The weeklong saga startedin late June 1783, when a group of unpaid Revolutionary War soldiers marched against the country’s primitive government, then called the Confederation Congress, and sent them fleeing from Philly to Princeton, N.J.
There was a two-year delay between England’s surrender in 1781 and the end of peace negotiations that culminated with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in September 1783.
And the troops who fought for independence and remained on duty wanted to get paid.
Financial overseer Robert Morris thought it could take years to figure out the claims and payments for members of the Continental Army and state militias. So our new Congress, backed by Gen. George Washington, encouraged soldiers to go home and make money while the government got its act together.
According to the history archives of the U.S. House of Representatives, members of the Pennsylvania militias in Philadelphia and Lancaster were among the least happy with the lack of back pay and their discharge dates.
So on June 20, 1783,they mutinied.
Fewer than 100 officers and militiamen from Lancaster marched toward the seat of the new government in Philadelphia, to meet up with the other disgruntled soldiers.
The show of force, despite being nonviolent, combined with unfounded robbery rumors riled up the members of this crude Congress.
New York’s Alexander Hamilton demanded that the leader of Pennsylvania’s state government, John Dickinson, call in members of the still-loyal state militia to put down the rebellion.
Dickinson objected.
So when the Lancaster troops arrived at the Philly barracks that night, Hamilton decided to try to talk to them, and urge them to return home.
It did not go well.
The troops took exception to Hamilton’s signature arrogance and condescending tone.
The number of troops grew to about 400 by the next day, and they protested outside Independence Hall as their leaders met with Dickinson.
Hamilton pushed for the Confederation Congress to meet for an emergency gathering.
“Soldiers shook their fists and jeered when delegates peered out the windows,” according to House archives. “In the afternoon local tavern keepers, in an effort to calm and cheer the soldiers, gave away drinks — a tactic that unnerved Virginia Delegate James Madison inside.”
Delegates, feeling unsafe and disgusted by the protest, announced on June 22 that the Congress would flee to Princeton.
But when they arrived, the then-small town did not have enough beds for all of the delegates, who would return to Philadelphia four months later.
Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, order was restored as mutiny leaders fled and remaining mutineers who stayed offered apologies for the attempted rebellion.
After more than a century as a dry town, Collingswood is considering lifting its ban on alcohol sales within the borough.
For months, the three-person Collingswood Board of Commissioners has been discussing whether to lift the long-standing restrictions on liquor sales both as a potential new revenue source for the borough and as a way to bolster the local restaurant industry.
Per the state’s population-based license cap 一 one liquor license for every 3,000 residents — Collingswood would be able to issue as many as four retail consumption licenses that permit restaurants or bars to serve alcohol, or one distribution license for a liquor store within borough limits.
If liquor sales are eventually permitted, the borough could receive anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 annually through licensing and renewal fees.
But discussions are still preliminary as the commissioners work to determine what is best for Collingswood’s existing restaurant and business owners, borough administrator Cassandra Duffey said.
“There’s a general sense that liquor can be a good thing, but there’s a concern that if it’s done in a way that’s unbalanced, it can also throw people off,” she said.
“Is there strength in the dry-town brand that has been around for years and years?” Duffey said.
Tracing back to its Quaker roots, Collingswood has prohibited alcohol sales by ordinance since the 19th century.
A change to the policy would require public approval through a referendum during the November general election, borough solicitor Caitlin Harney Norcia said.
To begin that process, the borough’s commissioners would need to adopt a resolution by Aug. 21 so that the Camden County Clerk’s Office has enough time to add the question to the ballot. In order to adopt the resolution, at least 15% of voters who participated in the last general election must sign a public petition in favor of putting the question on the ballot, Harney Norcia said.
After that, “repealing any kind of prior restrictions could all be done relatively easily,” Harney Norcia said, describing the logistics of updating local ordinances if a referendum passes.
If voters approve lifting the ban, Harney Norcia said, the borough could either award licenses in a competitive bidding process, which could generate one-time revenue for Collingswood’s budget, or enact an application and review process that includes annual fees and public presentations by prospective licensees.
But if the measure were to fail on Election Day, Collingswood would be barred from holding another referendum on alcohol sales for five years, according to state law.
Some business owners have expressed concern that the public bidding process could result in one of the borough’s few licenses being awarded to an outside business instead of an established Collingswood restaurant, Duffey said.
“The challenge is not to disrupt the balance of businesses that already exist here,” she said. “If you get a bidder that gets a license from outside of town, sure, you get the revenue, but then you’ve added somebody and it doesn’t necessarily benefit one of our businesses.
“The other option is to award [the licenses] directly, but then somebody must make a decision on who gets them, which is also a challenge,” she added.
The commissioners are in continued talks with the borough’s business improvement team, local restaurateurs, and others about the best approach, she said.
“Is there a way to distribute licenses or award licenses that is a boost for everybody?” Duffey said.
