It may be a while before the drought advisories disappear, but since Monday Philadelphia has had more rain than in any entire month since March 2025. And the city of Camden has been clocked well over a half-foot of rain.
In both instances, if it seemed like most of that came in a hurry, it did.
On Thursday, for the second time in a week, downpours set off a flood of warnings in the city, the neighboring counties and Delaware.
And more showers are possible Friday and Saturday, but the atmosphere isn’t expected to upstage its performance since it turned off last weekend’s 100-degree heat.
Thursday’s downpours wrung out 2 and 3 inches of rain in several towns across the region.
Flooding was reported along numerous roads, with vehicles stranded, including in the vicinity of the Ben Franklin Bridge, the National Weather Service said. The rains could continue until 7 or 8 p.m. Thursday, said Alex Staarmann, meteorologist inthe Mount Holly office.
Multiple water rescues have been reported in Wilmington.
Philadelphia broke a 74-year-old record for a July 9 with 2.61 inches of rain measured officially, according to the weather service.
At one point flood warnings had been posted for the city and in all seven neighboring counties.
But the rain lately has been random. And in the grand casino of the atmosphere, that was the case Thursday, and not every place got the soakings.
The drought conditions are likely to persist despite the storms
In the weekly inter-agency U.S. Drought Monitor update posted Thursday, some degree of drought conditions persisted in all of New Jersey, Philly, and the neighboring Pennsylvania counties.
The drought monitor has most of the region was in “moderate drought,” with some improvement in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties.
But all of Chester County and most Montgomery County were in “severe drought.” Southeastern New Jersey, including the Shore towns, were in “extreme drought.”
Soil moisture levels will remain significantly below normal during the next week, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center.
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And it appears the atmospheric faucets are going to shut after Saturday.
Said Joseph DeSilva, meteorologist at the weather service’s Mounty Holly office, “Next week looks pretty dry.”
Richard H. Glanton, 79, formerly of Philadelphia, longtime lawyer, onetime executive deputy counsel to former Gov. Dick Thornburgh, business entrepreneur, former Lincoln University trustee, and innovative former president of the Barnes Foundation, died Sunday, June 21, of a heart attack at his home in Princeton.
Born and reared in rural Georgia and one of the first Black graduates of what is now the University of West Georgia, Mr. Glanton went on to become a prominent Philadelphia lawyer, state government policy and administration expert, corporate vice president, and indefatigable president of the Barnes Foundation’s collection of Impressionist, post-Impressionist, and modern art.
He was elected president of the Barnes Foundation in 1990, served until 1998, and championed a series of controversial initiatives to finance extensive gallery renovations and the operation of its art collection and related educational programs. To raise the money, he suggested, among other things, selling 15 of the collection’s hundreds of paintings, charging million-dollar fees for a worldwide lending tour of 83 paintings, extending visiting hours, increasing admission, building a new parking lot, selling a coffee-table catalog, and renting out its art studios.
All of his ideas, several of which did not take place, drew supporters and critics, and Mr. Glanton, also a Barnes trustee, spoke often of his policy discussions with other Barnes officials, art experts around the world, politicians, and neighbors of the foundation building in Lower Merion Township. In 1990, he told The Inquirer. “I never purported to know anything about art. But I can lead.”
His most successful project turned out to be a two-year world lending tour of 83 foundation paintings that raised about $20 million and drew raves from museum leaders in Washington, Paris, Tokyo, Fort Worth, Toronto, and Philadelphia. The exhibition in Paris drew a then-record 1.5 million visitors, and Mr. Glanton was feted at every stop.
“Richard is somebody who started out by wanting to do something good and important and substantial, and persevered to do it despite a great deal of criticism,” Glenn D. Lowry, then director of the Art Gallery of Ontario, told The Inquirer in 1995.
Some critics said Mr. Glanton and others valued the foundation’s commercial success over its original educational role and what The Inquirer’s Edward J. Sozanski called “the Barnes mystique.” When the lending tour ended at the Philadelphia Art Museum in 1995, Mr. Glanton told The Inquirer: “I never realized or understood that it could be controversial to make available to the public a collection that is a public trust.
