Economic Development

Racqueal Howard won an only-in-Philly lottery and is now moving forward with a plan to redevelop a vacant Philadelphia Housing Authority property.

Applications open next month for $145 million in grants for small businesses, with a significant change by lawmakers intended to make it more accessible to people of color.

It will force Democrats to make politically painful choices about what to do next on the federal minimum wage, which has long caused internal party rifts.

The $2 billion rail line would connect KOP to University City and Center City, creating a trifecta of the largest employment hubs in the region.

Sens. Daniel Laughlin, R-Erie, and Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia, outlined the recreational marijuana proposal in a memo distributed to fellow senators.

Philly residents should feel the first impacts of a new anti-poverty plan this spring. The $10 million initiative aims to move 1,000 people out of poverty.

The county announced the end of the previous grant program and introduced a new program with funding coming from the state.

Philadelphia Land Bank officials say a reformed system is producing better results yet critics see a process that advantages developers over residents.

The budget resolution would allow Democrats to bypass the GOP and pass President Biden's $1.9 trillion covid relief bill with no Republican support.

The president wants to expand the federal child tax credit for lower-income households. "In one fell swoop, it'll essentially lower the child poverty rate by more than 40%."

The program launched by the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations was inspired by an initiative born out of the 2008 financial crisis.

Some problems stem from a lag between when the first pandemic stimulus funds expired and the time it took to get the second relief package up and running.

Businesses who qualify may use the funds as needed to keep open after a brutal year of pandemic-related closures and losses.

“There is a disconnect between the world of capital … and Black-owned companies,” said Social Venture Circle Philadelphia Network Manager John Moore.

It is full circle for Gov. Phil Murphy, who began his tenure with an investigation into the tax break scheme started under his predecessor, former GOP Gov. Chris Christie.