Blackfish BYOB’s 19-year run in Conshohocken will end New Year’s Eve. Chef-owner Chip Roman said the decision to close the restaurant did not come from financial strain or burnout.
He said he, his wife, Amanda, and their four children are doing well, and business on Fayette Street is good.
Why then?
Chip Roman (second from left) at a 2014 tribute dinner for chef Georges Perrier (center) with fellow chefs (from left) Nicholas Elmi, Pierre Calmels, Kevin Sbraga, and Al Paris.
“It’s hard to put into words. I’ve always felt that I’m here for a bigger purpose, like there’s more for me to do rather than cook,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “I could probably go on for another 20 years, but I don’t feel like that’s my ultimate calling. If I don’t follow what’s in my head and my heart, I’m going to regret it. On paper, it’s really stupid, but you only live once.”
Roman, 46, grew up in Fishtown, attended culinary school at Drexel University, and worked for Marc Vetri at Vetri Cucina and Georges Perrier at Le Bec-Fin. At 22, he arrived on Fayette Street in Conshohocken to take over a restaurant called Maya Bella, where he set up a catering business before opening Blackfish in fall 2006.
For his review in early 2007, Inquirer critic Craig LaBan praised Roman for brightening the rooms with “a vaguely nautical air” and “producing a stellar bistro-plus menu full of clever surprises, from foie gras streaked with cinnamon oil to seafood flavored with spruce.”
Chip Roman (left) with fellow chef Josh Lawler on a fishing trip off Ocean City in 2011. Roman enjoyed cooking his catch at his restaurants.
Over the years, Roman opened Blackfish locations at the Jersey Shore, a BYOB in Chestnut Hill called Mica, and a bistro in Center City called the Treemont. A dedicated fisherman, he would cook his catch at his restaurants. He also was a partner in Tradestone Confections, a candy business.
He said that he began thinking about a post-chef career after his father, Charles, died in February.
Roman has real estate investments and said he can always return to a kitchen if he misses the work. He feels pushed toward a different path. “Whatever there is, it’s putting all these opportunities in front of me and leading me down certain paths,” he said. “I’m starting to see clues. I’d be a fool not to explore it.” He emphasized that he is fortunate — “God’s given me a lot of blessings,” he said — and believes it is time to give something back.
Roman acknowledged that stepping away from Blackfish when the business is healthy makes him feel “crazy,” particularly when so many restaurateurs close under duress. “That’s not my situation.” Roman said he has watched others stay too long in a role that no longer fits them, and he wants to avoidthat.
In a Facebook post, he and his wife wrote: “This is not a decision I made lightly — this restaurant has been a defining part of my story, my work, and my heart. What made Blackfish truly special was never just the food or the space. It was you — our guests — who showed up year after year, celebrating milestones, sharing meals with loved ones, and trusting us with your most important moments.
“And it was our extraordinary staff, past and present, whose talent, dedication, and passion brought Blackfish to life every single day. They are the soul of this place, and I am endlessly grateful for everything they have given.”
Andy Chan, a Philadelphia Highway Patrol officer who suffered a devastating brain injury in a motorcycle crash while on his way to work six years ago, has died.
Chan, 48, was riding through Northeast Philadelphia one evening in January 2019 when an elderly driver unintentionally struck him on the 3300 block of Rhawn Street. He was thrown about 20 feet, police said, and was critically injured.
Chan, a 24-year veteran of the force, was in a prolonged coma and was hospitalized for weeks on a ventilator. In the years since, his injuries have required around-the-clock care, with family, friends, and colleagues in the Philadelphia Police Department regularly at his side.
The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 announced Chan’s death on Tuesday. The cause of death was not immediately clear.
“Andy died a hero and we will always remember and honor his sacrifice,” the union wrote on Facebook.
Andy Chan was thrown from his highway patrol motorcycle and critically injured in a crash on the 3300 block of Rhawn Street on January 3, 2019.
Chan, a father of three, grew up in Chinatown and had always dreamed of being a highway patrolman. His family recalled how he watched with awe when the leather-clad officers approached his parents’ restaurant on their motorcycles.
He decided, they said, that would be him one day.
“That was the only place he strived to be in,” his wife, Teng, said years ago.
After becoming a Philadelphia police officer in 1996, he was first assigned to the 39th District, working as a bike cop. Eight years later, he was promoted to the elite highway unit.
He took such pride in his work that when he walked into police headquarters, instead of yelling, “Hi,” he would shout, “Highway!”
And even when he met Teng nearly two decades ago, he introduced himself as such: “I’m Highway.”
Chan and his partner, Kyle Cross, were among the first officers who responded to the Amtrak crash in 2015 that left eight people dead and nearly 200 injured. Cross, in an earlier interview, recalled how Chan kept his composure as he sought to rescue survivors from the wreckage.
“What I remember from Andy was his poise — he stayed so calm, he really just led the way,” Cross recalled. “I followed his lead.”
Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, in an email to the department Tuesday morning, described Chan as “larger than life, not because of what he did, but because of who he was.”
“He was the kind of officer whose reputation reached every corner of this Department and City; not because he sought attention, but because his work, his character, and his heart made him impossible to forget. Andy represented the very best of who we are and what we aspire to be: skilled, humble, kind, and unfailingly courageous,” Bethel wrote.
“Andy,” he said, “will forever remind us of why this work matters.”
Funeral arrangements have not been announced.
Since Chan was injured, police and community members have gathered each December to support his family and raise money for his recovery. Supporters will continue to gather in his honor this year, on Dec. 12 at Craft Hall at 4 p.m., for the sixth annual Andy Chan Block Party.
