December 9: Preservation crisis and solutions | Funds for street safety on South Street | Winter cycling tips

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“The commission increasingly behaves as though preserving buildings were a distasteful chore,” writes Inga Saffron in a column picking through preservation’s vulnerable spots, in search of the next likely Jewelers’ Row-style tragedy. Will it be the designated but crumbling rowhouses owned by Wills Eye Hospital? Or Fabric Row? Or the 700 block of Chestnut? And she walks through several of the preservation-friendly solutions that the preservation advocates have been asking for: demolition delay, tax incentives, and a preservation plan.

South Street Headhouse District will see wider sidewalks, narrower driving lanes, and new lighting thanks to a $525,000 grant from State Rep. Michael O’Brien, reports Philly Voice.

Winter is coming, and the Bicycle Coalition’s Randy LoBasso offers tips for safe, comfortable cycling all winter long.

A new Fresh Grocer opens today in the former Grays Ferry Pathmark location, offering not only food but wine and beer too.

Councilwoman Maria Quiñones Sánchez offers procurement and contracting priorities to ensure the benefits of city’s ambitious Rebuild initiative will be broad: emphasize project management, bolster small businesses to grow the list of city contractors, and advance diversity among the building trades.

Pennsylvania could have new permits requirements to reduce air pollution at natural gas sites, particularly aimed at methane emissions, reports StateImpact’s Marie Cusick.