For a little over a year, Adam Richardson was known among local car thieves as “the title guy,” state investigators said Monday. They could steal a car, visit Richardson’s title shop and resell it, either to a coconspirator or a unwitting bystander.
From his office on Golf Road in Wynnefield, Richardson, 40, created false title, registration, and insurance documents for luxury vehicles stolen from New Jersey, Philadelphia, and its suburbs, including a Ferrari Portofino worth $260,000 and a bevy of Mercedes, BMWs, and similar vehicles.
All told, Richardson facilitated the illegal transfer of 65 vehicles, the street value of which is nearly $4 million, according to state Attorney General Dave Sunday.
Richardson was arrested Friday and charged with racketeering, forgery, tampering with public records, and related crimes.
Sunday, speaking at a news conference in Northeast Philadelphia, said Richardson’s actions — referred to as “title washing” — created “a veil” behind which criminals were able to operate.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said Monday that the title washing of stolen vehicles allows criminals to operate undetected throughout the state.
“What should be most concerning about this conduct to individuals and families in our communities is that title washing enables criminals to move in and out of communities without being detected by law enforcement,” he said.
Sunday declined to disclose whether the 37 vehicles recovered by Pennsylvania State Police were involved in other crimes, but he said that title washing is often linked to drug trafficking and other violent crimes.
The state’s investigation into Richardson is ongoing, he said.
Richardson remained in custody Monday in Dauphin County, denied bail due to the extent of his alleged crimes. There was no indication he had hired an attorney.
He will be prosecuted in Central Pennsylvania, investigators said, given his abuse of his power as a third-party contractor eligible to do business with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
State Police investigators began investigating Richardson in May 2024, when a trooper at the Trevose Station and Barracks impounded a BMW X7 that he suspected held a fraudulent title, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Richardson’s arrest.
The vehicle had been registered in South Carolina, using a VIN that did not conform with the standard for that state and possessed a fake insurance policy, the affidavit said.
The true VIN, investigators said, matched a car reported stolen a month earlier in Montville Township in western New Jersey.
Investigators later interviewed a confidential informant who had facilitated the resale of the car. The informant had gotten the car, knowing it was stolen, from a man who told him to see Richardson, identifying him as “the 24-hour title guy” who had a reputation to meet sellers “anywhere and anytime,” the affidavit said.
The informant told troopers that Richardson helped him put the car in another person’s name, using a photo of their driver’s license.
The investigation into Adam Richardson, codenamed “Operation Hot Wheels,” found that he helped facilitate the sale of luxury cars, including multiple Mercedes sedans.
Using the unique identification number issued to Richardson’s business by PennDOT, investigators were able to identify the 65 cars involved in the title-washing scheme.
During the investigation, investigators spoke with multiple vehicle owners who said they had been paid money in exchange to have the stolen vehicles registered in their names, despite never meeting Richardson, visiting his business or driving the vehicles, according to the affidavit.
Previous audits by PennDOT in 2022 and 2023 found that his title business was violating multiple laws, including issuing plates to salvage vehicles and selling cars without a license.
The fake but authentic-looking Pennsylvania historic marker, erected by two artists who sought to ruefully commemorate a local immigration arrest, disappeared from its post in Philadelphia sometime Monday.
Huston West, one of the artists, said he was walking his dog around 1 p.m. when he noticed that the sign was absent from its spot on Fairmount Avenue near Fifth Street. A neighbor told him the plaque had been there earlier in the day.
“It’s lame,” West said of the sign being removed. “But it got a lot of coverage while it was up.”
West said he could only speculate on who may have taken the marker ― he suspected conservative opponents, people who had criticized the sign on social media, or maybe even the city government.
A city spokesperson said he would check.
This particular, familiar-looking blue-and-yellow marker, similar to the ones that commemorate important people, places, and events in communities across Pennsylvania, was put up at the site of a Feb. 16 ICE arrest.
That morning, masked agents descended on a Gopuff delivery driver who had pulled over to make a quick drop-off in Northern Liberties. After he was taken into custody, the car remained behind for days, set two feet from the curb in an accessible parking space, its hazard lights blinking until the battery died.
West and a fellow artist who goes by the name Emeyewhisky wondered what had happened to the driver, and created a plaque bearing the header “ICE Kidnapping and Ghost Car.”
The ghost car terminology borrows from ghost bikes, the roadside memorials where a bicycle is painted white and placed at the site where a cyclist was hit and killed by a motorist.
