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  • Why nobody really knows the scale of the U.S. housing crisis

    Why nobody really knows the scale of the U.S. housing crisis

    America faces a serious housing shortage, one that Moody’s estimates would take more than 2 million new homes to resolve.

    But over at Goldman Sachs, analysts put the number at 3 million. Zillow’s estimate tops 4 million, while Brookings projects 5 million, and McKinsey says 8 million. Meanwhile, congressional Republicans insist the shortfall is closer to 20 million.

    Then there are the economists who contend there’s no shortage at all.

    The disparate projections reflect the challenge of quantifying the nation’s housing needs, a puzzle that rests on assumptions about how much a home should cost, how many people it should hold, and how big a footprint it should have.

    With housing affordability a crucial political issue and increasingly out of reach for many Americans, determining the nation’s needs is not merely an academic exercise but is key to devising policies that will solve the problem.

    Vacancy rates and missing households

    The U.S. has 146 million homes, Census Bureau data show. Of those, 8.1 million are “doubled up” households, meaning people are sharing space with nonrelatives. Zillow’s housing estimate assumes most of those people would prefer having their own place. There also are 3.4 million vacant homes available to rent or buy, the real estate website says. So Zillow economists subtracted the number of available homes from the number of doubled-up households and concluded that the nation needs 4.7 million more homes.

    Several analyses zeroed in on two questions: How many homes should be vacant, and how many consumers have delayed striking out on their own because of the cost.

    Though it might seem counterintuitive, a healthy housing market needs vacancies. An empty property could signal it’s between tenants or buyers, for example, or under renovation. Or it could mean the owner is splitting time between properties; according to the National Association of Home Builders, more than 6 million homes — about 1 in 20 — are secondary residences.

    What constitutes a healthy level of vacancies is harder to define, as experts put it anywhere from 3% to 13%. After home construction cratered following the 2008 housing crash, vacancy rates slumped to the lowest level in nearly two decades, falling to less than 1% of owner-occupied dwellings and 5% of rental units. They have yet to fully recover.

    The optimal home number could be as simple as one for every household, plus a certain number of vacancies. But what if we don’t have an accurate count of households?

    When housing costs are prohibitive, adult children tend to reside with their parents longer; in 2023, 18% of adults 25 to 34 were living in a parent’s home, compared with 8% in the 1970s, according to a Pew Research Center report.

    For many economists, that suggests the equation should be: the number of existing households, plus the number of homes that should be vacant, plus the number of households that would naturally come into being if there was enough inventory to lower prices.

    Yet different researchers using this framework still came up with different answers for the housing shortage.

    Moody’s Analytics and PolicyMap say it would take 800,000 homes to reach the equilibrium of the U.S. housing market between 1985 and 2000. Add 1.2 million “pent up households,” those that haven’t formed yet, and the conclusion is the U.S. needs an additional 2 million homes.

    Brookings’s calculation aims to get back to the 2006 vacancy rate of more than 12%, when it was near its historic peak. It used a complex statistical model to tease out how much of the decline in household formation since then is due to home prices instead of other factors, such as young people having trouble finding jobs or marrying later. As a result, it concluded the U.S. needed 4.9 million more houses.

    Other analyses along these lines include Freddie Mac’s, which calls for 3.7 million more homes. Goldman Sachs analysts tried the “vacancies plus pent-up demand” approach, as well as a mathematical model to determine how many homes it would take to make ownership as affordable relative to income as it was in the 1990s. Both equations worked out to between 3 million and 4 million homes. McKinsey added up new households and vacancies, plus enough housing to address homelessness and replace overcrowded homes with more than one person to a bedroom, to get to 8.2 million.

    Envisioning an unconstrained market

    A 2022 congressional report took a different tack. Most analyses attempt to re-create some semblance of the housing market two, three or four decades ago. But Republicans on the Joint Economic Committee argued that the correct number is equal to the number of homes that developers would build had they had no regulatory constraints — no permitting or zoning rules that prohibit them from building what customers want.

    The Republicans’ estimate relied on the reasoning that the value of the land should be about 20% of the home cost. Anything higher would mean the market is artificially constrained; land becomes pricier when it is harder to build something on it. To bring prices in line with that in every U.S. county, they concluded the home shortage stood at 20 million.

    By their math, North Dakota and West Virginia have almost no housing shortage, while California is short 4.5 million homes. Eliminating zoning and building restrictions across the country’s hundreds of jurisdictions might be unfeasible, but they project that any substantial effort would lower prices. For example, they contend that building an additional 2.7 million homes could reduce prices enough to make ownership economically viable for nearly 5 million more consumers.

    “If we relaxed all regulations that concerned supply in every single market in the United States, this is how many homes you would have … . I do think this is the right way to think about how many homes we should have,” said Kevin Corinth, an economist who co-authored the report while he was a Senate staffer and now works at the American Enterprise Institute, a libertarian think tank. “If you really want to bring down home prices to the point where people can actually afford them, you’re going to have to build a lot more houses than people are suggesting.”

    Per capita spending

    Housing analyst Kevin Erdmann did some eye-popping math recently. Adjusted for inflation, per capita spending on housing construction has been falling as a fraction of personal consumption, dropping 23% since 1990. If such spending held to 1990 levels, he said, the U.S. would have an additional 40 million houses. “Almost all professional estimates of the housing shortage are ridiculously low,” Erdmann, who has written two books about the housing market, wrote on his Substack.

    He said the slowdown in construction spending indicates that people are living in smaller homes than they’d prefer because they had no choice, but he shies away from actually saying the country is 40 million homes short. Instead, based on aggressive assumptions about missing households and necessary vacancies, he says the country needs 15 million to 20 million.

