The Brown family, which operates a dozen local ShopRites, recently purchased the Shoppes at Wissinoming for $30.8 million, according to JLL real estate, which represented the seller. The nearly 98,000-square-foot complex in Northeast Philadelphia is anchored by one of Brown’s ShopRites.
“We think it’s important to own the real estate where our supermarkets are located, so we can ensure the long-term healthy food access for the local community and the overall sustainability of our stores,” Brown, executive chairman of Brown’s Super Stores, said in a statement. “We are excited to add the Shoppes at Wissinoming shopping center to our real estate properties.”
Brown said he owns the shopping centers surrounding his ShopRites in Cheltenham, Brooklawn, and Roxborough.
The ShopRite in Roxborough, pictured in 2020, is run by Jeff Brown and located in a complex owned by the longtime grocer.
The family also runs ShopRites in Eastwick, Nicetown, Parkside, Port Richmond, South Philadelphia, Bensalem, Fairless Hills, and Mullica Hill..
The ShopRite at the Shoppes at Wissinoming opened in 2018, and was acquired by Brown earlier this year. The grocery store anchors the center, occupying about 68,000 square feet.
The complex is 98% occupied, according to JLL. Other tenants include Wawa, Popeyes, and AT&T.
“The transaction reflects broader trends in the retail investment market, where investors continue to prioritize grocery-anchored properties with proven tenant performance,” said Jim Galbally, JLL senior managing director. “Shoppes at Wissinoming has an ideal combination of dominant grocery anchor, diverse tenant mix, and strategic location within one of Philadelphia’s most densely populated submarkets.”
Better Box owner Tamekah Bost (left) talks with ShopRite owner Jeff Brown at the Cheltenham ShopRite in 2021. Brown has brought local restaurateurs into his stores.
The city experienced its coldest morning since at least Feb. 19 with low temperatures in the teens, even at Philadelphia International Airport, as for the second straight year December is off to quite a chilly start.
And also for the second straight year, those looking forward to that first generous coating of white in Philly, or viewing the possibility with a certain trepidation, may be in for a wait.
Readings dropped into single digits in Pottstown and Doylestown, and in the teens elsewhere. As usual, Philadelphia International Airport was the regional hotspot, bottoming out at 18.
Temperatures are due to top out in the mid-30s Tuesday, more than 10 degrees below normal. A midweek warmup is due as rain approaches, followed by a late-week cooldown, and a deeper chill over the weekend into next week as the Arctic continues to share a generous supply of cold air to the central and eastern United States.
Flake sightings are possible this week in Philly, but don’t expect a rash of school closings.
The city and areas to the north and west may see a few snowflakes at the onset of general rainfall Wednesday, said Robert Deal, the science and operations officer at the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly. And a dusting or less is possible in the region Friday with a cold frontal passage, he said.
So, while folks around Doylestown had to dig out from a whole three-tenths of an inch of snow during the weekend, and the likes of Atglen, Chester County, and Avalon at the Shore were buried under a tenth of an inch, the vigil goes on for Philly’s first ruler-worth snowfall.
With an unusual degree of certainty, in its Monday update, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center said it was very likely that temperatures in Philadelphia and the rest of the Northeast would be below normal in the Dec. 13-17 period, with odds favoring below-normal readings through the solstice.
Deal pointed out that since the 2019-20 season, Philly’s official snowfall is more than 80 inches below normal — that’s a total of 56.7 inches measured, vs. 139.4 inches that constitute the normal.
The last several winters generally have been mild, but snow doesn’t always correlate well with cold, and atmospheric scientists caution that snow is a lousy climate indictor.
Last season, for example, the Dec. 1-Feb. 28 meteorological winter finished about a degree below normal with plenty of cold air for snow, but snowfall was a paltry 8.1 inches — beating New Orleans by a mere 0.1 inches. The seasonal normal as measured at Philadelphia International Airport is 22.3 inches.
Tuesday officially would be Philadelphia’s 13th consecutive day of below-normal temperatures, and 13th without measurable snow.
Why the absence?
Snow around here typically falls near the battlegrounds of cold, heavy air from the north country and warmer moist air off the Gulf and Atlantic Ocean, which can rout the cold.
