The Morning Newsletter
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Hi, Philly. This capricious week of weather brings the possibility of more downpours today.
The municipal workers strike ended Wednesday after Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration struck a deal with District Council 33. Read on for details of the hours following the early-morning decision.
And after drunk-driving crashes, local lawsuits are seeking to hold the bars that served the drivers accountable.
Plus, for Linvilla Orchards and other farms, a longer, hotter growing season means “unbelievable” peaches — and a bushel of concerns. Read on for a preview of Inquirer Greater Media, the free weekly newsletter launching today.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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After eight days and four hours, Philadelphia’s city workers strike came to an end. Conditions of the deal include 3% raises for the next three years — less than what the union had been asking for — and onetime $1,500 bonuses.
🤝 Leaders’ reactions: Parker took a victory lap Wednesday, profusely thanking her administration for their work to get a deal done while acknowledging the tensions that arose during the strike. DC 33 president Greg Boulware was less enthusiastic: “The strike is over, and nobody’s happy,” he said as he exited negotiations early Wednesday. “We felt our clock was running out.”
🗑️ About those “Parker piles”: The most visible (and olfactory) signs of the strike were the mounds of trash that grew around the city. Regular collection will resume Monday. Check out our back-of-the-envelope math on how much trash really piled up.
🚛 Smaller hauls: Most commercial buildings, restaurants, and big apartment complexes use private haulers to collect their trash. That made a difference in limiting pileups in some neighborhoods.
📸 The strike in photos: Feeling nostalgic already? Here’s what the 2025 DC 33 strike looked like, from pickets to public addresses.
Next up, DC 33 members must vote on the contract. See Inquirer.com for the latest.
So-called dram shop lawsuits have resulted in staggering awards, including February’s $11 million judgment against a Bucks County bar in favor of a woman injured while drunk driving.
Now, the parents of a 21-year-old nursing student killed in an I-95 crash last year want accountability from the bars that allegedly overserved the driver who hit her that night.
“The bar has the duty of care, even if the person who has been drinking also shares some responsibility,” an attorney told The Inquirer about the goal of the dram shop laws.
Reporter Abraham Gutman details Pennsylvania’s law and recent lawsuits.
What you should know today
At least seven workers in Philadelphia’s Environmental Protection Agency office were placed on leave after signing a letter expressing concerns about leadership. EPA employees and supporters rallied Wednesday to demand that the workers be reinstated.
President Donald Trump promised to endorse U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser for Pennsylvania governor. Now, he’s decided not to run.
Dave Oxman, an intensive-care physician and medical school professor at Thomas Jefferson University, is in the race for U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans’ seat.
Pennie, Pennsylvania’s Obamacare marketplace, expects as many as 150,000 people could lose health coverage next year if Congress lets enhanced tax credits expire.
A website aimed at making Philly’s Fraternal Order of Police grievance process more transparent hasn’t been updated since March 2024. The city said it’s reviewing its redaction policy.
Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr Colleges will no longer pay a federal excise tax on their endowment earnings under the budget bill signed by Trump.
Sunday hunting is now legal in Pennsylvania, after Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a bill lifting the 152-year-old ban.
Free breast cancer screenings in Penn Medicine’s new mammogram van will begin Sunday.
📍 Inquirer Greater Media launches today. Below is a peek at what you can expect from the free, weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get your guide to the news, stories, and events shaping life in your community.
For Linvilla Orchards and other local farms, this summer’s unpredictable weather may mean needing to adjust to a new normal.
The longer, hotter growing seasons are something of a “catch-22,” said Sarah Linvill, an administrative assistant who married into the multigenerational Linvilla Orchards family. Some crops have floundered in these conditions, while the extended growing season has created ideal conditions for others. One clear winner is peaches, a crop that Linvill says used to be “more hit-or-miss” but is now “unbelievable.”
Neighboring Indian Orchards Farm is in a similar situation, fighting fire blight and losing tree branches to the disease thanks to increasingly hot, humid conditions.
🧠 Trivia time
Which iconic Philly diner is up for sale?
A) Broad Street Diner
B) Mayfair Diner
C) Oregon Diner
D) Sam’s Morning Glory Diner
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
🏫 Watching: Part two of the wild Always Sunny x Abbott Elementary crossover.
🍔 Anticipating: Two Robbers Spirits Co.’s new Lodge restaurant in Hawthornes’ former spot.
⛳ Looking for: Philly athletes and celebs playing in the American Century Championship.
🏖️ Planning: The ultimate Jersey Shore trip with this summer guide roundup.
🗣️ Considering: How Mayor Parker tackled her biggest challenge yet, in columnist Helen Ubiñas’ view.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Superman
DOWDIEST CAVERN
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Sandra Wu, who solved Wednesday’s anagram: hitchBOT. Waymo’s driverless cars will be seen on city streets this summer, but you can’t catch a ride just yet — it’s a testing fleet. But did we learn nothing from the robot’s demise?
Photo of the day
🌳 One last green thing: A new waterfront park is replacing a polluted industrial site in Bridesburg. The 10-acre Robert A. Borski Jr. Park is designed with a wide-open lawn, upland trails, meadow, restrooms, and parking.
It has been A Week. I’ll be back with you tomorrow to close it out. ‘Til then, be well.
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