🎨 The fate of UArts’ buildings | Morning Newsletter

Hi, Philly. I don’t need to tell you it’s cold out there.

Should arts buildings remain in the arts community in the case of bankruptcy? The sale of University of the Arts’ assets may hinge on the answer, as our top story explores.

And a new fast-track court for people arrested for drug use in Kensington launches today, as police prepare to ramp up drug enforcement. Plus, we explain why safe-deposit boxes are becoming harder to find in the Philadelphia area.

— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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As the nine buildings that once held UArts students’ classrooms, performance spaces, and artwork are sold in bankruptcy court, Philadelphia arts leaders are hoping they will maintain their cultural use in the hands of new owners.

🎨 With the first sale approved last week — of the Art Alliance building, to the Curtis Institute of Music — that’s been the case.

🎨 Yet a $2.71 million offer would use the Arts Bank building at Broad and South Streets for residential and commercial purposes. That bid came in just over an offer from Lantern Theater Company, which seeks to use the building as a performance space as UArts did.

🎨 A judge will decide next month: Should the building remain an arts asset or go to the highest bidder?

Reporters Susan Snyder, Harold Brubaker, and Peter Dobrin explain the stakes and legal questions.

A new-to-Philly concept called “neighborhood wellness court” is officially launching in Kensington.

The initiative: Mayor Cherelle L. Parker signed an executive order Tuesday establishing what is meant to be a fast-track court for people arrested for openly using drugs during weekly police sweeps in the area. The idea for the program was introduced last fall as a response to the city’s opioid crisis.

The process: If the person is determined stable enough to appear before a judge, they would be taken to court and potentially be offered treatment, legal support, and ongoing case management instead of facing criminal charges. Some could get “directly into the treatment and into beds that day,” said Adam Geer, the city’s chief public safety director. “That is big.”

The concerns: Not everyone will qualify, and if someone is arrested on a day other than Wednesday, when the sweeps are scheduled, they’ll be charged with a misdemeanor and processed as usual. Community advocates also question whether those arrested for drug use can adequately defend themselves before a judge.

Reporter Ellie Rushing has more details on how the court will operate.

Where do you store your passport, car title, birth certificate, home deed, and other important documents?

My parents always kept a safe-deposit box at our local bank branch in West Chester. I remember visiting the vault with my mom and marveling that a bank would hold onto our valuables for us, supposedly forever — or as long as they were paid.

But nowadays, safe-deposit boxes are harder to find in the Philadelphia area and across the country.

Experts say there’s less demand, thanks to generational shifts and more customers banking online. (That’s true for me: Unlike my parents, I don’t have my own box.) They’re also expensive to maintain.

Consumer reporter Erin McCarthy has the story on which banks are phasing out the service.

Drexel University scientists have developed concrete that can do what?

A) Purify rainwater

B) Melt snow

C) Kill pests

D) Track pedestrians

Think you know? Check your answer.

⚾ Scooping: Phillies home game tickets for the 2025 season.

🦅 Recalling: The Eagles’ previous NFC title games in Philly.

🍪 Buying: Sisterly Love cookie boxes to help Los Angeles restaurateurs.

🚲 Considering: More ways to protect cyclists in the Spruce and Pine bike lanes.

Hint: Neighborhood in Northwest Philadelphia

AMINO YURT

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to George Attisano, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Lunar New Year. Welcome the Year of the Snake with Philly events including dumpling-making classes, parades, banquets, and concerts.

🐕‍🦺 One last helpful thing: Two beloved Greater Swiss Mountain dogs are providing therapy to help Absecon Public Schools students learn. First-grade reading scores have improved.

Stay warm out there. I’ll be back with you tomorrow morning.

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