“But I think if you think something’s right, you should do it, whether or not people disagree, and whether it is popular or not. … You have to think not only in terms of your lifetime, but in 100 years, 1,000 years. And when you do, these little slings and arrows don’t really matter that much.”
A story and this photo of Mr. Glanton appeared in The Inquirer in 1995.
Mr. Glanton was executive deputy counsel to Gov. Thornburgh from 1979 to 1983, and he met often with constituents and helped fill judicial vacancies. “Richard is a political animal,” Ted Pillsbury, then director of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, told The Inquirer in 1995. “He understands politics. He understands what makes politics work, and he understands people. And he does not take certain things personally.”
Mr. Glanton earned his law degree at the University of Virginia School of Law in 1972 and spent several years with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, United Airlines, and other companies. In Philadelphia, he represented politicians and other notable clients, and specialized in energy, insurance, and real estate cases for firms known now as WolfBlock, and Reed Smith.
He was also senior vice president of corporate development at Exelon Corp., founder of a local TV station, social media company, and consulting firm, and board member at Aqua America, the Morris Arboretum, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and other groups. He ended a workplace sexual harassment suit with a private settlement in the early 1990s and had public policy spats with local government officials and former Lincoln president Niara Sudarkasa.
He considered running for mayor in 1995. Former Gov. Ed Rendell said: “He was exceptionally bright, courageous, and never afraid to challenge the status quo in pursuit of what he believed was right.”
Mr. Glanton was at home in a suit jacket and tie.
One of 11 children, Richard Howard Glanton was born Nov. 21, 1946. He was reared in rural Villa Rica, Ga., didn’t start school until the fourth grade, and he and his siblings worked for years on the family farm.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in English and, in 2005, was awarded an honorary doctorate from West Georgia. He married Scheryl Williams, and they had a daughter, Morgan, and a son, David.
After a divorce, he married Eileen Candia, and they had a daughter, Georgia. They lived in Philadelphia and Chicago, and moved to Princeton in 2009.
Mr. Glanton was a doting father, his family said. He taught his children to ride bikes and read Shakespeare. “He taught me that there was no room in which I didn’t belong or couldn’t strive to enter,” his daughter Morgan said. “I love him for that.”
Mr. Glanton was an avid reader and golfer.
Nearly everyone he met remembered his laugh and perpetual suit jacket and tie. He played golf, was an avid reader, and would talk politics for hours.
“He was fearless in his conviction to do what he believed was necessary and proper to achieve his goals and provide for his family,” his son said. His wife said: “He was kind and generous. He made everyone he spoke to feel special. He was always bringing you in.”
In addition to his wife, children, and former wife, Mr. Glanton is survived by two sisters, four brothers, and other relatives. One sister and four brothers died earlier.
Memorial services are to be held at noon Saturday, July 18, at Pleasant Hill United Methodist Church, 119 Thomas Dorsey Dr., Villa Rica, Ga. 30180, and at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 18, at the Union League, 140 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19102.
After Brazil beat Haiti in a World Cup match last month, 29,162 fans swarmed NRG Station to catch the subway.It was SEPTA’s second-highest reported crowd for a single stadium-complex event.
And the largest? The 31,087 people rode the B line after the Eagles won the NFC Championship in January 2025.
For three summer weeks, Philadelphia visitors leaned on transit — 155,333 passengers rode the subway also known as the Broad Street Line alone, SEPTA said.
From June 14 through July 4, the city hosted six World Cup matches, FIFA’s Fan Fest, and celebrations of the 250th anniversary of Independence Day.
“This was a unique opportunity for SEPTA — possibly one we will not get again for many years,“ spokesperson Andrew Busch said. ”We think there is a lot we can learn that will help improve special event service and everyday operations.”
Regional Rail also saw bumps in ridership, as did transit, primarily bus routes, serving the Fan Fest at Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park, SEPTA said. Bus routes 32 and 48 provided direct service, while Routes 7 and 49 had stops within walking distance of the festival entrance.