    Maybe there’s no shortage at all

    Urban planning professors Kirk McClure and Alex Schwartz examined 900 U.S. metropolitan areas and found that only 19 had added more population than housing since 2000. Before the 2008 recession, they argued, developers built far too many houses, leaving room for underbuilding in some years since.

    “Yes, we have a shortage of units in the low-income price points, but not overall,” McClure said. He contends it would be far less costly for the government to help poor households rent or buy existing units than to build new ones. “The best housing program right now would be an increase in the minimum wage. You get people up to $20 an hour and suddenly life gets better — we can’t build our way out of this problem.”

    This view of the current housing supply transcends partisan lines, with some of the highest and the lowest estimates of the shortage coming from the right. Economists at the libertarian Cato Institute contend that housing production has kept up with population growth. Just because people want to live in big houses in expensive, densely populated areas, they assert, doesn’t mean there’s a shortage.

    “A shortage is literally people don’t have anywhere to live. That’s not what we have,” Norbert Michel, one of the Cato writers, said in an interview.

    In the end, the dispute doesn’t just come down to the choice of mathematical models, but varying interpretations of what a housing shortage even means.

    “If I have a hard time finding an apartment in the area of Washington, D.C., that I like, I can still move to Maryland and find something,” Michel said. “The idea that I’m just completely shut out of all my options and I can’t find any place to live, that’s what a shortage evokes. And the data doesn’t support that.”

    Erdmann views it differently: “There are 28-year-olds living with their parents that wouldn’t be if there were a house. If that’s not a shortage, I don’t know when you could use the word.”

    https://washingtonpost.com/documents/3b31f2dc-a38e-488c-a2ac-617bc1d96d2a.pdf
  • Brothers of Renee Good, woman killed by immigration officer, call for action in Congress

    Brothers of Renee Good, woman killed by immigration officer, call for action in Congress

    WASHINGTON — The brothers of Renee Good, one of two U.S. citizens killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, called on Congress to do something about the violence on American streets as a result of immigration operations, warning Tuesday that the scenes playing out are “changing many lives, including ours, forever.”

    Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot and killed Jan. 7. Her death and that of another protester, Alex Pretti, just weeks later have sparked outrage across the country and calls to rein in immigration enforcement.

    Brothers Luke and Brett Ganger spoke during a hearing held Tuesday by congressional Democrats to highlight use-of-force incidents by officers from the Department of Homeland Security as they arrest and deport immigrants. The mood was somber as the brothers spoke, often comforting each other as they talked and listened to others speaking.

    Luke Ganger, speaking of the “deep distress” the family felt at losing their sister in “such a violent and unnecessary way,” didn’t specify what they wanted from Congress but painted his sister’s death as a turning point that should inspire change in operations such as those going on in Minneapolis.

    “The completely surreal scenes taking place on the streets of Minneapolis are beyond explanation. This is not just a bad day, or a rough week, or isolated incidents,” he said. “These encounters with federal agents are changing the community and changing many lives, including ours, forever.”

    The forum was put on by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) and Rep. Robert Garcia (D., Calif.) to spotlight use-of-force complaints against Homeland Security officers tasked with carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

    Trump administration officials said Good tried to run over an officer with her vehicle. State and local officials in Minneapolis, as well as protesters, have rejected that characterization.

    The two brothers didn’t delve into the details of their sister’s death or what the administration has said about her. Instead, they spoke about her life.

    Luke Ganger said the most important thing the brothers could do was to explain to those listening “what a beautiful American we have lost. A sister. A daughter. A mother. A partner and a friend.”

    Brett Ganger shared some of the eulogy he had written for his sister’s funeral service. He compared her to dandelions that grow and bring beauty in unexpected places.

    “She believed tomorrow could be better than today. She believed that kindness mattered. And she lived that belief,” he said.

    The panel also heard from three other U.S. citizens who detailed their treatment by Homeland Security officers.

  • Police searching for ‘armed and dangerous’ suspect in killings of two men in city’s towing industry

    Police searching for ‘armed and dangerous’ suspect in killings of two men in city’s towing industry

    Philadelphia police are searching for a suspect in connection with the shooting deaths of two tow truck drivers, department officials said Wednesday.

    Najee Williams, 27, is considered armed and dangerous, police said. Homicide investigators say Williams is connected to the fatal shootings of 20-year-old David Garcia-Morales in December and 25-year-old Aaron Whitfield in January.

    Williams faces charges of murder, conspiracy, and related crimes. There is a $20,000 reward for information that leads to his arrest and conviction.

    The killings of Garcia-Morales and Whitfield, who police say worked for the Jenkintown-based towing company 448 Towing and Recovery, rattled the city and put a focus on the competitive business of towing.

    Williams is the owner and operator of N.K.W Towing and Recovery, of North Philadelphia, according to a police source who asked not to be identified to discuss an ongoing investigation.

    A Facebook page for N.K.W features photos of car accidents and messages urging potential customers to call the company.

    “INVOLVED IN A ACCIDENT OR SEE ONE CALL ME” one message says.

    Another post from 2024 says: “Left the streets in a patty wagon, came back home and got right to it! Been home for 2 years now & as I sit here and think how bless I’m to have my freedom back.”

    It was not immediately clear who made the post.

    Staff Inspector Ernest Ransom, commanding officer of the homicide unit, said forensic evidence collected from a stolen Honda used in the shooting of Whitfield led investigators to Williams.

    The department’s fugitive task force and U.S. Marshals are assisting in the search for Williams, whose last known whereabouts were in Montgomery County, authorities say.

