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  • Union continue to bolster defense with signing of Colombian centerback Geiner Martínez

    Union continue to bolster defense with signing of Colombian centerback Geiner Martínez

    It was a theme throughout last year with the Union that they were short on centerback depth, especially after Ian Glavinovich went down early in the season.

    They did remarkably well with what they had, thanks to Olwethu Makhanya’s impressive development and Nathan Harriel shifting over from his usual outside back spot.

    But that was never intended as the long-term solution, especially with Concacaf Champions Cup and Leagues Cup games on this year’s schedule.

    With Japhet Sery Larsen set as Jakob Glesnes’ replacement, the Union made that needed depth move on Tuesday, signing 23-year-old Colombian Geiner Martínez from Uruguayan club Juventud.

    That should give the club three starting-caliber centerbacks, with Harriel and 19-year-old Finn Sundstrom as backups. The Union paid a transfer fee of just under $1 million for Martínez, a source with knowledge of the deal told The Inquirer.

    The deal had been in the works for quite some time, with the first report emerging from South America nearly two months ago. Martínez’s contract is through the 2027-28 season, with team-held options for the two seasons after that. (Union fans should get used to seeing seasons labeled this way, as MLS heads toward its swap to a winter-centric schedule next year.)

    Martínez will be added to the Union’s active roster after he receives his international transfer certificate and P1 visa. The Colombian centerback will occupy an international roster slot for the Union.

    “Geiner is a young, strong player who brings intensity and a physical presence to our back line,” Union manager Bradley Carnell said in the team’s release.

    The Union need the reps that their busy preseason schedule is giving them

    “The experience he’s gained through earning promotion in two consecutive seasons is valuable. He is a competitor and dedicated to defending within our identity. We look forward to getting him integrated quickly with the team.”

    The writing perhaps was on the wall earlier this week, courtesy of a cryptic message on X, where he was photographed with former Juventud teammate Ramiro Peralta, who wrote “Vamos hermano” and tagged Martínez in an Instagram story on Jan. 28.

    On Tuesday, Peralta offered congratulations to Martínez via another Instagram story.

    Ramiro Peralta hinted at the Union signing centerback Geiner Martinez last week in a cryptic Instagram message.

    Martínez is the club’s second defensive international signing this offseason. After sending Glesnes to Los Angeles FC in December, the Union signed Larsen from Norwegian club SK Brann for a fee of about $938,000. The Union also acquired Sundstrom in a trade with D.C. United to bolster its back line.

    Martínez played a key role for Juventud as the club won promotion from the second division to the top Uruguayan league, Liga AUF Uruguaya, in 2024. Martínez played in 12 of Juventud’s 15 games in the fall half of Uruguay’s 2025 season, from mid-August through late October.

    Bradley Carnell opens up about what drives him and his tactics as Union manager

    He also spent time in 2025 on loan at second division side Central Español FC, which finished second and received promotion to the top division.

    At a news conference before the team left for its preseason camp in Spain, Jon Scheer, the Union’s director of academy and professional development, made it clear that the team was not done acquiring players in this winter’s transfer window.

    Jon Scheer has been the public face of the Union’s front office this offseason with sporting director Ernst Tanner on leave.

    Another forward will soon join the ranks in 23-year-old Agustin Anello. A South Florida native, he moved to Barcelona, Spain, with his family at a young age. He has played for clubs in Spain, Belgium, Croatia, Netherlands, and, most recently, Uruguay.

    Anello made his last move, to Boston River in Uruguay’s capital city, Montevideo, in the summer of 2024. Boston River happens to be the club on which the Union parked forward prospect José Riasco on loan from September 2023 to August 2024, right before Anello arrived there.

    While those players would not have crossed paths, Anello does know some others with Union ties. In November 2023, he was teammates with Harriel and Jack McGlynn on the U.S. under-23 national team. The Union will pay a $2 million transfer fee, a source with knowledge of the matter said, confirming The Athletic’s initial report of the number.

    The Union set a club record by signing Ezekiel Alladoh this winter. The Ghanaian striker arrived from Sweden’s IF Brommapojkarna for a fee of $4.5 million in December.

    The MLS transfer window will close on March 26, leaving the Union with time to make more deals if they wish.

    The Union will begin the season with a Concacaf Champions Cup match against Trinidadian champion Defence Force FC in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on Feb. 18. The team opens its MLS regular season with a match at D.C. United on Feb. 21.

  • Immigration agents draw guns, arrest activists following them in Minneapolis

    Immigration agents draw guns, arrest activists following them in Minneapolis

    MINNEAPOLIS — Immigration officers with guns drawn arrested some activists who were trailing their vehicles on Tuesday in Minneapolis, a sign that tensions have not eased since the departure last week of a high-profile commander.

    At least one person who had an anti-ICE message on clothing was handcuffed while face-down on the ground. An Associated Press photographer witnessed the arrests.

    Meanwhile, Tuesday was the deadline for the Minnesota governor, state attorney general and the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul to produce documents to a federal grand jury in response to a Justice Department request for records of any effort to stifle the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Officials have denounced it as a bullying tactic.

    Federal agents in the Twin Cities lately have been conducting more targeted immigration arrests at homes and neighborhoods, rather than staging in parking lots. The convoys have been harder to find and less aggressive. Alerts in activist group chats have been more about sightings than immigration-related detainments.

    Several cars followed officers through south Minneapolis after there were reports of them knocking at homes. Officers stopped their vehicles and ordered activists to come out of a car at gunpoint. Agents told reporters at the scene to stay back and threatened to use pepper spray.

    There was no immediate response to a request for comment from the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    A federal judge last month put limits on how officers treat motorists who are following them but not obstructing their operations. Safely following agents “at an appropriate distance does not, by itself, create reasonable suspicion to justify a vehicle stop,” the judge said. An appeals court, however, set the order aside.

    Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, who was leading an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and other big U.S. cities, left town last week, shortly after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, the second local killing of a U.S. citizen in January.

    Trump administration border czar Tom Homan was dispatched to Minnesota instead. He warned that protesters could face consequences if they interfere with officers.

    Grand jury seeks communications, records

    Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey’s office said it was complying with a grand jury subpoena requesting documents about the city’s response to Operation Metro Surge, but it released no other details.

