Rebecca Rhynhart’s experience, independence, vision, and temperament. (Cherelle Parker won the nomination and the eventual election.)

For 50 years, Inquirer reporter Jeff Gammage was a Bruce Springsteen fan, a relationship, he wrote, that “save for my parents, has been the longest of my life.” When news broke that Ticketmaster was charging fans up to $5,000 a seat to see the Boss on his 2023 tour, Gammage left the House of E Street and hasn’t looked back.

“It’s odd that here, the first and last time I write about Bruce Springsteen, is to say goodbye,” Gammage wrote. “I don’t know what I’d say to him now. Maybe what he’s told us in a thousand songs: No one can hurt you as much as someone you love.”

Every day, Philadelphians are exposed to silent health hazards from gas stoves, boilers, and heaters. Gas appliances release dangerously high levels of pollutants, even when turned off. Many of these pollutants are toxic, carcinogenic, or associated with a higher risk of asthma and other respiratory diseases, particularly in children.

Read more from postdoctoral researcher Zakaria Hsain and doctoral candidate Erin K. Reagan at the University of Pennsylvania.

Earlier this year, Marcus Allen, the chief executive of Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region, withdrew five students from the Union League’s annual Good Citizen program, which teaches civics and presents awards to high school students.

“Allen cited concerns over the league’s honoring of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has banned the teaching of AP African American Studies and shipped unauthorized migrants out of his state to score political points,” wrote columnist Jenice Armstrong. “In bestowing upon DeSantis its highest honor, the league ignored the pleas of many of its own members and disrespected the city’s Black population.”

Instead, leaders at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church asked the NAACP, local churches, and community residents to contribute to a fund that would provide each student with a $5,000 college scholarship.

In this interactive feature, Inquirer Opinion editor Alison McCook — a distant relative of one of the city’s original flag designers — challenged readers to design a better flag for Philadelphia.

“Philadelphia is a great city. So let’s find a way to show we love it, by using the tool we created below to design something new and exciting that we can unite around,” McCook wrote.

About 1,800 designs were submitted for The Inquirer-led contest. Catharine Pierce of Grays Ferry won, and her design was honored at a Flag Day event at the Betsy Ross House.

Ahead of this year’s election, The Inquirer Editorial Board vetted candidates in key races to help voters cast their ballots. The board thoroughly researched the candidates’ backgrounds and invited them for interviews over Zoom.

The board endorsed Cherelle Parker for mayor of Philadelphia; Brian J. O’Neill for Philadelphia 10th Council District; Daniel D. McCaffery for justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court; Jamila Winder and Neil Makhija for Montgomery County Board of Commissioners; Diane Marseglia and Bob Harvie for Bucks County Board of Commissioners; Nina Ahmad, Rue Landau, Drew Murray, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, and Isaiah Thomas for Philadelphia City Council at-large; and Matt Wolf for judge of the Commonwealth Court.

In March, Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration announced that it could not be sure if Philadelphia’s drinking water would be free of contaminants from a Bucks County chemical spill. Those who were able flocked to stores, where shelves instantly emptied of bottled water.

“The city’s failure to execute a proper emergency procedure has compromised our citizens’ safety and further eroded public trust,” wrote Dena Ferrara Driscoll. “Philadelphia’s next mayor must do a better job.”

“The beach is a great equalizer, a place for everyone — young and old, no matter their race, creed, or political orientation — to disconnect from what’s bothering them on land, look out at the horizon, and remember how beautiful the world can be,” wrote Inquirer Opinion editor Alison McCook. “All of that is interrupted by the nasal drone of an old crop duster telling me about a happy hour special at the local bar.”

“America is entering its most important, pivotal year since 1860, and the U.S. media is doing a terrible job explaining what is actually happening,” wrote columnist Will Bunch.

“We need to hear from more experts on authoritarian movements and fewer pollsters and political strategists. We need journalists who’ll talk a lot less about who’s up or down and a lot more about the stakes — including Trump’s plans to dismantle the democratic norms that he calls ‘the administrative state,’ to weaponize the criminal justice system, and to surrender the war against climate change — if the 45th president becomes the 47th. We need the media to see 2024 not as a traditional election, but as an effort to mobilize a mass movement that would undo democracy.”