Quinta Brunson wants you to dig into your pocket to make free field trips possible for Philadelphia students.
The actor, writer, and comedian — along with Philadelphia School District officials and the leader of the district’s nonprofit arm — announced the “Quinta Brunson Field Trip Fund” on Tuesday.
District teachers and administrators will be able to apply for money for field trips by completing a short application subject to evaluation by an independent, internal group of educators. Field trip grants will be made twice a year.
“They opened my world, sparked my creativity, and helped me imagine a future beyond what I saw every day,” Brunson said. “Going somewhere new shows you that the world is bigger and more exciting than you believe, and it can shape what you come to see as achievable. I’m proud to support Philadelphia students with experiences that remind them their dreams are valid and their futures are bright.”
“Abbott Elementary” star Quinta Brunson watches the Phillies play the Atlanta Braves during a taping of the show in Philadelphia in August.
Every Abbott Elementary season has featured a field trip episode, including visits toSmith Playground, the Franklin Institute, and the Philadelphia Zoo. Brunson’s fund “will remove the financial barriers that too often limit our children’s access to these enrichment opportunities,” officials for the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia said.
The GivingTuesday launch kicked off with an unspecified donation from Brunson herself.
Kathryn Epps, president and CEO of the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, said getting students out of their classrooms is crucial.
“We are honored to partner with Quinta to expand these experiences for children in Philadelphia’s public schools, helping them to envision and realize any future they desire,” Epps said.
Tony B. Watlington Sr., Philadelphia School District superintendent, said he was grateful to Brunson.
“We want our students to venture out and bridge what they’re learning in the classroom to engaging, real-world learning experiences,” Watlington said. “This commitment to equitably expanding opportunities for students to have experiences outside of their classroom will help accelerate student achievement and we are becoming the fastest improving, large urban school district in the nation.”
Sunday also marked just the 19th game that Embiid, George, and Maxey played together since George signed his four-year, $211.5 million deal on July 6, 2024. This was only the 16th game that all three finished. In those 16 games, the Sixers are 7-9.
“It was just great to get out there with those guys,” George said of the Big Three. “We just logged minutes together. I thought it was just a ton of excitement. But we obviously got work to do.”
On paper, Maxey, Embiid, and George are a solid mix.
Maxey is a budding superstar. Embiid is the former MVP and arguably one of the NBA’s all-time best scoring big men. George is a nine-time All-Star forward and three-level scorer. And despite coming off July’s left knee surgery, the 35-year-old still appears to be an elite defender. However, the problem is their usage.
Maxey is good enough that if the right co-stars surround him, the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder could excel like the Cleveland Cavaliers’ perennial All-Star, Donovan Mitchell.
The Sixers’ point guard is playing at an All-NBA level. If you put the ball in his hands, he’ll make plays for you offensively.
And on Sunday, the Embiid, George, and Maxey lineup looked improved compared to their limited games together last season. But it was far from Eastern Conference championship worthy.
There were times against the Hawks when the lineup looked clunky. Embiid still spends most of his time on the perimeter. The 7-foot-2, 280-pounder’s outside presence often gets in his teammates’ driving lanes to the basket.
But when things did run smoothly, Maxey and Embiid did a solid job of orchestrating the pick-and-roll and keeping George involved. George, however, failed to knock down wide-open three-point shots on passes from the duo.
There was one moment in the fourth quarter when Maxey dished the ball to Embiid in the pick-and-roll. The seven-time All-Star, in turn, passed to a wide-open George in the corner. But he missed the 24-footer.
Then, a couple of possessions later, Maxey dished to George, who again was left wide-open in the corner for a three. He missed, again.
But in his defense, George isn’t known as a catch-and-shoot three-point shooter.
Sixers center Joel Embiid drives to the basket against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
There were also times when the offense flowed perfectly with the trio on the floor together. And if we learned something in the overtime sessions, it’s that the Sixers need George, Embiid, and Maxey on the floor together more.
The Sixers often replaced George and Embiid with undersized, nonshooting post players, which resulted in Maxey drawing extra attention. And he was also blitzed on screens, making it harder to free Maxey with screens or switches.
But due to a minutes restriction, George’s night was over after the opening minute, 22 seconds of the first overtime. Meanwhile, Embiid was unable to play in the second overtime due to his minutes restriction. Sunday marked Embiid’s first game since Nov. 8 and seventh this season due to knee injuries. This was just George’s fifth game because of left knee injury recovery and a sprained right ankle.
Without Embiid’s presence and George’s playmaking and stellar defense, the Sixers went Maxey or bust in the second overtime.
He tried to do his part, scoring all eight of his team’s points in the five-minute session. However, the Sixers’ small-ball lineup struggled on the boards. Atlanta outrebounded them, 7-2, in the second overtime, which enabled it to score seven second-chance points.
“It was tough not having [Embiid] out there in the second overtime,” coach Nick Nurse said. “He got us some open space to play in, with him just being on the floor. He created a lot of offense for us.”
Sixers forward Paul George was limited to 28 minutes against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.
Maxey finished with game highs of 44 points and nine assists to go with seven rebounds, six turnovers, and one block in 52:18. He scored 24 of his points over the fourth quarter and overtime sessions.
The Sixers walked away believing a victory would’ve been in the cards had Embiid, George, and VJ Edgecombe, who also sat out the extra sessions due to a minutes restriction, all played at the end. And they’re probably right under those circumstances on that particular night.