    “We have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide, but when the federal government weaponizes the criminal justice system against political opponents, it’s important to stand up and fight back,” spokesperson Ally Peters said.

    Other state and local offices run by Democrats were given similar requests. People familiar with the matter have told the AP that the subpoenas are related to an investigation into whether Minnesota officials obstructed enforcement through public statements.

    No bond for man in Omar incident

    Elsewhere, a man charged with squirting apple cider vinegar on Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar will remain in jail. U.S. Magistrate Judge David Schultz granted a federal prosecutor’s request to deny bond to Anthony Kazmierczak.

    “We simply cannot have protesters and people — whatever side of the aisle they’re on — running up to representatives who are conducting official business, and holding town halls, and assaulting them,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Bejar said Tuesday.

    Defense attorney John Fossum said the vinegar posed a low risk to Omar. He said Kazmierczak’s health problems weren’t being properly addressed in jail and that his release would be appropriate.

  • Temple coach K.C. Keeler didn’t lose any starters to the transfer portal: ‘They saw the vision’

    Temple coach K.C. Keeler didn’t lose any starters to the transfer portal: ‘They saw the vision’

    When K.C. Keeler was hired as Temple’s football coach in 2024, his goal was to make the Owls into American Conference contenders.

    In his first season, Temple finished 5-7 (3-5 in the American). The Owls missed a bowl game for the sixth consecutive season but showed they are heading in the right direction.

    Now, it’s back to the drawing board. Keeler said the first step was to get Temple’s key players from this season to remain on the roster. The Owls have lost serval starters to the transfer portal in years past, but that wasn’t the case this offseason.

    Temple didn’t lose a single starter to the transfer portal and kept its core group of players to ensure some continuity heading into 2026.

    K.C. Keeler addressed Temple’s needs in the transfer portal. First, he recruited his locker room.

    “We’re probably one of the only [Group of Five] schools in the country that didn’t lose a single starter,” Keeler said. “And that was a lot of work in terms of making sure that they saw the vision moving forward and we were all comfortable with getting this thing done in the world of revenue share we now live in — you have to work through some things. But to get all of our starters to come back … and there’s a number of our starters that were highly coveted prizes out there in the open market.”

    Temple was close to making its first bowl game appearance since 2019, under coach Rod Carey. This time, the Owls were a few points away from being 7-5.

    Temple lost to Navy, 32-31, after Midshipmen quarterback Blake Horvath ran 51 yards for a touchdown with 39 seconds remaining. The Owls lost to Army, 14-13, when the Black Knights held the ball for the final nine-plus minutes.

    “We’re building something special around here,” guard Eric King said. “We were two points away from being 7-5 and being in a bowl game. So, a completely different culture in the facility and throughout the organization. In order to keep building on that, you don’t want to have to bring in 60 people in the portal. You want to keep the guys who have played and who have been through the system and who understand what this new brand of football is about.”

    King is one of the main players returning to Temple next season. He had no intention of leaving, either.

    The Owls kept the offensive line intact. Alongside King, left tackle Giakoby Hills, who initially was the backup to Kevin Terry, became a starter after Terry suffered a sprained knee ligament on Aug. 9. Hills never gave up the job.

    After the redshirt freshman started every game this past season, Hills was on the radar of some Power Four schools. However, Hills and Temple worked out a multiyear deal in December, which made him one of the highest-paid players in the Group of Five.

    Report: Temple makes offensive lineman Giakoby Hills among highest-paid Group of Six players

    Temple’s biggest returner, though, is tight end Peter Clarke, a London native who finished with 483 receiving yards and six touchdowns and earned a second-team all-conference nod in 2025. Clarke wanted to stay with the same team that gave him a chance three years ago.

    “I had nothing before I came to Temple,” Clarke said. “I’m a foreign guy who a lot of schools didn’t want to take a chance on. Temple gave me hope. They promised me a dream that I could chase here, and they fulfilled every single promise.”

    Clarke became an instrumental part of Temple’s retention plan, hosting recruits on visits and speaking about his journey to the team at alumni events. It has given him the chance to connect with potential teammates and higher-ups at the university.

    Temple tight end Peter Clarke finished with 483 receiving yards in 2025.

    The tight end had been a highly coveted player, with Power Four programs attempting to sign him. However, Clarke rejected those offers, which came with more money, to remain an Owl.

    “When a guy like [Clarke] chooses to stay, maybe another guy who could make another $5,000-$10,000, somewhere else [will stay as well],” general manager Clayton Barnes said. “When someone’s leaving thousands of dollars on the table, that really sends a message to the rest of the locker room: ‘There’s a reason why I stayed. There’s reason why you should stay.’”

  • 300 ‘ambassadors’ to chip away at ice on Philly’s crosswalks

    300 ‘ambassadors’ to chip away at ice on Philly’s crosswalks

    Those stubbornly frozen crosswalks with mounds of snow and ice across Philadelphia are getting chipped away with the assist of a 300-person workforce, starting Tuesday.

    The 300 ambassadors, as they are called, are tasked with manually breaking up ice at crosswalks and streets in residential neighborhoods, according to Mayor Cherelle. L Parker.

    “We are not resting and stopping until every street in the city of Philadelphia is walkable and drivable, and that people feel it when they are driving it and they see it in their neighborhoods,” she said Monday, highlighting the nonstop work municipal workers had been doing since the largest snowfall in a decade blanketed the city with 9.3 inches on Jan. 25.

    Many Philly side streets remain full of snow and ice days after Sunday’s storm

    The dayslong cold snap that followed, however, has complicated dig-out efforts for the city and led to widespread complaints from residents. Photos of commercial corridors with piles of ice on crosswalks, unplowed side streets, untreated SEPTA bus and trolley stops, and unshoveled sidewalks next to public parks and recreation centers flooded social media after the storm as the city asked for patience.

    Philly threatened shoveling fines. Then it left its own parks and properties snowy and icy.

    Still, Parker said Monday that the city has melted 4.7 million pounds of snow, put down 15,000 tons of salt on streets and roadways, and treated at least 85% of streets at least one time.

    The city has deployed snowplows, compactors, front-end loaders, backhoes, and a snow melter that came from Chicago, the mayor said. And just this weekend, the city made a “coordinated pedestrian safety push,” working across city agencies as well as SEPTA and the Philadelphia School District to clear bus stops, school crossings, crosswalks, and ADA ramps.

