🏗️ Building faster in Pa. | Morning Newsletter

Morning, Philly. Hold on to your hat when you step outside on what’s expected to be a blustery Tuesday.

Pennsylvania was known for an arduous permitting process. New policies aim to accelerate building projects and drive investment in the commonwealth.

And a Philadelphia lawyer who became one of the most influential voices in the U.S. juvenile justice system is taking a step back after 50 years as a “superhero.”

Plus, look back on The Inquirer’s best interactives and visual stories of 2025.

— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Reforms for quicker development

Pennsylvania has long been known as a state where development projects get caught in the slog of bureaucracy. That reputation has cost it business, stakeholders say, as in the case of a U.S. Steel mill that went to Arkansas instead of Allegheny County.

🏗️ State leaders hope that will change with a new process approved as part of the state’s $50.1 billion budget, signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro last month.

🏗️ Certain building permits must now be approved in as few as 30 days, among other updates, per the legislation.

🏗️ The goal is that when businesses consider projects in the state, “they won’t wince at the fact that this is going to take forever,” a Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry exec told The Inquirer.

Politics reporters Katie Bernard and Gillian McGoldrick have more.

In other state government news: The attorneys general of New Jersey and Pennsylvania — an anti-Trump crusader and a self-described “boring” Republican prosecutor, respectively — have forged an unlikely partnership. They say they will maintain their bipartisan friendship when one leaves office next month.

‘50 years later, you’re pushing the rock back up the hill’

Marsha Levick’s career has ranged from representing individual teenagers to steering landmark litigation that forced states to overhaul abusive practices.

Levick will step down Wednesday from her position as chief legal officer of the Juvenile Law Center, the Center City-based organization she helped build from a walk-in legal clinic into a national leader in children’s rights.

Her departure coincides with the center’s 50th anniversary, a time of celebration — as well as what she calls a “dark moment” for civil liberties in America.

Reporter Jillian Kramer has the story on Levick’s legacy.

What you should know today

• Philadelphia is on track to record the lowest number of fatal overdoses in nearly a decade in 2025, according to preliminary state data.
• A second South Jersey pilot died after helicopters leaving an Atlantic County airport crashed Sunday. The friends were known figures in the area.
• In a new lawsuit, a Lehigh Valley dealership owner says her business was ruined because of M&T Bank’s “racist and overzealous” fraud investigator.
• An Arizona couple told patients they’d created a breakthrough medical device. In a Philly courtroom, they admitted it was all a lie, pleading guilty to healthcare fraud.
• A Collingswood commissioner has sued the borough, asking a judge to nullify a contract with Virtua Health because the mayor’s husband works for the health system.
• A former NFL player battling Parkinson’s disease had been denied payment from the league’s concussion settlement program four times. His decade-long quest has finally ended in a million-dollar award.
• Honeygrow, the fast-casual chain based in Center City, plans to open up to 18 new locations next year.

Plus: The Inquirer’s best interactives and visual stories of 2025

The Inquirer’s interactives team spends their time designing fun, informative stories that invite you to play along.

This year’s slate ranged from a game that teaches you Gillie Da King’s viral two-step to a tour of the Southeast Asian Market to an explainer on how a plane crash changed five Northeast neighbors’ lives.

Want to finally understand how to navigate the green card maze, or see which route out of the Linc after an Eagles game is most efficient? We have interactives for those, too.

Check out the team’s favorite visual stories from the past 12 months.

🧠 Trivia time

Which of these was among the top searches by Zillow home shoppers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in 2025?

A) “Luxury”

B) “Historic”

C) “Fixer upper”

D) “Tiny”

Think you know? Check your answer.

What we’re …

🔔 Greeting: The “sibling” Liberty Bell to be featured in Cherry Street Pier’s New Year’s Eve celebration.

🍕 Trying: The best new slices and pies in the Philly area.

🎤 Remembering: The best Philly concerts of 2025, according to pop music critic Dan DeLuca.

🔥 Cozying up at: These 40+ area spots with heated outdoor dining areas.

🍲 Eating: A cozy bowl of pozole, at food writer Kiki Aranita’s urging.

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: Wilmington children’s hospital

RUM EONS

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Marvin Adams, who solved Monday’s anagram: Ephrata. A former Mennonite left the dating parlors and courting buggies of Lancaster County behind. Now she’s learning to date from scratch.

Photo of the day

🐌 One last mouthwatering thing: Remember the best meals you ate in 2025? Inquirer critic Craig LaBan recalls his. Look back on his list of Philly’s best restaurants of the year, in photos. Then reminisce on the top five local restaurant trends of 2025 (hi, Michelin) and say a last farewell to the Philly-area eateries that shut down (RIP, McGlinchey’s).

I’ll be back with you tomorrow to close out the year of news. See you then.

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