About those 76ers arena ‘benefits’ | Morning Newsletter
🦮 And dogs in training
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The Morning Newsletter
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Good morning, Philly. The sun is out again, with a high near 75.
The city’s deal with the Sixers for a proposed Center City arena could come with a $50 million outlay for the community. Some leaders call it an “insult.” Our main read highlights what we know about the agreement as it stands.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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A community benefits agreement (known as a “CBA”) worth $50 million could be embedded in Philadelphia’s deal with the Sixers for a new downtown arena. The provision, which would make up about 3% of the project’s $1.55 billion value, is surrounded by more questions than answers.
Catch up quick: When Mayor Cherelle L. Parker announced the terms of the deal, she cited the CBA as jump-starting a new, city-led focus on Chinatown, “to strengthen what is by far a Philadelphia treasure.”
What CBAs can do: They allow developers and neighborhoods to settle disputes, address wants and needs, and pledge support for the project, saving time and money.
But community stakeholders feel left out: Similar accords are usually negotiated between a developer and neighborhood organizations. This one was worked out between Parker and the team’s billionaire owners.
The fine print: CBAs are often legally binding. But some are concerned that commitments made in this agreement risk going unrealized. A 2021 nonprofit report found that “for every successful CBA, there are several others that failed to fulfill their promises.”
What’s next: City Council is expected to debate these terms when it receives a package of arena-enabling legislation on Thursday. Project opponents say this deal appears to be on a fast track to get approved by the end of the year.
Anna Orso, Jeff Gammage, and Sean Collins Walsh dig into the local and national implications of the deal’s conditions, and break down how the CBA package could be allocated.
What you should know today
Seven people were injured, one critically, in what a witness described as a couple of drive-by shootings early Saturday morning in North Philadelphia’s Hartranft neighborhood.
Donald Trump tells a Western Pennsylvania crowd to “fire” Kamala Harris, using an expletive.
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Chester County on Monday for a moderated conversation with former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney (R., Wyo.) amid a renewed focus by the campaign on the Philly suburbs in the final stage of her presidential run.
Mayor Parker convened more than three dozen local elected officials and union leaders outside City Hall on Saturday morning to dispel the notion that local Democrats weren’t getting along with the vice president’s team.
A Delco judge will decide the fate of an accused serial rapist who police say targeted women in Chester between September 2016 and January 2017.
A Philadelphia-based foster care agency has agreed to settle lawsuits accusing it of negligence when it placed two sisters back in a dangerous home, resulting in the death of a 1-year-old and abuse of her older sister.
Mail ballots are flowing in ahead of the upcoming election, but more than 1,200 of those submitted in Philly may be rejected. Find out if yours is one of them.
Only 10 of Philadelphia’s 216 schools offer the International Baccalaureate program, and Thurgood Marshall, a neighborhood K-8 in Olney, just became one of them. Here’s how they made it happen, and how it’s going.
Campbell’s and the Sixers are teaming up in a new marketing partnership. The terms of the deal aren’t being disclosed.
Longwood Gardens, famous for its plants and classical fountains, has reimagined its architecture into more modern counterpoints to its traditional structures. Inga Saffron’s latest column walks visitors through the new buildings.
A pack of puppies spent Saturday at Philadelphia International Airport, working hard to become service dogs.
The dogs were there with Seeing Eye, a Morristown, N.J.-based guide dog organization that matches socialized and trained dogs with people with visual impairments.
While they’re on duty, you aren’t allowed to pet them. But these young and eager pups are technically still in training, so passersby were allowed to touch them.
The next goal: Pass the program. About 65% of them are expected to graduate.
Continue reading about the dogs’ day as seasoned travelers and to see more photos.
❓Pop quiz
This week in history, Bandstand kicked off an American obsession from a West Philly TV studio. In what year did the show debut?
A) 1939
B) 1945
C) 1952
D) 1975
Think you know? Check your answer.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Entrepreneurs pitch ideas on this reality TV series
THANKS ARK
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Kate Vengraitis who correctly guessed Saturday’s answer: Burlington Island. This uninhabited island in the Delaware River has been largely inaccessible for nearly 50 years. Support for more public access is growing as more people join collaborative efforts to clean up, preserve, and showcase it.
Photo of the day
🎶 Today’s song goes like this: “They threw me out like I was a wedding bouquet / Now I can’t quite remember what I had to say.”
Fontaines D.C. is sure to rock the Fillmore tonight. This week in Philly music is stacked with more exciting performances, but if you want to take a break from concerts, there are music movies at the Philadelphia Film Festival through Oct. 27. Dan DeLuca has details on the screenings.
One more musical thing: Music has played an important role on the campaign trail in Pennsylvania. Politics reporter Fallon Roth explains how artists have provided the soundtrack to the presidential election.
👋🏽 Thanks for spending some time with The Inquirer this morning. Take care and have a great Sunday.