The Hawks were without perennial All-Star guard Trae Young and standout center Kristaps Porziņģis.
Right now, the Sixers are having a tough time beating quality opponents.
“I never get real satisfaction out of not winning,” said Nurse, whose Sixers (10-9) have lost nine of 15 games after starting 4-0. “Right now, though, we’ve gotten so thin over the last 10, 12 days. It’s just nice to have a few guys filtering back in. That’s like hopefully we can come out of this, obviously, we try to recover and rejuvenate [Monday], and hopefully, we can get most of the guys back on the floor Tuesday, again.
“And hopefully, the minute restrictions will start going up a little bit again. That’s something to look forward to again.”
The Sixers entertain the Washington Wizards on Tuesday. The Wizards improved to 3-16 after Monday’s 129-126 home victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. They were riding a 14-game losing streak before defeating the Hawks on Nov. 25.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey and center Joel Embiid shown during the loss to the Hawks on Sunday.
But once he returns, the Sixers must face reality.
Right now, they have a high-scoring speedster in Maxey and a big man who barely plays in Embiid. And when the 31-year-old does play, he doesn’t really move, especially defensively, following April’s arthroscopic left knee surgery. It was his second left knee surgery in 14 months and third in nine years.
Even though he’s averaging 32.3 points, the Sixers can’t count on Maxey to score 44 points every night. And at times this season — including Sunday — it appeared Embiid wasn’t trying on defense or just wasn’t able to get to a spot.
Offensively, the Sixers can give the ball to him, and he’ll score. He is averaging 19.4 points in just 24.3 minutes in seven games.
The problem is they’re not going to beat quality opponents with Embiid being limited. But the Sixers have to endure the process of acclimating Embiid and George, and there will likely be some collateral damage.
After all, the Sixers have been most successful in an up-tempo offense centered around ball movement. Yet Embiid is better suited to a two-man game with Maxey and isolation plays.
Sixers center Joel Embiid holds the basketball out with teammate guard Tyrese Maxey past Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels on Sunday, November 30, 2025 in Philadelphia.
“It’s different because he’s still really good,” Maxey said. “We still got to get him the ball. We also got to run our stuff. It’s going to come with time. … I think that may be VJ’s first time playing with Joel and Paul. A lot of guys’ first time playing with them.
“So we haven’t really practiced with that group. It’s kind of hard, but that’s no excuse. I think we did a good enough job to win the game. We played well. We got to finish those out.”
“I thought offensively, it kind of felt like we did have a better little rhythm out there, kind of finding, picking, choosing different lineups to incorporate, whether it’s pick-and-rolls, positioning on the floor,” George said. “And then defensively, I thought there were a lot of positives there. But again, all of it is now we’ve got to get to work and try to be consistent together.”
While that was encouraging, the Sixers still have a long way to go.
WASHINGTON – The FBI searched multiple properties in Washington state and San Diego on Thursday in what officials said was a terrorism probe into an Afghan national suspected of shooting two National Guard members, who remained in critical condition.
Investigators seized numerous electronic devices from the suspect’s house in Washington state, including cellphones, laptops, and iPads, and interviewed the suspect’s relatives, FBI Director Kash Patel told a news conference in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. Jeanine Pirro identified the two wounded Guard members as Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Andrew Wolfe, 24.
Pirro said the suspect ambushed the Guard members while they were patrolling near the White House on Wednesday afternoon. Armed with a powerful revolver, a .357 Magnum, he shot one member who fell and then shot again before firing multiple times at the second member.
Suspect worked with U.S. forces in Afghanistan
Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News the U.S. government planned to bring terrorism charges against the gunman and seek a sentence of life in prison “at a minimum.”
At her briefing, Pirro said the gunman faces three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed and a charge of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
He could be charged with murder in the first degree if either of the Guard members does not survive their injuries, she said.
Patel described the shootings as a “heinous act of terrorism,” but neither he nor Pirro offered a possible motive.
The assailant appeared to have acted alone, said Jeff Carroll, executive assistant chief of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department.
The suspect has been identified by authorities as 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who lived in Washington state with his wife and five children.
Lakanwal, who was wounded in an exchange of gunfire before he was arrested, had been involved with U.S. partner forces during the war in Afghanistan, Patel said.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News and the New York Times that Lakanwal had worked with CIA-backed local units in Afghanistan.
“He drove his vehicle cross-country from the state of Washington with the intended target of coming to our nation’s capital,” Pirro told the news conference.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, a Biden-era program to resettle thousands of Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the Afghanistan war and feared reprisals from Taliban forces who seized control after the U.S. withdrawal there.
President Donald Trump, who was at his Florida resort at the time of the attack, released a video statement late on Wednesday calling the shooting “an act of evil, an act of hatred and an act of terror.”
It was unclear if the shooting would lead to changes to how the Guard operates in cities. Members typically patrol in small groups, including on foot, mostly armed with pistols.
Lakanwal approved for U.S. asylum this year
Trump said his administration would “re-examine” all Afghans who came to the U.S. during Joe Biden’s presidency.
Pirro and Patel blamed the Biden administration for improperly vetting Lakanwal, although they offered no evidence to support this assertion.
A Trump administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Lakanwal applied for asylum in December 2024 and was approved on April 23 this year, three months after Trump took office. Lakanwal, who resided in Washington state, had no known criminal history, the official said.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said on Wednesday it had halted processing of all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals indefinitely, “pending further review of security and vetting protocols.”