“We generally need a high-pressure system anchored to the north so it keeps the cold air locked in place,” Deal said. “Lately, most of the high-pressure systems have been more transient, shifting offshore.”
If they are too strong and persistent, those same cold high-pressure systems can repel moisture.
The climate center outlooks favor below-normal precipitation in the Northeast in the six-to-10-day and eight-to-14-day periods.
The lack of snow to date is by no means unusual,Deal points out. On average Philly doesn’t measure an official inch until Dec. 10.
“Right now,” he said, “normal is next to nothing.”
Brightening prospects
The winter solstice doesn’t occur until Dec. 21, but if you have had it with these early sunsets, your prospects are brightening considerably.
Monday’s sunset, just before 4:37 p.m., was a second later than Sunday’s. Tuesday’s will be 4 seconds later than Monday’s, and the sun will call it a day four whole minutes later on Dec. 21.
That will still be the shortest day, however, since daybreak will be later, but feel free to sleep through it.
They say it takes a village to raise a child. But what about to age in place?
More than ever, older adults want to age in their homes. According to a 2024 survey by AARP, 75% of adults ages 50 and over want to stay in their homes as they get older, and 73% want to stay in their communities.
Economic and logistical barriers, however, can make aging in place difficult. Single-family homes in suburban neighborhoods can be isolating for older adults, especially those who don’t drive.
Moving into a retirement community with built-in care and socialization, on the other hand, can be expensive. This paradigm often forces older adults to make difficult decisions about if, and how, they can age in their homes.
To combat these challenges, a group of Lower Merion residents is building the Lower Merion Village, a local chapter of the nationwide Village to Village Network. The network seeks to “change the paradigm of aging” by connecting older adults to social events, transportation, household help, and other services while keeping them in the neighborhoods they know and love.
Lower Merion Village volunteers tabling at an Earth Day celebration in Wynnewood Valley Park in April.
Bonnie Asher, a member of the Lower Merion Village’s program committee, got introduced to the village model through her mother, who lived in her suburban Maryland home until her death at 99.
Asher remembers worrying about her mother, especially as she got older and driving became a challenge. Getting involved in a village changed her mom’s life. Suddenly, she made new friends, got rides to the doctor’s office, and signed up for lectures, which she brought Asher to when she visited.
“Those connections were just really important,” Asher said.
The Village to Village Network is a national nonprofit that originated in Boston and has since spread from Fairbanks, Alaska, to upstate New York. The network provides guidance and resources to local chapters, which cater to older adults’ needs on a hyperlocal level.
Villages are membership-driven, self-governing organizations that are run by volunteers, and, at times, have a small paid staff.
There are five existing villages in the Philadelphia region: Penn’s Village (Center City), Village on the Ridge (Roxborough), East Falls Village, Shtetl 2.0 (Northwest Philly), and the Northwest Village Network (Northwest Philly).
In 2023, a group of neighbors in Wynnewood began tossing around the idea of starting a village. One conversation turned to a few gatherings at a neighbor’s house, then a monthly meeting at the library.
As the Wynnewood group dreamed up their village, its members got connected with Sara Crimm, also a Wynnewood resident and the founder of Families CCAN, a nonprofit focused on adults with disabilities.
Crimm saw the village as an opportunity to create a strong community infrastructure for both older adults and people with disabilities who want to stay, and thrive, in Lower Merion. Crimm met with the village organizers, and the newly formed coalition quickly got to work.
In spring 2024, Families CCAN received around $21,000 in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds as part of Lower Merion Township’s ARP Non-Profit Vitality Grant Program. The funds were earmarked to help get the village off the ground, and most of the grant money went to pay Crimm’s salary as its first and only staff member.
With that foundation, the village has launched a growing slate of social events as it works to establish its official nonprofit structure. The group takes weekly walks, perusing the Wynnewood Valley Park Sensory Garden or the local fall foliage. They’ve baked challah with Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia and hosted lectures — last month’s was on “ethical wills.” They meet monthly for coffee at Narberth’s GET Cafe.
