💰 A tool for tax relief | Morning Newsletter

We made it to Friday.

Heads up, homeowners: taxes are going up in Philadelphia. Before you feel it in your wallet, check to make sure you aren’t missing out on thousands in savings.

Some new Philly school buses will give parents the ability to track their real-time location.

Plus, a suspect was arrested in the fatal hit-and-run of a Temple student, and more news of the day.

P.S. Yesterday, we accidentally shared a broken link to a story about 6abc meteorologist Cecily Tynan, who recently announced her retirement. We’ll be publishing a Q&A with Tynan on Saturday and will include that in the newsletter then.

— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Don’t leave money on the table

Tax revenue helps fund city services like parks and the police department, but rising real estate taxes can be costly for some families.

Philadelphia has programs designed to help ease this burden. Still, thousands are not enrolled in them.

On the flip side, more than 13,000 were found to have fraudulently received assistance despite not being eligible, city officials said Wednesday.

One homeowner told The Inquirer the city could do more to inform people and build trust.

To help, we built a tool using city property data to help you discover which programs are available to you. The survey will tell you what you can apply for, and how much you would save.

Answer a couple of questions to find out if you qualify for any assistance.

Where’s the bus?

For the first time, Philadelphia parents will be able to track their kids’ school buses for at least 200 routes in the city.

The school district recently awarded a contract to a company called Zum for a high-tech fleet equipped with technology that updates yellow bus locations via an app.

🚍 Still mostly analog: Most city school buses don’t have GPS and are still driven using turn-by-turn directions.

🚍 Technology plus comfort: The vendor promises families the ability to be informed on who is driving their child’s bus, and get notifications on students’ departures and arrivals. All Zum buses are also air conditioned. Currently, AC is guaranteed only on buses transporting students with disabilities.

🚍 Beyond Philly: Zum runs routes in 18 states and 6,500 districts nationwide.

Philly schools reporter Kristen Graham has the details.

What you should know today

• Authorities arrested a driver they say struck and killed 20-year-old Temple University student Bryce Wolfe on Kelly Drive in June.
• Prosecutors and a Montgomery County grand jury faulted the Cheltenham School District for failing to protect players during two violent 2025 locker-room assaults.
• New records obtained by The Inquirer detail the scramble to save Philadelphia’s only free sexual assault exam center.
• A former Philadelphia diversity chief alleges that City Hall moved to suppress DEI work and dissent, according to a lawsuit over her firing.
• The University of Valley Forge will suspend operations at the end of its summer 2026 semester.
• A man who has lived legally in the United States for almost 20 years is being held by ICE while it looks for a country where it can send him.
• Convicted former Philadelphia labor leader John Dougherty will remain in prison after a judge again denied his request to be released on house arrest.
• A year after a devastating fire, the Curtis Institute of Music is closing in on a $25 million vision for the historic Art Alliance building’s next act.
• In a reversal, New Jersey now says Pennsylvania residents should register their e-bikes in order to legally ride them there.

Plus: Who is the voice of SEPTA?

Welcome back to Curious Philly Friday. We’ll feature both new and timeless stories from our forum for readers to ask about the city’s quirks.

This week, we’re resurfacing an explainer from Michelle Myers on the mysterious character responsible for the voice you hear when a train is delayed or when it’s time to board.

His name is Alvin Elliott, a veteran SEPTA employee who at first volunteered his voice long before it became a cornerstone of the transit system, and of Philadelphians’ lives.

“Even when he’s announcing trains are being delayed, there is something comforting about the way he speaks,” an Inquirer reader said. Here’s the full story.

Have your own burning question about Philadelphia, its local oddities, or how the region works? Submit it here and you might find the answer featured in this space.

🧠 Trivia time

A rising senior at La Salle University built an app to help him and other athletes on his team excel in their sport, using a collection of stats and artificial intelligence. What sport is the app specialized for?

A) Cross country

B) Rowing

C) Lacrosse

D) Golf

Think you know? Test your local news know-how and check your answer in our weekly quiz.

What we’re…

🕵️ Probing: Is Bradley Cooper really from Jenkintown?

🍱 Trying: New eateries outside of the city.

⛸️ Curious about: What South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito is cooking up for her new programs.

🦕 Learning: The first public display of a complete dinosaur skeleton happened in Philly.

🎹 Feeling FOMO over: Herbie Hancock’s Kimmel Center concert. (Paola says: Now “Watermelon Man” is stuck in my head.)

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: Its Cherry Hill location has closed. This time, it’s for good. 🍝

ILLIBERAL RIGATONI

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Ken Goldman, who solved Thursday’s anagram: The Odyssey. A Penn professor’s work was used as reference for the film. It didn’t impress her, though.

Photo of the day

👋🏽 As always, thank you for waking up with The Inquirer. Make of the most of July’s final hours, and have a great weekend.

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