The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Hey, Philly. This is Paola, filling in for Julie. The week is starting off with more damp and cloudy conditions.
Several hundred Philadelphia-area probationary employees at the IRS were laid off, then reinstated into their roles. With a rocky return to work, many are reconsidering their positions.
As the Bok Building hums with activity, some local developers want to reproduce its success elsewhere in the city.
Farther down, Philly immigrants were summoned to Center City on Father’s Day. Some were not allowed to return home.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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With their jobs in limbo for weeks, once-fired probationary employees at the IRS don’t know what lies ahead for their careers.
They lost their jobs in a wave of mass layoffs as part of nationwide federal workforce cuts. Then they were brought back to the agency, but placed on leave. According to one worker, when he tried to take an offer to resign with a payout, he was denied because his job was essential.
The vast majority of them chose to return following the reinstatement, according to Philadelphia union leader Alex Jay Berman, but many are looking to leave due to the uncertainty.
Notable quote: “It’s a ‘brain drain’ on the agency, Berman said. “This is going to be a reorganization unlike any other.”
Reporter Ariana Perez-Castells has the story.
The success of Lindsey Scannapieco’s Bok Building, home to 225 tenants including artists, nonprofits, and retail offerings, has attracted interest in the creation of more spaces like it. The iconic location has become a focal point of culture, arts, and good old-fashioned hangouts in South Philadelphia.
A number of local developers are looking to emulate what makes Bok special in their own projects, including one in Nicetown and another in the Navy Yard.
Scannapieco, who believes there is ample demand for more Bok-like spaces, said she broadly supports the idea. But her approach with Bok was different — it’s not designed to maximize profits.
Commercial real estate reporter Jake Blumgart explores developers’ efforts to replicate Bok’s model across the city.
What you should know today
Immigrants across Philadelphia received terse messages on Friday evening, demanding they come to the ICE office in Center City on Sunday or face consequences. For some, it meant apparent deportation.
An affordable housing project in West Philadelphia is stalled over concerns about drug treatment in the neighborhood.
A new Ikea will open on Wednesday in Cherry Hill, but it won’t be its typical warehouse-style size. The company plans to open more stores in a similar, smaller format.
Swarthmore College leaders say a steep increase in the federal tax on endowments could deal a devastating blow to the school and other small colleges like it.
University of Pennsylvania admitted 4.9% of its applicants for fall 2025, its most selective year in history.
For nearly 75 years, there has been at least one person from the Kauriga family teaching students music in the Philadelphia School District. That streak ended Friday when the younger Kauriga retired.
The FIFA Club World Cup brings a certain level of excitement for soccer fans, but some international fans headed to the Linc on Monday worry that ICE could ruin the summer spectacle.
Inquirer restaurant critic Craig LaBan on Saturday won the James Beard Foundation’s prestigious Craig Claiborn Distinguished Criticism Award.
🧠 Trivia time
The bones of a long-dead man began washing up on New Jersey beaches three decades ago. In late May, the world finally learned his identity: a 19th-century ship captain.
Where did the doomed captain’s ship sail from?
A) Maine
B) Connecticut
C) England
D) Spain
Think you know? Check your answer.
What (and who) we’re...
🤞 Rooting for: All other Philly nominees up for a James Beard Award tonight.
🌉 Answering: A reader’s issue with in-laws over the Delaware River divide.
⚽ Kicking off: Philly’s Club World Cup schedule.
🍃 Learning: How to roll and stuff warak enab (grape leaves).
🛠️ Considering: Ways to promote growth and development in neighborhoods like Strawberry Mansion.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Private Catholic college in Delco
MATURE SUNNY VINNIE
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Sharyn Redding, who solved Sunday’s anagram: Grant Calcaterra. Why does the Birds’ tight end return to an Eagles bar in Portland for his annual fallen firefighter fundraiser? Brotherly love.
📬 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 Hillel Lieberman, who felt a kinship with the devoted Philadelphia A’s fans featured in a recent Inquirer article:
At 4 years old, in 1946, I became a ferocious fan of the A’s and the Phillies. I have been carrying a Sam Chapman card (1949) and a Gus Zernial card (1951) in my wallet since the cards were issued about 75 years ago. They are always with me when I leave the house.
In 1954, when the ownership of the A’s had to take the team away from Philadelphia because Philly fans failed to properly support them, my heart was broken. I made a vow, which I have kept ever since, that I would always support the A’s and I would punish the Philadelphia fans by rooting against the Phillies and against every other Philadelphia professional team in every sport. I have done this with glee and with vigor ever since.
And I promise you that I survived many disagreements and even a few fights in my very young years.
The cards are now well worn, but I have realized great pleasure as a “card-carrying” A’s fan. I often think of some of my other heroes who played for both the A’s and the Phillies — Bobby Shantz, Dave Philley, Bill Nicholson, and Granny Hamner, to mention a few from long ago. More recently, there have been others who played for the Phils and the A’s when the A’s were no longer in Philadelphia — Joe Morgan and Dick Allen, for instance.
👋🏽 May your Monday be great. Take care.
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