Federal immigration authorities say the use of such terms as kidnapping is inaccurate and unfair, that they lawfully arrest migrants who have no permission to be in the United States and who in some cases have committed criminal and even violent offenses.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Philadelphia said that on Feb. 16, officers conducted a targeted action and arrested Abdulasen Nazarkhudoev. They said he was unlawfully in the U.S., and told them that he was a Russian citizen.
He was taken to the Federal Detention Center in Center City and later released by order of a judge, pending further immigration proceedings, records show.
ICE earlier referred questions about the sign to city officials.
As word of the art project spread on social media, some disapproved. Some suggested on a Northern Liberties Facebook group that the delivery driver was rightfully arrested.
West said Monday that he and his art partner had conferred about what to do next. Emeyewhisky is known for projects that place signs with fake wording on Philadelphia streets, and some have been removed.
Don’t be too surprised, Huston said, if an ICE marker should reappear.
On TV, you may not have been able to see the thrill that went through Chris Kearney when Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings read the clue, “Mrs. Proudie is the domineering wife of a bishop in this Victorian’s The Last Chronicle of Barset and Barchester Towers.”
But five years ago, as he studied up for the possibility of ending up on the long-running game show, Kearney decided to search friends’ names to see if they had a famous counterpart. His freshman roommate happened to be a Trollope — though pronounced slightly differently — which brought Kearney to Victorian author Anthony Trollope. He penned a flashcard on the novelist to add to his ever-growing studying hobby.
Kearney rung in first.
“Who is Trollope?” he said, pronouncing it à la his roommate’s name.
That flashcard scored him $2,000 in the “Recurring Characters” category last week, as the Downingtown High School West teacher competed against two others on Jeopardy! Kearney ultimately placed second, behind then three-day champion James Denison (Denison’s reign ended after his fourth win).
“After the game’s over, Ken Jennings does a postgame chat session with the contestants for about five minutes, and he asked me about getting that clue, because that was a tougher clue,” Kearney recalled. “I just told him … it’s my freshman college roommate’s last name. I just wanted to make sure I knew that. So he got a chuckle out of that.”
Kearney’s appearance on Jeopardy! last Wednesday was the culmination of a lifelong dream for the social studies teacher.
Kearney, 48, grew up watching Jeopardy!, regularly tuning in when he was in middle school and all through high school. But about eight years ago, he decided he was going to try his hand at getting on the show.
To appear on Jeopardy!, first you must take an “anytime test” — a 50-question exam that you can take at any time on the show’s website. If you pass the test — rumor has it, you have to get 35 out of the 50 questions correct — then you may move on to another 50-question test that is proctored online live.
Should you pass that exam, then you could move on to a mock game and interview over Zoom. After that hurdle, you join a pool of candidates who could, at any time in the next two years, get a call inviting you to be on the show. If those two years lapse without a call, you return to the start.
Kearney completed the anytime test almost every year. He ascended to the candidate pool in 2021, but never got the call. In 2023, he tried his hand again, but never heard back. The next year, he took the entry exam again, and did hear back. In January, he was invited to the show.
“It was a dream come true, something that I had been just working on for a long time,” he said. “A feeling of relief too — that, ‘All right, finally.’ So: A lot of emotions, but ones I had to kind of keep quiet.”
Preparing for if he ever got that call became something of a hobby — or perhaps a part-time job, he said. He was constantly reviewing, studying, and learning new things. There’s a strategy to playing the game, which he became familiar with, and there’s major topics and categories that are typically featured. He built up a base knowledge in those areas, and then tried to get more and more specific. Hence, Trollope.
But it was a natural fit for someone who always liked school, and who just likes learning about things.
It helped expose Kearney to new topics, too. He didn’t know much about art and historic art movements, but he began to look at various paintings and sculptures. He hadn’t listened to much classical music, but he became familiar with major composers, listening to their famous pieces. It gave him a new perspective on things.
“I think it just kind of helps me appreciate the world around me a little better,” he said.
Kearney arrived on set in California within about two months of getting the call (he had to lie to his colleagues that he was sick; they have since forgiven him). He was surprised that he wasn’t too nervous. Instead, he felt like he had accomplished his goal — that this was exactly where he wanted to be. He bonded immediately with his fellow contestants, and found it to be a welcoming environment, where people treated it like the special event that it was.
“I was cognizant of the fact that many people want to be there and haven’t been there yet, and so I just appreciated every moment I was there,” he said.
And though he knew the experience of the game would be different from playing from the comfort of the couch, he realized how hard it was to prepare for what it feels like to be on stage.
The first part of the game he was just trying to acclimate to the pace and choosing when to ring in. There was a lot to consider — and to consider quickly. Still, it was “kind of a good stress,” he said.