It helped that Brazil and Haiti’s June 19 game fell on the federal holiday of Juneteenth … and that sponsor Airbnb paid SEPTA to provide free rides home for people using the Broad Street Line on match days between halftime and the final whistle.
On July 4, when Paraguay and France met in an elimination round game and people were coming to Independence Day events, ridership on the overall system was up 15% compared to the previous year. Broad Street Line ridership was 62%; Regional Rail was up 48% and the lines serving FanFest were up 21%.
Transit agency analysts focused on post-match boardings on northbound trains at NRG Station because it was the most straightforward way to identify fans who attended the game and traveled on SEPTA, officials said.
Some riders headed to the stadium area were going to Stateside Live or checking out pregame festivities.
Customer service lessons learned, according to SEPTA:
Using megaphones to communicate with riders in crowded stations broke through the noise, helping people unfamiliar with SEPTA navigate.
Bringing a DJ to NRG Station soothed post-match crowds waiting for outbound trains. “More than a couple of dance parties broke out, and we think it helped keep the atmosphere festive,” Busch said.
SEPTA moved its start and end point for the B Line for the Sports Express trips from Fern Rock to Girard, easing crowds in Center City and shortening turnaround time.
Ridership on the Airport Regional Rail line typically increased 20% or more on the day before and day after a match.
Regional Rail’s Trenton line on the Northeast Corridor also carried more passengers than usual, as people took NJ Transit from New York City and northern New Jersey and connected to SEPTA.
While there were complaints about crowding, few major incidents were reported.
SEPTA gets another test next week with the MLB All-Star Game July 14 and related events, though they are expected to have a smaller impact.
Ikea has opened its first Delaware County location, though it doesn’t look like its massive stores in Conshohocken and South Philly.
The home design company’s “plan and order point” in Media opened Wednesday. At less than 4,000 square feet, the outpost is a fraction of the size of its typical stores, with square footage in the hundreds of thousands.
Ikea, which has its U.S. headquarters in Conshohocken, said in a statement this fall that the location would provide design consultation services for more complex projects like kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms. But the space doesn’t contain inventory. Instead, customers can order items for delivery or on-site pickup.
For some Delaware County residents, the new location means “no more trekking through that notorious I-476 ‘Blue Route’ traffic” to get to the Conshohocken or South Philly stores, Ikea U.S. market manager George Holtkamp said in an October statement.
But if those customers get a craving for the popular Ikea meatballs, they’ll still have to make the longer trip, as the Media site does not have an in-store Swedish bistro.
People worked in the cafeteria of the 300,000-square-foot Ikea in South Philly in 2022.
Ikea has been adding more locations after its U.S. arm reported $5.3 billion in sales last year, the majority of which were made in-person. Over the same period, about 61 million people visited its physical stores, while more than 457 million people browsed the website.
In Media, Ikea joins Michaels, TJ Maxx, Kohl’s, Boscov’s, and a slate of other stores that occupy the 830,000-square-foot retail section of the Promenade at Granite Run. The complex exemplifies how struggling malls can be reborn.
After the Granite Run Mall closed in 2015, BET Investments spent more than $100 million to demolish the building and build the open-air town center in its place, according to president Michael Markman. Along with an array of retailers, the complex now contains 400 luxury apartments, as well as several restaurants and medical offices.
An aerial photo shows the Promenade at Granite Run in June 2022.
Markman said in April that the retail portion of the complex is almost fully leased.
“Its only gotten better since we originally tenanted it,” Markman said at the time. “We signed a Nordstrom Rack. We signed a small-scale Ikea.”
A Colwyn woman and her boyfriend took on the responsibility of caring for the woman’s 20-year-old cousin after her previous caregiver died, Delaware County prosecutors said Thursday.
But instead of providing the woman, who has Down syndrome, with a safe environment, they fed her table scraps, beat her whenever she attempted to sate her hunger, and ultimately kicked her out of their home, into freezing April rain, for eating their Goldfish crackers.