When Asher moved to Lower Merion, her kids were already out of school, so she missed out on the opportunity to make friends through her children’s activities.
“One of the things that I’ve already gotten from the experience is making new friends. At this age, it’s just amazing,” said Asher, 74.
With regular lectures, walks, volunteer commitments, and lunches, Asher said with a laugh, “I got kind of busy.”
“We’re safer living in communities that are connected,” Crimm said, noting that many of the village programs are designed to build social connections and ward off the loneliness and depression that can sneak into older adulthood.
The Lower Merion Village is still in its infancy. It’s not officially accepting members yet, and Crimm is working to build a dues structure, create a website, and establish the organization as a 501(c)3 nonprofit.
The Lower Merion Village plans to charge an individual membership rate of $125 per year and a household rate of $200 per year. The village hopes to provide a scholarship option down the road for people who can’t afford it. The membership will come with access to all of the village’s programs, as well as to a network of volunteers who can help with household tasks, give rides, and troubleshoot technology.
Transportation is a particularly difficult issue for older people in Lower Merion, Crimm said. While SEPTA can take people into Center City or out to Norristown, getting around within the township can be difficult for people. Rideshares like Uber offer a temporary, but costly, solution.
Crimm noted that Lower Merion’s village will be less expensive than neighboring villages and assisted living communities. (Penn’s Village members pay $600 annually to gain access to services, and a one-bedroom apartment at Sunrise of Haverford, asenior living community that offers healthcare services, starts at $3,770 per month).
When asked about the misconceptions around aging, Crimm said there’s a pervasive ageism in how we see older adults’ wants and needs.
“These are people who are so rich in experience, and they have so much to give back,” she said. “Let’s support people to stay in their neighborhoods and to make those neighborhoods richer and stronger.”
Those interested in getting involved in the Lower Merion Village can email lowermerionvillage@gmail.com.
The Golden Globe Awards on Mondayannounced its nominees for the best in television and movies, and with it, another chance for victoryfor regional productions and local actors.
The ceremony airsJan. 11 with awards given in 28 categories.
The Abbott Elementary crew visits the Always Sunny gang at Paddy’s Pub in the “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Abbott Elementary” crossover.
In its fifth season, Abbott Elementary has already won the hearts of Philadelphians and three Golden Globes. Still, this wholesome band of teachers, starring Philly-native Quinta Brunson, isup again for best musical or comedy television series.
HBO’s Task and Peacock’s Long Bright River, two crime thrillers set in Philadelphia neighborhoods and suburbs, both have leading actors nominated for Golden Globes this season.
Mark Ruffalo as Tom, Alison Oliver as Lizzie, Thuso Mbedu as Aleah, and Fabien Frankel as Anthony in “Task.”
Amanda Seyfried (left) and Asleigh Cummings in the Kensington-set Peacock series “Long Bright River,” based on the novel of the same name by Temple professor and novelist Liz Moore.
Liz Moore’s crime novel Long Bright Riverturned heads when it was released in 2020, detailing the harrowing story of a Kensington police officer, played in the series by Amanda Seyfried, searching for her sister in a cat-and-mouse chase with a killer targeting sex workers. While the television adaptation was filmed in New York City, the bulk of the show takes place in Kensington and other Philadelphia neighborhoods, with Seyfried grabbing a nomination for best female performance in a dramatic limited series.
Hometown stand-up icon Kevin Hart was back to his roots with a new comedy special, Kevin Hart: Acting My Age, tackling injuries after 40, Chick-fil-A’s spicy chicken sandwich consequences, and slipping in the shower. He earned a nomination for best stand-up comedy performance on television.
Host Kevin Hart speaks during the BET Awards on Monday, June 9, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
And through a few degrees of separation, several other nomineescan be claimed as Philly-adjacent.
Hannah Einbinder, whose father is from Doylestown, accepts the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for “Hacks” during the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Take Hacks actress Hannah Einbinder, who shouted “Go Birds!” during her speech after winning an Emmy for best supporting actress in a comedy series, and was filmed by the evening news crying in the streets of Los Angeles after the Eagles’ 2018 Super Bowl win.
