Max M. Marin
@MaxMMarin
Followers
9K
Following
9K
Media
531
Statuses
4K
Reporter. Investigations team @PhillyInquirer / email: mmarin at inquirer dot com
Philadelphia, PA
Joined September 2013
Philly basically has a Crisco line item in the annual budget to grease the streetlights when the teams win big, but big government is no match for this guy at Broad & Locust who just casually catches a Twisted Tea from 15 feet up like he was born for this (vid via a source)
80
1K
17K
A laptop and USB devices were stolen sometime this week from the Philadelphia’s elections storage warehouse. I went over this morning to check out the security situation. I was able to walk right into the voting machine storage unit, alone, for several minutes.
460
6K
9K
My friend was at a bar in Old City yesterday when this beefy dude stopped at a table outside, emptied two 5 hour energy shots into two bottles of Muscle Milk and then walked away, presumably to commit an aggravated assault. Visit Philadelphia.
79
568
4K
Saturday night in Philadelphia. A mass shooting on 4th & South Street with reports of nearly a dozen people shot. I’m on scene where police have cordoned off the popular weekend strip, a trail of what appears to be blood snaking along the sidewalk in front of a Rita’s Water Ice.
210
897
2K
City Commissioners told me this morning the stolen devices have been disabled & they do not compromise the integrity of the Nov. election. When this video ends, I ran into an staffer who told me press can’t be in the building. I told him the door was open & I announced my name.
29
367
1K
Good time to mention that the Philly guy with the full-sleeve Ben Simmons tattoo managed to get a fairly impressive cover up done a few weeks ago!
47
99
2K
JUST IN: In response to the theft & my subsequent reporting from the warehouse, @PhillyMayor is ramping up security:. - Increased guards at the site 24/7.- Adding round-the-clock police presence.- a new logging procedure for entering/exiting the building.
109
418
1K
This is the outside of the storage warehouse where the theft took place. I didn’t see any security cameras outside or in the building.
14
341
1K
Happening now: Progressive Jewish groups and other pro-Palestine demonstrators in Philly descend on U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s office for second week in a row to demand a ceasefire in Gaza — this time shutting down Chestnut Street and deploying an enormous Fetterman puppet.
54
281
1K
Another way to phrase this news is that the entire Philadelphia region's credit card info has possibly been compromised.
#BREAKING: If you used a credit card to pay for something at any WAWA since March 2019, you may consider replacing it. WAWA CEO says they had a major DATA BREACH that was contained Dec 12. More on Action News @6abc
14
442
1K
There’s a man sitting in the door now, more staffers coming in and out of the building. I likely just walked in at a moment where no one is around, but the ease of access was still alarming to me.
22
220
952
NEW: During protests last month, Philly police held nearly 50 ppl overnight at the decommissioned House of Corrections — a jail deemed unfit for human life when the city closed it two years ago. Men detained there said even the guards were worried.
16
853
1K
Over 200 demonstrators just started at sit-in 30th Street Station in Philly, waving with huge banners saying “CEASEFIRE NOW” for the rush hour crowd. Large police presence is on scene.
28
341
1K
The staffer wouldn’t answer my questions about security. On the phone, Deputy City Nick Custodio told me that a security guard should be stationed there at all times now. He was not for some reason. I did see a security walking to the other end of the property when I pulled up.
7
231
918
So much trash in Philly this possum got itself stuck in a Diet Snapple bottle, later freed and rehabbed by @ACCTPhilly . #freepossum
33
194
847
SEPTA announcer at Walnut-Locust BSL stop just now: “The next train to arrive will be an express train. No Bills fans allowed. They have to take the bus.”
1
39
668
On a press tour of Philadelphia’s ballot processing equipment in a 125,000-square-foot, heavily guarded warehouse in the city’s Convention Center. This is step 1: the sorting machine, where mail ballots are first received in the county. This does not read the actual vote.
19
190
560
NOW: Activists are occupying the lobby of Philadelphia’s Municipal Services Building with further demands to defund the police
8
176
503
For the first time in its storied history, the Philadelphia Museum of Art opened its doors Monday with a fully ratified union contract for 180 workers, ending an often bitter, years-long negotiation process that had culminated in a historic 19-day strike.
