The high stakes of losing a U.S. House seat | Morning Newsletter
And, the state of home devaluation.
The Morning Newsletter
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Hello, dedicated readers of The Inquirer Morning newsletter.
First: Pennsylvania is losing a congressional seat when it redraws the political map. The actual impact of this is high stakes.
Then: Homes in Black neighborhoods are valued less than similar homes in white areas. This is the state of the home ownership racial gap in Philly.
And: Experts say a year of isolation has “steepened the slope” for many seniors with dementia, which means Pa. caregivers who are reuniting with their loved ones face a difficult transition period.
Also: Philly is easing more coronavirus restrictions effective May 7, allowing indoor catering events to resume and increasing indoor and outdoor restaurant capacity and table size.
— Ashley Hoffman (@_ashleyhoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Pennsylvania’s looming loss of a congressional seat is going to reverberate across state politics. Redrawing the congressional map following decennial census could have significant implications for sitting lawmakers.
Their districts will grow, reshaping the contours of the political leanings and potentially forcing two incumbents to face off for a single seat. Another matter? The impact beyond Pennsylvania. This could shape the balance of power in Washington. A swing of just five seats would give Republicans control of the House and the clout to block President Joe Biden’s agenda. So as lawmakers redraw maps across the country, squeezing even just one seat out of Pennsylvania’s evenly split delegation could be massive.
There are many ways it could all shake out. These are the key factors to watch.
Specifically, Philadelphia homes in majority Black neighborhoods are undervalued by roughly $26,000 compared to similar homes in majority white neighborhoods.
Philadelphia City Council members said they plan to study solutions to individual and systemic biases in home appraisals, which contribute to the problem. It’s an issue that also follows decades of discriminatory housing policies that blocked Black families from getting mortgages and relegated families to areas the federal government considered undesirable and where the city stopped investing.
Beyond home ownership inequities, home devaluation has long made the racial wealth gap worse by also hindering homeowners’ ability to go to college or start businesses.
Read on for reporter Michaelle Bond’s story on home devaluation.
As pandemic restrictions lift at nursing homes, thousands of family members are reuniting with their loved ones. Without distance imposed by FaceTime and visits through a window, the picture of declining health is much clearer. Experts say that in the case of dementia and aging, the total lack of socialization has amplified issues.
Reporter Stacey Burling talked to local caregivers to bring you closer to the reality. Read on for her story on figuring out how much of the last year’s damage can be undone.
🆕 The CDC changed its coronavirus guidelines, saying many Americans can go outside without masks.
Where can I get a COVID-19 vaccine in the Philly area? Use our lookup tool.
Seven experts ranked the risk of everyday activities once you’re fully vaccinated.
If you booked an appointment on your own or if you’ve already received the vaccine, you can take yourself off COVID-19 vaccine wait lists in Philly and the suburbs.
What you need to know today
Philly announced that it will further ease some coronavirus restrictions, allowing indoor catered events like weddings to resume and upping table size capacity for both indoor and outdoor dining with precautions in place.
The Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office is under scrutiny after it resumed sales of properties that were foreclosed on — moving from in-person auctions to an online vendor — as critics fear the virtual sales could cause more gentrification and land speculation.
New chancellor for Rutgers-Camden eyes expansions in internships and international experiences.
An Ex-bookkeeper for the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation stole $2.6 million to bankroll gambling and resort vacations, federal prosecutors say.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
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Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout-out!
That’s interesting
🏈 There’s a secret to the success of Archbishop Wood’s Kyle Pitts, the best player in the NFL draft.
😷 Remember the family nurse practitioner who made vaccines happen for some of Philly homebound residents with a mad dash through the night? We caught up with him again about the new spotlight on his mission.
🖼️ Free decor idea: You can’t frame a QR code. That’s why restaurant lovers are hanging old menus on their walls.
Opinions
“Beware when the oppressors learn the language of the oppressed, for they can fool you into thinking they now know better and will do better.” — columnist Helen Ubiñas writes that In the age of reckonings, as good as institutions undergoing reckonings have gotten at apologies, watch what they do, not what they say.
In his newsletter, columnist Will Bunch explored the protest that changed America, 50 years later, through the eyes of Philadelphians who went to D.C. (Sign up for his newsletter if your inbox is ready.)
Pa.’s tradition of firefighting is under threat now that it’s getting harder to recruit volunteers, journalist Alison McCook writes.
This is how corporations can support environmental justice in six key categories including human rights and product responsibility, lawyer Kathy Beckett writes.
What we’re reading
A mini pick your own strawberry farm? Philly Mag has a guide to fruits and fruit trees that can flourish in a rowhouse garden. If you’re not a rowhouse dweller, plant the seed with a rowhouse friend.
Scalawag reviews the buzzy documentary Mama Gloria, about Gloria Allen, an influential force who opened a charm school for trans youth experiencing homeless in Chicago in the 2010′s.
There’s a lot more to thrift shopping than bargain hunting, Vox muses.
Evidently you can actually win a lot of cookies by accepting cookies on the internet, Mashable reports.
Today, we recognize a Quakertown woman who is quite literally putting the Bucks in Upper Bucks County. The pandemic cut restaurant workers off from a big part of their lifeblood — tips. That’s where this woman came in with a tip challenge. She asked people to donate to a Venmo fund to raise money for servers at local restaurants and, boy, did it pay off.