The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Happy Saturday, and welcome to the longest weekend of the year. As we turn our clocks back by an hour, Anthony Wood highlights a few standard time-related figures to consider.
Today, I’m talking about SEPTA’s new deadline to inspect fire-prone cars — and my surprise appearance in a local TV news segment.
But first, we’re covering a “fraudulent” email from the University of Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s disaster declaration for SNAP aid, and a little bookstore of horrors that opened its doors in time for Halloween weekend.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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What you should know today
Gov. Shapiro signed a disaster declaration to mitigate an expected surge in need for food assistance ahead of Saturday’s deadline that would have halted SNAP benefits until a federal budget is passed.
Penn is investigating after a crude email, falsely claiming to be from the school, was sent out to alumni and students. Screenshots of emails were shared widely online.
Philadelphia police are warning car meetup organizers, participants, and spectators to “stay out of the city,” with threats of arrests, citations, and car confiscations.
A Pennsylvania state website and a hotline that help people vet home-repair contractors have been down for nearly three months — despite a state law mandating they be available to the public.
Leaders at Valley Forge Military College have expressed interest in joining President Donald Trump’s plan for conservative colleges that would provide them preferential access to federal education funding.
Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs will serve his 50-month sentence at Fort Dix federal prison in Burlington County.
The fates of Delaware County’s Crozer-Chester Medical Center and Springfield Hospital remain uncertain three weeks since their bankruptcy auction.
After its sale to the Philadelphia Citizen on Friday, Philadelphia Magazine enters a new nonprofit era — and faces bigger questions about its relevance in a changing city.
Thrillerdelphia is now open in Manayunk. It’s the neighborhood’s second niche bookseller and dubs itself Philly’s first horror bookstore.
Geno’s Steaks is going ... national? See how this cheesesteak success story stacked up among the good, bad, and weird in the latest Philly news.
In tune with Halloween, the Oct. 31 deadline to inspect 225 Silverliner IV cars haunted SEPTA like a ghost as it hustled to finish. For riders, delays were all too familiar, but the uncertainty all month long felt particularly unsettling and frustrating. There was little notice — if any — as to if and when service disruptions would strike.
I rely on Regional Rail to get around, so I tried my best to plan in case my commute was canceled (which inevitably happened). And while the trains operated in a limited capacity, I was operating in the hope that SEPTA could finish inspecting and repairing its aging fleet on time.
Caught in the middle of the mess, I was already feeling dismayed about the unpredictable nature of the situation. So picture my shock when I found out I’d been literally caught in a 6abc news segment that aired on Oct. 17 about the inspection mayhem. At the 1:41 mark, I can be seen sitting at Jefferson Station, talking on the phone, impatiently waiting for my (very late) train home.
And because it wouldn’t be a Philly moment without coming full circle somehow, the person who recognized me in the TV spot was none other than a SEPTA employee. My colleague and social platform editor Erin Reynolds told me: “I think you just got your Philadelphian card.” (Considering her take on what makes a Philadelphian, I trust her judgment).
This revelation reminded me of the Arrested Development moment when news anchorman John Beard ran out of a drama-filled restaurant repeating, “Don’t be a part of the story.” In real life, there is no way to extract myself from SEPTA woes. We’re living through this moment together, Philly. But there’s some good news: On Friday, federal regulators afforded SEPTA more time to get the job done. Nov. 14 is the new deadline, so let the countdown begin (again) to get safe trains back on track.
In a letter to Gov. Josh Shapiro and SEPTA general manager Scott Sauer, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy dropped a spate of criticism on the transit agency, including its fiscal situation and the surge in Regional Rail fires.
In the latest edition of “Shackamaxon," Inquirer columnist Daniel Pearson unpacks why Duffy’s demands were addressed to the wrong people, and some “scary ideas coming from City Council.”
🧠Trivia time
Somewhere in Philly, there’s a large historic telescope pointed at the sky. It’s open to observers on the weekends.
Where is it?
A) Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
B) Drexel University
C) Franklin Institute
D) Philadelphia Art Museum
Think you know? Our new (weekly!) Citywide Quest game puts your knowledge of Philly’s streets to the test. Check your answer.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Philly’s third poet laureate
ADORNE WASHILY
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Brenda Belton, who correctly guessed Friday’s answer: Princeton. Take a look inside the new and massive art museum that is now open at the New Jersey university.
It may be a bye week for the Birds, but the Linc was alive and well Thursday night when Delaware State hosted Norfolk State.
It was a star-studded event, with former Eagles players, Allen Iverson, and North Philly rapper Meek Mill in attendance. Watch trending sports reporter Ariel Simpson’s video for the highlights.
Somewhere on the internet in Philly
This city always celebrates Halloween in style. Just check out these ghoulish decorations in University City and East Passyunk. (How’d your neighborhood go all out? Send in photos here.)
A scarecrow with a pumpkin head spent the day frightening people near City Hall. Someone dressed up as none other than our “favorite baseball fan.” Then there’s the “Dead October” bench on Fairmount.
And this may be pure coincidence, but a former coffin factory is up for sale in Olde Kensington. Let’s hope it’s not haunted.
👋🏽 Take care out there, and I’ll see you again tomorrow.
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