5
70
463
Personal news intermission: Today’s my last day at Billy Penn & WHYY. In October, I’m joining @PhillyInquirer as a reporter on the news-breaking & ruckus-making Team Now. Goodbyes are terrible. I’ll miss my colleagues & friends. But good things ahead. Thank you all for reading.
59
11
490
Philly City Hall is distancing itself from its 3rd annual Palestinian solidarity day next week. The event can no longer use the city logo, and no one from the mayor’s office will speak. “This doesn’t happen to any community but ours,” an organizer said.
23
195
510
Public health guidance in Philadelphia this week:. Monday: Get vaccinated & we'll let you eat and drink in a room full of maskless strangers. Wednesday: Please stay away from the family and friends you haven't seen in years.
Philly health commissioner tells people not to gather with other households for Christmas and not to hold holiday parties indoors. "I don't want to say this," she said. But "it's just too dangerous.".
16
99
462
Pro-Palestinian activists with @JVPPhilly and Rabbis for Ceasefire are are blocking rush-hour traffic on the Spring Garden Street Bridge near the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Dozens are holding signs and chanting “Let Gaza Live.”
16
162
444
In Montreal with a bunch of Philly friends who have never been and the shared observations are 1) no trash on streets 2) good transit 3) everyone is hot. Average person in Montreal is a Philly 15.
50
10
437
NEW: High-ranking PPD Staff Inspector Joseph Bologna, who's been linked to past scandals, was caught on video roughing up protesters on two separate occasions this week — both now under investigation. Bologna confirmed he's off street duty right now.
20
219
408
The Phillies are headed to the World Series for the 1st time in 13 years. I’m at Frankford & Cottman in the heart of the Northeast where you’d think the team just won the pennant. Light rain won’t keep anyone away. Positively electric. And Bryce Harper’s name is on every tongue.
10
38
421
Philadelphia City Commissioners say there will be no additional update on mail ballot votes tonight. Ballot counting has NOT stopped. It goes on 24-7. “It’s just a reporting issue, it’s not a counting issue”
66
161
393
Philly Fighting COVID CEO's public Venmo feed is full of PFC work expenses interspersed with bro humor payment descriptions for "dick," "strippers" & "tits.". Health Commissioner Farley acknowledged the city could have vetted the org more carefully before handing them vaccines.
30
113
413
Dozens of protesters are marching on U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s office in Philly, urging the senator to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Here outside the U.S. Custom House now:
20
79
401
Now: An “emergency” rally for Gaza has drawn a huge crowd to City Hall in Philadelphia on Saturday night, opening with big chants of “Ceasfire now!” Cars are driving by honking, some cheering.
20
116
385
TFW you got scammed out of an apartment but it’s also campaign season and the photographer is here
3
47
377
Covering Philly politics and elections for the last five years, I’ve reported on a ton of losing candidates with sour grapes about one thing or another. Can’t recall one who has name-checked a City Commissioner alleging a coverup of widespread fraud, sans evidence, until now.
17
63
342
Historic moment unravelling in Philly politics right now. A Working Families Party candidate is declaring victory for a City Council seat that the local GOP has held for decades. Kendra Brooks declaring victory in North Philly.
1
102
338
Months back, I heard that the captain of one of Philly's most violent districts was MIA. We discovered his work car often didn't leave home until noon — or at all. Officers were demoralized. Community leaders had given up. And he's in line for promotion.
14
125
343
Rabbi Ari Lev Fornari of Kol Tzedek synagogue has been detained, among other faith leaders in the crowd.
10
107
337
So much talk about judging books by their covers, not enough talk about judging the author bio of the 1990 novel “Rittenhouse Square” (and also the cover)
19
30
312
The Mummers brigade in Kensington is property tax themed this year and they have an abatement wheel of fortune. Truly a blessed city
4
40
302
Casually losing my mind over this $158/night AirBnb in lower Northeast Philly called "The Hottie House"
21
30
287
I started at the @PhillyInquirer today and I'm fired up. What should I be looking into, Philly? Send me tips and gossip and industrial techno music recs. New email: mmarin@inquirer.com.DMs always open!.Signal/WhatsApp = cool.
