February 23: Waters of the U.S. | Uber and La Salle partner | Bipartisan push to protect New Markets Tax Credits

The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case over which federal court – federal courts of appeals or federal district courts – have jurisdiction to rule on the legality of Waters of the United States regulations, Obama-era rules which sought to clarify enforcement of the Clean Water Act. The National League of Cities goes over this case in depth, along with other cases on the Supreme Court’s 2016-2017 docket that directly impact local governments. The curious can join StateImpact PA for a public discussion on the Waters of the U.S. rule at an event on March 6th at WHYY.

La Salle University and Uber are trying a limited-time partnership in an effort to court SEPTA-riding young people. In response to students’ concerns about traveling between campus and the Olney Transportation Center late at night safely, the pilot program is offering a flat rate for the short trip. NewsWorks reports that Uber has struck similar deals with other universities in major cities, “sometimes under the same claim of boosting student safety.”

Members of Congress have moved to protect the New Markets Tax Credit program (NMTC), which targets businesses that create jobs in low-income zip codes. Next City reports on the program that has played a crucial role in filling financial gaps on projects in Philadelphia led by PIDC, The Reinvestment Fund, and the Food Trust.

A new interactive map helps visualize the economic impact of Philadelphia’s immigrant population. The map aggregates available statistics including how much immigrants contribute in local and federal taxes, home ownership rates, and number of foreign-born entrepreneurs. Technical.ly covers the City’s involvement in this national initiative.

Data trends suggest that Detroit’s road to resilience and recovery is still rocked by continuing income disparities, decrease in population, and increase in vacancies. Based on these indicators, City Lab concludes that the Motor City’s comeback, and decline, makes it “worse off than it was in 2000 or even 2010.”

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