She may not be from Philadelphia (her father, actor Chad Einbinder, is from Doylestown), but she reps the city. HBO’s Hacks, which follows a veteran Las Vegas comic mentoring a young comedy writer, is up for best musical or comedy television series, with Einbinder and costar Jean Smart nominated for best supporting female actor and best actor in a musical or comedy series, respectively.
And there are some broader Pennsylvania and New Jersey ties among the nominees.
The breakout medical drama The Pitt, which takes place in the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Center, depicts a 15-hour shift in an emergency room, split across 15 one-hour episodes. The Pitt’s lead actor, Noah Wyle (known for his role as Dr. John Carter in NBC’s ER), is up against Ruffalo for best male actor in a dramatic television series.
After a major overhaul of the award show in recent years, including the sunsetting of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association due to ethics and diversity concerns, the new Golden Globe Awards are judged by a panel of 400 journalists from across the world.
The Golden Globes will be broadcast live on Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. Philadelphia time on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
Beginning in late afternoon, members of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s staff met with union leaders and SEPTA senior managers at the governor’s Philadelphia office. The goal was to unstick talks that had faltered, seeing if compromise was possible.
The union’s push for an increase in pensions and SEPTA’s proposal for union members to pay a greater share of the cost of their healthcare coverage emerged over the last week as the biggest obstacles to an agreement, according to both union and transit authority sources.
“Gov. Shapiro’s office brought the parties together and they made progress,” SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said. “It was significant.”
In a statement, the union said “significant progress” was made.
“Gov. Shapiro was instrumental in preventing a strike that could have started as soon as Monday morning. We’re grateful for his close involvement,” said TWU Local 234 President Will Vera.
A work stoppage would have brought chaos to a mass transit system that carries a weekday average of 790,000 riders.
TWU Local 234 represents 5,000 bus, subway, elevated train and trolley operators, as well as mechanics, cashiers, maintenance people and custodians, primarily in the city.
Their one-year labor contract expired Nov. 7, but members stayed at their posts. On Nov. 16, they authorized Local 234’s leaders to call a strike if needed. The vote was unanimous.
SEPTA and the union were not far apart on salary and both wanted a two-year deal after a series of one-year pacts during a time of financial crisis for the transit agency, sources said.
Management wanted to hike what union members pay for health coverage and increase co-pays for doctor and hospital visits.
The union pushed for an enhancement to the formula that determines retirees’ monthly pensions, based on years of service. It was last increased in 2016.
SEPTA officials calculated that TWU’s proposed changes would have created an annual unfunded liability of about $6 million for an undetermined length of time. The union says the pension plan books showed a bump was affordable.
Because TWU Local 234 is the largest SEPTA union, its contracts are used as a template for the other locals working for the transit system, which could boost costs.
Regional Rail was a concern to SEPTA because commuter railroad workers, like others, receive a federal pension that has tended to be less generous. Those unions would have wanted a SEPTA sweetener to their retirement benefits too.
TWU Local 234 also wanted changes to work rules involving sick time benefits and the length of time it takes new members to qualify for dental and vision benefits — currently 15 months.
The local also represents several hundred suburban workers, primarily operators, in SEPTA’s Frontier district, which runs 24 bus routes in Montgomery County, Lower Bucks County, and part of Chester County.
The Victory district has a similar number of employees, who are represented by SMART Local 1594. They run Delaware County’s two trolley lines, the Norristown High Speed Line, and 20 bus routes in the suburbs.
Unions for both the Frontier and Victory districts could choose to strike alongside TWU Local 234. If that happened, Regional Rail, already plagued by delays and cancellations due to federally-mandated repairs on train cars, would be the only public transit running.
TWU last struck in 2016. It lasted for six days and ended the day before the general election. Democrat Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign was worried about voter turnout, and the city sought an injunction to end the strike. That proved unnecessary.
Regional Rail would operate during a TWU strike. Locomotive engineers and conductors on the commuter service are represented by different unions than transit employees, and are working under current contracts.
The silence in the Himalayan Institute’s shrine redefines silence, quiet enough to hear your heartbeat, to pick up a whisper from across the room, and, perhaps most importantly, to feel every breath, in and out, while you meditate.