Friends and family celebrated with a watch party in Downingtown. Surrounded by screens of the show, he watched the people around him root for him. He played the episode for his students the day after, pausing to tell them what was going through his mind at certain points of the game.
Of course, Kearney hadn’t been able to share the results before the show aired. As he watched people around him getting excited, he told his wife he felt bad that they were going to see him lose.
“But they didn’t care. They were just so happy to be a part of it, to celebrate and cheer me on,” he said.
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.
The Transportation Security Administration temporarily closed the Terminal C security checkpoint at Philadelphia International Airport on Thursday morning.
“Due to staffing constraints related to the government shutdown, the TSA, in collaboration with the airport, is temporarily closing the Terminal C checkpoint,” said PHL spokesperson Heather Redfern.
All other security checkpoints remain open, and TSA PreCheck passengers can use the designated lanes at the Terminal A-East and D/E checkpoints. There is no timeline for when Terminal C will be back up and running.
“We encourage you to check the MyTSA app or the airport’s website to find current wait times and to arrive early to the airport,” said an American Airlines spokesperson. “We are grateful for our federal partners at TSA who continue to ensure safe travel for our customers.”
The scene at the TSA checkpoint line in Terminal B at Philadelphia International Airport on Sunday morning, Nov. 9, 2025.
The TSA is experiencing a lapse in funding, alongside other Department of Homeland Security agencies, because its budget has not been passed by Congress.
In January, federal lawmakers narrowly avoided another full government shutdown by approving budgets for all federal agencies except the Department of Homeland Security. Republicans and President Donald Trump agreed to carve out the DHS budget for further negotiations as Democrats want to put more guardrails on federal immigration enforcement.
There have been a couple of attempts at passing the DHS budget, but neither side has budged on its demands. The only Senate Democrat to support funding DHS is Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman.
At this point, there is no end in sight to the DHS shutdown and, by proxy, the lapse in TSA funding that is leading to staff shortages across the country, including Philadelphia’s airport.
Last weekend I photographed members of the group Philly Iranians at the museum steps calling for a “free, secular, democratic Iran — united for human rights and against gender apartheid.” (They used cigarettes to burn a sheet of paper representing the Islamic Republic. The smoking symbolized and celebrated the “power of women” they told me, as under Iran’s Islamic penal code, women’s rights are severely restricted.)
The flag with the Lion and Sun emblem was the official flag of Iran since 1907. It was changed following the 1979 Islamic Revolution is strictly banned from public use in the Islamic Republic. Iranian opposition groups use the old flag in protests.
I even mentioned the art museum in this space in January.
Workers reinstall the Young Meher statue behind construction fencing outside the museum along Kelly Drive. The work by Armenian artist Khoren Der Harootian was presented to the city in 1976 for the Bicentennial. It was reconditioned and will be the centerpiece of the Armenian Heritage Walk to be unveiled in April for American’s 250th anniversary. Student athletes from Fordham University in the Bronx visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The steps, anyway. The grey sweats are their “normal travel attire.”
Being there so often, I knew exactly what was going on as I saw three adults and a kid changing clothes next to the Rocky statue. I didn’t have to ask, as I knew exactly what was coming next as they got decked out in gray cotton sweats, black stocking watch caps, and high-top black Converse All-Star Chuck Taylors.
Mariusz Sliwa, his wife Magdalena, and their six year-old son Tymek came from Poznan, Poland. Marcin Danych, a friend now living in Chicago, joined them for what is now a classic pilgrimage.
When he was a boy, Mariusz’s father was “a typical factory worker … worked seven days a week,” he told me. But when he was with his father at night they would watch Rocky — “Playing it over and over, in the VHS.” It was just a part of Mariusz’s childhood, so he wanted his own son to experience it.
I see it every time I am at the steps, people of all ages, from all over sprinting up those 72 steps, “Gonna Fly Now” playing in their heads. It’s why writer Michael Vitez asked me to join him, to spend a year at the steps meeting people just like Mariusz, seeking a tangible way to inhabit a universal story of hope. As Michael often says, “It’s like the ocean; the waves keep crashing on the beach, they never stop.”
Mariusz wanted to bring his father with him from Poland, but he is unable to travel. With his friend Danych’s help, he recorded video — over and over — running up the steps with Magdalena and Tymek. And with just Tymek. And only Magdalena and Tymek together. Finally, Tymek alone. He was making his own Rocky movie. Recasting the scene, as it is etched in his mind.
I hope he sends me a copy. After he shares it back home with his dad.