The internal debate in Collingswood comes less than two years after residents in neighboring Haddon Heights voted to get rid of its de facto ban on liquor sales. The town has set a $200,000 minimum bid for its first retail liquor license and is currently accepting applications ahead of a public auction sale in September.
Haddon Heights is hoping to leverage the new liquor licenses as a way to help boost a broader revival and redevelopment, Mayor Zachary Houck said.
The licenses “would hopefully draw in one or two additional restaurants or enhance existing restaurants and let us then continue to move that ball forward when it comes to enhancing our downtown historic district,” Houck said.
Making more, and more affordable, liquor licenses available statewide was a goal of legislation then-Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law in 2024. The measure was touted as an unprecedented reform of New Jersey’s liquor laws, long described by critics as arcane and antiquated.
“By easing restrictions and boosting the availability of licenses, we are creating new opportunities for small businesses, especially mom-and-pop establishments, to expand and facilitate development on main streets across New Jersey,” Stella Porter, a spokesperson for Murphy, told The Inquirer that year.
“I had fun doing that,” describing “how AI algorithms were working on a microscopic level,” Mahin said.
Now an Upper Darby graduate, Mahin, 18, was honored at the White House earlier this month for a proposal he created for another use for AI: to combat human trafficking.
First lady Melania Trump praised Mahin and the other five winning teams of the inaugural Presidential AI Challenge at a June 9 ceremony.
“You saw AI’s potential and created ideas that will shape America’s future in many areas, including healthcare, nutrition, public safety, and beyond,” Trump told the winners, who were chosen from a field of 20,000.
Upper Darby graduate Khandakar Mahin, right, poses for a picture with First Lady Melania Trump at a June 9 ceremony honoring Mahin and other winners of the Presidential AI Challenge.
Mahin — who said he got to see the Oval Office and “network with many different types of people” — won for a proposal to use computer vision to match photos from the dark web to a database of 64,000 hotels.
The tool would identify details like carpet designs or headboard features in photos depicting trafficking, then match them to known hotels, using images scraped from the internet. Mahin created a framework and demonstration of the tool, and said hisproposal included ideas for how it could be scaled to be used by law enforcement nationwide.
The award, which Mahin said came with a $22,500 prize, was yet another achievement for Mahin, who will attend Harvard University this fall; he was also accepted to Yale and Princeton.
While at Upper Darby High School, he took 16 Advanced Placement classes and won an array of awards and scholarships, including being selected for the Amazon Future Engineers and the Disney Dreamers Academy earlier this year.
“This is a very bright kid who’s been looking into things like this for a long time,” said Dan McGarry, the superintendent of the Upper Darby School District.
Mahin immigrated to the United States with family from Bangladesh 12 years ago and has attended Upper Darby schools since then.
Mahin has been “heavily invested in being a contributor in a positive way to his school community,” McGarry said, noting that the recent graduate was involved in setting up local libraries. “It’s not just artificial intelligence. He’s also a good kid.”
But Mahin has a particular interest in AI. Mahin, who recently served as a student representative on Upper Darby’s school board, was among a group of students who joined school leaders in meeting with company representatives about the weapons detection system.
The students made a video about the system, which McGarry said was critical in getting student buy-in.
The district also sends students to the Delaware County Intermediate Unit to share their perspectives; Mahin has addressed othersuperintendents about AI, “the good and the bad,” McGarry said.
At Harvard, Mahin hopes to study political science and government with an aim toward creating “more ethical AI policies,” he said.
Mahin, who has already participated in programs at Princeton and MIT, credits teachers in Upper Darby — not just in computer science and math, but English, he said — with teaching him “how to have the grit to do research.” His award-winning AI project was supervised by Roseann Burns, an Upper Darby teacher who McGarry said works with gifted students.
Despite being an underfunded district, Upper Darby “has a lot of opportunities,” Mahin said. “As a student, you really have to seek out the opportunities if you really want it.”
While Mahin may stand out for the level of recognition he has received, McGarry said Upper Darby has many “amazingly talented, bright” students.
“That’s often overlooked, unfortunately,” McGarry said. He said Mahin “represents what I think makes this country great. … Every opportunity that was there, he took it.”
Skill games, or slot-machine look-alikes, are essential.
That’s according to corner stores, bars, laundromats, and smoke shops across Philadelphia, who say they keep their slim-margin businesses alive.
🎰 Skill games lived in a legal gray area for more than a decade because they aren’t taxed or regulated like typical slot machines.
🎰 That could change now that Pennsylvania’s highest court recently ruled that they are one and the same. Now the countdown starts for those terms to officially take effect in four months.
🎰 Harrisburg could intervene as the state budget deadline approaches, but state lawmakers have failed for years to agree on how to tax and regulate the machines.
Many area business owners said they’re willing to stomach a tax, but chafe at what they consider to be cumbersome regulations.
In their own words: “This business is about getting a little bit of money from every product, and the machines are a tiny source of income that adds up to that,” one corner store owner told The Inquirer.
