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  • City budget cuts force Mural Arts and Philadelphia Cultural Fund to slash programs

    City budget cuts force Mural Arts and Philadelphia Cultural Fund to slash programs

    In past years, the city’s budget process has followed a certain pattern for Mural Arts Philadelphia and other groups.

    The mayor’s proposed budget lists city funding at one level; City Council and others advocate for modifications at a higher level; and the budget goes back to the mayor and is finalized with the higher allocation in place.

    This year was different.

    Philadelphia’s nationally acclaimed program that puts colorful murals in neighborhoods and provides jobs was hoping for a boost in city funding.

    Instead, the budget ultimately agreed to by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration and City Council cut funding to Mural Arts — from $5.1 million in fiscal year 2026 to $3.7 million in 2027.

    Likewise the Philadelphia Cultural Fund. The group — which awards hundreds of grants to arts groups throughout the neighborhoods — was looking for increased funding in the city’s newly approved $7.1 billion budget for the fiscal year starting July 1.

    But the arts nonprofit, established by the city recently, learned that it will get substantially less — $3.5 million instead of the $5 million it received from the city for the fiscal year now ending.

    As a result, both groups say they will have to make deep cuts to programs.

    Philadelphia’s arts and culture sector had greeted the start of Parker’s term 2½ years ago with optimism for increased funding. Today, it is “alarmed” by the cuts to Mural Arts and the Cultural Fund, said Patricia Wilson Aden, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

    “We always say that your budget tells a story, and I have to say that the cultural community is disappointed and frustrated with the story being told by this FY27 budget,” she said. “Cutting the budget of signature programs like Mural Arts by 26% or decreasing funding to the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, that’s going to have ramifications throughout the city.”

    Parker was not available for comment, a spokesperson said.

    Valerie V. Gay (left) chief cultural officer with the City’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, and finance director Rob Dubow (right) testify at a Philadelphia City Council hearing, Aug. 8, 2024 on the collapse of the University of the Arts.

    Valerie V. Gay, the city’s chief cultural officer, said it was the city’s view that funding for the two groups had remained flat from 2026 to 2027, since the base allocation stayed the same and it was only the added amount that did not come through — though she allowed that “absolutely I can see how it can be perceived.”

    A ripple effect

    The resulting cuts at both groups promise to be substantial. The Cultural Fund will be forced to reduce the number of grants it had been expecting to distribute in the coming year, from 332 to 232. It has changed its eligibility requirements, which will eliminate grants to a pool of midsize organizations currently eligible.

    “It’s going to be a ripple effect. People are going to feel it and communities are going to feel it,” said Philadelphia Cultural Fund executive director Gabriela Sanchez.

    “An investment in the Philadelphia Cultural Fund is more than a budget line item,” Sanchez wrote in a statement distributed by the group. “Funding to PCF represents how the city values neighborhood theaters, cultural centers, museums, arts education programs, festivals, dance companies, community storytelling initiatives, music programs, and cultural traditions that bring Philadelphians together. These spaces are where young people discover their creativity, where seniors find connection, where communities celebrate their heritage, and where residents gather across lines of difference.”

    Jane Golden (center right) speaks with press at the Wawa Welcome America media preview for the Philly Fair 250, outside the Please Touch Museum in West Philadelphia, June 18, 2026. Mural Arts held a ceremonial unveiling of a 10-story-high mural replica, originally titled ‘CityKids Speak On Liberty,’ and created by Keith Haring.

    Mural Arts director Jane Golden declined to comment, but an initial assessment from the group obtained by The Inquirer says that “hundreds of residents in at least 15 Philadelphia communities will lose the opportunity to develop public art projects,” and that opportunities for paid work, job training, and mentorship through the Mural Arts Restorative Justice program will be reduced by 25%.

    Mural Arts will also have to cut by 75% its program of restoring and preserving the city’s murals, “putting at risk community landmarks that took years and significant public investment to create,” the impact statement reads.

    Of the program reductions at both groups, Gay said: “I am always sad that any cuts are made or that any organizations are unable to do the work they thought they were going to be able to do. That’s always a sad time for us, and I’m looking forward to when we are a fully funded sector.”

    A city spokesperson was unable to provide a full list of groups that in past years had received higher allocations after advocacy from City Council and others, but this year did not.

    What’s behind the cuts

    Aden says arts and culture has seen some significant recent “wins” from city government. Among them is the advancement of a referendum that, if approved by the mayor and then by voters this fall, would enshrine the city’s office of arts and culture, called Creative Philadelphia, in the City Charter.

    The city has approved $500,000 a year to develop and implement a cultural plan for Philadelphia that would document financial needs and could identify potential pathways to establishing funding.

    The ‘Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design’ exhibition at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, Nov. 1, 2025.

    Sometimes the city’s support is for regular operations, and other times it is for specific capital projects. In an unusually large commitment, the city has pledged $50 million to the African American Museum in Philadelphia for its relocation to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

    The city is providing nearly $32.5 million to arts and culture in FY27, according to a list provided by Parker’s office. While that total includes small items that might seem mundane — paying utility bills at various facilities, for instance — it also shows multimillion-dollar allocations to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Dell Music Center, and Philadelphia Zoo.

    But the arts and culture sector often finds itself fighting for adequate funding in the annual budget process. Arts leaders and others say it has been standard practice in recent memory that funding is listed at one level in the mayor’s proposed budget and after City Council testimony in budget hearings ends up being higher.

    This year, the mayor “could have funded [the arts] at a higher amount,” as she did last year, but did not do so, Councilmember Rue Landau said.

