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  • After Manayunk’s Bridget the Dino statue was decapitated, neighbors will decide the name for a new dinosaur

    After Manayunk’s Bridget the Dino statue was decapitated, neighbors will decide the name for a new dinosaur

    The decapitation of a beloved stone garden dinosaur in Manayunk left the community reeling earlier this week.

    Bridget the Dino was a symbol for the neighborhood’s green spaces and neighborly affection, who oversaw the Manayunk Bridge Trail gardens.

    When all hope was lost, the original owners of Bridget, and other neighborhood dinosaurs that have become a staple to Roxborough and Manayunk, saved the day.

    Holod’s, the Lafayette Hill home and garden store, donated a brand new stone dinosaur to the Manayunk gardens at Dupont and High Streets, taking over Bridget’s yearslong watch as the garden guardian.

    “After the heartbreak of seeing Bridget damaged, this unexpected act of kindness means more than words can say. The neighborhood love is real, and this Dino is already feeling it,” park organizers announced on Tuesday.

    Now that the difficult task of placing a new 300-pound stone garden dinosaur is complete, the fun part comes: choosing a name for the new dino. When park organizers learned they would be getting a brand new dino, they decided they couldn’t just name the new statue Bridget, as she is “irreplaceable,” said park volunteer and Roxborough resident Juliane Holz.

    “The community is so much a part of this that they can help us name this new one,” Holz said. “I like Manny. But we also have to decide whether she is a girl or a boy dino. I do like ‘Holly’ for Holod’s.”

    Park organizers have already posted a list of suggested names for the new statue. This reporter is partial to “Yunker.”

    Potential dinosaur names:

    • Manny (for Manayunk)
    • Archie (for the arch of the bridge)
    • Roxie (for the Roxborough side)
    • Schuylie (for the Schuylkill)
    • Ivy (garden vibes)
    • Rocky (Philly and Roxborough)
    • Ledger (bridge and connection vibes)
    • Petra (means “rock”)
    • Yunker (play on Manayunk)

    Residents from Manayunk, Roxborough, and beyond can drop a comment below the park’s latest Instagram post to vote on one of the above names or suggest a new one.

    Last Sunday, a neighbor found Bridget’s head lying at the feet of her stone body after it was smashed between late Saturday evening and early Sunday morning. The vandalism came as a shock to the community that welcomed Bridget with open arms, as she grew into a beacon for the ever-growing green spaces that the families of Manayunk and Roxborough have come to revitalize.

    Bridget the Dino, a beloved stone garden statue at the Manayunk Bridge Garden, had its head smashed off between late Saturday night, Nov. 22, and early Sunday morning, Nov. 23, 2025. The 300-pound stone statue would be hard to move, neighbors say, leading some to believe an adult purposefully broke the statue.

    “It seems like something silly to be upset about, but someone put a lot of effort and money — these statues and improvements are not cheap — into making that bridge garden a really nice place,” Manayunk resident Annie Schuster said. “I hate the fact that somebody did that.”

    Neighbors believe the cowardly act to have been perpetrated by an adult who intended to destroy the iconic statue. Holz believed the statue proved too heavy for someone to mistakenly bump into it. Police reached out to Holz and park organizers to let them know they will investigate the crime, Holz said.

    Bridget the Dino, a beloved stone garden statue at the Manayunk Bridge Garden, pictured in an Easter Bunny costume for Easter. The community often dresses up Bridget during different holidays and themed events. In November 2026, her head was smashed off her body.

    Meanwhile, they’ll repurpose Bridget elsewhere among the garden beds and usher a new dinosaur dynasty with Holod’s latest statue. Holz said perhaps Bridget’s new iteration will be as a bird bath installation or an addition in a new sensory garden.

    The Manayunk Bridge Garden is one of the many public spaces being transformed into neighborhood gardens and pedestrian thoroughfares. Since COVID-19 lockdowns, residents have donated their time, alongside the Roxborough Manayunk Conservancy, to making this place special for local families. Bridget and her new friend encapsulate all of that passion.

    Bridget the Dino, a beloved stone garden statue at the Manayunk Bridge Garden, pictured in a construction worker’s uniform. The community often dresses up Bridget during different holidays and themed events. In November 2026, her head was smashed off her body.

    “We are focused on improving the park’s ecology and creating opportunities for the community to enjoy and use the space. The gardens are stunning in autumn with their masses of purple asters and yellow goldenrod,” said Avigail Milder of the Roxborough Manayunk Conservancy.

    Along with the welcoming stone dinosaur, volunteers have been planting native shrubs and herbaceous plants that bloom through spring and summer. A new sugar maple tree was planted for much-needed shade. And most recently, Opus Piano donated a mini grand piano to be enjoyed and played by all parkgoers.

  • Two Camden Housing Authority employees win $1.7 million in lawsuit after wrongful termination: ‘I feel vindicated.’

    Two Camden Housing Authority employees win $1.7 million in lawsuit after wrongful termination: ‘I feel vindicated.’