Inquirer reporters Dana Munro, Gillian McGoldrick, Michelle Myers have the story.
In past years, the city’s budget process has followed a certain pattern for Mural Arts Philadelphia and other groups. This year was different.
Philadelphia’s nationally acclaimed program that puts colorful murals in neighborhoods and provides jobs was hoping for a boost in city funding. But the arts nonprofit learned that it will get substantially less.
The budget, ultimately agreed to by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration and City Council, will cut funding to Mural Arts — from $5.1 million in fiscal year 2026 to $3.7 million in 2027. Mural Arts is among many arts organizations retracting its proposed plans due to the proposed cuts.
Peco union workers plan to strike on the Fourth of July if they don’t have a contract by then. It would be the first worker strike in the company’s history.
Pennsylvania health officialshave now detected measles cases in York and Northumberland Counties as cases in Lancaster County, the center of an ongoing outbreak, continued to rise.
The Trump administration is suing Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, the city, and other officials over an ordinance that bars law enforcement officers from concealing their identities as part of the ICE Out legislative package.
The SEPTA board approved new labor contracts with the Fraternal Order of Transit Police Lodge 109 and three unions representing workers in the Regional Rail Division.
A woman has been charged with murder and other offenses after an arson attempt that killed one man and damaged five homes in Philadelphia’s Franklinville section.
Ember & Ash restaurant in South Philly is closed indefinitely after a late-night fire Wednesday sent flames to the roof through its ventilation system.
This week, we’re resurfacing an explainer about how Philly’s 21 police districts are enigmatically numbered. Why, for example, is South Philly, split into Districts 1, 3, and 17?
The department also seems to randomly omit numbers and mysteriously lists PHL as the 77th District. Here’s the full story.
Cheers to Jan Schmidt, who solved Thursday’s anagram: Jenkintown. SEPTA is planning an 86-unit apartment complex near the station.
Photo of the day
Khandakar Mahin stands for a portrait at Upper Darby High School this month. He is headed to Harvard this fall and hopes to pursue a career in AI ethics and policy.
One more thing: 18-year-old Khandakar Mahin, an Upper Darby graduate, was honored at the White House earlier this month for a proposal he created for another use for AI: to combat human trafficking.
👋🏽 Thanks to Inquirer intern Brian Nelson for his help co-writing today’s newsletter, and thanks to you for kicking off your weekend with us. Have a great one when you get there.
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.
Jack Pinkowski relished his time as a photojournalist for Temple University’s student newspaper when he was enrolled there in the 1960s.
And he always admired the work of his father, the late Edward Pinkowksi, an historian and author who founded a small newspaper in the Montgomery County borough of Bridgeport.
This month, Pinkowski, a 1968 Temple grad, and his wife, Monica, gave Temple a $1.25 million gift, a portion of which will for the first time endow the editor-in-chief position for the Temple News, as well as increase other staff salaries and pay for some story-related travel and new equipment.
Pinkowski said the need for journalists has never been more important, and he lamented the struggles print journalism has faced.
“We hope to show it a lifeline, give it some support to encourage people to go into that as a field of endeavor,” said Pinkowski, 78, of Plantation, Fla. “This named editorship is a tribute to my father for starting a newspaper and having a lifetime as a critical mind that searched for facts and put them together and brought stories to the enjoyment of people.”
Of the gift, $250,000 will be used to create an endowment for the student newspaper, and the remaining $1 million will fund scholarships of up to $10,000 per academic year for students to study at Temple’s Rome campus. Applicants must have knowledge of, coursework in, or a commitment to promoting Polish or Italian studies, history, or culture.
The Pinkowskis made their money by investing in and managing real estate as well as through other careers.
The couple both worked in businesses with global ties — Jack as an importer of furniture and Monica as an importer of gourmet foods to restaurants — and saw the merit in global study. They also both attended a study abroad program for adults at Temple Rome in 2024.
Given the federal government’s policies affecting foreign students, Pinkowski said, he thought it was important to support the Rome campus so that students have an alternative way to attend an American university.
Temple president John Fry said he especially likes that the gift is so personal and that it is widening access to students to participate in both studying on the Rome campus and working for the student newspaper.
“These are two really important experiences that many students have to forgo, and I think the Pinkowskis are making both of those possible,” Fry said. “Its meaning and impact are significant.”
The gift comes as the college prepares to close a record fundraising year, led by a record $55 million gift from alumnus Christopher Barnett in October and a large gift in April from alumna Jane Creamer Sullivan and her late husband, Thomas J. Sullivan, to start its new honors college.
A boost for the Temple News
John DiCarlo, managing director of student media and adviser to the Temple News, said its portion of the Pinkowski gift will be incredibly important in supporting the newspaper with a staff of 37, which last academic year ran on a $115,596 budget that largely covers salaries and print costs.
Most of the costs were covered by the university, with the newspaper responsible for raising $23,500 through ad revenue and other means. If the publication exceeds that goal — which it did last year, raising over $29,000 — it can funnel the additional money back into operations, DiCarlo said.