26
22
279
One of the largest art museums in the country is embroiled in a prolonged contract battle-turned-strike with its workers, and the current solution to criticism is to…disable the comments section.
due to the volume of inappropriate posts—including profane language—we have decided to disable comments at this time. We believe it is our responsibility to maintain a civil discourse across our platform that respects and protects our staff, artists, and community collaborators.
4
58
251
I’m on scene for @WHYYNews in Philadelphia, the most important city in the world, and the energy is positively wild. Let me know where the party’s at. I want to talk to you!
8
45
263
Been on the streets around North Philly police shootout for five hours now and I’ve heard over a dozen people rhetorically ask whether there would be an all-hands-on national response if this had been six civilians shot tonight.
8
54
271
NEW: A nurse witness alleges Philly Fighting COVID CEO Andrei Doroshin took "10 to 15" vaccines home from city's vax clinic on Saturday. Three sources independently confirmed a Snapchat photo circulated of Doroshin holding syringes later that evening.
17
165
245
Philly needs some Hague-like tribunal to formally investigate what happened to LOVE Park.
Hey guys, any chance we can we turn off the fountain on windy days? (Lots of soaked people walking by 😆) @PhilaParkandRec
8
26
252
Crazy news out of Philly's neighbor Delaware County as Dems appear to sweep all five County Council seats. Delco GOP has had a vicegrip on the local government for generations. Difficult to convey what a bruiser this night is shaping up to be for Republicans in southeast PA.
Delco Dems appear on way to sweep of 3 County Council seats. Would give them 5-0 grip on county government. #delcovote.
3
54
210
BREAKING: Philly managing director Brian Abernathy will announce his resignation tomorrow as Mayor Kenney's second in command, according to sources with direct knowledge. Abernathy has long a target for protesters over police reform.
10
94
226
Philly Weekly — the city's last living alt-weekly, where I and hundreds of other journalists worked over the decades — is testing a pivot to alt-right journalism as a fundraising tactic. Bashing my fingers with a hammer to stop myself from typing another word about this.
We've climbed out the echo chamber of progressive journalism.
14
55
217
Say what you will about local news, but in May 2006 an Inquirer columnist called Sen. Bob Casey the political equivalent of oatmeal and the man has never forgotten it
8
26
231
I haven't slept much this week. Instead, against my therapist's advice, I stayed up late monitoring the #phillyexplosions. And now I bring you a story about ATMs, M-80s, fireworks, urban acoustics & the alleged military psy-ops plot to seed chaos.
14
71
217
Police arrested two VA men who drove to Philly's ballot count site in a silver Hummer w/ a large American flag and a cache of guns. Motive not clear, but hard to ignore all the "go to Philly/this is war" battlehorning from Trump loyalists in last 72 hours.
6
79
203
NEW: A crisis response center 5 blocks from #WalterWallaceJr 's home in West Philly has been asking to integrate services with police since March. The PPD never acted. Had they called, the director says he could have saved Wallace's life. w/ @mwinberg_ .
4
125
198
Public space is my passion
The fountain is gone and there's a mod new pedestrian pathway leading to the shambles in Headhouse Square
3
29
198
I’ve been in 30th Street for five hours now and much of it has been a stalemate. Amtrak has now closed the station and police are threatening to detain anyone who doesn’t leave and the demonstrators once again said yes that is the point. It’s been testy, but also slow-going.
4
42
193
1. Philly Fighting COVID CEO Andrei Doroshin declined to comment when we broke the story that he took vaccines home. 2. He then came out and called the allegations "baseless.". 3. Now, on an national TV apology tour, he admits he took them home.