    The Philadelphia Streets Department has also tapped into its Future Track Program for snow-removal efforts. The trainees are typically at-risk young adults who are not enrolled in higher education and are unemployed. They get job experience, as well as other services, and they help in beautification projects. In the snow cleanup, Parker said, the trainees cleared more than 1,600 ADA ramps.

    Heavy equipment clearing snow along S. Broad Street at Dickinson Street.

    Carlton Williams, the city’s director of clean and green initiatives, said the hundreds of workers aiding in the cleanup have made significant progress in areas like North Philadelphia; South Philadelphia, which was the epicenter of 311 complaints days after the snowfall; and Manayunk, which posed a challenge because of its hills.

    He noted the complexity of the city’s narrow residential streets, which required bringing in specialized equipment, and where he previously said cleanup was further complicated by illegal parking.

    Throughout the week, the city had also conducted lifting operations where machines dumped snow and ice into dumpsters to be hauled to storage sites across the city.

    A Facebook video on the mayor’s social media page, along with responses to clips of the dig-out update shared online, offered a glimpse of how residents feel. Parker, many said rising to her defense, cannot control the freezing temps. Others were less forgiving, listing their blocks as forgotten sections in the cleanup.

    Philly is far from alone in the continued cleanup efforts hampered by below-freezing temperatures. At the request of Washington, D.C., officials, 50 National Guard members were deployed over the weekend to help clear schools of snow. Baltimore was able to get a snow melter on loan from D.C. this week, a machine officials told WBAL-TV the city had not needed in a decade.

    Even New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who received generally good marks on cleanup from the media in the early days after the storm, was pressed by reporters Monday on lingering snowbanks and delays in trash pickup.

    In Philadelphia on Tuesday, the city conducted a snow-clearing operation along a 1.5-mile stretch of Broad Street through 6 p.m., towing cars along the street in South Philly to make way for equipment on the major corridor.

    City workers received the slightest respite as they continued snow-clearing efforts as temperatures reached the mid-30s Monday and Tuesday.

  • 12 romantic, under-the-radar restaurants in Philly and the suburbs

    12 romantic, under-the-radar restaurants in Philly and the suburbs

    Some of the region’s most romantic meals aren’t happening at buzzy hotspots or white-tablecloth institutions. They unfold in neighborhood fixtures you may have overlooked, suburban newcomers still flying under the radar, or dining rooms better known to locals than Instagram. Here are a dozen such places — newer openings and longtime standbys where intimacy comes from lighting, pacing, service, and the feeling that the room is yours for the night. — Michael Klein

    Abyssinia

    The promise of romance sparks when a combo platter hits your table at this time-honored West Philly restaurant with a not-so-secret bar upstairs. Maybe you and your lover’s fingers graze as you tear the same piece of spongy injera, or your hands touch while scooping up a pile of doro wot, a delectably spicy and berbere-laden chicken stew. First called Red Sea when it opened in 1983, Abyssinia is considered Philly’s first Ethiopian restaurant and has an unofficial rep as nothing more than a neighborhood spot or the place for a large-yet-affordable group dinner. That doesn’t mean it isn’t without its own brand of first (or fifth, or 500th) date magic: The waitstaff is small, which means you’ll have more than enough time to run through the get-to-know-you questions and stare into each other’s eyes before your platter arrives, distracting you with garlicky beef tibs or aromatic misir wot. If things are going well, head to Upstairs at Abyssinia, the charming second-floor cocktail bar formerly known as Fiume with a rotating schedule of live music and comedy shows. — Beatrice Forman

    229 S. 45th St., 215-387-2424, instagram.com/abyssiniabarrestaurant

    Casablanca Mediterranean Grill

    One moment, you’re standing in the Italian Market, the next you’ve been transported to a Middle Eastern living room tented with richly embroidered fabrics, a flickering hearth, and kilim-draped couches beside low tables with brass trays. The name suggests Morocco, but the Baruki brothers, Walid and Talal, draw on their Lebanese and Syrian background for a pan-Mediterranean experience. The prix-fixe menu required on weekends and during special events is ideal for couples and friendly double-daters who like to relax and share, grazing first on a trio of mezze (cumin-y slow-roasted eggplant is the star) before diving into the generous entrees. Tender Moroccan roast chicken with lemon and green olives was my favorite (order it mild, with a side of fresh harissa spice), while the Syrian-style mujadara of bulgur wheat, lentils, and caramelized onions is a vegan winner. Uncork a bottle of Lebanese red wine from the full bar, settle into your pouf, and linger over some a la carte menu extras (like the silky signature hummus with spiced ground beef) until complimentary baklava and sweet mint tea arrive to send you dreamily back into the South Philly night. — Craig LaBan

    Casablanca Mediterranean Grill, 947 Federal St., 267-324-5165; casablanca-grill.com

    Coco Thai Bistro

    The atmosphere inside this Narberth BYOB is a cross between a tropical greenhouse and Anthropologie’s home decor section. Plants line the walls and wrap around the staircase of the two-story dining room, with monstera leaves and elephant ears folding over tables and chairs. A hefty dose of twinkle lights adds to the atmosphere. It’s the kind of place where you’ll see older couples alongside high school sweethearts celebrating their one-month anniversary. There’s a solid menu that combines homestyle Thai curries with street food. Think fried grouper fillets to dip in a chili and garlic sauce, or pad kra tiem (a garlic-pepper stir fry). Corkage is just $5, so you can splurge on dessert: tang yuan, or rice balls stuffed with black sesame paste, served in a bowl of warm ginger tea. It’s like a wintery version of mochi. — Beatrice Forman

    231 Haverford Ave., Narberth, 610-667-7634, cocobistro.com

    Jolene’s

    This chic, modern West Chester bistro from 3 West Hospitality (who also own the less-upscale Slow Hand, Square Bar, Jitters, and Brickette Lounge) blends French-leaning food with a strong cocktail and wine list in a moody, unstuffy dining room with a semiprivate adjacent bar. The downtown location makes it easy to turn dinner into a longer night, with a walk afterward or a second stop nearby. It’s romantic in a social, lively way — ideal for date nights that start with dinner and stretch into drinks and conversation. — Michael Klein

