Broad Street Brief: Philadelphia City Budget Earns Final Greenlight

July 31, 2025

City Hall

Parker Admin’s Long-term Budget Plans Fully Approved

The Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority greenlit Mayor Cherelle Parker’s five-year financial plan, despite the body having aired concerns about President Donald Trump’s forewarned funding cuts on cities. The vote comes as the final step in the city’s official budget approval process.

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Around Town

HUP Joins Good Food, Healthy Hospitals Program

The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania joins 62 other care facilities in the Commonwealth enrolled in an initiative that aims to bring healthier choices to hospital dining. Pennsylvania’s Good Food, Healthy Hospitals program replaces common vending machine junk food with more nutritious alternatives like dried fruit, roasted beans, and vegetable crisps.

Colonial Charm vs. Modern Costs: Homeowners, Preservationists at Odds

Philadelphia’s historic neighborhoods have stringent regulations in place to maintain the colonial aesthetic of its most historic streets. Homeowners, who must get exterior property renovations approved by the Historical Commission, claim that regulations are too strict and often result in building materials being too expensive.

Trump Admin Unfreezes $25M in Philly Public School Funding

The U.S. Department of Education announced that it will release $5 billion of the $6.8 billion in K-12 funding it had initially vowed to withhold from public schools around the country. Philadelphia public schools will now receive $25 million for migrant education, English-language learning, and after-school programming.

AI Establishes Foundation in Philadelphia Job Market

A new report by Brookings estimates that more than 10,000 Philadelphia-area job listings required prospective hires to possess AI skills last year. The Washington-based research nonprofit ranked Philadelphia 14th among the nation’s 195 metro areas in AI adoption, making the City of Brotherly Love one of the top adopters in the country.

GOP State Senator Reveals SEPTA Improvement Plan

Pennsylvania Sen. Joe Picozzi (R-Philadelphia) and two of his suburban counterparts proposed a bill to streamline SEPTA by eliminating certain restrictive oversight measures. With no new funding, Picozzi hopes the plan will improve operations and pacify GOP resistance to boosting transit funding.

Made in America Will Not Happen for Third Year in a Row

Jay Z’s summer festival, which took place on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway from 2012 to 2022, will not return for the third year in a row. Organizers of Made in America must submit a permit to operate the festival 90 days in advance and the City of Philadelphia indicated that it has yet to receive an application. The submission deadline has since passed.

Adaptimmune Therapeutics to Sell Cancer Technology for $55M

Adaptimmune Therapeutics will sell its pioneering T-cell treatment—approved by federal regulators as the first of its kind—for $55 million as part of a fundamental restructuring. The Navy Yard’s biotech therapy uses a patient’s own altered cells to fight solid tumors in rare cancers.

2026 World Cup Volunteer Center to Open in Philly’s Fashion District

Expected to become the volunteer hub for the 2026 World Cup, an 18,000 square-foot space in the Market East mall will be occupied by 4,500 volunteers as Lincoln Financial Field hosts six World Cup matches between October and July 2026. Philadelphia Soccer 2026 announced the allocation of the space six months after the $1.3 billion 76ers stadium deal in Market East foundered.

Suburban Spotlight

Penn Built its AI Supercomputer in Montgomery County

“Betty,” also known as the University of Pennsylvania’s supercomputer designed by Nvidia, possesses a heap of central processing units, a “SuperPOD” of graphics, and a conglomeration of data storage. It operates 30 miles off campus, atop a data center in Montgomery County. Capable of running AI models that analyze and summarize data from images, videos, texts, and databanks, the supercomputer has officially joined the bustling Pennsylvania AI arms race from suburbia.

ChristianaCare to Open Micro Hospital in West Grove

In August, ChristianaCare plans to open its first of three suburban micro hospitals in Chester County, with . locations in Springfield and Aston to follow. The care group hopes that the facilities will help eliminate the health gap imposed by shuttered full service hospitals.

Mail Ballot Delivered Bucks County to President Trump

Mail ballots in the 2024 presidential election handed Bucks County to Donald Trump, earning him 9,000 more votes than in 2020 and flipping this purple district red for the first time in 36 years.

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About Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies

Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, an affiliate of the international law firm Cozen O’Connor, is a bipartisan government relations practice representing clients before the federal government and in cities and states throughout the country. With offices in Washington D.C., Richmond, Albany, New York City, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Chicago, and Santa Monica, the firm’s public strategies professionals offer a full complement of government affairs services, including legislative and executive branch advocacy, policy analysis, assistance with government procurement and funding programs, and crisis management. Its client base spans multiple industries, including healthcare, transportation, hospitality, education, construction, energy, real estate, entertainment, financial services, and insurance.

About Cozen O’Connor

Established in 1970, Cozen O’Connor has over 775 attorneys who help clients manage risk and make better business decisions. The firm counsels clients on their most sophisticated legal matters in all areas of the law, including litigation, corporate, and regulatory law. Representing a broad array of leading global corporations and middle-market companies, Cozen O’Connor serves its clients’ needs through 31 offices across two continents.

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