FBI Director Kash Patel, center, and District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, left, speak after two National Guard soldiers were shot near the White House on Wednesday, Nov. 26.
Vance defends immigration policy
Vice President JD Vance, who was in Kentucky on Wednesday, said on social media that the shooting proved the Trump administration’s immigration policy was justified.
“We must redouble our efforts to deport people with no right to be in our country,” he said.
Critics of the administration’s immigration policy say it has employed harsh and illegal tactics and swept up immigrants indiscriminately, including many with no criminal history and others in the U.S. legally.
The two Guard members from West Virginia were part of a militarized law enforcement mission ordered by Trump in August and challenged in court by Washington, D.C., officials. Trump ordered 500 more troops to be deployed in the capital in the wake of the shooting, joining about 2,200 already in the city as part of the president’s immigration and crime crackdown targeting Democratic-led cities.
Trump, a Republican, has suggested repeatedly that crime has disappeared from the capital as a result of the deployment, an assertion at odds with the police department’s official crime statistics. (Reporting by Leah Douglas, Jana Winter, Phil Stewart, Ted Hesson, Lucia Mutikani, Jasper Ward and Tim Reid; Additional reporting by Idrees Ali, Jeff Mason, Steve Gorman; Writing by Julia Harte and Rod Nickel; Editing by Ross Colvin and Deepa Babington)
Philadelphia role in Afghan resettlements
The Philadelphia region played a crucial role in supporting the largest resettlement effort since the end of the Vietnam War.
Philadelphia International Airport served as the nation’s main arrival point for more than 25,000 evacuees, about 1,500 of whom needed immediate medical attention for everything from diabetes to gunshot wounds. The flights to Philadelphia came from first-stop, emergency evacuation centers in Germany, Bahrain, Qatar, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and elsewhere.
Most arrivals to Philadelphia were bused from the airport to temporary living quarters at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in South Jersey.
At one point more than 11,000 Afghans were living in a tent city, christened “Liberty Village,” on the South Jersey base. The Trump administration recently designated the base as one of two military sites where it intends to holds immigration detainees.
Ultimately at least 600 evacuees were resettled in the Philadelphia area, many of them living in the Northeast, which already had a significant Afghan population.
Almost everyone who came to Philadelphia and to this country served the United States in a military, diplomatic, or development capacity, or was the family member of someone who did. Others worked in media, women’s organizations, or humanitarian groups that faced Taliban retaliation.
Inquirer staff writer Jeff Gammage contributed to this article.
WASHINGTON – Two National Guard soldiers were shot on Wednesday near the White House in what officials described as a targeted ambush, and the suspect was in custody after suffering gunshot wounds during the attack.
Investigators identified the suspect as Rahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national from Washington State, according to a Justice Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The attack is being investigated as an act of terrorism, the official said.
Lakanwal came to the U.S. in 2021 on a special visa program for Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the Afghanistan war and were vulnerable to reprisals from the ruling Taliban after the U.S. withdrawal, the official said. But he overstayed his visa and is in the country illegally, according to the official.
President Donald Trump was in Florida at the time of the attack, which prompted the White House to go into lockdown as law enforcement from multiple federal and city agencies swarmed the area.
The two soldiers, members of the West Virginia National Guard, were part of a “high-visibility patrol” around 2:15 p.m. ET (1915 GMT) near the corner of 17th and I streets, a few blocks from the White House. The suspect came around a corner and “ambushed” them, Metropolitan Police Assistant Chief Jeff Carroll said at a press briefing.
After an exchange of gunfire, other National Guard troops were able to subdue the shooter, he said. The two wounded soldiers were in critical condition at local hospitals, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
“This is a targeted attack,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said at the briefing.
The shooter appeared to have acted alone, officials said.
Trump is at his resort in Palm Beach ahead of Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday, while U.S. Vice President JD Vance is in Kentucky.
In a social media post, Trump called the suspected shooter an “animal” who would “pay a very steep price” and praised the National Guard.
He also ordered 500 more guard soldiers deployed to Washington, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told reporters, joining about 2,200 already in the city as part of the president’s contentious immigration and crime crackdown targeting Democratic-led cities.
Witnesses describe chaotic scene
The shooting unfolded near Farragut Square, a popular lunch spot for office workers just a few blocks from the White House. The park, where light posts are wrapped in wreaths and bows for the holiday season, is flanked by fast-casual restaurants and a coffee shop, as well as two metro stops.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene after shots were fired, with pedestrians fleeing.
Mike Ryan, 55, said he was on his way to buy lunch nearby when he heard what sounded like gunfire. He ran half a block away and heard another round of apparent gunfire.
When he made his way back to the scene, he saw two National Guard soldiers on the ground across the street, with people trying to resuscitate one of them. At the same time, other guard troops had pinned someone on the ground, Ryan said.
Another witness, Emma McDonald, said she saw one of the soldiers carried away on a stretcher minutes after the shooting, his head covered in blood and an automated compression system attached to his chest.
National Guard soldiers have been in Washington since Trump’s initial deployment in August, a move that was opposed by local officials and criticized by Democrats. The guard troops in the city include contingents from the District of Columbia as well as Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia and Alabama.
Trump, a Republican, has suggested repeatedly that crime has disappeared from the capital as a result of the deployment, an assertion at odds with the police department’s official crime statistics.
Philadelphia can’t set the speed limits on roads within its own borders. Only the state can.
So city transportation officials want to persuade Harrisburg to give it the power to set speed limits more appropriate to the density of Philadelphia.
