Sun Ra, the Afrofuturist bandleader and intergalactic visionary who based his Arkestra in Philadelphia for decades, is heading to PBS.
Sun Ra: Do the Impossible, the Christine Turner-directed documentary that screened at last year’s Black Star Film Festival in Philadelphia, will air as part of PBS’ American Masters series during Black History Month.
It will be shown locally on WHYY at 9 p.m. Feb. 20.
Sun Ra, who was born Herman Poole Blount in Birmingham, Ala., founded Arkestra, now led by 101-year-old saxophone player Marshall Allen after Sun Ra’s death in 1993. He moved with the band to a house in Germantown in the late 1960s, where Allen still lives. The Morton Street house was originally owned by Allen’s father.
Turner’s film includes how Blount, who was known as “Sonny,” experienced a “transmolecularization” in 1936 in which he claimed to have been teleported to Saturn and returned to Earth with a musical mission to bring peace and understanding to the world.
Sun Ra’s music encompasses the history of jazz — from its New Orleans beginnings to out-there experimentation with electronic instruments, King Britt, Philadelphia DJ-producer-turned Blacktronika professor at the University of California San Diego, explains in the film.
Other Philadelphians who offer analysis in the documentary include poet-musician-activist Moor Mother, and critic and WRTI-FM (90.1) editorial director Nate Chinen.
The film’s title is inspired by a Sun Ra quote that Turner kept on her desk while she worked on the documentary. It read: “The possible has been tried and failed. Now it’s time to try the impossible.”
The American Masters treatment arrives at a time when Sun Ra’s presence is larger than ever.
Since 2023, the organization has released five Sun Ra tribute albums. Sun Ra’s oeuvre was central to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s recent “Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt” exhibit, and his image is featured prominently at the Institute of Contemporary Art’s “Entryways: Xenobia Bailey” exhibit currently on view.
Do the Impossible adds to the growing Sun Ra film library that includes the 1972 movie Space is the Place, and Philly filmmaker Robert Mugge’s 1980 Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise. Another doc, coproduced by Allen along with his son Ronnie Boyd titled Sun Ra: Door to the Cosmos, is in the works.
Sun Ra Arkestra bandleader Marshall Allen with “Sun Ra: Do the Impossible” director Christine Turner at the Sun Ra house on Morton Street in Germantown. The documentary will be shown on PBS on Feb. 20.
“He’s become an icon of Afrofuturism, and I think that is resonating with people because we’re deeply in need of new ideas and radically imagining another kind of future. And I think people are really hungering for that.”
LOS ANGELES — Joel Embiid is content to spend his All-Star break on a family vacation after the 76ers’ standout center was not selected as an Eastern Conference reserve by the NBA’s coaches.
“I don’t need any validation from anybody,” Embiid said following the Sixers’ victory over the Clippers on Monday night. “I’m happy where I’m at. I’m excited to be playing every night. If [the All-Star Game selection] didn’t happen, who cares? I get a week off to rest, anyway.”
Embiid may need to keep those plans tentative, however. He still could be named an injury replacement for the game on Feb. 15, with Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo out with a calf strain that is expected to keep him sidelined for at least a month.
Sixers coach Nick Nurse and Tyrese Maxey, who earlier was named an All-Star starter for the first time, acknowledged that they were surprised Embiid was not among those selected as a reserve. Embiid’s production has exploded in recent weeks, with the big man averaging 29.6 points on 52.2% shooting along with 7.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 18 games since Dec. 23. It has been an impressive progression in Embiid’s recovery from multiple knee surgeries.
“He’s been super dominant,” Nurse said of Embiid before the game against the Clippers. “… I thought, just the general buzz or feel I was getting, was that he would make it.”
Added Maxey: “It’s life. I understand it. He’s going to keep being Joel.”
Embiid and the Sixers (28-21) had been doing some recent campaigning for his inclusion in the midseason showcase for the eighth time in his career. Following a Jan. 9 game at the Orlando Magic, Embiid said he believed he deserved the honor and added, “I think you guys [the media] should start putting the word out that Joel Embiid is back.” And when Maxey was asked at a news conference following a Jan. 22 victory over the Houston Rockets which teammate he would like to join him at All-Star Weekend, he said, “Process!” and tapped the microphone.
