Dana Edwards was sworn in as mayor of Narberth earlier this month.
Narberth’s new mayor may have only lived in the 4,500-person borough for five years, but he’s already got a vision for it.
Dana Edwards, 53, was sworn into office earlier this month after securing the backing of Narberth’s Democratic committee and running unopposed in both the primary and general elections.
Now the Puerto Rico native who’s lived in several other parts of the U.S. before settling in Narberth is focused on sustainable growth while maintaining the borough’s “hometown feel,” The Inquirer’s Denali Sagner reports.
When the late Kobe Bryant came to Lower Merion, he helped shape a rivalry with Chester that endured.
Decades may have passed, but a longtime rivalry between two high school basketball teams, begun in part by legend Kobe Bryant, still lives on today.
When Bryant joined the Lower Merion Aces his freshman year, the school wasn’t a basketball powerhouse. But as the program improved, it soon built a rivalry with the much-more-stacked Chester High School, so much so that their matchups would often sell out venues.
Saks Fifth Avenue’s parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, leaving some questions about the future of its stores. For the time being, the Saks on City Avenue in Bala Cynwyd will remain open while the company restructures. Here’s what we know so far.
Women’s apparel and accessories store Francesca’s, which has a location at Suburban Square in Ardmore, is reportedly closing its remaining stores after years of financial turmoil. Francesca’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 2020. (Fox Business)
Villanova University is among a handful of Pennsylvania colleges that are now paying some of its athletes directly. The move comes after a federal class-action lawsuit last year regarding student athlete compensation. Villanova said it will primarily pay athletes on its basketball teams.
Coulter Place, an apartment community at Suburban Square, is now open. The 131-unit, five-story building has a fitness center, clubroom, game room, pool, coworking spaces, and pet-care spaces with rents ranging from about $3,030 to $7,035 per month.
A handful of Philadelphia Police Department employees live in and around Lower Merion, according to a new Inquirer analysis. An increasing number of Philadelphia police employees — about a third of full-time staff — live outside the city, with four who reside in Bala Cynwyd, three in Bryn Mawr, and two each in Ardmore, Narberth, Villanova, and Wynnewood. See a map of where employees live here.
Bala Cynwyd resident Jenny Sved has been named the new executive director of Teach PA, the statewide affiliate of Jewish education advocacy organization Teach Coalition, which represents Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy and Perelman Jewish Day School.
A new pet boutique, Mila’s Pup Tienda, is coming to Ardmore, taking over the space at 18 E. Lancaster Ave.
6abc recently caught up with Carolyn Vachani, the owner of Plant 4 Good in Ardmore. When the former nurse was ready to retire, she decided to open the shop at 100 Cricket Ave. to help connect others to plants and gardening. See the segment here.
Wynnewood’s English Village recently marked a milestone, turning 100 last year, and a century later still remains a coveted, if under-the-radar spot for homebuyers. The village sits between Cherry Lane and Wister Road and spans 29 Tudor-style homes. (Main Line Today)
🏫 Schools Briefing
The district is hosting its third strategic plan community input meeting on Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Lower Merion High School cafeteria. There, members of the community can share their thoughts on the district’s strategic plan for 2026 to 2031.
Tonight is Welsh Valley’s winter choral concert. The school board will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. on Monday, and there will be tours of Harriton High for eighth grade students and their families on Wednesday, which is also course selection night. See the district’s full calendar here.
Lower Merion High School’s wrestling team recently took home third place overall in the Central League Championship Tournament, held at Harriton High School. It was the team’s best overall performance. Senior Sam Soeffing also took home first place in his competition.
🍽️ On our Plate
With a more than 700-person waitlist, a Gladwyne restaurant is surprisingly tough to get into, but it’s the best meal The Inquirer’s Kiki Aranita has eaten on the Main Line. Why’s it so difficult to score a table? Partly because Carlton Commons is in senior-living community Waverly Heights and requires residency. For those with friends or relatives there, it’s worth tagging along for the osso buco, butternut squash risotto, rigatoni alla vodka, or the signature tomato aspic.
Bikini Burger, a new eatery at 44 Rittenhouse Place in Ardmore, is hosting a ribbon cutting today at 11:30 a.m. to mark its official opening. Its menu includes burgers, milkshakes, and fries.
Looking for a non-alcoholic cocktail? Char & Stave in Ardmore has a barrel-aged “Old Fashioned,” which Philadelphia Magazine says is among the best alcohol-free sips on area menus currently, noting its barrel-aged espresso base gives it “a bourbon-like, oaky smoothness.”
🎳 Things to Do
🎶 The Music of Beyoncé and More for Kids: This kid-friendly show will feature music from the iconic artist. ⏰ Sunday, Jan. 25, 11:45 a.m. 💵 $20.44 📍 Ardmore Music Hall
🎥 The Awful Truth: Catch a screening of this Cary Grant and Irene Dunne screwball comedy. ⏰ Wednesday, Jan. 28, 7:15 p.m. 💵 $11.75-$16.25 📍 Bryn Mawr Film Institute
The stone Colonial was built in 1925 and spans over 4,000 square feet.
Built in 1925, this spacious Wynnewood stone Colonial has a classic exterior and a contemporary updated interior. The home’s first floor features a living room with a fireplace, and a dining room that opens onto the kitchen, which has a waterfall peninsula with a breakfast bar. There are four bedrooms and three full bathrooms on the second floor, and a “bonus room” on the third floor. The home also has a finished basement with a half bathroom.
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.
Swarthmore’s new mayor expects his background in emergency services management to be an asset in guiding the borough. Here’s why. Also this week, the former Crozer-Chester Medical Center has a new owner, a new bookstore specializing in rare and used books has opened in Swarthmore, plus an inclusive cafe that will employ individuals with disabilities is opening in Glen Mills. We’re also gearing up for a (potentially big) snowstorm this weekend. Follow along here for the latest forecast.
Conlen Booth was sworn in as mayor of Swarthmore earlier this month.
“If not me, then who?”
