Patrick Kerkstra
Kerkstra is a Philadelphia-based freelance journalist who has been a special project reporter for PlanPhilly since 2010, when he produced Desolate to Dynamic, a series of reports on the Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha and its role in Eastern North Philadelphia’s revival. His…
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Bio
Kerkstra is a Philadelphia-based freelance journalist who has been a special project reporter for PlanPhilly since 2010, when he produced Desolate to Dynamic, a series of reports on the Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha and its role in Eastern North Philadelphia’s revival. His current gigs include an urban affairs column for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is also a writer-at-large and blogger for Philadelphia Magazine. In January, he began working with Next American City. Kerkstra previously worked as a staff writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he covered beats ranging from Baghdad to higher education to Philadelphia’s City Hall.
You’ll find some of his clips and contact information on this site. His columns are archived at CityJunto.com.
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City leaders send stark message to Nutter: Collect taxes
Two days before Mayor Nutter is scheduled to deliver his budget address, a host of city leaders called on his administration to improve its performance in the collection of delinquent property…Ravaged by Neglect, Part Two: A broken property tax system where everyone loses, except investors
Philadelphia's decades-long neglect of property tax collections has been a disaster for public schools, the city budget, and typical taxpaying homeowners. But the system does have its advantages for low-rent landlords,…Part One: Lax property tax enforcement and brazen deadbeat investors have depressed Philadelphia’s property-tax base by $9.5 billion
The neighbors did what they could to dress up the gaping wound on their block. They painted the steps black and the porch a bold bluish-green. In the fall, they put…More By This AuthorFiscal reform in Philadelphia faces a taxing problem
Powered by Tableau Jobs behind the push to cut taxes The competitive advantages of lower wage and business taxes are well documented. A half century ago, when Philadelphia’s economy was still… -
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Problems at President's House memorial | trash talk | Bainbridge water main update | Kerkstra's geek cred
The President’s House remains afflicted by lingering conservation and interpretation problems, reports the Inquirer. The faulty video displays (and their replacements) and unstable conditions for archaeological remains leave the…Nerd street cred: Kerkstra wins Geek Award
PlanPhilly investigative reporter Patrick Kerkstra took home top honors in the “Geek Headline of the Year" journalism category of the Philadelphia Geek Awards Friday Night at the Academy of Natural Sciences.…Nerd Street Cred: Kerkstra nominated for Geek Award
Wear your nerd badge with pride, Philly. It’s Geek Awards time again. Perusing Geekadelphia's nominees for year’s Philadelphia Geek Awards today, we were so happy to see that PlanPhilly contributor Patrick…More Related ArticlesDeadbeat City: Philadelphia’s $515.4 million hole
If you read nothing else today, don't miss Patrick Kerkstra’s story about the city’s deepening tax-delinquency epidemic, which is an update on his series about tax-delinquency from 2011. In short,… -
