Are you on the front lines of the coronavirus? .Mayor Jim Kenney is tapping $10 million in federal relief funds to help Philadelphia renters who have lost income because of the .The COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program aims to provide rental assistance to 3,000 families in Philadelphia.The program will provide up to three months of rental subsidies to certain households earning 50% or less of the area median income prior to COVID-19 shutdown — about $48,300 per year for a family of four.“Unprecedented job losses have placed financial pressure on both renters and landlords,” Kenney...…Are you on the front lines of the coronavirus? .Mayor Jim Kenney is tapping $10 million in federal relief funds to help Philadelphia renters who have lost income because of the .The COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program aims to provide rental assistance to 3,000 families in Philadelphia.The program will provide up to three months of rental subsidies to certain households earning 50% or less of the area median income prior to COVID-19 shutdown — about $48,300 per year for a family of four.“Unprecedented job losses have placed financial pressure on both renters and landlords,” Kenney...WW…

Philadelphia’s Board of Education voted in April not to renew Daroff and its neighboring sister school Bluford’s charter agreements.By the time kids reach the fourth grade, the function of reading shifts, and young students in Philadelphia are behind. A new nonprofit aims to bridge the gap.Chalkbeat PhiladelphiaFamilies who are set to be forced out of a West Philadelphia affordable housing complex are worried about how their children will get to their schools, or find new ones.Sign up for our weekly newsletter.Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal…Philadelphia’s Board of Education voted in April not to renew Daroff and its neighboring sister school Bluford’s charter agreements.By the time kids reach the fourth grade, the function of reading shifts, and young students in Philadelphia are behind. A new nonprofit aims to bridge the gap.Chalkbeat PhiladelphiaFamilies who are set to be forced out of a West Philadelphia affordable housing complex are worried about how their children will get to their schools, or find new ones.Sign up for our weekly newsletter.Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goalWW…

Rudolpho Sutton’s thoughts are mired in a simple, but painful question about his father’s death: What happened?On April 8, about a week after the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections announced its first prisoner had tested positive for the coronavirus, Rudolph Sutton was found unresponsive inside his cell at SCI Phoenix in Montgomery County, the state prison where he was serving a life sentence for a murder advocates say he likely did not commit.A county coroner later determined the 67-year-old died from pneumonia caused by COVID-19, a revelation that made him the first — and currently...…Rudolpho Sutton’s thoughts are mired in a simple, but painful question about his father’s death: What happened?On April 8, about a week after the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections announced its first prisoner had tested positive for the coronavirus, Rudolph Sutton was found unresponsive inside his cell at SCI Phoenix in Montgomery County, the state prison where he was serving a life sentence for a murder advocates say he likely did not commit.A county coroner later determined the 67-year-old died from pneumonia caused by COVID-19, a revelation that made him the first — and currently...WW…

The angst, anger and hostility over Pennsylvania’s result will flow past New Year’s Day.Republicans who control the state Legislature could use the first weeks of 2021 to fast-track a constitutional amendment that would remake the Democratic-majority state Supreme Court after Republicans and President Donald Trump accused the court of acting illegally or, baselessly, conspiring to steal the election.That prospect is propelling a constellation of liberal groups, good-government groups, labor unions and others to organize against the proposed amendment, and stoking fears of an expensive...…The angst, anger and hostility over Pennsylvania’s result will flow past New Year’s Day.Republicans who control the state Legislature could use the first weeks of 2021 to fast-track a constitutional amendment that would remake the Democratic-majority state Supreme Court after Republicans and President Donald Trump accused the court of acting illegally or, baselessly, conspiring to steal the election.That prospect is propelling a constellation of liberal groups, good-government groups, labor unions and others to organize against the proposed amendment, and stoking fears of an expensive...WW…

New Castle County has agreed to reassess property values for taxation purposes, settling part of a lawsuit seeking to revamp the state’s school funding system and give students who are low-income, have disabilities, and are non-English speaking the chance for a better education.The state’s northernmost county, home to nearly 6 in 10 Delaware residents, says it will conduct the reassessment for the first time in nearly four decades for the property tax bills levied in fiscal 2024. The county is currently in fiscal 2021, which ends June 30.In a reassessment, some property owners will pay more...…New Castle County has agreed to reassess property values for taxation purposes, settling part of a lawsuit seeking to revamp the state’s school funding system and give students who are low-income, have disabilities, and are non-English speaking the chance for a better education.The state’s northernmost county, home to nearly 6 in 10 Delaware residents, says it will conduct the reassessment for the first time in nearly four decades for the property tax bills levied in fiscal 2024. The county is currently in fiscal 2021, which ends June 30.In a reassessment, some property owners will pay more...WW…