“Sixers, put that out there!” Maxey said.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey (right) campaigned for teammate Joel Embiid to join him in the All-Star Game.
The Eastern Conference reserves are the Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes, the Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren, the Atlanta Hawks’ Jalen Johnson, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell, the Miami Heat’s Norman Powell, the Indiana Pacers’ Pascal Siakam, and the New York Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns. They join starters Maxey, Antetokounmpo, Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, New York’s Jalen Brunson, and the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown.
Rookie guard VJ Edgecombe also will represent the Sixers at All-Star Weekend as part of the Rising Stars competition.
For now, Embiid will plan to enjoy his vacation and rest an “ankle thing” that he has been playing through in recent games. And the 2023 NBA MVP reiterated that “there’s only one thing missing” from his personal basketball accomplishments while glancing at his wedding ring, a clear reference to winning an NBA championship.
The school closures and consolidations proposal for Philadelphia schools that was announced in January was not surprising. The district, like many districts across the country, has signaled that it is grappling with declining enrollment, underutilized buildings, and tight budgets. The issue is so pervasive that the consulting firm Bellwether published a full report about it last fall called “Systems Under Strain: Warning Signs Pointing Toward a Rise in School Closures,” warning that many districts would soon face similar decisions.
The process isn’t surprising, either. Seattle similarly wrestled with a school closures plan before it got so complicated that the city simply dropped the issue after intense community backlash, concerns over student well-being, and the realization that there wasn’t a clear plan for how much the closures would chip away at the roughly $100 million budget deficit.
The situation in both Philadelphia and Seattle has many similarities to Chicago’s school closures in 2013. Chicago Public Schools closed 47 elementary schools — the largest national mass closures up to that point.
My colleagues and I at the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research studied that process, releasing reports on families’ priorities and choices in finding new schools, and on staff and students’ experiences, including academic outcomes. The findings from our research offer important lessons and considerations for district leaders and community members in Philadelphia today.
Demonstrators rallied against school closures outside the School District of Philadelphia headquarters in Center City on Jan. 29.
First, school is a very personal space and choice for students and families. Families assess the quality of a school in many different ways, from class size to specific course offerings to the availability of specific extracurriculars.
A school’s reputation, sometimes going back multiple generations, is often a factor. And both safety and accessibility — proximity and available transportation — are always paramount. Closing a school isn’t just an administrative change; it is a profound disruption of community and family life.
Second, logistics matter enormously and proved more difficult than expected in Chicago. The management of closing some schools and merging into others was a massive pain point in Chicago’s school closures.
Some teachers could not find their personally purchased furniture, technology, and classroom supplies. Critical details were overlooked, which caused significant challenges for staff and students. Closures require thorough and transparent operational planning.
But last and most importantly, it is critical to consider the effect of school closures on the people who experience them. In our interviews with both students and staff, we repeatedly heard that they wished their grief and loss had been acknowledged, validated, and addressed.
When we looked at the data, we found that test scores dropped for students whose schools closed — and the drops started the year potential closures were announced, reflecting the effects of uncertainty and upheaval. Test scores also dropped for students whose schools were “receiving schools,” enrolling many of the affected students.
Our University of Chicago colleague, professor Eve L. Ewing, wrote in her commentary in our report that “we must ask how and why we continue to close schools in a manner that causes ‘large disruptions without clear benefits for students.’”
The way this plays out in Philadelphia matters, as young people, families, and educators are already emphasizing. In Chicago, school staff wished for more communication, more transparency, more training on merging school communities, longer-term transitional funding, and more emotional support for adults, whose feelings were still raw three years later when we interviewed them.
Students wished school actions provided better facilities, from building and green space to sufficient toilet paper and warm water. And they wished they had more counselors and social workers, and general emotional support from all school staff, who were, themselves, grieving. Simple yet powerful reminders of what makes schools feel like places of care, connection, and community.