The institute, founded in 1972, moved into the massive, former seminary on 400 hilly, forested acres in Honesdale, Wayne County, in 1977, a time when yoga was still a niche practice. For more than 50 years, the institute has been offering yoga training, spirituality, meditation, and holistic health practices, along with getaways and retreats.
“It’s for anyone, for any creed, religion, sex, or gender,” said Greg Capitolo, a California native who became the institute’s president after attending retreats there. “There’s really no religious affiliation at all.”
As yoga exploded in popularity and modern meditation apps abound, the Himalayan Institute has seen growing interest worldwide. It hasn’t hurt that downtown Honesdale has seen its own popularity grow over the last decade as Philadelphia and New York City residents look for properties and business opportunities outside of traditional urban escapes, like upstate New York.
“I like to sat this is the best-kept secret in Wayne County,” Capitolo said. “I hope we become less of a secret to the people here. ”
The Inquirer went to Honesdale during a frigid weekend last December and confirmed it: even in single-digit temps, the town’s gift shops, bakeries, buzz-worthy restaurants, art galleries, and book stores were alive with tourists and locals up and down Main Street.
Afterward, several readers mention the Himalayan Institute as a “must-visit.”
The Himalayan Institute, In Honesdale, Pa.
On a Monday in late November, the main, dormlike building was abuzz with “residents” who were doing volunteer work in the kitchen for access to classes, yoga training, and other programs the institute offers. Capitolo said the institute can house up to 80 residents, who commit to staying for a year as part of the $800 per month “Residential Service Program.”
Meals are vegetarian, and on this afternoon, lunch was beet subzi and kimchari. The Himalayan Institute follows Ayurvedic principles, which discuss balance and digestion, among other things.
“The Ayurvedic system says you should eat your biggest meal around lunchtime, when the sun’s at its highest, point, because your digestion will be optimally ready to break down food,” Capitolo said.
There’s also a gift shop and a trail network at the Institute, along with a popular Wellness Center that offers several types of massage, including hot stone. One of the Wellness Center’s most popular offerings is an Ayurvedic therapy known as Shirodhara Treatment, which includes “streaming warm oil onto the forehead to clear and calm the mind.”
The Himalayan Institute, In Honesdale, Pa.
The simplest structure and offering at the Himalayan Institute may be the Sri Vidya Shrine, a simple, domed building that sits behind the former seminary on the campus. The shrine is the twin of the Sri Vidya Shrine at the Himalayan Institute’s Khajuraho campus in central India, and its meditation hall is not so simple: that unique silence was part of the design.
The shrine’s meditation hall is referred to as the mandapa, literally “the canopy for seekers to gather.”
Capitolo sat silently in the hall for several minutes, hands folded, focusing on his breath. He, too, was a seeker, leaving a lucrative job in Silicon Valley to head east to Honesdale, before it was hip.
“I was happy and seemingly had everything I needed,” he said outside the shrine. “But something was missing. This place satisfied what was missing.”
Chris Emmanouilides, 63, of Rutledge, Delaware County, digital media director, award-winning filmmaker, TV executive producer, cameraman, teacher, and mentor, died Saturday, April 26, of a heart attack at his home.
Born in Philadelphia and reared in Los Angeles, Mr. Emmanouilides followed his then-girlfriend back to the city in the 1980s, earned a master’s degree in radio, TV, and film at Temple University, and crafted a 36-year career as an independent filmmaker, vice president of programming for Banyan Productions, cofounder and chief content officer of the VuNeex video marketing platform, and director of digital media at the King of Prussia-based American College of Financial Services.
He specialized in independent documentary films, commercials, and early forms of reality TV, and cofounded Parallax Pictures in the 1990s. His films were screened at the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema, the Sundance Film Festival, and elsewhere around the world.
His 40-minute film Archive premiered at the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival in 2013 and earned the Audience Choice Orpheus Award. His 1989 film Suelto! earned first prize at the 1990 Sundance Slice of Life Film Festival.
In 1994, Inquirer movie critic Desmond Ryan called Mr. Emmanouilides’ film Remains “especially noteworthy.” In 1997, The Ad and the Egoearned the top prize at the San Francisco International Film Festival.