The new endowment, DiCarlo said, will bring in an additional $10,000 to $12,000 annually, depending on its earnings.
Incoming senior Sienna Conaghan, 20, who will be the inaugural Edward Pinkowski Editor-in-Chief, said she is grateful for the funding, which will cover her approximate $5,400 salary. And she is glad that salaries for other staffers can get boosted, too.
“We’re asking them to do full-time jobs on a college student’s budget and a college student’s schedule,” DiCarlo said. “It takes a lot out of them because they really care.”
Conaghan, a journalism major from West Yellowstone, Mont., estimates that she spends about 30 hours a week on Temple News work. She freelanced freshman year, was assistant sports editor sophomore year, and worked as sports co-editor last year.
The experience is more important than the paycheck, said Conaghan, who plans to pursue a career in sports journalism, but the money helps.
“It has really been everything,” Conaghan said of her Temple News work. “I think I’ve learned so much from working at the Temple News, from how to be a journalist and also just how to be an adult and a person.”
The Pinkowskis initially gave a gift to the Temple News in 2023 to help it reach a fundraising goal. The college wanted to be able to pay student journalists a little more because some were having to take on second jobs to generate more income, DiCarlo said. At that time, he said, he had no idea the couple would return with such a large gift three years later; it is the largest gift the Temple News has ever received.
“Monica and I are avid readers and avid followers of print journalism,” said Jack Pinkowski, a graduate of Philadelphia’s Central High School.
Pinkowski said his father decided to start the now-defunct Bridgeport South Side Press in 1950 because the community did not have a local paper. He also wrote history books about the local area, using skills he developed as a journalist, Pinkowski said.
The Pinkowskis have had other career experience in addition to real estate and import businesses.
He was a general contractor and wedding photographer early on and later spent 18 years as an associate professor of public administration at Nova Southeastern University’s school of business and entrepreneurship in Florida.
And she was a flight attendant at one time and as a child grew up working in a family traveling carnival business in Missouri — which helped pay for her education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Jack Pinkowski said the common thread in their endeavors has been “inquisitiveness and intellectual curiosity and the ability to take something where there’s nothing and make something of it.”
Both Temple officials and the Pinkowskis hope their gift will motivate others.
“I do believe that other people pay attention to that, and it makes them say, well, maybe they can do something as well,” Jack Pinkowski said.
Bozy Ennis taught his sons to fish on the weekends, leaving Germantown to catch trout, catfish, and sunnies. They cast their rods in Perkiomen and Phoenixville. They hung by the water in Gladwyne and New Hope. Bozy Ennis took his sons Derek and Farrah everywhere. But he never taught his youngest son, Jaron.
“You know why it skipped him?” Farrah Ennis said. “Because he and my dad were always in the gym. They didn’t have time to fish.”
Jaron Ennis is a world champion boxer on the verge of becoming a superstar. He was molded by his father in gritty neighborhood gyms they respectfully called “dungeons.” There was no time to fish.
But there he was last August with his brother Farrah — a former pro boxer — and an afternoon to fill in a California town near Lake Tahoe. The brothers traveled there so Jaron could train with Canelo Alvarez, one of boxing’s biggest names. Now he finally had time to fish.
The Ennis brothers sat for three hours as the sun set. Jaron Ennis — who is known as “Boots” — won his professional boxing debut in 42 seconds. Fishing proved to be a different challenge.
“We didn’t catch anything,” Farah Ennis said. “Fishing teaches you patience. For me, it’s not a big deal. I’ve been fishing for eight hours or longer and didn’t catch anything. You just have to have patience.”
Jaron Ennis says he wants to become the “face of boxing,” a role he’s seemed destined for since he turned pro. But his promise was often slowed by things outside the ring: litigation against a former manager, opponents unwilling to fight him, mandatory title defenses against overmatched foes, and a signature fight earlier this year that fell through while Ennis’ opponent was stuck in a lawsuit with his promoter.
The 28-year-old’s career has often felt like a fisherman waiting for a bite. But now things seem to be breaking his way. Ennis (35-0, 31 knockouts) will fight WBA and WBO super welterweight champ Xander Zayas (23-0, 13 KOs) on Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The bout, the main event of a DAZN pay-per-view telecast, is the biggest of Ennis’ career.
Jaron “Boots” Ennis will fight WBA and WBO super welterweight champ Xander Zayas on Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
A win would surge Ennis up boxing’s pound-for-pound lists, which he started to appear on earlier this year. It would then position him for a 154-pound unification fight against WBC champ Sebastian Fundora or a long-awaited bout against Vergil Ortiz, who was slated to fight Ennis this year. Defeat those three fighters and Ennis could stake a claim to being the face of the sport. His fishing rod finally has some nibbles.
“That’s why I’m trying to teach him fishing,” Farrah Ennis said. “You have to be patient.”