    A slip of paper slid under Gary Evangelista’s office door at the Camden Housing Authority — a document that showed a tenant owed the agency $10,000 in unpaid rent. Evangelista, a retired police officer who oversaw security, was puzzled. Instead of being evicted, as policy required, the woman had been moved into another unit. So, Evangelista flagged the discrepancy to the top.

    That episode was one of several times over the course of a year that Evangelista and a colleague, Kaberia Fussell, brought reports of possible wrongdoing inside the agency — including allegations of theft, fraud, and favoritism — to its highest officials, according to a lawsuit they later filed.

    But rather than investigating, the lawsuit said, the housing authority fired Evangelista and Fussell in 2018.

    The two challenged their terminations in federal court, arguing that the housing authority had violated their First Amendment right to free speech without retaliation.

    And last week, after a five-year legal battle in federal court in Camden, a jury agreed, awarding Evangelista and Fussell a combined $1.7 million.

    It was unclear Wednesday whether the Camden Housing Authority and three officials named as defendants in the lawsuit — Victor Figueroa, its former executive director; Katheryn Blackshear, its former deputy executive director; and Debbie Person-Polk, chair of its board of commissioners — would appeal the jury’s verdict. Attorneys for the agency did not respond to calls and emails.

    Evangelista and Fussell’s lawyer, Joseph Guzzardo, said his clients are “good people” who were wrongfully terminated for “doing the right thing.”

    Fired Camden Housing Authority manager pleads guilty in $150,000 fraud case

    In all, Evangelista and Fussell, who worked as a housing specialist, brought at least five allegations of illicit activity to officials between 2017 and 2018, according to the lawsuit, including an employee scheme to steal scrap metal from housing villages and reports of sexual harassment against a tenant.

    They were fired on Dec. 19, 2018.

    “My reputation was ruined,” Evangelista said in an interview this week.

    Fussell, a union employee, successfully appealed her termination and returned to the agency. But Evangelista, a nonunion employee, could not appeal. He said he struggled to find steady employment.

    The verdict, he said, “gave me my life back after six years.”

    Fussell still works at the housing authority. Even so, before the verdict, “I still felt like a loser, even though I did nothing wrong. Because when you’re fired, people look at you like, ‘What did you do?’” Fussell said.

    But now, she said, “I feel vindicated.”

  • The time Philly almost didn’t have a Thanksgiving Day parade

    The time Philly almost didn’t have a Thanksgiving Day parade

    Since 1920, Philadelphia has gone without a Thanksgiving Day parade only twice — once because of poor weather, and once because of a global pandemic. But nearly four decades ago, another formidable foe — corporate sponsorship — threatened the city’s beloved holiday tradition.

    That’s not a bad record for the country’s oldest Thanksgiving Day parade, which Gimbel Brothers Department Store launched with a humble procession through Center City. For more than 60 years, the festivities ended with Santa Claus climbing a ladder into the window of the Gimbels store at Ninth and Market Streets, signaling the start of the holiday season.

    Until 1986, that is. Gimbels by then had fallen on hard times and, following its sale to the highest bidder, was liquidated. Its Philadelphia-area locations were to be converted into Stern’s department stores, and Gimbels hoped to pass the baton to that chain to keep the Thanksgiving Day tradition alive.

    The problem was that Stern’s and its parent company, Allied Stores Corp., were not interested.

    “I think the best we could do this fast is to buy the Mummers some T-shirts,” Allied Stores chairman Thomas Macioce told the Daily News in 1986.

    The parade that year, however, became bigger and better than it had ever been. Here is how The Inquirer and Daily News covered it:

    https://www.newspapers.com/article/philadelphia-daily-news/185403993/

    Article from Jun 18, 1986 Philadelphia Daily News (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) <!— –>

    ‘We can’t be ready in time’

    A deal in the Gimbels sale emerged in June 1986 and, right away, the Thanksgiving Day parade was on the chopping block, at least for that year. Allied officials claimed no planning had yet been done and there was no way to put it together in time.

    That, it turns out, wasn’t true. Ann Stuart, a Gimbels executive, told the Daily News that parade organizers had been proceeding as though the parade would be held as scheduled. And Barbara Fenhagen, the city’s special events coordinator, said planning was going ahead as usual.

    Either way, Stern’s and Allied’s lack of interest left the city in a tight spot. Aug. 15 was the last day orders could go in for the floats to be ready on time, marking a hard deadline to find a sponsor. Whoever took up the role would be expected to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars.

    “We will do everything we can to make sure that [the parade’s] appearance is not interrupted, even for one year,” Fenhagen said at the time.

    https://www.newspapers.com/article/philadelphia-daily-news/185404572/

    Article from Jul 16, 1986 Philadelphia Daily News (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) <!— –>

    ‘Don’t rain on our parade’

    As the controversy wore on, Philadelphians and the local press grieved and snarled at the potential loss of a holiday tradition. The Daily News seemed to plead for Stern’s to reconsider.

