🤖 A quiet delivery service expansion | Morning Newsletter
And Philly readies for summer health risks.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
We made it to Friday. There’s nothing but sunshine in the forecast at least through Saturday.
Uber Eats’ delivery robots have been rolling through the city for weeks now. Not all restaurants joined the pilot program, but some tell us they were enrolled without having signed up.
And health officials will be particularly busy with thousands of visitors expected in Philadelphia soon. These are their top priorities.
Plus, Philadelphia Charters for Excellence is suing the city’s school district, and more news of the day.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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We don’t know exactly how many of the autonomous delivery bots are roaming Philadelphia’s streets since they debuted in March. We do know about two dozen restaurants signed up to try them out.
But according to six restaurants on Uber Eats, it seems the company has quietly expanded the service to all restaurants within its designated operation zone in Center City, despite them not agreeing to participate in the program.
Restaurateurs told The Inquirer they were prompted in recent weeks to place meals inside the blinking bot’s temperature-controlled compartment. Some owners were intrigued by the technology, while some employees weren’t too thrilled about juggling orders inside and tending to the bot outside.
Notable quote: “Looking at videos, I thought it was so slow and I was wondering how it works, but [the robot] is pretty huge,” said Seorabol owner Eunice Cho.
Ximena Conde and Jasen Lo report.
Thousands of people will descend on Philly this summer for a series of major events, including next month’s World Cup Games, America’s 250th birthday, and the MLB All-Star Game.
Public health officials have been preparing for months, with several key priorities at top of mind to help protect everyone during the festivities, including:
☀️ Environmental health, from the inevitable summer heat to potential poor air quality.
🍕 Food safety, which involves a review of restaurants’ World Cup plans and ensuring compliance.
🦠 Monitoring infectious diseases, with increased wastewater testing, assessments of vaccination rates, and the importance of coordination with officials across the country at play.
Public health reporter Aubrey Whelan has the details.
What you should know today
A new lawsuit alleges that the Philadelphia School District illegally forces charter schools to agree to certain conditions in order to stay open.
Authorities arrested and charged a Delco man in the killing of Imani Ringgold in West Philadelphia last month — a shooting that police say was part of an escalating gang feud she had nothing to do with.
A judge has temporarily blocked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from deporting a man who helped Berks County authorities investigate the shooting death of his daughter.
More than 2,500 Penn State faculty voted in favor of forming a union, which the university has recognized as a “clear majority” of those who voted.
Swedish company Dometic will close its manufacturing facility in Royersford by the end of the year. Dozens of workers are expected to be laid off.
The Pennsylvania State Police will create a new unit to investigate threats against elected officials after a communication failure surrounding violent threats against legislators.
The William Penn Foundation awarded nearly $20 million in new grants to nonprofits working to expand urban gardens, combat illegal dumping, and more.
A shortage of ube, the popular purple-colored yam, is threatening its availability as an ingredient for drinks and snacks sold at Philly restaurants.
Welcome back to Curious Philly Friday. We’ll feature both new and timeless stories from our forum for readers to ask about the city’s quirks.
This week, we’re resurfacing an explainer on the logic behind Philly’s tree-centric street names, and whether it was planned out or simply coincidental.
From Chestnut to Locust and Pine and beyond, there’s a certain pattern to their arrangement in the grid. Here’s the full story.
Have your own burning question about Philadelphia, its local oddities, or how the region works? Submit it here and you might find the answer featured in this space.
🧠 Trivia time
Police are searching for a man they say stole more than $10,000 worth of valuable trading cards from a Montgomery County store earlier this month. What kind of trading cards were stolen?
A) Yu-Gi-Oh!
B) MLB
C) Pokémon
D) WWE
Think you know? Test your local news know-how and check your answer in our weekly quiz.
What we’re …
🦅 Studying: The Eagles’ full 2026 schedule.
🥯 Anticipating: Phoenixville’s Street Cart Bagels will rise once more.
⚽ Watching: Côte d’Ivoire’s Yan Diomande could be a World Cup breakout star in Philly.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Main Line mansion (one word)
RAD SONARS
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Jan Dalina, who solved Thursday’s anagram: Daryl Morey, who is out after six seasons as the Sixers president of basketball operations. These moves will stand as the most enduring part of his Philadelphia legacy.
👋🏽 Have a great start to your weekend, and I’ll catch up with you again tomorrow morning.
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