That was a phrase that kept running through Conlen Booth’s mind when contemplating whether he should run for mayor of Swarthmore. Despite initial reluctance, the Strath Haven High School grad felt he could do well in the role, thanks in part to his 25 years with the borough’s fire department, most recently as its chief.
The 42-year-old expects that experience to be valuable as Swarthmore and the surrounding communities continue to deal with the fallout from Crozer-Chester Medical Center’s closure last year. (Keep reading for more news out of Crozer-Chester.)
The former site of Crozer-Chester Medical Center has a new owner. Chariot Equities completed its $10 million purchase of the shuttered hospital yesterday and is hoping to have an agreement with a health system in the next six months to operate both a “right-sized” hospital and an emergency department there, with the first phase opening in the next two years.
Riddle Hospital got an additional $1 million in state funding this week, bringing its total to $4 million, funds that will allow for the hiring of more staff. The Media hospital, part of Main Line Health, has been allocated extra funding to help it handle an increase in patients after Crozer Health’s closure last year.
Media’s new mayor, Joi Washington, wrote a note to borough residents as she kicks off her term, highlighting her passion for walkability, community, and local businesses. As Washington settles into office, she also recently chatted with Philadelphia Magazine about how she ended up in the borough over a decade ago, its small-town feel, and her hopes for increasing pedestrian safety.
A new bookshop has opened in Swarthmore. Dirt Farm Books has taken over the space at 413 Dartmouth Ave., selling rare and used books. The shop, owned by borough resident John McIntyre, opened last week and specializes in 20th century literature, African American literature, and economics, with rare books making up about half its inventory. It also stocks an array of classics, manuscripts, and letters, and buys classic and rare booksfrom customers. The shop is currently open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It’s the second bookstore to open in the borough in recent months. Celia Bookshop opened at 102 Park Ave. in October.
More than a dozen Philadelphia Police Department employees live in Media’s 19063 zip code, according to a new Inquirer analysis. An increasing number of Philadelphia police employees — about a third of full-time staff — live outside the city, with 13 in Media, four in Wallingford, six in Swarthmore, and 18 in Springfield. See a map of where employees live here.
Renovations on the Swarthmore Veterans Memorial at the corner of Park and Dartmouth Avenues is scheduled to begin Monday. Plans call for restoring the memorial’s bronze plaques, adding ADA-accessible walkways and seating, updating benches, pavers, and landscaping, and adding a memorial garden. (The Swarthmorean)
Women’s apparel and accessories store Francesca’s, which has a location at Glen Eagle Square in Glen Mills, is reportedly closing its remaining stores after years of financial turmoil. Francesca’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late 2020. (Fox Business)
Ever have a question about the area you can’t answer? Submit it to Curious Greater Media, and one of our reporters might track down the answer.
🏫 Schools Briefing
There are early dismissals tomorrow for two Rose Tree Media schools ahead of dances: Penncrest High will let out at 11 a.m. and kick off its freshman/sophomore dance at 7 p.m., and Springton Lake Middle School will finish classes at 11:50 a.m. and have its seventh and eighth grade winter semi-formal dance starting at 6:30 p.m. Penncrest will have a course selection night next Thursday from 6:30 to 9 p.m. See the district’s full calendar here.
Wallingford-Swarthmore has a school board meeting Monday at 7 p.m. and back-to-school night next Thursday. See the district’s full calendar here.
🍽️ On our Plate
A new cafe is coming to the Concordville Town Centre in Glen Mills. Ryan’s Rise Up Cafe is slated to open in March at 4 Evergreen Dr., where it will employ individuals with disabilities, as well as provide them with training and support. The cafe is the brainchild of Jim Vail, who wanted to create an inclusive space in the community for people like his 20-year-old son Ryan, who has Down syndrome. (CBS Philadelphia)
🎳 Things to Do
😂 Chris Nee Comedy Night: The local comedian will perform a Philly-forward set and film his comedy special A Trip Down Academy Lane. ⏰ Friday, Jan. 23, 7 p.m. 💵 $25 📍The Media Theatre
🛍️ Woman-Owned Business Pop-Up Market: More than two dozen women-owned businesses will gather this weekend for a pop-up market where you can shop, make a floral bouquet, or learn more about holistic wellness. ⏰ Saturday, Jan. 24, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. 💵 Pay as you go 📍Media Town Mall vestibule and Glimmer Gifts + Goods, Media
🧊 Ice on State: Browse works of art from Ice Sculpture Philly artists, watch live demonstrations, and listen to music at this family-friendly event. ⏰ Saturday, Jan. 24-Sunday, Jan. 25, noon-5 p.m. 💵 Free 📍State Street, Media
🎺 Tri-State Jazz Society Concert: Jazz cornet and trumpet player Danny Tobias will headline this month’s concert. ⏰ Sunday, Jan. 25, 2-4:30 p.m. 💵 $10 for members, $20 for non-members 📍Community Arts Center, Wallingford
🌻 Native Plants and Pollinators of Pennsylvania: Stoneleigh naturalist Samantha Nestory will discuss the importance of lesser-known native pollinators and the plants that help support them during this lecture. ⏰ Monday, Jan. 26, 7:30 p.m. (snow date: Feb. 2) 💵 $10 for Gardners of Rose Valley members, $15 at the door📍 The Old Mill, Rose Valley
The living room has a brick fireplace and original hardwood floors.
Built in 1900, this Craftsman bungalow pays homage to its historic roots while incorporating modern upgrades. The first floor features a family room, a dining room, a living room with a brick fireplace, and a kitchen with a Viking range and green cabinetry. There are three bedrooms on the second floor, while the third floor contains the primary suite, which has a whirlpool tub and a skylight. The home also has a detached one-car garage and a fenced backyard. There’s an open house Saturday from noon to 2 p.m.
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.
The difference isn’t in the adjustments as much as it is the inherent advantage of the location of each team’s bench during the first half, according to Villanova coach Kevin Willard.
Villanova runs its offense in the first half in front of Ed Cooley and Georgetown’s bench, and the Hoyas run their offense in front of Willard and his bench.
