🚙 Driving on the right or left | Morning Newsletter
And ballpark headaches from transit cuts.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Welcome to a new week, Philly. We’ll be treated to sun and milder temperatures this week as Hurricane Erin retreats.
Do you drive a “liberal” or “conservative” car? The Inquirer’s data team analyzed 11 million Pennsylvania vehicle records to find out how closely different brands match political leanings across the state.
And on the subject of cars: Some Phillies fans opted to drive to Sunday’s game to avoid dealing with SEPTA service reductions. Read on to learn how transit cuts could make getting to the South Philadelphia sports complex a challenge.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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In purple Pennsylvania, the kind of car you drive might signal how you voted — or how your neighborhood voted.
🚙 The Inquirer compared the most popular vehicle brands by zip codes based on the Republican or Democratic lean of the drivers there. The results show that feelings about electric vehicles, pickup trucks, and brands’ countries of origin have led to different types of cars being popular in the state’s most political strongholds.
🚗 If you’re in the blue-hued Philadelphia suburbs, for instance, you’re more likely to own an electric vehicle such as a Tesla sedan — if it’s a model from 2023 or earlier, before founder Elon Musk ramped up support for the Trump administration.
🛻 If you’re in a rural, GOP-voting area, you might favor a Ford F-150 over a Honda.
🛞 Among the most politically neutral models? Jeep SUVs. Everyone loves rubber ducks, it turns out.
Data reporters Lizzie Mulvey and Dylan Purcell analyzed the data, and spoke to car owners and industry experts about what they found. See how popular your vehicle is in different parts of the state.
Most of SEPTA’s bus and metro service reductions went into effect Sunday, a day when the Phillies happened to be playing at home.
The cuts meant fewer rides overall, and no extra express trains to accommodate crowds going to or from the South Philadelphia sports complex. Accordingly, some fans who wanted to avoid potential delays chose to ditch public transportation entirely by traveling via car.
More cars on the road could mean big(ger) traffic delays before and after games on the highways and in the neighborhoods surrounding Citizens Bank Park. It’s just one example of how Philly life could be made more frustrating by the service cuts.
Another test is coming soon: the Eagles home opener on Sept. 4.
Reporters Beatrice Forman and David Gambacorta have more.
Plus: The Inquirer wants to know how the cuts are affecting you. Share your stories and observations as we continue to report on SEPTA’s service reductions.
What you should know today
The Philadelphia School District and its largest union have reached a tentative, three-year contract.
Three people are dead and one injured in four shootings in Philadelphia Sunday morning.
A second false emergency incident report involving a weapon at Villanova University prompted Radnor Township police to deploy to the campus Sunday, one day before classes are scheduled to start.
U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill dominated the New Jersey gubernatorial primary, but poor performance in some areas raises some questions of how effectively Democrats can turn out voters for her in an off-year election.
New Jersey NAACP president Richard T. Smith once bashed party bosses. Now he’s a key ally to power broker George E. Norcross III.
A West Philly charter was ordered to pay the school district $30 million for enrolling hundreds more students than it was legally allowed, but is settling for $2.5 million.
Belmont Behavioral Health, one of the area’s largest mental health providers, is opening a crisis response center in Delaware County.
The Moorestown school district is asking voters to approve a $108 million bond referendum to fund full-day kindergarten and other improvements.
Temple University and the Library Company of Philadelphia are close to finalizing the terms of a proposed merger. Any deal would have to overcome more hurdles before becoming final.
🧠 Trivia time
MLB has a tentative plan to send the Phillies and Minnesota Twins to Dyersville, Iowa, next August for the return of a regular-season specialty game named for a baseball movie, according to league sources.
What movie is the game named for?
A) Angels in the Outfield
B) Field of Dreams
C) A League of Their Own
D) The Sandlot
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
⚾ Recalling: That time the Phillies arrested a kid for keeping a foul ball.
🪑 Learning about: The Pennsylvania furniture company that brought “mid-century modern” to America.
🛍️ Watching for: Signs of the troubled Fashion District’s future.
☀️ Humming: Always Sunny’s public-domain theme song, “Temptation Sensation” (really).
🛝 Considering: This pitch to double Philly’s parks budget.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Historical site under federal review
DUPONT HEIRESSES
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Deveney Mason, who solved Sunday’s anagram: Wilt Chamberlain. On what would have been the basketball legend’s 89th birthday, we looked back on his Philly connections.
Photo of the day
TIL hermit crab racing is a thing.
📬 Your ‘only in Philly’ story
Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if you’re not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again — or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.
This “only in Philly” story comes from reader Mike Salmanson, who describes a sweaty start to decades of affection:
The recent garbage strike reminded of the last strike in 1986 — the summer I moved to Philadelphia.
It was an inauspicious start. At the end of May, I drove from Chicago, where I had just finished law school, to Philadelphia, in my Caprice Classic when the air-conditioning broke. The Schuylkill was undergoing major reconstruction. Guided only by my AAA TripTik, I sat on the Expressway for several hours thanks to an accident in the “cattle chute.” As the engine and outdoor temperatures rose, the only way to cool the engine was to vent hot air into the passenger compartment.
Arriving in my Old City apartment, woozy and drenched in sweat, I met my brother, who had been waiting for me for hours in the sweltering apartment. I later discovered a tripped circuit-breaker, so the air conditioner had been circulating hot air!
The municipal unions went on strike shortly thereafter, and my daily walks to the El meant a fetid assault from the ever-rising trash heaps. Mornings were spent at a bar review class at one of the long-gone movie palaces on Chestnut Street, where we were frequently interrupted by a scurrying rat. After class, students would grab lunch at Taylor’s, the Commissary, or Charlie’s Water Wheel. I took the bar exam at the Valley Forge Convention Center, which was simultaneously hosting the “Sons of the Desert” convention of Laurel and Hardy fans.
A native of Long Island, I came to Philly thinking I might stay a year or two. I long ago switched loyalties from the Mets and Giants to Phillies and Eagles, being amply rewarded by attending Terry Mulholland’s no hitter in 1990 (undoubtedly aided by the three wildly enthusiastic nuns in front of me praying the rosary throughout the ninth inning — a Philly moment indeed!). Despite my rocky arrival and the Summer of Stench, I’ve never looked back.
Wishing you a pleasantly scented day. Back at it tomorrow.
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