What to know about Parker’s first budget proposal
Mayor Cherelle Parker’s first annual budget comes in at $6.3 billion and would pump new dollars into her priority areas of law enforcement and trash cleanup, and increase funding for the school district, emergency housing, SEPTA, and future labor contracts, among other areas.
At the same time, Parker is keeping taxes flat and breaking from her predecessor Jim Kenney’s practice of proposing small annual cuts in the city’s wage and business levies. BP’s Meir Rinde has a rundown of the budget, plus the schedule of Council hearings in case you want to provide testimony. Continue reading…
Memorable games at Philly’s “Cathedral of College Basketball”
Among all the hallowed sports venues in Philly, the Palestra stands for many as the greatest of all. The venue at the University of Pennsylvania has hosted more college basketball games than any other arena in the country and is the oldest college arena still in use today.
To get in the mood for March Madness, BP’s Jon Caroulis took a look at some of the best games ever played at the Palestra, from its first college basketball game in 1927 to the 2018 upset that saw the Quakers end Villanova’s longtime win streak. Continue reading…
RECAP: What else happened?
$ = paywalled
• Philadelphia is contending with thousands of vacant municipal jobs, with prisons seeing the highest vacancies. [Axios]
• Construction of warehouses is beginning at the South Philly refinery that was destroyed by a fire in 2019. [Inquirer$]
• Pro-Palestinian faculty are suing to stop Penn from handing files, emails, student records and other material to Congress, putting student and staff safety and academic freedom at risk. (AP)
• Kensington CAPA students took portraits of five Philadelphia women ages 59 to 86 and directed and produced a documentary film about their lives. The exhibit, “The Beauty of Time,” is now on display. [Kensington Voice]
• After decades in the dark, the historic Lansdowne Theater is set to reopen as a concert venue this fall. [KYW]
MAYOR WATCH
Mayor Parker attends the National Puerto Rican Agenda’s biennial convention, held this year at Taller Puertorriqueño. This national convention celebrates Puerto Rican heritage and seeks to fortify public policy advocacy efforts. (5 p.m.)
ON THE CALENDAR
🚮 Pick up trash, clean up fallen branches, and get the Schuylkill Center ready for spring at this community clean-up day. Bring your water bottle! Free with registration. (10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, March 16)
👣 “Walk like Harriet” with the Ebony Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections to celebrate the USPS Underground Railroad Forever Stamp honoring Harriet Tubman. Free and begins at Carroll Park, 58th and Girard Avenue. (9 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, March 16)
🎂 Enjoy a fun, casual evening at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens celebrating the 85th birthday of founding artist Isaiah Zagar, who might attend. Pay-what-you-wish. (6 to 8 p.m. Monday, March 18)
Catch up on the previous week
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