    29 E. Gay St., West Chester, 484-999-3656, joleneswc.com

    La Belle Epoque

    Named after France’s golden age, La Belle Epoque has been a Media staple for more than 20 years, serving Burgundy-style French cuisine in a quaint dining room that looks not unlike an Emily in Paris backdrop. The restaurant has an extensive wine list with bottles that hit seemingly every region of France — rosé from the Rhône Valley, riesling from Alsace, and sauvignon blanc from Bordeaux — alongside a menu of hearty bistro entrees. There’s the classic steak frites and filet mignon with potatoes, but the way to really impress your date is to try something a tad more adventurous, like escargots de Bourgogne (chewy snails served in the shell with a garlic-butter sauce), pan-roasted duck in a sweet pomegranate and red wine reduction, or bucatini topped with chanterelles and a dollop of caviar. Planning to go the distance with your boo? Make plans to return in the summer for Dining Under the Stars, Media’s yearly open streets program that adds an extra layer of romance. — Beatrice Forman

    38 W. State St., Media, 610-566-6808, labellebistro.com

    L’Olivo Trattoria

    This new Northern Italian-leaning trattoria brings a sense of warmth and familiarity to Exton’s Eagleview Town Center, where chef Francis Pascal and wife Nui (Birchunville Store Cafe and Butterscotch Pastry Shop) have jazzed up the former Suburban Restaurant & Beer Garden. There’s a hushed air of formality in the dining room, while those seeking more energy opt for the bar or adjacent lounge seating. Pay close attention to the pastas, notably the luscious creste di gallo napped in ricotta and lemon zest, and the signature perciatelli Nui Nui, which Pascal created for his Thailand-born wife: hollow, bucatini-like perciatelli tossed in a rich Thai red curry sauce with coconut milk, lemongrass, and chunks of Maine lobster. Italian labels predominate the wine list, although the cocktail shakers get quite the workout, too. — Michael Klein

    L’Olivo Trattoria, 570 Wellington Square (Eagleview Town Center), Exton, 610-340-8115, lolivotrattoria.com

    Malbec Argentinian Steakhouse

    At first glance, this Argentinian steakhouse doesn’t exactly scream “romantic”: The cowprint pillows, framed photos of cowboys, and signature large hunks of steak are not for couples seeking an upscale-steakhouse level of fancy. But what Malbec excels at is the details: flan is served in the shape of a heart, a staff who will gladly pipe “felicidades” in caramel sauce on the plate for anniversary or engagement dinners, a showstopping paradilla platter intended for two. The last combines a marbled short rib with skirt steak, chorizo, and blood sausage (debatedly an aphrodisiac) spiced with onions and a hint of cinnamon. Less carnivorous couples can opt for the seafood paella for two, which comes in a cast-iron skillet piled high with saffron rice, calamari, shrimp, and mussels. Naturally, the wine list features more than a dozen Argentinian malbecs, including one of the world’s first white varieties. — Beatrice Forman

    400 S. Second St., 215-515-3899; malbecsteakhouse.com

    Mary

    Serial entrepreneur Chad Rosenthal’s latest spot in downtown Ambler is a compact BYOB whose bar serves as intimate side-by-side seating while the two- and four-tops along the walls give adequate privacy. Count on steady, unpretentious service and Rosenthal’s tight but creative menu — usually just a few starters (like a grilled cheese tartine and coq au vin chicken wings) and four entrees (steak frites au poivre and a showstopping burger with melted provolone over slow-simmered onions and banana peppers). — Michael Klein

    Mary, 47 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, 267-468-7580, maryambler.com

    Northridge at Woolverton Inn

    Up a winding country road and through the trees, corporate career-changers Mary and Mario Passalacqua have restored the 1830s stone barn adjacent to their country inn into a restaurant and event space that’s minutes from downtown Stockton and the Delaware River. Beneath a cathedral ceiling is Northridge’s intimate dining room, complete with a fireplace, rustic charm, warm lighting, and enough room between tables to keep conversations private. It’s BYOB, though they sell wines from nearby Federal Twist Vineyards. Chef Lance Knowling’s prix-fixe menu — two courses, but opt for a third so you can linger longer — leans toward seasonal American comfort food, including steaks. Note that Sunday supper is à la carte and usually includes Kansas City-style barbecue ribs. — Michael Klein

    Northridge at Woolverton Inn, 6 Woolverton Rd., Stockton, N.J., 609-397-0802, northridgebarn.com

    Revell Hall

    Chef Joey Sergentaki and partners are breathing new life into the former Cafe Gallery/Riverview in downtown Burlington. Their High Street restaurant balances historic character with a polished dining room located peacefully away from the industrial-chic, concrete-topped cocktail bar, which can get noisy at happy hour. The menu is built for sharing — seafood, meats, and globally influenced dishes that encourage tasting across the table. By day, the Delaware River views are spectacular, while in the evening the dining room glows beneath globe lighting. — Michael Klein

    Revell Hall, 219 High St., Burlington, N.J., 609-232-7555, revellhall.com

    Spring Mill Cafe

    Set in a 19th-century farmhouse just a short drive from Conshohocken’s office parks, this country-French BYOB has been one of the Philadelphia area’s most quietly romantic spots since chef Michele Haines opened in 1978. Low ceilings, candlelight, and small, well-spaced tables encourage conversation, while the menu — now overseen by son Ezra — features comfort classics like pâté, rabbit, and slow-cooked meats. Count on friendly, unhurried service. In warmer months, the garden patio adds another layer of charm, especially at dusk. Spring Mill isn’t flashy or trendy. It’s romantic in the old-fashioned sense, built around the feeling that time has slowed down for the night. — Michael Klein

    164 Barren Hill Rd., Conshohocken, 610-828-2550, springmill.com

    Stina

    Maybe it’s the quirky, eclectic gold-framed art carefully jigsawed onto the warm brick walls. Maybe it’s Melina Mercouri’s husky voice wafting through the speakers, entangled with the strains of a bouzouki. Or maybe it’s the warmth that emanates from Stina’s live-fire brick oven. But put all of these things together and wrap them up with plates of tender grilled octopus, shatteringly crisp spanakopita, and beef-filled dolmades (all generously portioned but not too big for two to share) and you have magic. Stina is an impossibly charming BYOB, a perfect venue to huddle at a small table with your love. You may also feel the love of its married owners, chef Bobby Saritsoglou and Christina Kallas-Saritsoglou (for whom the restaurant is named). Their love for one another and for their community is felt in every carefully considered crevice of the restaurant. — Kiki Aranita

    1705 Snyder Ave., 215-337-3455, stinaphiladelphia.com

  • Pentagon warns Scouts to restore ‘core values’ or lose military support

    Pentagon warns Scouts to restore ‘core values’ or lose military support

    The Pentagon issued a warning late Monday to Scouting America, formerly known as the Boy Scouts, saying the organization risks losing its long-standing partnership with the U.S. military unless it rapidly implements “core value reforms.”