In 2023, our fantastic Chicago education reporters covered the 10-year anniversary of Chicago’s massive school closures in Chalkbeat Chicago and in a WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times collaboration. The students, families, neighbors, and staff shared similar messages in those stories as they had in our research: being told one thing and experiencing another; seeing the process as “hurtful” and without any benefit to young people or the community; wishing they could see the district and the city investing in schools, housing, and community resources where they live.
Regardless of what final decisions are made, a difficult path lies ahead for school communities across Philadelphia. Chicago’s experience tells us that any district considering school closures needs to plan meticulously, communicate frequently and transparently, and keep the experiences of students, families, and school staff at the center of the process.
Marisa de la Torre is managing director and senior research associate at the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, part of the Kersten Institute for Urban Education within the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice.
It may not look like it outside, but spring was in the air Tuesday in South Philly.
After a long morning of packing, members of the Phillies front office staff surrounded the first-base gate at Citizens Bank Park and waved their 2026 All-Star Game rally towels as the team truck pulled out and began its journey to spring training in Clearwater, Fla.
The truck — decorated for this year’s All-Star Game, which is July 14 at Citizens Bank Park,— will travel 1,054 miles, passing through eight states before arriving at BayCare Ballpark. Spring training begins in just over a week, on Feb. 11, for pitchers and catchers; the full squad will report on Feb. 16.
Throughout the Phillies’ six weeks in Florida, they’ll need to have all the necessities — from 600 pairs of pants to a single stroller and one very important hot dog launcher — and that’s where the Phillies staff comes in to help.
“Today, we’re packing up the truck,” said Tim Schmidt, a clubhouse attendant for the Phillies. “It’s a pretty long process. I mean, there’s a lot of inventory that goes into it. We have to label everything, we have to put it in bins, and then there’s thousands of items. So, it’s not like it’s just a couple of Nike orders. It’s a lot. It’s time consuming.”
For a job this big, the team has to get an early start. The packing process began two weeks after the end of the season and officially concluded on Tuesday morning. Workers from Old Dominion Freight Line and members of the Phillies staff began loading up the truck’s three 28-foot trailers at about 8 a.m. and didn’t wrap up until 11:40 a.m.
Of course, they did have a little help from the Phanatic, who made some brief appearances — directing traffic and attempting to ride the forklift.
Despite the distraction, workers packed plenty of essential items for any baseball team into the truck, including …
5,000 paper cups
2,400 baseballs
2,000 short- and long-sleeved shirts
1,200 bats
900 pairs of socks
600 pairs of pants
600 batting practice hats
350 pairs of shorts
300 batting gloves
250 batting practice tops
200 fleeces
200 light jackets
200 pairs of assorted shoes
140 batting helmets
125 leather and elastic belts
40 heavy jackets
20 coolers
Several children’s bikes
and one stroller
“I’ve been doing this for nine years,” Schmidt said. “My boss has been doing it for close to, I think, 40 years. So I’m sure there were a couple of hiccups along the way, but now we kind of have it down pat. We know what to do. We know what to bring. We know how much to bring.”
Some of the items still waiting to be loaded into the truck headed to Florida pic.twitter.com/6bDA2VNlcY
Of course they couldn’t forget the most important item of all — the Phanatic’s high-powered hot dog launcher.
“I’ve been asked a couple times today, ‘What’s the unique item?’” Schmidt said. “It’s the hot dog launcher. That’s the last thing to get loaded onto the truck. Once that’s loaded, everyone gets excited because you kind of know you’re done.”
The Phillies will open their Grapefruit League schedule on Feb. 21 against the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla. Spring training ends March 23 with a game in Clearwater against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Opening day for the Phillies is March 26 at home against the Texas Rangers.
Philadelphia is a city of neighborhoods, and at the heart of every neighborhood is a school. Schools are where our children learn, where families gather, and where communities take shape. When our schools thrive, Philadelphia thrives.
That is why the Philadelphia School District’s recently announced Facilities Master Plan is so important — not just for students and educators, but for the future of our entire city.
This plan is about more than bricks and mortar. It is about opportunity. It is about ensuring every child, in every zip code, has access to high-quality academic programs, safe and modern learning environments, and the extracurricular experiences that help young people discover their talents and chart their paths forward.