    On Dec. 22, police were called to 4200 Torresdale Avenue to find Garcia-Morales shot and injured inside a Ford F-450 towing vehicle. He was struck in the neck and thigh, and died four days later at Temple University Hospital.

    The second shooting, which took place on Jan. 11 on the 2100 block of Knorr Street, left Whitfield dead at the scene after he was struck by gunfire in the head and body.

    Whitfield had also been sitting in a tow truck, according to police. His 21-year-old girlfriend was shot in the leg and survived her injuries.

    Philadelphia’s towing industry is competitive and drivers often traverse the city in search of car accidents, hoping to be the first to arrive at the scene.

    That practice persists despite a city policy that requires police and dispatchers to cycle through a list of approved towing companies to contact when responding to accidents.

  • ‘Jeopardy!’ champ from New Jersey struggled to pronounce Schuylkill

    ‘Jeopardy!’ champ from New Jersey struggled to pronounce Schuylkill

    On Jeopardy!, contestants give their answers in the form of a question. Scott Riccardi’s should’ve been, “How do you pronounce Schuylkill?”

    During Tuesday’s episode, the New Jersey native and his two competitors were given a U.S. geography clue close to home: “Pottsville & Reading both lie on this river that enters the Delaware at Philadelphia.”

    Riccardi answered the clue correctly, but only after host Ken Jennings paused to determine if his pronunciation — “Skol-kull” — was close enough to award him $1,600.

    As least he got the correct river. TJ Fisher, a marketing specialist from San Francisco, guessed “Lackawanna,” nailing the pronunciation but missing the answer by more than 100 miles.

    Paolo Pasco, a puzzle writer originally from San Diego, Calif., didn’t buzz in.

    For the record, it’s pronounced “Skoo-kl.” One 15th century mapmaker just cut to the chase and labeled it the “Scool Kill River,” which would’ve been much easier to say and spell.

    According to Francis Vincent’s 1870 history of Delaware, “Schuylkill” was named by the Dutch; it loosely translates to “hidden creek.” Before Europeans set foot in the region, the native Lenape people called it “Ganshowe-hánne,” meaning “roaring stream,” as recorded by missionary John Heckewelder.

    Viewers should be thankful Riccardi and his competitors weren’t confronted with how to pronounce “Passyunk,” which continues to divide longtime Philly residents (and married couples).

    Jeopardy! is in the finals of its annual Tournament of Champions, which featured the show’s most recent top contestants. Pasco won Monday and Tuesday, and needs just one more victory to win the tournament and collect its $250,000 prize.

    Riccardi, an engineer and Rutgers University graduate born and raised in South Plainfield, Middlesex County, won 16 games during his 2025 run. That was good enough to tie for 10th most in the show’s history, matching Philly rideshare driver Ryan Long’s 2022 run. Riccardi also amassed $455,000 in earnings, the eighth most in regular-season play in the show’s history.

  • ‘The first step’: Chester County commissioners present poll book investigation to voters

    ‘The first step’: Chester County commissioners present poll book investigation to voters

    Chester County residents called for accountability after a poll book error led to thousands of voters being left off the rolls in November’s election, and said the recent investigation solicited by the county fell short of addressing problems they fear could happen again.

    Tuesday’s public meeting was the first time community members — and the county commissioners themselves — were able to respond to an independent firm’s investigation and report, which found that insufficient training, poor oversight, and staffing challenges in the county’s elections office forced more than 12,000 voters to cast provisional ballots in the general election. The poll book error occurred as the 25-person department has faced unusually high turnover in recent years, and as the director faces allegations of fostering a toxic workplace.

    “This is the first step, this is not the last step … to rebuilding trust with the public and improving elections in a way that ensures this never happens again,” Josh Maxwell, chairman of the county commissioners, told the attendees.

    The 24-page report, prepared by West Chester law firm Fleck, Eckert, Klein & McGarry LLC and published last month, found that two employees mistakenly included only registered Democrats and Republicans when using the statewide voter roll to create the poll book, omitting more than 75,000 registered independent and unaffiliated voters from the rolls.

    The employees, inexperienced and never formally trained, lacked direct supervision, the report said. No one in the county’s department checked the books until a poll worker noticed the omissions before polls opened on Election Day.

    There was no evidence of malfeasance, the report said. County officials said previously that everyone who wanted to vote could cast a ballot, despite the issue.

    Still, the error rocked Election Day in the county, with officials scrambling to print supplemental poll books and poll workers staying late to address the challenges. Republican Commissioner Eric Roe broke with his Democratic peers by voting against the certification of the election results in December, saying his conscience would not allow it.

    Community members said Tuesday the error further eroded trust in voting security.

    John Luther addresses the Chester County Commissioners as they hold a public meeting to discuss the errors they had in the pole books during the November election. West Chester. Tuesday, February 3, 2026

    “How many voters were disenfranchised and did not vote?” resident John Luther asked the commissioners. “That is the most important thing. You guys can fix all the rest, but you can’t fix what you messed up in the front.”

    Kadida Kenner — who leads the New Pennsylvania Project, an organization dedicated to voter registration — said she rushed on Election Day to West Chester University, where the organization had helped students register to vote, to make sure they were not disenfranchised.

    “I see the impact of this mistake, this opportunity for change and growth,” she said. “The events of Election Day really did not help our efforts to be able to overcome feelings of individuals, as it relates to the electoral process, here in the commonwealth and across the country.”

    The report recommended more than a dozen changes for the county to prevent future errors, including improved training, reviewing processes and policies, and evaluating staff levels and pay. The county rolled out a plan to address the recommendations and intends to make monthly reports on its progress, saying some recommendations would be in place ahead of May’s primary.

