🍞 Philly baker still rising at 86 | Morning Newsletter
And DHS shutdown strains PHL.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Wake up, Philly. It’s another cloudy Sunday, and daylight saving time is back. The high will be near 68.
In today’s main read: George Wright of Mount Airy found his first baking job in Philadelphia through a want ad in The Inquirer. Columnist Stephanie Farr tells the story of Wright’s 70-year kosher baking career.
And we’re now three weeks into a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. Up ahead, see how Philadelphia International Airport is faring.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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🎤 Now I’m passing the mic to Stephanie Farr.
Deluxe Catering owner Daniel Israel wanted to cook up something special for the 86th birthday of his company’s baker, George Wright, but instead of giving him his flours in the form of a cake, Israel wanted someone to tell Wright’s story.
Enter this columnist, stage left.
While Wright hasn’t announced he’s leavening Deluxe anytime soon, his retirement plans are on a knead-to-know basis. When he doesn’t feel like kneading dough anymore, he’ll let you know.
“If I don’t feel like coming in one day, I ain’t coming in,” he said.
But baking is in Wright’s bones. “It’s all I ever did, bake for 70 years,” he told me, and he believes that staying in the business, instead of loafing around, has kept him young.
“If I just sit at home, that’s when you feel older,” he said. “This way, it keeps me mobilized.” — Stephanie Farr
DHS is still shut down, forcing TSA and other federal staff to forgo pay while still on the job.
🛂 At PHL, security checkpoints were still open as of Saturday.
🛂 The travel industry is bracing for tough times ahead as the shutdown drags on. Strains on staffing could slow screening times and impact travel.
🛂 This marks the third shutdown that essential employees have had to endure in just a handful of months.
Political breaking news reporter Fallon Roth has the story.
In related news: More than 800 former federal workers have been hired by the Pennsylvania government in the last year, as thousands of Pennsylvania-based federal government employees quit or lost their jobs.
What you should know today
Gas prices in Philly and across Pennsylvania are on the rise as the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran continue. City drivers are seeing prices of $3.38 per gallon, 37 cents higher than the week before.
Philadelphia police are hoping the public can help identify a woman who has been in the hospital since last spring after she was hit by a car in Logan.
Jefferson Health is closing four legacy Einstein pediatric practices and moving three others, a move that is expected to significantly reduce pediatric care in North and Northeast Philadelphia. The nonprofit health system did not answer questions about how many jobs will be cut or why it was making the change.
You’re probably using your Wawa points wrong. Don’t take it from us, though. These enthusiasts schooled us on their research-backed strategy.
The Philadelphia School District wants to shutter James R. Ludlow School, which educates a significant special-education population. Teachers say closing it would be “severing a lifeline” for students.
Cherry Hill High School East will have a new principal come summer. The former principal resigned months ago amid an ongoing legal battle.
Chester County’s former CEO said he left his job last week after commissioners said he overstepped by approving a request that allowed employees to access online sports betting and fantasy sports sites on the county Wi-Fi.
The Eagles reached a deal with defensive tackle Jordan Davis on a reported three-year, $78 million contract extension.
How can the Philadelphia Museum of Art “make it easier for us to love it even more”? Arts reporter Peter Dobrin has a handful of ideas, like longer hours and placing something other than the Rocky statue at the top of the steps.
❓Pop quiz
Penn tuition, fees, and room and board will exceed ______ for 2026-27.
A) $85,000
B) $100,000
C) $94,000
D) none of the above
Think you got it? Check your answer.
What we’re ...
🏙️ Enjoying: Skyline vines, big pizza, and waterfront strolls in Jersey City.
🦅 Intrigued by: How a couple secured this mid-century rowhouse with an “eagles nest.”
🍤 Following: Jill Scott’s instructions on eating shrimp from Sid Booker’s.
🥓 Munching on: An enormous breakfast platter down the Shore, among the best things we ate this week.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Nonprofit arts center
PAIRED INDEBT
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Bonnie H. Zetick, who correctly guessed Saturday’s answer: Jordan Mailata. In recognition of his work with the Philly Specials, the Eagles offensive tackle won the first Montgomery-Wanamaker Citizens Award, which now bears the name of the late Phillies chairman.
Spirit, the docuseries following the story of George Washington High’s underdog cheer squad, is now available for streaming on Peacock. It was directed by Philly filmmaker and La Salle University alum Matt Howley and showcases how the squad scraped its way from humble beginnings to the nationals.
🎶 Today’s track goes like this: “I felt the sea and now I’m standing in the drain.”
One more musical thing: New college internships could open up at the city’s largest performing arts producer and presenter under a newly signed partnership.
👋🏽 That’s it for now. Thanks for spending part of your morning with us.