Next best option
Ennis flew to Texas in November to watch Ortiz’s fight from ringside and then climbed into the ring for a promotional staredown after Ortiz won by knockout. All signs pointed to Ennis and Ortiz meeting a few months later in a long-awaited title fight. But those plans were scrapped in March because of ongoing litigation between Ortiz and Golden Boy Promotions.
Ennis, left without a fight, said he told his own promoter — Eddie Hearn of Matchroom — to make a match with Zayas, a popular 23-year-old Puerto Rican fighter with a promising future. A few weeks later, it was official.
“That was the next best option,” Ennis said. “He has two belts. That’s halfway to being undisputed. That’s where I want to be. Winning two belts on June 27 and it’s only up. I’m going to be the face of boxing.”
Ennis never hid his ambition to land a big fight as he tried to arrange bouts with stars like Terrence Crawford, Errol Spence, and Keith Thurman. But none of those fights materialized, leaving Ennis to face lesser foes as he climbed the ranks. Saturday will be his biggest challenge. And he asked for it.
“We sounded everyone,” Bozy Ennis said. “That’s from the beginning of time. Everyone knows that. Then they go back and say, ‘He didn’t fight that guy.’ Well, you can’t fight the guys who don’t want to fight you. You know what I mean? Spence, Crawford, Thurman. All those guys, we sounded. We tried. ‘Oh, yeah. He didn’t really fight anyone.’ But they didn’t want to fight us and made up all kinds of excuses.”
Ennis’ biggest challenge will also come on his biggest stage: the main event of a pay-per-view. Headlining a pay-per-view is a status in the sport, something usually reserved for a fighter who can claim to be “the face of boxing.”
Ennis said he’ll know he’s the face of boxing when fight-night becomes an event. Remember how it was when Floyd Mayweather Jr. fought? Or the audience that tuned in last year to watch Terrence Crawford defeat Canelo Alvarez after Ennis sparred with him in camp? That’s what Ennis envisions. A win on Saturday will move him closer to that.
“It’s not boxing anymore at that point,” Ennis said. “It’s like a fashion show slash boxing slash concert. It’s an all-around thing, and that’s what I want my fights to be. I want everyone to come and enjoy themselves, get fly, get dressed, and enjoy a beautiful fight and a beautiful knockout that I’m going to deliver.”
“You have to have a fanbase that’s outside of just boxing. You have to have the rappers, the entertainers, the TV stars, the movie stars. That’s what I’m looking to do and that’s what I’m going to do come June 27.
“Everyone already knows me now. But after this performance I put on, the world is really going to see, and I’m going to be the face of boxing and a guy who everyone wants to see fight.”
Jaron Ennis after defeating Karen Chukhadzhian in an IBF World Welterweight title bout in 2024.
The face of boxing
Ennis spent 13 days last year in Alvarez’s camp, which he said he did not get paid to do as he made sure he wasn’t mistaken for a “sparring partner” before Alvarez met Terrence Crawford in the biggest fight of the year. Ennis was there to work just like Alvarez was. But he did get to spend nearly two weeks around a fighter who was often the face of boxing during his career. He saw how Alvarez worked and how he trained.
“He’s out there with the face of boxing and was just having a great time,” Farrah Ennis said. “That put it in his head like, if he’s the face of boxing, then so can I.”
The fighter’s biggest takeaway? Superstars are just as normal as him.
“We’re all normal,” Jaron Ennis said. “People think we’re not normal. We do normal stuff. Everybody thinks that since we’re on this high pedestal that we do these crazy things or have camp in a certain way. But it was just a normal camp.”
Ennis trains in the Northeast in the basement of an animal adoption center on Grant Avenue. Ennis’ father keeps the door locked because too many people brought their dogs to the gym thinking it was an animal clinic. It’s here where Ennis works nearly every day. His brothers assist his dad, and other fighters are from the Germantown neighborhood they call “Brickyard.”
“I don’t care how big I get, I’ll always train with my guys,” Ennis said. “That’s how you have to be. You can’t get too bigheaded when you get to a certain level. You always have to stay humble and grounded and keep working.”
Ennis has what it takes to be the face of boxing as he matches an affable personality with the skills to both dazzle and punish. He has won all but four of his fights via stoppage, yet is more than just a puncher. He can fight southpaw, has smooth defense, and has great footwork.
“People like to see him fight because he’s a boxer and he’ll fight you,” his father said. “People come to see you fight. They don’t want to see you run around. He does both. He can do what he wants to do, and I’m just waiting for someone to take him to another level. They haven’t seen anything yet.”
Bozy Ennis didn’t travel with his son to California last year, as the trainer has built a stable of world-class fighters that he works with along with Boots. He had to stay home in Philly while his son struggled to catch a fish. He said they would’ve caught something if his rod was in the water.
“Nah,” Boots shouted from across the gym. “He don’t got it anymore.”
The dad laughed. He said he’ll get back out there and prove that he can still fish. First, they have to see what they catch this weekend as their patience is finally being rewarded.