Yahnae Clegg-Brown taunted the woman, whom police did not name in court filings, as she stood, rain-soaked, begging to be let back inside, according to the affidavit of probable cause for her arrest. Naiyr Sanders, Clegg-Brown’s boyfriend, demanded that she leave the property, according to the affidavit, then punched her in the head and pushed her down the house’s front steps.
A concerned neighbor called 911 after seeing the woman shivering and calling for help after a night spent outside, the affidavit said. When officers took the woman to Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital for treatment, she weighed just 80 pounds.
Clegg-Brown, 35, and Sanders, 31, have been charged with neglect of a care-dependent person, abuse of a care-dependent person, and related crimes. They remained in custody with bail set at 10% of $250,000. There was no indication they had hired attorneys.
District Attorney Tanner Rouse, in announcing the charges, said the case was heartbreaking and beyond comprehension.
“Those entrusted with another person’s care have a responsibility to protect them,” he said. “My office will continue to stand up for victims who cannot always stand up for themselves and will work tirelessly to hold those responsible accountable.”
Investigators said the woman began living with Clegg-Brown in November 2023 after the death of Clegg-Brown’s father, who had been caring for her.
The woman’s living conditions at Clegg-Brown’s home on Ellis Avenue were spartan, according to police: She was sleeping in an upstairs bedroom on a “deteriorating mattress” with no bed linens, the affidavit said.
Clegg-Brown had placed a surveillance camera on top of the refrigerator in the home’s kitchen, which she later told police was used to make sure her cousin was not “stealing” her food. Investigators noted in the affidavit that the woman was receiving regular government-assistance benefits, and that the money was supposed to be spent on her living expenses.
Clegg-Brown never took her cousin to her scheduled doctor’s appointments, and did not enroll her in school, the affidavit said. During meal time, she forced her cousin to sit on the floor and fed her leftovers or ramen noodles and oatmeal. As a result, the woman developed type 2 diabetes from malnutrition, according to the affidavit.
Clegg-Brown told investigators the “final straw” came on April 25, when she found her cousin hiding in her bedroom, eating a package of Goldfish crackers.
She and Sanders forced the woman outside, placed her clothes and bedding in trash bags that were too heavy for the woman to carry, and locked the door behind her, the affidavit said.
Clegg-Brown told the woman she was tired of dealing with her, and told her to find somewhere else to live, according to the affidavit.
Since her hospitalization, the woman has been placed in a new home with a different caregiver, police said, recovered to a healthy weight, and is now attending school.
The developer of a 1.5 million-square-foot data center project proposed for an East Whiteland Superfund site has again returned to the township requesting changes to the plan — even as they’ve already started preparing for construction.
But on Wednesday, the developers asked for a “field change,” requesting permission to put into place some of the changes that would have been included in those amended plans.
The changes — which include the ambitions they’ve had since January — would remove the cooling towers, eliminate water cooling for the computer equipment, and install air-chilled units on the building’s roofs. These changes are permitted under the Land Development Agreement, Township Manager Steve Brown told the community at the meeting. But they require the board’s approval.
The request drew ire from community members who have for months been opposed to the project, fearing the data center’s impact on health and the environment. They’ve also raised concerns that it will rest atop the former Foote Mineral Co., a contaminated industrial site that landed on the federal list of hazardous places.
The board voted, 2-1, to table approval of the proposed changes; chairman Scott Lambert and supervisor Clinton Smith said there were still too many questions. Supervisor Peter Fixler cast the dissenting vote.
“What’s been presented to us this week, as I said before, I think is a gift. … What’s in front of me now is a data center that’s a third the size of their original proposal,” Fixler said ahead of the vote. “It would, I feel, be environmentally irresponsible to not approve this plan. I know that doesn’t sound popular.”
The developer said the reason for the change is water conservation, Brown said. The approved plan would use more than 3 million gallons of water a day, vs. the proposed plan, which would use air chillers.
Separately, the developer proposed slashing the size of the buildings, down from a sprawling 1.5 million square feet total build-out — with two data center buildings roughly 772,000 square feet each — down to a total of 536,000 square feet. It would strike a basement in the current plans, and also reduce the height of the building. These changes don’t necessitate board approval, Brown said.