For too long, inequities in school facilities have mirrored broader inequities across our city. Some students learn in buildings that limit what they can access — advanced coursework, arts and music programs, athletics, career and technical education, and modern technology — while others have more opportunities simply because of where they live. That is not acceptable, and it is not sustainable.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker and Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. on Temple University’s campus in December 2024. Inequities in school facilities are unacceptable, the pair write.
The Facilities Master Plan directly confronts these challenges. It takes a thoughtful, data-driven approach to aligning school buildings with student needs, enrollment trends, and program quality. The goal is clear: to expand access to strong academic offerings and enriching extracurricular programs across neighborhoods, while making smarter use of resources and improving learning conditions citywide.
Ninety percent of impacted students will be reassigned to schools with comparable or better academic outcomes, and 100% of impacted students will be reassigned to schools with comparable or better academic outcomes and/or comparable or better building conditions.
When students have access to well-equipped schools with robust programs, outcomes improve. Graduation rates rise. Attendance improves. Students are better prepared for college, careers, and civic life. These are not abstract benefits — they translate into a stronger workforce, safer neighborhoods, and a more vibrant local economy.
The impact extends well beyond the classroom. Modernized and rightsized school facilities can anchor neighborhood revitalization. They attract families, support local businesses, and create hubs for community use — from recreation and arts to adult education and workforce training. Investments in schools are investments in communities.
This plan also reflects a commitment to partnership and transparency. It is grounded in community engagement and recognizes that schools do not exist in isolation. The city of Philadelphia and the school district are working together to ensure that planning decisions consider housing, transportation, economic development, and public safety — because when we coordinate our efforts, everyone benefits.
One of us, Mayor Parker, has made clear that creating a safer, cleaner, and greener city with access to economic opportunity for all is critically important to the success of our young people. Strong schools are foundational to that vision.
The other one of us, Superintendent Watlington, has, over the past three years, led a series of sweeping improvements in the district: student attendance, teacher attendance, graduation rates, and test scores in grades four through eight have all increased. During the same period, dropout rates have decreased by more than half.
The Facilities Master Plan brings these priorities together in a way that will drive even stronger and faster progress in an ambitious and responsible manner.
Change is never easy, and conversations about school facilities can be deeply personal. Families care about their schools because schools are part of their identity.
That is why continued engagement and listening will remain central as the plan moves forward. The school district and the city are committed to working with students, families, educators, and community members every step of the way.
Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. joins Mayor Cherelle L. Parker at a City Hall news conference in August 2024.
What unites us is a shared belief that Philadelphia’s children deserve the best we can offer — and that the city’s future depends on how well we prepare them today.
This Facilities Master Plan is a long-term investment in equity, excellence, and opportunity. It is a commitment to making sure that no matter what zip code a child grows up in in Philadelphia, they have access to high-quality education and enriching experiences that open doors and expand horizons.
By building better schools, we are building a stronger Philadelphia — for this generation and the next.
Tony B. Watlington Sr. is the superintendent of the Philadelphia School District. Cherelle L. Parker is the 100th mayor of Philadelphia.
In the early 2010s, school closures were presented as unavoidable and data-driven. Families were promised efficiency and reinvestment. What many communities experienced instead was lasting harm that never fully healed. That history matters now as the Philadelphia School District advances a new Facilities Master Plan that again relies on closures as a primary tool.
The district argues that consolidating magnet programs into neighborhood high schools will expand access and strengthen those schools as community anchors. That logic assumes program quality can be preserved through reorganization alone. Experience suggests otherwise.
A mission-driven school culture depends on sustained focus and institutional priority. Once reduced to a single track, that culture becomes fragile. Through Lankenau, students are participating in an Environmental Rights Amendment curriculum led by the Pennsylvania Bipartisan Climate Initiative, one rooted in civic engagement as much as environmental literacy. That depth of engagement would be hard to replicate in other schools without a dedicated institutional focus on this work.