That is a top action item in the city’s new Vision Zero report, released Tuesday, which will guide traffic safety efforts for the next five years.
“We’re looking to work with the state legislature to make our roads safer,” said Christopher Puchalsky, director of policy and strategic initiatives at the Philadelphia Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems.
In Pennsylvania, as in many states, speed limits are based on the 85th percentile rule. Engineers measure speeds in a study area and set the limit based on how fast 85% of the drivers there are traveling.
“It just sort of got adopted and enshrined in law,” Puchalsky said of the principle developed from studies of rural roads in the 1950s and ’60s.
In recent years, traffic engineers, many states, and federal agencies in charge of traffic safety have been moving away from the approach and toward speeds that help prevent injuries and deaths.
“It’s one of those things we’ll look back on and say, ‘Why did people think that was a good method?’” Puchalsky said. “And we’ll all scratch our heads — or at least our grandchildren will scratch their heads.”
Pennsylvania’s legislature would need to amend the state’s vehicle code to grant Philadelphia the authority.
Similarly, the city wants to expand the use of automated speed enforcement cameras and red-light enforcement cameras. That would also require legislation.
Here are other takeaways from the Vision Zero report:
Traffic deaths are still high in Philly
In 2024, 120 people were killed in vehicle crashes in the city. The number of fatalities has been trending down slightly since 2020, but that figure is still 41% higher than it was in 2015, when the Vision Zero program began.
“I think we’ve unfortunately hit a higher set-point post pandemic than we would like,” said Kelley Yemen, director of multimodal planning for the city. “We’re seeing encouraging news with this year, but we’ve got two months to go and are holding our breaths.”
Yemen said the city has seen a 20% reduction in crashes on corridors where Vision Zero has been able to do traffic-calming projects such as installing speed cushions, implementing road diets that slow drivers, and installing separated bike lanes.
“As we get further out from the pandemic, we’re also hoping we reset some cultural norms on our streets, whether it’s through automated speed enforcement, red-light cameras, or working with [the police department],” she said.
The size of Philly’s problem
Philadelphia is an old, dense city with a robust transit system, similar to New York and Boston. But its rate of traffic-related deaths per 100,000 people is many times New York’s — and most closely resembles that of Los Angeles, the Vision Zero report noted, citing federal data from 2019 through 2023.
“We are still reviewing the plan, but our initial reaction is that the goals set forth are not transformational enough to address the climbing traffic death statistics,” said Jessie Amadio, an organizer with Philly Bike Action.
“Vision Zero safety interventions work in the places they are installed,” but annual progress is too slow, she said.
Factors that make a crash severe
Speeding was the leading contributing factor in serious injury and fatal crashes between 2020 and 2024, present in 19%, the report said. Drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs were involved in 8% of the crashes, and 8% ran a red traffic light. Distracted driving was responsible in 4% of crashes, and running stop signs in 2%.
People walking or using a personal mobility device were involved in 6% of crashes from 2002 through 2024 but were 40% of those who were killed, the report found.
Thirty-eight percent of people who died were in motor vehicles.
What were residents’ biggest concerns and asks?
The Philadelphia Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems heard from about 3,000 city residents about their biggest concerns and preferred responses, said Marco Gorini, the Vision Zero program manager.
Speeding was the topmost concern, cited by 24% of the people participating, followed by drivers running red lights and stop signs, cited by 23%.
People were reached at roundtables involving more than 80 community groups, by online services, and through a polling firm that randomly queried 1,500 Philadelphians representative of the city’s overall population.
Participants supported tough enforcement by automated cameras and police against those violations by wide margins.
Infrastructure-related changes work best to protect people and change driver behavior, residents said, and they clamored for more traffic-calming measures and street redesigns, according to Gorini. They want to prioritize changes around schools, senior centers, and public parks.
Besides enforcement and traffic-slowing infrastructure, residents expressed strong support for more safety education — instruction for high school students on safe driving (76%) and education for young students on safe walking and biking (71%).
And another thing: People want transparency with safety efforts.
“It’s very important that we regularly report on the state of traffic safety in Philadelphia and the results of Vision Zero interventions,” Gorini said. “This ensures accountability and helps the public understand what the issues are and how efforts to address them are going.”
Next steps
The city will be developing a spending plan for new safety projects for the next annual budget, due in the first quarter of 2026. And figuring how to pay for them from city funds and state and federal grants.
It’s a weird year in the NFL. Each of the traditional powers is missing something. Everything we fret about with the Eagles are worries in Kansas City and Buffalo.
The Chargers have failed to take the next step. The Lions and Ravens might miss the playoffs. Brock Purdy just threw three interceptions against the Panthers. Drake Maye is a great quarterback. Do the Patriots really have a great roster?
Something to be thankful for: Nobody else is great, either.
We’ll see that on Friday, when the Eagles host the Bears. Chicago is among the more fraudulent 8-3 teams we’ve seen.
Here is a look at all of the NFC teams that matter more than the Bears.
1. Rams (9-2)
It sure feels like 2025 is setting up for a Rams-Eagles NFC championship game that could launch an era-defining rivalry. The only thing missing right now is a big Rams win. The Eagles have beaten them four times over the last three seasons after initially replacing them as NFC champs in the 2022 season. But the Rams have walked away from the last two outings feeling like the Eagles’ equals if not betters.
First came that snowy 28-22 playoff loss when the Rams gave away six points on fumbles and still had a first down on the Eagles’ 21-yard line with 1 minute, 25 seconds remaining and a chance for a go-ahead touchdown. Then came Week 3, when L.A. blew a 26-7 lead and still had a shot at a game-winning 44-yard field goal with three seconds left only to have Jordan Davis block it and score a touchdown to boot.
