The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Morning, Philly. Careful out there. Heavy rains and gale-force winds are expected in the region today.
The dogs already had their day. Now, it’s the cats’ turn: How popular is your furry friend’s name? Our tool can tell you.
And Market East stakeholders are weighing revitalization plans as the 76ers and Comcast announce building demolitions.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Philly is Kitty City, with around 17,000 cats adopted through the nonprofit Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia since 2021 alone. That means if you have one, there’s a nonzero chance it shares a moniker (meow-niker?) with another local feline.
We clawed through the data and found some cat-naming trends:
🐈 Lots of puns, i.e. Jalen Purrts
🐈 Halloween-inspired names like Shadow or Midnight (black cats are especially popular, too)
🐈 Formal felines, such as Mister Menace and Professor Paws
In other pet news: Fetch Park dog bar and cafe is set to open next week in the former Bark Social space in Manayunk.
Market East will look a little different in the coming months.
Demolition is expected to begin soon at the sloping former Robinson department store on East Market Street and other neighboring buildings owned by the Sixers and Comcast. In their place, the Sixers said, could be a pop-up events space next summer, when the city is hosting several major tourism events. Long-term plans are not clear.
The buildings’ demise comes after the team abandoned its controversial Center City arena plans — and as Mayor Cherelle L. Parker is set to convene her long-promised Market East Advisory Committee to discuss revitalizing the shopping district.
Meanwhile, some advocates are concerned about the demolition-first approach of the corporate redevelopment efforts. Commercial real estate reporter Jake Blumgart has more.
What you should know today
Nearly 63 years after fifth grader Carol Ann Dougherty was raped and murdered inside a Bristol church, Bucks County officials publicly identified her killer on Wednesday.
Democrat Mikie Sherrill is hoping a measured approach and impressive resumé can win her the New Jersey governor’s race in a year when both national and state headwinds are at play. Follow the final stretch of her campaign. Plus, the vast majority of campaign contributions in the race between Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli are coming from a small slice of the Garden State — its whitest and wealthiest areas.
State and local officials announced Wednesday that they had seized 50 million doses of fentanyl in raids across Pennsylvania this year.
A new federal lawsuit alleges Philadelphia and two child-welfare agencies failed to prevent the 2023 fatal asthma attack of an 11-year-old despite warnings.
Ten more former Cherry Hill students have filed lawsuits alleging they were sexually assaulted by a predatory teacher decades ago and the South Jersey school system failed to protect them.
A 101-year-old South Jersey VFW building is up for sale after years of declining membership.
Longtime WMMR host Pierre Robert, one of the most beloved and trusted voices in local radio, has died at 70. His friend Jon Bon Jovi paid tribute on social media.
Morey’s Piers’ iconic 156-foot Ferris wheel is being renovated in South Philly’s Navy Yard.
Quote of the day
After The Inquirer chronicled the Vare Recreation Center gymnastics team’s quest for both gold and funding, Philadelphians donated tens of thousands of dollars toward the athletes’ uniforms, equipment, and financial aid to help them attend competitions.
🧠 Trivia time
As the government shutdown nears a full month, a City of Philadelphia department has set up a pop-up food pantry and so far served about 250 federal workers at which location?
A) Independence Mall
B) VA Medical Center
C) Mid-Atlantic Social Security Center
D) Philadelphia International Airport
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re …
🗳️ Consulting: The Inquirer’s Lower Merion voters guide and Greater Media voters guide.
🖌️ Appreciating: The Woodmere Art Museum’s Jerry Pinkney exhibit.
🍨 Learning about: TikTok-popular dry yogurt and tanghulu, courtesy of this new Ardmore dessert shop.
🦅 A fan of: Carlyne Graham’s advocacy for kids in the foster system. (Also, these Eagles players’ Halloween costumes.)
🗝️ Considering: Ben Franklin’s evolution on slavery.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: In a matching county
ETCHERS STEW
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Maryann Bastian, who solved Wednesday’s anagram: Chester. The sale of the Delaware County city’s water assets remains the key to its emergence from bankruptcy.
Photo of the day
🧶 One last knitted thing: Head to East Passyunk’s Singing Fountain to find handmade pumpkins, candy corn, and dripping blood as part of the Drunken Knitwits’ holiday-appropriate yarn bomb.
Thanks for starting your day with The Inquirer. See you tomorrow.
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