Media Mentions

High utility bills and years of deferred maintenance have forced many low-income homeowners and renters in Pennsylvania to live with lead paint, drafty windows, leaky roofs, exposed wiring, mold, and other health hazards. Many residents endure these conditions because...

The passage of the bipartisan Whole-Home Repair program is “what democracy looks like,” said state Rep. Sara Innamorato. “It’s not just about showing up and voting. It’s about making sure that you stay engaged with your community and your elected officials,” said Ms....

If you haven’t examined your monthly utility bill lately, brace for a shock when the cost of air-conditioning comes due in the next few weeks. If the AC bill doesn’t raise your pulse, your heating tab next January might, assuming that global energy markets remain...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering a bill that would “address habitability concerns in owner-occupied and rental units, measures to improve energy or water efficiency and make units accessible for individuals with disabilities, and...

This time the hosts interview Pennsylvania state Senator Nikil Saval about the remarkable fact that he got a climate and affordable housing bill through a Republican-controlled legislature. What's up with that? Other stuff mentioned in the episode: the previous...

Philadelphia’s realty transfer tax, already one of the highest in the nation, will soon include a new fee. Last month City Council unanimously passed a bill that would add an additional $15 fee onto each transfer of real estate or recording of a deed or mortgage in...

In the two-plus years since the pandemic emptied America’s office towers, there have been dozens of media reports speculating about the future of downtowns. This column isn’t one of them. It should be obvious by now that desk workers will never again fill the trophy...

America is in the grips of a nationwide housing shortage that totals about 3.8 million housing units. Last week, the New York Times published an informative analysis showing how this problem has moved beyond just the big cost-crisis metros on the coasts, and now...

Last year, Congress allocated $3.5 billion over five years to a little-known federal program designed to help low-income households pay for energy efficiency upgrades like attic insulation, new windows, and energy-saving appliances. Called the Weatherization...

In spite of it happening a week late and controversies arising about a number of funding issues, the Pennsylvania General Assembly once again managed to pass a budget. As always there was some good, some bad, and some ugly in the process. Perhaps the worst of the bad...

Struggling homeowners and renters could get some financial relief under the newly passed state budget, with over $250 million set for tax rebates and a home repair program. A later-than-expected state budget — buoyed by pandemic-era federal stimulus money — included...

Under the state budget passed last week, Pennsylvania’s conservation programs will receive a one-time, pandemic-related federal booster shot of $765 million for state parks, forests, streams, open space, farms, and home energy efficiency — an amount one environmental...

With a $45 billion state budget finally implemented, Pennsylvania schools, businesses and housing projects are the big winners. Each is slated to receive substantially more funding in the new fiscal year. State lawmakers last week unveiled a plan to spend an...

As leaders in the Pennsylvania General Assembly negotiated the 2022-23 budget in recent weeks, the House and Senate sent a slate of controversial and potentially transformative stand-alone legislation to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk. On Friday, Wolf signed the roughly $45...

Three new housing policies by state and city officials aim to preserve and grow the amount of housing that residents can afford. Included in the Pennsylvania budget is $125 million for home repairs and weatherization intended to preserve the state’s aging housing...

Residents of Pennsylvania homeowners will experience financial relief after State Senator Nikil Saval’s Whole Home Repairs Act was included last week as part of the new state budget. It allocates $125 million in funding for home repairs and weatherization costs across...

Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon announced that Philadelphia International Airport is being granted $24 million from the Federal Aviation Administration through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that she voted to pass last fall. The competitive grant for...

Several programs to aid homeowners and landlords are part of the $45 billion state budget passed Friday. Pennsylvania will put $375 million in unspent money from the federal American Rescue Plan toward the three housing programs. Low-income housing projects which are...

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers have sent Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf a $45.2 billion spending plan that boosts education spending by more than $1 billion, creates a new child care tax credit, and squirrels away money for a rainy day. The wide-reaching budget,...

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers have agreed on a plan to use $2.2 billion in remaining federal stimulus money from the pandemic on housing, conservation, and child care programs. The agreement came as the state finalized a $45.2 billion budget a week...

Pennsylvanians will soon be able to get state assistance to pay for home repairs, thanks to a new program that lawmakers passed Friday as part of the state budget. The program represents an unusual victory for progressive Democrats, and is a rare example of...

Pennsylvania lawmakers have finally approved a $45.2 billion spending plan, sending it to Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature. The state House passed the budget bill in a 180-20 vote on Thursday — a week past its initial deadline. The state Senate followed with...

HARRISBURG, July 8 – Citing the drastic need to improve housing in communities around Pennsylvania and keep families in their homes, a group of legislators, including state Sen. Nikil Saval, D-Phila.; state Reps. Jordan Harris, House Democratic Whip, D-Phila.; Sara...

L ast month, President Biden released the Housing Supply Action Plan to “to ease the burden of housing costs over time, by boosting the supply of quality housing in every community.” The plan aims to close the nation’s housing shortfall in five years through the...

A proposal to use part of the state’s approximate $5 billion budget surplus to fund a program against statewide blight received rare bipartisan support in Harrisburg on Monday. The bill creating a Whole-Home Repairs and Homeownership Affordability Fund to provide...

Bipartisan legislation pending in Harrisburg could help homeowners and small landlords across Pennsylvania make much-needed repairs to their properties. The bill would establish the Whole-Home Repairs program and provide grants of up to $50,000 to homeowners, as well...

Almost half of Pennsylvania voters who are homeowners, including many in Philadelphia, couldn’t afford to pay for critical repairs on their homes if they needed them, according to a poll by Data for Progress of the People’s Action Institute. The issue of home repairs...

HARRISBURG — As the June 30 deadline for the Pennsylvania legislature to pass a new budget approaches, support for spending some of the state’s billions in remaining stimulus money and surplus tax revenue is gaining bipartisan traction. Discussions are preliminary,...