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 Sunday. There’s a chance of storms, but the sun is expected to make an appearance for Mother’s Day, with a high near 81.
Philadelphia Pride festivities will not take place in the Gayborhood this summer. Our main story highlights what’s changing, and why it sparked a backlash.
And the last dairy farm in one Salem County town tried to shift to solar power, but neighbors raised concerns. Now, its identity in the state’s most rural county is at a crossroads.
Scroll along for these stories and more.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Philly Pride will be held at Eakins Oval on June 7. It’s a departure from the Gayborhood, which has hosted the events since 2022.
But that’s not the only thing that will be different — the festival will now charge $10 admission.
🏳️🌈 Philly Pride 365 organizers say safety, accessibility, and crowd concerns played a role in the changes.
🏳️🌈 Many supporters welcome the move to the Parkway, while some critics worry that Gayborhood businesses could be hurt and that fees may make Pride less inclusive.
🏳️🌈 Tyrell Brown, founder and executive director of Philly Pride 365, is aware of the concerns and said he wants the festivities to meet the political moment and the needs of the LGBTQ community.
Inquirer reporter Ximena Conde has the story on the festival’s growing footprint and what the community is saying about its transformation.
At Waldac Farms in Salem County, the Cadwallader family has been in the farm business since the 1860s. It’s the last one of its kind in the area.
Nationwide, small dairy farms like Waldac have struggled to stay afloat due to a volatile industry. To avoid closure, the Cadwalladers looked to the possibility of a large solar project as a lifeline.
But the very concept of a solar farm in their rural corner of the world wasn’t appealing to neighbors, writes my colleague Jason Nark, who reports on rural parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
“Those concerns raised open-ended, philosophical questions: What’s a working farm supposed to look like? What exactly does rural mean?” Nark writes.
Read on about the town’s rethinking of rural life and the farm’s uncertain future.
What you should know today
Philadelphia is planning to use new flood monitoring technology in Eastwick and other neighborhoods.
Two people were charged with allegedly running a large-scale operation to traffic drugs and manufacture “ghost guns,” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said Friday.
Some summer fruits may be scarce and pricier due to bizarre spring weather that likely has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in crop losses.
Gloucester Township police are investigating a fatal school bus crash that left one boy dead on Friday afternoon.
The top three Democratic nominees vying for retiring U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans’ seat are spending big on campaign ads. Meanwhile, an unusually crowded primary to replace State Rep. Mary Jo Daley is playing out in Montgomery County.
A Black-owned nonprofit in Downingtown closes postpartum gaps by helping new moms navigate the fourth trimester.
A spate of violence against Irish-Catholic immigrants in Philadelphia was commemorated Saturday, more than 180 years after three days of riots devastated and fractured the community.
❓Pop quiz
NJ Transit lowered the cost of a ride to the World Cup, but it still costs $100 more than the train in Philly.
How much is it now?
A) $105
B) $115
C) $130
D) none of the above
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re ...
🍗 Savoring: A hot chicken sandwich from chef Chad Rosenthal, among the best things we ate this week.
🚜 Visiting: Philly’s cool country cousin.
🥂 Mesmerized by: Champagne bubbles you can wear.
✂️ Scoping out: A Mount Airy mansion with a serious price cut.
🍝 Imagining: Fiore Fine Foods is still in Queen Village, at least in Jennifer Weiner’s idea of a perfect day.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: The nation’s oldest hospital (two words)
ANNOYS HIPPEST VANILLA
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Dottie Yacek-Matulis who correctly guessed Saturday’s answer: Anna Jarvis. A lot has been said about the Philadelphian who founded Mother’s Day. A historian now wants to set the record straight.
Photo of the day
Check out more of staff photographer Jose F. Moreno’s pics from day one of the Dad Vail Regatta rowing competition.
🚣 P.S. If you want to make the most of your time outside this season, look out for the return of our Outdoorsy newsletter next Friday, May 15, penned by me. Sign up here.
🎶 Today’s track goes like this: “Sea returns to sea and sky to sky.”
👋🏽 That’s it for now. Thanks for spending some time with us this morning, and take care.
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