đȘ âSnow melts, reputation doesnâtâ | Morning Newsletter
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The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Welcome to a brisk, mostly sunny Saturday.
In todayâs edition, weâre addressing a seasonal situation: the neighborly approach to snow shoveling.
But first, weâre covering Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parkerâs State of the City speech, how to avoid the stomach bug that recently hit one area school hard, why you may hear a different voice calling the Flyers game on 97.5 this weekend, and our report card for this week in Philly news.
Read on for these stories and more.
â Paola PĂ©rez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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What you should know today
In her second year-end speech, Mayor Parker portrayed the city as safer than when she took office and outlined a plan for homelessness.
A Montgomery County school district is seeking to fire a principal for reported antisemitic remarks.
Dozens of Philadelphiaâs most vulnerable residents say they lost medical care without notice after millions of state agency letters werenât sent.
The Flyers and 97.5 The Fanatic have suspended play-by-play man Tim Saunders for two games after he made an inappropriate comment during the broadcast of Thursdayâs Flyers-Sabres game.
A South Jersey school was hit with an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness last week, as cases of norovirus, a common stomach bug, recently surged nationwide. Hereâs how you can protect yourself.
A Philadelphia man was sentenced to 38 months in federal prison this week for commissioning people in Indonesia to torture monkeys on camera.
The Trump administration proposed new rules to prevent hospitals from providing gender-affirming care to minors. The move could have consequential implications for CHOP.
A long-promised Philadelphia Housing Authority mixed-income tower will begin construction early next year in Center City.
Philadelphia was the only big city to rank on Zillowâs list of the most popular real estate markets of 2025. Affordability, the main driver of popularity, helped push Philly up the list.
Between Wawa taking Sheetz to the cleaners and Donna Kelce on The Traitors, catch up on the good, bad, and weird in the latest stories out of Philly.
After it snows in Philly, sidewalks must get shoveled clean. Itâs a city rule that could result in fines if not followed.
There are right (and wrong) ways to do it, but what happens when we add community courtesy into the mix? A reader asked: âI usually shovel beyond my own sidewalk, but my younger neighbor only does his patch. Am I expecting too much from him?â
To settle the issue, Inquirer editor Evan Weiss brought in editors Sam Ruland and Tommy Rowan. The Philly natives hashed out whether or not the responsibility to wipe the walkway ends at your property line, and how standards have changed over the years.
On Sunday, I gladly let some neighbors borrow my shovel to clear their front steps or even dig cars out, but Iâve definitely noticed when people push the white stuff to a precise fault line. I saw people recently express frustration online over folks not cleaning off block corners, and confusion over one neighbor piling a bunch of snow in front of their car. (And in case you were curious, we already handled the savesies situation.)
Between Samâs and Tommyâs verdicts, one thing is for certain: Itâs a bit weird to stop at the exact margins of your home, and Philly might be silently judging you for it. This quote from Sam will live rent-free in my head: âI donât shovel because I love it. I shovel because I fear the block.â
What about the right price to pay kids eager to get the job done? Youâll have to read along for their full take. And if youâre looking for advice, weâre all ears. Send in your pressing Philadelphia problems here.
In this weekâs Shackamaxon, Inquirer columnist Daniel Pearson reflects on political theater at the glitzy Pennsylvania Society dinner, and the discovery that âChampagne, cigars, cocktails, and filet mignonâ are apparently essential to productive bipartisanship.
Read on for Pearsonâs experience at the signature gala, along with thoughts on what City Council has been up to (including a new bill to ban residential development in one area), and what Pearson calls an example of positive preservation.
Think you know where this Christmas tree is located? Our weekly game puts your knowledge of Philly places to the test. Try your best guess here.
𧩠Unscramble the anagram
Hint: New Yearâs Day tradition
MAURER SPAMMED
Email us if you know the answer. Weâll select a reader at random to shout out.
Cheers to Amanda Costello, who correctly guessed Fridayâs answer: Bryn Mawr Film Institute. The beloved Main Line theater turned 20 this year. Here are 20 iconic movies from its history.
We were there
Staff photographer Monica Herndon captured the moment Rabbi Yitzchok Gurevitz lit the menorah at Canal View Park on Thursday night, the fifth night of Hanukkah. The lighting was hosted by Chabad-Lubavitch of Northwest Philadelphia.
Somewhere on the internet in Philly
Weâre nerding out over this Eagles fanâs website tracking Tush Push data across the NFL. (It also points out which of the teams attempting to use it may or may not have also voted to ban it.đ)
Do our crosswalk indicators have Philly accents? I donât think youâre imagining things, @thrashertv.
People are loving this sweet proposal as seen through South Street Samâs lens.
And shoutout to Mike on X for managing to squeeze Phillies lore into 280 characters. Go Phils.
đđœ Thanks for stopping by this morning. Letâs do this again tomorrow.
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