In 2001, critic Damon C. Williams reviewed TalkFast for the Daily News. Mr. Emmanouilides was the film’s director of photography. Williams said: “It does an incredible job in detailing the desire, dedication and heartbreak that go with pursuing a dream. It also shows that some do indeed find success in chasing their dreams.”
From 1997 to 2014, Mr. Emmanouilides was an executive producer, director of special projects, and vice president of programing at Philadelphia-based Banyan Productions. Working with the Discovery Channel, the Travel Channel, the Food Network, TLC, Lifetime, and other TV outlets, he and his colleagues created thousands of hours of popular award-winning programming. Among his series credits are Travelers, Reunion, Trading Spaces, Deliver Me, Cruises We Love, and A Wedding Story.
“What we pull off in four days — the emotions and the intimacy — is extremely rare on television,” he told The Inquirer in a 1998 story about the Reunion series. “It’s a constant push, trying to make a high-quality show on a limited budget, with limited time. And the question is, will it find an audience?”
He worked with Reader’s Digest and Hope Paige Designs on video marketing projects at VuNeex in 2015, and spent the last 10 years as a senior producer and director of digital media at the American College of Financial Services. “Chris was relentless in the pursuit of quality,” Jared Trexler, senior vice president at American College, said in an online tribute. “He was inquisitive, introspective, and always learning. Most importantly, he was kind, caring, and funny.”
Mr. Emmanouilides won the 2013 Audience Choice Orpheus Award in Los Angeles.
In tributes, colleagues called him “an amazing man and incredible coworker” and “very passionate about our field.” One said: “He always brought genuine fun and energy to whatever we were doing.”
Gregarious and energetic, Mr. Emmanouilides taught film and production courses at Temple, the University of Toledo, the Scribe Video Center, and the old University of the Arts. He lectured at Drexel and Villanova Universities, spoke at conferences and seminars, and taught English-language classes in Greece and Spain.
He was a longtime member and onetime board president of the Philadelphia Independent Film and Video Association, and he mentored production novices at Scribe Video in Center City and elsewhere. “These newcomers don’t respect the conventions of film that much,” he told The Inquirer in 1993. “They’re trying to find their own voice. So they’re finding new ways to tell stories.”
Christopher George Emmanouilides was born Aug. 31, 1961. His family moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles when he was young, and he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy at Colorado College in 1983 and a master’s degree at Temple in 1992.
Mr. Emmanouilides was a talented cameraman and photographer.
He met Sandra Enck at an independent film event in Philadelphia, and they married in 2004 and had a daughter, Isabella. He doted on his family, and especially enjoyed seeing films with his wife and decorating his daughter’s breakfast pancakes with eyes, nose, and mouth cut from fresh fruit.
“We took their pictures, and we eventually had hundreds of faces from countless mornings together,” his daughter said on her website facethemorning.com. “None were the same, and each seemed to have something to say.”
His wife said: “We’d see a film and then talk about it for three days.”
Mr. Emmanouilides was an avid reader and photographer. He liked to fly-fish, ski, hike, and cook.
This article about Mr. Emmanouilides (left) appeared in the Daily News in 1997.
He had an infectious laugh, performed magic tricks, listened to the Grateful Dead, and followed the Eagles and Phillies. “He was a big thinker,” his wife said. “He was buoyant and a powerful life force. You never forgot that you met him.”
In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Emmanouilides is survived by three sisters, a brother, and other relatives.
Celebrations of his life were held earlier.
Donations in his name may be made to the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, 824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010.
During a marathon preliminary hearing, held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility due to security concerns, seven members of the Pagans were held over for trial by District Judge Marc Alfarano on charges including aggravated assault, conspiracy, riot, and reckless endangerment.
Those who appeared before Alfarano were: Joel Hernandez-Martinez, 36, George Hripto Jr., 50, and Jason Lawless, 45, all of Bridgeport; Manuel Baez-Santos, 34, of Norristown; Erik Dixon, 33, of King of Prussia; Luke Higgins, 29, of Dauberville; and Justin Noll, 34, of Reading.
