Your support is key 🔑

70% of our budget comes from individual members, making our work possible without paywalls.

Will you join us?

I support Billy Penn!

? Want this daily digest emailed to you? Sign up for the free Billy Penn newsletter and it’ll land in your inbox every morning.

---

City Council passes budget as members preen for mayor race

Philadelphia’s $5.8 billion operating budget was approved by City Council. It includes increases in police funding and rental assistance, but no tax hikes.

• Mayoral hopefuls used the budget to highlight would-be campaign priorities. Cherelle Parker secured $250k for police recruitment, while Maria Quiñones-Sánchez targeted “non-police” public safety measures.

Some contenders came *this* close to actually declaring, Lizzy McLellan Ravitch reports — both Domb and Green said they probably wouldn’t be back.

In Ukrainian refugee crisis, Philly photographer finds kindness

Photographer Ada Trillo, whose work hangs in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, has spent the past seven years documenting the exodus of refugees.

• Trillo traveled to Ukraine this spring as over 7 million fled during the Russian invasion. She captured moments of danger and destruction, but also of resilience as the EU welcomed people across borders.

“The idea that kindness could exist among all the pain, suffering, and violence comforted me,” Trillo writes, introducing her photo essay for Billy Penn.

RECAP: What else happened?

$ = paywalled

• Pa.’s statewide database of police personnel records lacks penalties for non-compliance, which critics cite as one of several loopholes in the effort to flag officers with misconduct histories. [Spotlight PA]
• A 120-year-old pipe in Kensington burst yesterday, flooding surrounding streets with 20 inches of water. Thanks to the age of the system, Philadelphia averages nearly 800 water main breaks annually. [6ABC/Billy Penn]
• City Council adjourned yesterday without approving a new design for the west half of Washington Avenue before it gets repaved. One safety advocate wrote a detailed recap of the 10-year redesign process, which ended almost where it began. [WHYY’s PlanPhilly/Sean Blanda]
• Port Richmond charter school Memphis Street Academy is on the verge of being closed after failing to meet district standards in academic achievement. [KYW]
• Despite the trials of being a teacher in Philadelphia, it’s not an easy position to leave. Local educators discuss on the latest episode of the podcast “Schooled.” [WHYY]
• Philadelphia Women’s Network Connection’s nonprofit is giving out 100 scholarships for the “Grow with Google” program, which offers virtual tech courses and certification. [Technical.ly]
• Which Philly cafe is “lawful evil” and which one “chaotic good”? Here’s a DnD style alignment chart for local coffee shops. [Philebrity]

MAYOR WATCH

Mayor Kenney is out of town now through Sunday, visiting Ottawa at the invitation of Canadian Ambassador David L. Cohen, the former Comcast exec.

ON THE CALENDAR