    “Please don’t rain on our parade,” the People Paper wrote in an editorial. “To Philadelphians of all ages, it launches the holiday season in a special and heartwarming way.”

    Business columnist Jack Roberts struck a more combative tone, likening Stern’s to a houseguest who begins a conversation “by spitting in your face.” He later suggested that readers send back Stern’s junk mail to the company’s “Scrooge” executives with the phrase “I want the parade” scrawled across it.

    Special events professionals, meanwhile, warned that forgoing the sponsorship might create a bad name for Stern’s that would be difficult to overcome.

    “Philadelphians have a way of remembering,” special events consultant Shelly Picker said.

    https://www.newspapers.com/article/philadelphia-daily-news/185404234/

    Article from Nov 21, 1986 Philadelphia Daily News (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) <!— –>

    ‘We’re delighted’

    The search for a new lead sponsor was arduous, with city officials approaching “most every local company that breathes,” according to a Daily News report. A number of bigger local outfits — ranging from Meridian Bancorp to Kiddie City — bowed out over cost and branding concerns.

    Then, after 56 days of limbo, the Thanksgiving Day parade was back on. And it was thanks to WPVI (Channel 6), better known today as 6abc.

    “When it became clear that because of the time frame and other commitments most were unable to assume that mantle, we decided to do it — and we’re delighted,” said the station’s general manager, Rick Spinner.

    The station had been airing the parade locally for 19 years and seemed to be a natural fit to take over. And, as the Daily News reported, the city had been pressuring Channel 6 to come up with a plan, seeing as the station benefited significantly from broadcasting the day’s festivities.

    The parade would go on to be known as the “Channel 6 Thanksgiving Day Parade.” But that was not the only — or even the biggest — change afoot.

    https://www.newspapers.com/article/philadelphia-daily-news/185404169/

    Article from Sep 24, 1986 Philadelphia Daily News (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) <!— –>

    ‘Establishing new traditions’

    Channel 6 brought in the big guns straight away. Namely, by hiring a parade coordinator named Valerie Lagauskas, who previously managed the Macy’s parade in New York and wrote a book on parade planning.

    A number of changes came under Lagauskas’ leadership, including a new route. Instead of starting at the Philadelphia Art Museum and marching toward City Hall, as had been tradition, the parade would reverse direction and end at the Art Museum. The route would allow for the use of larger balloons, bigger floats, and better camera angles for the parade’s telecast.

    The full parade that year would also be broadcast nationally for the first time, appearing on the Lifetime network, in which ABC was part owner.

    In total, there would be 20 bands, 20 floats, 8 gigantic balloons, and 40 other balloons that were merely very large, The Inquirer reported. A massive balloon of the cartoon cat Heathcliff would make its debut. The theme, fittingly, would be “We Love a Parade.” And leading it all as parade marshal would be Sixers legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving,

    “The old Philadelphia parade has been liberated from its commercial traditions and we’re on the way to establishing new traditions,” Lagauskas said.

    https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer/185404381/

    Article from Nov 28, 1986 The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) <!— –>

    ‘The best ever’

    On parade day, more than 500,000 spectators were expected to attend. And, according to reports from the time, they were not disappointed.

    Not only were there better floats and a more picturesque route, but paradegoers also were met with unseasonably warm temperatures.

    “It’s the first time we’ve been to a Thanksgiving Day parade where you could get a sunburn,” one attendee joked.

    The parade itself seemingly went off without a hitch, concluding on the steps of the Art Museum as Santa Claus pulled up to a rendition of “Happy Holidays.” Musicians and dancers let go of green and white balloons that drifted out over the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to cheers.

    And at least one Philadelphian didn’t forget who saved the day. Donna Harris, 30, of Audubon, who had attended the parade yearly since she was 5, was spotted holding a sign that read “Thank You WPVI.”

    “This parade was the best ever,” she said.

  • 17 holiday events happening near you | Inquirer Cherry Hill

    17 holiday events happening near you | Inquirer Cherry Hill

    Hello, Cherry Hill! 👋

    Happy Thanksgiving! While you’ve probably got your sights set on Turkey Day, the winter holidays aren’t far behind. We’ve rounded up over a dozen events you’ll want to add to your calendar. Also this week, we pay a visit to a recently opened interactive gaming spot, the mall has added a new luxury shop, plus why a Say Yes to the Dress Star was in town last weekend.

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    Over a dozen holiday events in Cherry Hill you won’t want to miss

    Santa Claus will again make his way through town alongside the fire department starting next month.

    The holiday season is officially upon us and with it, a slew of festive events. Whether you’re looking to snag a picture with Santa Claus, go ice skating on an outdoor rink, see a menorah parade, or tour a historic house decked-out for the season, there’s no shortage of events in Cherry Hill.

    We’ve rounded up more than a dozen holiday festivities this season, including shopping pop-ups, ornament workshops, and seasonal concerts.

    See the full list of holiday events here.