    The public warning, delivered on social media by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, comes just months before thousands of Scouts are expected in West Virginia for National Jamboree, a once-every-four-years camping summit that relies on hundreds of National Guard and active-duty service members for medical, security, and logistical support. A sudden loss of that support could jeopardize the youth gathering.

    The organization has been in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s crosshairs for years, ever since the group allowed girls to join and in 2024 said it would rebrand as Scouting America to project its inclusiveness. Hegseth is an avowed critic of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and has worked aggressively during his tenure atop the Pentagon to purge what he calls “woke” programs — and people — from the institution.

    The Pentagon in recent days had begun finalizing plans to end all support for the Scouts, seeking input from the National Guard and the military’s active-duty components on the potential impact of such a move, said multiple people familiar with a draft memo detailing the plans.

    If Scouting America does not comply with Hegseth’s demands, which have not been made public, the group could also lose its access to military facilities — which would have a disproportionate impact on military children who participate in Scouting troops at U.S. bases overseas, people familiar with the matter said. Like some others interviewed for this report, they spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon’s deliberations.

    In his post to social media, Parnell said that after a review of the organization, the Pentagon is near a final agreement whereby it would continue supporting the organization because Scouting America has “firmly committed to a return to core principles.”

    “Back to God and country — immediately!” Parnell wrote, assailing what he called Scouting America’s “unacceptable” decisions in recent years “that run counter to the values of this administration,” including “an embrace of DEI and other social justice, gender-fluid ideological stances.”

    It was not immediately clear what changes the Scouts might agree to, including whether the organization would return to being for boys only. Neither the Pentagon nor Scouting America addressed questions seeking details on the scope of what it would require of the group.

    “For nearly 116 years Scouting has stood as a cornerstone of American ideals, good citizenship, service and adventure for American youth. We are encouraged by tonight’s social media post by the Pentagon and we look forward to providing more details as we move ahead,” Scouting America said in a statement to the Washington Post late Monday.

    Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said the Pentagon “would have more to announce soon.”

    Scouts salute as they recite the Pledge of Allegiance during a 2005 National Jamboree in Bowling Green, Va.

    Left uncertain is the fate of this year’s Jamboree, a massive 10-day summit scheduled for July and expected to draw more than 15,000 Scouts from throughout the country to West Virginia. In the past, upward of 500 National Guard personnel, military reservists, and active-duty service members have provided a range of equipment and logistical support for the event — all now in doubt if the organization does not meet the Pentagon’s demands.

    “They are on the clock,” Parnell wrote on social media, “and we are watching.”

    Scout troops spend years planning and raising money — through popcorn sales and other fundraisers — to travel to the Summit Bechtel Reserve for Jamboree. A spokesperson for Scouting America did not answer questions about what would happen to the summit if military support is pulled, saying in a statement that the West Virginia National Guard, which leads the Defense Department’s involvement in Jamboree, “has indicated that they are fully prepared to support” the event.

    In a statement, the West Virginia National Guard said that “no official communication has been disseminated to us that would contradict or cease ongoing preparations” and that, for now, military officials are planning to support Jamboree.

    Since becoming defense secretary a year ago, Hegseth has moved aggressively to purge the military of DEI programs and to fire senior leaders whom he accused of being overly focused on them. He pushed out transgender service members, too, referring to them as “dudes in dresses,” and directed the military’s service academies to get rid of books, student organizations, and courses that in his estimation were “woke.”

    Threats to sever the Defense Department’s ties with the Scouts appear to be the latest evolution in this broader, highly politicized campaign.

    NBC News and NPR have previously reported that the Pentagon was considering cutting ties with the Scouts. In November, when NPR disclosed the draft memo’s existence, Scouting America released a statement emphasizing that it has “always” been nonpartisan.

    “Over more than a century,” it continues, “we’ve worked constructively with every U.S. presidential administration — Democratic and Republican — focusing on our common goal of building future leaders grounded in integrity, responsibility, and community service.”

    A dissolution of the two entities’ partnership would end what for many decades has been a mutually beneficial relationship, as a significant portion of the nation’s military officers have Scouting backgrounds, according to the organization.

    It would mark a shift for Hegseth’s boss, too. During his first term in office, in 2017, President Donald Trump appeared at Jamboree and told the thousands of assembled Scouts how proud he was to be there — and that 10 of his Cabinet members at the time had been Scouts.

    “The Scouts,” Trump said at the time, “believe in putting America first.”

    A year later, the organization began admitting girls.

    The rebrand of Scouting America was announced in 2024, as the organization worked to move beyond decades of scandals involving sexual abuse allegations made by thousands of Scouts who say they were abused by Scout leaders or volunteers.

    As a Fox News commentator then, Hegseth said allowing girls to join and then renaming the Scouts was “basically the end” of the group, and he blamed “the left” for the change.

    “They didn’t want to improve it. They wanted to destroy it or dilute it into something that stood for nothing,” Hegseth said on Fox & Friends.

    The Scouts’ interconnectedness with the military is reflected in Army and Air Force policy, which says that the services’ most junior enlisted members, known as an E-1, can be automatically bumped up to the next higher pay grade if they join having previously earned the rank of Eagle Scout. In the Navy, attaining Eagle Scout allows an enlisted member to jump from the rank of E-1 to E-3.

    The Scouts have served as a sort of feeder program for the military’s service academies, too. According to Scouting magazine, in 2017 about 20% of cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point had attained the rank of Eagle Scout. At the U.S. Naval Academy for the Class of 2020, about 17% of male midshipmen had participated in Scouting.

    It was not immediately clear how many current cadets or midshipmen have Scouting backgrounds. Spokespeople for the academies referred questions to the Pentagon.

