Michael Tanenbaum

Michael Tanenbaum is a senior staff writer for PhillyVoice.com, with interests ranging from technology and behavioral health to local community initiatives and cultural life. Michael has written for the Argentina Independent and Bespoke Magazine and previously served as a news editor for Xfinity.com before joining PhillyVoice. He received his B.A. in The Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University.

tanenbaum@phillyvoice.com

March 24, 2023

Investigations

Woman dragged off Philly-bound flight after altercations with passenger, police

by Michael Tanenbaum

Simone Bryna Kim, 24, of Killeen, Texas, was arrested at Miami International Airport on Tuesday after she allegedly got into a verbal altercation with a passenger on Frontier Airlines flight bound for Philadelphia. She also allegedly scratched a police officer while being carried off the plane. Video captured much of the incident. Kim has been charged with several felonies.

March 24, 2023

Investigations

Suspected fentanyl overdose prompts hazmat unit to be called to Northeast Philly home

by Michael Tanenbaum

A man was found dead and covered in white powder inside his Philadelphia on Friday morning, and investigators suspect he died of a fentanyl overdose, police said. A woman and a baby at the property also were hospitalized. The man was unresponsive in the basement of the home on the 4000 block of Teesdale Street in Mayfair when first responders and when first responders and a hazmat unit arrived around, authorities said. Police reportedly found the white powder on the man's body and on other surfaces in the home.

March 24, 2023

Media

Steve Coates, energetic Flyers broadcaster, to retire after 43 years with team

by Michael Tanenbaum

Flyers broadcaster Steve Coates announced Friday he will retire after 43 years with the organization. Affectionately known as Coatesy, the 77-year-old broadcaster worked on both TV and radio during his long tenure in Philadelphia. Coates had a limitless knowledge of hockey and a knack for creating hilarious moments during broadcasts.

March 23, 2023

Transportation

SEPTA will test new subway turnstiles to prevent fare evasion

by Michael Tanenbaum

SEPTA plans to install new turnstiles at 13th Street and 34th Street stations in early 2024 in an effort to stop fare evasion, which costs the authority $22.9 million annually. The 8-foot-tall gates are designed to prevent riders from jumping over, crawling under or skirting past the gates. The new gates also will be equipped with 3D-imaging that can detect people and objects that pass through them.

March 23, 2023

Courts

Pennsylvania woman who stormed Nancy Pelosi's office sentenced to three years in prison

by Michael Tanenbaum

Riley Williams, 23, of Harrisburg, was sentenced to three years in prison for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Williams was found guilty in November of interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder and resisting or impeding law enforcement officers, in addition to four misdemeanor charges. She was suspected of stealing a laptop from Pelosi's office, but a jury could not reach a verdict on charges stemming from that allegation

March 23, 2023

Development

Atlantic City to move ahead with Formula One racetrack project at Bader Field

by Michael Tanenbaum

The redevelopment of Atlantic City's 143-acre Bader Field took a step forward Thursday as Mayor Marty Small Sr. signed a memorandum of understanding for a $2.7 billion project that will include a Formula One racetrack, luxury condominiums and retail. The former municipal airport has been closed since 2006 and the site is the largest undeveloped tract of land in Atlantic City. The raceway community proposal is spearheaded by developer DEEM Enterprises.

March 22, 2023

Elkins Park native NariYella stuns coaches in audition for 'The Voice'

by Michael Tanenbaum

NariYella, a 20-year-old singer from Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, got a four-chair turn after her blind audition on Tuesday night's episode of "The Voice," where she performed "One Night Only," the hit song from the Broadway musical "Dreamgirls." All of the judges invited NariYella to join their respective teams, but the University of the Arts student went with Chance the Rapper's team.

March 22, 2023

Investigations

Lower Merion man escapes carjacking from suspect posing as solar power solicitor, police say

by Michael Tanenbaum

Lower Merion police are searching for suspect who carjacked a man at gunpoint outside his home on Monday in the Penn Wynne section of the township. The suspect allegedly posed as a solar power soliciting in the victim's driveway and forced the man into his car. The victim jumped out of the moving vehicle on Broad Street and suffered minor injuries.

March 22, 2023

Development

149-unit apartment building proposed near the Rail Park in Callowhill

by Michael Tanenbaum

Volumetric Building Cos. is looking to build a 149-unit apartment building at 1314 Garden St. in the Callowhill neighborhood of Philadelphia. The building would replace a parking lot and be located near the Rail Park and Spring Garden subway stop. The proposal includes an underground parking lot, green roof and retail space. It goes before Philadelphia's Civic Design Review board on April 4.

March 20, 2023

Courts

Philly man, woman each sentenced to prison in Jenkintown road rage assault

by Michael Tanenbaum

Charles Woodson, 38, and September Wingfield, 27, were sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to assaulting a woman during a road rage dispute on Old York Road in Jenkintown on Dec. 16, 2021. The attack was caught on video as Wingfield and Woodson brutally beat the woman outside of her car, leaving her unconscious on the roadway.