    Childhood games get a modern twist at this new gaming spot

    Activate’s “Mega Grid” game is similar to the popular childhood game, “The Floor is Lava,” but instead of cushions, players follow LED lights.

    Activate, a new immersive gaming spot, opened on Friday at 1509 Route 38, taking over a former Rite Aid. The 14,000-square-foot chain lets users bring to life old-school games like hide-and-seek and “The Floor is Lava,” and more modern ones, like a Mission Impossible-esque laser gauntlet, all in giant LED-filled spaces. In total, there are 13 stalls with different games that last one to three minutes each.

    Reporter Henry Savage took a look inside Activate’s first South Jersey location.

    💡 Community News

    • Reminder: Trash and recycling pickups will operate on an altered schedule this week for the holiday. See how your pickup is impacted here.
    • A 36-year-old man was hospitalized last week after he was found with a gunshot wound inside a Cherry Hill recording studio. He was listed in stable condition.
    • Bridal wear royalty was in town last weekend for the opening of a wedding dress shop’s second storefront. TV star and designer Randy Fenoli, who is known for his years-long tenure on TLC shows Say Yes to the Dress and Randy to the Rescue, helped brides at the new Cherry Hill location of Dress 2 Impress find the perfect gown for their big day as part of his cross-country tour promoting his Keepsake Kollection. He also imparted some wisdom about finding the right fit.
    • In other shopping news, handbag and accessories store Coach is now open at the Cherry Hill Mall. If you’re planning to shop this week, the mall is closed tomorrow and reopens at 7 a.m. on Friday.
    • Big Blue Swim School is set to open its doors on Monday at 2100 Route 38, near the mall. The swimming lesson chain will offer programs for kids as young as 3 months old and will be open every day but Friday.
    • Need a little help tackling your gift list? We’ve put together a guide to over 70 very Philadelphia ideas, complete with a quiz to find the perfect one for yourself or your hard-to-shop for friends and family.

    🏫 Schools Briefing

    • Reminder for families: There’s an early dismissal today, and schools are closed tomorrow and Friday.
    • Last year, 62.2% of township residents’ taxes went toward the school district. Cherry Hill’s average property taxes were $9,383, just shy of the $10,000 average property tax bill statewide, according to a new NJ Advance Media analysis. (NJ.com)

    🍽️ On our Plate

    • A new Korean restaurant specializing in hot lava pots is taking over the former Ten Hot Pot and Crabby Crab on Route 70. A timeline for the new eatery hasn’t been announced yet. (A View From Evesham)

    🎳 Things to Do

    🛼 Wicked Skate Party: Whether you’ve already seen Wicked: For Good or are planning to catch it in theaters soon, share your love of the movies at this themed skate party, which includes trivia, a soda bar, and a glam station where you can add tinsel to your hair. ⏰ Friday, Nov. 28, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and 6:30-9:30 p.m. 💵 $12 admission, $6 skate rental 📍 Hot Wheelz

    🖤 18th Annual All Black Holiday Affair: Celebrate the holiday season at this annual 21-and-over event featuring DJs and dancing. There will also be a holiday toy drive collection. All black attire is encouraged at this Black Friday event. ⏰ Friday, Nov. 28, 7 p.m.-12 a.m. 💵 $87.30-$201.06 📍 DoubleTree by Hilton

    🎴 Cherry Hill Card Expo: Card collectors can browse everything from sports art and memorabilia to trading, playing, and collectible cards, including for Pokémon, during this two-day event. There will also be on-site authentications available. ⏰ Saturday, Nov. 29, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 30, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 💵 $10-$25 📍 DoubleTree by Hilton

    🎧 Cherry Hill Record Riot: Shop from an array of vinyl albums and CDs from dealers. ⏰ Sunday, Nov. 30, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 💵 $4.26-$26.66 📍 Holiday Inn Philadelphia-Cherry Hill

    🏡 On the Market

    An updated Olde Springs home

    A walkway leads to the home’s entryway.

    This renovated Olde Springs home has an elegant rounded front entryway that sets the tone for the interior, where some of its highlights include a crystal chandelier, marble-inspired tiles, and a stone wall fireplace. It has five bedrooms, including a first floor suite, an updated kitchen, and a new deck.

    See more photos of the home here.

    Price: $719,000 | Size: 3,441 SF

    🗞️ What other Cherry Hill residents are reading this week:

    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.

    This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.

  • Elfreth’s Alley is getting a park to honor woman who saved it from demolition

    Elfreth’s Alley is getting a park to honor woman who saved it from demolition

    Few Philadelphians may recognize the name Dolly Ottey, yet nearly all know Elfreth’s Alley — the nation’s oldest residential street — which she helped rescue from decline and demolition starting in the 1930s.

    Now, after years of wrangling, a long-neglected vacant lot that some have derided as an eyesore at the historic location is slated for a transformation in time for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

    Plans call for the lot at North Second Street and Elfreth’s Alley to be reborn as Dolly Ottey Park, honoring the woman who first championed preservation of the narrow cobblestone passage starting in the 1930s.

