💡 If energy savings come knocking ... | Morning Newsletter

Rise and shine, Philly. It’s a somewhat cloudy Sunday with a high near 58.

Paying less for goods and services is highly favorable, especially when you’re already grappling with elevated prices at the grocery store, the gas pump, and beyond. So when someone offers you steep savings on your monthly energy bills, how can you be sure they will actually save you money? Our main read walks you through the facts before a salesperson knocks on your door.

And stick around for an outdoorsy trip. We’re headed to York County to see hiking trails that could soon be lost thanks to a hydroelectric project, and an environmental group pushing back to save them.

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

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

Many Philly residents have recently reported getting a knock on their door from a salesperson who promised lower energy bills. As the weather warms, you may find yourself in a similar situation.

To avoid door-to-door scams:

🪪 Ask for identification

🗣️ Be wary of pressure tactics

💡 Do your own research

🚪 Remember, you don’t have to answer the door

Read on for more tips, plus learn about switching energy suppliers and the legality of door-to-door sales.

The Inquirer’s Jason Nark reports on rural parts of Pennsylvania and the outdoors far from city life. His latest assignment took him to Cuffs Run, a small tributary of the Susquehanna River.

Cuffs Run cuts a steep ravine into the bluffs above the river in York County. And for decades, energy producers and engineers have eyed its unique topography for a hydroelectric pumped storage facility.

But opposition to the plan has been nearly universal, bipartisan, and very vocal. Residents and a slew of nonprofits, including the Lancaster Conservancy, are prepared to fight the project if it moves forward.

The impact: The $2.5 billion project would encompass some 1,000 acres and require the acquisition of private homes of up to 40 residents, preserved farms and forested lands, and possibly even long-established hiking trails.

Not the first time: Several groups have tried and failed to make the Cuffs Run project a reality over the years. In 1991, when the same hydroelectric project was proposed by another group, locals said homes and fertile farmlands would be taken and they banded together, forming the Citizens Against Cuffs Run Project.

William McMahon of York Energy told The Inquirer’s Jason Nark that engineers have long known Cuffs Run is the best location for this effort.

In his own words: “I’m for the outdoors, for the environment, but I’m also a power engineer,” said McMahon. “We are doing the right thing, for the most people, for the long term.”

Go deeper in Jason’s story to learn more about the use of water power, and the continued efforts to protect this cherished land.

P.S. Stories like this make me even more excited for the official return of The Inquirer’s free Outdoorsy newsletter on June 7. Sign up here so I can drop a breath of fresh air in your inbox every week, plus Jason’s latest dispatches and practical guides to make the most of your time outside!

Swerve, a new fictional film (based on a true story) is screening at Penn’s Annenberg Center this weekend. It’s about which facet of Philly culture?

A) soft pretzels

B) bike culture

C) “savesies” culture

D) cheesesteaks

Think you know? Check your answer.

Hint: After 31 years, this longtime Philly sports talker and 94.1 WIP host is walking away from the microphone.

GOWN MCLEAN

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Shirley Ramsey who correctly guessed Friday’s answer: Taylor Swift. Worth a read: A review of “The Tortured Poets Department” courtesy of our in-house pop critic Dan DeLuca, who points out the album sets a new record “for most F-bombs dropped on a Taylor Swift album.”

Did you go to the show? If you have major FOMO like me, at least we can thank Dan DeLuca and Rosa Cartagena for teaming up to bring us the sights and sounds of Bad Bunny’s breathtaking concert.

🎶 Today’s Sunday track goes like this: “Maybe the next time I’ll be yours and maybe you’ll be mine.” I’ve had this Simply Red song stuck in my head for days. And just when I thought it couldn’t get better, I came to discover that track entirely (and beautifully) samples a Daryl Hall & John Oates bop. So satisfying.

👋🏽 Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Inquirer. Have a great day, and take care.