Since 1998 a black-and-white photo has appeared every Monday in staff photographer Tom Gralish’s “Scene Through the Lens” photo column in the print editions of The Inquirer’s local news section. Here are the most recent, in color:
March 2, 2026: Lynasia Allen, a junior horticulture student at W.B. Saul High School is on lunch break at the Convention Center while setting up for the PHS Philadelphia Flower Show before it opened to the public. Her school’s exhibit is titled, “Up-Rooted, Re-Planted.” February 23, 2026: Bystanders at the President’s House try to prevent a “counter-protester” from ripping off notes posted by visitors where panels about slavery had been removed by President Donald Trump’s administration.February 16, 2026: What came first? The dirty snowpacked berm of frozen slush or the graffiti? February 9, 2026: Walking through a corrugated metal culvert called the “Duck Tunnel,” a pedestrian navigates the passageway under the SEPTA tracks on the Swarthmore College campus. February 2, 2026: A light-as-air Elmo balloon rolls along a sidewalk in Haddonfield, propelled by the wind as Sunday’s heavy snow starts to turn to ice and sleet. January 26, 2026: The President’s House in Independence National Historical Park hours Jan, 22, after all historical exhibits were removed following President Trump’s Executive Order last March that the content at national parks that “inappropriately disparage” the U.S. be reviewed. The site, a reconstructed “ghost” structure titled “Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation” (2010), serves as a memorial to the nine people George Washington enslaved there during the founding of America.January 19, 2026: A low-in-the-sky winter sun is behind the triangular pediment of the “front door” of the open-air President’s House installation in Independence National Historical Park. The reconstructed “ghost” structure with partial walls and windows of the Georgian home known in the 18th century as 190 High St. is officially titled, “Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation” (2010). It is designed to give visitors a sense of the house where the first two presidents of the United States, George Washington and John Adams, served their terms of office. The commemorative site designed by Emanuel Kelly, with Kelly/Maiello Architects, pays homage to nine enslaved people of African descent who were part of the Washington household with videos scripted by Lorene Cary and directed by Louis Massiah. Deepika Iyer holds her niece Ira Samudra aloft in a Rockyesque pose, while her parents photograph their 8 month-old daughter, in front of the famous movie prop at the top of the steps at the Philadelphia Art Museum. Iyer lives in Philadelphia and is hosting a visit by her mother Vijayalakshmi Ramachandran (partially hidden); brother Gautham Ramachandran; and her sister-in-law Janani Gautham who all live in Bangalore, India.January 5, 2026: Parade marshals trail behind the musicians of the Greater Kensington String Band heading to their #9 position start in the Mummers Parade. Spray paint by comic wenches earlier in the day left “Oh, Dem Golden Slippers” shadows on the pavement of Market Street. This year marked the 125th anniversary of Philly’s iconic New Year’s Day celebration.Dec. 29, 2025: Canada geese at sunrise in Evans Pond in Haddonfield, during the week of the Winter Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere. December 22, 2025: SEPTA trolley operator Victoria Daniels approaches the end of the Center City Tunnel, heading toward the 40th Street trolley portal after a tour to update the news media on overhead wire repairs in the closed tunnel due to unexpected issues from new slider parts.December 15, 2025: A historical interpreter waits at the parking garage elevators headed not to a December crossing of the Delaware River, but an event at the National Constitution Center. General George Washington was on his way to an unveiling of the U.S. Mint’s new 2026 coins for the Semiquincentennial, December 8, 2025: The Benjamin Franklin Bridge and pedestrians on the Delaware River Trail are reflected in mirrored spheres of the “Weaver’s Knot: Sheet Bend” public artwork on Columbus Boulevard. The site-specific stainless steel piece located between the Cherry Street and Race Street Piers was commissioned by the City’s Public Art Office and the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation and created and installed in 2022 by the design and fabrication group Ball-Nogues Studio. The name recalls a history that dominated the region for hundreds of years. “Weaver’s knot” derives from use in textile mills and the “Sheet bend” or “sheet knot” was used on sailing vessels for bending ropes to sails. November 29, 2025: t’s ginkgo time in our region again when the distinctive fan-shaped leaves turn yellow and then, on one day, lose all their leaves at the same time laying a carpet on city streets and sidewalks. A squirrel leaps over leaves in the 18th Century Garden in Independence National Historical Park Nov. 25, 2025. The ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) is considered a living fossil as it’s the only surviving species of a group of trees that existed before dinosaurs. Genetically, it has remained unchanged over the past 200 million years. William Hamilton, owner the Woodlands in SW Phila (no relation to Alexander Hamilton) brought the first ginkgo trees to North America in 1785.November 24, 2025: The old waiting room at 30th Street Station that most people only pass through on their way to the restrooms has been spiffed up with benches – and a Christmas tree. It was placed there this year in front of the 30-foot frieze, “The Spirit of Transportation” while the lobby of Amtrak’s $550 million station restoration is underway. The 1895 relief sculpture by Karl Bitter was originally hung in the Broad Street Station by City Hall, but was moved in 1933. It depicts travel from ancient to modern and even futuristic times.