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    Job Itzkowitz, executive director of Old City District, said the project took eight years of sporadic effort to get multiple parties to sign off on an agreement to create the park. Old City District is a nonprofit registered community organization.

    “We want it to be a place where residents, tourists, visitors, employers, and employees can take a bit of a respite,” he said. “It’s going to be a drastic improvement.”

    A conceptual rendering of Dolly Ottey park at Second Street and Elfreth’s Alley in Old City, Philadelphia. Organizers hope to transform the existing vacant space into a park by spring.

    On a recent day, families and couples toured Elfreth’s Alley, taking pictures and discussing the history of the area. But none ventured into the vacant lot. Later, a lone woman could be seen walking her dog there.

    Itzkowitz credited a renewed spirit of collaboration for breaking the stalemate.

    He said changes in leadership at the real estate advisory board for the National Old City Apartments, which abuts the park, and crucial support from the nonprofit Elfreth’s Alley Association paved a path for agreement.

    A view of a vacant lot at Second Street and Elfreth’s Alley in Old City Philadelphia. Plans for creation of Dolly Ottey Park at the location and named after an advocate who helped save Elfreth’s Alley in the early to mid 20th Century.

    The lot is owned by Bit Investment Seventy-Eight LLC, according to city records, and is part of that company’s holdings for National Old City Apartments along North Second Street.

    A usable space by spring

    The pocket park will rise in two phases: an interim stage featuring a crushed stone base, picnic tables, planters, wild grasses, and repairs to a crumbling brick wall, followed by a more permanent design.

    An architect has been hired to craft a cost-effective plan to deliver a usable public space by spring 2026.

    The interim plan design for Dolly Ottey Park carries a modest $60,000 budget, with fundraising to break ground in February and finish by March. Old City District has set up an online link for public contributions.

    Itzkowitz said the timing for the interim phase would ensure the park provides a welcoming experience for visitors during the Semiquincentennial as part of a significant historical landmark.

    A view of Elfreth’s Alley.

    Elfreth’s Alley is believed to be America’s oldest continuously inhabited residential street. Its origins trace to the early 1700s, when two landowners combined properties to create a cart path leading to the river. People have been living there since 1713.

    The cobblestone alley, about 400 feet long and lined by 30 brick buildings, was named for Jeremiah Elfreth, an 18th-century blacksmith. It originally housed artisans and merchants, serving as a base for business ventures. Notable figures such as Stephen Girard, who helped finance the War of 1812, are believed to have lived here.

    However, Elfreth’s Alley faced demolition due to neglect and development pressure. From the 1890s to the 1930s, part of the block was rebranded as Cherry Street, leading to the loss of at least one historic home.

    Who is Dolly Ottey?

    Ottey, a resident and owner of the Hearthstone restaurant at 115 Elfreth’s Alley, formed the Elfreth’s Alley Association in 1934 to protect the unique street and save it from destruction.

    A view from Elfreth’s Alley facing a vacant lot at Second Street that will be transformed into Dolly Ottey Park.

    Elfreth’s Alley faced an even bigger existential threat in the 1950s and 1960s when proposed construction of I-95 would have demolished at least half the block.

    The demolition was vehemently opposed by Ottey and the Elfreth’s Alley Association. The community gathered 12,000 signatures for a petition presented at City Hall, successfully pleading for the street to be spared.

    Elfreth’s Alley was protected as a National Historic Landmark in the 1960s as a result and is listed on Philadelphia’s historic register.

    Ottey died in 1996, in South Jersey, at age 85.

    Elfreth’s Alley remains not only a residential area but also a cultural and historical attraction. It holds a museum that educates visitors on its history and the lives of early inhabitants.

  • Philly wants to set its own speed limits, and other highlights of the city’s new Vision Zero report

    Philly wants to set its own speed limits, and other highlights of the city’s new Vision Zero report

    Philadelphia can’t set the speed limits on roads within its own borders. Only the state can.

    So city transportation officials want to persuade Harrisburg to give it the power to set speed limits more appropriate to the density of Philadelphia.

    That is a top action item in the city’s new Vision Zero report, released Tuesday, which will guide traffic safety efforts for the next five years.

    “We’re looking to work with the state legislature to make our roads safer,” said Christopher Puchalsky, director of policy and strategic initiatives at the Philadelphia Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems.

    In Pennsylvania, as in many states, speed limits are based on the 85th percentile rule. Engineers measure speeds in a study area and set the limit based on how fast 85% of the drivers there are traveling.

    “It just sort of got adopted and enshrined in law,” Puchalsky said of the principle developed from studies of rural roads in the 1950s and ’60s.

    In recent years, traffic engineers, many states, and federal agencies in charge of traffic safety have been moving away from the approach and toward speeds that help prevent injuries and deaths.

    “It’s one of those things we’ll look back on and say, ‘Why did people think that was a good method?’” Puchalsky said. “And we’ll all scratch our heads — or at least our grandchildren will scratch their heads.”

