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Philadelphia fire inspires new nationwide smoke alarm mandate

After January’s fatal rowhome fire in Fairmount, U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean proposed a bill requiring better smoke detectors in public housing.

• The legislation is likely to pass, mandating hardwired smoke alarms for all new public housing, and installation of improved ones in older units. There’s urgency after a string of additional deadly fires in Philly.

One snag: the bill doesn’t provide funding for installation, Jordan Levy reports — and PHA has been saying upgrades would be too costly.

North Broad gets a new Giant supermarket (and apartments)

Giant’s ninth Philadelphia location now occupies the corner of North Broad and Spring Garden streets, a sign of the area’s massive residential boom.

• The 50k-square-foot store is in a new apartment building, with two more developments on the way. It’s one of the area’s biggest supermarkets, with a sushi counter, cafe, and emphasis on locally made goods.

Specialty items — Claudio’s pasta or Tallarico’s hoagie spread, anyone? — are interspersed with standard grocery products. Here’s what you’ll find inside.

RECAP: What else happened?

$ = paywalled

• How many law enforcement agencies are there in Pennsylvania? It seems like no one really knows — which is causing concerns around staffing, funding, and accountability.  [Spotlight PA]
• Many PGW customers received weirdly high gas bills in May, which the utility says is due to a “weather normalization adjustment” charge. [Inquirer$]
• A letter to the Philadelphia Board of Ed. alleges the firm receiving a new $450k consulting contract from the school district is run by someone who left Nashville “under a cloud.” The controversies were covered by Tennessee local news in 2019. [Chalkbeat/Diane Ravitch/NewsChannel5]
• Manayunk’s annual arts festival made a full comeback last weekend. This is the first year since 2019 where Main Street has been totally shut down to traffic to allow for the event. [KYW]
• “There is wonder out there”: Three ornithology enthusiasts share their experience of birding while Black. [Grid]
• Where and when to watch fireworks to celebrate Independence Day? Here’s a list of some displays in the Philly region. Heads up: If you’re planning to drive into the city on Monday, there will be several road closures for the daylong music festival. [6ABC/phila.gov]

MAYOR WATCH

PIDC’s Navy Yard Workforce Skills Initiative is getting an update, and Mayor Kenney joins city and state officials to announce details (2 p.m.). Then he dashes back to City Hall for a ceremonial signing of the wage tax cut (2:45 p.m.). SEPTA officials join Kenney a bit later to sign a “Equity in Infrastructure” pledge, to create more public contracting opportunities for historically underutilized businesses (3:45 p.m.).

ON THE CALENDAR