“I get to yell their plays out,“ Willard said after Villanova’s 66-51 victory over Georgetown on Wednesday. ”The coaches all know the plays. I’ve watched Georgetown play nine times now. You know when the center is out in the corner, they’re going to run a boomerang. You know when [Malik] Mack’s on the block, it’s going to be an iso.”
Villanova used a 16-1 surge in the first four minutes to blow open just a three-point halftime lead, and there has to be more to it than the orientation of the court. Save for a few games, Saturday’s loss to St. John’s being one of the outliers, Villanova has been a solid second-half team. It entered Wednesday night with a plus-4.1 margin over its opponents in the second half. That ranked 62nd nationally and fourth in the Big East. It is not amazing, but considering there are 365 Division I teams, it’s not nothing.
There is, of course, more to it than Willard’s initial explanation.
Villanova watches a lot of film at halftime. Willard watches the offense to figure out what he wants to call in the second half, but the rest of the staff and team focus on the defensive end. There was a lot to like on that end from the first 20 minutes. It was an ugly opening frame that ended with the teams combining to shoot 15-for-54 (27.8%). Villanova’s offense looked clunky, but the Wildcats forced nine first-half turnovers from a Georgetown team that entered Wednesday on a five-game losing skid but was 15th nationally in turnover percentage.
There was less tactical messaging during the break, too.
“It’s just getting a very young team to understand, it’s all I talked about at halftime, this is Big East play,” Willard said. “They’re a really good, physical defensive team. It’s not going to be easy. We have to rebound and get out. That’s usually all the message is and just cleaning up what we’re struggling with defensively.”
Villanova allowed a 20-4 St. John’s start to the second half Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena, but Wednesday, against a lesser opponent that dropped to 1-7 in conference play, was a much different story. Georgetown turned it over four times in the first four minutes of the second half and Villanova finally got out in transition and found cleaner shots.
“That first stretch won us the game,” said Tyler Perkins, who led Villanova with 16 points.
The 16-1 spurt stretched to 29-8 midway through the second half to give Villanova its largest lead, 55-31. The defense that kept Villanova in the game during the first half carried over. The Wildcats held Mack, who averages 13.8 points, to five points on 1-for-14 shooting. The 51 points the Hoyas scored were the fewest by a Villanova opponent this season.
“I think we all knew we’d be better on offense in the second half,” said freshman point guard Acaden Lewis, who had 15 points and a season-high seven rebounds. “That’s kind of what happened. We stayed solid defensively, and the offense came around late.”
Bryce Lindsay, who hit a three-pointer from the edge of the midcourt logo in the second half, and Duke Brennan joined Perkins and Lewis in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. It was far from the cleanest offensive night from the Wildcats, who got just nine assists on their 24 makes, far below their season-long assist percentage of 53.7. But it was more than enough against a Georgetown team that Cooley said was “emotionally and physically frustrated” by Villanova in the second half.
“Villanova does what they do,” Cooley said. “They use a ball screen 118 times a game, and they took advantage of that and made some shots.
“This game is all about discipline. It’s all about connection. It’s all about emotional and mental toughness.”
One team had it Wednesday, the other didn’t. One team’s season is spiraling, the other’s continues Saturday afternoon in Hartford, Conn., where it gets another opportunity for a signature win.
Georgetown’s Caleb Williams is sandwiched between Villanova players on Wednesday.
The good part about this time of year, Willard said, is that he’s seen about all of his conference opponents on film. No. 2 UConn, he said, has a lot of veteran talent and he loves watching freshman Braylon Mullins, who attempts nearly six three-pointers per game in 26 minutes and is “always hunting.”
Villanova entered Thursday rated 24th at KenPom and 34th at Torvik, two of the primary college basketball metrics sites, and was 33rd in the NCAA’s NET rankings. The Wildcats are on a path to snapping their NCAA Tournament drought of three seasons. But what they don’t have yet is a marquee victory, due respect to Wisconsin and Seton Hall. Each major step up in competition has been met with much resistance.
“Every league game is important,” Lewis said when asked about Saturday. “It’s the same approach, same things we always do.”
If that’s not working early on, there’s always halftime.
That was the task assigned to Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky, who assumed the same position for the United States Collegiate Selects during their inaugural campaign at the 2025 Spengler Cup.
The Spengler Cup, which began in 1923 and is considered the world’s oldest invitational ice hockey tournament, features six club and national teams from around the world. It was played this year from Dec. 26-31 in Davos, Switzerland, and is annually hosted by local pro team HC Davos.
“The entire experience was tremendous,” Gadowsky said. “Everybody was curious about how we were going to do. Most [people] thought that we weren’t going to win a game. And the way the team played, the locals in Switzerland really got behind them, and you started to hear ‘USA’ chants when we walked down the street, went to a restaurant, walked into the arena.”
The coach wasn’t exaggerating. As the lone collegiate squad among four professional teams and a fifth composed of Canadian pros, the U.S. Selects were massive underdogs, expected to participate and nothing more.
After an opening-game 3-2 loss to Canada and Flyers farmhand Anthony Richard, those lowly expectations remained. That is, until the U.S. Selects stunned host HC Davos, 5-3, on Dec. 27 in a result that showcased college hockey’s growing talent. HC Davos, which leads Switzerland’s top league, featured several former NHLers, including Filip Zadina, Rasmus Asplund, and former Flyer Brendan Lemieux.
“What we learned is that college hockey is really good,” Gadowsky said. “You’re playing some of the best professional teams in Europe, with 1,000-plus NHL games on their roster. And our guys played with them tooth-and-nail.”
The coach wasn’t the only Penn Stater in Davos. Five Nittany Lions skaters — Aiden Fink, Charlie Cerrato, JJ Wiebusch, Matt DiMarsico, and Guy’s son, Mac Gadowsky — joined their coach at the Spengler Cup. The roster also had a local flair with Flyers prospect Cole Knuble (Notre Dame), Sewell’s Chris Pelosi (Quinipiac), and Philadelphia’s Vinny Borgesi (Northeastern) all making the team.
Fink and Mac Gadowsky received automatic invitations because they earned All-American honors last season. Guy Gadowsky said he selected the other three, labeled the “behind-the-back boys” for their skilled passing while playing on the same line at Penn State, because when rosters were due in November, they were three of the top six goal scorers in Division I.
Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky led the U.S. Collegiate Selects to two wins over European pro teams last month in Switzerland.
Fink, a Nashville Predators draft pick who recently became the fastest Nittany Lion to reach 100 career points, led the U.S. Selects with four goals in Switzerland. His eight points led the entire tournament and earned him recognition on the 97th Spengler Cup All-Star team.
“The experience I had [in Davos] was unforgettable,” said Fink, who tallied two points in the U.S. Selects’ victory over HC Davos. “It was my first experience [in Europe], and it was beautiful. The hockey was great.”
After dropping their first contest, the U.S. Selects rattled off consecutive wins over professional squads. Their second victory was a 5-3 win in the semifinals over HC Sparta Prague, a team in seventh place in the Czech Republic’s top professional league.
The underdogs had conquered two giants. And the Davos locals noticed and rallied behind the 25 college kids as they earned a spot in the tournament’s championship game.
“You’d be walking down the street, and every person would stop you to try to get pictures,” Fink said. “All our merchandise was sold out. [The Davos locals] were super nice to us. It was pretty cool seeing that.”
Knuble, who faced off against Fink last weekend when Notre Dame visited State College for a Big Ten series, skated alongside the Predators prospect with the U.S. Selects.
The 5-foot-10 forward lauded the local support and labeled the event “a hockey party,” one he said he will remember for the rest of his life.
Flyers prospect Cole Knuble, the son of former Flyer Mike Knuble, is someone the organization is very high on.
“The excitement in the town for the tournament was insane,” Knuble said. “I don’t think [the locals] knew anything about college hockey and expected us to not be competitive. But everywhere we went, we were stopped, and people were really curious about where we were from and how we were enjoying our time.”
The Flyers selected Knuble in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL draft. He is the son of former Flyers winger Mike Knuble, who spent five productive seasons with the organization.
👏🥈 The @USCollegeSelect may have fallen just short in the final, but what a tournament they delivered. Courage, speed, heart – and a performance that earned admiration far beyond the result.
Knuble tallied his lone Spengler Cup point in the championship game — a net-front feed to Cornell’s Ryan Walsh to knot the score at 1. But the U.S. Selects lost that game, 6-3, after a third-period surge from HC Davos and fell just short of their ultimate goal.
While they didn’t return with a trophy, they had earned the respect of the hockey world. A team of inexperienced college kids had marched into Switzerland and proved it could hang with some of Europe’s best.
And for that, it was mission accomplished.
“We definitely felt a responsibility as the first college select team [to play in the Spengler Cup],” Knuble said. “Before the tournament, we talked about how we are making an impression on people about what college hockey is, and [we] wanted to prove that this team should be back.”
Penn State’s Aiden Fink led the U.S. Collegiate Selects with four goals and the entire tournament with eight points.
Adalyn Hetzel had just celebrated her second birthday in the spring of 2024 when doctors at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia diagnosed her with an aggressive soft tissue cancer.
She endured 40 weeks of aggressive chemotherapy and a month of daily proton radiation therapy on her road to remission.
Now, the Bucks County toddler will spend the next year sharing her story as one of five ambassadors for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, one of the nation’s largest childhood cancer charities.
The California-based organization has awarded more than $369 million in research grants since 2005, with $18 million going to Philadelphia-based institutions.
The selected children and their families will attend advocacy days in D.C., to appeal to lawmakers, share their stories with the public, and spread awareness on social media.
Kristopher Hetzel, Adalyn’s father, said their goal will be to advocate for research into more effective, less toxic treatments.
While more than 80% of kids diagnosed with cancer in the United States now survive the disease, many sustain long-term side effects due to the harsh therapies. One study found that by age 45, 95% of survivors had at least one chronic health condition, and 80% had one that was disabling or life-threatening.
Adalyn will likely have severe dental issues, limited jawbone growth, and an increased risk of developing secondary cancers due to the treatment later in life.
The threat of recurrence also still looms.
“It can’t be like that for these kids. We got to come up with better treatment,” Hetzel said.
Hetzel first noticed a small nodule on Adalyn’s tongue in April 2024.
After appointments with her pediatrician, dentist, and two oral surgeons left the family without a diagnosis, they went to CHOP, where a biopsy confirmed she had a highly aggressive form of soft tissue cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma.
“All of a sudden your world becomes so small and it’s just your kid. Nothing else matters,” Hetzel said.
Adalyn and her parents, Kristopher Hetzel and Allison Verdi.
Doctors started Adalyn immediately on an intense chemotherapy regimen combining three drugs. She also received a month’s worth of daily proton beam radiation, requiring general anesthesia each session due to her age.
By the end of the 40 weeks of chemotherapy, Adalyn dropped down to the 0.4th percentile of weight. She was so immunocompromised due to the treatment that when she contracted the flu, a critical response team at CHOP had to rush in.
Doctors withheld her final chemotherapy session for fear it could be life-threatening.
Adalyn Hetzel, a 3-year-old from Southampton, Pa., received 40 weeks of chemotherapy to treat her rhabdomyosarcoma.
Being an ambassador
In April, nearly a year after her diagnosis, Adalyn was declared to be in remission. She still receives scans every three months due to the potential for recurrence.
“[Adalyn] turned back into this playful, happy, joyful toddler who finally has the energy to be herself,” Hetzel said.
Her family decided to get involved with St. Baldrick’s after benefiting from their services firsthand. Right after Adalyn’s diagnosis, Hetzel recalled being given a binder with their logo on the front that laid out a “game plan of what our life was going to look like.”
That resource, called the Children’s Oncology Group Family Handbook, is funded by St. Baldrick’s and is given to newly diagnosed families around the country.
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation funds the Children’s Oncology Group Family Handbook.
Given her age, her father said he is cautious of not crossing the line in their advocacy and making her uncomfortable, and hopes that when she is older, she will understand the importance of sharing what she went through.
Jane Hoppen, director of family relations at St. Baldrick’s, said the family always has veto power. The foundation focuses on highlighting each child’s unique personality and interests to “serve as the face and voice of the foundation.”
