💊 The rise and fall of Rite Aid | Morning Newsletter
And Daryl Morey’s basketball musical.
The Morning Newsletter
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Morning, Philly. It’s set to be a hot one. Those with heart and respiratory issues should limit time outdoors due to wildfire smoke blowing in from Canada.
Rite Aid’s shutdown is a tough pill to swallow for Philly-area customers who must now say goodbye to their neighborhood pharmacies. See how the Navy Yard-based chain went from the top U.S. drugstore to closing all its stores.
And 76ers executive Daryl Morey produced a musical. Go inside the world of the “deliciously weird” Small Ball, premiering this week.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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After two bankruptcy filings in less than two years, Navy Yard-based pharmacy chain Rite Aid is set to start closing its remaining stores. Some locations will shutter as soon as this week.
💊 Yes, it’s just a drugstore. But to plenty of customers, the loss is bittersweet, as it’s also been a neighborhood constant for decades — even as shelves got barer in recent months.
💊 Philly-area patrons told The Inquirer they will miss their local pharmacists or store employees, thousands of whom are expected to be laid off in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. At a Queen Village Rite Aid, customers have been writing thank-you notes to employees to show their appreciation.
💊 Consumer reporter Erin McCarthy spoke to workers and customers about the chain’s last days.
Further reading: How did a Scranton company founded as Thrif D Discount Center in 1962 grow into the largest pharmacy chain in the nation — and then survive lawsuits and restructuring before finally collapsing in 2025? Take a look back at Rite Aid’s rise and fall.
One might not expect the executive of a pro sports team to know their way around a theater. But that’s where Daryl Morey envisioned his career would go, if not for his role as the Sixers’ president of basketball operations.
He found his way to the arts anyway: Morey is a co-producer on Small Ball, in previews this week at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre after a decade of development.
The plot involves six-inch basketball players on an island who sign a human-sized player. It’s a comedy and a musical, and a passion project for Morey. And it includes a song about “the extreme pain of losing, and how the only way we know we exist is through the pain that we feel through the losses” — which might resonate with a certain Philly team’s fans.
Sixers reporter Gina Mizell has the details.
In other sports-adjacent news: Boxing manger Howie Steindler was the model for Mickey in Rocky. His death is still a troubling mystery after 48 years.
What you should know today
The family of a 19-year-old killed by Abington Township police in March have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit.
The Oregon man charged with stabbing a veterinarian to death in front of his Cherry Hill home in December will be detained as he awaits trial.
A contractor at 30th Street Station who bribed an Amtrak manager with luxury watches and vacations was sentenced to nearly five years in prison.
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing the University of Pennsylvania of mishandling antisemitism complaints.
After Pennsylvania said it wanted to hire former federal workers amid White House shake-ups, thousands applied — and more than 100 have gotten a job. Plus, state regulators warn that sweeping federal cuts to Medicaid and the Obamacare marketplaces could leave half a million residents uninsured.
Gov. Josh Shapiro and top Democrats say SEPTA and mass transit funding is a priority, but won’t say whether they’ll hold up the state budget over it.
An awkward reply-all email exchange among Philly Council members shows tensions remain high over a new law on Kensington addiction services.
Residents of Pine and Spruce Streets have sued to stop the city from establishing loading zones opposite the corridor’s bike lanes.
Investors involved with the Philadelphia Citizen are in negotiations to purchase Philadelphia magazine.
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🧠 Trivia time
A New York developer won complete control of the historic Wanamaker building at a foreclosure auction Tuesday. What does TF Cornerstone want to add above the former Macy’s space?
A) Another department store
B) 600 loft apartments
C) A tribute to the Eagle statue
D) Nothing
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
👶 Celebrating: Baby KJ’s return home after receiving a novel gene-editing therapy at CHOP.
🏛️ Learning: How to get involved in the lawmaking process via this guide to Pennsylvania’s legislative committees.
🎥 Applying to be: Extras in Kevin Hart’s Jersey-filmed Netflix flick.
🐈 Glad to see: Biggie, the shop cat at West Philly salon Talking Headz, celebrated as the star he is.
🔬 Considering: The unionization efforts of Penn’s postdoctoral workers and research associates.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: South Broad Street steakhouse
FILIGREED SCROLLS
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Helen Duncan, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Odunde Festival. The annual African cultural celebration celebrates 50 years in Philly this Sunday with live music, African and Caribbean food, a river procession, and two performance stages.
Photo of the day
🐕 One last fluffy thing: You might know The Dogist from social media, where he features portraits of good boys and girls as well as brief interviews with their humans. The Narberth native — real name: Elias Weiss Friedman — will be at the Theater of Living Arts today to promote his new memoir, This Dog Will Change Your Life.
Hey, enjoy your Wednesday. See you tomorrow.
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