Feeling ‘duped’ in Northeast Philly | Morning Newsletter
🎤 And local Swifties do Europe.
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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. We may see some showers today, plus temps going up to the high 70s. (In other weather news, remember the Canadian wildfire smoke that enveloped the city last June? That might be on its way back.)
Legal deer hunting is coming to Philadelphia for the first time, after the state took over a vacant plot of land in Somerton. But neighbors say they were promised a park and are concerned about safety.
And local fans of Taylor Swift are traveling thousands of miles to see the Eras Tour in Europe. They’re saving money on concert tickets, compared to U.S. shows.
Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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The Pennsylvania Game Commission announced that a 17-acre plot in Somerton would allow bow hunting, a first for Philadelphia. Neighbors aren’t pleased.
The plan: Starting this fall, licensed hunters could shoot deer from tree perches at the plot, which is about the width of a football field and sits between housing developments. Hunting would be limited to a series of two-week-long periods between September and January.
What neighbors say: “We felt like we were duped,” said one Somerton resident who remembers the city promising to turn the woodlands into a public park. Some worry about stray arrows and cleanliness.
What hunters say: Outdoorsmen are glad to have more recreational opportunities in the city, though they’re cautious of the plot’s proximity to residents.
Reporter Jesse Bunch has the full story.
What you should know today
A gunman “took his anger out” on five of his former coworkers at an industrial laundry and linen company in Chester on Wednesday, killing two people and wounding three others, Delaware County officials said.
With their president slated to be grilled today by a GOP-led congressional committee probing antisemitism on campus, some Rutgers University faculty are speaking up in defense of the school’s decision to negotiate an agreement with pro-Palestinian encampment protesters.
Several tents sprung up in the center of Clark Park in West Philadelphia on Wednesday, marking the first pro-Palestinian protest encampment in the city to appear outside a college campus.
A man who spent 22 years in prison for a South Philly robbery will be released after someone else confessed to the crime.
More than 60 people who spent time in juvenile placement facilities in Pennsylvania have filed lawsuits saying they were sexually abused by staffers.
Philly lawmakers advanced a bill that would effectively block Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s plan to expand treatment capacity at a shelter in Fairmount.
A Commonwealth Court decision striking down a directive that allowed students with disabilities to remain in school until age 22 — and a subsequent appeal — has left potentially hundreds of families in limbo.
Expect a 204-unit apartment complex near the 52nd Street El stop, a new midrise residential project on the Boyd’s block in Center City, and an inn with a restaurant and condominiums at two historical houses and a prominent parcel of land in Haddonfield.
City Council is moving forward with a five-year renewal of the deal that allowed Verizon to build its Fios network in the city.
Berks County native Taylor Swift played three sold-out shows at Lincoln Financial Field last May. But for Philly-area fans who missed that leg of the global, record-breaking Eras Tour — or who don’t mind dropping hundreds or even thousands of dollars more to see the singer again — another option has emerged: Fly to Paris.
🎤 When Swift kicked off her stint in Europe with shows in France earlier this month, local Swifties traveled to meet her there, finding much cheaper ticket prices than they could for shows in the States. It’s a testament to the devotion she commands from her fanbase.
🎤 “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but somehow I’ve gotten to live it multiple times,” said one diehard who has seen the tour in both Philadelphia and Paris. “This is our Super Bowl.”
🎤 The Inquirer’s resident Swift beat reporter, Beatrice Forman, has the story on these continent-hopping fans.
Forman has also been a Swiftie since age 6 and saw Eras on night three at the Linc. But would she travel to see Swift perform again? Indeed, she tried to get tickets to an Amsterdam show while reporting this story, she told me — “If I had the airplane miles I would’ve done it.”
🧠 Trivia time
Drivers near Callowhill Street and on the Pennsylvania Turnpike can now see a billboard that was deemed too controversial for Times Square. What do the ads promote?
A) Overturning the 2024 primary election results
B) More relaxed gun laws
C) A lingerie subscription start-up
D) Lactation cookies
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we're...
💥 Already missing: Center City’s oldest comic book shop, Fat Jack’s Comicrypt, which is closing after nearly 50 years of business.
🇹🇷 Delighted by: The Philly-themed restaurant in Turkey, complete with cheesesteaks and a Furkan Korkmaz jersey on the wall.
🏖️ Anticipating: A full Kelce takeover of Sea Isle, plus nine more predictions for the 2024 Jersey Shore summer. (Psst, The Inquirer’s Down the Shore newsletter relaunches for the season today. Sign up for free here.)
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
This drive-in theater serves up cult classics in Carbon County: The ...
AH MIGNON
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Ted Raizen, who solved Wednesday’s anagram: Chickie’s & Pete’s. The local chain famous for Maryland-reminiscent fries is reupping its iconic Memorial Day promo by paying Atlantic City Expressway tolls for an hour on Friday.
Photo of the day
Congrats to the Wilma Theater, which won the 2024 Regional Theatre Tony Award. The Center City theater is the first in Pennsylvania to receive the award.
Enjoy the rest of your Thursday. See you back here tomorrow.
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