The pitch is familiar: plenty of hotel rooms, an arena in South Philly, SEPTA ready to move thousands of delegates around, and a city that knows how to handle the logistical chaos of a major convention. We did it in 2016, after all. And these days, we’re basically hosting everything. World Cup matches. The MLB All-Star Game. The country’s 250th birthday.
But the real strategy is the soft sell. When the selection committee visits, they’ll get the full Philly treatment: Reading Terminal, skyline views, maybe a rooftop party, definitely a cheesesteak.
Because every big event bid in this city eventually comes down to the same argument: Look how fun we are.
And clearly, it’s been working.
Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas takes the field before the game against the Washington Nationals at BayCare Ballpark on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026 in Clearwater, Fla. The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals 7 to 3.
Rojas isn’t exactly an offensive powerhouse, but he plays defense in a spot where the roster is otherwise thin. Take him out of the mix and the Phillies are left juggling a few spring-training options and hoping someone looks like a center fielder by opening day.
That’s the baseball problem.
The smaller but still tragic loss is the walk-up song. Every time Rojas stepped to the plate, Citizens Bank Park got “Oh Oh Oh (Veo Veo),”which was extremely fun and made you want to shimmy on a random Tuesday night.
The Phillies will figure out center field eventually, but the stadium is at risk of losing one of its best vibes.
Jeffrey Epstein vs. the Penn vs. Penn State mix-up: A
Newly released emails show the disgraced financier repeatedly claimed he funded a “Quantum Gravity Program” at Penn. The problem: The research program he actually helped fund was at Penn State.
To outsiders, that might sound like a harmless mix-up. Technically both are universities, sure. But socially it lands closer to mixing up Wawa and Sheetz. People will notice.
Few things irritate University of Pennsylvania alumni more than being mistaken for Penn State. The Ivy League school has spent decades correcting people on this, to the point that alumni sell novelty shirts that read, “Not Penn State.”
Reddit planning a Philly itinerary for a Midwesterner: B+
A visitor from Columbus popped into Reddit after a first trip to Philadelphia to rave about the walkability, Chinatown food, and an Angelo’s cheesesteak — and ask locals what to do next time.
Naturally, the internet responded by assembling a pretty respectable itinerary.
One commenter suggested the Barnes: Another recommended the Schuylkill River Trail and neighborhood hopping through Fishtown, Manayunk, and the Italian Market. A third pushed the visitor farther west for food: “Some great Ethiopian and other African restaurants.”
There was also the very Philly observation that the tourist somehow skipped the city’s most predictable cheesesteak stop. “It is so rare when a tourist does not stop at a Pats or Genos. They can’t help themselves.”
The thread is mostly right. But if you want the full Philly experience, we’d add a few more essentials: a Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park, a wander down the Italian Market, and a long, aimless walk through one of the city’s rowhouse neighborhoods where every block looks a little different.
Also, credit where it’s due. The guy went to Angelo’s on his first trip. Some visitors take years to figure that one out.
Johnny Garbarino hitting his opponent Apostle Spencer with an overhand right at the Wells Fargo Center during BKFC’s KnuckleMania V event.
A Flyers fight coach starting a fight outside Barstool: F
The Flyers once brought Johnny “Cannoli” Garbarino, an undefeated bare-knuckle boxer, in to teach players how to handle themselves in hockey fights.
Video shows Garbarino punching the bar’s plexiglass vestibule, threatening onlookers, and setting off a multiperson street fight after destroying someone’s phone. Police are investigating an assault complaint.
Hiring a professional fighter to teach hockey players how to fight makes a certain kind of sense. Being surprised when that same fighter gets into a fight outside a bar at 2 a.m. makes a little less.
Not exactly the kind of player development the Flyers had in mind.
One of the newly-installed signs for the recent old/new name change at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026.
Considering a full-price ticket can run up to $30, that’s not a small change. Museums love to talk about accessibility but removing the price barrier is one of the few ways to actually make that happen.
The timing is also convenient. After months of headlines about leadership drama, rebrands, and legal disputes, the museum seems eager to remind people that the actual point of the place is, you know, art.
And if letting people decide what to pay gets more Philadelphians wandering the galleries on a Friday night, that’s probably a pretty good reset.