For example, Adalyn, who loves chocolate-dipped croissants, will be featured on its social media for National Croissant Day.
“What we want for every kid who’s diagnosed is the ability to just go back and enjoy being a kid again,” Hoppen said.
Adalyn Hetzel, a 3-year-old from Southampton, loves croissants.
Scowling under a wool cap and a hood, Robert DeJesus stood in the bitter wind outside the Sunrise Diner in Allentown last week and confessed his “big mistake”: voting for President Donald Trump in 2024.
“The guy makes ‘cookie promises,’” said DeJesus, 57, a retired construction worker and independent voter from Allentown in Lehigh County. “They’re easy made and easy broken.”
Trump’s biggest gains in the state in 2024 were concentrated in the Lehigh Valley and in Northeastern Pennsylvania. But a year into his second presidency, there are signs that his winning coalition is splintering.In interviews across five counties in the region, some voters shared their disappointment with rising grocery prices and what they see as Trump’s failure to keep his commitments.
Even while hailing some of Trump’s policies, several Republicans interviewed said they were put off by his manner as well as his stance on key issues. That disillusionment could spell trouble for Pennsylvania Republicans as they look to hold onto two key swing congressional seatsin this region in November.
Robert DeJesus of Allentown voted for President Donald Trump in 2024, but he now regrets that decision.
Explaining his problems with Trump, DeJesus said the president pledged “but didn’t deliver” lower grocery prices. And at the same time DeJesus and his family are contending with “insane” supermarket costs, he said, Trump cut taxes for billionaires with the sweeping domestic policy package he signed last year. It has made DeJesus feel overlooked and overwhelmed.
“He left nothing for the working man,” DeJesus said. “People say it’s good the price of gas went down under Trump. But how we have to live, with high food and high rent, makes no sense.”
Diana Kird, 58, a Republican who also pulled the lever for Trump, is experiencing buyer’s remorse much like DeJesus.
“I don’t know what we’re doing in Venezuela,” said the nurse from Lehighton in Carbon County as she stood outside a Giant supermarket in town.
“We need to stop getting into foreign wars,” a promise Trump made and “ignored,” Kird added.
Kird said she has not seen Trump come through on his commitments. “He’s wash-rinse-repeat for me,” she said, “saying the same things over again,” such as promising cheaper groceries, “yet doing nothing.”
Trump’s “refusal to release all the Epstein files” after saying he would was another disappointment that makes her wish she had not supported the president, she added.
Republican U.S. Reps. Ryan Mackenzie (left) and Rob Bresnahan (right)
Mackenzie and fellow freshman U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, a Republican who won his neighboring Northeastern Pennsylvania district by less than a point, are among the top targets for Democrats in November as the party hopes it can win back the House with a focus on affordability.
In a statement Wednesday, Mackenzie blamed the Biden administration for high prices and described Trump as “a vital partner” in efforts to improve the cost of living.
“We have made real progress,” he said, “reducing gas prices to their lowest level since COVID, keeping inflation below 3%, and delivering real tax relief for every American.”
Bresnahan’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Both Trump and Vice President JD Vance barnstormed throughthe regionlast month, seeking to counteract Democrats’ affordability message, which Trump has bemoaned as a “hoax.”
But recent moves by Mackenzie and Bresnahan show the two Republicans are giving the issue more weight and seeking to distance themselves from Trump on the high cost of living ahead of tough contests in November.
“The break with the president on healthcare wasn’t surprising. Both men are feeling the heat from constituents,” said Chris Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion.
Borick noted that Trump’s 2024 win in the state was due in large part to his gains with voters of color, younger voters, and independents. Those same voters could be crucial to determining how Pennsylvania votes in the next election.
“But now they’re disappointed.”
Trump is ‘fearless’ and ‘honest’
There were warm feelings for Trump at the Coop, a popular diner in Coopersburg, a town just outside Allentown in Lehigh County.
“Trump’s a confident and honest man who knows business, and made a lot of money. I so admire him. And we need him,” saidTiffany Osmun, 27, who works as a host at the restaurant.
“He’s fearless, and not afraid of what he has to do,” Osmun said.
She plans to vote for Mackenzie in November, she said, adding, “I won’t be voting for any Democrat in the midterms.”
And if Trump ever popped up in another election, Osmun said, “I’d vote for him again.” In his Pennsylvania speech last month, Trump referenced running for a third term, despite constitutional barriers.
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Other Trump voters, however, acknowledged frustrations withthe first year of his second presidency — even if they are pleased with most of Trump’s policies.
“I don’t like his personality,” saidBud Hackett, 72, a semiretired construction business owner who lives in Bethlehem.
Hackett praised Trump’s moves to curtail immigration and shrink the size of the federal workforce, but he bristled at other actions.
“I’d say over the last year, he’s done maybe 100 things, 70 of which will result in people’s lives being better off. The other 30 have to do with stuff like building a huge ballroom [after tearing down the East Wing of the White House] for his giant, weird ego that I can’t buy into.”
Trump may have generated a few problems on the home front, conceded soft-drink merchandiser Bobby Remer, a 31-year-old resident of Palmerton in Carbon County. But the president more than compensates by reminding the world just how powerful the United States can be, he said.
Remer supports the president’s attacks on boats allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, as well as Trump’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
“He’s done great militarily, throwing our swag around,” Remer said. “It’ll show China, which floods America with fentanyl to wipe out our military-aged men with addiction, that we have a hammer that we’ll use against any nation trying to destroy us.”
But pocketbook issues could matter more in November to other voters — especially after Trump made attacking Democrats on inflation a major theme of his 2024 campaign.
An October pollfrom Franklin and Marshall College asked voters in the Lehigh Valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania how they would compare their financial status with a year ago. Around 29% of Republicans said they were better off, while 34% said they were worse off, with 37% saying they were in the same position.
Among voters listed as independents “or something else” (such as a third party), 14% said they were better off, 32% said they were worse off, and 55% said they remained the same. Nearly half of Democrats said they were worse off, with 9% saying things were better and 43% saying they were the same.