The Rams are due. Sean McVay is too good of a coach, Matthew Stafford too good of a quarterback, and Les Snead too good of an executive to not eventually announce it to the rest of the world. What they’ve done in the four years since they won the Super Bowl is every bit as impressive as the mini-dynasty that Nick Sirianni, Jalen Hurts, and Howie Roseman have put together.
Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis brought the last meeting with the Rams to a thrilling end with his touchdown.
Snead and McVay have orchestrated an incredible turnaround on par with the Eagles post-2017. Stafford is one of only four players remaining on either side of the football who played at least 20% of the offensive snaps in 2021, when the Rams won the Super Bowl (The others: OT Rob Havenstein, TE Tyler Higbee, CB Darious Williams). They exited their Super Bowl with a bloated cap sheet and just one first-round pick between 2017 and ’25. Now, suddenly, they are the most impressive team in the NFL. The only impressive team, arguably, along with maybe the Colts. Since losing to the Eagles, their only loss was in overtime to the division rival 49ers (more on them later). They’ve beaten the Colts, the Ravens, the Jaguars, the 49ers, the Seahawks, and the Bucs. Of their six straight wins, five have been by at least two touchdowns. Of their nine overall wins, seven have come against teams whose Super Bowl odds rank in the top half of the NFL.
2. Detroit Lions (7-4)
The eye test says Detroit is a team nobody should want to face, particularly at home. But they wouldn’t even make the playoffs if they started today. And they would need to overcome some considerable odds if they hadn’t pulled out an overtime win over the Giants on Sunday. The Lions’ last six games are all losable: on the road against the Rams, Vikings, and Bears; at home against Green Bay, Dallas, and Pittsburgh.
Don’t get it twisted. They are a serious threat, one of two teams in the NFC who would have a strong argument to make to be favored over the Eagles in a playoff game at home. That’s a long shot to happen, given the tiebreaker the Eagles hold. But the Lions’ 16-9 loss at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 11 didn’t exactly establish them as the definitive favorites even at home.
Baker Mayfield and the Bucs have a soft schedule ahead.
3. Buccaneers (6-5)
Tampa Bay has one of the easiest remaining schedules in the NFL. Arizona, New Orleans, Atlanta, Miami, and Carolina twice. Find me two losses among those, assuming Baker Mayfield starts at quarterback. Even if Mayfield misses a week or two with his sprained nonthrowing shoulder, the Bucs should be able to finish atop the putrid NFC South. That means they have six weeks to get Mayfield and Chris Godwin healthy. Which means they could easily be a threat once the playoffs arrive.
4. 49ers (8-4)
Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Like I said, the field is weird this year. Who else would you put ahead of San Francisco? The Eagles are the only legitimate contender of the NFC’s three-loss teams. They already beat Green Bay on the road. Seattle is quarterbacked by Sam Darnold and will be playing as a wild card with the Rams winning the division. The Bears are the fakest of them all. You’ll see that on Friday.
The 49ers? They are faker than they usually are. The Fred Warner injury — out for the season — was the final deal-breaker. They sorely miss Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk on the offensive side. San Francisco is only a threat to the Eagles if the Eagles turn out to be the team they’ve looked to be over the last several weeks. That team is capable of losing to anybody with a competent quarterback and a great head coach.
5. Cowboys (5-5-1)
This is not recency bias. The Cowboys would be second on this list if you could guarantee me that they would make the postseason. As it stands now, they will probably need to win two out of three against the Chiefs (home), Lions (road), and Chargers (home) just to have a reasonable chance of qualifying for the postseason. And that’s assuming they beat the Vikings, Commanders, and Giants.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott running for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Eagles.
That being said …
If all of that happens, then we’d be foolish to consider the Eagles as anything better than a coin flip in a playoff game against the Cowboys, whether at home or on the road. Dallas has outplayed them even this season, once in a game the Eagles should have lost and, more recently, in a game the Eagles should have won. In both games this season, the Eagles have struggled to find an answer for CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Dak Prescott is playing at a near-MVP level and gives the Cowboys the advantage at quarterback. Mostly, this is a referendum on the rest of the NFC.
6. Seahawks (8-3)
Look, Darnold has been better than anybody could have envisioned after the Jets drafted him at No. 3 overall. But he is still the biggest reason to doubt that Seattle has been anything more than the beneficiary of a light schedule. The Seahawks’ best wins have come on the road in Pittsburgh in Week 2 and on the road in Jacksonville in Week 6. It’s definitely worth something that they put up 414 yards of total offense and nearly beat the Rams despite Darnold throwing four interceptions. But, then, Darnold threw four interceptions.
Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean forcing a fumble by Packers quarterback Jordan Love on Nov. 10.
7. Packers (7-3-1)
Jordan Love is the most overrated quarterback in the NFL, and Matt LaFleur might be the most overrated play-caller. Not a good combination. The Eagles already beat Green Bay at Lambeau Field on a night when a better team would have beaten them. No worries here.
8. Bears (8-3)
For whatever reason, I’ve watched more of the Bears this season than virtually any other team. At no point have they looked capable of beating even a semicompetent team. That holds true for some of the games that they’ve actually won. Caleb Williams is missing something. I think we will see that on Friday.
Twenty-four hours after throwing 96 pitches to shove the World Series to a seventh game, the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto ran in from the bullpen to this: ninth inning, one out, winning run at second base.
