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How Florence will influence Philly weather, Obama is coming to town | Weekend Newsletter

All the local news you need to know to start your day, delivered straight to your email.

Tom Gralish

Welcome to another week-in-preview, Philly. As Tropical Depression Florence continues to wreak havoc on the Carolinas, we're actually preparing for calmer weather in the city because of it. You won't want to miss this week's Q&A, where we went behind the scenes with City Hall reporter Claudia Vargas, to talk money, misuse, poverty, and what all Philadelphians should know about their local government.

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—  Oona Goodin-Smith, Tauhid Chappell (morningnewsletter@philly.com)

The week ahead

  1. North Carolina officials are bracing for the most destructive round of flooding in state history as hurricane-turned-tropical depression Florence continues its slow crawl inland. The storm has left at least 13 dead.

  2. The Eagles are in Tampa Bay today, taking on the Buccaneers on their humid home turf at 1 p.m. Quarterback Nick Foles almost signed with the Bucs in 2017, but it was his then-newborn daughter, Lily, who secured the fate of the Philly Special.

  3. Former President Barack Obama will be in town Friday for a rally with Sen. Bob Casey and Gov. Wolf in North Philly. On the same night, Donald Trump Jr. will headline a Pennsylvania state Republican party fundraiser in Hershey.

  4. 'Tis the season for fear. The Eastern State Penitentiary opens its doors on Friday, Sept. 21 for the annual "Terror Behind the Walls," one of the nation's top-rated haunted attractions, hosted in the former prison.

  5. The U.S. Constitution turns the big 228 on Monday, Sept. 17, and the Constitution Center will offer both free admission and cake in celebration of the day. Really, is there a more perfect union?

This week’s most popular stories

Behind the story with Claudia Vargas

Each week we'll go behind the scenes with one of our reporters to learn how they reported their latest story and the challenges they faced along the way. This week, we caught up with Claudia Vargas, who has been monitoring the money trail at Philadelphia City Hall.  

This week alone, you reported that the city used $65 million for an anti-poverty office that failed to reduce Philly's poverty rate and that a former mayoral aide spent $7,000 in city money on personal items. What accountability is there for spending at City Hall?

Philadelphia city government has started to implement a performance budget system in the last few years. So, departments are expected to show how they used their funding in the previous year to meet certain metrics and demonstrate why they need the same, less or higher funding for the upcoming budget year. It's supposed to keep departments accountable. In the case of the Office of Community Development and Opportunity (the anti-poverty office), the office technically met their metrics — signing up at least 4,000 people for benefits, helping 40 people improve their credit score by 35 points, and a few others. But there does not seem to be internal questioning of, "Is this the best we can do with the millions in federal funding we receive?" Or, "Why are the metrics so low?" And that's the accountability that I think is lacking.

As for the $7,000 in misspent money, that was between 2008-2012 and a previous mayor but the same finance director and same Inspector General. There is no excuse there on why the spending at the Mayor's Fund was not kept in better check. Our reporting throughout the last two years exposed the long-running issues with the fund and lack of fiscal oversight and accountability. Hopefully, the Kenney administration follows through with its promises of reform.

Is this an issue of the sloppy bookkeeping you reported on earlier this summer?

The sloppy bookkeeping is a little different. The $33 million that had not been reconciled was someone (or some people) was not making sure that the city's books matched the city's bank statements for money going in and out. So, it's truly a numbers check as opposed to accountability on how money is being spent. The administration said sloppy bookkeeping was in part due to staff turnover. However, previous controller reports had mentioned this was an issue before and it went unaddressed.

Do you see things improving?

I think whenever a fiscal issue goes under the microscope of the press and public scrutiny, the administration is forced to react and improve. So, yes. The administration created a task force and hired consultants to help straighten out their books and the "missing" $33 million. Councilman Allan Domb has asked that City Council receive frequent reports on the various city accounts to make sure they are being reconciled. And for other issues such as the woman who tripled her salary with overtime, the administration investigated the case right away and has since sent it to the Inspector General to review. But whether any change comes out of that remains to be seen.

As a City Hall reporter, what's one thing you think Philadelphians should know about their government?

The city runs on taxpayer money. That is your money and you have the right to know how it is spent. The city posts some of its spending data such as payroll and contracts on Open Data Philly. As my colleagues on the Clout team reported Friday, the city could also launch an online checkbook that would show city expenses in real-time (we hope that happens sooner rather than later). And most importantly, anyone can file a Right to Know request to ask for any city spending data (be aware it could take a few weeks to get any information back). If it is denied, appeal! The first level appeal to the state Office of Open Records is free. It's your money and you should know what the government is doing with it.

Contact Claudia Vargas by email at cvargas@phillynews.com or on Twitter at @InqCVargas.

Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly

Thanks, @theresa__cannon for spotlighting this historic street! Just goes to show there's always something to discover in this city, even for locals.

Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we'll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!

#CuriousPhilly: Have a question about your community? Ask us!

What have you always wondered about the greater Philadelphia region? Send us a question you'd like answered through Curious Philly, our new question-and-response forum that connects our readers with our journalists. Try us, no question is too big or small.

Our readers' latest question: Why are some people summoned for jury duty more often than others?
The answer:  It turns out that your name, and whether you're a junior, senior or hyphen-carrier has a lot to do with your chances of being plucked for civic duty.

What we’re…

  1. Eating: 15 percent more fruit, thanks to Tastykake's recent vow to put the "tasty" back in its treats by returning to the Philly company's coveted original pie recipe.

  2. Drinking: A cold one at Bok Bar, while we still can. The skyline sippery closes for the summer on Sept. 28, but there's more to the building than its rooftop views.

  3. Watching: Improv, indies, and Iggles in the final days of Philly's Fringe Festival. The arts fest ends on Sunday, Sept. 23.

  4. Listening to: Both Childish Gambino and Bruno Mars before they grace Philly's stages this week.

Comment of the week

It was the site of my first date with my now-husband on August 21st, 2003. We were supposed to meet for coffee across the street, but it was so hot that we decided to go for ice cream instead. On December 4th, 2005 I met him for dinner there and he asked me to marry him. Twelve years and two kides later, it remains one of our favorite restaurants and it has a very special place in our hearts. — Martha.Lipscomb, on the closing of More Than Just Ice Cream, which lasted 43 years in Philly.

Your Daily Dose of | Books 

Libraries are evolving to integrate new technology and accommodate the needs of their frequent visitors: millennials. After two years and a $7.1 million investment, the renovated Radnor Memorial Library is now offering even more amenities to its community.