Ivan, a drug-sniffing K-9 dog working for the Pennsylvania State Police, made a 40-pound drug bust in Delaware County last month.
From a law enforcement perspective, that’s a pretty significant drug bust.
From a public relations perspective, it’s also a reminder that every police department should have at least one extremely good dog on staff.
Ivan alerted troopers to the scent of narcotics in the vehicle, leading to a search warrant and the eventual discovery of boxes and buckets full of marijuana.
Which means somewhere in Delaware County, a very good boy probably got a treat and a lot of praise — as he should.
Chester County, home to one of the largest numbers of electric vehicles in the state, hopes to grow its footprint of public charging stations.
Through the federally funded National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, administered through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the county is looking to build up its community-based public EV charging stations for people who have or want an electric vehicle but do not have a charging station installed at home.
Funding from the program flows directly to municipalities or other applicants for EV chargers. PennDot expects to fund more than 100 projects through the grant.
It builds on an initial federally funded project under the same program, which sought to place charging stations every 50 miles along the major travel corridors to address long drives across the state. Through that program, Chester County projects received $3.2 million.
Chester County’s proposal would increase the number of public chargers speckled around the county, from workplaces to businesses, giving drivers a place to charge their cars as part of their day-to-day routines.
Chester County, which has both densely packed development and rolling agricultural pockets, saw its rates of EV ownership double between 2022 and 2024, with more than 9,000 EVs registered in the county in the state’s most recent data. The county is behind only Montgomery in overall EV registrations in the southeastern part of the state.
“Things are pretty spread out, and with the infrastructure that we have in place right now, other modes of transportation that are carbon-free or less carbon intensive than single-occupancy vehicles are not as viable here as they are in other places that are more dense,” said Rachael Griffith, sustainability director for the Chester County Planning Commission. “If we’re looking at a lower carbon future for our transportation network, EVs are really a great option for that here in our land-use setting. Building out the network of EV chargers is really the way that we incentivize that.”
EVs are expensive, but Chester County has the highest median income in the state, so it makes sense it would see the higher ownership rates, Griffith said.
Despite the policy shifts, “it’s very clear that the future of transportation is electric,” Griffith said.
“The more that we can do to plan for that future, I think the better prepared we will be in the long term,” she said.
The county’s planning commission is reaching out to municipalities and chambers of commerce to drive applications for the program, Griffith said. Applications are open until Aug. 21; any business registered in Pennsylvania is eligible for funds.
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.
We’ll show you a photo taken in the Philly-area, you drop a pin where you think it was taken. Closer to the location results in a better score. This year’s Flower Show theme, “Rooted: Origins of American Gardening,” inspired this week’s quiz. Good luck!
Round #
Question 1
Where can you catch this reflective view?
Loading…
ClickTap on map to guess the location in the photo
ClickTap again to change your guess and hit submit when you're happy
You will be scored at the end. The closer to the location the better the score
Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Pretty good/Not bad/Way off! Your guess was from the location.Spot on! Your guess was exactly at the location. Here's also where a random selection of Inquirer readers guessed.
Calder Gardens is the newest addition to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The space dedicated to the work of Philadelphian-born sculptor Alexander Calder. It opened in 2025.
Quiz continues after ad
Question 2
Where can you find this mural next to an urban farm?
Loading…
Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Pretty good/Not bad/Way off! Your guess was from the location.Spot on! Your guess was exactly at the location. Here's also where a random selection of Inquirer readers guessed.
Sanctuary Farm Phila, located in North Philadelphia, transforms abandoned lots into agricultural spaces. The farm hosts nine community garden locations that provide free, organically grown produce and programs for children and adults.
Quiz continues after ad
Question 3
This Philadelphia garden was recently renovated. Where is it?
Loading…
Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Pretty good/Not bad/Way off! Your guess was from the location.Spot on! Your guess was exactly at the location. Here's also where a random selection of Inquirer readers guessed.
Last spring, Prince Edward attended a ceremony in Benjamin Rush Garden to rededicate the Bicentennial Bell, originally given to the United States by Queen Elizabeth II in 1976.
Your Score
ARank
🪴 Amazing work. You ex-seed-ed expectations.
BRank
🪴 Good stuff. You ex-seed-ed expectations.
CRank
🪴 C is a passing grade, but you have room for growth.
DRank
🥀 D isn’t great. I wouldn’t say you “rose” to the occasion.
FRank
🥀 We don’t want to say you failed, but you withered under pressure.
You beat % of other Inquirer readers.