    “Everyone in this room knows that a grievous error was made, and everyone is upset about it,” resident Marian Schneider said. “We can stop the browbeating and focus on the path forward.”

    The report stopped short of recommending personnel changes. Maxwell said the commissioners would not discuss personnel actions.

    Attorney Sigmund Fleck addresses the Chester County Commissioners as they hold a public meeting to discuss the errors they had in the pole books during the November election. West Chester. Tuesday, February 3, 2026

    “Bottom line, this appears to be a human error — clicking the wrong box,” said Sigmund Fleck, one of the attorneys who oversaw the report.

    Residents worried that those errors were symptoms of a deeper problem, and that the report’s scope did not fully address issues within voter services.

    “Yes, human error is a factor here,” Elizabeth Sieb told the commissioners. “This goes far beyond that. Mistakes of this magnitude require consequences.”

    Fleck pointed to larger issues with the state’s election system that culminated in the error, such as tight turnaround times for publishing the poll books, lack of statewide training, and a fairly old-school online voting roll system.

    Elizabeth Sieb addresses the Chester county commissioners as they hold a public meeting to discuss the errors they had in the pole books during the November election. West Chester. Tuesday, February 3, 2026

    But other counties deal with those same complications, some community members argued. November’s error came after the county omitted the office of the prothonotary on the ballot in May’s primary. The report found that error was due to the county solicitor’s office misinterpreting state law.

    “Sixty-seven counties face the same exact issues, except for one: management,” said Nathan Prospero Fox, a former voter services employee.

    Roe acknowledged the anger directed at county staff, but said: “The truth is, the buck doesn’t stop with staff. It stops with us.”

    “I am so sorry,” he continued. “This is not the end; there’s still time for accountability and improvement.”

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • Housing ban on former Hahnemann campus is on hold in City Council as concerns mount

    Housing ban on former Hahnemann campus is on hold in City Council as concerns mount

    Councilmember Jeffery Young pushed pause Tuesday on his highly controversial housing ban for the former Hahnemann hospital campus.

    Young has proposed a “Vine Street Expressway” zoning overlay that would cover the shuttered medical center and its surroundings and block residential development from its largely empty buildings and lots.

    Although developers have struggled to find new office or healthcare tenants for the area, Young initially described his legislation as a means to preserve the former campus as a jobs hub.

    However, an apartment development is proposed in the former Hahnemann patient towers by New York-based developer Dwight City Group — which is why most observers were stunned when Young introduced his last-minute bill banning all housing development from the area.

    Then in a sudden reversal at a City Council hearing Tuesday, Young said he was not advancing the bill.

    “We’re holding it so we can further [communicate] with all the community stakeholders that are involved,” Young said in an interview after the hearing. “We want to make sure that this project represents the best interest of the city of Philadelphia, and by continuing dialogue, we’ll achieve that goal.”

    The art-deco style South Tower of the former for Hahnemann hospital complex, which is almost 100 years old.

    No interest groups have officially come out in favor of the legislation. Pro-housing groups, the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, and the building trades unions have all expressed concerns about it.

    Property owners who would be affected include influential local institutions including Brandywine Realty Trust and Drexel University. Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration was also concerned, especially as the administration pushes to get 30,000 units of housing built or repaired during her term through the Housing Opportunities Made Easy (H.O.M.E.) plan.

    “This bill conflicts with the goals of the comprehensive plan and the goals of the H.O.M.E. plan to support residential development,” said testimony prepared for Paula Brumbelow Burns of the City Planning Commission.

    Ironically, as a result of Young’s anti-housing legislation, permits have been secured for 824 units of housing on the former hospital site, as property owners rushed to secure the right to develop apartments before the feared ban would be enacted.

    With the exception of Dwight City Group’s proposal, it is not clear that many of those permits will quickly result in housing.

    The application for 300 units at Martinelli Park and 163 units at the Brandywine-owned Bellet building do not appear to signify new projects in the immediate future, but instead an effort to preserve value and flexibility of use.

    Young argued that the legislation has been successful in that it compelled property owners to talk with his office about their plans.

    “People need to understand what’s happening when you have large properties where potentially thousands of units will be developed there,” Young said. “We have properties that as a former hospital that’s filled with asbestos and other types of issues, no one knows what’s going on.”

  • Trump plans to install a Christopher Columbus statue outside of the White House

    Trump plans to install a Christopher Columbus statue outside of the White House

    President Donald Trump is planning to install a statue of Christopher Columbus on White House grounds, according to three people with knowledge of the pending move, in his latest effort to remake the presidential campus and celebrate the famed and controversial explorer.

    The statue is set to be located on the south side of the grounds, by E Street and north of the Ellipse, two of the people said, although they cautioned that plans could change. The three people spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak on private discussions. The piece is a reconstruction of a statue unveiled in Baltimore by then-President Ronald Reagan and dumped in the city’s harbor by protesters in 2020 as a racial reckoning swept the country.

    A group of Italian American businessmen and politicians, working with local sculptors, obtained the destroyed pieces and rebuilt the statue with financial support from local charities and federal grant funding.

    Opinion | Is it time for America to stop celebrating Columbus Day? | Pro/Con

    Bill Martin, an Italian American businessman who helped recover the remnants of the original sculpture and organize a campaign to rebuild it, said the statue is expected to be transferred from a warehouse on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to the Trump administration in coming weeks.

    The White House declined to comment on its plans but praised the 15th-century explorer.

    “In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero,” spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. “And he will continue to be honored as such by President Trump.”

    As Columbus statues became something of a battleground in the broader tug-of-war over the nation’s history, Trump has repeatedly positioned himself as a staunch defender of a legacy he says has been dishonored by “left-wing arsonists.”

