The Morning Newsletter
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Welcome to what’s expected to be a damp Sunday, Philly.
Concertgoers’ phones were pickpocketed at the Mann Center in West Philadelphia, then ended up in China. Event attendees at venues across the city say similar thefts have been rampant this year.
And The Wardrobe has provided free professional clothes for 30 years. Then work attire got more casual.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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In the midst of the thrashing pit of a hardcore show, dozens of phones disappeared from concertgoers’ pockets.
📱 The thefts at Turnstile’s September stop at the Mann appear to be a part of a crime trend that has hit venues and events across the city. In many cases, the phones’ owners have used the Find My app to track their devices, learning they were taken out of state — and then ferried overseas.
📱 Authorities say a black market for phones from Western countries is thriving in China, where they can be more easily wiped and resold or stripped for their parts at bustling secondhand technology markets.
📱 Some victims have even gotten messages from the people who now have their phones, asking for them to be remotely unlocked for use.
Reporter Jesse Bunch has more on the tricky challenge of recovering stolen devices.
Need clothes for a job, interview, appointment — or any reason at all? The Wardrobe has you covered.
The nonprofit started three decades ago by giving suits to working women. Now, as workplace attire has become more casual and clothing needs more nuanced, it’s not just for suits, and not just for women.
“Times are so hard right now, and there are people who are in situations where they just need clothes,” said a volunteer for The Wardrobe, which operates five shopping sites around the region. “They need something on their back — new or semi new — to make them feel good about themselves, to keep warm.”
Business reporter Ariana Perez-Castells has the story on the organization’s evolution.
What you should know today
Hundreds of people gathered Saturday for the funeral of Kada Scott, the 23-year-old woman who was killed last month.
A former Cheltenham Elementary School teacher was arrested and charged with keeping and distributing child sexual abuse materials.
Why did Jack Ciattarelli do so much worse than expected in Tuesday’s gubernatorial election? These New Jersey Republicans have some theories. Plus: See the Trump counties Mikie Sherrill flipped.
Concerned environmental groups say a deal is in the works in Harrisburg that would scrap the state’s entrance into a major greenhouse gas initiative in return for a budget deal. And Philly sends a third of its trash to a Chester incinerator, so City Council members took a “Toxic Tour” to get a closer look.
Delaware County’s executive director is asking the all-Democratic council to raise property taxes 19%, just days after an election centered on the county’s double-digit increase this year.
At a Philadelphia school board public hearing Thursday night, parents and teachers sounded off on school closings, students’ right to bathroom breaks, and more.
Unionized hotel workers at the Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District went on strike Saturday as they seek a new contract.
Amid fall open enrollment season for Pennie and Medicare, Pennsylvania’s attorney general is warning people to beware of health insurance scams.
SEPTA must inspect 225 Silverliner IV Regional Rail trains by Nov. 14. As of midday Friday, the transit agency had 50 remaining.
âť“Pop quiz
At Rosemont College, which announced last spring it would shutter in 2028, enrollment has fallen by 45% — though many students and professors say they want to stay until the school closes.
Which area university will then take over Rosemont’s campus?
A) Villanova
B) Drexel
C) St. Joseph’s
D) Temple
Think you know? Check your answer.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Maker of nationally known cheesesteaks, with a South Philly home base
PLAGIARIZE ZONES
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Bobbi Harris, who correctly guessed Saturday’s answer: W. Wilson Goode. The 45-year-old Democrat became the first Black mayor elected in Philadelphia on this week in 1983.
Photo of the day
🎶 Today’s track goes like this: “Come on, baby / Let’s do the Twist.”
On Saturday, 65 years after “The Twist” first topped the charts, the South Philly-raised singer born Ernest Evans — aka Chubby Checker — finally got the recognition he has long sought via induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Speaking of homegrown musicians: Grammy nominations are out, and a slew of Philly and Philly-tied artists got nods.
Have a great Sunday, OK? I’ll be back with you tomorrow AM.
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