    The relationship between Scouting and the Pentagon is codified in law, too. Title 10 Section 2554 of the U.S. Code authorizes the defense secretary to provide all the support the Scouts might need at Jamboree — such as cots, flags and refrigerators — to the extent that it “will not interfere with the requirements of military operations.” It also states that the Pentagon must seek a waiver from Congress if the military intends to cut its support, and explain why giving that assistance “would be detrimental to the national security of the United States.”

    Spokespeople for the House and Senate Armed Services committees did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

  • Paul Simon, Tim McGraw, Noah Kahan, and Don Toliver are all headed to Philly this summer

    Paul Simon, Tim McGraw, Noah Kahan, and Don Toliver are all headed to Philly this summer

    The summer concert calendar is already filling up.

    In the middle of what Inquirer weather maven Tony Wood says is Philadelphia’s most snow-covered winter in 16 years, it may seem like it will never be warm enough to go to a concert that’s outside.

    Nevertheless, the summer music season is starting to take shape, with a flurry of big show announcements this week.

    Don Toliver performs on the Rocky Stage during the Made in America 2022 festival on the Ben Franklin Parkway on Sept. 4, 2022. The Houston rapper plays Xfinity Mobile Arena on May 24.

    Here’s a chronological list:

    Don Toliver, May 24, Xfinity Mobile Arena

    This one is actually indoors, so if there’s still snow on the ground in May, fans of the Houston rapper born Caleb Zackery Toliver can warm up inside on this stop on his “Octane” tour.

    The concert trek is named after Toliver’s new album, which was released last week and features guest appearances from Teezo Touchdown and Travis Scott, who is also a featured producer.

    The rally-racing car-culture-themed tour will also include Sahbabii, Sofaygo, and Chase B.

    Tickets are on sale at LiveNation.com.

    Noah Kahan, June 26, Citizens Bank Park

    The Vermont singer-songwriter who vaulted into the pop stratosphere with 2022’s Stick Season is headlining stadiums on his ”Great Divide” tour. The tour takes its name from his new single that’s the title track from his forthcoming album produced by Gabe Simon and Taylor Swift associate Aaron Dessner. New Jersey-born singer Gigi Perez opens.

    Tickets go on sale Thursday, Feb. 12, at noahkahan.com.

    Paul Simon, July 5, Highmark Mann Center

    Last year, Paul Simon was scheduled to play three shows at the Academy of Music on his “A Quiet Celebration” tour, his first set of Philadelphia shows since a 2018 “Farewell Tour” that was hyped as his last and played the Mann Center.

    The first of those 2025 shows, I wrote in The Inquirer, impressively demonstrated “how a devotion to restless forward momentum has resulted in an epic and ongoing pop music career.”

    The next two shows, however, never happened, after Simon’s “severe back pain” required (successful) surgery. An announced plan to play makeup dates never materialized, but now Simon is coming back to Philly with his stellar band for a return visit to the Mann.

    The show entails an opening set performance of his 2024 EP, Seven Psalms, followed by an expansive career-spanning second set of hits and deep cuts.

    Tickets are on sale at PaulSimon.com.

    Tim McGraw is playing the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden and Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey in July.

    Tim McGraw, July 23, Freedom Mortgage Pavilion

    The longtime country star who is the son of Phillies great Tug McGraw and whose name is also the title of Taylor Swift’s first single, is playing Camden on July 23. 49 Winchester is opening on a tour that takes its name from McGraw’s new single, “Pawn Shop Guitar.”

    Take note: In addition to playing amphitheaters, McGraw is doing three stadium shows with a loaded lineup featuring openers the Chicks and Lady A. One of those dates is at Hersheypark Stadium on July 11.

    Tickets are on sale at timmcgraw.com.

  • Russia bombards Ukraine with drones and missiles a day before planned peace talks

    Russia bombards Ukraine with drones and missiles a day before planned peace talks

    KYIV, Ukraine — Russia carried out a major overnight attack on Ukraine in what President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday was a broken commitment to halt striking energy infrastructure as the countries prepared for more talks on ending Moscow’s 4-year-old full-scale invasion.

    The bombardment included hundreds of drones and a record 32 ballistic missiles, wounding at least 10 people. It specifically took aim at the power grid, Zelensky said, as part of what Ukraine says is Moscow’s ongoing campaign to deny civilians light, heating and running water during the coldest winter in years.

    “Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorize people is more important to Russia than diplomacy,” Zelensky said. Temperatures in Kyiv fell to minus minus 4 Fahrenheit during the night and stood at minus minus 3 F on Tuesday.

    NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte visited Kyiv in a show of support. He said that the overnight strikes raise doubts about Moscow’s intentions on the eve of talks, calling them “a really bad signal.”

    He added that it was clear that the attacks only strengthen Ukrainians’ resolve.

    Officials have described recent talks between Moscow and Kyiv delegations as constructive. But after a year of efforts, the Trump administration is still searching for a breakthrough on key issues such as who keeps the Ukrainian land that Russia’s army has occupied, and a comprehensive settlement appears distant. The talks in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

    Zelensky said Ukraine is ready to discuss how to end the fighting. “But no one is going to surrender,” he said.

    Dispute over power grid attacks

    A Kremlin official said last week that Russia had agreed to halt strikes on Kyiv for a week until Feb. 1 because of the frigid temperatures, following a personal request from U.S. President Donald Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the bitter cold is continuing and so are Russia’s aerial attacks.

    Zelensky, however, accused Russia of breaking its commitment to hold off its attacks on Ukraine’s energy assets, claiming the weeklong pause was due to come into force last Friday.

    “We believe this Russian strike clearly violates what the American side discussed, and there must be consequences,” he said.

    The bombardment of at least five regions of Ukraine comprised 450 long-range drones and 70 missiles, Ukrainian officials said.

    Russian officials provided no immediate response to Zelenskyy’s comments.

    Ukraine says Russia has tried to wear down Ukrainians’ appetite for the fight by creating hardship for the civilian population living in dark, freezing homes.

    It has tried to wreck Ukraine’s electricity network, targeting substations, transformers, turbines and generators at power plants. Ukraine’s largest private power company, DTEK, said that the overnight attack hit its thermal power plants in the ninth major assault since October.