“You have to carry yourself like you’re the face of the sport,” Ennis said. “That’s how I carry myself already, and that’s how I’m going to carry myself June 27. I already fight how I fight. I fight fan-friendly. I have the speed. I have the power. I do everything. I’m explosive. I have defense.
“Whatever I do, people are going to want to see it. On June 27, I’m just going to stamp it and show even more and in an even better way.”
A new agreement between the Collingswood Board of Education and Collingswood Borough approved this week will open the door for a $10.5 million renovation of the school district’s athletic complex.
The three-person Collingswood Board of Commissioners voted in favor of the shared service agreement on June 17, and the 11-member Board of Education followed suit unanimously at its Monday meeting.
The agreement aims to update the school district’s recreation spaces and give the borough more access to school properties formerly closed to nonstudents, including auditoriums, classrooms, and athletic fields.
The public can now visit the district’s playgrounds and track facilities from 7 a.m. until dusk on days when students aren’t at school, including the summer months, weekends, and holidays. When school is back in session, those facilities will open when after-school activities end and close at dusk.
The new shared service agreement just lays out the formal framework for that collaboration and ensures the borough gets perks in return, like use of school property for July 4 celebrations and access to the new facilities.
Amy Henderson Riley, one of Collingswood’s commissioners, said the agreement gives the spending a dual purpose.
“When you work together, things can be kind of amazing. Everybody is being squeezed,” Henderson Riley said. “The word of the year is affordability.”
The project proposal, presented in October at a community forum on Collingswood’s recent 310-page recreation master plan, has a long list of goals. The district wants to convert the current grass football field into a multisport artificial turf field and build a new eight-lane track, along with adding a grass softball field, a concessions building, new bathrooms, a 1,500-seat grandstand, a student press box, and more improvements.
The firms involved so far include Remington & Vernick Engineers and Garrison Architects, Superintendent Fredrick McDowell said. A construction company won’t come on board until Collingswood and its school board publicize a bid package for construction work and review those bids at least 30 days later.
McDowell said Wednesday the goal is to start the project as soon as possible, though there’s no timeline yet for when the project could begin or wrap up. Students will continue to use existing facilities in the meantime.
A new grade school and park improvements
The remaining $4.5 million in bonded funds from the borough will likely be split between improvements to Knight Park, a 70-acre green space in the middle of Collingswood, and the potential acquisition of a new upper grade school.
The recreation presentation from October reported that $2.5 million of the $15 million bonded funds will go toward Knight Park upgrades.
Henderson Riley said her fellow commissioner Jim Maley is overseeing the steering committee for the Knight Park project. Maley did not return requests for comment.
The other $2 million could go to the acquisition of the former Good Shepherd Catholic School on Lees Avenue. The Collingswood School District has sought for years to convert Good Shepherd into an upper grade school building for fourth and fifth graders.
Henderson Riley said there is currently no information to share on the status of acquiring Good Shepherd.
The only way the school district could have afforded the athletic field renovations and these projects without collaboration with the borough is through a bond referendum, McDowell said, a vote at the ballot box to determine whether a school can borrow funds through the sale of bonds.
It would have also closed two elementary schools and allowed the district to acquire Good Shepherd and convert it into an upper grade school. The referendum would’ve raised Collingswood residents’ property taxes, since that’s how bonds are paid back.
One of those elementary schools, James Garfield Elementary, still closed due to budget cuts this week.
The 76ers weren’t a lock to make a selection in the NBA draft, especially after former president of basketball operations Daryl Morey made it clear that he traded Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder with the intention of flipping the first-round selection they received in return.
But the hiring of Mike Gansey in that same role brought a different philosophy, as the Sixers opted to keep their ears open to potential trades while also eyeing the best player available at No. 22. That turned out to be Labaron Philon Jr., an all-American at multiple levels who slipped on Tuesday night after previously being viewed as a lottery pick.
Philon, a 6-foot-3, 176-pound guard, will join a promising backcourt led by Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. Both players FaceTimed Philon on draft night and welcomed him to the team before also posting him on their personal social media profiles.
His brand of basketball will be welcomed by a Sixers team that needed better ballhandling and outside shooting.
We have plenty of time to get to know Philon on the court. Let’s take a beat to learn what he’s like away from it.
After winning Alabama Mr. Basketball, Labaron Philon Jr. found his way to the Crimson Tide.
He’s an Alabama legend.
Philon was a three-year starter at Baker High School in Mobile, Ala., where he picked up every accolade possible. Philon averaged 35 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.9 assists as a junior, won Class 7A Player of the Year twice and was named Alabama Mr. Basketball.
He added a little spice to the Alabama-Auburn rivalry.
Philon’s recruitment was a big deal in the state of Alabama as he became the first Mr. Basketball to commit to Auburn. That changed shortly after, however, after changes to the staff led Philon to withdraw his commitment. He then signed with Kansas before reopening his recruitment one final time and joined the Crimson Tide. That, of course, added a little bit more juice to the legendary rivalry between Alabama and Auburn.