Environmental education is especially vulnerable to this kind of dilution. Partnerships with universities and community organizations take years to build. Internship pipelines depend on consistent coordination. Hands-on programs require both space and continuity. When these elements are separated, the whole weakens.
The Board of Education has recommended closing or merging as many as 20 schools, including Lankenau in Roxborough.
Equity concerns also deserve closer attention. Lankenau serves students from across North and Northwest Philadelphia who rely on district-provided transportation. For many families, this school represents access to a learning environment aligned with their interests and ambitions. Closing it narrows those options rather than expanding them.
The Facilities Master Plan emphasizes data analysis, community engagement, and fiscal responsibility. Those factors matter. But they do not capture everything. Some schools provide value that cannot be reduced to enrollment figures or building utilization rates. When a public school consistently prepares students to engage with one of the defining challenges of this century, dismantling it should not be taken lightly.
Climate literacy is not optional. It shapes workforce readiness and civic decision-making. Philadelphia should be strengthening pathways that cultivate this knowledge early and deeply. Offering environmental science only as an honors option signals a retreat from that responsibility.
This proposal is not final. The Board of Education still has time to reconsider. Protecting schools like Lankenau would not undermine the broader goals of modernization or equity. It would reinforce them and affirm that preparing young people for a changing world requires more than consolidation.
Ashlei Tracy is a nonprofit leader with a background in environmental policy and biology. Her work centers around increasing civic engagement, policy literacy, and care for our shared planet.
UPPER BERN, Pa. — The Trump administration has quietly purchased a nearly 520,000-square-foot warehouse in Berks County as it plans to convert such facilities into immigration detention centers across the U.S.
The warehouse, located at 3501 Mountain Rd. in Upper Bern Township, was sold to the U.S. government on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for $87.4 million, deed records show. The purchase was recorded on Feb. 2.
Spotlight PA visited the warehouse, which is located about a mile from I-78, on Jan. 15 and witnessed about two dozen individuals touring the exterior of the building. One man who arrived early to the site that day identified himself to a reporter as ICE.
The property was most recently called the Hamburg Logistics Center, and before that was the site of the Mountain Springs Arena, a county landmark known for rodeos and demolition derbies. It neighbors an Amazon warehouse and the Mountain Springs Camping Resort.
The building is one of at least 23 that ICE plans to convert into immigration detention facilities, Bloomberg reports. The Berks County warehouse could house up to 1,500 beds.
ICE also finalized the purchase of a warehouse in nearby Tremont Township, in Schuylkill County, on Monday, according to a deed. The Tremont property is located less than 300 yards from a daycare center and has already faced fierce resident opposition.
A spokesperson for ICE did not answer any questions about the Berks County warehouse purchase and instead lauded the agency’s targeting of “vicious criminals.”
“Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has new funding to expand detention space to keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities,” the spokesperson said.
Upper Bern Township’s solicitor said in an emailed statement that community leaders learned about the sale on Monday. They declined to answer questions.
“The township was not involved in this transfer and has not received any applications from either the prior or new owners regarding the future use of the property,” the statement reads. “The township has no further comment on this matter at this time.”
State Sen. Chris Gebhard and State Rep. Jamie Barton, Republicans who represent the area, said they have reached out to federal contacts to gather more information on how the Department of Homeland Security plans to use the warehouse.
“Our immediate concerns include the potential loss of property tax revenue for the host municipality, county, and school district, as well as security and perimeter considerations,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. “We look forward to engaging directly with the appropriate federal officials to address these issues. Once additional information is available, we will provide an update.”
The property is assessed at $22 million and currently pays $198,286 annually in county property taxes under the current tax rate of 9.013 mills. Combined with Hamburg Area School District and township taxes, the loss of tax revenue from the federal government’s purchase would be about $624,000.
State Sen. Judy Schwank (D., Berks) declined to comment on the warehouse purchase on Monday. In an earlier interview with Spotlight PA, she called the then-potential sale “deeply concerning,” especially given the reports of mistreatment of people detained in ICE facilities. She released a statement about “ICE’s action in Minneapolis” on Jan. 27, shortly after federal agents killed Alex Pretti.