In an email Thursday, Lou Colagreco, the attorney representing the developers, said they would respond to any of the board’s questions “that may still be outstanding.”
“At the end of the day, this is a simple question: Will we use a cooling system that consumes millions of gallons of water a day, as approved, or not?” he said. “We believe this is a very easy decision. We are at a moment in the job where we have no choice but to move forward with whatever path provides us certainty of execution. If the Board wants us to build with evaporative water cooling, we will continue to do so.”
As he discussed his decision, board chairman Lambert told residents that “we could get a call tomorrow from the developer, and he may say, ‘That 536,000 square foot offer we put out there to make it smaller, it’s gone.’”
On Wednesday, the community called for the rejection of the plans, saying that it was too big a transformation to be considered a field change.
“This isn’t moving a pipe from five feet away to have some mud moved on top of it. This is a half-a-million-square-foot change,” resident Tony Gianino said. “This is crazy. This is a completely new project. I’ve been saying this since the beginning. This is a substantial change. If not this, then what counts as substantial?”
Jeff Katz, another resident, said that the plans looked like those initially presented to the township in the spring, which were ultimately withdrawn.
“Bringing substantially the same changes back tonight … looks like an attempt to get through the back door of what could not be brought through the front,” 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.
Gouldsburger’s is among the recent openings in Ardmore.
Downtown Ardmore has welcomed a dozen new businesses so far this year, with more still on the horizon.
Newcomers have ranged broadly from a Japanese barbecue joint to a home goods spot to a new yoga studio. A pair of burger eateries have also joined the fray.
The Montgomery County District Attorney’s office has concluded its investigation into an April domestic incident between Mike Missanelli and his fiancée at their home in Lower Merion and withdrawn assault charges against the sports radio personality.
The community is mourning the death of Narberth resident and longtime Friends’ Central Lower School teacher Peter Grove, who died in May at the age of 82. An award-winning educator, Grove mentored other teachers and fellow naturalists, and created dozens of notable community gardens throughout the region.
Two people, a 35-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man, were critically injured when a tree fell on their car while they were driving in Lower Merion on Friday. A 10-year-old girl who was also in the car suffered minor injuries. (6abc)
There will be a virtual meeting Monday at 11 a.m. for residents interested in learning more about Ardmore House II, the affordable senior community expected to open later this year.
Popular local sushi purveyor Sam Li recently opened his latest eatery, but with a decidedly different focus. OGYU, which took over the former Iron Hill Brewery space in Ardmore and has a club-like atmosphere, specializes in Japanese barbecue. The Inquirer’s Denali Sagner explains why Li chose to switch things up.
Craving the viral dessert of summer? You don’t have to look far to find the TikTok-famous dot cake, which is available at Bakery House. The Bryn Mawr establishment has seen the layered cake in a cup, coated with the signature nonpareil sprinkles, flying off its shelves since it began offering it at the end of May.
🎳 Things to Do
🎸 Echoes: Tickets are going fast for the Pink Floyd tribute band, which will perform the entirety of “Wish You Were Here.” ⏰ Friday, July 10, 8 p.m. 💵 $26.91 📍 Ardmore Music Hall
🧚 The Little Mermen and The Princess Pals: The kid-friendly show will include performances of iconic Disney songs through the ages. ⏰ Sunday, July 12, noon 💵 $26.91-$67.28 📍 Ardmore Music Hall
🎶 Bryn Mawr Twilight Concerts: American folk duo Shovels & Rope, made up of husband-and-wife duo Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst, will take the stage. ⏰ Sunday, July 12, 7 p.m. 💵 $25.88, free for kids 12 and under 📍 Bryn Mawr Gazebo
🎵 Music in the Park: The Daniel Villarreal Trio brings its mash up of psychedelia, jazz, Latin rock, and funk to the stage. ⏰ Wednesday, July 15, 7 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Narberth Park gazebo
The lodge-style home has its own dock and plenty of water vistas.