    Trump included Columbus in a 2021 executive order of historical figures for his proposed National Garden of American Heroes, showcasing those who embody “the American spirit of daring and defiance, excellence and adventure, courage and confidence, loyalty and love.”

    The Italian explorer is long celebrated for his voyage in 1492 to the Americas, opening up trade routes with Europe and setting the stage for colonization and enslavement. Some U.S. states now recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day; Joe Biden in 2021 became the first president to mark the holiday.

    Trump campaigned in 2024 on promises to celebrate Columbus Day, and in October he signed a presidential proclamation to recognize Columbus as “the original American hero” and mark the annual holiday.

    “We’re back, Italians. Okay? We love the Italians,” Trump said after signing the proclamation. He later said the move should help the Republican Party in the upcoming midterm elections.

    “The Italian people are very happy about it. Remember when you go to the voting booths, I reinstated Columbus Day,” Trump told reporters at the White House last month.

    Meanwhile, his administration pushes to scrub federal institutions of “corrosive ideology” recognizing historical sexism and racism and to leave its mark on the nation’s capital in a sweeping effort that has drawn complaints and lawsuits. The president rapidly demolished the East Wing annex last year to build his planned $400 million ballroom; paved over the Rose Garden to make room for a patio; and has imposed his vision on numerous internal fixtures and rooms, including the Lincoln Bathroom.

    Historic preservationists have called on Trump to go through federal review panels before making further changes to the White House grounds.

    In his first term, Trump decried the destruction of Columbus statues across the country. After administration officials learned about efforts in 2020 to rescue and preserve Baltimore’s statue, they asked to obtain it for possible installation on federal grounds, but the statue was not yet ready, said Martin, the businessman.

    Martin estimated that he and his allies raised and spent more than $100,000 for their recovery and restoration efforts, which he said represented inspiration to the Italian American community.

    “It’s not about Columbus ‘discovering America’ … it’s about the Italian immigrants who came here and looked to Columbus as a hero,” Martin said.

    Nino Mangione, a Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates, also was involved in efforts to recover the statue, and he praised Trump’s plan to install it at the White House.

    “It is such an honor for the Italian American community,” Mangione wrote in an email. “This proves that gangs, thugs, and people of that ilk don’t control things by mob rule. … in America the people rule and our voices are heard.”

    Columbus’s planned D.C. arrival comes on the heels of the administration’s reinstallation last October of a Confederate general that protesters had toppled and torched five years prior.

    Albert Pike is now back on his plinth in a small federal park about a mile east of the White House, the only Confederate leader memorialized with an outdoor statue in Washington.

  • Pa. officials push back as Trump targets Philly in call to nationalize elections ahead of 2026 midterms

    Pa. officials push back as Trump targets Philly in call to nationalize elections ahead of 2026 midterms

    Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt on Wednesday rejected President Donald Trump’s false claims about voter fraud in the state as Trump targeted Philadelphia in his push to nationalize elections.

    The state’s top election official said Trump’s proposal would violate the Constitution, which he noted clearly gives states exclusive authority to administer elections.

    “Pennsylvania elections have never been more safe and secure,” said Schmidt, who served as Philadelphia’s Republican city commissioner in 2020, when the city was at the center of Trump’s conspiracy theories.

    “Thousands of election officials — Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike — across the Commonwealth’s 67 counties will continue to ensure we have free, fair, safe, and secure elections for the people of Pennsylvania,” he said in a statement.

    Speaking to reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office, Trump cited Philadelphia, Detroit, and Atlanta as examples of where the federal government should run elections. He singled out three predominantly Black cities in swing states but offered no evidence of voter fraud or corruption to support his claims of a “rigged election.”

    “Take a look at Detroit. Take a look at Pennsylvania, take a look at Philadelphia. You go take a look at Atlanta,” Trump said. “The federal government should get involved.”

    Philadelphia has been a frequent target of Trump’s false claims of election fraud for several years, going back to his efforts to overturn his loss in the 2020 election. City and state officials have persistently pushed back on those claims, and there is no evidence that elections in the city have been anything but free and fair.

    Trump is advocating for taking control of elections in 15 states, though his administration has not named which ones.

    “The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over,’” Trump said in December. “We should take over the voting, the voting in at least many — 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting.”

    But, Pennsylvania officials and experts noted, he lacks the power to do so unilaterally.

    Congress has limited power to set rules for elections, but the U.S. Constitution grants control of elections to the states.

    “The president has zero authority to order anything about elections,” said Marian Schneider, an election attorney who was Pennsylvania’s deputy secretary of elections during the 2016 election.

    White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed to reporters early Tuesday the president was referring to the SAVE Act, legislation proposed by House Republicans require citizens to show documents like a passport or driver’s license to register to vote.

    But Trump didn’t mention the legislation Tuesday.

    Trump will face an uphill battle in nationalizing elections as even some Republicans in Congress are already pushing back. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) told reporters Tuesday he disagreed with Trump on any attempt to nationalize elections, calling it “a constitutional issue.”

    “I’m not in favor of federalizing elections,” Thune said.

    Still, Trump’s comments raised alarm as his administration continues to sow doubt in the nation’s elections.

    “This is clearly a case of Trump trying to push the boundaries of federal involvement in election administration because he has a problem with any checks on his power, democracy being one of them,” said Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija, an attorney and a Democrat who chairs the Montgomery County Board of Elections.

    Trump’s comments came a week after the FBI seized ballots and voting records from the 2020 election from the Fulton County election hub in Georgia. In a statement, Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. said the county will file a motion in the Northern District of Georgia challenging “the legality of the warrant and the seizure of sensitive election records, and force the government to return the ballots taken.”

