🏀 The Sixers’ downtown dreams | Morning Newsletter

After two days of rain and grey skies, the sun should be out today with a high of 46.

For much of the last century, Philadelphia has operated with just one indoor arena at a time. And when it has had two, one has been significantly older or even outdated.

If the Sixers get their way, that may not be the case anymore. While the team owners are proposing a sophisticated new indoor arena in Center City, the Wells Fargo Center in South Philly is nearing the end of a massive, seven-year renovation.

So, does Philly really need a new arena? Our lead story takes a closer look at that question.

— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

The Sixers want to spend $1.3 billion to build a new arena on the doorstep of Chinatown, leaving South Philly behind.

For the Wells Fargo Center, the move would mean losing a major tenant and gaining a big competitor.

But is it good for the city?

That depends on whether the basketball arena can fix the unfixable on East Market, where the project would consume one-third of the Fashion District, the struggling mall that replaced the previous struggling mall, the Gallery.

The Sixers also have to tread carefully along a Chinatown that largely sees the coming of an arena as the destruction of the community, with rising rents and property values ultimately driving out people and businesses.

Keep reading for a complete breakdown of the potential ways the proposed arena could impact the city.

Under new police-union-backed legislation introduced in Harrisburg, a police disability program that has been abused for years by some Philly officers could expand to additional law enforcement officers statewide.

The Enforcement Officer Disability Benefits Law, commonly known as the Heart and Lung Act, is a 1935 benefit meant mostly for police officers and firefighters in Pennsylvania.

It allows first responders to collect their full salaries, largely tax-free, when they are out of work due to an on-the-job injury.

Reminders: After the program was implemented in Philadelphia in 2004, Philadelphia officers began staying out of work for much longer periods, causing the weekly list of injured officers to grow by hundreds. Doctors selected by the FOP evaluated and treated the officers. An Inquirer investigation published last year revealed that a staggering 14% of all patrol officers in Philadelphia were listed as injured on duty — a far higher percentage than other big-city police departments.

What the bill would do: It would allow state park rangers, certain employees in the state’s Department of Corrections and Inspector General’s Office, and some port authority and housing police to be covered by the benefit. It would also include opt-in provisions for police officers at universities and corrections officers at county prisons and jails.

Continue reading to learn about a separate effort in Harrisburg to try to audit the program.

All-Pro cornerback James Bradberry is returning to the Eagles.

How much is the deal worth?

A) $40 million

B) $20 million

C) $28 million

D) $38 million

Find out if you know the answer.

🏀 Playing: The Inquirer’s 2023 Bracket Jawn. Your picks must be submitted by noon on Thursday, and you could win $1,000.

👀 Watching: The EPA proposed the first federal limits on harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water.

⚾ Answering: Our readers’ most-asked questions about PFAS, brain cancer, and our investigation into old Vet turf.

Hint: Harriett’s Bookshop

CONJOINK EANE

We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if you’d like. Cheers to Lauren Burrell, who correctly guessed Tuesday’s answer: Hustle. Email us if you know the answer.

That’s it from me. I’ll catch you here at the same time tomorrow. ☀️