9
61
179
100+ people gathered in Chinatown for a vigil honoring the 8 people killed in the Atlanta spa shootings, including 6 women of Asian descent. It opens with a prayer, attendees carrying hand-drawn signs that list names of victims, “white supremacy is the virus” and.“stop femicide”
1
52
182
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators are now lined up along Columbus Blvd waiting for Biden’s motorcade to arrive for his 2:30 fundraiser, and plan to greet him with “Genocide Joe” chants.
As President Biden meets with donors near Penns Landing about 300 pro-Palestinian protesters have gathered in Washington Square. “Come November we’ll remember,” the crowd chanted. “History will recall Joe Biden did nothing at all.”.
3
46
171
I’m in Center City where hundreds of protesters rallied outside the federal courthouse in support of Roe v. Wade. The crowd is now marching down Market Street in rush hour traffic toward another protest at City Hall. Follow @newskag @XimenaReports @oonagoodinsmith & I for more:
3
44
159
I’m in Fishtown where Key Pizza on York Street collapsed less than an hour ago. Not yet clear if there are any injuries.
15
25
158
To recap the week in Philadelphia:. - historic election.- police release body cam footage of fatal shooting that wrecked city last week.- protests.- lawsuits.- count parties.- dance parties.- qanon guy arrested.- philly puts biden in lead.- bomb threat. Still only 3 pm on Friday.
5
31
159
Looks like shooting travelled down South Street — signs of pandemonium stretching several blocks. Broken car window glass. Knocked over trashcans.
6
48
151
RIP to Everybody Hits at 6th & Girard — a batting cage, a DIY music venue and all-around good people neighborhood spot .
7
37
159
As police funding grows, we found a number of unreported sacrifices buried in @PhillyMayor's revised budget:. - 18% cut for the police oversight board.- sweeping cuts to anti-violence initiatives.- young mentorship programs axed. millions more for PPD .
5
119
146
New: Philadelphia's two bail funds (@phillybailfund & @Phillybailout) have raised over $1.8 million in donations since protests began to roil the city on Friday. City police arrested 430+ people on related charges, though like many more since yesterday.
3
93
146
Less than two hours later, Philly City Councilmember @HelenGymAtLarge is calling for the city to look into eminent domaining Hahnemann. Eminent domain allows city governments to seize private property by right in both emergency and non-emergency circumstances — for a price.
9
48
135
I surveyed all 15 SEPTA board members about their personal transit use. Only one commutes to work daily on public transit. Cars dominate the suburban-tilted board. Regional Rail and BSL trips are common, while only two take the El with any frequency.
12
39
142
Officers heard gunfire erupt shortly before midnight at 2nd & South. Multiple shooters. An officer fired at one shooter from 10-15 yards while shooter was actively firing into crowd. Shooter then dropped a handful w/ extended mag - 1 of 2 recovered. Unclear if shooter was hit.
7
49
131
NKCDC's new director has a scathing op-ed about SEPTA closing the Somerset stop in Kensington. "A $40,000 house owned by a person of color can become a $400,000 house owned by a developer. I guarantee you when this stage is complete, the trains will run.".
2
48
144
The crowd is singing, chanting, and clapping while Amtrak passengers stand off to the other side of the station.
3
29
149
Remarkable news in Philadelphia just now on I-676 teargassing:. - Mayor and police commissioner say they were wrong .- Deputy commissioner overseeing protest falls on sword, voluntarily demotes himself .- Officer who pepper sprayed protesters to be fired.
7
48
137
Your annual reminder that Philadelphia has an absurd tradition in which political candidates draw straws from a coffee can with its own novelty Twitter handle to determine where their names appear on the ballot, an insane lottery that can make/break campaigns in down-ballot races.
You get a ballot position! You get a ballot position! And you get a ballot position!. Don't miss the drawing of ballot positions from the @MrHornNHardart can – one of Philly's most revered days. Watch the live stream on
8
40
146
This is the second Philly education reporter arrested in two days.
Today, I covered the protests. Tonight, I was arrested for walking to my car past curfew. (Despite having a press exemption and wearing my press pass prominently.) I am ok. More soon.
2
51
140
A ceasefire protest is marching through Center City West toward Sen. Bob Casey’s office where they will hold a Muslim funeral prayer for those killed in Gaza, organizers say.