    Lisa Deeley, a Democratic member of the Philadelphia city commissioners, who oversee elections, accused Trump of trying to distract from federal agents killing two civilians in Minnesota last month.

    “We all know the President’s playbook by now. His remarks on elections are an effort to change the conversation from the fact that the Federal Government is killing American citizens in Minneapolis,” Deeley said in a statement.

    Trump has been making similar claims since 2016, when he erroneously blamed fraud for costing him the popular vote.During a debate with his 2020 opponent, Joe Biden, Trump said, “Bad things happen in Philadelphia, bad things,” viewed at the time as an attempt to sow doubt about the election results and mail voting during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Despite losing to Biden in Pennsylvania in 2020 by a little more than 80,000 votes, Trump has repeatedly claimed he actually won, lying about mail-in votes “created out of thin air” and falsely stating there were more votes than voters.

    “Every single review of every single county in the commonwealth has come back within a very small difference, if any, of the results reported back in 2020,” Kathy Boockvar, who served as Pennsylvania’s secretary of state during the 2020 election, told The Inquirer in 2024.

  • Mark Ruffalo’s ‘Task’ stuntman is now a council member | Inquirer Chester County

    Hi, Chester County! 👋

    The newest member of Kennett Square’s council was sworn in on Monday, and he’s got surprising ties to a popular HBO show. Also this week, we look at how a turnpike exit helped spur billions of dollars in economic development, two restaurants that are among the region’s under-the-radar romantic spots, plus a developer is looking to upsize plans for a proposed data center.

    We want your feedback! Tell us what you think of the newsletter by taking our survey or emailing us at chestercounty@inquirer.com.

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    A ‘Task’ stuntman is appointed to Kennett Square’s council

    Actor, director, and producer Michael Bertrando was recently appointed to fill a vacancy on Kennett Square’s council.

    Kennett Square Borough Council is getting a little brush with fame after Task stuntman Michael Bertrando was sworn in Monday to fill a vacant role, which he’ll hold until December 2027.

    The longtime Kennett Square resident is no stranger to the borough. An actor, director, and producer, Bertrando has worked at his family’s 80-year-old sub shop for decades. Outside of his work at Sam’s Sub Shop, he has also been a stuntman for Mark Ruffalo on Task.

    The Inquirer’s Brooke Schultz recently chatted with Bertrando about what attracted him to public service and some of his priorities on council.

    📍 Countywide News

    • It’s been just over 13 years since the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened Exit 320, connecting drivers to Route 29 and slashing commute times to communities like Malvern. The all E-ZPass interchange has since helped spur billions of dollars in economic development throughout Great Valley.
    • Residents have until Friday to submit comments regarding upgrades PennDot is proposing to make to parts of U.S. 30. Read more about the proposed interchange updates here.
    • Chester County and Paoli Hospitals both recently ranked among America’s 250 Best Hospitals by Healthgrades. The rankings, released last week, are awarded to the top 5% of institutions in the nation for “overall clinical excellence.”

    💡 Community News

    • Pulte Homes of Pennsylvania is looking to build a new residential community on the vacant land near Ludwigs Corner in Chester Springs at 1246 and 1320 Pottstown Pike and 603 Birchrun Road. Last month, the homebuilder submitted a conditional use application to West Vincent Township to develop Promenade Chester Springs, which would consist of 28 single-family homes and 46 townhomes, as well as a tot lot and dog park. The application is currently under review.
    • Main Line Health has received a more than $530,000 state grant that will support its planned health center in Caln Township. The center will be at the corner of Lloyd and Manor Avenues and have primary, urgent, and specialty care, as well as imaging and lab services. Plans call for a roughly 145,000-square-foot, three-story facility on 14.5 acres. It’s slated to open in the summer of 2027.
    • Construction is underway to transform the former Quality Inn and Suites at 943 S. High St. in West Chester into a senior living facility. Charter Senior Living of West Chester will be a 162-unit community with 32 memory-care, 59 senior-living, and 71 assisted-living apartments. Leasing is expected to start late this year, with the project completed in late 2027.
    • The community is mourning the deaths of two area coaches. Joe Walsh, a longtime football, wrestling, lacrosse, and tennis coach at West Chester’s Henderson High School, where he was also a health and physical education teacher before his retirement, died of cancer last week at the age of 75. He is remembered as “an inspiration,” “a great coach,” and “a positive example for many, many young people.” John Robert Rohde, an Exton resident, West Chester University alum, and former Malvern Prep and Unionville High School lacrosse coach, died last week at the age of 77. Rohde served as commissioner of the Glenmoore Eagle Youth Association Little League and was a cofounder of Lionville Youth Association Lacrosse.
    • Penn Township Park closed on Monday for construction of an inclusive playground, pickleball, basketball, and hockey courts, as well as other updates. Construction is expected to take about one year. Sports fields are expected to be added in the future.
    • A monthslong $1.3 million Peco project to upgrade the electrical distribution system is set to begin Monday in Tredyffrin Township. Between now and August, work will take place on Westwind, Coldstream, and Churchill Drives, Contention and Stuart Lanes, Winston Way, and Tory Hollow, Cassatt and Old State Roads. There may be some temporary service interruptions, which Peco says will be communicated in advance.
    • In case you missed it, a developer is looking to upsize a proposed data center at a Superfund site in East Whiteland Township, despite community pushback. Last week, the developer appeared before the planning commission with an amended proposal that calls for a more than 1.6-million-square-foot center.
    • A new vintage shop is hosting a grand opening of its storefront at 26 S. Main St. in Phoenixville on Friday. Great Scott Vintage will sell vintage clothing, decor, and housewares.
    • Penn Vet plans to expand its Chester County presence to the tune of $94 million. The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine plans to build a new lab building at the New Bolton Center in East Marlborough Township that will combine the state-funded Pennsylvania Equine Toxicology Research Laboratory and the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System. (Philadelphia Business Journal)

    🏫 Schools Briefing

    • The Tredyffrin/Easttown School District’s board of directors adopted the preliminary 2026-27 budget last week, which has a $14.9 million operational deficit. Further budget discussion will take place at a finance committee meeting on Monday.
    • Owen J. Roberts School District has released its 2026-27 academic calendar. The first day of school will be Aug. 24 and the last day will be June 4, which is comparable to the current academic year.
    • There are parent-teacher conferences next Thursday and Friday in the Phoenixville Area School District. Sign up for a time here.

