🌴 Scaled-down summer vacations | Morning Newsletter
And a West Philly apartment complex fire.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Morning, Philly. The sun returns today, with high temps near 85.
A growing number of U.S. consumers decided this spring to scale down their summer travel. Here’s how area travelers are saving money on vacation plans.
And Saturday’s four-alarm fire in West Philadelphia was deliberately set, the city’s fire marshal ruled. The apartment complex previously racked up a slew of safety violations and is tied to a notorious landlord.
Plus, find the results of the New Jersey primary election, the story of a 16-year-old from Overbrook who will be featured in Madden NFL 27, and more below.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Summer vacation season is here, and more people are opting for lower-key trips amid the increased cost of everyday life and low consumer confidence.
☀️ Gotta go: For some, that means traveling closer to home or spending fewer days away. Others are making last-minute plans, opting to wait and see if prices drop, or if they feel they can afford it.
👙 Notable quote: “With prices rising, we just can’t afford to take a week vacation,” said a Lansdowne resident whose family is instead spending one weekend away.
🌴 Ways to save: Those looking to spend less on a summer getaway could consider flying out of a smaller airport or identify nice-to-haves worth sacrificing.
Police are investigating the giant blaze that gutted a vacant apartment building at 48th and Locust streets early Saturday as an act of arson.
The four-story Admiral Court complex was neglected for years by landlord Phil Pulley, who evicted all residents in 2018 to make way for a supposed sale that never happened. The building has racked up dozens of violations from the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections in recent years.
Yet it’s unclear who currently owns the gutted property.
What you should know today
New Jersey has its candidates for governor: U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill won a crowded Democratic primary, and President Donald Trump-backed Jack Ciattarelli won the Republican primary. While Trump wasn’t on the ballot Tuesday, he was top of mind for candidates and voters.
Two Philadelphia police officers and two protestors suffered minor injuries Tuesday in Center City after a physical confrontation erupted during a march denouncing deportations. Fifteen protesters were arrested.
Former Philly Mayor Jim Kenney defended the 2016 sanctuary city policy he signed into law in an op-ed published in the Washington Post.
Democrat Pat Dugan won the GOP nomination to be Philadelphia’s next district attorney, though he has previously said that he will not accept it.
A Nigerian man who participated in an extortion scheme that led to an Abington teen’s 2023 death was sentenced to five years in prison.
An undocumented mother faces deportation after Montgomery County officials turned her over to federal agents. Elsewhere, she may have been freed after paying $77 bail.
The U.S. Department of Justice wants to end an agreement it reached with a Pennsylvania bank it accused of redlining in Philly.
Graduation rates and cost could soon determine state funding increases for Temple University and other schools.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkley’s epic backward leap will be enshrined on the cover of Madden NFL 26. A less-famous teen from Philly made it into a Madden video game, too.
Sixteen-year-old Overbrook resident Robert Gladden was selected from a group of mentees from Philly’s KB Foundation to have his face scanned by EA Sports game developers during a recent trip to Orlando. The Boys’ Latin High School sophomore will appear as a sideline character in next year’s edition.
“As soon as I find myself, I’m going to yell my brother’s name and call him in to show him myself,” Gladden said of playing the game this summer.
Sports reporter Matt Breen explains how the cameo happened.
In other sports news: Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and his family donated $50 million to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine for the creation of an autism institute.
🧠 Trivia time
Top Democratic lawmakers are boycotting the Washington, D.C., establishments of one of Philly’s most famous restaurateurs over union busting allegations. Which restaurateur is it?
A) Jose Garces
B) Stephen Starr
C) Valerie Safran
D) Michael Schulson
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
🚆 Planning for: The Chestnut Hill East Line’s three-month closure, starting Sunday.
🍲 Mapping: The best bowls of congee in Philadelphia.
💸 Learning: How House v. NCAA will change the landscape of college athletics.
🥪 Crossing the bridge for: These six great South Jersey hoagie shops.
🖼️ Considering: How universities holding African American artifacts can shift from a focus on property to one of repair.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: A main stretch of Northeast Philadelphia
UNBEATEN VOLUTES
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Matt Piechoski, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Club World Cup. The city will host eight of the FIFA matches at Lincoln Financial Field this June and July. Meet the teams and players who will be competing here.
Photo of the day
Have a good one, OK? I’ll be back with you tomorrow.
Correction: Robert Gladden will be featured in Madden NFL 27, not 26.
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