    Pennsylvania’s legislature would need to amend the state’s vehicle code to grant Philadelphia the authority.

    Similarly, the city wants to expand the use of automated speed enforcement cameras and red-light enforcement cameras. That would also require legislation.

    The speed cameras on Roosevelt Boulevard are now permanent, and the city was authorized to put them on five other dangerous roads on a trial basis.

    Speed cameras also went up on most of Broad Street.

    Here are other takeaways from the Vision Zero report:

    Traffic deaths are still high in Philly

    In 2024, 120 people were killed in vehicle crashes in the city. The number of fatalities has been trending down slightly since 2020, but that figure is still 41% higher than it was in 2015, when the Vision Zero program began.

    “I think we’ve unfortunately hit a higher set-point post pandemic than we would like,” said Kelley Yemen, director of multimodal planning for the city. “We’re seeing encouraging news with this year, but we’ve got two months to go and are holding our breaths.”

    Yemen said the city has seen a 20% reduction in crashes on corridors where Vision Zero has been able to do traffic-calming projects such as installing speed cushions, implementing road diets that slow drivers, and installing separated bike lanes.

    “As we get further out from the pandemic, we’re also hoping we reset some cultural norms on our streets, whether it’s through automated speed enforcement, red-light cameras, or working with [the police department],” she said.

    The size of Philly’s problem

    Philadelphia is an old, dense city with a robust transit system, similar to New York and Boston. But its rate of traffic-related deaths per 100,000 people is many times New York’s — and most closely resembles that of Los Angeles, the Vision Zero report noted, citing federal data from 2019 through 2023.

    Philadelphia had 8.48 traffic deaths per 100,000 people, and Los Angeles had 8.11 per 100,000 residents.

    “We are still reviewing the plan, but our initial reaction is that the goals set forth are not transformational enough to address the climbing traffic death statistics,” said Jessie Amadio, an organizer with Philly Bike Action.

    “Vision Zero safety interventions work in the places they are installed,” but annual progress is too slow, she said.

    Factors that make a crash severe

    Speeding was the leading contributing factor in serious injury and fatal crashes between 2020 and 2024, present in 19%, the report said. Drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs were involved in 8% of the crashes, and 8% ran a red traffic light. Distracted driving was responsible in 4% of crashes, and running stop signs in 2%.

    People walking or using a personal mobility device were involved in 6% of crashes from 2002 through 2024 but were 40% of those who were killed, the report found.

    Thirty-eight percent of people who died were in motor vehicles.

    What were residents’ biggest concerns and asks?

    The Philadelphia Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems heard from about 3,000 city residents about their biggest concerns and preferred responses, said Marco Gorini, the Vision Zero program manager.

    Speeding was the topmost concern, cited by 24% of the people participating, followed by drivers running red lights and stop signs, cited by 23%.

    People were reached at roundtables involving more than 80 community groups, by online services, and through a polling firm that randomly queried 1,500 Philadelphians representative of the city’s overall population.

    Participants supported tough enforcement by automated cameras and police against those violations by wide margins.

    Infrastructure-related changes work best to protect people and change driver behavior, residents said, and they clamored for more traffic-calming measures and street redesigns, according to Gorini. They want to prioritize changes around schools, senior centers, and public parks.

    Besides enforcement and traffic-slowing infrastructure, residents expressed strong support for more safety education — instruction for high school students on safe driving (76%) and education for young students on safe walking and biking (71%).

    And another thing: People want transparency with safety efforts.

    “It’s very important that we regularly report on the state of traffic safety in Philadelphia and the results of Vision Zero interventions,” Gorini said. “This ensures accountability and helps the public understand what the issues are and how efforts to address them are going.”

    Next steps

    The city will be developing a spending plan for new safety projects for the next annual budget, due in the first quarter of 2026. And figuring how to pay for them from city funds and state and federal grants.

  • These professors say they’re part of a growing movement banning laptops from the classroom

    These professors say they’re part of a growing movement banning laptops from the classroom

    Biology professor Jody Hey was lecturing on human evolution one recent day at Temple University.

    His students vigorously took notes by hand in paper notebooks.

    There wasn’t a laptop in sight. Nor an iPhone. No student’s face was hidden by a screen.

    Hey said he stopped allowing them about a year and a half ago after seeing research that students are too often distracted when laptops are open in front of them and actually learn better when they have to distill lectures into handwritten notes.

    “The clearest sign that it’s making a difference is that students are paying attention more,” said Hey, who has taught at Temple for more than 12 years. “And they want to participate much more than before.”

    Hey is among a seemingly growing number of professors who have chosen to keep laptop and phone use out of class, with exceptions for students with disabilities who require accommodations. Several said they made the decision after seeing what some students were doing on their laptops during class.

    Temple University biology professor Jody Hey stopped allowing laptops to be used in class about a year and a half ago. He said he’s noticed improvement in student performance.