    🍽️ On our Plate

    • Looking for a great date night spot? Jolene’s in West Chester and L’Olivo Trattoria in Exton are among the region’s under-the-radar romantic dining spots, according to The Inquirer’s Food reporters. The chic and modern Jolene’s blends “French-leaning food with a strong cocktail and wine list in a moody, unstuffy dining room,” while L’Olivo has a warm, familiar vibe to pair with its Northern Italian cuisine, The Inquirer’s Michael Klein reports.
    • A new takeout pizza and cheesesteak shop is planning a grand opening in West Caln this Friday. Bada Bing Steaks & Pizza is located at 691 W. Kings Highway and also offers sandwiches on house-made focaccia and wings.
    • Midway Grill in Thorndale, which is known for its hot dogs, is now under new ownership. The Zambaras family, who owned it for 60 years and across four generations, sold the Lincoln Highway establishment to the Cantalicio family effective Sunday. In a note to diners, the Zambaras family said they were grateful for the “unwavering support and loyalty” over the years.

    🎳 Things to Do

    🪴 Make Your Own Pot Workshop: Make your own 4-inch pot and then add a plant before taking it home. ⏰ Friday, Feb. 6, 6 p.m. 💵 $80 📍 The Green House, West Chester

    🛏️ Once Upon a Mattress: This comedic musical puts a spin on classic tale The Princess and the Pea. ⏰ Friday, Feb. 6-Sunday, Feb. 22, select days and times 💵 $31.60-$41.80 📍 SALT Performing Arts, Chester Springs

    👜 Renaissance Faire Flight Night: People’s Light’s first “flight night” of the year will be Renaissance-themed, with a cash bar. Attendees are encouraged to dress for the occasion. ⏰ Wednesday, Feb. 11, 6 p.m. 💵 $45 📍 The Farmhouse at People’s Light, Malvern

    🏡 On the Market

    A spacious Landenberg home with a pool and hot tub

    There’s a family room off of the kitchen, which has a chandelier, built-ins, and a stone fireplace.

    Situated on 3.6 acres, this Landenberg home offers privacy without being too far off the beaten path. The updated home has a dining room with a statement chandelier, multiple sitting rooms, and an open-concept family room with a stone fireplace that adjoins the kitchen, where there’s an island and white cabinetry offset by dark granite countertops and a glass tile backsplash. There are four bedrooms upstairs, including the primary suite, which has vaulted ceilings and a large walk-in closet. There’s also a finished basement. Outside, there’s a deck, a hot tub, and an in-ground pool. There are open houses Friday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

    See more photos of the home here.

    Price: $799,999 | Size: 4,415 SF | Acreage: 3.6

    🗞️ What other Chester County residents are reading this week:

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • Muhammad Ali’s former home is for sale for nearly $2M | Inquirer Cherry Hill

    Muhammad Ali’s former home is for sale for nearly $2M | Inquirer Cherry Hill

    Hello, Cherry Hill! 👋

    Muhammad Ali’s one-time home has hit the market again, this time with a higher asking price. Also this week, The Kibitz Room’s future remains unclear after it unexpectedly closed last week, township council has approved over $15 million in bond ordinances, plus sewer work on Kresson Road has begun and will continue for several months.

    We want your feedback! Tell us what you think about the newsletter by taking our survey or emailing us at cherryhill@inquirer.com.

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    Muhammad Ali’s former Cherry Hill home is back on the market, this time for almost $2M

    The Mediterranean-style home spans nearly 6,700 square feet and has a pool and tennis court.

    Champion boxer Muhammad Ali’s one-time Cherry Hill home has hit the market again, this time with an asking price of $1.975 million. That’s an increase from the last time the Mediterranean-style home was listed three years ago.

    The sprawling, nearly 6,700-square-foot Voken Tract home has six bedrooms, a greenhouse room, a gym, and a 12-foot wet bar. Situated on 1.5 acres, it also has an in-ground pool, a hot tub, and a tennis court.

    While the home has been updated since Ali lived there over 50 years ago, his prayer room remains.

    Take a peek inside the home.

    💡 Community News

    • One person died and a firefighter was injured over the weekend after a fire broke out at a Cherry Hill home Saturday night. (Patch)
    • Township council last week voted unanimously to pass several ordinances appropriating over $15 million for improvements and purchases. The ordinances include nearly $5.6 million for township equipment, information technology equipment, parks and recreation site improvements, facility upgrades, and property or open space acquisition; over $7.7 million for road, sidewalk, and storm drainage improvements; and over $2 million for equipment upgrades and sewer improvements. Council also passed an ordinance appropriating an additional $50,000 for sewer improvements.
    • Beck Middle School Spanish teacher Kelly Harris is thanking members of the community for their emotional and financial support after a car crashed into her family’s Mullica Hill home several weeks ago, causing a fire and destroying nearly all their possessions. She and her husband Steve are also using the unexpected attention to remember their neighbors, Tom and Lisa Hengel, who were in the SUV and died that day. (Courier Post)
    • New Jersey American Water has begun construction to replace nearly one mile of an aging water main along Kresson Road between Springdale and Cropwell Roads. The $2.5 million upgrade is expected to take until June. Crews will be working most weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
    • This week, Red White & Blue Thrift Store announced an opening date for its Cherry Hill location. The store at 949 Church Rd., formerly a Big Lots, will host a grand opening on March 26. Red White & Blue Thrift is known for its selection of discounted clothing and accessories, houseware, toys, and sports equipment.