It was a legend-making moment.
Halfway around the world, Tora Otsuka chuckled.
In 2023, his first season as a Japan-based scout for the Phillies, Otsuka hosted three team officials, including assistant general manager Jorge Velandia, on a scouting visit. Among their stops: Chiba, a short drive from Tokyo, to watch Yamamoto pitch for the Orix Buffaloes.
“He threw a no-hitter in that game,” Otsuka said this week, laughing into the phone from Japan. “We had all our people watching this one game, and he threw a no-hitter. Only special players do that, you know? I feel like some players have ‘it.’ He’s one of those guys that has ‘it.’”
Otsuka laughed some more.
“When I saw that,” he continued, “I was like, ‘Yeah, I know he will do good in the States.’”
Just not for the Phillies.
Oh, they tried. The Phillies took a Bryce Harper-size swing at signing Yamamoto two years ago. They flew a seven-person delegation to Southern California to meet him and make a $300 million guarantee, plus add-ons that boosted the offer to more than $325 million, multiple sources said at the time.
The Phillies tried hard to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto as a free agent out of Japan two years ago.
But the Phillies have never signed a player out of Japan to a major league contract.
And Yamamoto wasn’t interested in being the first.
It’s a common sentiment. When Shohei Ohtani was courted by teams in 2017, he famously told MLB.com that he wanted to snap a selfie with the Rocky statue but didn’t want to play here. Last year, right-handed phenom Roki Sasaki wouldn’t even meet with the Phillies, a snub that owner John Middleton described as “hugely disappointing.”
And with a trio of Japanese stars available this offseason — right-hander Tatsuya Imai entered the posting system this week, joining slugging infielders Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto — the Phillies are at a disadvantage relative to teams that have been active in Japan over the years, notably the Dodgers but also the Mets, Yankees, Cubs, Mariners, and Red Sox.
“Well, you still compete,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “Sometimes there’s a little bit more of an obstacle we’re facing. Maybe [Philly] is not the No. 1 place, first and foremost. But you don’t give in to that. You try to create an atmosphere that people want to join, and you’re hopeful that at some time it works out for you.“
Dombrowski maintains that the Phillies have made inroads, even though it’s difficult to see. They employ two full-time scouts in Japan now after years with one or none. Otsuka, the son of former major league pitcher Akinori Otsuka, is based near Tokyo; Koji Takahashi, hired away from the Twins, lives 300 miles to the southwest in Osaka.
With Otsuka and Takahashi building connections on the ground, at the amateur level and especially within Nippon Professional Baseball, the Phillies believe they’re better positioned to attract players.
But when?
“I feel like it’s going to happen sooner or later for the Phillies,” Otsuka said. “Timing-wise, it just hasn’t happened yet. We’re very close, I would say.”
Assistant general manager Jorge Velandia heads up the Phillies’ international scouting efforts, including in Japan.
Playing catch up
It all started with “Nomomania.”
Hideo Nomo signed with the Dodgers in 1995, bringing a distinctive pitching style that translated into major league success. Since then, 72 players have gone from NPB to MLB, with seven teams (Mets, Dodgers, Mariners, Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees, and Rangers) accounting for more than half those deals.
Conversely, the Phillies, Rockies, Astros, and Marlins have been shut out. (Second baseman Tadahito Iguchi and outfielder So Taguchi played for the Phillies. But Iguchi was traded over from the White Sox in 2007, and Taguchi signed as a free agent a few months later after six seasons with the Cardinals.)
The Phillies fell behind other teams in scouting Japan. After getting hired in December 2020, Dombrowski felt that he lacked adequate information about available Japanese players. He appointed Velandia to lead international scouting, with a directive to “build a better infrastructure in how we approach the Far East.”
Velandia tasked scouting director Derrick Chung with interviewing talent evaluators. Chung, who joined the Phillies in 2017 as an interpreter for South Korean outfielder Hyun Soo Kim before moving into scouting, recommended Takahashi.
Otsuka was clinging to hopes of playing professionally in Japan when Chung met him at a tryout for an independent league team. A former outfielder for the University of San Diego, Otsuka impressed Chung with his knowledge of the game and fluency in both Japanese and English.
After a formal interview process, the Phillies hired Otsuka, now 27, as a full-time scout.
Tadahito Iguchi became the Phillies’ first player from Japan after being acquired from the White Sox in a 2007 trade.
Velandia and Chung each make two or three trips per year to Japan. The Phillies send their special assignment scouts, too. Otsuka said this was a “very busy year, with scouts coming in and out” to watch Imai, Murakami, and others in “a very, very solid class of guys.”
“The stuff we were doing three years ago and now, I’d say we have gotten better just understanding more about the market,” Otsuka said. “We’re more dialed in now compared to maybe before. We send scouts all the time to come to Japan. Just the process of everything has gotten smoother and smoother as the years have gone by.”
Otsuka claims that the Phillies’ brand recognition has improved in Japan, too. Amid four consecutive playoff appearances, and with popular stars such as Harper and Kyle Schwarber, the Phillies are often featured on television in Japan.
They aren’t the Dodgers, of course. For 30 years, from Nomo through pitchers Kazuhisa Ishii, Takashi Saito, Hiroki Kuroda, Yu Darvish, and Kenta Maeda, Japanese baseball culture has extended to Los Angeles. And after signing Ohtani, Yamamoto, and Sasaki in the last two years, the Dodgers might as well be Japan’s national team.
