🍉 Philly’s most famous watermelons | Morning Newsletter
And more Paul Green accusations.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
It’s Friday, Philly. Be sure to look up this weekend — first for the full moon, then for the Perseid meteor showers.
A three-generation fruit business is thriving for another summer in West Philadelphia. Our top story explains how Carter’s Melons came to be the city’s most famous watermelon purveyor, for 75 years and counting.
And Paul Green, the founder of rock music programs for children, said Thursday he is closing down his rock academy in Roxborough following accusations of sexual misconduct involving a teen student in 2007.
Find these stories and more of the day’s news below.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
P.S. Friday means trivia. Our latest news quiz includes questions on weed lounges, Bald Fest, and more.
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If you’re craving fresh watermelon on a hot summer day, you’d do well to look for the bright green and red hues — and sometimes, yellow and orange — of the melons stacked under tents at two West Philadelphia intersections.
🍉 Generations of the Carter family have sold the seeded fruit as Dov-Bes Carter’s Melons, named for patriarch Dover V. Carter and matriarch Bessie Sharpe-Carter. Dover, a former civil rights activist, founded the business upon moving to Philly from Georgia in 1950.
🍉 The watermelons are sold curbside near the corners of 84th and Lindbergh and 52nd and Spruce, from April to September. Many of their melons are shipped from the South, and then from Maryland and Delaware later in the season.
🍉 The Carters choose the best watermelon for each customer based on a careful smack of the oblong fruit, listening for the tone that indicates it’s ready to eat. Also, vibes.
🍉 “We try to give a person a melon tailor-made to their desire,” said Joshua Carter Sr., who is 79 and has worked at the stand since he was 5. “Just like you would go and get a dress made or a suit made to your desire. That’s the same way we give a person a melon.”
Reporter Zoe Greenberg has the sweet story of West Philly’s 75-year watermelon dynasty.
Paul Green Rock Academy in Roxborough will close, its eponymous founder said Thursday, following accusations of sexual misconduct.
Green’s announcement came as The Inquirer was preparing to publish a story detailing new allegations made by a woman who said Green initiated a nearly two-year sexual relationship with her when she was his 17-year-old student.
Earlier this year, former students of the Paul Green School of Rock made public claims that Green routinely abused his position of power at the now-famed musical education program.
Reporters Mike Newall and Emily Bloch have more.
What you should know today
A detainee at Moshannon Valley Processing Center who had been awaiting an immigration hearing was found dead this week, officials said.
Philly police said Thursday they had arrested one of the gunmen involved in a mass shooting in Grays Ferry that left three people dead and nine wounded.
Philadelphia has agreed to pay $2.9 million to settle a lawsuit brought by a child and woman who were struck during a high-speed police chase in 2017.
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a Quakertown high schooler who argued her rights were violated by being forced to compete against a transgender athlete.
The Department of Justice has asked Pennsylvania to turn over its entire, unredacted, voter registration list as part of a nationwide campaign of the Trump administration.
Veterans Affairs workers, including 2,000 in Philly, are losing union protections. They call it “retaliation.”
A Pennsylvania House committee again advanced a mass transit funding plan that Democratic leaders hope will allow state lawmakers to reach a budget deal soon.
Jack Ciattarelli, Republican nominee for New Jersey governor, is rallying with MAGA influencer Scott Presler Saturday at the Shore.
University of Pennsylvania’s law school paused a scholarship that honors its first Black woman graduate, Sadie T.M. Alexander, and will close its equal opportunity office.
The federal government is cutting $500 million for mRNA vaccine development — but Penn, where mRNA technology was pioneered, will not lose funding.
Welcome back to Curious Philly Friday. We’ll feature both new and timeless stories from our forum for readers to ask about the city’s quirks.
This week, we have an explainer from reporter Nick Vadala on what’s next for Upper Darby’s Tower Theater. The lauded former vaudeville and movie theater-turned-live music venue at 69th and Market has sat unused since 2022.
While owner Live Nation is mum on its plans for the building, the township’s council has some ideas to keep the Tower open. Here’s the full explanation, plus details of the venue’s century of entertaining.
Have your own burning question about Philadelphia, its local oddities, or how the region works? Submit it here and you might find the answer featured in this space.
🧠 Trivia time
A South Philadelphia man has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a scheme to peddle more than $200,000 worth of phony autographs and memorabilia of which sports star?
A) Allen Iverson
B) Dawn Staley
C) Bryce Harper
D) Jason Kelce
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
🎥 Thrilled to know: The revived Riverview Plaza theater is getting an IMAX screen.
🛍️ Feeling nostalgic for: Mall mainstay Claire’s, planning closures in Pennsylvania and Jersey.
🏀 Voting on: The name and logo of Philadelphia’s new WNBA franchise.
🕊️ Admiring: The resolve of “Pastor Trish,” wife of Derrick Gunn, for returning to the altar after a stroke.
⚾ Remembering: When a balcony collapse at a Phillies game killed 12 and injured 200 on this week in Philly history.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: _ Square
EITHER SNOUT
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Brendan Mattox, who solved Thursday’s anagram: Lansdowne. After closing its doors almost 40 years ago, Delaware County’s historic Lansdowne Theater will reopen for live shows this month.
Photo of the day
🎒 One last educated thing: Hundreds of teachers reported for their first day of work Thursday at the School District of Philadelphia’s new hire orientation. Yes, it really is almost that time.
Thanks for ending your week with The Inquirer. I’ll be back with you Monday.
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