10
25
153
BREAKING: Philadelphia has abruptly cutting ties with vaccine distributor Philly Fighting COVID, citing the group's quiet switch to a for-profit model and other "troubling" behaviors unearthed by WHYY & Billy Penn last week. W/ @ncannellf & @Alan_Yu039 .
8
65
127
Five years ago this morning my stepdad died suddenly and I am dismayed to report that losing a loved one always sucks and does not get easier with time. Just different. But here is a delightfully self-manifesting poem he wrote after his dad died that reminds me to look around.
7
7
141
In case Philadelphia wasn't getting enough attention today. Law enforcement officials are releasing 911 audio and body cam footage showing the police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr in West Philly last week. Mayor Jim Kenney says release is "incredibly painful," but urges calm.
3
56
132
NEW: PPD Commissioner Outlaw is revising the use of force guidelines for officers and warning officers about treatment of press, according to an internal memo. Officers have been told to report all use of force live on police radio to their commanders.
5
62
130
Police have given up on the arrest proposal and are just escorting people out of the now-closed station, uncuffed, and releasing them in the street. This seems to be an agreeable final decision for everyone.
8
40
142
Minor geo-correction on my initial tweet: The shooting began at 2nd & South Street and travelled west, with shell casings stretching across two blocks, per police commander. Follow for more updates at @PhillyInquirer this morning and in the coming days:.
9
54
110
Today's wow moment from Philly: Mayor Jim Kenney accused the private equity tycoon behind Hahnamann Hospital of trying to essentially price gouge the city in a deal to use the now-shuttered building for extra beds.
City managing director Brian Abernathy described owner of Hahnemann Hospital building Joel Freedman as being "difficult to work with," and said the lease price being he's offering the city is "unreasonable.".
3
44
128
The @Whyyunion unit votes to unionize 70 yes votes 1 no vote. Challenged ballots are not sufficient to influence the vote. We did it. I am speechless.
6
11
117
Another pro-Palestinian rally for Gaza shuts down the City Hall traffic circle. Maybe 200 demonstrators here now.
5
21
131
Breaking: The Philadelphia Police Department has reassigned the captain of one of the city’s busiest districts, hours after our Inquirer investigation revealed that he was often absent and the district was in disarray. W/ @samanthamelamed & @barbaralaker
12
30
132
Some personal news: Ryan and I are getting back together 💍.
File under ‘Some personal news’: I’m starting a job at the Philadelphia Inquirer later this month!. I’ll be joining the investigations team as a researcher and assisting the newsroom with both enterprise and breaking stories — public records, backgrounding, RTKs & more.
5
2
125
Not how I envisioned making my first Daily News front page but here we are
4
10
128
Brace yourself: You’re looking at 265,000 mail ballots locked behind this fence. If you voted by mail ballot, your ballot is likely here. It’s been marked as received (step 1) by a bar code but it won’t be extracted and rallied until Nov. 3. Here I’m talking with @SethBluestein:
3
12
115
As an unprecedented election night comes to a close, history has been made in Philadelphia: Voters took away a City Council seat that has been held by Republicans for generations. Working Families Party candidate Kendra Brooks holds an insurmountable lead.
2
27
107
The Philadelphia GOP account on Parler is really firing off some takes this week.
18
20
114
Broken streetlights complaints have tripled in Philly. The darkness has left residents feeling unsafe, and in one case, even impeded a homicide investigation. We found out city officials botched a maintenance contract. First Inquirer joint w/ @rw_briggs:.
10
41
128
An impromptu batting cage erupted amid thousands of whooting fans here, with kids and adults taking swings at soft pitches into the crowd. Pat Burger, 30, jumped into the hitter’s box wearing an Eagles jersey and a giant Swoop headpiece.
1
24
126
When COVID hit, Planet Fitness suspended billing and made it kinda impossible to cancel membership. Then they quietly debited me for months when gyms re-opened. Now, the only way to cancel is by certified letter or in-person visit to gyms, which are closed again. Great process.
18
4
121