    Jessa Lingel, an associate professor of communication at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program there, stationed teaching assistants in the back of her room to observe.

    Students “were out there booking flights and Airbnbs,” Lingel said. “Fun fall cocktail recipes. They were online gambling in class. I thought, ‘This is not acceptable.’”

    She originally disallowed laptops in 2017, but decided to go easy in 2021 as students returned after the pandemic, she said. She reinforced the ban after her teaching assistants’ observations.

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    “It’s a movement,” Lingel said. “More and more people are headed in this direction.”

    In Hey’s class, students have warmed up to the laptop ban.

    “At first I didn’t like it,” said Jess Nguyen, 20, a junior genomic medicine major from Broomall, “because I kind of organize all my notes on my laptop. But I feel I’ve been learning better by writing my notes.”

    When she took notes on her iPad, she sometimes got distracted and played computer games, she said. In Hey’s class, that’s not an option.

    Students said it takes more time to write notes and sometimes their hands get tired.

    “After a couple classes, you kind of get used to it,” said Sara Tedla, 22, a senior natural sciences major from Philadelphia.

    She’s on the fence about which way she prefers to take notes.

    “It’s good that for an hour and 20 minutes you can just sit down and, without any technological distractions, focus because that’s a part of your brain you can work on,” said Quinn Johnson, 20, a senior ecology major from Philadelphia. “The more you do it, the easier it becomes to focus on something for a long period of time.”

    ‘Students learn better’

    Professors say laptops are pretty ubiquitous in the classroom when they are permitted.

    Hey conducted research on laptop use and presented it at a Temple department faculty meeting earlier this year.

    “As early as 2003, a study was done contrasting the retention of lecture material by two groups of students, one who had laptops and unrestrained internet access and a second who worked without laptops,” he said. “In that study, students with laptops scored 20% lower on average in the subsequent exam.”

    Four of every five students who used laptops in a general psychology class said they checked email during lectures, another study showed, while 68% used instant messaging, 43% surfed the net, 25% played games, and 35% said they did “other” activities.

    He also cited studies showing students who took notes by hand performed better on tests. Others cited that research, too.

    Penn President emerita Amy Gutmann co-teaches a class at Penn’s Annenberg School for Communication with the dean Sarah Banet-Weiser. They don’t allow laptops or phones to be used in the classroom.

    “I read the literature on it and it really showed that students learn better when they’re taking notes rather than trying to type as fast as they can verbatim what you say,” said Amy Gutmann, Penn president emerita, who is co-teaching a class at the Annenberg School for Communication this fall.

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    Gutmann and co-teacher Sarah Banet-Weiser, dean of Annenberg, do not provide students with copies of their lecture slides, either.

    “We give them time to write down what’s on the slides,” Banet-Weiser said.

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    Benefits of technology

    Some professors say laptop use in class can be beneficial.

    Sudhir Kumar, a Temple biology professor, said he asks his class of 150 students to respond to questions on their laptops every 10 minutes. Their answers count toward their grades.

    “It’s constantly keeping them on their toes,” he said.

    He would not want to see everyone give up on laptop use in class.

    “We cannot fight technology,” he said. “Teachers have to embrace technology, whether it is artificial intelligence or computers. That is a standard mode of operation for most people today.”

    (Left to Right) Jess Nguyen, 20, a junior from Broomall, Allan Thomas, 22, a senior from Philly, and Sara Tedla, 22, a senior from Philly, in a class taught by Temple University biology professor Jody Hey last month.

    In Cathy Brant’s social studies methods class of 20 to 25 students at Rowan University, laptops are key. Brant, an associate professor of education, said there are lots of hands-on group projects, and she frequently asks students to check New Jersey standards online as they prepare their lessons. She also teaches them how to use AI appropriately in the classroom.

    One of her students, she said, recently handed in a paper with very detailed notes from Brant’s lecture that she probably got only because she was able to type quickly on her computer.

    “You’re responsible for paying attention in class,” she said. “Maybe it’s a little harsh, but I’m just like, ‘If you want to be on Facebook the entire time during class, that’s on you.’”

    Jordan Shapiro, an associate professor at Temple, more than a decade ago used to make a point of having his students post on Twitter, now X, during class and counted it toward classroom participation.

    Now, he tells students to put their laptops away during class.

    “I tell them I have no problem with tech or laptops,” he said. “I just think that none of us get enough time in our lives to just focus on ideas or to listen in a sustained way to the people around us.”

    He also became concerned about students doing homework during class, he said, and using artificial intelligence to supply them with questions and comments to ask in class. They were “outsourcing class participation to the robots,” he said.

    Mark Boudreau, a biology professor at Penn State Brandywine, disallowed laptops for the first time this semester.

    “I thought I would get real pushback … or people might even drop the class,” he said. “But … a lot of students have had other faculty who have this policy.”

    Exam scores in his three courses are better this year, he said.

    Hey noted student grades have gone up, too. But he can tell some students struggle with note-taking; some just listen and don’t take notes.