Are you on the front lines of the coronavirus?Philadelphia City Council has unanimously approved a slate of bills that aim to shield renters from housing strains during the .Five bills, dubbed the “Emergency Housing Protection Act,” passed a final vote on Thursday. This package will create an eviction diversion program, extend an eviction moratorium through August, create a yearlong repayment plan for low-income renters, waive late fees on certain rent payments, and allow renters illegally locked out of their homes to recover related damages.Councilmember Helen Gym, who helped author parts...…Are you on the front lines of the coronavirus?Philadelphia City Council has unanimously approved a slate of bills that aim to shield renters from housing strains during the .Five bills, dubbed the “Emergency Housing Protection Act,” passed a final vote on Thursday. This package will create an eviction diversion program, extend an eviction moratorium through August, create a yearlong repayment plan for low-income renters, waive late fees on certain rent payments, and allow renters illegally locked out of their homes to recover related damages.Councilmember Helen Gym, who helped author parts...WW…

Institutions across the country are currently heeding the call to examine and dismantle cases of structural racism. As a transportation authority serving a city where people of color make up the majority, SEPTA must do the same with the Regional Rail system, a segment of the network that has long left behind this population.In response to COVID-19, SEPTA has done an admirable job adjusting to public health guidance and shifts in ridership while also sustaining losses due to the pandemic. For a large agency, these necessary changes have come at lightning speed. We commend SEPTA’s performance...…Institutions across the country are currently heeding the call to examine and dismantle cases of structural racism. As a transportation authority serving a city where people of color make up the majority, SEPTA must do the same with the Regional Rail system, a segment of the network that has long left behind this population.In response to COVID-19, SEPTA has done an admirable job adjusting to public health guidance and shifts in ridership while also sustaining losses due to the pandemic. For a large agency, these necessary changes have come at lightning speed. We commend SEPTA’s performance...WW…

The last thing Andre Coach saw before he left jail was a riot.It was April 3 at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, one of four city jails. Over 120 incarcerated people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in these county detention centers to date — more than in Pennsylvania combined.Coach says life had been untenable for weeks under the Philadelphia Department of Prisons’ pandemic lockdown to quell the spread of the virus. City officials maintain all inmates are taken out of their cells once per day, but Coach and others said they sometimes went two or more days without...…The last thing Andre Coach saw before he left jail was a riot.It was April 3 at the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center, one of four city jails. Over 120 incarcerated people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in these county detention centers to date — more than in Pennsylvania combined.Coach says life had been untenable for weeks under the Philadelphia Department of Prisons’ pandemic lockdown to quell the spread of the virus. City officials maintain all inmates are taken out of their cells once per day, but Coach and others said they sometimes went two or more days without...WW…

Updated at 8:10 p.m.–The Philadelphia Housing Authority calls housing activists’ announcement of a tentative deal with the city regarding the fate of two homeless encampments “premature and disappointing.”The deal , slated for sale to developers, to a community land trust managed by the group, encampment organizers announced late Saturday.On Sunday, a city spokesperson wouldn’t confirm the deal, saying in a statement that “many details” needed to be worked out and any final agreement would “require a date certain by which the protest camps will be resolved.”The Philadelphia Housing...…Updated at 8:10 p.m.–The Philadelphia Housing Authority calls housing activists’ announcement of a tentative deal with the city regarding the fate of two homeless encampments “premature and disappointing.”The deal , slated for sale to developers, to a community land trust managed by the group, encampment organizers announced late Saturday.On Sunday, a city spokesperson wouldn’t confirm the deal, saying in a statement that “many details” needed to be worked out and any final agreement would “require a date certain by which the protest camps will be resolved.”The Philadelphia Housing...WW…

On South 12th Street next to the historic Camac Baths building, a developer recently received a permit to build a tower with 448 dwellings. On 22nd Street near Market Street, another builder wants to put up 341 apartment homes over a Trader Joe’s parking lot.Others have proposed 462 units of housing on Delaware Avenue near Poplar Street, 181 units on Callowhill Street, and 352 units in the stately buildings of the former complex.Those projects represent just a fraction of the thousands of apartments and condos under development as businesses in Philadelphia resume operation after the sudden...…On South 12th Street next to the historic Camac Baths building, a developer recently received a permit to build a tower with 448 dwellings. On 22nd Street near Market Street, another builder wants to put up 341 apartment homes over a Trader Joe’s parking lot.Others have proposed 462 units of housing on Delaware Avenue near Poplar Street, 181 units on Callowhill Street, and 352 units in the stately buildings of the former complex.Those projects represent just a fraction of the thousands of apartments and condos under development as businesses in Philadelphia resume operation after the sudden...WW…