“My concern is, knowing the track record of some of these other facilities located throughout the country, it’s not good,” she said. “I don’t necessarily want to see something like that being housed in our county.”
The deed finalized on Monday shows the property was sold to ICE by an LLC connected to PCCP, a national commercial real estate equity firm. The firm purchased the warehouse in 2024 for $57.5 million, deed records show.
Reached by phone Monday afternoon, PCCP partner Greg Eberhardt — who is the authorized signatory for 3501 Mountain Road Owner LLC on the latest deed — denied knowledge of the property and its sale, and refused to comment further.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Eberhardt said before hanging up on a Spotlight PA reporter. “I’m not making company comments.”
Upper Bern Township is situated on the edge of Berks and Schuylkill Counties, with a population of roughly 1,600 people. The community is mostly white, with only 2.8% of residents identifying as another race, according to the 2020 Census.
Bridget Cambria, an attorney with Aldea, a nonprofit that provides pro bono immigration legal services, said the detention center would have a “disruptive” and “chilling” impact on Berks County’s immigrant community.
“If there are people that live freely and at peace knowing that they do the right thing, they can do their immigration process or stay with their family or figure out a way to legalize their status, they’re going to be more afraid to do that with a giant detention center in their backyard,” Cambria said.
A 2022 study by the Detention Watch Center and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center found that immigrants were more likely to be arrested by ICE in counties with more detention bed space.
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PJM Interconnection — the region’s dominant electric grid operator — is poised to play a central role in the expansion of data centers, as the independent organization has been shoved into the national spotlight and subjected to mounting pressure over the last year.
It has been a frequent target of Shapiro, officials from other states, consumer advocates, and the federal government.
In many ways, PJM may be one of the most consequential Philly‑area institutions that most residents have barely heard of, even though their electricity supply and monthly bills hinge on its decisions.
The organization has faced escalating scrutiny nationwide and across the region because of its position as the country’s largest independent grid operator and the challenges tied to surging energy demand.
What is PJM?
Based in Audubon, Montgomery County, PJM manages the minute-by-minute flow of electricity for 67 million people across 13 states and the District of Columbia.
It helps keep the lights on for 13 million Pennsylvanians.
Why are there concerns about PJM and data centers?
Concerns have risen over the cost to consumers posed by hyperscale data centers — the massive server farms needed to run artificial intelligence — that are poised to come online across Pennsylvania and the U.S.
PJM plays a major role in getting those data centers powered and connected to the regional electrical grid.
Consumer advocates say the data centers are forcing consumers to pay for the new power plants and equipment needed to keep up with that demand. And they fear that huge demand could result in electrical outages during times of peak demand.
Already, consumers have seen electricity prices spike — and that’s before most of the proposed data centers are even built.
How much consumers pay is influenced by an annual auction held by PJM designed to get enough commitments from power producers so that the electrical grid can meet forecast demand for several years and to ensure power during peak times. That is known as grid reliability.
Map produced by The National Resources Defense Council estimates electricity capacity costs to utility companies based on PJM forecasts through 2032.
Why is Gov. Shapiro critical of PJM?
Shapiro and other governors have been sharply critical of how PJM has designed its auction, saying the process lacks transparency.
In a 2024 lawsuit, Shapiro’s office referred to PJM’s decisions as “inept” and responsible for “the country’s most snarled interconnection queue,” in reference to projects lined up for approval to be added to the grid.
After the 2025-26 auction, Shapiro reached an agreement with PJM on a price cap that he said would save consumers over $21 billion and avoid historic price hikes. The cap limited the increase of wholesale electricity payments to power plant owners.
PJM forecasts that data centers will drive a need for more than 30 gigawatts of peak electricity capacity by 2030 — enough to power more than 20 million households, or approximately all the homes in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, and Maryland, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
The NRDC says that could lead to another spike in electricity costs through 2033 and cost homeowners and businesses an estimated extra $70 per month.
At the same time, however, officials are also pushing PJM to fast-track data centers.
Late last year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an order on so-called colocation that will allow tech companies to plug their data centers directly into power plants.
In January, the Trump administration and a group of governors, including Shapiro, urged PJM to move quickly to boost power supplies and keep bills from rising.
