🎰 The cost of taxing skill games | Morning Newsletter
And backlash hits Penn Carey Law.
The Morning Newsletter
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Good morning, Philly.
So-called skill games are concentrated in poor Philadelphia neighborhoods. Harrisburg looks to fund mass transit by taxing the machines, but local leaders don’t want them at all.
And the University of Pennsylvania law school’s decision to both pause a scholarship program honoring a notable alumna and close its equal opportunity office is drawing criticism from Penn alumni and civil rights groups.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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A proposed tax on skill games offers one of few new revenue streams that Senate Republicans have shown interest in using to fund SEPTA and other mass transit systems in Pennsylvania.
🎰 But community leaders in North and West Philadelphia argue the long-unregulated gaming devices should not be used by the state to prevent major service cuts — or in their neighborhoods at all.
🎰 Commonly found in corner stores, gas stations, and bars, the machines target the city’s poorest residents and invite violence, they say. They want to see SEPTA funded, but not if the games’ proliferation impacts safety.
🎰 Reporter Elena Eisenstadt has the story.
In other state budget news: The Pennsylvania Senate is poised to return to Harrisburg on Tuesday to advance a short-term budget. But it’s not clear whether the action will include mass transit funding.
Carey Law school is facing backlash from alumni and activist groups over its decision to pause a full-tuition scholarship program named for a prominent civil rights lawyer, as well as to close its Office of Equal Opportunity and Engagement.
Federal pressure: Penn’s announcement last week followed pushes from President Donald Trump’s administration to end diversity programs at universities nationwide, plus threats to pull funding from those that do not comply.
Honoring a first: The Dr. Sadie T.M. Alexander Scholarship was launched in 2021 for incoming law school students who want to focus on racial justice. It’s named for the first Black woman to graduate from Carey Law, whose likeness will be soon be preserved in a Center City statue.
Notable quote: “What is distressful is that we are repeating history,” Alexander’s daughter, former academic and fellow Penn alumna Rae Alexander-Minter, told The Inquirer. “Why are we turning back the clock?”
Higher education reporter Susan Snyder has more from Penn groups.
What you should know today
Immigrant detentions in New Jersey and Pennsylvania were up about 67% from January to July, new data show, as more people without criminal records are held.
A Kennett Square man was charged with murder and other offenses for crimes that included the stabbing death of a 69-year-old man during an attempted carjacking, officials said Monday.
Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. said Monday he was turning down an offer to plead guilty in a case involving the alleged assault of his daughter that would have forced him to give up office.
A former Haverford elementary school teacher was sentenced to a year of probation after a one-day trial Monday for masturbating at a Bucks County park last summer.
Philly District Attorney Larry Krasner responded Monday to former judge Patrick Dugan’s decision to run as a Republican in the fall DA race, saying his primary challenger is “at war with the truth.”
Shares of Avantor, the Radnor-based chemical and lab-gear maker, jumped nearly 10% early Monday after an activist investor pushed directors to streamline or sell the company.
The sprawling Plaza Grande, a 55+ housing complex in Cherry Hill, is finally complete, nearly 25 years after it was proposed.
Fetch Park, a dog park and bar from Georgia, will open this fall in the Manayunk space previously occupied by Bark Social.
Quote of the day
The Eagles surveyed season-ticket holders about potentially building a new stadium or making renovations to the Linc that would include a dome. Most Birds fans we spoke to at the team’s open practice on Sunday remain committed to seeing football played in the snow.
🧠 Trivia time
Former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey has a new job. Where is it?
A) Penn’s Carey Law School
B) Sen. John Fetterman’s office
C) Philly law firm Dilworth Paxson
D) Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s cabinet
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
🚓 Noting: Five takeaways from an investigation into the complex finances of Philly’s FOP.
🪕 Not missing: Folk bands and more at the 2025 Folk Festival this weekend.
🏀 Anticipating: The next youth basketball tournament co-run from a Pennsylvania prison.
⚽ Heeding: FIFA’s open call for volunteers ahead of the 2026 men’s World Cup.
🏠 Considering: Myths about the relationship between mental illness and violence.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: An app that wants to know where you are
GIANT ARMS
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Ned Weiss, who solved Monday’s anagram: Cescaphe. The high-end Philly wedding company’s CEO, Joe Volpe, is opening a vineyard in Bucks County.
Photo of the day
🎨 One last colorful thing: The bright barricades at the Parkway’s Maja Park are meant to remind of Philly’s history of political uprising. Look closely to see images of protesters climbing fences to escape police tear gas during the 2020 George Floyd protests, plus other marches and rallies.
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