Morning, Philly. The ice on your neighborhood’s crosswalks may finally be cleared soon as the city hires 300 additional workers to chip away at the lingering mounds. Meanwhile, police are begging people to not walk on the frozen Schuylkill.
Lawmakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are working to keep consumers’ bills from rising with demand for data centers, like those under construction in East Vincent Township and Vineland.
And ahead of Valentine’s Day, we found 12 romantic, under-the-radar restaurants in the city and suburbs.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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A plan to curb energy costs
Data centers require a lot of energy, which can increase consumers’ bills. Elected officials in Pennsylvania and New Jersey hope to help as the centers proliferate across the country and region.
⚡ Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro says he’ll prevent data center developers from “saddling” residents with higher energy costs with the Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development plan. Presented during his 2026-27 fiscal year budget address Tuesday, the GRID plan would require data centers to supply their own energy or pay for any new generation they need.
⚡ In New Jersey, Gov. Mikie Sherrill has prioritized energy costs by freezing utility rates, expanding programs to spur new power generation in the state, and ordering electric utilities to report energy requests from data centers.
⚡ Other lawmakers in the two states have proposed legislation related to data centers, too. Nearly 30 bills address the facilities’ energy sources, water usage, environmental impacts, and general regulation, as well as rising consumer costs.
Consumer reporter Erin McCarthy has more on the data center demands.
Further reading:
- See the full details on Shapiro’s proposed $53.2 billion state budget, which focuses on affordability, development, and raising Pennsylvania’s minimum wage.
- Learn what Montgomery County’s PJM has to do with data centers, and why the company has been a frequent target of Shapiro, officials from other states, consumer advocates, and the federal government.
- A developer wants to increase the size of a proposed data center on a remediated Superfund site in East Whiteland Township, stoking ire from nearby residents.
Feeling romantic
Not to alarm the procrastinators among us, but Valentine’s Day is in 10 days. Still need to make a dinner reso? Consider these picks beyond the typical date-night dining spots, courtesy The Inquirer’s food team:
🍷 Malbec Argentine Steakhouse in Society Hill offers heart-shaped flan (cute!) and special anniversary deserts alongside lots and lots of meat.
🍷 Abyssinia in West Philadelphia invites you to share a platter of Ethiopian comfort food, then cap off the night with a visit to the cozy cocktail bar upstairs.
🍷 Spring Mill Cafe in Conshohocken is a white tablecloth-type place, yes, but one set in a 19th-century farmhouse.
See the map of romantic, under-the-radar restaurants.
More food news: February brings a slew of Philly-area restaurant openings, including a slick lounge in Center City and the reboot of a South Jersey brewery. And you simply must try the pho cocktail at Gabriella’s Vietnam, an homage to family tradition.
What you should know today
- The U.S. House passed a bill to end the latest, brief government shutdown. See how your local representative voted.
- The Trump administration bought a nearly 520,000-square-foot warehouse in Berks County as it plans to convert such facilities across the country into immigration detention centers.
- Sen. Cory Booker, the Jersey Democrat widely considered a potential presidential contender for 2028, has out-fundraised almost every other 2026 candidate for Congress.
- A Pennsylvania couple bought a house on a quiet street. Then they found a swastika in the basement.
- A Montgomery County personal injury attorney has been suspended following allegations that he misled at least 16 clients on settlement offers that did not exist.
- The University of Pennsylvania’s October data breach impacted fewer than 10 people, despite hackers’ claims it was 1.2 million.
- Princeton University’s president said the school will make cuts, given “political threats” to its finances, as well as endowment projections.
- SEPTA will no longer post alerts on social media about potential delays and cancellations due to driver shortages following improvements to its tracking tools and staffing levels.
Quote of the day
The countdown to the 2026 baseball season began Tuesday as the Phillies loaded up the truck for spring training in Clearwater, Fla. Packed items included thousands of baseballs, hundreds of batting gloves, several children’s bicycles, and one very important hot dog launcher.
Plus: We rounded up everything you need to know about Phillies spring training, from key dates to storylines to watch.
🧠 Trivia time
Strip club Lou Turk’s, a Delaware County staple for more than 50 years, announced it is changing its name to The Carousel Delco — but that it will continue its annual sale of what?
A) Irish potatoes
B) Carnival goldfish
C) Unlimited beer raffle tickets
D) Mother’s Day flowers
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re …
🏛️ Noting: This Task stuntman’s turn as Kennett Square council appointee.
🎹 Watching: Sun Ra: Do the Impossible on PBS’s American Masters.
🐴 Obsessed with: Miniature horse Doug, the star of Jason Kelce’s stinky new Super Bowl ad.
🏘️ Reviewing: James Ijames’ Good Bones, a play about gentrification in Philadelphia.
📚 Considering: The enduring need for Black History Month, despite the president’s disdain.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: The name of America’s oldest warship
PHILLIP AHEAD
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Lauri Jacobs, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Starbucks. The coffee chain’s Schuylkill Yards location is the latest to unionize in Philadelphia.
Photo of the day
Someday, all that snow will melt. Probably. Until then, be well.
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