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Introducing Inquirer.com; Philly property owners take city to trial over assessments | Morning Newsletter

Happy Sunday, everyone.

    The Morning Newsletter

    Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

Happy Sunday, everyone. Normally, Mondays tend to be a slow day, but tomorrow won’t be for some city officials and lawyers, who have to prepare for a major trial that involves some of Philly’s largest and most valuable offices, hotels, and apartment buildings. The case? A fight over the 2018 property assessments. Farther down today’s newsletter, learn about an evil pest that our columnist Maria Panaritis says we need to work together to get rid of, before it costs certain Pennsylvania farms billions of dollars in damages.

And, on Saturday morning, 190 years to the day since The Philadelphia Inquirer published its first edition, we changed our web address from Philly.com to Inquirer.com, along with some other updates throughout our digital and print platforms. Why? We want our readers to easily identify The Inquirer as their go-to, trustworthy, indispensable source of local news and information. Here’s what you’ll see, and what to know.

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Tauhid Chappell (morningnewsletter@philly.com)

The week ahead

  1. On Monday, the city faces one of the largest assessment appeals in its history, as owners of about 700 properties sued the city over its decision to reassess commercial and industrial properties in 2018 but not residential parcels.

  2. Thursday is the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Columnist Stu Bykofsky recently took a trip to Normandy and recounted a tour which took him to important moments of that historic invasion. And, meet a 93-year-old “Rosie the Riveter” from Levittown vying for Congressional Gold Medals for the women who flooded factories and shipyards during World War II to build the planes, ships, and bombs.

  3. June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month, and Philly will celebrate its 31st Pride next weekend with a parade and festival. This Pride marks 50 years since the Stonewall riots in New York City, which launched what’s widely viewed as the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement.

  4. This weekend was the last for the iconic Trocadero Theatre, which, after 30 years, has officially closed its doors on Arch Street.

  5. If you’re following the NBA Finals, the Raptors take on the Warriors tonight at 8 p.m. in Game 2.

This week’s most popular stories

Behind the story with Maria Panaritis

Each week we go behind the scenes with one of our reporters or editors to discuss their work and the challenges they face along the way. This week we chat with columnist Maria Panaritis, who has a bit of bad news. The spotted lanternflies are back, and that’s a bad sign for Pennsylvanians.

The spotted lanternfly is relatively new to the Pennsylvania region. How did you learn about it?

I ran into them - or, more accurately, an unsightly gang of them ran into me while I was walking into a diner near Reading a few summers ago. I saw them again at a family cookout in northern Montgomery County last year, and found a whole lot of people on social media who were just as creeped out as I over their arrival in southeastern Pennsylvania.

What parts of the Philadelphia region will be impacted by their presence?

The lanternfly, native to Asia, was first spotted in Berks County in 2014. It is now in at least 14 counties in eastern Pennsylvania, has migrated into New Jersey and several other nearby states, and is expected to spread its infestation further until officials find some way of containing this bug.

How worried should farmers be, and will any relief be coming from outside sources?

Pennsylvania alone there is fear of potentially billions of dollars in agricultural crop damage, given this pest’s affinity for apples and grapes. I’m told that experts are furiously searching for avenues to destroy or contain this pest given its potential for wholesale commercial damage.

Why should those, who may not have to worry about farms or crops, be mindful of this pest?

These bugs are downright irritating at best. But beyond the annoyance, it’s our job to kill as many as possible to curb their reproduction - now as little nymphs that have recently hatched and are sucking on the succulent branches of young plants, and later this summer once they’ve become colossal adults, an inch or longer and bugging the heck out of us at picnics. So, as I urged in my recent column, it’s time to become lanternfly assassins. Have at it!!!!!!

Stay in touch with Maria by following her on Twitter @panaritism or email her at mpanaritis@phillynews.com

Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly

As temps rise, this will definitely be the spot to be in. Thanks for capturing the moment, @vidadelphia.

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!

#CuriousPhilly: Have a question about your community? Ask us!

Have you submitted a question to Curious Philly yet? Try us. We’re listening to our readers and doing our best to find answers to the things you’re curious about.

Our readers’ latest question: What are those brown boxes on light poles across the Philly region? Government surveillance? Alien invasion?

The answer: No and no, but you will be seeing a lot more of them.

What we’re…

  1. Eating: Picanha Churrascaria, the popular Northeast Philadelphia Brazilian steakhouse which just opened the doors to its Center City jawn.

  2. Drinking: Natural wine at Pizzeria Beddia, which involves minimal intervention in the wine-making process, from organic farming to avoiding the chemical additives used to stabilize or alter wines.

  3. Watching: The Weekly, which feels a bit self-serving, but it’s The New York Times’ bet that people might trust journalists more if they knew what they did. The half-hour docu-series premieres tonight at 10 p.m.

  4. Listening to: “Things Fall Apart," in preparation for The Roots Picnic this Saturday. The hip-hop collective will play the ground-breaking album in its entirety, with some special guests, too.

Comment of the week

Thank goodness Councilman Johnson has banned bay windows and balconies. Of all the problems facing Philadelphia, those are the two most urgent problems that needed addressing. Good work Mr. Johnson. — 8315tigerman, on Councilman Kenyatta Johnson pushes ban on bay windows, seen as a symbol of gentrification, in his South Philly district.

Your Daily Dose of | The UpSide

A student-run food business whose goal is to create nutritious, tasty foods, has bloomed into a nonprofit business with an annual budget of $200,000. If all goes well then, by next year, they’ll open a convenience store in West Philadelphia.