🗓️ Your rundown of last year | Morning Newsletter

Welcome back.

After bracing through the coldest Christmas in decades, it’ll be warmer today with sunny skies and a high of 44 degrees.

It’s the last week of 2022, so we’re looking back at a year of Philly news.

From the big stories we covered to our most ambitious projects, here’s your year in review.

What was the best memory you had this year? Email us and let us know.

— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

January began with tragedy when a Fairmount house fire killed 12 people, including eight children. The fire also re-upped the conversation about Philly’s affordable housing problem.

The pandemic raged on into 2022 with the omicron surge and no one knew if the virus’ legacy would empty the office towers of Center City. (These days, many people are still working from home but foot traffic downtown is recovering.)

February brought the launch of A More Perfect Union, our yearlong reporting series examining the roots of systemic racism and its ties to Philadelphia.

Abbott Elementary became a hit and we got introduced to the Philadelphia teacher who inspired the show. In the sports world, the Sixers welcomed James Harden — and finally got rid of Ben Simmons.

We also published the first installment of our MIA: Crisis in the Ranks series that investigated how hundreds of Philadelphia police officers abused a disability benefit. The number of officers out with injury claims has dropped 31% since we first reported the abuse.

In March, University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas competed in the NCAA championships and brought further attention to the debate about the participation of trans athletes despite not breaking any records.

This is also when we asked you to vote on where to get the best hoagie and some of you tried to rig it.

And we finished the month with the moment that shocked Hollywood and spurred memes from California to West Philly, when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on the Oscars stage.

In April, we released a special report, Lives Under Fire, to chronicle gun violence through those experiencing it.

April also welcomed the first day of marijuana sales in New Jersey and Jay Wright’s stunning retirement from Villanova.

In May, debate over abortion rights took center stage when a Supreme Court draft opinion gutting the protections of Roe v. Wade was leaked. Hundreds protested in Philly and across the country while providers prepared for a surge of patients.

Philly released its first property assessments in three years and values shot up by 31%. They are systemically inaccurate in Black and low-income neighborhoods.

In June, Philly was named a host city for the 2026 World Cup and we celebrated a reimagined Pride Month designed to be more inclusive.

The Sixers announced a plan for a new arena in Center City, near Chinatown, in July.

Protesters set up an encampment at University City Townhomes in solidarity with displaced residents and our columnist Trudy Rubin went to Ukraine to report on the ongoing war with Russia. She reflects on that trip here.

In August, the brother of two MOVE victims finally received the remains from the Medical Examiner’s office.

President Joe Biden also announced widespread federal student loan forgiveness, but that’s currently caught up in litigation.

In September, The Inquirer published reporting on a single weekend of the city’s gun violence in which our journalists visited the scene of every shooting real-time. The epidemic hasn’t waned.

October was magical. Philly’s sports teams were rolling and the Phillies made it to the World Series. “Dancing on my own” was the city’s theme song and, yes, fans climbed greased street poles.

This was also the month when Inquirer food critic Craig LaBan retired his famous bell ratings for restaurants and Pennsylvania Republicans made their move to officially try to impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.

In November, columnist Marcus Hayes explained the infectious Philly sports moment we were still living in. Even though the Phillies and Union both came up short of a championship on the same day, the pride persisted.

And of course, all eyes were on Pennsylvania during the midterm elections. Josh Shapiro won the governor’s race and John Fetterman clinched the Senate race in what was expected to be a razor-thin contest against Mehmet Oz.

December is ongoing but I think it’s fair to say the big story was Jim Gardner signing off after 46 years at 6ABC Action News. His last broadcast inspired a tailgate in a Target parking lot.

What a year. I’ve only been in this position for a few months, but it’s been a gift to share the news you need every day.

Thanks for supporting The Inquirer.