    NATO show of support

    Rutte addressed the Ukrainian parliament during his visit and said that countries in the military alliance “are ready to provide support quickly and consistently” as peace efforts drag on.

    Since last summer, NATO members have provided 75% of all missiles, and 90% of those used for Ukraine’s air defense, under a financial arrangement whereby alliance countries buy American weapons to give to Ukraine, he said.

    European countries, fearing Moscow’s ambitions, see their own future security as being on the line in Ukraine.

    “Be assured that NATO stands with Ukraine and is ready to do so for years to come,” Rutte said. “Your security is our security. Your peace is our peace. And it must be lasting.”

    Kyiv apartment blocks left without power

    In Kyiv, officials said that five people were wounded in the strikes that damaged and set fire to residential buildings, a kindergarten and a gas station in various parts of the capital, according to the State Emergency Service.

    By early morning, 1,170 apartment buildings in the capital were without heating, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. That set back desperate repair operations that had restored heat to all but 80 apartment buildings before the attack, he said.

    Russia also struck Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, where injuries were reported, and the southern Odesa region.

    The attack also damaged the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, in Kyiv, Ukrainian Culture Minister Tetiana Berezhna said.

    “It is symbolic and cynical at the same time: The aggressor state strikes a place of memory about the fight against aggression in the 20th century, repeating crimes in the 21st,” Berezhna said.

  • Chuck Negron, lead singer on ‘Joy to the World’ and other Three Dog Night hits, has died at 83

    Chuck Negron, lead singer on ‘Joy to the World’ and other Three Dog Night hits, has died at 83

    NEW YORK — Chuck Negron, a founding member of the soul-rock sensations Three Dog Night who sang lead on such hits as “One” and “Just an Old Fashioned Love Song“ and hollered the immortal opening line “Jeremiah was a bullfrog!” on the chart-topping “Joy to the World,” died Monday. He was 83.

    He died of complications from heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at his home in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles, according to publicist Zach Farnum.

    Mr. Negron and fellow vocalists Cory Wells and Danny Hutton were Los Angeles-based performers who began working together in the mid-1960s, originally called themselves Redwood and settled on Three Dog Night, Australian slang for frigid outback weather. Between 1969 and 1974, they were among the world’s most successful acts, with 18 top 20 singles and 12 albums certified gold for selling at least 500,000 copies.

    The group contributed little of its own material, but proved uniquely adept at interpreting others, reworking songs by such rising stars of the time as Randy Newman (“Mama Told Me Not to Come”), Paul Williams (“Just an Old-Fashioned Love Song”), and Laura Nyro (“Eli’s Coming”). No matter the originator, the sound was unmistakably Three Dog Night: The trio of stars worked themselves into a raved-up, free-for-all passion, as if each singer were attempting to vault in front of the others. “The Kings of Oversing,” the Village Voice would call them.

    Three Dog Night was so popular, and so in demand, it released four albums within 18 months. In December 1972, the band hosted and performed on the inaugural edition of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.

    “We were really on a roll and very prolific,” Mr. Negron told smashinginterviews.com in 2013. “We were in the zone so to speak and really putting it out there. Back then, I don’t think it hurt us. It started hurting a little after that when there was just too much product. We were going to towns too many times a year. I remember getting off a plane in Dallas and thinking, ‘Wait a second. Weren’t we just here?’ Just thinking, ‘Oh, God, how are we going to sell out?’”

    Well, hello Jeremiah

    Mr. Negron himself stood out for his drooping mustache, in contrast to his clean-shaven peers, and for his multioctave tenor. He helped transform “One,” a Harry Nilsson ballad, from a breakup song to a cry of helpless solitude. And he helped convince Wells and Hutton not to pass on what became their most famous song.

    “Joy to the World,” written by Hoyt Axton, shared the title and little else with the 18th century English hymn. Axton’s novelty anthem was a secular blessing — “Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea, joy to you and me” — with carefree asides about women, rainbow-riding, and the friendship of a wine-guzzling bullfrog named Jeremiah. According to Mr. Negron, the other singers had twice turned down “Joy to the World” in his absence before Axton played him a demo.

    “When he started, I liked it immediately. I thought we could have some fun with it,” Mr. Negron told forbes.com in 2022. “We had some free time later, so we started jamming ‘Joy’ for fun. We didn’t have to be so cool all of the time, right? That opening line had to be screamed. Did that guy just say, ‘Jeremiah was a bullfrog’? I got up the scale to D, which is pretty high, and just screamed it out. When the band heard that, they went, ‘Holy crap, that’s great.‘”

    No one seemed to care what “Jeremiah was a bullfrog!” was supposed to mean; it became a catchphrase of the era. “Joy to the World” outsold all other songs in 1971, received two Grammy nominations and lived on through oldies radio stations and movie soundtracks, notably for The Big Chill and Forrest Gump. The song caught on so fast, and for so long, that Three Dog Night performed it at back-to-back Grammy ceremonies.

    Their other hits included “Black and White,” “Celebrate,” “Shambala,” and “Easy to Be Hard.” But by the mid-1970s, the band was burned out, feuding and self-destructing. They broke up in 1976, attempted the occasional reunion and settled in as an oldies act, with Hutton the only remaining original singer. Wells died in 2015, while Mr. Negron had dropped out for good in the mid-1980s, when his drug problems led to his being fired.

    Mr. Negron would call his memoir, published in 1998 and reissued 20 years later, Three Dog Nightmare. Chapter titles included “Making Millions and Stoned All the Time” and “Threw Up My Guts and Loved It.”

    After decades of estrangement between him and Hutton, the two men reconciled last year.

    Mr. Negron was married four times, most recently to his manager, Ami Albea Negron, and he is survived by five children His previous wives include Julie Densmore, former wife of drummer John Densmore of the Doors.

    Surviving a rock star’s life

    Born Charles Negron II in 1942, he was a New York City native who was still a toddler when his parents broke up: For a time, Negron lived in a foster home because his mother couldn’t afford to raise him and his twin sister, Nancy. He initially dreamed of playing basketball, but his life changed in adolescence when his best friend convinced him to try singing. He won a school talent show, and was soon singing professionally, at the Apollo and other venues around New York.

