Neighborhood opposition to affordable housing | Morning Newsletter
And, in these school board elections the stakes — and donations — are high.
The Morning Newsletter
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Happy Friday, Inquirer readers! How are we doing? Good? Good.
Today, we bring you the latest update in a West Philly housing saga that’s been demonstrating just how hard it is to get Philly residents to accept affordable housing developments — even in places where they’re worried about being priced out.
Then, meet the Doylestown father, venture capitalist, and GOP donor who poured $500,000 into school board elections across the state.
And, a California woman is suing Bill Cosby in federal court, alleging that in 1990, the comedian raped and imprisoned her in Atlantic City.
All right, let’s get to it! And remember, if you have some thoughts to share with us, drop us a line and email us back.
— Sam Ruland (@sam_ruland, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
In her short time on City Council, West Philly’s Jamie Gauthier has emerged as one of its biggest champions of privately built affordable housing. She’s crafted several bills that would give zoning bonuses to developers who set aside reduced-price apartments for low-income renters.
So when a well-known New York developer showed her plans for a building on a former junkyard where every apartment would rent at below-market rates, she embraced the proposal as a model for her fast-changing district.
There was promise with that plan. Because the developer was promising three-bedroom apartments for as little as $400 a month to qualified renters, Gauthier felt the project could help low-income families remain in Cedar Park and enjoy the improvements — like better shops and schools — that come with gentrification.
But the reception to the original proposal for a 174-unit apartment house was anything but welcoming.
In community meetings, residents from an assortment of neighborhood groups railed against the building’s height and “modest” parking count.
Those groups then did what neighborhood groups do: They negotiated with the developer to modify its proposal — making it worse, much worse.
The Cedar Parks saga demonstrates just how hard it is to get Philly residents to accept affordable housing developments, even in parts of the city where residents say they are worried about being priced out by gentrification.
Unlike neighborhoods where battles over development have been going on for years, the intense back-and-forth with the New York developer was a new experience for many.
Read columnist Inga Saffron’s full story on this saga and what the future holds for this West Philly neighborhood.
Like many parents, Paul Martino was frustrated when his children’s Bucks County school district announced it would start virtually last year despite broad support in his community for in-person instruction.
As a venture capitalist, he also saw an opportunity.
“It was an execution failure. It wasn’t a COVID issue,” said Martino, 47, who runs a venture fund in San Francisco and has two children in the Central Bucks School District. “School administrators were just scared and didn’t attack the challenge. I’m not saying everyone’s gonna be built like a Silicon Valley CEO … but once you work with people like that and an unforeseen challenge comes in front of them, they solve the problem.”
Schools around the region opened in person this fall. But across Pennsylvania, hundreds of candidates are now running for school board seats backed by $500,000 from Martino — who says he wants to ensure those closures don’t happen again.
His “Back to School PA” effort, which Martino says has given $10,000 to 50 local political action committees, appears to be unprecedented in Pennsylvania’s school board elections — and marks a significant infusion of cash into typically lower-budget races.
It’s also drawing pushback from Democrats who view the effort by Martino, a longtime GOP donor, as funneling money toward mostly Republican bids to gain traction on local boards — echoing a national strategic push on the right at a time when schools are at the center of a culture war.
Read more about Martino’s efforts and the response to them from reporters Maddie Hanna and Julia Terruso.
What you need to know today
A California woman is suing Bill Cosby in federal court, alleging that he raped and imprisoned her in 1990 in Atlantic City. Lili Bernard, who filed suit Thursday, is one of 60 women who have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct, many of whom, including Bernard, could not press criminal charges against Cosby because of the statute of limitations.
Here are the community groups getting the first $2 million of Philly grants to combat gun violence. The city still has $20 million left to give, but the first grants will go to organizations that provide housing assistance, mentorship programs, trauma counseling, job training, and youth music programs.
A fired Morrisville cop was convicted of using a police database to harass a Bucks County couple. He used his access to a confidential database to identify a man he believed had driven too slowly in front of him as he was on his way to work.
Philly City Council has approved the Driving Equality Bill that bans traffic stops for low-level offenses, which disproportionately has targeted Black drivers.
Yesterday marked Day 7 of the John Dougherty federal bribery trial. We have the latest updates here.
Pa. state universities will seek a 15% boost in funding and more money for student aid. The move would raise the state funding allocation from $477 million to $550 million. The system also is seeking $201 million for student financial aid and up to $40 million for university debt relief.
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🦅 It was too little, too late for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles last night in their loss against Tampa. The defeat was yet another sign that Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni may not be a good fit together.
🎸 Get ready because Coldplay is coming to Lincoln Financial Field next summer and tickets go on sale next week.
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⚾ Who stays, who goes? Forecasting the 2022 outlook for every Phillies player.
🥺 Jordan Brand chairman and Philly native Larry Miller reveals that when he was 16, he killed another teenager. Keeping that secret has haunted him, until now.
Opinions
“Who could blame him for resigning? You take a thankless, after-hours job for little or no pay in an effort to be involved in your community and are rewarded with stalking and death threats? No thanks.” CNN host Michael Smerconish breaks down the trouble with school boards these days. He says this year in particular has proven that being a member is truly thankless.
“Black Lives Matter marches of 2020 were surprisingly white and educated.” Columnist Will Bunch questions if that is why results have been so mediocre.
“If teams and leagues are serious about eradicating clownish behavior from the experience of attending a sporting event, they ought to consider attacking the problem by analyzing its origin,” Mike Sielski writes about the Wells Fargo Center’s new code of conduct. " ... It’s one thing to tell fans that they’re there to see a show. It’s another thing to encourage them to think that they are the show.”
What we're reading
More often than not, Ian Bradley tries to use his car key to unlock the front door when he gets home from work. It takes him a second to remember it’s the plain silver one, not the long one with the black rubber grip. Until a month ago, his house and car keys were one and the same. Read his story about how choosing to work as a reporter in California led him to being houseless.
After a fireball streaked through the Canadian sky, Ruth Hamilton, of British Columbia, found a 2.8-pound rock the size of a large man’s fist near her pillow — a meteorite, she later learned. Her close encounter on the night of Oct. 3 left her rattled, but it captivated the internet and handed scientists an unusual chance to study a space rock that had crashed to Earth.
And, Time brings you the newest class of Next Generation Leaders, featuring trailblazers who are breaking new ground and forging a path to a more hopeful future. Check out the list here.
Photo of the Day
✨”It’s all just a bunch of hocus pocus.”✨