The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
It’s set to be a sunny and warm (!) Monday, Philly.
West Chester-based shopping network QVC’s revenue and customer base have been declining for years. Meet the longtime local fans who have kept it alive.
And beware of text messages inviting you to a court hearing over a Pennsylvania Turnpike toll violation: They’re part of a scam.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Nearly a decade before Amazon came online, home shoppers could tune in to QVC and buy any number of wares in about the time it took to say their credit card numbers over the phone.
📺 Nowadays, many loyal Philly-area customers remain committed to the West Chester-based network. But its financial troubles have been mounting. QVC Group, which owns QVC and HSN, is reportedly considering filing for bankruptcy to reorganize billions in debt.
📺 Experts say the company needs to expand its customer base to become profitable again. Most of QVC’s customers last year were women over 50. Some have been tuning in for decades.
📺 “If they go out of business, it will leave a void,” one longtime shopper told The Inquirer.
Consumer reporter Erin McCarthy has the story.
If you get an urgent-sounding text asking you to pay a Pennsylvania Turnpike fine in lieu of attending a court hearing, take a beat.
Philadelphia courts warned this weekend of the text-message scam, known as smishing, and reminded that the city’s judiciary would never send a text message demanding payment of any kind.
It’s not the first time scammers have posed as state or city agencies to steal residents’ personal financial information.
Reporter Abraham Gutman has more on how to recognize these scams.
What you should know today
Three shootings in the Philadelphia area early Sunday left one person critical, one stable, and one in an undisclosed condition. And an 11-year-old boy fatally shot his mother’s boyfriend during a fight in her Southwest Philly home on Thursday, police said.
Two men are expected to be charged with murder in connection with the death of an American Airlines flight attendant in South Philadelphia last year, police said Sunday.
Three Philadelphia area men, including a Bucks County teen accused of throwing a homemade bomb toward a crowd, were arrested for taking part in a violent clash involving a far-right protest in New York City, police said Sunday.
The bones found by hikers in Ridley Creek State Park last week are deer bones, not human remains as previously thought, state police said Sunday.
A woman who was hit in the face by a foul ball at the Little League Classic field last May is suing Major League Baseball, the city of Williamsport, and the Crosscutters team.
Three investment firms that advised Pennsylvania’s largest pension system have agreed to pay $30 million to settle legal claims alleging that their bad advice cost the state’s teachers far more.
Moffet Elementary in South Kensington isn’t on the Philadelphia School District’s closure list, but parents are fighting plans to turn it into a middle school. Plus, two prominent Jewish day schools in the Philly suburbs are merging.
Wilmington is America’s corporate capital. But as companies move their physical headquarters from Rodney Square, apartments are taking their place.
The region’s late-February storm didn’t quite meet the blizzard threshold in the city, though such conditions were confirmed at the Jersey Shore and southern Delaware.
Quote of the day
Have you noticed the hoagiemouth coming from Philadelphia’s crosswalk audio announcements? Columnist Stephanie Farr has the rundown on how they came to be.
🧠 Trivia time
Philadelphia was home to the first college established to grant what to women?
A) Medical degrees
B) Ph.D.s
C) Free tuition
D) Undergraduate acceptance
Think you know? Check your answer.
What and whom we’re...
🍹 Consulting: Our neighborhood guide to rooftop and outdoor dining.
⛳ Anticipating: Birdie Club, a golf simulator, opening this year in South Philly.
🩰 Inviting: Timothée Chalamet to Philly to see how many people do indeed care about opera and ballet.
⚾ Imagining: What the USA roster might look like for the 2028 L.A. Olympics.
⚕️ Considering: The challenges that remain as we celebrate the first female physicians trained in Philly.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Philadelphia 76ers-owning company
BLITZ HARRIERS
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Casey Janczewski, who solved Sunday’s anagram: Painted Bride. The nonprofit arts center’s new executive director is Germantown native and arts leader Risë Wilson. She started her career there many years ago.
Photo of the day
📬 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 Joe Morris, who describes a short-lived career as a Mister Softee truck driver:
In the summer of 1965, I needed to earn the $330-per-year tuition to attend Philadelphia’s new community college. My neighbor, a VP at Horn and Hardart, had connections at Mister Softee and got me a job driving a truck.
My assignment was in the winding streets of Winchester Park in the Northeast. The pay was OK but by mid-August, I had enough to cover tuition, and I was getting tired of the kids yammering and often coming up short with what they owed. One August day, I set a new milestone for the company.
On my route, turning from Winchester Ave onto Albion with the music playing, I saw a group of kids pointing and screaming and running to my truck. I decided to find out how desperately they wanted ice cream. As I slowed down, they proceeded to run at the truck. As they got close, I sped up, causing them to stop. I slowed down again and they chased after the truck yelling for me. I made a right turn onto Stamford and then continued taking one winding street after another and they continued to chase me. When they slowed down, I did as well. As they ran again, I sped up. We kept this routine for several blocks.
What I didn’t count on was the three mothers who cut me off with their car. They were yelling about what a sick person I was and asked my name. I told them, and they said, “We have your name and truck number, and you’ll be fired.” I made a quick exit.
When I turned in the truck that night, I was told the supervisor wanted to see me. “Were you not stopping to sell ice cream?” he demanded to know. “I’ve gotten a ton of calls with your truck number. What were you doing?” I replied that it was a social experiment. He looked baffled and said, “Never in 14 years as a manager have I had a truck not stop to sell ice cream. Do you have any excuse?” “I was curious.” He looked at me and said, “You’re fired, and there is something drastically wrong with you.”
My summer job then changed to washing dishes in an all-night dining car.
The weather’s supposed to be so nice this week, I wouldn’t be surprised if we started hearing that familiar Mister Softee jingle ringing out. Have a good one.
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