    The cuts came after a budget that passed without a series of tax increases proposed by Parker, including a $1 tax on rideshare services, after failing to win support from City Council. After Council signaled it would reject Parker’s tax proposals, the administration would not agree to any last-minute line items for new funding requests from lawmakers.

    Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, a consistent arts supporter who, like Landau, is an ex-officio Mural Arts board member, said that with the lack of new tax revenue and the city’s extra allocation of $48 million to cover the Philadelphia School District’s budget shortfall, the funding pie for other allocations got smaller.

    “This budget year, a lot of attention and advocacy went toward schools,” Thomas said. The funding cuts to Mural Arts and the Cultural Fund were “extremely unfortunate,” he said, “and I wish we could have done something different.”

    The need for ‘predictable, stable, reliable’ funding for the arts

    While the city’s budget is now final, there is another potential window of opportunity for funding through a midyear budget transfer process in which the city might see expenditures in certain areas coming in lower than expected, and then transfer money from those categories to other areas.

    Asked whether funds might be restored through a budget transfer to Mural Arts or the Cultural Fund, Gay said:

    “I think anything is on the table, but I also think nothing is guaranteed.”

    Patricia Wilson Aden, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, at S. Broad Street and Walnut along the Avenue of the Arts, Feb. 15, 2023.

    Any restoration of funds would happen after arts groups have already put cuts in place, and this kind of unpredictability “makes planning by these organizations very, very difficult,” Aden said.

    “The practice of underfunding the arts and having Council and other entities have to go on an advocacy campaign to increase funding is illogical,” Landau said. “It is clear as day that we should be supporting the arts with additional funding every single year, so we don’t have to go through this and it won’t ever be a question mark for them.”

    What is really needed, Aden said, is a dedicated arts fund in Philadelphia and the region.

    “We’ve seen other regions benefit from this predictable, stable, reliable funding. And instead, here in Philadelphia, each year we have this conversation about increases and decreases and their impact. We are sometimes left to the will and whim of elected officials, and we would like to take the creative economy out of the political realm and put it solidly within our larger civic interest, so that it is stable and has the investment that is required to reach its full potential.”

    Staff writer Anna Orso contributed to this article.

  • Parts of Fairmount Park were not only the site of America’s first paper mill, but also the country’s first company town

    Parts of Fairmount Park were not only the site of America’s first paper mill, but also the country’s first company town

    We take paper for granted now. But in the late 1600s, when Pennsylvania’s founder William Penn recruited German papermaker and preacher William Rittenhouse to manufacture the writing parchment in the New World, paper was a luxury.

    England’s King William III made it difficult for his subjects — at home and in the Americas — to have it. Like many monarchs of his day, he believed it was the Crown’s duty to record history.

    The English imported paper from other European countries. So, to make matters worse, colonists who managed to appeal to the king for paper were double and triple taxed. They got fed up and went about securing their own paper to document the goings on in the government, inform citizens, record history, and ultimately plan a revolution.

    Artist Ava Haitz’s No. 1 honors the country’s first paper mill, celebrating the invention and craftsmanship that made widespread written communication possible.

    In 1690, Rittenhouse partnered with Philadelphia’s first printer, William Bradford, to build America’s first paper mill, situated in northwest Philadelphia and powered by the Monoshone Creek, a tributary of the Schuylkill.

    The paper mill will be celebrated this Saturday at Historic RittenhouseTown, part of a series of weekly “Firstival” celebrations. Firstivals are the Philadelphia Historic District’s yearlong birthday nod to places and events with Philadelphia roots. The day parties are a hallmark of this year’s Semiquincentennial fetes.

    At the Rittenhouse mill, paper was made from linen rags fashioned from flax grown in Germantown, that were broken down and shaped into sheets. The mill grew quickly as Rittenhouse, America’s first Mennonite bishop, provided paper for Bibles and Quaker and Mennonite texts in German.

    An aerial view of RittenhouseTown circa 1840-1860. The site eventually grew to more than 200 acres.

    Rittenhouse’s first paper mill was destroyed by a flood, said Alexander Jones, preservation and education manager at Historic RittenhouseTown.

    Then “Rittenhouse rebuilds and he buys out his partner,” Jones said. “The paper mill becomes his sole enterprise. Instead of hiring workers, he recruits his family and it becomes a giant company town. There is a church, a blacksmith, stone houses, a bake house, and more than 40 buildings with five or six of them under what is now Lincoln Drive.”

    RittenhouseTown’s paper mill was the only source of paper in America for more than 40 years, Jones said. It would grow to more than 200 acres.

    David Rittenhouse — Rittenhouse’s great-grandson and the astrologer, clockmaker, and first director of the U.S. Mint after whom Rittenhouse Square is named — was born in his family’s RittenhouseTown homestead in 1732.

    The town thrived for more than a century.

    By the mid-1800s, the paper mill began to slow down as dyes from textile and carpet manufacturers and chemicals from blacksmithing started to pollute the Schuylkill. The filthy water made it nearly impossible to produce good quality paper at the mill.

    The Fairmount Park Commission began acquiring parts of RittenhouseTown through a series of purchases and donations from 1890 to 1917. The city demolished many of the town’s buildings, including a barn that, Jones said, was razed and rebuilt within a year.

    RittenhouseTown’s homestead and bakehouse. The first permanent home for the Rittenhouse family and birthplace of David Rittenhouse, great-grandson of William Rittenhouse for whom Center City’s Rittenhouse Square is named.

    By that time, however, the Rittenhouse family had spread throughout the Philadelphia region from Center City to Blue Bell, Jones said.