    “That’s better than sitting there and going on Facebook,” he said.

  • Meet the people who use Pennsylvania’s rivers to create art

    Meet the people who use Pennsylvania’s rivers to create art

    MONTOURSVILLE, Pa. — The rocky shores of Loyalsock Creek looked a bit drab to the untrained eye on a blustery, overcast November afternoon.

    There were browns and grays, along with flurries of yellow and orange leaves across the turbid water when the wind whipped through the trees.

    Sierra Weir, an artist from Pittsburgh, stepped gingerly across the mud and rocks. When she got to the water’s edge, Weir saw the landscape in a completely different way.

    “It’s not as visually stunning as synthetic colors, but I would say the depth and variation within one tiny spectra is so much deeper,” she said. “I’ve gained such an appreciation for all the different ways brown can be brown.”

    Sierra Weir of Pittsburgh was an artist-in residency of the Susquehanna River Watershed.

    Weir, who has a background in biochemistry, is a pigment artist and community outreach coordinator for Three Rivers Waterkeeper, a nonprofit organization in Pittsburgh that advocates and protects the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio rivers.

    In June, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, selected Weir and two others for its new artist-in-residency program, “Reflections through Art: Inclusive Access on Water Trails in the Susquehanna Basin.”

    “It’s a new way to get people to engage with the environment,” Weir said.

    Painter Spencer Verney of Coatesville was also chosen as a resident by the PEC. He focuses on preserved lands and protected waterways in historic settings. Meg Lemieur of Port Richmond was chosen to illustrate a map for the Swatara Creek Watershed.

    “My art celebrates the diversity and amazing features of the natural world,” Lemieur told The Inquirer. “I’m definitely drawn to all the living animals, including animals of the watershed like turtles, owls, and gophers, but lately I’ve been getting more into flora and understanding plants.“

    Tali MacArthur, a senior program manager for the PEC, said the residency program was created as another way to get the public involved in watershed conservation.

    “There are people who don’t really see themselves as scientists or fishermen, but maybe they see themselves as artists, as musicians, or visual learners,” MacArthur said. “I’ve kind of been chasing this approach for some time now.”

    The residency program was funded by the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Gateways Grant Program and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Community Conservation Partnership Program.

    When Weir was in college, in Ohio, she spent a year studying the pigments of Betta fish and contributed a sculpture based on the majesty of jeweled beetles. She’s also created various paintings made with natural pigments like goldenrod, black walnut, and pokeberry, which fade quickly.

    “It’s in opposition to synthetic pigments, which are made from petrochemicals, and I do a lot of work to reduce pollutants,” she said. “This was a natural fit.”

    Sierra Weir of Pittsburgh was an artist-in-residency of the Susquehanna River Watershed. She’s pictured along Loyalsock Creek in Montoursville.

    Weir, 28, said her goal of combining art and waterways was to help people hone their “noticing skills” and provide new ways to engage with the environment and, perhaps, repair broken connections to the natural world.

    “What I do is help people notice the relationship between water, earth, plants, and themselves and how inherently connected we are to this place,” Weir said. “We’re made of this same stuff, biologically and chemically.”

    Sierra Weir of Pittsburgh was an artist-in-residency of the Susquehanna River Watershed.
  • Regional Rail service snarled late into Tuesday night because of earlier disabled trains, SEPTA says

    Regional Rail service snarled late into Tuesday night because of earlier disabled trains, SEPTA says

    Regional Rail service through Center City was snarled early Tuesday evening — and late into the night — because of disabled trains blocking a tunnel, SEPTA said.

    “We had a brief power outage at about 4:15 that started this. The power was back within 10 minutes, but we had three trains that could not restart,” said SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch.

    “We are in the process of transferring those customers to other trains, but it is causing major delays,” Busch said.

    Busch later added that the afternoon power outage originated with Amtrak.

    Shortly before 10:20 p.m., SEPTA reported on social media that service “remains significantly delayed due to earlier overhead power loss in Center City. Expect delays of up to 45 minutes.”

  • Pa. State Police ID 3 men killed in Chester County crash

    Pa. State Police ID 3 men killed in Chester County crash

    Pennsylvania State Police identified three men who were killed in a crash when the vehicle they were in allegedly fled from a traffic stop and crashed early Friday in Chester County.

    Devon Hargraves, 35, Gershad Andre, 33, and Larry Wilmer, 36, all of Wilmington, were killed in the crash, state police said this week.

    About 1:20 a.m. Friday, troopers saw a Silver Toyota sedan allegedly violate traffic laws near East Third Street and Garner Drive in New Garden Township.

    When troopers tried to conduct a traffic stop, “the vehicle failed to stop and a pursuit ensued,” state police said Friday.

    “Soon after the pursuit ensued the fleeing vehicle crashed, and the three occupants of the fleeing vehicle are deceased,” state police said.

    The crash happened in Avondale Borough.

    The Pennsylvania State Police said its investigation of the crash was ongoing.