We’ll be back next Saturday for another round of Citywide Quest.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Donald Trump said Friday that he would not seek a deal with Iran without the country’s “unconditional surrender” as Washington warned of a forthcoming bombing campaign that officials said would be the most intense of the weeklong conflict.
Israel said it began a broad wave of strikes on Tehran early Saturday, with Associated Press video showing explosions and large plumes of smoke billowing over the western part of the capital city.
As Israeli warplanes bombed the Iranian capital and Beirut, Iran launched more retaliatory strikes against Israel and Gulf countries on the seventh day of the war. Many thunder-like booms rumbled over Jerusalem just past midnight local time as Israel said it was working to intercept missiles launched from Iran.
The U.S. and Israel have battered Iran with strikes, targeting its military capabilities, leadership and nuclear program. The stated goals and timelines for the war have repeatedly shifted, as the U.S. has at times suggested it seeks to topple Iran’s government or elevate new leadership from within.
Meanwhile, Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike the U.S. military, according to two officials familiar with U.S. intelligence on the matter. Russian President Vladimir Putin had a call Friday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, expressing his condolences over the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Kremlin said.
Qatar’s energy minister, Saad al-Kaabi, warned in an interview with the Financial Times that the war could “bring down the economies of the world,” predicting a widespread shutdown of Gulf energy exports that could send oil to $150 a barrel.
The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose above $90 on Friday for the first time in more than two years.
Russia is providing information to Iran, officials say
Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region, according to two officials familiar with U.S. intelligence on the matter.
The people, who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, cautioned that the U.S. intelligence has not uncovered that Russia is directing Iran on what to do with the information.
Still, it’s the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war.
Trump says U.S. will help rebuild Iran once it has ‘ACCEPTABLE’ leaders
In a social media post Friday, Trump said “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” After a surrender, “and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s),” he wrote, the U.S. and its allies will help rebuild Iran, making it “economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before.”
Those comments were likely to raise further questions about the endgame of the war. The fighting has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, more than 200 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. Six U.S. troops have been killed.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on social media that “some countries” had begun mediation efforts, without elaborating.
Trump has also told media outlets that he should be involved in choosing a replacement for Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war. Trump spoke dismissively of Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei — a front-runner to replace his father — calling him “a lightweight.”
Iran’s U.N. ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, condemned Trump’s statement and said Iran “does not accept and will never allow any foreign power to interfere in its internal affairs.”
Iranian state television reported Friday that a leadership council had started discussing how to convene the country’s Assembly of Experts, which will select the new supreme leader.
Heavy strikes on Iran and retaliatory attacks
Israel’s military said it had begun a “broad-scale” wave of strikes in Tehran. The military has said that over the past week, it has heavily bombed an extensive underground bunker that Iranian leaders had planned to use during the hostilities.
Witnesses described Israeli airstrikes as particularly intense, shaking homes in the area and sending columns of smoke rising. Others reported explosions around the Iranian city of Kermanshah, an area home to multiple missile bases. They spoke anonymously for fear of retribution.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a television interview that the “biggest bombing campaign” of the war was still to come.
In Israel, the sound of explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv throughout Friday after warnings about missiles incoming from Iran. Air defense systems worked to intercept the barrage. Five soldiers have been wounded in the fighting with Hezbollah, Israel’s military said.
In a sign of the widening nature of the conflict, sirens sounded early Saturday in Bahrain as an Iranian attack targeted the island kingdom.
Elsewhere, new information surfaced suggesting that a deadly Feb. 28 explosion at a school in the Iranian city of Minab, about 680 miles southeast of Tehran, was likely caused by U.S. airstrikes. The information included satellite images, expert analysis, a U.S. official and public information released by U.S. and Israeli military forces.
Iranian state media has said more than 165 people were killed in the blast, most of them of children.
Iran has blamed Israel and the U.S. for the explosion. Neither country has accepted responsibility, though Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier in the week that the U.S. was investigating.
Israel bombards Lebanon as death toll rises
Israel has carried out waves of airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has a large presence but which is also home to hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 217 people had been killed by Israeli strikes since Monday and 798 wounded.
Roads in the Lebanese capital were choked with evacuating traffic as smoke rose over the city’s southern districts. Two hospitals evacuated patients and staff.
“What can we do? We prayed here under the tree. During the night, we slept in the car because there is no place to stay,” Jihan Shehadeh, one of the tens of thousands of displaced, said.
One Israeli strike hit near the Iranian Embassy in Beirut, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to questions about the report.
Hezbollah’s military command on Friday urged its fighters not to relent and to “defend the nation,” casting the escalating war in religious terms and calling on them to “kill them wherever you find them.”