    After graduating from Hancock, a junior college in Santa Maria, Calif., Mr. Negron performed in clubs in Los Angeles and met Wells and Hutton, whose friends included Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. They nearly signed with the Beach Boys’ Brothers Records before Wilson’s band mates, worried that their leader was using up his talents elsewhere, intervened. Mr. Negron, Wells and Hutton ended up at ABC-Dunhill, and recruited a backing band, including Floyd Sneed on drums, Joe Schermie on bass and Jimmy Greenspoon on keyboards.

    In his post-Three Dog Night years, Mr. Negron released several solo albums, including Joy to the World and Long Road Back, a companion to his memoir, and otherwise dedicated himself to helping others struggling with substance abuse. Before cleaning up in the 1990s — Sept. 17, 1991 — he had been so addicted to heroin and other drugs that he nearly died numerous times, lost his family and all of his money and descended from a luxurious villa in Hollywood Hills to sleeping on a mattress in a vacant lot.

    “That’s what drugs do. I don’t care if it gives you a hit song. What does it matter?” he told smashinginterviews.com. “The point is not if it helps you create, the point is it kills you! Are you willing to die because you wanted to try drugs to try a new experience? That’s the question. I’m in a town here where there are many who ain’t the same and never will be.”

  • Carl W. Schneider, longtime celebrated attorney and former SEC adviser, has died at 93

    Carl W. Schneider, longtime celebrated attorney and former SEC adviser, has died at 93

    Carl W. Schneider, 93, of Philadelphia, retired longtime attorney at the old Wolf, Block, Schorr, & Solis-Cohen law firm, former special adviser to the Securities and Exchange Commission, visiting associate professor at what is now the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, writer, poet, mentor, and volunteer, died Thursday, Dec. 18, of pneumonia at Pennsylvania Hospital.

    Mr. Schneider was an expert on corporate, business, and securities law, and he spent 42 years, from 1958 to his retirement in 2000, at Wolf, Block, Schorr, & Solis-Cohen in Philadelphia. He was adept at handling initial public offerings and analyzing stock exchange machinations, and he became partner in 1965 and chaired the corporate department for years.

    Although he did not plan to specialize in securities law after graduating from Penn’s law school in 1956, Mr. Schneider told the American Bar Association in 1999: “I found this type of work to be challenging, gratifying, stimulating, and educational.”

    He spent most of 1964 on leave from the law firm as a special adviser to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance in Washington. His recommendations to SEC officials regarding its public-offering process, disclosure system, civil liability rules, and arbitration procedure, many of which were ahead of their time, eventually led to modernization and reforms in the administration of federal securities laws. “I was cast in the role of the constructive critic,” he said in 1999.

    He chaired committees for the Philadelphia and American Bar Associations and was active in leadership roles with the American Law Institute and other groups. He clerked for Supreme Court Justice Harold H. Burton and Judge Herbert F. Goodrich of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit for two years after graduating from law school.

    He also taught classes as a visiting associate professor at Penn’s law school and lectured extensively elsewhere on the continuing legal education circuit. “I am aware of two personality traits that have shaped my career,” he said in 1999, “a need to fix things and a love of teaching.”

    He spent the 1978-79 school year as head of Penn’s Center for Study of Financial Institutions and said in 1999 that he would have taught full time had he not enjoyed his legal work so much. “I was a practitioner,” he said, “and I tried to give my classes useful training to do what most practitioners do.”

    Mr. Schneider wrote, cowrote, and edited dozens of scholarly articles, books, and pamphlets, including the celebrated Pennsylvania Corporate Practice and Forms manual in 1997. He also penned poetry, and used this stanza to open a chapter about boilerplate clauses in the Pennsylvania Corporate Practice and Forms manual:

    Mr. Schneider and his wife, Mary Ellen, were inseparable for 68 years.

    “The ending stuff gets little thought/Like notice, gender, choice of laws/If badly done you may get caught/With a provision full of flaws.”

    He volunteered with what is now Jewish Family Service, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, Abramson Senior Care, and Congregation Rodeph Shalom. He mentored countless other lawyers and students, and agreed in 1972 to a request by The Inquirer’s Teen-Age Action Line to be interviewed in his office for a high school student’s research project.

    “He was often described as brilliant, humble, a dry wit, and a great listener,” his family said in a tribute. “He gave everyone he spoke to the same time, attention, and respect.”

    He was quoted often in The Inquirer and lectured about legal matters at conferences and panels. He earned several service and achievement awards and said in 1999: “I suppose I am one of those compulsives who cannot see something in the world important to him that is broken without feeling the need to repair it.”

    Mr. Schneider and his wife, Mary Ellen, married in 1957.

    Carl William Schneider was born April 27, 1932, in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia. His family later moved to Elkins Park, Montgomery County, and he graduated from Cheltenham High School in 1949.

    He knew he wanted to be a lawyer, like his father and grandfather, when he was young and said in a 2014 video interview at Penn that school was his favorite place. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Cornell University in 1953 and served on the law review at Penn.

    He met Mary Ellen Baylinson through a mutual friend, and they married in 1957. They had sons Eric, Mark, and Adam and a daughter, Cara, and lived for years in Elkins Park. He and his wife moved to Center City in 2005.

    Mr. Schneider enjoyed reading, bird-watching, photography, swimming, tennis, and springtime strolls through Rittenhouse Square. His favorite song was “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers.

    Mr. Schneider drove his family across the country in a motorhome he nicknamed Herman.

    He collected old-fashioned scales, spent quality time with family and friends on Long Beach Island, N.J., and drove cross-country on a family road trip in a motorhome he nicknamed Herman. He ran unsuccessfully for commissioner in Melrose Park in the 1960s.

    He made sure to be home every night for dinner and drew smiley faces inside the capital C when he signed his name. “He never judged, never overreacted,” his daughter said.

    Survivors give advice about mourning their loved ones, as told to The Inquirer’s obit writer

    His son Adam said: “He was a gentle man but forthright and direct.” His son Mark said: “He had a moral code on how to live a life and never deviated from it.”

    His son Eric said: “He left the world a better place.”

    Mr. Schneider (center) and his family spent many Thanksgivings together.

    In addition to his wife and children, Mr. Schneider is survived by three grandchildren; a sister, Julie; and other relatives.

    Services were held Monday, Dec. 22.

    Donations in his name may be made to Congregation Rodeph Shalom, 615 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19123.

    Mr. Schneider was interested in civic and community issues as well as legal affairs.