“Things definitely got bad under Trump. He’s heading us toward dictatorship,” said Malinda Brodt, 65, a Democrat who lives in Saylorsburg in Monroe County, which had the biggest shift to Trump in the state in 2024.
Several Trump voters who were interviewed heaped praise on the president for lowering prices — despite mixed results — and a few quoted Trump’s speech in Mount Pocono that referred to affordability as a hoax.
“He’s gotten down the cost of living, that’s for sure,” said Carol Solt, 80, retired from working in a bait-and-tackle shop in Lehighton. “He keeps his promises.”
While gas and egg prices have decreased in the last year, the cost of food overall rose 3.1% last month compared with December 2024. Increased prices for beef (1%), coffee (1.9%), and fruits and vegetables (0.5%) led the way, according to consumer price index data released earlier this month.
Ultimately, Kird, the Lehighton voter, concluded before she entered her Giant supermarket that the good times the president assured Americans they would see have yet to materialize.
“Life is just more expensive under Trump,” she said.
As certainly as Bill Murray’s character in Groundhog Day awakes to “I Got You Babe” every morning at 6 a.m., every year around this time, PETA calls for Punxsutawney Phil to be retired to a sanctuary and replaced by some perennially preposterous proxy.
This year the animal-rights organization has offered to replace Phil with “a giant, state-of-the-art, 3D projection hologram of a groundhog” like he was Tupac Shakur.
The best part of this proposal is that this year, PETA included an artistic rendering of its idea, which shows that if hologram Phil predicts six more weeks of winter, he will be blue and surrounded by snowflakes, and if he predicts an early spring, he will be pink and surrounded by flowers.
Either way, this would be one mammoth marmot. Hologram Phil’s paws appear to be about the size of a human head, which, if you’ve ever encountered a groundhog in real life, is both an adorable and terrifying prospect.
PETA even says the hologram would come “complete with vocal weather predictions,” which I also shudder to think about. Groundhogs sound like squeaky dog toys, which is perhaps not the best sound to rally a drunken crowd in a small Pennsylvania town at the crack of dawn.
In response to the proposal, Gov. Josh Shapiro — a noted fan of Phil who’s hosted the wondrous whistle-pig at the governor’s residence and has attended Groundhog Day celebrations in Punxsutawney — posted a photo of Phil on X this week with the words “DONT TREAD ON ME.”
I reached out to the Governor’s Office to see if Pennsylvania’s boss hog was serious about his support of the state’s famous groundhog.
“He is indeed very serious about his defense of Phil,” Alex Peterson, a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office, told me.
Prince or a pawn?
PETA’s position, as stated in a letter from founder Ingrid Newkirk to Tom Dunkel, president of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club’s Inner Circle, is that groundhogs are timid prey animals who want to avoid humans at all costs.
“They dislike human smells, fear loud noises, abhor gatherings, and prefer to stay in their burrows,” Newkirk wrote. “Yet every year, this terrified little animal is subjected to loud announcers and noisy crowds and held up and waved around without any regard for his feelings, welfare, or instincts.”
I see their point — Phil never particularly looks happy to predict the weather. Mostly he just seems confused at why he’s being asked to do so and what this life is all about.
Punxsutawney Phil looks bewildered as he’s asked to predict the weather at Groundhog’s Day.
Plus, there are plenty of other Groundhog Day traditions that happen in Pennsylvania and across the country without a real animal. At the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge in Southwest Philly, a puppet named Tinicum Tim pops out of the ground to predict the weather. In Reading, a bucktooth groundhog mascot with a fancy pink bow gives her prognostication atop the Reading Pagoda. And in Quarryville, a mounted taxidermy groundhog gives predictions from the top of a manure spreader called the “Pinnacle of Prognostication.”
Michael Venos, who runs the website Countdown to Groundhog Day and has been to many of the alternative celebrations, said he considers the events “just as fun” and the “predictions just as valid.”
Tinicum Tim, a groundhog puppet, predicts the weather during Groundhog Day festivities at the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge in 2024.
Venos said he shares PETA’s concerns for Phil and all prognosticating animals.
“While I’m sure in the past, the animals’ welfare was not the primary concern for the people who organize these events, I believe, and am trusting, that nowadays, the utmost care is being taken to make sure that the animals are safe and well cared for,” he said. “Punxsutawney Phil in particular seems to live a very cushy life and appears to be well taken care of.”
The perks
Phil lives one of the bougiest lives of any Pennsylvania resident, and who’s to say he woodchuck it all away, if given the choice?
According to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, there’s only ever been one Phil. He drinks a special “elixir of life” every summer, which has kept him young for going on 140 years. He does not, however, share that elixir with his wife or two kids, a burrowed secret that’s shadier than seeing your shadow on a cloudy day.
When not predicting the weather, Phil lives with his family in a climate-controlled burrow in the town library, which is connected by underground tunnels to a brand-new home the Inner Circle had built for them last year at Gobbler’s Knob.
Two homes and a secret underground tunnel network — in this economy?!? Lucky.
I see both sides of the argument here, but given that our second-most famous groundhog in Pennsylvania is already computer-generated and heavily into gambling, I say we keep the real Phil around for now.
If you see a persistent pothole on your street or a raccoon in your attic, who are you going to call? In 2025, for over half a million requests, the answer was 311.
“311 is your connection to city services,” said Daniel Ramos, who works in community engagement and outreach for the call center. Philly311 helps city residents with non-emergencies by answering questions and transferring inquiries to the appropriate city department or community partner.
But there are some cases where 311 might not be the best number to call. Test your knowledge of whether you can 311 that or not.
Your neighbor is being unbearably loud.
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
You can first try going over and asking them to keep it down, but if that doesn’t stop the awful din, Daniel Ramos says to call 911. Even if you do call 311 first, “noise complaints from an individual or a residential source would be transferred to 911,” he said.
Despite this, 311 received over 1,600 noise complaints in 2025. The Philadelphia Police Department, on the other hand, heard 10 times the number of grievances over loud music.
You just saw someone leave their dog’s poop in front of your stoop.