CHICAGO — From former presidents to an NBA Hall of Famer to prominent church pastors, stories of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.’s influence on politics, corporate boardrooms, and picket lines loomed large Friday at a celebration honoring the late civil rights leader.
Thousands of people gathered at a church on Chicago’s South Side to pay a final public tribute to Jackson.
The celebration — with appearances by Grammy-winning gospel singers and Jennifer Hudson — felt at times like a church service and others like a political rally. Many, from former President Bill Clinton to the Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights leader and founder of the National Action Network, likened Jackson’s death to a call to action, from speaking out against justice to voting in the midterms.
Former President Barack Obama said Jackson’s presidential runs in the 1980s set the stage for other Black leaders, including his own successful 2009 presidency and re-election.
“The message he sent to a 22-year-old child of a single mother with a funny name, an outsider, was that maybe there wasn’t any place or any room where we didn’t belong,” Obama said. “He paved the road for so many others to follow.”
Obama, joined by Clinton and former Democratic president Joe Biden at a celebration of life for Jackson, received the loudest round of applause as the three entered the chamber.
“We are living in a time when it can be hard to hope,” Obama said. “Each day we wake up to some new assault to our democratic institutions. Another setback to the idea of the rule of law, an offense to common decency. Every day you wake up to things you just didn’t think were possible.”
“Each day we are told by folks in high office to fear each other,” said Obama, referring to the current Republican leadership in Washington.
Clinton said Jackson made him a better president, while former Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris talked about Jackson’s inspiring 1980s presidential runs and showed off campaign memorabilia she had kept from them. Former President Joe Biden also spoke during the service.
President Donald Trump, who praised Jackson on social media after he died and also shared photos of the two of them together, did not attend.
Thousands attend Jackson memorial service
The event honors the protégé of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate and follows memorial services that drew large crowds in Chicago and South Carolina, where Jackson was born. Friday’s celebration — at an influential Black church with a 10,000-seat arena — was expected to be the largest.
Crowds of attendees waited in long lines outside the church as television screens played excerpts of some of Jackson’s most famous speeches. Inside, vendors sold pins with his 1984 presidential slogan and hoodies with his “I Am Somebody” mantra.
Along with a slew of Illinois elected leaders, notable attendees included actor and producer Tyler Perry, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and political activist and theologian Cornel West. Detroit Pistons great and Chicago native Isiah Thomas was one of the speakers.
Marketing professional Chelsia Bryan said Friday that she decided to attend the memorial service because it was “a chance to be part of something historic.”
“As a Black woman, knowing that someone pretty much gave their life, dedicated their life to make sure I can do the things that I can do now, he’s worth honoring,” Bryan said.
Jackson Jr.: Everyone welcome
Jackson died last month at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that affected his mobility and ability to speak. Family members say he continued coming into the office until last year and communicated through hand signals. His final public appearances included the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
“Every single person in here has a Jesse Jackson story,” his eldest son, Jesse Jackson Jr., said Friday. “The time he shook your hand, the time he prayed for you, the time he held you up, the time he prayed the funeral for somebody you know … and he prayed you to a new course of existence.”
Sitting in the crowd was 90-year-old Mary Lovett. She said Jackson’s advocacy inspired her many times, from when she moved from Mississippi to Chicago in the 1960s, taught elementary school and became a mom. She twice voted for Jackson during both of his presidential runs and appreciated how he always spoke up for underrepresented people. “He’s gone, but I hope his legacy lives,” she said. “I hope we can remember what he tried to teach us.”
Jackson’s service was to the poor, underrepresented
Jackson’s pursuits were countless, taking him to all corners of the globe: Advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues including voting rights, healthcare, job opportunities, and education. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through Rainbow PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms, pressuring executives to make America a more open and equitable society.
Another son, Yusef Jackson, who runs the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, recalled how his father carried a well-worn Bible but also showed his faith by showing up to picket lines.
“He lived a revolutionary Christian faith rooted in justice, nonviolence and the moral righteousness,” Yusef Jackson said Friday. “He was deeply involved in the political struggles of his time, but his gift was that he could rise above them. It’s not about the left wing or the right wing. It takes two wings to fly. For him, the goal was always the moral center.”
Jackson’s services in Chicago and South Carolina drew civic leaders, school groups, and everyday people who said they were touched by Jackson’s work, from scholarship programs to advocating for inmates. Several states flew flags at half-staff in his honor.
Services in Washington, D.C., were tabled after a request to allow Jackson to lie in honor in the United States Capitol rotunda was denied by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said the space is typically reserved for select officials, including former presidents. Details on a future event have not been made public.
