💰 Enticing Philly landlords with cash | Morning Newsletter
And the stuff of Philly hoop legends
The Morning Newsletter
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The forecast is for a rainy Wednesday with temperatures reaching only the low 50s.
Today, we take a look at how Philly plans to solve landlord reticence when it comes to accepting tenants with housing vouchers.
🏀 And in advance of the East Regional rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, headed to Philly this Friday, we spoke with a number of Philly hoops legends on their most prized possessions.
If you see this 🔒 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.
— Kerith Gabriel (@sprtswtr, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
In an effort to have more Philly landlords accepting tenants utilizing housing vouchers, the city’s housing authority wants to offer landlords cash signing bonuses and speed up the approval process.
Under PHA’s program, which runs through at least April 30, the housing authority will pay property owners $300 for each standard voucher they accept and $500 for emergency vouchers for households who were homeless and referred to PHA by the city. Because of additional funding through the American Rescue Plan Act for the city’s 863 emergency vouchers, PHA also can pay security deposits for these households.
Currently, there are more than 19,500 households in Philly that receive rental assistance through the voucher program, but more than 5,000 landlords participate. According to the housing authority, nearly half of PHA’s housing voucher recipients are spending months looking for a home.
Our reporter Michaelle Bond takes a closer look at the incentive and why PHA is urging more landlords to consider.
🏠 Michaelle also has details on a $5 million gift to Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia this week from Amazon cofounder MacKenzie Scott.
🏠 Also, for those seeking affordable housing, our guide offers resources to help you find your next place.
What you should know today
Jury selection in the federal bribery trial of City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson has extended into a third day.
A Virginia man charged with torching a Pennsylvania State Police car during the May 2020 racial injustice protests in Center City is set to plead guilty.
Anne K. Nadol, a longtime Temple University executive, has been tabbed to become the city’s next commerce director.
Here’s why the notion of starting Philly high schools at 9 a.m. is a bad idea, opines this Philly high school English teacher.
In addition to Philly, the annual Diner en Blanc is also heading to a secret location in Atlantic City this summer.
You have to meet the 10-year-old Delco boy poised to become the next Simba in Broadway’s The Lion King.
Here’s what’s motivating more people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Local Coronavirus Numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
In three days, Philadelphia will be at the center of the college basketball universe, hosting the East Regional Sweet 16 rounds of the men’s NCAA Tournament.
Feeling nostalgic, our reporter Mike Jensen took a trip down memory lane with a number of notable names in Philadelphia basketball for a look at their most prized possessions.
🇺🇸For Temple legend Dawn Staley, it’s the harness she used to carry the American flag at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
🏀 Former St. Joseph’s head coach Phil Martelli says it’s a vintage basketball gifted by Paul Arizin.
🎟️ Villanova men’s coach Jay Wright still has his high school basketball jersey and ticket stubs from a 1973 Big 5 game between St. Joe’s and Villanova at the Palestra.
⛹️♀️ Muffet McGraw is pretty sure her 1980 California Dreams jersey from her days in the Women’s Basketball League still fits.
If you love basketball or nostalgia — or both — you’ll enjoy this one. 🔒
🧠 Philly Trivia Time 🧠
After a pandemic hiatus, Philly Theatre Week will return this April. With 86 in-person and virtual shows planned, it’s among the most in the history of the event. Today’s question: Do you know how many years Philly Theatre Week has been a thing? Take a guess and find the answer here.
a. 5 years
b. 10 years
c. 15 years
What we’re …
🚇 Watching: How many more businesses will consider giving free SEPTA passes to its employees.
🏃 Doing: This 10-minute workout our resident wellness coach says will kick-start your entire day.
😲 Reading: About the rise of applications for license-to-carry firearms skyrocketing in Philly.
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
She’s the Philly artist with a big heart. 🖤
LARA MEBEL
Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shoutout to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shoutout goes to Janet T. of Lehigh County, who correctly guessed ROCKY BALBOA as Tuesday’s answer.
Photo of the day
Have a great day today. I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow. ✌️