Morning roundup
School district’s $60M worry; Which ‘Flavored by Philly’ chip is best?; Center City on the rebound | Morning roundup
New watershed trail for North Philadelphia ๐๏ธ

๐ Want this daily digest emailed to you? Sign up for the free Billy Penn newsletter and it’ll land in your inbox every morning.
Property tax refunds, relief couldย costย school districtย $60 million
Stateย budget negotiations, local property tax relief, and a recent court decision are threatening to throw a wrench in the Philly School District’s $4.3B budget.
- Philadelphia’s Homestead Exemption increaseย takes effect today,ย projected to cost the district millions. Meanwhile, Harrisburg is fighting Gov. Wolf’s plan to distribute federal education rescue funds.
Jordan Levyย breaks down the local, state, and federal sources of fundingย for Philly’s schools,ย and the budget questions facing the district in the coming year.
Which Herr’s ‘Flavored by Philly’ potato chip is the best?
Mid-June, Chester County snack food purveyor Herr’s debuted a trio of potato chips inspired by Philadelphia specialties.
- The limited edition chips, available in stores now, are finalists inย a contest to see which Philly flavor is most popular. More than 6,200 people submitted ideas, and the winner gets a $10k prize.
The options?ย “(215) Special Sauce,” “Long Hots with Sharp Provolone,” and “Wiz Wit.”ย Billy Penn conducted an official taste test — here’s what we found.
RECAP: What else happened?
$ = paywalled
- The Pa. House voted to form a committee with subpoena power toย investigate Philadelphia DA Krasner,ย in search of impeachable offenses. Philly Democratic state Reps. Boyle, Neilson, and Hohensteinย joined Republicans in the vote. [Inquirer$/AP]
- Summer school isย expanding in Philly for the second yearย running. Some education professionals say the expansion of the school year is becoming the norm.ย [Axios]
- After media reported on the unprecedentedย increase in summer gas billsย for more than 250k residents,ย PGW has filedย to reverseย the “Weather Normalization Adjustment.” [6ABC/WHYY’s PlanPhilly]
- Foot traffic and visits are up in Center City, asย business conditions creep close to pre-pandemicย levels. Outdoor dining is still popular, withย 68% more seats than before COVID. [WHYY]
- The Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershedย will be the site ofย a new learning trail in North Phillyย this summer. [NextCity]
- Manchester City and U.S. men’s goalkeeperย Zach Steffen visited the Boys and Girls Clubย in North Philadelphia, joining young players in discussion and donating $10k. [KYW]
MAYOR WATCH
No public appearances for Philly’s 99th mayor on this first day of the city’s newย fiscal year.
ON THE CALENDAR
๐บ BP Quizzo is at Hawthornes this month:ย Our next trivia night about all things Philadelphia lands outdoors at the Bella Vista beer cafe. Happy hour specials and prizes await.ย RSVP for free to join us. (6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 21)
๐บ You don’t have to wait for the Fourth to see fireworks: head to Penn’s Landing for a light show followed by theย U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” concert. (9 p.m. Saturday, July 2)
๐ The Space Jams dance party brings hits from the ’90s and 2000s for a high-energy nightย at The Dolphin on South Broad.ย Tix are $5. (10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday, July 3)