    Today, RittenhouseTown spans 20 acres nestled in Fairmount Park right behind Lincoln Drive. Six of the original buildings remain, serving as a reminder that RittenhouseTown was the first building block of American industry.

    “The paper mill really got the ball rolling for Philadelphia,” Jones said. “And from that first came so many other American firsts in Philadelphia: the first Mennonite bishop, the first company town, and America’s first director of the U.S. Mint.”

    This week’s Firstival is Saturday, June 27, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., at Historic RittenhouseTown, 208 Lincoln Drive.

    The Inquirer is highlighting a “first” from the Philadelphia Historic District’s 52 Weeks of Firsts program each week. A “52 Weeks of Firsts” podcast, produced by All That’s Good Productions, drops every Tuesday.

  • Would you try this cheesesteak-flavored olive oil? We did.

    Would you try this cheesesteak-flavored olive oil? We did.

    “It tastes like oil from a real cheesesteak wrapper,” proclaims the slogan of Mama-Tee’s Philly cheesesteak-flavored extra virgin olive oil.

    Mama-Tees are community fridges, notable for their bright yellow paint jobs, that are scattered around Philadelphia. The cheesesteak oil ($19) is part of a fundraiser to combat food insecurity locally, along with three other flavored oils: Basil Bliss, Truffle Love, and Pepper Pleaser. Proceeds go to helping fill the fridges with food. So if the oil prompts cheesesteak-flavored burps, it would do so in the name of a noble cause.

    We at The Inquirer had to do a taste test.

    Is this merely a novelty or could it have legitimate culinary applications?

    The ingredients of the Philly cheesesteak-flavored oil intriguingly are only “extra virgin olive oil” and “onion flavor.” How could these two ingredients, neither of which involves cheese nor steak, encompass the nuanced experience of consuming an actual cheesesteak? The Inquirer sought to get to the bottom of these questions.

    The first round of cheesesteak experts was summoned.

    “It smells like a deli case,” said food editor Margaret Eby. “There is a cheesiness to it. It’s like that cheese oil that gets trapped in a charred, upturned pepperoni cup on your pizza.”

    “I think it should be called ‘hoagie oil,’” said food reporter Beatrice Forman.

    “It is like unwrapping a hoagie,” agreed critic Craig LaBan. “When you get the vinaigrette soaking through the wrapper. And it tastes like French’s fried onions, but burnt.”

    “I don’t know what it could be used for,” said food reporter Michael Klein.

    “It tastes like old fryer oil,” grimaced reporter Ryan Briggs. “It’s gravitating toward capturing that cheesesteak shop smell when they’re frying all the onions.”

    Reporter Max Marin poured the oil over his youtiao, a savory Chinese cruller, while at lunch at Lau Kee in Chinatown. “It’s got a chemical taste that makes me think there’s a number in one of its ingredients.” But does it make the youtiao taste like a cheesesteak? “It does not.”

    Inquirer reporter Max Marin pours Mama-Tee’s Philly cheesesteak-flavored oil on his youtiao at Lau Kee.

    Various Philly chefs were more open-minded in the cheesesteak oil’s applications.

    “I think the flavor is great,” said Juan De Ocampo, sous chef at Fairmount’s Manong, as he poured the oil onto a pile of fried shrimp chips.

    “I kind of like the cheesesteak oil,” said dancerobot’s Justin Bacharach. “It’s pungent and although I don’t cook with olive oil, I would use it to add a little funk and fat to a dish, like to dress an antipasto with South Philly vibes like sharp provolone and soppressata, and in the Japanese canon, I think it would be fun drizzled on top of a gyudon (beef and onions over rice) where you’d normally use mayu (a Japanese scorched black garlic oil).”

    “It feels really heavy,” said Melissa Fernando, the chef behind long-running pop-up Sri’s Company. “In Sri Lankan food, we mostly use coconut oil to cook, but I suppose I’d use this to sauté onions and garlic.”

    That perceived “heaviness” is easily addressed, according to 637 Sushi Club’s Kevin Yanaga, no stranger to unusual pairings. “I just need a lemon or something acidic with it. I could then use it on a fluke crudo. It’s rough and funky on its own, but salt and acid would help.”

    After careful consideration of these diverse opinions, the Mama-Tee cheesesteak oil had only one test remaining to undergo: a side-by-side comparison between it and the oil from an actual cheesesteak wrapper.

    A Del Rossi’s cheesesteak (wit onions, of course) was summoned. A wrapper was licked. A shot of cheesesteak oil was taken. The wrapper had the distinct advantage of beefiness. When applied directly to the cheesesteak, the oil oddly enhanced the cheesesteak’s flavor. And another thing the oil had in common with a real cheesesteak? Real cheesy, oniony burps after consumption.

    A Del Rossi’s cheesesteak and Mama-Tee’s cheesesteak oil, consumed in unison.

    Mama-Tee’s Philly cheesesteak oil ($19) can be purchased at Wegmans in King of Prussia, though more locations may be added soon.

  • Philadelphia is shrinking the rideshare virtual border around FIFA Fan Festival

    Philadelphia is shrinking the rideshare virtual border around FIFA Fan Festival

    The city is rolling back its geofence border around the FIFA Fan Festival to reduce the number of residential areas blocked from using rideshare.

    The Philadelphia Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS) announced Thursday that it would shrink the geofence to exclude large residential buildings on Pennsylvania Avenue.

    The geofence, which blocks people within its borders from using rideshare services like Uber and Lyft, will now shrink to the south of Aspen Street, about half a block from its original border at 25th and Meredith Streets.

    “We’re continuing to work with the community, elected officials, and operational partners to improve the experience for everyone, including residents impacted by Lemon Hill festivities,” an OTIS spokesperson said.