The Crimson Tide came out on top this time, though, as Philon played a large part in their Elite Eight appearance in 2025 and shifted to a starring role as they reached the Sweet 16 in 2026. Philon also had a 3-1 record against the Tigers in his two college seasons.
He made a big jump as a sophomore.
Philon has described himself as a “ball hawk” on defense, and that is the role he played as a freshman with Alabama. While star Mark Sears led the Crimson Tide during their Elite Eight run, Philon averaged 10.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.4 steals.
That flipped in his sophomore season as Philon became the focal point of the offense. He made a big jump to 22 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1.2 steals. A major part of Philon’s rise was his decision to endure the draft process, take feedback, and apply it in his sophomore season, during which he made a concerted effort to improve his three-point shooting and playmaking.
Sixers first-round draft pick Labaron Philon Jr. poses with his family after he was introduced at the team practice facility on Thursday in Camden.
He slipped on draft night.
Philon was considered a potential lottery pick and he appeared on mock drafts as early as No. 16. Yet he sat in the green room watching his peers get selected before him. When the Sixers’ pick came up at No. 22, they considered Philon the best player on the board, and his wait came to an end. The reaction from Philon made it clear that he either expected to be selected or was simply overcome with emotion as tears formed while he hugged family members.
He’s close to rapper NoCap, another Mobile native.
Philon opted for a classic look on draft night, sporting a black and white suit and black-rimmed glasses. One accessory stood out, however, as he sported a large “16″ chain over his chest. Rapper NoCap, a fellow Mobile native, lent him the piece a couple of weeks ago for his big night. So it was fitting that he played music from NoCap and rap artist Lucki to start his day as he prepared for the draft.
Drexel men’s rowing has long dominated on the Schuylkill and Cooper Rivers, but now, it will have to navigate international waters.
The Dragons are racing in the Henley Royal Regatta, which takes place on the River Thames in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. They will compete in time trials on Saturday before they begin racing on Wednesday in an event that continues through July 5.
Drexel won its fifth consecutive points title at the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta in May, with the varsity eight boat reclaiming first place for its fourth top finish in five years. Head coach Matt Weaver said throughout the season that each race has felt like preparation for the Henley Regatta. The Dragons also competed at the IRA National Championship at Gold River in California three weeks after the Dad Vail.
“The Dad Vail was the deepest field ever this year, competitors from all over the country and even into Canada, so we feel like that prepared us really well,” Weaver said. “and then [since IRA we’ve] kind of been doing a training camp here in Philly with some good practices. We did some races against Vesper Boat Club, and we’re excited, and we’re going to feel good heading into Henley.”
Making the trip to England for the Henley for the first time in four years, the men’s team has been working on fundraising and logistics since the 2022 trip ended.
And since January, the team has been in collaboration with Drexel fashion design professors Liz Goldberg and Jaeyoon Jeong, along with three students, to design the blazers that the rowers will wear at the regatta.
“We’re really proud to have these designed and made here at Drexel, and in Philadelphia, specifically,” Weaver said. “I think there’s probably never been a rowing blazer that’s been specifically designed and constructed in Philly brought over to Henley, so probably the first of its kind there.”
With the program taking a trip overseas, Weaver said the rowers have focused on jet lag protocol ahead of their flight to make sure they are adjusted to the time zone.
During their day off on Sunday, the Dragons plan to roam London, Weaver said, hoping to gain educational and cultural experiences, but the focus is always on rowing and their upcoming races.
This is the first time Weaver is making the trip since becoming the head coach ahead of the 2023-24 season. He has, however, done it a few times as an assistant coach at the high school and college levels. He’s seen how the trip “pays huge dividends” for the following season, from connecting in races to the team living together in a shared house.
And it offers a new experience in terms of race format.
Unlike the other regattas the Dragons have participated in this season, Henley features a head-to-head, bracket-style format. Weaver described it as “a little bit like March Madness,” with the crew hoping for some upsets, and having to bring their best every day. The hope is that the Dragons make it to next weekend, but it all depends on their draw, Weaver said.
Drexel had head-to-head races against Columbia, Cornell, and Navy this season, but did not have the bracket style that Henley uses. In the head-to-head races, the varsity eight won against Columbia and Navy but fell to Cornell.
Drexel men’s rowing has three boats competing in the Henley Royal Regatta, which starts on Saturday with time trials.
The varsity eight is one of three Drexel boats racing in England.
The eight will be competing for the Temple Challenge Cup and face other college entries from around the world. The Dragons will also bring a coxed four to compete for the Prince Albert Cup, another college event. The third boat is a pair competing in an open event, which is the only pair event of the regatta and includes Olympians and high schoolers. The pairs race is for the Silver Goblets & Nickalls’ Challenge Cup.
“It’s an opportunity for us to get out and race some of the best crews in the world, even outside the U.S., so for us, it’s definitely a unique experience,” Weaver said. “This will set us up really well for next season. We return like 49 of the 55 guys that were on our team. So, the guys that are making this trip are setting the tone for next year.”