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
You would hope this never happens, but in 2025, 311 received 66 information requests about dog waste on the curb.
That said, the Animal Care and Control team is the department to contact. ACCT handles local animal ordinance violations. According to a city ordinance on animal control enforcement, the dog’s owner is required to clean up after their pet. An ACCT control officer can follow up with an investigation as long as a location of the animal is included in the complaint.
You accidentally started a small fire in your kitchen.
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If it is a small stovetop fire and you decide to fight it, the National Fire Protection Agency recommends sliding a lid over the pan and turning off the burner, waiting until the pan has completely cooled before uncovering it.
Otherwise, get out, close the door behind you if you can to contain the fire, and call 911 from outside your home. Even a small fire can spread quickly.
Your smoke alarm needs replacing.
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
You can request a new smoke alarm through 311.
In 2025, 311 processed 3,096 smoke detector requests, so if you live in a one- or two-family home that you own and want a free smoke alarm replacement, submit a request to 311 and the Philadelphia Fire Department can help you. Just know that it might take up to 90 days until PFD does the installation.
On the other hand, if you rent, your landlord is responsible for placing fire alarms on every level of the building. If they’ve failed to do that, you can also file a report with 311 as well.
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On your drive home, you get stuck behind a parked car on a single-lane road.
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A parked car blocking traffic is considered an immediate hazard. “We don’t dispatch,” said Daniel Ramos, so he recommends residents call 911 instead.
311 can help you report other nonemergency parking violations like double-parking or parking on a sidewalk to the Philadelphia Parking Authority or the Philadelphia Police Department. You can also use Laser Vision – an app developed by Philly Bike Action – to send a parking violation report directly to the PPA.
There’s a car on your block that’s been in the same parking spot for months and trash is starting to build up under and around it.
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311 can help, but it might take some time before you see the car moved. “Up to 120 business days,” said Daniela Ramos (no relation to Daniel Ramos), the city’s 311 contact center manager. “And that doesn't include holidays or weekends.”
In 2025, the center received nearly 28,000 abandoned vehicle complaints – the third most common service request – and over 3,400 questions about abandoned vehicles. According to state legislation, a car is considered abandoned if it has been sitting empty on public property for over 48 hours.
To process the request, Daniela Ramos said residents need to provide details such as the abandoned car’s make, model, color, tag number, and location in their 311 report. The Philadelphia Police Department will then determine if that car is in fact abandoned.
Your trash can went missing after pickup.
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
If the missing trash can was a city-issued and city-owned Philacan, 311 can connect you with the Department of Sanitation to get you a new one.
Even if you start some beef with your neighbor by accusing them of stealing your trash can, 311 can offer resources. “We have the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission,” said Ramos, referencing the city’s free conflict resolution services. “If it's a neighbor dispute, we will give them the contact information for that organization.”
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If you want to submit a 311 request, you can use the Philly311 app or website, or send an email to philly311@phila.gov. If you want to call them instead, their call center operates between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.
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Conlen Booth doesn’t typically like to be in the spotlight.
Booth considers himself a “behind-the-scenes” guy who typically shies away from the limelight. Yet on Jan. 6, surrounded by friends, family, and colleagues, Booth was sworn in as Swarthmore’s mayor.
Booth, 42, brings more than two decades of emergency management experience to the job, including overseeing emergency services for major hospitals and governments. He’s also spent the past 25 years with Swarthmore’s fire department, most recently as chief. Booth is Delco-bred — a Nether Providence kid, a graduate of Strath Haven High School, and a cheerleader for his home borough of Swarthmore.
As the borough contends with the fallout of last year’s shuttering of Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Taylor Hospital, budget shortfalls, and potential fire department consolidation, Booth believes his background in emergency services and deep ties to Swarthmore make him the right guy for the job.
Mayor Conlen Booth in downtown Swarthmore on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026.
‘If not me, then who?’
Booth got into local politics the way many do — reluctantly.
It took nudging from friends and family to step into the mayoral race. But the COVID-19 pandemic revealed a need for municipal leaders who understand emergency management and can govern in a crisis, Booth says.
An age-old phrase kept circulating in his mind: “If not me, then who?”
Booth competed against borough council members Kristen Seymore and David Boonin in the Democratic primary. Boonin dropped out of the race in January 2025. In February, the borough’s Democratic committee voted to endorse Booth’s candidacy 15-4, and Seymore dropped out.
The committee’s endorsement is powerful in Swarthmore. Democratic candidates who do not receive an endorsement are discouraged from running, and in the liberal-leaning town, there are seldom competitive general elections. Booth replaced Marty Spiegel, who had led the borough since 2019.
Who is Mayor Booth?
Booth was born in Harrisburg and moved to Delaware County at age 2. He grew up down the street from Nether Providence Elementary School and spent summers down the Shore with his close-knit extended family and collection of family dogs.
His maternal grandfather, Joseph Labrum, was a longtime judge and attorney in Media. Booth remembers visiting him in his chambers and watching him in the courtroom.
“I think seeing him in his role as a judge was always something that fascinated me,” he said.
Booth and his partner, Tracy, met working in healthcare and have been together for around 15 years. They live with Huckleberry, their Australian cattle dog.
Booth became interested in emergency services in high school. He set his sights on becoming a doctor and spent his teenageyears working on an ambulance.
Four days before he moved into his freshman dorm at the University of Pittsburgh, he watched a good friend die in front of him. The goal changed from enrolling in medical school to just making it through college.
“It just sort of rattled things,” he said.
Mayor Conlen Booth with his dog, Huckleberry, in downtown Swarthmore on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026.
Booth graduated from Pitt in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in emergency medicine, an emerging field at the time. He earned his paramedic certification and learned the business-side of managing emergency medical teams.
He returned home and took a job with the now-shuttered Delaware County Memorial Hospital, his first role in what would become a long career in emergency medicine. In 2019, he was anemergency response shift supervisor at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery during the massive explosion that left five people hurt and ended up shuttering the facility (Booth describes it as a “pretty insane period” in his life). Booth later spent four years as the senior director of emergency preparedness and emergency medical services at Crozer. He most recently worked as a consultant helping get supplies and meals to recently arrived refugees and asylum-seekers in New York City.