They also want PJM to hold a separate power auction in which tech companies would bid on 15-year contracts to build new power plants. That way, data center operators, not regular consumers, would pay for the power.
Data centers that do not have their own power source and do not volunteer to be cut off from the grid during power emergencies should be billed for the cost of new power plants, they said.
Why do people resist data centers near their homes?
The quick rise of data centers has met stiff resistance from residents who fear the projects will radically alter the character of rural neighborhoods, increase electricity and water costs, and harm the environment.
Developers have submitted applications for at least 20 hyperscale data centers in Pennsylvania. PJM would have to find a way to make sure they can be powered and connected reliably to the grid, or provide their own power.
At least six data centers are being planned or proposed in the Philadelphia region, with some reaching 2 million square feet. Residents have fought the proposals, some of which have run into zoning and planning problems.
Residents of some of those communities are alarmed by a new Pennsylvania House bill (HB 2151), which is backed by Shapiro. It provides a model ordinance designed to speed data center development.
Opponents believe the bill is an attempt by the tech industry to get data centers approved.
“HB2151 would undermine Pennsylvanians’ herculean grassroots efforts to keep dirty data centers out of our communities — it must be stopped,”said Ginny Marcille-Kerslake, an organizer for Food and Water Watch, an environmental advocacy nonprofit.
“This bill pushes Shapiro’s reckless embrace of data centers even further onto communities struggling to grapple with Big Tech’s land, power, and water grab,” she said, calling it a part of “backroom deals” the state is making.
A vote on the bill before the House Energy Committee is scheduled for Wednesday.
What’s next?
Environmentalists and other groups, including some legislators, say a process by PJM to fast-track electricity-producing projects excludes clean energy and gives special treatment to fossil fuel power plants, allowing them to cut ahead in the queue over renewable sources that have waited years to connect to the grid.
That plan calls for changes in PJM policies to bring new power online quickly by providing a streamlined path for state-sponsored power generation projects, improving load forecasts, giving a bigger role in the process to states, and offering ways for data centers to bring in their own power generation while curtailing power in times of system need.
The plan, PJM said, “will also help address the supply-and-demand imbalance that has the potential to threaten grid reliability and is currently driving up wholesale costs that can impact consumer bills.”
Jeff Shields, a spokesperson for PJM, said the imbalance has been created as sources of power generation are being retired without enough new generation coming online to keep pace. At the same time, demand for electricity has increased substantially due to the proliferation of data centers.
“PJM is doing its part to bring new generation onto the system, and any suggestion otherwise is just not true,” Shields said.
He also noted that while PJM does run wholesale power markets, it does not directly set rates for residential, commercial, or industrial customers. Those rates are set by utilities, such as Peco, along with government agencies, such as the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
Jefferson Health is boosting emergency department capacity at Abington Hospital to enable it to receive 100,000 visits annually, up from 80,000 now, the nonprofit health system said Tuesday.
The department, which is also a Level II trauma center, will be named the Goodman Emergency Trauma Center in honor of an unspecified donation from Montgomery County residents Bruce and Judi Goodman. Bruce Goodman is a commercial real estate developer and a longtime Abington board member, Jefferson said.
Jefferson, which acquired Abington in 2015, described the Goodman gift as the cornerstone of a $30 million ongoing fundraising campaign for the hospital’s emergency department.
The project will reconfigure more than 24,000 square feet of existing clinical space and reallocate 10,000 additional square feetfrom a courtyard and a gift shop to the ED to expand capacity from 80 to 116 treatment spaces, Jefferson said.
Also last year, Jefferson announced $19 million in upgrades to the emergency department at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Center City. The system also added a 20-bed observation unit in the ED at Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia.
HARRISBURG — Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday is expected to propose a $53.2 billion state budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, just three months after settling a bitter, 135-daybudget impasse that forced schools, counties, and nonprofits to take out loans to stay afloat.
Shapiro, a first-term Democrat running for reelection this year and potentially poised for higher office, will deliver his fourth annual budget address before a joint session of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, where he plans to pitch an expansive $1 billion housing and infrastructure plan to incentivize new housing development with an overall focus on affordability in the state.
