Philadelphia City Council’s fall return interrupted by bomb squad investigation

The first-day-of-school vibes inside Philadelphia City Hall were quickly halted Thursday morning after sheriff’s deputies alerted officials to a suspicious bag, leading to the building being abruptly evacuated during the middle of City Council session. 

Vincent Thompson, communications director for Council President Kenyatta Johnson, told reporters that sheriff’s deputies found a package in the caucus chambers across the hall from where council was holding session, and dogs signaled an alert on the package, prompting the evacuation. 

According to Philly Voice, Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said two dogs who are trained to sniff for powder used in bombs and ammunition detected something suspicious. Police said officers detained and removed a government employee in handcuffs. 

Vanore said authorities examined the bag and found no device or threat, but he declined to say what was found inside.

Police gave the all-clear just before 1 p.m., more than an hour after City Hall was evacuated. 

Back to business

Policy discussion did take place, despite the brief bomb squad intermission. 

Councilmember Jamie Gauthier led a press conference Thursday morning outside City Hall prior to session, calling on Council to reject any city waste management contract renewal with the Reworld incinerator in Chester. 

The councilmember’s “Stop Trashing Our Air Act,” introduced in September 2025, has sought to prevent the city from sending waste to Chester – a majority-Black city in nearby Delaware County – for incineration, a move that Gauthier and community members argue is an act of environmental racism. 

Councilmember Mark Squilla unveiled plans Wednesday to introduce legislation that he said would “modernize” the city’s solid waste disposal process and more. The legislation, which has been coined the “Zero Waste and Circular Economy Act,” authorizes the administration to “develop a comprehensive, goal-oriented and data-driven plan to reduce and divert municipal solid waste for traditional disposal methods, including landfilling and incineration.”

Gauthier pushed back on the idea that it would take time for the city to rework its waste management systems: “Any notion that this is something that we can’t move on right now is a lie.” 

“I agree with my colleague Councilmember Squilla’s aim of moving the city towards zero waste. I agree with Carlton Williams’ desire to do that, but a plan to make a 20-year plan to do that in no way takes away the need to stop burning our trash right now,” Gauthier told reporters. “We can make the decision to zero out the Reworld contract today and still make a plan to get to zero waste.”

Chester Mayor Stefan Roots, who spoke at the rally alongside several councilmembers, made it clear he believes “enough is enough.”

“We’ve been breathing other people’s burned trash for 35 years,” he said. “Philadelphia is comfortable compromising Chester’s future by sending your trash for us to inhale every day, and you think it’s OK. Get your name off of Reworld’s customer list.”

Science and data centers

The “Stop Trashing Our Air” rally wasn’t the only demonstration outside City Hall on Thursday.

Councilmember Nina Ahmad also led a rally in support of The Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University – a popular natural history museum that is set to close amid financial struggles. 

The academy and the waste management legislation were the leading topic among public commenters Thursday, all of whom were supportive of the subjects, respectively. 

Ahmad called to hold hearings on the academy’s closure, which is slated for Sept. 27, according to Drexel.  

“Shutting down the Academy would be a failure of leadership for our city, and it is critical that we save the Academy (museum), so that future generations can access this treasure trove for another 200 years,” Ahmad said. 

At the same time this morning, community advocates called for a moratorium on the construction of data centers in the city. 

Amid the public outcry over artificial intelligence data centers, Parker announced her administration has established a task force to study data centers and report its recommendations by the end of June. 

The advocacy group No Data Centers in Philly, made up of multiple local organizers, said Parker’s executive order creating a task force falls short and that a moratorium is needed to ensure future construction doesn’t take place. 

“Without a moratorium, a task force does nothing to protect us now and takes time that we don’t have,” the group said in a statement. “Unless they act, every Philadelphian is at risk from AI data centers. Council must immediately pass a robust, multiyear moratorium so we can create the long-term regulations and rules we need to protect Philadelphia communities.”

Most councilmembers introduced their own measures to start the fall session – including Ahmad, who, in line with the trash talk, introduced a resolution to have the Department of Health hold hearings on expanding composting in the city.