🚲 A rise in e-bike crashes | Morning Newsletter
And Philly City Council prepares for 2027.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Good morning, Philly. It’s expected to be another warm one today, with highs in the low 90s. The rest of the week will be just as hot.
Philadelphia has seen a boom in e-bike and e-scooter use, but the vehicles come with a more dangerous price than traditional cycling. Injuries from electric bikes and scooters rose by 40% between 2024 and 2025.
Three Philadelphia City Council districts have emerged as key battlegrounds in the 2027 election. All 17 sitting City Council members appear poised to seek reelection next year, but a wave of potential challengers are gearing up to take on the old guard.
Plus, Bryce Harper spoke out about a video he made that went to a FanDuel customer with a gambling addiction, and more news of the day.
— Sam Stewart (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Last year, more traffic crashes causing injury and death in Philadelphia involved electric bikes and scooters than manual ones, according to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation data. The finding highlights a new reality in which e-bikes and e-scooters present a major safety problem, the state confirmed.
The high numbers of injuries and deaths point to the need for legal clarity, statewide safety regulations, and new infrastructure to protect users of e-bikes, e-scooters, and bicycle riders from cars and trucks, advocates contend.
E-bikes and scooters are poorly defined in Pennsylvania law. The ambiguity makes it hard for governments to identify problems; PennDot did not analyze separate crash data for the electric devices until 2024, for instance.
Several bills to regulate these vehicles have been proposed in the state legislature, but none have been passed.
Philadelphia City Council is already looking to 2027. And with all 17 seats on the ballot next spring, the elections are shaping up to be a pivotal test of whether the city’s established politicians can withstand a rising tide of frustration with the party among Democratic voters.
Every incumbent has said they intend to run for reelection, and several are likely to face serious challenges from new candidates focused on grassroots organizing and progressive groups. Three districts have emerged as key battlegrounds.
In the North Philadelphia-based 5th District, at least four people are considering challenging Councilmember Jeffery Young Jr., a freshman lawmaker who has championed controversial legislation and at times publicly clashed with constituents.
And the city’s progressive organizations, emboldened by a series of wins locally and nationally, are targeting two other districts: the 1st, which stretches from South Philadelphia to Fishtown and is represented by Councilmember Mark Squilla, and the 8th, which includes parts of North and Northwest Philadelphia and is represented by Councilmember Cindy Bass.
The Inquirer’s Anna Orso and Sean Collins Walsh have the full story.
What you should know today
Bryce Harper, the Phillies’ All-Star first basemen, claimed that he was unknowingly working on behalf of FanDuel when he recorded a personalized video for a man with a gambling addiction who had placed millions of dollars in bets on the site.
Temple University will make student retention a focus in the year ahead with new programming for the first-year student experience and other efforts in the works as it seeks to reverse troubling trends in enrollment and matriculation.
Thomas Jefferson University is bringing its medical education offerings to Allentown, with a new four-year regional campus set to enroll students in 2029, officials announced.
For the first time in two decades, more money will soon be flowing into the pockets of Pennsylvania’s retired public school teachers, firefighters, police officers and other state employees.
A Philadelphia judge has blocked the city from resuming work to upgrade protections for the bike lanes along Pine and Spruce Streets in Center City, the latest turn in a high-profile legal battle.
Philadelphia last week took a step toward renewing its contract with a controversial Chester trash incinerator after a high-profile bill to ban the city from doing so failed to garner enough support in City Council.
Asylon Robotics, a 100-employee robot software and hardware maker based in Norristown, says it has been selected to test its network of doglike robots, flying robots, and software links at the Air Force’s Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex in Georgia.
Quote of the day
Richard D. Wood Jr., chair emeritus and former CEO and president of Wawa Inc., Convenience Store News Hall of Famer, lawyer, trustee, mentor, veteran, and philanthropist, died on July 10. He was 88. For more than 40 years, Wood supervised Wawa’s multistate expansion, and through it all, he remained affable and curious, friends and family said.
🧠 Trivia time
Which Phillies legend made an appearance behind the counter of Sarcone’s Bakery earlier this week?
A) Jimmy Rollins
B) Ryan Howard
C) Chase Utley
D) Cole Hamels
Think you know? Check your answer.
What (and whom) we’re ...
⚽ Looking forward to: The U.S. women’s soccer team returning to Subaru Park in October. They’ll face the reigning World Cup champion, Spain.
🦅 Learning about: Jonathan Jones and Samori Touré, who have just joined the Eagles.
👀 Keeping an eye on: Pennsylvania lawmakers have only days to set sentencing guidelines for felony murder cases. Hundreds of cases are on the line.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: 🎶 Baby, you light up my world like nobody else / The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed / But when you smile at the ground, it ain’t hard to tell / You don’t know, oh-oh, you don’t know you’re beautiful. 🎶
INSULT MOON SOIL
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Lori Franzke, who solved Monday’s anagram: Cristopher Sánchez. Sánchez, the Phillies’ ace, has been informed he’s the choice to start for the National League on Tuesday night in Citizens Bank Park, a league source confirmed.
Photo of the day
🌳 One last thing: Hundreds of trees fell in Philadelphia within a matter of minutes during Saturday’s storm. “We’ve never seen anything like this,” said the Parks and Recreation commissioner.
👋 Have a good day, everyone. I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow morning.
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