Situated on the banks of the Schuylkill River, this Gladwyne home has unobstructed water views and multiple decks to enjoy them from, in addition to its own dock. The main living level features a living room that looks out on the water and also has a wood stove surrounded by Moravian tiles. The space opens onto a rounded deck, as well as a dining area and kitchen. There are four bedrooms, including a primary suite with its own balcony and walk-in closet.
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.
Media recently adopted a comprehensive plan that looks ahead to 2035.
Media has adopted a new comprehensive plan designed to help shape the next decade of local land use, housing, economic development, traffic planning, and environmental decision making.
Based on feedback from several hundred residents, “Media 2035” reflects the community’s desire to protect the borough’s “small-town feel” as well as concerns about housing affordability, parking, and traffic.
Heads up for drivers: A six-month Aqua Pennsylvania utility project is slated to get underway Monday on Providence Road in Nether Providence Township. Through the end of the year, expect weekday road closures from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. between West Rose Valley Road and Providence Road’s intersection with Chester Road. Work will also take place on Leslie Lane. Other roadwork includes lane closures on Route 1 between Pennell and Middletown Roads in Middletown Township for resurfacing. Work is slated to start today and continue through next Friday, taking place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays.
Delaware County is investigating a hack of its network last month that resulted in service disruptions. Here’s what we know.
A new “outdoor lifestyle store” is opening in Media, taking over the space formerly occupied by Homesewn, which recently moved two blocks. Media Mercantile is targeting a late summer opening at 21 E. State St.
The pool at Timberwyck Swim Club in Upper Providence Township has reopened after undergoing an extensive renovation.
Middletown Township buried a time capsule last week to capture a snapshot of what the community looks like in 2026. It includes documents, photos, and memorabilia and is slated to be opened in 2061, when the township will mark its 375th anniversary.
🏫 Schools Briefing
Rose Tree Media School District will present plans for its proposed K-1 Early Learning Center at the Middletown Township planning commission meeting Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at Penn State Brandywine’s student union building to accommodate an anticipated increase in attendees.
🎶 Rose Tree Summer Festival: The upcoming lineup features performances from local eight-piece band Four Lean Hounds tonight, Carlos Santana-inspired outfit Rumbaile tomorrow, Taylor Swift tribute Jexxa and the Antiheroes on Saturday, and event band Chico’s Vibe on Sunday. On Wednesday, Bon Jovi tribute Bad Medicine will take the stage. ⏰ Thursday, July 9-Wednesday, July 15, 7:30 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Rose Tree Park, Media
🍿 Movie Night: This month’s featured film is the Nicholas Cage classic National Treasure. ⏰ Friday, July 10, 8 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Media Borough Hall lawn
🫐 Blueberry Festival: Pick your own fruit, try your hand at a pie-eating contest, and get your face painted at this annual event. ⏰ Saturday, July 11, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (Rain date: July 12) 💵 Pay as you go 📍 Linvilla Orchards, Media
🐉 Dragons Love Tacos: This kid-friendly show, adapted from the picture book of the same name, explores what dragons do and don’t like to eat. ⏰ Saturdays and Sundays, July 11-19, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. 💵 $13.50-$18.50 📍 PCS Theater, Swarthmore
🎵 Tribute to Fleetwood Mac: The Listeso String Quartet will perform some of the band’s greatest hits. ⏰ Saturday, July 11, 8:45 p.m. 💵 $42-$76 📍 The Media Theatre
🗞️ What other Greater Media 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.
A federal judge had some good news this week for Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania, but not so much for Josh Shapiro, resident of Montgomery County.
Shapiro, as governor, cannot be sued in his official capacity in a dispute over a strip of yard between his and his Abington Township neighbors’ adjoining properties, U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III ruled Tuesday.
But Shapiro and his wife, Lori, will still have to face their neighbors in federal court as homeowners, Bartle also determined.
