How Philly fails homebuyers | Morning Newsletter
And Trump was indicted over alleged attempts to overturn 2020 election
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Enjoy clear skies with a high of 83 and pretty low humidity. It’s good news. After a stormy, hot and muggy July, the weather for the next few days should continue to be “uncharacteristically magnificent and uneventful.”
You also either ended your day or woke up to the news of the indictment against Donald Trump in the 2020 election probe. We have the latest information about that below.
But before that, our lead story is the latest installment of Crumbling City, an ongoing series about construction safety in Philadelphia and its impact on residents. This one follows the stories of Philly homebuyers who trusted that their houses were safe.
Soon after moving in, they discovered an overwhelmed city inspection system failed to catch life-threatening problems.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Within months of moving in, first-time homebuyer Julia Blaukopf realized her renovated Kensington rowhome wasn’t as “magical” as the renderings.
The window blew in, the roof started leaking, and the heat stopped working. The stench of sewage in her basement was so strong that it gave her a headache.
But it wasn’t until she began calling the city Department of Licenses & Inspections (L&I) that she found out the most alarming part. City inspectors logged inspections of her home in the agency’s public database that Blaukopf said were never conducted.
The crux: The only thing guaranteeing the safety of her home was a municipal construction-oversight system that relies partially on third-party inspectors, licensed by the city but hired by the contractors themselves, to monitor safety concerns. Critics say this system has widespread conflicts of interest. The rest of the oversight relies on city inspectors who are responsible for an average of 964 permits each. L&I staff and construction professionals agree that the caseloads are impossible, which leads to inadequate safeguards against poor construction.
Continue reading to understand the breadth of the problem.
Tip: Do your homework when buying a new and renovated house. We have a guide for you.
And when you’re done, be sure to refresh your memory of the first story of the series.
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted over his alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss.
Note: This marks his third set of criminal charges in less than a year.
Pennsylvania was featured early and often throughout the latest indictment, which you can read here.
His alleged efforts to subvert election results in Pennsylvania, according to the indictment, include:
In a Nov. 11, 2020 tweet, Trump publicly maligned Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt for saying on TV news that there was no evidence of widespread fraud in Philadelphia. Schmidt testified before the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that he and his family later received death threats.
On Nov 25, 2020 — the day after Gov. Tom Wolf certified the state’s election results —State Sen. Doug Mastriano and Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani convened a hearing in Gettysburg. At that hearing, Giuliani falsely claimed Pennsylvania had issued 1.8 million absentee ballots and received 2.5 million in return.
Between Dec. 31, 2020, and Jan. 3, 2021, Trump repeatedly raised allegations with Justice Department officials that there were 205,000 more votes than voters in Pennsylvania. Each time, they informed him that the claim wasn’t true.
Keep reading to learn about the uncharged, unnamed coconspirators with Pennsylvania ties.
What you should know today
New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver died Tuesday. She was a political trailblazer who was the first Black woman to serve as head of the state Assembly.
U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and seven other congressional lawmakers are pushing for a law to get $100 million in federal funds to get rid of “forever chemicals” from firefighters’ protective gear. The move comes after The Inquirer published its special report, The Burning Question.
A federal judge ruled that the FBI’s use of an informant to secretly record former labor leader John J. Dougherty leading up to and during his 2021 bribery trial didn’t violate his right to a fair trial.
A $97 million program seeks to help researchers test gene therapy for patients with diseases that are so rare that gene-therapy firms haven’t tried tackling them.
The superintendent of Pitman High School was notified of the dangers of a senior scavenger hunt the day before a student drowned.
The Glenside Library is promoting books that Central Bucks residents are trying to ban.
Two friends, Lacey Soslow and Gabriella Ainslie, started the online platform Matriarchy Build in March 2022. It offers one-on-one virtual consultations with tradespeople who are women or nonbinary.
They knew what it was like when men talked down to them, and saw an appetite for home improvement advice from women and nonbinary experts.
How it works: Across the country, homeowners and DIYers video chat with professionals who guide them through projects and answer questions about working with professionals. Sometimes, they hire them. The tradespeople set prices, and the platform takes 20% from each consultation.
Notable quote: “Not only is it teaching you, ‘How do I do x, y, or z?’” Madison Alpern, a customer and local designer said, “but it’s also giving you the confidence to speak up to your professionals on-site.”
Matriarchy Build started with 25 professionals but now it has 80 with more than 300 applicants waiting.
Keep reading to meet some of the contractors.
🧠 Trivia time 🧠
Drake performed at Wells Fargo Center Monday and Tuesday for his “It’s All A Blur” tour with 21 Savage.
When was his last appearance in Philly?
A) 2021
B) 2018
C) 2016
D) 2011
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
👀 Watching: DoorDash is accused of skirting Philadelphia’s cap on food-delivery fees.
🎥 Anticipating: BlackStar Film Festival returns to Center City today through Aug. 6. Doors open at 10 a.m.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram 🧩
Hint: A South Philly bakery
RETIRES THROMBIN
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Graziella DiNuzzo, who correctly guessed Tuesday’s answer: Benjamin Rush.
Photo of the day
That’s all I have for you today. I’m off to my morning walk to take advantage of the perfect weather. I hope you can make time to do the same. See you later. 👋🏽