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 new week, Philly. This Monday may bring rain with high temps around 90.
Real estate duo Smith & Roller wants to make a derelict Kensington bank a testing ground for “ethical” development. Architecture critic Inga Saffron has the details on the ambitious plan in a challenged but gentrifying neighborhood.
And after Phillies fans complained about the difficulty of hailing a postgame Uber, drivers dish on why it’s suddenly become so hard to get a ride home from Citizens Bank Park.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.
Near the Huntingdon El stop, real estate partners Tayyib Smith and Jacob Roller plan to turn a historic bank into a base for businesses owned by underrepresented groups.
The $35 million Kensington Avenue project aims to address the racial wealth gap by connecting the entrepreneurs to workspace and tax breaks, and will include 114 market-rate apartments. Strother Enterprises, a Black-owned caterer, will run a converted banquet hall and commissary kitchen out of the space.
It’s the latest effort from the pair to practice what’s known as ethical development.
Notable quote: “It can’t just be about highest-and-best use,” Smith told The Inquirer’s Inga Saffron, referring to the traditional zoning standard. “There has to be some humanity in it, too.”
Can it work? Saffron explains the stakes.
Uber drivers agree with the would-be riders trying to hail a car after Phillies games: The whole process is a pain.
🚗 After an Inquirer report on fan frustrations with the apparent surge of postgame ride cancellations, drivers and industry experts shed light on why it’s been such a problem this season.
🚗 Drivers blame decreased pay, algorithm issues, and a glut of competition for creating the perfect storm of inefficiency in Lot T.
🚗 Many, too, are on the hunt for a “unicorn” ride — one that goes toward home, or to a busy area where they have a better chance of picking up more rides later, all for the right price.
Consumer reporter Erin McCarthy has the update, including Uber’s proposed improvement.
In other ballpark news: The dancing, carnivalesque Savannah Bananas return to Citizens Bank Park in July. Yes, both games are sold out, but the resale market is doing its thing.
What you should know today
One person died after three rowhouses collapsed early Sunday after a fire and explosion in Nicetown. Two others were hospitalized and neighbors were evacuated.
A Philadelphia School District safety officer was shot multiple times while on duty early Sunday in an apparent case of road rage, according to police.
Pennsylvania’s state budget will likely not be settled by today’s fiscal-year deadline — and it could be days, weeks, or even months before legislators pass a spending deal.
Interboro School District, which serves parts of Delaware County, said Friday that hackers gained access to personal information in an October cyberattack.
A 13-month Jefferson Health program is teaching community members to become front-line public health workers. The goal is to improve outcomes and build trust.
With so many Club World Cup games in such a short time, how is Lincoln Financial Field holding up? Its grounds chief told us.
What’s open and closed in and around Philly for Fourth of July? Here’s the plan, including trash pickup, mail, and grocery stores.
Quote of the day
About 100 people from around the country converged at the Philly School District’s Center City headquarters Friday to draw attention to the system’s poor record on school libraries.
🧠 Trivia time
A sports bar focused on women’s sports is on track to open on South Street this summer. Its name is a tribute to which LGBTQ activist?
A) Gloria Casarez
B) Audre Lorde
C) Marsha P. Johnson
D) Billie Jean King
Think you know? Check your answer.
What (and who) we’re …
⚽ Loving: These blissed-out scenes from the Club World Cup at the Linc.
🐉 Not missing: These 19 summer festivals and markets in Philadelphia.
🪈 Wondering: Why Studio Ghibli’s Joe Hisaishi conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in a #17 Phillies jersey.
🦅 Admiring: The fan who turned Saquon Barkley’s reverse hurdle into a costume — and won big.
☎️ Considering: The cost of keeping incarcerated individuals connected.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Members only at this Center City establishment
CURB FILLET
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Edward Higgins, who solved Sunday’s anagram: Kim Ward. The top Pennsylvania state senator was one of the first and most vocal elected officials about the potential U.S. Steel deal. Here’s why.
Photo of the day
📬 Your ‘only in Philly’ story
Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if you’re not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again — or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.
This “only in Philly” story comes from reader Abby Rolland, who shares a memory from April 2022, six months after she and her husband moved to the area:
We were still getting to know where we were laying roots after relocating due to new jobs when I asked a good friend to go to a Sixers vs. Indiana Pacers game (I’m originally from Indiana). We both love sports and I thought it would be fun!
She picked me up and we went to Xfinity Live before the 1 p.m. game to get food. While there, we noticed a bunch of Phillies jerseys, as well as Sixers ones. Both curious, we looked at our phones to discover there was also a Phillies game at 4 p.m. that day. As we looked at our phones, and then our food, and then each other, my friend asked, “Do you want to go to the Phillies game, too?” Tickets at that point were cheaper and neither of us had other plans that day. I said, “Sure, why not?”
So, we walked to the Wells Fargo Center and after the Sixers beat the Pacers, headed to Citizens Bank Park. It was there that we heard that the Flyers were playing that night back at Wells Fargo at 7 p.m. It felt like fate that brought us to the South Philly Sports Complex that day as we both decided that yes, we had to go three for three and go see the Flyers play, too.
The stars aligned that day in April 2022 when all three teams — plus the Union, but we decided to stay in the Sports Complex area — played home games. And it felt so fun, and perhaps so Philly, to spontaneously decide to attend all three. My friend and I had a blast and it was then that I could start to see Philly as a forever home. The passion, the grit, the excitement, and the resilience of its sports and its fans reflect the nature and personality of this incredible city.
Three years later, and with a new, locally born daughter added to our family, I can’t imagine living anywhere else.
Wishing you a day of aligned stars, too. See you back here 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.