The conflict came into public view in February, when Jeremy and Simone Mock, whose backyard abuts the Shapiros’ lawn in a tree-lined neighborhood near Pennsylvania State University’s Abington campus, sued Shapiro — both as governor and in his individual capacity — and George Bivens, acting Pennsylvania State Police commissioner. The lawsuit alleged the officials were illegally occupying part of the Mocks’ yard to build an eight-foot security fence last summer in what they claimed was an “outrageous abuse of power” that violated their constitutional rights. Bartle dismissed those claims in his ruling Tuesday, in what Shapiro’s administration called a major win.
But while Shapiro and Bivens are immune from the federal lawsuit as state officials, Shapiro as an individual and his wife are not, Bartle’s opinion said.
“We are pleased that the court has dismissed the claims against the office of the governor and the Pennsylvania State Police, and recognize that the allegations against these officials are without merit,” said Rosie Lapowsky, a spokesperson for Shapiro. “The Shapiros are confident that the facts will ultimately show that the Mocks’ remaining claims are meritless and politically motivated and will fail.”
Shapiro’s safety remains a priority for state police, as one of the nation’s most prominent Jewish elected officials. A Delaware County man was arrested Wednesday for threatening to burn down the governor’s residence, state police said.
But the Mocks’ attorney, Wally Zimolong, said the lawsuit at hand is about property rights and due process, and called Bartle’s ruling a “strong decision.”
“Make no mistake about it,” Zimolong said, “a federal court has said that the sitting governor of Pennsylvania can be held liable for damages over constitutional violations.”
The Delaware County lawyer who has represented high-profile Republican officials and candidates, including President Donald Trump, said it is “nonsense” to call the litigation political. Zimolong added that he hopes the Shapiros reconsider and attempt to resolve the case amicably.
The conflict’s origins
The dispute between the Shapiros and Mocks began last summer when, as part of a plan to build a security fence at the Abington house, a surveyor learned that a sliver of yard that the Shapiros had used for over two decades was actually on property belonging to the Mocks.
After the Mocks rejected the Shapiros’ offer to buy the land, court fillings said, Pennsylvania’s first couple invoked a state law that allows a person to gain ownership of a property they have actively used for at least 21 years. The Shapiros have lived in their Montgomery County home for 23 years.
“What followed was an outrageous abuse of power by the sitting Governor of Pennsylvania and its former Attorney General,” the Mocks’February lawsuit said.
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A security fence was purchased but never installed, SpotlightPA reported. Instead, contractors hired by the state began planting arborvitae-type trees and other plants on the Mocks’ property. State police also flew drones over the Mocks’ property, threatened to remove healthy trees, and chased away contractors, the Mocks alleged in the suit.
The complaint also accused Shapiro of directing state police to patrol the property, and instructing the Mocks to leave the “security zone.”
The Shapiros’ countersuit in Montgomery County asks a judge to find that they are the “legal and equitable owners” of the area in dispute, having tended to the land that borders their front yard for 23 years. That suit is pending and a judge is expected to rule on preliminary objections filed by Zimolong.
Separately, the Shapiros and state attorneys filed motions asking Bartle to dismiss the federal complaint against them.
This week, the judge partially obliged, finding the stateofficials to be immune from the lawsuit while allowing the case against the Shapiros to proceed.
The judge also refused to freeze the federal case while the lawsuit in Montgomery County plays out, determining that the two cases are different enough to proceed.
“The claims here extend far beyond a disagreement between neighbors over the metes and boundaries of their properties,” Bartle wrote.
A Delaware County man was charged Wednesday after allegedly making threats againstGov. Josh Shapiro during a visit to a state representative’s office, including a threat to “burn down … [Shapiro’s] mansion with him in it,” Pennsylvania State Police said.
Police said the threats occurred when Richard John Franklin, 65, of Brookhaven, visited State Rep. Leanne Krueger’s legislative office in Brookhaven alongside his brotheron Tuesday to dispute and request help with an unanticipated and unpaid tax bill totaling $19, according to the criminal complaint. When a staffer tried to assist Franklin in completing a form to waive the taxes, Franklin “became irate and crumbled up the paper,” police said.
