🌱 Philly plant sales

🍎 School Board Nominee Drama Intensifies

Yesterday, City Council President Kenyatta Johnson announced that Council wouldn’t approve Mayor Cherelle Parker’s final Board of Education nominee, Joyce Wilkerson. He cited “serious concerns” but declined to describe them publicly. Afterward, Wilkerson — a current Board of Education member — said Parker has asked her to continue serving on the board even after her term expires on April 30, “as no one has been confirmed” as a replacement. [Inquirer 🔒]

⛺ DA Asked About Encampment Protests

As tensions rise in relation to the pro-Palestinian encampment protest at the University of Pennsylvania, District Attorney Larry Krasner avoided commenting definitively on whether he would prosecute students who are charged with crimes related to the encampment. “The facts” will be his office’s “North Star,” he said. [Inquirer 🔒]

• Why are students camping out in public spaces at Penn, Swarthmore, and Bryn Mawr? We explain how this national movement is manifesting locally on today’s episode of City Cast Philly 🎧

🏦 Regulators Seize Republic First Bank

State regulators closed Republic Bank, a regional bank based in Philly, last week. Lancaster-based Fulton Bank agreed to assume the failed bank’s deposits and buy its assets, so former Republic locations will be reopening as Fulton locations. [CNN]

• Last summer, the bank told investors that deposits were declining and its mortgage lending business was becoming less valuable, and it’s faced more issues since then. [New York Times 🔒]

🐊 Famous Emotional Support Alligator Is Missing

Remember Wally, the alligator who went viral for taking a splash in LOVE Park in 2022 and made headlines for not being allowed into Citizens Bank Park? He was stolen from an enclosure in Georgia over the weekend, according to his owner, who’s looking for help “to bring my baby back.” [CBS3]

Encampment Protests, SEPTA Goes Hybrid, & City Hall Solar Power

On the Tuesday news roundup, the City Cast Philly podcast team catches you up on pro-Palestinian encampment protests at Philly-area universities and the city’s and SEPTA’s latest efforts to go green. Plus, test your knowledge of current events with a local news quiz.