    Additionally, four blocks in Fairmount had been designated for rideshare pickups and drop-offs, but OTIS is reducing rideshare zones to two, allowing for more parking for permitted residents.

    The rideshare pickup/drop-off zones are now located only near Eastern State Penitentiary, at 23rd Street and Fairmount Avenue, and the 2200 block of Fairmount Avenue.

    This was well-received news for residents who live in the area and have been concerned about the geofence’s restriction on residents with mobility issues.

    Paul Stewart, an 86-year-old resident who lives in one of the large apartment buildings that initially had been geofenced, relies on Uber to visit his doctor at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. But last week, when he planned to head to an appointment, he found he could not call a rideshare.

    “The geofence that includes my building and all the businesses in the immediate area will continue for 39 days,” Stewart said before the geofence rollback. “Many people take Uber to and from the restaurants and bars in this neighborhood so that they can have a few drinks and not worry about driving drunk.”

    Geofencing these large residential buildings and blocks was hindering everyday life, Stewart said. Now, he said, residents will be able to go about their business as they normally would.

    The geofence reduction is just one of the adjustments the city has been making as it manages the traffic and fans around the FIFA Fan Festival in Lemon Hill. Since at least May, residents have been requesting traffic-calming measures on residential blocks. The Philadelphia Parking Authority and OTIS installed additional barricades and signage last week.

  • Philly-area residents share how much they paid to keep warm this winter

    Philly-area residents share how much they paid to keep warm this winter

    If you’re getting burned by high heating bills this winter, you’re in good, and equally stressed, company.

    U.S. households are expected to pay more than $1,000 on average to heat their homes this winter, according to the National Energy Assistance Directors Association’s projections, which were updated last month. That’s about $100 more than households paid last year, according to the association, which advocates for federal funding for low-income ratepayers.

    Consumers are paying more whether they heat their homes with electricity, natural gas, or heating oil. Residential propane costs are on par with last year.

    And customers usually pay more in freezing temperatures, when more energy is required to keep their homes comfortable.

    A wood stove provides heat in the old stone farmhouse of Patrick Melcher’s near Downingtown.

    Philly-area residents were hit with a double whammy: They experienced one of the coldest, snowiest winters in recent memory as rate increases took effect for major utilities, including Peco and PGW.

    All this occurred after a summer in which some local consumers paid more than ever to stay cool.

    Spokespeople for Peco and PGW, which provide electric and gas service to millions across southeastern Pennsylvania, said many of their customers saw increased usage this winter due to the cold. They noted that individual bills can also be impacted by thermostat settings, efficiency of appliances, and weatherization of windows, doors, and other parts of the home, as well as whether customers have opted for a third-party energy supplier.

    Make your home energy efficient with this expert advice

    “Energy affordability remains a priority, and rising supply costs — set by competitive markets and not controlled or profited from by Peco — continue to be a major driver of customer bills,” spokesperson Candice Womer said in a statement, noting a nearly 20% year-over-year supply cost increase for electric customers and a nearly 10% increase for gas.

    The Inquirer spoke with five people who live across the region, have different types of homes, and use varying fuel sources and heating systems. Here’s how much they’ve paid to keep warm this winter.

    Quotes have been edited for clarity and brevity.

    Melcher, a 48-year-old who owns a custom woodworking business, said he usually needs to fill his 250-gallon oil tank twice a year. In early January, he paid $800 for a 230-gallon top-off, or about $3.45 per gallon, which he thought was fair. He had paid around the same for an oil fill-up in October. This winter, Melcher said he’s also spent about $900 on firewood for his wood-burning stove, plus a couple hundred dollars a month to fuel the electric heaters in his workshop.

    “I don’t have a ton of money. I have a small business. But what else can you do? In the wintertime, it hurts. You hope for a mild winter. It’s one of those things you can’t control.”

    An oil tank heater is shown in the basement of Patrick Melcher’s home near Downingtown.

    Simonsen, a 69-year-old retired public relations professional, said her electric bills are usually around $50. This winter, however, her last three bills have been $78, $84, and, most recently, $312 for the period of mid-January through mid-February. She keeps her heat around 65 during the day, she said, and 60 at night. She’s billed through her condo complex, and said her neighbors have noted similar increases.

    “I know we had very cold days but we were just boggled. I’m looking at everything around the apartment now. What can I turn off? Have I been careless about leaving things on? I don’t think so, but I am much more cognizant of that. I’m wondering if this is the new reality.”

    A phone charger plugged in a Center City apartment. In Fairmount, Janice Simonsen said she is making sure she unplugs everything after receiving a more than $300 electric bill for a 750-square-foot unit.

    Capriotti, a 55-year-old research scientist, said her family switched from oil heat to natural gas over the past decade. They were fed up with paying hundreds of dollars every time they needed to fill their oil tank. Still, she said, their home is drafty and they need to upgrade doors and insulation. Their most recent Peco bill, which includes electric and gas, was $721, and the gas portion was $570.

    “It’s better than oil heat for sure, but this past year has been very rough. $720 for heating and energy is a bit much. I don’t want to say I can’t pay it, but it’s definitely a struggle.”

    Carol Capriotti paid more than $700 in February for gas and electric service for her Willow Grove home, which she heats with a gas-powered boiler.

    Fritz, a 41-year-old full-time hospice aide who works part-time at a distillery, said she had her upstairs and downstairs heat pumps serviced in December. In recent years, she insulated windows and the basement ceiling, and she said she keeps the temperature around 65. Fritz is billed directly through the borough electric department, and can’t ever remember receiving a bill this high since moving into her home 13 years ago. Before the most recent charge, her last three monthly electric bills totaled $256 in December, $424 in January, and $505 in February.