Franklin then began making threats the staffer believed were “threatening, harassing, and antisemitic in nature,” according to the complaint, including: “I guess I’ll pay that Jew. That Jew needs the money more than me” and “I’d like to burn down his [expletive] mansion with him in it.” Police said Franklin repeatedly referred to Shapiro as a “‘Jew’ multiple times in a negative manner.”
State law enforcement officers charged Franklin with felony levels of terroristic threats and ethnic intimidation, in addition to lower-level charges of harassment and disorderly conduct.
Shapiro, a Democrat who is among the most prominent Jewish officials in the country, has faced multiple threats of violence since becoming Pennsylvania’s top executive. In April 2025, a man broke into the state-owned governor’s mansion on the first night of Passover with a hammer and set several firebombs inside while Shapiro and his family were sleeping in a different part of the residence. The man, Cody Balmer, later pleaded guilty to attempted murder and was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro pauses during a news conference at the governor’s official residence discussing the alleged arson that forced him, his family and guests to flee in the middle of the night on the Jewish holiday of Passover, Sunday, Apr. 13, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa.
Early Wednesday, investigators from the state police political violencethreat unit visited Franklin at his Brookhaven home, where he provided conflicting accounts of what occurred at Krueger’s office before ultimately admitting to “calling the Governor a ‘Jew’ in a negative manner” and added that his “brother told him he should not have made the statement,” according to the criminal complaint. Franklin denied making any threats toward Shapiro, but admitted to referring to the previous arson attempt at the governor’s residence during the outburst, police said.
State police said they arrested Franklin without incident.
Franklin’s brother, who witnessed the events at Krueger’s office, disputed the state police account and said his brother never threatened the governor.
Leroy Franklin, 72, of Chester, said his brother visited the state representative’s office seeking information about a tax bill he had received, despite paying his state taxes through an accountant this year.
After the brothers spoke to a staffer who did not have answers for them, Richard Franklin became upset and raised his voice, Leroy Franklin said.
In a phone interview Wednesday, Leroy Franklin recalled his younger brother saying something to the effect of: “I’ve been on disability for 15 years, but I guess the state needs my money more than I do.”
The two were together at Krueger’s office the entire time, Leroy Franklin said, adding that he did not hear his brother use an antisemitic slur. He also disputed that his brother threatened arson.
“Anybody who said he did is lying,” Leroy Franklin said.
Around 2 a.m. Wednesday, Leroy Franklin said, he received a call from his younger brother. Richard Franklin told him that police were at his apartment and he was not sure where they were going to take him, Leroy Franklin recounted.
When the two spoke on the phone again later that morning, Leroy Franklin said, he learned police were taking his brother to jail.
“I don’t know what the heck anyone is talking about,” Leroy Franklin said Wednesday. “This is a bit extreme, to put it mildly.”
Richard Franklin was being held at the Delaware County prison with bail set at $100,000, according to court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 16, according to court documents. A lawyer for Franklin was not listed on court records.
Franklin is a registered Democrat, Pennsylvania voting records show. He has no prior convictions in Pennsylvania.
Shapiro’s office referred requests for comment about the incident to state police.
In a statement Wednesday, State Police Sgt. Logan Brouse said the agency “takes threats against the lives of public officials seriously,” noting the state police political violence threat unit was created “to address the growing amount of ideologically motivated violence against elected officials.”
The unit was created in May, after a Lebanon County man allegedly posted a “hit list” to social media targeting 20 state Democratic lawmakers. Adam Berryhill, 42, was arrested on May 6, after he was connected to an X account that posted a potential plan to attack the legislators. Some of the lawmakers named on the list said they had not been alerted to the threats against them, prompting state police leaders to update their communication protocols and create the investigations unit.
Krueger (D., Delaware) referred a request for comment to a spokesperson for House Democrats.
Nicole Reigelman, a spokesperson for House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Philadelphia), said in a statement that threats of political violence are becoming commonplace, “and every incident must be treated with the seriousness it deserves.”
“Healthy democracies depend on robust debate and respectful disagreement — not threats, intimidation, or violence,“ Reigelman added. ”Political violence has no place in our communities, and Pennsylvanians must unite in condemning it whenever and wherever it occurs.”