Two environmental activist groups say they plan to organize resistance against a plan to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Eddystone, a small borough in Delaware County.
They say the facility would threaten not only the environment, but also public safety.
The Delaware Riverkeeper Network and Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living (CRQL) said during an online meeting Wednesday that documents show negotiations have beenhappening behind closed doors for more than a year.
They cited a newly released tranche of documents that show the plan has progressed with nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) with state officials.
More than a year ago, U.S. Sen. David McCormick (R., Pa.) wrote an opinion piecein the Washington Times publicly announcing the $7 billion project by Penn America Energy to build the terminal along the Delaware River in Eddystone.
Tracy Carluccio, deputy director of the nonprofit Delaware Riverkeeper Network, said the documents show that the administration of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Eddystone officials have been talking to, or in negotiations with, a developer for at least a year.
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The environmental groups say Eddystone Borough officials initially denied open records requests about those negotiations, prompting a yearlong legal mediation.
The planned facility aims to produce 7.2 million tons of LNG per year from Pennsylvania’s rich Marcellus Shale deposits, Carluccio said, based on a presentation by Penn America to Eddystone Borough on March 7 that was obtained through a records request.
“There have been no public meetings or public disclosure about the proposed project,“ she said, adding that “the public knows nothing about this, and Eddystone Borough knows all about it.”
Carluccio said nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) and confidential meetings involving high-level state and local officials have helped shield the project from public scrutiny.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental protection said it had not had any pre-application meetings regarding a proposed LNG export facility and no permits for such a facility are under review.
In a statement from Eddystone Borough, officials said they are aware of the “public discussion” regarding a potential LNG facility. The statement said that members of Borough Council met with representatives of the project last year “for informational” purposes.
“Those meetings did not constitute approval or endorsement of any future development,” the statement said. “No approval action is currently before Borough Council.”
If an application is submitted, the statement said, the borough would conduct a “thorough review” and that the process would be open to the public.
Pa.’s drive toward LNG
State, public utility, and elected officials, as well as unions, have been working toward locating an LNG facility inSoutheastern Pennsylvania, although no site has been formally proposed.
The Philadelphia LNG Task Force was created from legislation introduced in 2022 by State Rep. Martina White (R., Philadelphia) to explore the possibility of the first liquefied natural gas export facility along the Delaware River. Former Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, signed the legislation to form the task force.
Although McCormick noted Eddystone as a location, no official planning documents have beensubmitted to Eddystone or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
According to records obtained through Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Act, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) entered into a formalized nondisclosure agreement with Eddystone Energy LLC in October 2025.
The DCED issued a statement to The Inquirer saying that it “routinely discusses potential projects with companies seeking to do business in the Commonwealth.”
The agency said the discussions are confidential because they involve proprietary information from companies.
“Maintaining confidentiality in such discussions is common practice in the business development industry across the country,” the statement said.
A draft NDA was additionally distributed between Eddystone Borough Council and Penn America Energy Holdings, though it appears it was never officially finalized, Carlucci said.
Advocates say that Franc James, CEO of the now-dissolved Penn America Holdings LLC, has been the primary figure driving the LNG project forward, alongside an array of state politicians.
On Wednesday,Carluccio asserted James isbehind Eddystone Energy LLC, a Delaware corporation formed in May 2025.
Internal records reveal that meetings have involved representatives from the offices of Shapiro, State Sen. John Kane, McCormick, and State Rep. Dave Delloso, as well as Eddystone Borough officials.
For example, a document from Shapiro’s office shows there was an hourlong meeting in February with Eddystone Mayor Ronald Hughes, Borough President William Stewart, Kane, James, multiple union representatives, and Technip Energies, an international energy infrastructure developer with a specialty in LNG.
And James wrote an email dated July 11 to Samuel Robinson, Shapiro’s deputy chief of staff, stating that the “LNG Eddystone team” would attend the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit that same month in Pittsburgh. The summit was organized by McCormick.
Community reaction
An LNG facility along the Delaware River waterfront in Southeastern Pennsylvania has been discussed for years with James’ Penn America Energy Holdings, also referred to as Penn LNG.
Though no location had been firmly named, it was initially believed Chester would be the host. However, that location received massive pushback from residents led by Zulene Mayfield, founder of the CRQL advocacy group, and resulted in a political turnover in the city. No project was ever formally proposed for Chester.
The environmental advocates say the plan for Eddystone is well underway despite the lack of public input. Mayfield said she plans to organize Eddystone residents to oppose it.
“This project is already rolling, that’s what we’re telling you,“ Mayfield said Wednesday in the webinarshehosted withCarluccio. ”The attempt is already being made to put it right in Eddystone.”
Mayfield and Carluccio said the borough is too small to host a large LNG export facility, which typically span 1,000 acres. The borough is one-square mile.
They also fear that an explosion or fire could not only reach neighboring towns but also stretch across the river to New Jersey.