    “I’m a single parent. I work full-time and part-time. My child has behavioral issues. So I am struggling. It is more than the [$704] mortgage payment. I know in the winter months it goes up, but to go up that high, it’s frankly ridiculous.”

    Seidell, a 52-year-old who works in technology, said his bills this winter are on par with previous years’. He has gas-powered forced-air heating, he said, but electricity powers the blower fans that circulate the air. Seidell got solar panels installed in 2020, and he said they offset his electric cost throughout the year, though less so in the winter than in the summer.

    As for his heating bills, “it’s been reasonable. My house was built 125 years ago. I don’t really do anything to keep it energy efficient besides the programmable thermostat and the solar panels.”

    In Ardmore, Sean Seidell’s 1,800-square-foot twin home, which has solar panels, has cost about $200 to $250 a month to heat this winter.
  • The fake historic plaque that was erected at the scene of a Philly ICE arrest has disappeared

    The fake historic plaque that was erected at the scene of a Philly ICE arrest has disappeared

    The ICE plaque is gone.

    The fake but authentic-looking Pennsylvania historic marker, erected by two artists who sought to ruefully commemorate a local immigration arrest, disappeared from its post in Philadelphia sometime Monday.

    Huston West, one of the artists, said he was walking his dog around 1 p.m. when he noticed that the sign was absent from its spot on Fairmount Avenue near Fifth Street. A neighbor told him the plaque had been there earlier in the day.

    “It’s lame,” West said of the sign being removed. “But it got a lot of coverage while it was up.”

    West said he could only speculate on who may have taken the marker ― he suspected conservative opponents, people who had criticized the sign on social media, or maybe even the city government.

    A city spokesperson said he would check.

    This particular, familiar-looking blue-and-yellow marker, similar to the ones that commemorate important people, places, and events in communities across Pennsylvania, was put up at the site of a Feb. 16 ICE arrest.

    That morning, masked agents descended on a Gopuff delivery driver who had pulled over to make a quick drop-off in Northern Liberties. After he was taken into custody, the car remained behind for days, set two feet from the curb in an accessible parking space, its hazard lights blinking until the battery died.

    West and a fellow artist who goes by the name Emeyewhisky wondered what had happened to the driver, and created a plaque bearing the header “ICE Kidnapping and Ghost Car.”

    The ghost car terminology borrows from ghost bikes, the roadside memorials where a bicycle is painted white and placed at the site where a cyclist was hit and killed by a motorist.

    Federal immigration authorities say the use of such terms as kidnapping is inaccurate and unfair, that they lawfully arrest migrants who have no permission to be in the United States and who in some cases have committed criminal and even violent offenses.

    Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Philadelphia said that on Feb. 16, officers conducted a targeted action and arrested Abdulasen Nazarkhudoev. They said he was unlawfully in the U.S., and told them that he was a Russian citizen.

    He was taken to the Federal Detention Center in Center City and later released by order of a judge, pending further immigration proceedings, records show.

    ICE earlier referred questions about the sign to city officials.

    As word of the art project spread on social media, some disapproved. Some suggested on a Northern Liberties Facebook group that the delivery driver was rightfully arrested.

    West said Monday that he and his art partner had conferred about what to do next. Emeyewhisky is known for projects that place signs with fake wording on Philadelphia streets, and some have been removed.

    Don’t be too surprised, Huston said, if an ICE marker should reappear.

  • In Philly homes, wallpapering is back and the rules have changed

    In Philly homes, wallpapering is back and the rules have changed

    When decorating their circa-1920 townhouse, Eli Steiker-Ginzberg and Sarah Schrading wanted their vestibule to represent the home’s history. They chose a classic William Morris wallpaper called Bird and Pomegranate for above the chair rail and a textured Anaglypta paper painted in Benjamin Moore Baltic Sea below.

    “Colonial Wallcoverings had so many options it was overwhelming,” recalled Steiker-Ginzberg, who lives in the Fairmount area. “The leaves and birds and colors of this one really jumped out.”

    The William Morris paper was a splurge, so to stay on budget, they matched it with a less expensive paintable wallpaper. In total they spent about $2,000 on the materials and installation “for the smallest room in my house,” he joked.

    Wallpaper is showing up in unique ways and in new places. Bold patterns on the ceiling, colorful oversized florals on an accent wall, custom murals in the living room, and funky patterns in the closet and mudroom that add pizzazz and make a statement.

    The wallpapered vestibule in Eli Steiker-Ginzberg and Sarah Schrading’s home leads to a painted wall on the home’s first floor.

    More homeowners are embracing bold wall coverings, according to the 2026 U.S. Houzz Fall Design Trends Report. The shift reflects a move toward deeply personal designs, with homeowners opting for vivid, expressive details that make their spaces feel unique and emotionally resonant, the report found.

    “Wallpaper has character and brings out the life and beauty of a room,” said Paul Sperling, owner of Colonial Wallcoverings in Queen Village. “It shows off your personality.”

    Modern wallpapers are also easier to hang and strip than older versions, with paste-the-wall and self-adhesive DIY options.

    “A lot of people are afraid of wallpaper because it used to be a nightmare to take off,” Sperling said. “But most wallpapers now are easier to remove because of changes in how the papers are printed.”

    Making a statement

    When Jessica Maiuro moved into her Rittenhouse apartment in 2024, she wanted a wow factor as soon as she came through the front door. After a couple months of searching, she discovered a bold patterned wallpaper featuring Ben Franklin within a gilded picture frame blowing a bubble gum bubble, surrounded by a tiger and flowers.

