🚆 Safe travels | Morning Newsletter
And Downingtown mayoral candidate could make history.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Good morning, Philly.
Five of SEPTA’s Silverliner IVs have caught fire since February, and the entire fleet has been pulled from service. Our interactives team explores what’s going on.
And in other transportation safety news, Philadelphia leaders took notes on how a North Jersey city has gone eight years without a traffic death.
Plus, in Democratic-leaning Downingtown, Erica Deuso could become the first openly transgender person elected mayor in Pennsylvania. Follow her potentially historic campaign below.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.
All of SEPTA’s Silverliner IV trains have been pulled off their Regional Rail tracks as they undergo safety inspections following a federal emergency order. How did the transit agency get here?
🚆 The Silverliners are over 50 years old — which is about 15 years older than comparable NJ Transit trains. They have been upgraded in that time, but not fully refurbished. SEPTA says it doesn’t have the money to overhaul its fleet.
🚆 In the last decade or so, the fleet has been experiencing more fire-related accidents. Without the funds for further renovation or replacement, SEPTA has been running trains that operate differently from their modern counterparts.
Interactives developer Jasen Lo has more details.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia officials hit the road to Hoboken, which hasn’t had a vehicular fatality since 2017. They hope to replicate its success.
🚦 A caravan of City Council members and staffers, state representatives, and local safety advocates traveled to the North Jersey city last week to learn how it managed to eliminate traffic deaths.
🚦 Infrastructure updates to improve visibility for drivers, more bike lanes, wider curbs, and a culture of accountability were among the changes made by the densely populated city.
Transportation reporter Tom Fitzgerald joined the field trip to learn what Philly can do better.
Erica Deuso says she isn’t running for mayor of Downingtown to make history. But after the Nov. 4 general election, she might anyway.
Deuso, now a local committeewoman, would become Pennsylvania’s first transgender mayor if she wins in the blue Chester County borough. Her run comes as President Donald Trump’s administration pursues policies that target transgender Americans, and as Democrats’ vocal support for the community wanes in the aftermath of the 2024 election.
In Downingtown, her campaign has drawn both support and vitriol (the latter, mostly online). She doesn’t make her gender identity a point of focus, but she does address the hate when she feels it will be productive.
In her own words: “I’m not running on being trans — that’s not something I ever do or ever wanted to do. I wanted to make it about the neighbors,” Deuso told The Inquirer. “It’s the other side making it about who I am, my identity.”
Politics reporter Katie Bernard accompanied Deuso on a morning of door-knocking for this story.
In other election news: A progressive millennial and former Biden aide is entering the crowded race to succeed U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans. Plus, check out The Inquirer’s Cherry Hill voters guide.
What you should know today
A Nigerian man who targeted a Montgomery County college student in a “sextortion” scheme was sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison.
Lincoln University’s president said the school is conducting a review of its policies and procedures following Saturday’s on-campus shooting of seven people, one of whom died.
A Bucks County man has been charged with attempted murder after he shot at a woman during a heated road-rage incident, police said Tuesday.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has joined a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s decision to revoke emergency preparedness funding from so-called sanctuary jurisdictions. Shapiro has also joined Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s legal fight over a federal subpoena seeking the private medical records of transgender youth.
After a year in which the Trump administration has already cut grants and held up grant reviews, scientists worry more research will be disrupted in the federal shutdown.
William Penn School District in Delaware County says it will run out of cash in January without a state budget.
Valley Forge Military Academy, the Main Line boarding school, will go virtual after Thanksgiving for at least six weeks amid a chaotic wind-down.
Corporations bought roughly one in four homes sold in Philly from 2017 to 2022, a new report says. The investors are competing with low-income homebuyers.
Quote of the day
Allison Stoutland is an educator, a popular children’s book author, and a beloved figure behind the scenes of the Eagles — a “Mama Bear,” as former center Jason Kelce puts it. “She absolutely loves the players her husband coaches, and takes them on in a way that’s more motherly.”
🧠 Trivia time
Two $25 million oceanfront properties in Avalon and Stone Harbor are for sale and accepting offers in what form?
A) Property swap
B) Credit card points
C) Cryptocurrency
D) Frequent flyer miles
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re ...
📜 Admiring: This “vivid picture of Black life” in 1840s Philly.
🫁 Noting: New CPR recommendations for children and infants.
🍩 Anticipating: The new treat-filled Gather Food Hall in University City.
🥯 Commending: This Cherry Hill shop giving out bagels to people hurt by the government shutdown.
🏚️ Considering: How Pennsylvania’s housing crisis is impacted by a 1988 law.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: In Delaware County, despite its name
ETCHERS
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Sarah Pierce, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: James Ijames. The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright will return to local stages with a special spotlight next spring, with a slate of three plays running at three theaters.
Photo of the day
Have a sweet Wednesday. Back at it tomorrow.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.