🚇 Fare evaders head to court | Morning Newsletter

It’s a new month, Philly, and officially the back half of 2025.

SEPTA’s fare evasion crackdown is no joke. Ask the more than 3,200 people criminally charged this year alone.

And the WNBA announced Monday that Philadelphia would be getting its own franchise, to begin play in 2030. Read on for reactions from fans, politicians, and other basketball lovers.

Plus, find details on municipal worker contract negotiations, the potential impact of the federal tax and spending bill, and more below.

— Julie Zeglen and Jaison Nieves (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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In the face of a $213 million budget shortfall, SEPTA is trying to recoup some funds by cracking down on turnstile jumpers.

By the numbers: The transit agency estimates 30% of riders regularly paid the fare last year, which cost about $50 million in lost revenue.

A stricter approach: From 2019 until last June, SEPTA officers issued tickets of $25 to fare evaders. Most people never paid up. The agency switched to criminal offenses, charging thousands of people with theft of services in the past year. Fines and court costs can total nearly $500.

More changes to come: SEPTA is continuing the crackdown by testing eight-foot-tall gates, which the agency says have brought a 20% reduction in fare evasion at the 69th Street Market-Frankford Line terminal. Next up, the gates will be installed at nine more stations starting this summer.

Reporters Ellie Rushing and Tom Fitzgerald have the story.

The WNBA continues to grow, this time moving into our own backyard with an expansion team coming to Philly in 2030.

🏀 Before this yet-to-be-named squad can take the floor, some off-court decisions — where they’ll play and who else will have a stake, for instance — will need to be made by team owner Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, managed by the 76ers’ Josh Harris. (Hopefully this team will find more success than our Sixers.)

🏀 The buzz is picking up around the city, from politicians and celebrities to local fans. “I’m confident Philadelphia and Pennsylvania will be the perfect home,” basketball superfan Gov. Josh Shapiro said. Lots of other Philadelphians have opinions on it, too.

🏀 The city has long seemed like a perfect pairing with the WNBA, given its love of basketball, but it’s been a long road with years of speculation and lobbying before we’ve reached this moment.

🏀 Now, columnist Marcus Hayes writes, generational star Caitlin Clark has pushed the league to new heights. And many fans are looking at Dawn Staley, who has campaigned for a Philly team for years, to be involved in the ownership.

Nearly 300,000 Pennsylvanians could lose Medicaid amid cuts under President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax and spending bill. Five families explain what the program means for them.

As the U.S. Senate continued Monday to debate the megabill, Gov. Shapiro said he’s not sure the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will be able to survive in the state if it passes.

Meanwhile, Sen. John Fetterman responded to a question about how long voting is expected to take by saying, “Oh my God, I just want to go home.”

The Senate had not yet voted as of Monday evening. Visit Inquirer.com for the latest.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Rob McElhenney has filed to legally change his name to what?

A) Ronald McDonald

B) Rob Mac

C) Ryan McReynolds

D) The Mac Daddy

Think you know? Check your answer.

🎆 Welcoming: LL Cool J and Jazmine Sullivan to Philly’s Fourth of July concert.

📍 Geoguessing: Where in Philadelphia are these historical landmarks?

🏘️ Comparing: Homes for sale in three suburbs for $550,000.

🏄 Preordering: This Asbury Park-centric memoir on a “mismatched Jersey Shore bromance amid the waves.”

🐕 Loving: Tugger, the Phillies’ new service pup-in-training.

Hint: Pica’s longtime home

DRUB YAPPER

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Judith Savarese, who solved Monday’s anagram: Fitler Club. The Cobbs Creek Golf Course makeover will feature a full restaurant and bar starting this fall, with food and beverage service provided by the club and a family-owned catering business.

🌳 One last outdoorsy thing: According to the above retired postal worker, painting tree trunks is a traditional technique in orchards and landscapes around the world, good for pest prevention and sun protection. “When you own a home you’re never really retired,” he quipped. (I’m nowhere near retired but, oh boy, my newly replaced roof and I believe it.)

Thanks to Inquirer intern Jaison Nieves for his help cowriting today’s newsletter, and thanks to you for starting your day with The Inquirer. We’ll be back with you tomorrow.

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