    “I wanted something that would really make a bold statement and be a conversation starter when I hosted,” she recalled. “I had never seen any design like this, and I was instantly sold and in love. What could be more Philly?”

    Jessica Maiuro was delighted to find this Benjamin Franklin wallpaper for her home in Center City.

    Maiuro spent about $500 on the peel-and-stick wallpaper from the online seller Spoonflower and corralled her husband, John Jeong, and a friend to help her hang it. Her apartment is a rental, but she tested the paper and knows it will easily strip off when it’s time to take it down.

    When investing in wallpaper, consider where and how it will make the most impact. Wallpapers with small, repeating patterns work best in a smaller space, such as a powder room or vestibule.

    For larger spaces, wallpaper murals can serve as a focal point on the wall behind the bed or sofa, or continuing across several walls. They often feature grand designs or landscapes, including big, bold flowers and jungle scenes. Murals are more popular than ever, said Sperling, with brands like Rebel Walls and Glamora that specialize in custom sizes.

    For a more personal design, Rich Art Graphics in Center City will take your artwork and create a custom wallpaper to fit your dimensions.

    “Most of the time, a designer or artist will come to us with a fine art interpretation to be printed and installed in homes,” said Michael Antner, the print shop’s owner. “It’s something personal that they are very passionate about.”

    For example, a client may have a favorite painting or photograph they want to reimagine on an entire wall. Cityscapes and naturescapes are especially popular. Rich Art will create a digital file with the picture and manipulate it to the exact size of the wall.

    They offer traditional wallpaper adhered with paste or peel-and-stick adhesive. The average cost is $8 per square foot to create the paper, plus installation.

    A record player dating to the 1960s sits in Maiuro’s home under the gaze of bubble-gum-chewing Ben Franklin.

    The fifth wall

    The ceiling has become the fifth wall of the room, where wallpaper can make a bold statement and add a new dimension. Options include very intricate designs where viewers can spot new details to simpler patterns like clouds or green tree canopies.

    “It’s much more dramatic and brings more attention to the room,” Sperling said. “It takes vision.”

    Parents are even wallpapering nursery ceilings as a stimulating focal point for their babies.

    “Wallpapered ceilings have been a design staple for centuries in Europe, especially in homes where pattern and ornamentation played an important role in creating atmosphere and storytelling,” said Krystal Reinhard, founder and principal designer at Old Soul Design Studio in downtown West Chester.

    She’s seen a noticeable uptick in the past five years as homeowners look for more expressive, layered interiors. Papered ceilings work in smaller, contained spaces like powder rooms, nurseries, and offices. But they can also make sense on larger ceilings in bedrooms, dining rooms, and kitchens.

    When papering the ceiling, it’s important to consider the scale of the pattern — motifs or tonal textures often work beautifully overhead, Reinhard said. It’s best to hire an experienced installer because ceilings require precision and strong adhesive knowledge. Before committing to a pattern, one should test how it interacts with overhead lighting — fixtures can cast shadows that change the effect.

    “A wallpapered ceiling is one of the most effective ways to give a room soul,” Reinhard said. “It’s a detail that feels thoughtful and intentional.”

    Especially in the Philadelphia region, where so many homes have architectural character worth celebrating, treating the ceiling as a design opportunity can elevate the entire space, she said.

    It’s a way to honor historic craftsmanship while embracing a very current, expressive design moment.

    Steiker-Ginzberg and Schrading chose the wallpaper in their vestibule to represent the home’s history.

    How much does wallpapering cost?

    Wallpaper costs vary widely, starting at about $40 per 50-square-foot roll for peel-and-stick options from online sellers such as Wayfair. Textured materials from brands like Arte or historical luxury design houses like de Gourney or Zuber can reach several hundred dollars per individual square foot, Sperling said.

    Many companies provide a measuring calculator to determine exactly how much is needed for your project. It’s essential to take pattern repeat into account and add an extra 10% for mistakes and future repairs.

    Most companies sell samples. It’s helpful to hang those in various spots and observe over a few days to see how the pattern looks in the light at different times of day and night.

    For Steiker-Ginzberg, the wallpaper investment was worthwhile.

    “There’s something important and meaningful about the portal into your house and there being an intentional transition,” he said. “It makes a difference in the impression people get.”

  • Gas prices are set to increase amid Iran war. Here’s what we know.

    Gas prices are set to increase amid Iran war. Here’s what we know.

    Americans could start paying more at the gas pump, following the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

    West Texas Intermediate crude, an oil produced in the United States, surged 6.2% on Monday to $71.19 per barrel. As of Tuesday, it has spiked another 8%, hovering at around $77. It marks the oil’s highest point in over a year. But that’s just the beginning.

    Experts say those surges reflect similar spikes in natural gas and at the gas station.

    Here’s what we know.

    Why are gas prices going up?

    Known as the “crude oil effect,” when oil prices go up, so does the price of the fuel it makes. Crude oil must be processed at refineries to be turned into gasoline.

    The conflict in the Middle East, which President Donald Trump said he anticipates could take longer than a few weeks, means the global supply of oil is disrupted, and, in turn, the price of a barrel of oil goes up. This causes the price of fuel to also rise.

    “Whatever the time is, it’s OK,” Trump said. “Right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that. We’ll do it.”

    Oil prices were already on the rise, up 17% this year. Experts say the increase is a direct effect of Trump’s rhetoric against Iran, along with his administration’s recent sanctions against the country.