Two other Pagans allegedly involved and facing similar charges in the incident, George Cwienk III, 51, of Bridgeport, and Erik Rosenberger, 46, of East Greenville, had their preliminary hearings continued due to a scheduling issue with their attorneys.
Assistant District Attorney Bradley Deckel said the group conspired to attack two members of the Unknown Bikers outlaw club after seeing them parked at the Wawa on Oct. 17.
Given the rules of their subculture, Deckel said, the Pagans felt they had no choice but to confront the rival club.
A gang expert testified Friday that the Pagans have a strong presence throughout Pennsylvania, and fiercely defend their territory.
“They knew what they had to do the moment they saw a group invading their territory,” Deckel said. “And they had to teach them a lesson with violence.”
But defense attorneys for the Pagans took turns sharply rebutting Deckel’s theory during the seven-hour hearing, arguing that their clients were not the ones responsible for the shooting. They asserted that prosecutors had built their case entirely on speculation and innuendo, unfairly painting their clients as dangerous in news coverage.
Further, they said, investigators could not clearly identify what role each of the nine men played in the supposed conspiracy to attack the other bikers, nor prove whether any of the Pagans were armed at the time.
Noll’s attorney, Robert J. Kirwan II, argued that the alleged targets in the case — the Unknown Bikers — were the ones who should be held accountable. Ballistics evidence showed 13 of the 14 bullets fired during the chaotic melee came from their guns.
He said he was “disgusted” that the men were not called to testify during Friday’s hearing.
“It’s astounding that the Unknown Bikers are not charged,” Kirwan said. “What we do know is that they unloaded all of their ammunition at the people present, including bystanders, and yet they’re walking free.”
After pulling into the Wawa just after 9 p.m., the Pagans encircled the other two bikers and began assaulting them. In turn, the Unknown Bikers opened fire on the Pagans with two 9mm handguns in what prosecutors described as an act of self-defense.
Three of the Pagans — Cwienk, Hernandez-Martinez, and Noll — were injured in the gunfire. Nearby, a man filling his tires with air was shot in the face as he dived for cover, and a woman smoking a cigarette outside the store was shot in the right side.
Deckel, the prosecutor, said that during the attack some members of the group strategically positioned their bikes at the gas station’s entrance, in what he described as an attempt to prevent their targets from escaping.
The Pagans’ defense attorneys denied that entirely, saying their clients were the true victims in the attack. Paul Lang, representing Dixon, said his client abandoned his motorcycle and fled as soon as the first gunshots rang out, despite the supposedly coordinated assault.
Still, Deckel said, the motive for the attack was clear: The Pagans wanted the Unknown Bikers’ “cuts,” their denim vests bearing the club logo. In the world of outlaw clubs, a biker’s cut is sacred and, therefore, a trophy sought by his rivals, according to a gang expert who testified Friday.
After the shooting, five of the Pagans were arrested during a car stop in Bridgeport. One of the motorcycles they were riding bore a bullet hole in its gas tank.
The other four were taken into custody in the following days, prosecutors said, tracked down through automated license plate readers and cell phone records.
HARRISBURG — An unknown amount of mail from Pennsylvania state agencies to residents has gone undelivered, Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration discovered this week.
The Pennsylvania Department of General Services said in a statement Friday that it has ended its contract with an unidentified vendor that pre-sorts state agency mail before delivering it to the U.S. Postal Service to be sent to residents around the state. The department discovered in the last 48 hours that the vendor “had been failing to deliver Commonwealth mail to constituents,” said Paul Vezzetti, a spokesperson for the department.
The state is still determining how much and what type of mail was not delivered to Pennsylvania’s residents. It was unclear Friday why the vendor failed to send the state’s mail, where the mail was located when it was not in the state’s possession,how long the mail went unsent, and how the failure was not identified sooner.
The unsent mail could prove to be a major headache for Shapiro’s administration, depending on the magnitude of the issue and which state communications were not delivered to residents.
After discovering the backlog, the Department of General Services rapidly hired a new vendor to sort and deliver the unsent mail “as quickly as possible,” Vezzetti said. The unsent mail has already been transferred to the new vendor and the state estimates that it will be mailed by early next week.
