Homeowners stuck in waiting game | Morning Newsletter

More thunderstorms may be rolling into our region again Sunday, and forecasters say some of them could be potent.

Homeowners across Pennsylvania applied for federal funds to help them with bills they struggled to pay during the pandemic. Our lead story highlights issues with the program that now requires them to apply again.

— Paola Pérez (@pdesiperez, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Eighty-year-old Deborah Brown is struggling to keep up with her bills. She was forced to retire due to kidney failure, and it’s become “almost an impossibility” to hold onto the Southwest Philadelphia rowhouse where she’s lived for five decades.

To get help with her mortgage payments and utility bills, Brown applied for the Homeowner Assistance Fund, a state pandemic-relief program offering homeowners up to $50,000.

Where’s the money? The state has paid out $119 million so far, about a third of the $350 million it received through the federal American Rescue Plan Act. But the program was mismanaged, even leading to applications being mistakenly denied. There’s a backup of more than 15,000 applications.

Brown is now six months behind on her mortgage. Thousands of Pennsylvania homeowners like her are still waiting for help — some of whom applied much earlier than Brown did.

Now, homeowners who previously applied must re-register in order for the state to consider their applications, and housing advocates are worried that homeowners don’t know that.

In their own words: “People are facing the loss of their homes while they’re waiting for the money to come through,” said Rachel Labush, supervising attorney at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia. “We’re concerned that many people have given up or don’t know they need to do anything now and are waiting.”

Continue reading on what’s next for homeowners waiting for funds.

The Liberty Bell remains a significant symbol of freedom as the United States observes Independence Day. The inscription at the top reads: “Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”

Did the bell actually ring in July of 1776? Most say no. The National Park Service (the bell’s caretaker) says “there is no evidence that the bell rang on July 4 or 8″ that year.

But Thomas Kauffman, a writer who loves history, vintage church bells, and Philadelphia, makes the case for it in his new book, Independence Bells of Philadelphia. He insists that the Liberty Bell was among those rung during the day and into the night of July 8, 1776.

In his own words: “There is a substantial account in the records of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly that the bell was being rung so often and so loudly that it irritated local residents, who complained to the assembly with a petition in 1772.”

Continue reading about this conclusion in Kevin Riordan’s interview with Kauffman.

A runaway was on the loose on the Kutztown University campus this week. Which animal was it?

A) Cheetah

B) Bear

C) Cow

D) Box turtle

Hint: A Philly woman-owned original 🍺

BECKER DORRY TWEETS

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Stacy Stone who correctly guessed Friday’s answer: fried chicken sandwich.

🎶 For today’s track, we’re listening to: “Don’t you know they’re talking about a revolution? / It sounds like a whisper.” 🎶

👋🏽 Taylor’s got you covered bright and early with the Monday morning news. Enjoy the fireworks.