Philly’s next reassessment sparks concern now | Morning Newsletter
And, the pandemic mother load.
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Good morning from The Inquirer newsroom.
Last night, the 2021 Golden Globe award for best picture went to Nomadland, and Chloe Zhao became the second woman ever to capture the Globe for best director. Check out our interview with Zhao about the immersive moviemaking process, and here’s to the wanderers.
First: Philly’s next property reassessment is delayed until next year, but it’s already sparking concerns about people potentially getting “taxed out” of the neighborhood.
Then: Pa. women who left jobs to look after their kids in the pandemic are being denied unemployment benefits that they are lawfully entitled to.
And: If you build it, will they come? Yesterday, construction began for a massive drive-through vaccination site in King of Prussia being built on spec — with no guarantee the state will give it vaccines.
— Ashley Hoffman (@_ashleyhoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Philly property owners are enjoying a two-year break from reassessments, and the tax hikes they can come with. But already, reassessments that will start up again next year have some concerned.
City Council members are speaking out about how possible tax increase measures could hit hundreds of thousands of people they represent, particularly when the economy needs to bounce back. Members questioned Mayor Jim Kenney about how reassessments might blindside people with steep hikes.
In 2019, the city’s assessed values used to levy property taxes were off. An Inquirer analysis of the 2019 market values discovered that more than 165,000 residential properties were overassessed.
Here’s everything we know about reassessments so far.
Perhaps it took a pandemic to really lay bare the mother load.
Working parents, so often single moms, have had to leave their jobs to care for their children. With the sheer lack of affordable child care on top of mounting work pressures, predicaments like these are a continually common story line. The law couldn’t possibly be clearer for parental rights: If parents must leave their job because they need to be the child care, they’re eligible for unemployment benefits.
But some Pa. parents are getting denied, and the application process isn’t helping. While there aren’t data on how many claims are getting thrown out, experts are saying this could block thousands of working parents from getting the very aid they’re entitled to.
Get the whole story and hear from parents on getting denied unemployment benefits.
Where can you get a vaccine in the Philly area if you’re eligible? Use our lookup tool and find out.
Here are the updated coronavirus case numbers, as COVID-19 spreads in the region.
This is why you still can’t socialize without a mask on, even if you’ve been vaccinated.
Reminder: This is how Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine is different from Pfizer’s and Moderna’s.
What you need to know today
The man behind an ambitious drive-through vaccination site is determined to show the state that his pro-profit company should be allowed to give the shots.
How massive is the price variation among Philadelphia-area hospitals for care? Astoundingly random when you look at recently released numbers.
Today’s the day the Philadelphia School District and teachers union are expected to make an announcement on building reopening.
This City Council bill would curtail elusive Airbnb hosts by treating their operations as businesses, as is done in New York and Boston.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
Now this is an uplifting snapshot. Thanks for sharing, @positivemag1.
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
🎶 D’Angelo & Friends put on a very different kind of Verzuz show, earning a rave from Dan DeLuca as a balm in the pandemic winter.
⚾ Strengthening the infield is vital for the Phillies right now. Scott Lauber takes you inside their plan.
📚 Federal financial aid applications are down. Some worry that could mean we have fewer low-income students thinking about college.
Opinions
“Time is of the essence. Lives and livelihoods are at stake,” — columnist Maria Panaritis has a letter to President Joe Biden about how Philly’s collar counties are getting shortchanged when it comes to COVID-19 vaccine access.
Tony Brown became a part of Black history when he introduced us to the soul and spirit of Black love through song, educator Rann Miller writes.
The random nature of the crime inside a Center City Macy’s last weekend shows how underreporting gives people a false sense of safety, columnist Jenice Armstrong writes.
What we’re reading
The Hustle tracks the rise and fall of Subway’s infamous $5 footlong sandwich promotion that started a years-long war.
A whole neighborhood on Long Island is alight with Christmas decorations again, and it’s not because people haven’t taken theirs down yet.
Sara Pascucci got a letter admonishing her for keeping Frosty and the candy canes glittering on her lawn. But after losing two relatives to COVID-19 one week apart, she wanted to keep the spirits bright. And so, her Bethpage neighbors joined her and decked their own halls again with decorations to bring more cheer to the picture.