According to an emergency contract made public Friday, the state hired technology solutions company Pitney Bowes for $1 million, citing its preparedness to process and resume mail operations. If the services were not immediately restored, it “could result in missed deadlines, loss of services, delayed benefits, legal exposure, and operational disruptions for multiple agencies and constituents,” according to contract.
The unsent mail from unspecified state agencies could include critical communications relating to state services, such as health benefits or food assistance, among other potential communications. State agencies send communications by mail about an individual’s eligibility for services or benefits, renewals and appeals, and whether a person is due to appear at a hearing about that eligibility, and more.
Vezzetti declined on Friday to confirm which agencies were impacted by the stalled mail, or to name the vendor that had been fired.
Pennsylvania lawmakers last month ended a 135-day-long state budget impasse that required counties, schools and social service organizations to take out loans or limit their services during the protracted budget fight.
The state is now taking steps to “carefully assess and mitigate impacts” of the mail delay and adjust deadlines for impacted residents.
Staff writer Ximena Conde contributed to this article.
Transport Workers Union Local 234, SEPTA’s largest union, may soon strike, according to president Will Vera.
At a Friday afternoon news conference at TWU headquarters in Spring Garden, Vera said his “patience has run out,” and he said the union’s executive committee was meeting to decide when to call a strike.
“I’m tired of talking, and we’re going to start walking,” said Vera, who was elected president in October.
Local 234’s latest contract expired Nov. 7, and the 5,000-member local voted unanimously on Nov. 16 to authorize leaders to call a strike if needed during contract negotiations.
The union represents bus, subway, and trolley operators, mechanics, cashiers, maintenance people, and custodians, primarily in the city.
John Samuelsen, president of TWU International and former president of NYC’s local, joined Vera at the news conference.
“A strike is imminent,” Samuelsen said. “SEPTA is the most incompetent transit agency in the country … SEPTA is triggering a strike.”
In an email sent Friday evening, Samuelsen called on leaders and staff members of TWU locals to travel to Philadelphia to help Local 234 in the event of a strike.
Andrew Busch, spokesperson for SEPTA, said negotiations were “at an impasse,” noting that the negotiating committees met only twice this week. He said SEPTA’s leaders hoped TWU would “take us up on the offer to continue to talk so we can avoid a strike and the massive service disruption it would cause.” No meetings are scheduled for the weekend as of Friday evening.
Vera agreed there was room for the two groups to keep talking, if SEPTA provided “a fair and reasonable” contract proposal.
The union says it is looking for a two-year deal with raises and changes to what it views as onerous work rules, including the transit agency’s use of a third party that Vera said makes it hard for members to use their allotted sick time.
SEPTA officials have signaled they are open to a two-year deal as a step toward labor stability.
In recent weeks, TWU and SEPTA have been negotiating contributions to the union’s healthcare fund. Pensions have arisen as a sticking point.
Union sources told The Inquirer that TWU leaders are increasingly frustrated with the pace of negotiations.
Vera said the executive board meeting began at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. He hoped the board would reach a decision on when members would walk off the job.
TWU last went on strike in 2016. It lasted for six days and ended the day before the general election. Democrat Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign was worried about voter turnout, and the city sought an injunction to end the strike. It proved unnecessary.
SEPTA’s financials
TWU’s contract negotiations are happening as SEPTA is emerging from what it has called the worst period of financial turmoil in its history.
Like many transit agencies, SEPTA was facing a recurring deficit due to inflation, fewer federal dollars, and flat state subsidies. It reported a $213 million recurring hole in its operating budget.
Following a prolonged and contentious debate over mass transit funding in the state budget, Gov. Josh Shapiro in September directed PennDot to allow SEPTA to tap $394 million in state money allocated for future capital projects to pay for two years of operating expenses.
And last month, he allocated $220 million to SEPTA, the second time in two years he’s flexed state dollars to support the financially beleaguered transit agency. While the $220 million is expected to go primarily toward capital expenses related to Regional Rail, the move helps SEPTA’s overall balance sheet.
What riders should know
SEPTA riders are no strangers to service disruptions.