    And, as noted by John Quigley, a senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, it’s not just oil and gasoline; natural gas is also seeing a price increase.

    And U.S. consumers will be hit hard, he says.

    “It’s disrupting global oil and gas markets,” he said. “The war is quickly widening into a regional conflict, with the production capacity of multiple oil- and gas-producing nations being attacked by Iran in retaliatory strikes. This has already disrupted global oil and natural gas shipments.”

    How much have gas prices increased since the strike on Iran?

    As oil prices surged Monday, the impacts already started to trickle down to gas stations. This week, the national average of gas per gallon surpassed $3 for the first time since November.

    Some states, including Illinois, Michigan, and Texas have already reported increases of about 5 cents per gallon.

    As of Tuesday morning, the national average hit $3.11, marking the largest single-day increase since 2022, according to GasBuddy, a gas price tracking service.

    Quigley says those increases could be just the beginning.

    “Prices for natural gas in European and Asian markets have already spiked 50%. U.S. natural gas exporters will rush to take advantage of that, diverting domestic supplies to exports and pushing up domestic natural gas prices,” he said. “That will raise costs for home heating, and worsen already surging electricity costs, because over 40% of electricity generation in PJM, the nation’s largest grid, is fueled by natural gas.”

    Do gas prices always rise during war?

    Gas prices historically surge when conflicts happen because of a mix of supply disruptions, geopolitical uncertainty, and oil infrastructure attacks.

    As detailed by NPR, major price surges occurred during the Gulf War, the 2003 Iraq invasion, and the 2022 Russia-Ukraine war.

    How high could gas prices get?

    GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan told multiple news outlets he believes some gas stations could charge as much as 30 cents more per gallon by the end of the week.

    He estimated prices would be around $3.10 or $3.20 per gallon by the end of the week and anticipated they would hit $3.30 to $3.35 “in time.”

    What are the average gas prices in the Philadelphia region? How does that compare to the national average?

    As of Tuesday morning:

    • The national average gas price: $3.11
    • The Pennsylvania average gas price: $3.21
    • The Philadelphia average gas price: $3.12

    Which areas in the Philly region have the lowest gas prices?

    The average price of gas in Philly is $3.12 per gallon as of Tuesday morning. Still, there are some spots with lower prices, according to GasBuddy.

    Among the lowest appears to be an Eastcoast station in Fairmount (801 N. Broad St.) with gas going for $2.79 as of Monday evening. A Marathon in Southwest Philly (2450 Island Ave.) listed gas at $2.74 within the last 24 hours.

    Among the highest appears to be a Gulf station in Kingsessing (5200 Woodland Ave.), priced at $3.29 as of Monday evening.

    Who sets gas prices?

    No one person sets gas prices. In reality, the price you see at pumps is the result of a combination of oil prices, supply and demand, oil refining costs, distribution, and competition.

  • $7.6 million in grants from William Penn Foundation will support $2 tickets for low-income patrons

    $7.6 million in grants from William Penn Foundation will support $2 tickets for low-income patrons

    A group of special grants from the William Penn Foundation will help ensure continued access to the Please Touch Museum, Franklin Institute, and other Philadelphia nonprofit attractions for patrons of modest means and/or with disabilities.

    William Penn has granted a total of $7.6 million to seven groups to underwrite the existing program providing access to $2 tickets.

    Ticket prices are an obstacle for many, and arts and culture groups must weigh their desire to be open to all audiences, regardless of capacity to pay, against the reality of balancing their own budgets.

    “Our general admission price is around $24 and we believe that’s competitively priced with other peer organizations,” said Please Touch Museum president and CEO Melissa Weiler Gerber. “But we want to make sure that we are committed to having folks come in the door and that not be a barrier.”

    The William Penn money — $872,350 per year for each of the next three years — will support that ambition by underwriting the $2 tickets to the children’s museum in Fairmount Park.

    The groups receiving the grants, in addition to the Please Touch and the Franklin Institute, are the Academy of Natural Sciences, Morris Arboretum and Gardens, the Philadelphia Zoo, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where the grant will support the museum’s restoration of pay-what-you-wish Friday evenings.

    The William Penn money is being allotted on top of the regular funding the foundation gives to area arts and culture groups, which is expected to reach $32 million this year.

    Art-Reach will also receive a grant. The group administers the program, which began in 2014 and provides $2 admission to area museums, gardens, theaters, musical groups, and other cultural offerings to those with low incomes and/or disabilities.

    How to get $2 museum admission with your ACCESS or Art-Reach ACCESS card

    The six attractions were chosen because they are the most visited participants in the program, which is called Harvey and Virginia Kimmel Family Fund ACCESS Program.

    But it’s worth noting that none of the six is a performing arts organization, and the program has about a hundred other groups of various kinds that could also use the support.

    “I think that there is a lot of need for the rest of the partners in the program,” said Art-Reach executive director John Orr, adding that he hoped the William Penn action would be “catalytic” in inspiring other donors to support low-cost access to arts and culture groups.

    Affordability was cited as a factor in deciding which cultural sites to visit by 91% of participants in a recent survey of ACCESS cardholders, Orr said.

    At the same time, cultural groups are being buffeted by multiple challenges, said William Penn Foundation chief philanthropy officer Elliot Weinbaum.

    “There have been lots of shifts and uncertainty around myriad funding sources. You think about federal sources — NEA, NEH, IMLS, National Science Foundation — all of them have seen big cuts and big uncertainty,” he said. “These institutions received some money from some combination of those entities. There have been shifts in corporate giving in the past year or so.”

    Hence the foundation’s decision to step in with new funding for the work of these organizations.