And as in years past, Shapiro is expected to again propose new revenue streams to fill a more than $5 billion deficit, such as the legalization and taxation of adult-use cannabis, as Pennsylvania is again expected to spend more than it brings in tax revenues.
Here are three things to watch for in Shapiro’s budget proposal.
Affordability, affordability, affordability
Affordability has become somewhat of a top Democratic catchphrase heading into the midterm elections, as housing, energy and healthcare costs continue to rise.
It’s an issue Shapiro has repeated as one that is top of mind for him, and he is now applying it to a basic need for many Pennsylvanians: housing.
Construction is underway on three bedroom units with garages at Winslow Cross Creek Family Apartments Thursday, Mar. 6, 2025. Hans Lampart, founder, president, and CEO of Eastern Pacific Development and Brookfield Construction specializes in build-to-rent affordable housing.
The average rental price in Pennsylvania is $1,525 per month, with 25,000 rentals available across the state, according to the real estate website Zillow.
The governor on Tuesday is also expected to reintroduce his “Lightning Plan” that includes incentives to increase renewable energy production and a new Pennsylvania-specific cap-and-trade carbon program.
The plan would replace the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that Shapiro and House Democrats agreed to ditch as part of an overall $50.5 billion budget deal in November, following years of urging from Republicans who argued that it stifled economic growth in the state. A similar cap-and-trade program would be unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled state Senate.
New revenue streams, again
Shapiro will again try to fill the state’s projected $4.3 billion budget gap with new revenue streams — although none of them would be likely to be up and running in time for the start of the new fiscal year on July 1.
Last year was the first time Pennsylvania’s state budget ever topped $50 billion. Its revenue still has yet to hit that milestone, and is unlikely to do so this fiscal year. The Independent Fiscal Office estimates the state will bring in nearly $49 billion, a 1.3% increase in revenue over the last fiscal year.
The budget gap is among the biggest challenges for Shapiro in upcoming negotiations with top legislative leaders, as Senate Republicans say it’s their top priority to spend within the state’s means.
Shapiro last year proposed tapping into the state’s Rainy Day Fund — approximately $7 billion set aside for emergencies — that the state has been stockpiling in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s unclear whether he will pitch using some of the fund again for the 2026-27 fiscal year.
Last year, Shapiro proposed a 20% tax on adult-use cannabis that he predicted would bring in $535.6 million in its first year, largely from licensing fees. He projected it could bring in $1.3 billion in the first five years, noting that only one of Pennsylvania’s neighboring states, West Virginia, hasn’t legalized recreational marijuana, essentially allowing Pennsylvania to lose out on tax revenue as residents cross state lines to buy it.
A legal marijuana purchase in Deptford, N.J. on April 21, 2022.
Shapiro has proposed regulating skill games in his last two budgets, asking last year that the unregulated gaming machines be taxed at 52%, which is the same tax rate as slot machines in casinos or gas stations. He estimated then that skill games would bring in nearly $369 million in its first year.
(The skill games industry has continuously rejected a high tax rate, arguing that it would hurt the industry and small business owners that carry the machines, like bars and corner stores.)
A possibly quicker resolution
There is one bright spot for the schools, counties, and nonprofits that rely on state funding and which last year had to wait more than four months for that money when lawmakers couldn’t agree: It’s an election year.
Election years often result in quicker budget resolutions, as lawmakers and officials want to secure money for their districts before they go home to campaign for reelection.
Sign posted by the PA Senate at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg Aug. 26, 2025, reminds visitors of the state’s “multi-billion dollar structural deficit.”
In 2018, when former Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf was up for reelection, he signed the state budget on June 23 — a week ahead of the July 1 deadline.
This year, Shapiro is up for reelection, likely to face a November challenge from State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, the state Republican Party-endorsed candidate. And many other state lawmakers are in the same boat.
All 203 seats in the state House and half the 50 seats in the state Senate are on the ballotin November. Several lawmakers have announced that they will not seek reelection, allowing for competitive elections to fill the vacancies.