    🏫 Schools Briefing

    • The school’s board of education will give a presentation on elementary enrollment balancing at its meeting on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The need for balancing comes as five of the district’s elementary schools face overcrowding by 2028.
    • Preschool registration opened this week and continues through Feb. 13. Find more information on registration for 3- and 4-year-old preschoolers here.
    • Superintendent Kwame Morton released the district’s latest quarterly goals update last week, outlining this academic year’s initiatives. Recent highlights include integrating career readiness standards into the curriculum, launching a new online internship portal and tracking system, and adding over 200 new preschool students at the Malberg Early Childhood Center and Joyce Kilmer Elementary School. In the next couple of months, the district is planning pre-Advanced Placement training for middle school teachers, and focusing on more career readiness initiatives, including a district-wide framework with grade-specific benchmarks. The district continues to work on elementary enrollment balancing and construction work funded by bonds.
    • East boys basketball’s top scorer Jamieson Young was scheduled for surgery last week after suffering a fracture to the inside of his right ankle in a Jan. 17 game. Young was averaging 21.8 points per game. (NJ.com)

    🍽️ On our Plate

    • Popular Jewish deli The Kibitz Room closed unexpectedly last week, and its future remains unclear, The Inquirer’s Michael Klein reports. Owner Sandy Parish has been running the Shoppes at Holly Ravine staple solo after her former husband, Neil, and son, Brandon, left to open a King of Prussia location last year.
    • Work continues on the H Mart on Route 70, including a new food court, and while there’s no reopening date yet, two new eateries have announced they’ll have locations there when it does. Jaws Topokki, which specializes in Korean dishes gimbap and topokki, is targeting a July opening date. It will be joined by Kyodong Noodles, which specializes in Korean-Chinese comfort foods like jjajangmyeon and jjambbong. Chain bakery Paris Baguette is also slated to have a location within H Mart.
    • Bahama Breeze at the Cherry Hill Mall is closing its doors this spring. Darden Restaurant Group, which owns the tropical-inspired brand, announced yesterday that it was closing or converting 28 restaurants nationwide. The Cherry Hill location is expected to remain open through April 5.
    • Looking to lock down your Super Bowl menu? The Inquirer’s reporters have put together guides to the best cheesesteaks, hoagies, tomato pies, and more. For party trays, Indeblue in the Barclay Farms Shopping Center offers an assortment of tandoori lollipop lamb chops, shashlik, and samosas, in addition to desserts. If you want wings, NJ.com put together a list of the best in the state, including two Cherry Hill spots, Dolsot House and Hen Vietnamese Eatery.
    • Looking for a romantic place to dine out this Valentine’s Day? The Courier Post recently rounded up several South Jersey spots, including Caffe Aldo Lamberti, noting the Marlton Pike spot has an award-winning wine list, seafood, steaks, pastas, and a raw bar.
    • Or if you want a sweet experience, Insomnia Cookies is offering 45-minute reserved seatings at its Cherry Hill outpost. The pop-up event takes place from 8 p.m. to midnight on Feb. 12 and 13, but seats are going fast. Order from the usual menu or try the holiday-themed pre-fixe menu that includes six cookies, three dips, and two bottles of milk.

    🎳 Things to Do

    💃 The Swing Loft Social Dance Party: Learn the popular “modern swing” at this all-levels dance class, where you can come alone or with a dance partner. ⏰ Saturday, Feb. 7, 7-11 p.m. 💵 $20 📍Storm Ballroom Dance Centre

    🎨 I Heart Art: Check out works created by some of the township’s young artists in kindergarten through eighth grade. ⏰ Tuesdays and Thursdays, Feb. 10-19, 4-7 p.m. 💵 Free 📍Croft Farm Arts Center

    🍿 Rom-Com Watch Party: Teens in sixth through 12th grade can watch a romantic comedy together. Registration is required. ⏰ Tuesday, Feb. 10, 7-8:30 p.m. 💵 Free 📍Cherry Hill Public Library

    🧁 Cocktails and Cupcakes: Get tips and hands-on experience mixing up cocktails and decorating cupcakes at this 21-and-over event. Registration is required by Feb. 8. ⏰ Wednesday, Feb. 11, 7-9 p.m. 💵 $20 📍Congregation Kol Ami

    🏡 On the Market

    A four-bedroom Short Hills home with a large backyard

    The four-bedroom home spans more than 4,200 square feet.

    Located in Short Hills, this spacious four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom home features a two-story foyer, a living room, a dining room with coffered ceilings, a step-down family room with a fireplace, an office, a den, and an eat-in kitchen with an island, granite countertops, built-in wine storage, and high-end appliances. All four bedrooms are located on the second floor, including a large primary suite with a sitting room, dual walk-in closets, and a bathroom with dual vanities and a whirlpool tub. Other features include a finished basement with a wet bar, and a deck with a retractable awning.

    See more photos of the home here.

    Price: $1.4M | Size: 4,262 SF | Acreage: 0.67

    🗞️ What other Cherry Hill residents are reading this week:

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.