In tandem with his career in emergency management, Booth has served as a volunteer in Swarthmore’s fire department since 2000, working his way up from rookie firefighter to chief. Last year, hehelped developthe Advanced Life Support ambulance partnership with neighboring communitiesthat has filled gaps for residentsafter the Crozer closures.
Pat Francher, a longtime Swarthmore resident and community organizer, said Booth has the “awareness and perspective” that comes from a “real in-depth involvement in community welfare.”
“I’m terrible about saying no to people when they ask me to do something,” Booth joked.
This summer, Booth suffered a serious, non-work-related injury. He’s been in recovery since, and has come a long way.
“It could have been so much worse,” Booth said. “I have a lot to be thankful for.”
The SEPTA Regional Rail station in Swarthmore on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, during the second snowfall of the weekend. The station is between downtown Swarthmore and Swarthmore College and serves the Media/Wawa Line.
What’s next for Swarthmore?
Booth sees educating borough council about the community’s emergency medical needs as a large part of his job as mayor.
Jill Gaeski, borough council president, called Booth “the perfect guy” to help the 6,200-person borough navigate the challenges that lie ahead.
The shuttering of Crozer’s hospitals continues to impact access to medical care. At the same time, the Garden City (Nether Providence and Rose Valley), South Media, and Swarthmore fire companies are in discussions about a possible merger.
“[Booth] can really help us understand the pain points and where the sweet spots are,” Gaeski said.
Booth says he wants to be a cheerleader for the borough, bringing in tourism and economic growth in a way that maintains Swarthmore’s small-town feel.
He also hopes to reengage Swarthmore College’s student body, which he says has become less civically involvedas the years have passed.
“I already feel sentimental about this town,” Booth said, citing the people, restaurants, traditions, and community events that make his hometown special.
“How do we bolster all of these things and how do we engage more people?”
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.
President Donald Trump‘s plans for bringing homeownership within reach of more Americans involve pushing for lower interest rates on home loans and credit cards, and banning large institutional investors from buying single-family homes.
In his address Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump outlined four policies his administration is pursuing in a bid to make homeownership more affordable. Each had been previously mentioned by him or his administration in recent weeks, part of a broader push to address affordability generally, a hot-button issue with voters heading into the midterms.
The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. The combination of higher mortgage rates, years of skyrocketing home prices and a chronic shortage of homes nationally following more than a decade of below-average home construction have left many aspiring homeowners priced out of the market. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes remained stuck last year at 30-year lows.
In his remarks, Trump stressed the need to lower interest rates on home loans and credit cards in order to give aspiring homebuyers more financial flexibility to save up for a down payment on a home and more purchasing power when it comes time to buy.
“We can drop interest rates to a level, and that’s one thing we do want to do,” said Trump. “That’s natural. That’s good for everybody. You know, the dropping of the interest rate, we should be paying a much lower interest than we are.”
Trump noted that he has directed the federal government to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds, a move he said would help reduce mortgage rates. Trump said earlier this month that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have $200 billion in cash that would be used to buy mortgage bonds. However, some economists have said such a move would likely have only a minimal impact on mortgage rates.
Trump, who spent much of last year demanding that the Federal Reserve lower interest rates, also reiterated that he will be announcing a new Fed chair soon to replace Jerome Powell, whose term as chair is due to end in May.
“I think they’ll do a very good job,” he said.
Still, Fed rate cuts don’t always translate into lower mortgage rates. That’s what happened in the fall of 2024 after the central bank cut its main rate for the first time in more than four years. Instead of falling, mortgage rates marched higher, eventually cresting above 7% in January this year. At that time, the 10-year Treasury yield was climbing toward 5%.
More recently, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage was at 6.06% last week, its lowest level in more than three years, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.
While lower mortgage rates help boost homebuyers’ purchasing power, the biggest hurdle many aspiring homeowners face is being able to save up for a down payment.
To that end, Trump said he is asking Congress for legislation that would mandate credit card issuers cap interest rates at 10% for one year — after the industry ignored his demand earlier this month that they implement the cap by Jan. 20. The average rate on credit cards is around 21%, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Trump also reiterated that he wants to block large institutional investors from buying single-family homes, so that Americans don’t have to compete with such well-funded rivals when they shop for a home.
“Homes are built for people, not for corporations, and America will not become a nation of renters,” he said.
While touting his plans to open up the housing market to more Americans, Trump stressed that he didn’t want to take any actions that would tip the housing market too far in favor of buyers at the expense of millions of homeowners who have benefited from strong home equity gains.
“Every time you make it more and more and more affordable for somebody to buy a house cheaply, you’re actually hurting the value of those houses, obviously, because the one thing works in tandem with the other,” he said, adding: “Now, if I want to really crush the housing market, I could do that so fast that people could buy houses, but you would destroy a lot of people that already have houses.”
Trump didn’t specify which policies would cause that to happen.
Trump issued an executive order late Tuesday directing his administration to review the laws that govern how big institutional investors make large purchases of single-family homes and determine whether such investors are engaging in anti-competitive practices.
The order, which exempts companies that build homes for rent, also includes provisions to give ordinary home shoppers the opportunity to buy foreclosed homes before investors do and bars government housing agencies from guaranteeing, insuring, or otherwise facilitating large institutional investors from buying single-family homes.
Still, it’s unclear how the administration will define a large investor. And while some metro areas, like Atlanta and Phoenix, have a larger share of corporate-owned single-family homes for rent, the vast majority of rental houses are owned by small individual investors, which wouldn’t be barred from buying more homes.
“It probably won’t make a noticeable impact on the housing market,” said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin.
Trump was expected to give more details about his housing policy in the speech, but devoted most of it to other subjects. Kevin Hassett, director of Trump’s National Economic Council, told Bloomberg that Trump was just “foreshadowing” an upcoming policy announcement. The White House is reportedly considering a new way for Americans with a 401(k) retirement savings plan to fund the down payment on a home, among other policies.