    Said Weinbaum: “We want to strengthen the institutions, support them, and make it clear that for William Penn Foundation it’s important that a population that’s really representative of Philadelphia continues to have access to these great places.”

    For more information about how the ACCESS program works, visit art-reach.org.

  • Despite winning awards for improving test scores, this North Philly school is planned to close

    Despite winning awards for improving test scores, this North Philly school is planned to close

    Robert Morris School in North Philadelphia has been lauded for improving test scores, and it is the last elementary school in its immediate neighborhood.

    But the school district says not enough neighborhood children want to attend.

    The Brewerytown K-8 school’s enrollment is just under 23% full, with 216 students, and Morris is one of 18 schools slated for closure under the district’s facilities plan.

    At a community meeting last week, district officials said the school’s “severely underutilized” capacity was the driving factor behind their recommendation to close Morris after the next school year.

    But community members have questioned why low enrollment alone was enough reason to cut the school — and have voiced concern that the district is closing a school with a majority-Black student population while keeping open a nearby elementary school that has more white students.

    “We want the option for our children to be able to walk a block or two or three and get to their school. And it’s not clear to us the reason why that isn’t a possibility,” said Cierra Freeman, co-lead of culture and strategy for the Brewerytown-Sharswood Neighborhood Coalition.

    Morris students would be reassigned to Bache-Martin School or William D. Kelley School for fall 2027 under the plan.

    The district plans to repurpose the building at 2600 W. Thompson St., which it has categorized as being in “fair” condition, into a hub for its Office of Diverse Learners. Currently, the office operates within district headquarters and has an evaluation center near Central High School.

    District officials also said they want to keep the building so it could be reopened as a school in the future should enrollment interest rise.

    Robert Morris Elementary School in Brewerytown.

    ‘Punished for being so small’

    Morris was honored by the district last year at its Accelerate Philly awards for major improvements in test scores across reading and math. Its third-grade class jumped from 7% proficiency in reading and 14% in math to 48% and 59%, respectively. The district has said it did not consider schools’ academic performance in its facilities plan.

    “It seems like Robert Morris is being punished for being so small,” Paul Brown, a school psychologist at Roxborough High School a Youth and Education co-lead for the Brewerytown Sharswood Neighborhood Coalition and a member of Stand Up for Philly Schools, said at the community meeting.

    Neighbors said the district has not done nearly enough to retain and attract families to Morris, a “neighborhood gem,” according to Siobahn Neitzel, a local resident and youth and education action team co-lead for Brewerytown-Sharswood Neighborhood Coalition.

    “The challenges that the district talks about with regards to Morris … really come from a continued lack of investment on the district’s part,” she said.

    If there must be change at Robert Morris, some speakers urged the district to consider colocating the Office of Diverse Learners with the school instead of closing it. District officials said that option would be considered — but it was not reflected in a revised plan Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. presented Thursday that spared two schools originally slated for closure. Morris is still on the closure list, but the school board could make changes before voting on the plan in the coming weeks.

    A changing area

    Brewerytown and adjacent Sharswood are neighborhoods in flux. The area is experiencing rapid gentrification, with new developments and property values shooting up in recent years, including the $750 million Philadelphia Housing Authority project to clear and redevelop the Norman Blumberg Apartments towers.

    In the last round of mass closures in 2013, the district shuttered Meade Elementary School, less than a mile from Morris. Residents within the Morris catchment area have opted for other choices in recent years, including charters and other public schools. District officials said about 16% of students in Morris’ catchment already attend Bache-Martin.

    Third grade teacher Brendan Yuhas teaches students Trenton Andersen, left, and Serenity Rose Rhoades, right, at Robert Morris Elementary last year.

    Freeman said that is, in part, the district’s fault.

    “This school has not been marketed to parents and families in the neighborhood. It has not been made attractive. It has not been pushed up,” Freeman said.

    Some residents are frustrated with the plan to instead invest more than $50 million in Bache-Martin to handle an infusion of hundreds more students, including from Laura W. Waring School, and $4.7 million into Kelley. They believe Bache-Martin students deserve that kind of investment, but so do Kelley and Morris students. District officials said Kelley has received more funding in recent years, making a similarly large investment unnecessary.

    Residents are concerned the consolidation could result in violence, by putting kids from different neighborhoods and rival gangs suddenly under the same roof at Bache-Martin or Kelley. And some at the community meeting worried that even if the district reopens the Morris building as a new school, it would be as a magnet that excludes local students.

    Undergirding many of their concerns is the reality of race. Morris’ student body is 82% Black, and its community members said its potential closure was another indicator of the major impact the district’s plan would have on Black families. Bache-Martin in Fairmount, poised for significant financial support, has only about 34% Black students.

    https://www.inquirer.com/education/philadelphia-school-district-building-closures-black-students-impact-20260129.html

    “When closures disproportionately affect minority communities, we cannot pretend race is not a part of this story. … What message are we sending to our students, my fifth- and sixth-grade students, when [the] place that nurtured them is going to disappear?” Adrienne Ramsey, a math teacher at Morris, said at the community meeting.

    Freeman insisted that there must be a public education option for elementary school students in the neighborhood. She said she is concerned that charter schools, which are privately run and publicly funded, do not have enough public oversight, and public schools are critical to communities.

    “Schools are one of the places that the real community building and community weaving starts,” she said.

    She said she believed interest in a public elementary school in the Brewerytown-Sharswood area would return, particularly as incoming residents occupying the new developments look for places to send their childrenand current neighbors reconsider their education options.

    “People want to be part of their communities. They want to be part of their neighborhoods. They want their children to have friends whose home they can walk to,” she said.