It’s Friday, Philly. Don’t put away the winter boots yet: Accumulating snow is looking more likely Sunday into Monday.
National Park Service employees began restoring the slavery exhibits to the President’s House on Thursday. See how a Black history tour kept the historic site’s story alive after the Trump administration tried to erase it.
And the Philadelphia Housing Authority took over its first private-sector apartment building last year. Some tenants say the transition has not gone smoothly.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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‘We can tell the full story of America’
Almost a month after abruptly dismantling exhibits about slavery from the President’s House, National Park Service employees began reinstalling the panels late Thursday morning ahead of a court-imposed deadline.
The site’s restoration comes after weeks of community pushback and legal action against President Donald Trump’s administration, which removed the panels last month because they were deemed to “inappropriately disparage” the United States.
The exhibits may face further legal scrutiny. But the groups that have rallied for them to be reinstalled are committed to keeping the stories they tell about Black history in Philadelphia alive.
Notable quote: “We’re here and you can try and erase whatever you want, as much as you want, but guess what? There are lots of us and we’re just going to keep moving and moving and moving toward truth,” said Mona Washington, a playwright and board member for Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, which fought to develop and now protect the site.
A long troubled apartment building’s new landlord
PHA last year began buying struggling private-sector apartment buildings with a goal to expand the affordable housing supply in the city. The agency plans to fill these buildings with Section 8 voucher holders, though many still have tenants paying market-rate rents.
Tenants at its first acquisition, The Dane in Wynnefield, report a rocky transition, including lost access to a rent payment portal and delayed maintenance. A high turnover rate not seen at PHA’s other properties hints at challenges within the new model.
Still, they say, PHA is a better landlord than the company that ran the building before — and is now no longer in business.
Real estate reporter Jake Blumgart has the story.
In other housing news: A $105 million mixed-use complex with apartments is set to rise in the shadow of the Willow Grove mall.
What you should know today
- Pennsylvania State Police identified the teen who died in a crash while allegedly fleeing from troopers in a stolen vehicle in Montgomery County on Saturday.
- A street shooting in Norristown last week led investigators to discover two sex-trafficking operations, prosecutors said Thursday.
- The Upper Darby Township Council passed a resolution Wednesday to restrict cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following a resident’s death in the agency’s custody.
- In a letter to the Justice Department that was kept secret for months, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker administration’s wrote that Philly is a “welcoming city” for immigrants, but won’t stop federal enforcement.
- A high-stakes fight is brewing between the Trump administration and states such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey over the regulation of prediction markets.
- A three-year ban on puppy breeding in Philadelphia is likely to become law after City Council members on Thursday passed a bill to relieve overcrowded animal shelters.
- Haverford College has vowed to make changes to its events policy following a disturbance by protesters at an Israeli journalist’s talk on campus.
- Students are making gains at Blankenburg Elementary School in West Philly. Supporters fear closing it will threaten kids’ progress.
- About 300,000 Pennsylvania residents risk losing Medicaid next year when new eligibility rules take effect. Advocates worry too few people are aware.
Plus: Why does Philly have so many chicken bones lying around?
Welcome back to Curious Philly Friday. We’ll feature both new and timeless stories from our forum for readers to ask about the city’s quirks.
This week, we have an explainer from reporter Nate File on where the heck all these strewn-about chicken remnants are coming from. Why does it seem like every other city block is the scene of a fowl crime?
As a dog owner who must dig a bone out of a drooly mouth on just about every walk we take through West Philly, I’m thrilled to have someone to blame. Here’s the full story.
Have your own burning question about Philadelphia, its local oddities, or how the region works? Submit it here and you might find the answer featured in this space.
🧠 Trivia time
For the 800th episode of The Simpsons, the show showcased Philadelphia and parodied National Treasure. Which Philly-tied celebrity was not featured in the episode?
A) Kevin Bacon
B) Questlove
C) Taylor Swift
D) Quinta Brunson
Think you got it? Test your local news know-how and check your answer in our weekly quiz.
What and whom we’re…
🪩 Mourning: Magic Gardens creator Isaiah Zagar, who has died at 86.
⛸️ Applauding: South Jersey’s Isabeau Levito for her impressive first turn in the Olympics.
🪿 Concerned about: The 50-plus dead geese found at Alcyon Lake in Gloucester County.
🚎 Sorry to say: Some Delco SEPTA riders will have longer commutes, beginning Monday.
🏥 Remembering: When a nearly 250-year-old hospital’s closure was announced on this week in Philly history.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: State representative from Northwest Philadelphia
RICH BARBS
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Bob Brauckmann, who solved Thursday’s anagram: Morey’s Piers. A man was arrested this week in the theft of more than $175,000 worth of metal and mechanical components from the iconic Wildwood theme park.
Photo of the day
See? We’re so close to baseball season, and spring. ’Til then, be well.
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