The connection extends to the players. Yamamoto cited a desire to play with Ohtani as a reason for choosing the Dodgers’ $325 million over similar offers from the Mets, Yankees, and Phillies. Sasaki made no secret that he wanted to be alongside Ohtani and Yamamoto.
And social media was buzzing this week over a photo of Murakami, who holds Japan’s single-season record with 56 home runs, dining with Yamamoto.
“There is the difficulty of we have not had a player straight from Japan,” Otsuka said. “Players do talk with each other, saying what is a good organization, what is not a good organization. It would be nice to have one player be signed from Japan who plays in the big leagues to have more viewership from the Japan side for the Phillies.”
For a brief time last winter, Otsuka thought he might have found that player.
The Phillies signed Japanese reliever Koyo Aoyagi to a minor league contract last winter but released him in July after he struggled in triple A.
Chicken-or-egg situation
Koyo Aoyagi was a three-time all-star in nine NPB seasons. He won a gold medal in the 2020 Olympics. Three years later, he started Game 7 of the Japan Series and spun 4⅔ scoreless innings for the champion Hanshin Tigers.
But his dream was to play in the majors.
At 31, coming off a 2024 season that he said didn’t meet his standards, Aoyagi signed a minor-league contract with the Phillies. The side-arming reliever attended major league camp but agreed to go to triple A.
Upon arriving in spring training — his first visit to the United States — Aoyagi said through an interpreter that he “wasn’t too aware” of the Phillies’ inability to break through in Japan. But he also acknowledged that “me pitching on the big-league mound will definitely bring some attention to the Phillies that would be able to recruit Japanese players more.”
It was a low-risk, high-reward union of player and team.
And it didn’t work out.
Aoyagi struggled to throw strikes all spring, and it carried into the season. He had a 7.45 ERA with 23 walks in 19⅓ innings in triple A. After getting demoted to double A, he posted a 6.91 ERA and 15 walks in 14⅓ innings. The Phillies released him in July.
But Otsuka, who recommended that the Phillies take a flier on Aoyagi, stands by the team’s process. He also believes in what Aoyagi represented.
“Even though he didn’t make it to the big leagues, just him being on the team [in spring training], that still brought some attention in Japan,” Otsuka said. “I see a lot more Phillies hats walking around town. That’s all I can say. And I hear a lot of people talking about the Phillies just being a really good, strong team.”
Japanese reliever Koyo Aoyagi pitched in the minors for the Phillies last season before getting released.
Maybe. But the Aoyagi experience re-raised a chicken-or-egg conundrum: Do the Phillies have to gain more traction in Japan in order to attract an impact player? Or must they sign a Japanese player to a major league contract in order to really penetrate the Far East market?
The answer might not be found in this year’s class.
Murakami, 26, has prodigious left-handed power but also strikes out a lot and is a poor defender at third base. Okamoto, 30, is a right-handed hitter with less upside than Murakami who also profiles best at first base.
Imai, 28, draws intriguing comparisons to Yamamoto. The Phillies aren’t prioritizing the rotation. But that was the case in each of the last two offseasons, and they made a mega offer to Yamamoto and discussed trading for Garrett Crochet before acquiring Jesús Luzardo.
“When most teams talk to me about Imai, they say, ‘Oh my,’” agent Scott Boras said at the recent GM meetings. “He’s that kind of guy. … He loves big markets. We go through a list of places he may want to play, and, believe me, he is someone who wants to be on a winning team and compete at the highest level.”
But whether it’s now or in the future, the Phillies’ biggest challenge in mining talent from Japan is selling players on Philadelphia.
Velandia said the pitch highlights the city’s restaurants, doctors, and other resources that would make a Japanese player feel comfortable. Otsuka likes to emphasize the area’s golf courses, such as Pine Valley and Merion East.
The fact is, though, Philadelphia has a smaller Japanese population than many other major league cities. As one team official said, it makes sense that a Japanese player coming to the U.S. would be drawn to L.A. or New York, just as an American soccer player going to Spain would focus on Barcelona or Madrid.
“We just spit out all the good things about Philly,” Otsuka said. “We give the most information about Philadelphia, where it is as a city, what it’s like to play for the Phillies. It’s not like the worst sell ever. It has its difficulties, but it’s good. We can make it work.”
It might take a trail blazer, a player who wants to forge his own path. Otsuka intends to find him.
“That’s actually one of those selling points, that you could be ‘The Guy,’” Otsuka said. “You can be the first. When they think about Phillie Japanese players, you could be that player. Definitely the right player’s out there, the player that we want to go after.
“When the time’s right, it’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of time. We have the right processes. We’re doing everything possible now. I think we have all the necessary resources now to actually make it happen. I’m not frustrated about it. I’m just patiently waiting.”
City Councilmember Jimmy Harrity wants to revisit the contentious debate that led to the 2017 creation of Philadelphia’s sweetened beverage tax, arguing that the levy has cost the city jobs and will eventually prove insufficient to pay for the programs it was enacted to support, such as subsidized prekindergarten.
“We‘re going to keep on pulling more money out of the general fund each year, taking away from other programs,” Harrity, a Democrat, said Monday at a hearing of Council’s Labor and Civil Service Committee, which he chairs. “If we were in business and these numbers were the numbers of the business, we wouldn’t be in business long.”
The tax, which is paid by distributors of sweetened beverages sold in Philadelphia, is 1.5 cents per ounce. Council approved it in 2016 despite vociferous opposition from the beverage industry and Teamsters Local 830, which testified Monday the tax has led to 1,000 of its members who drove trucks for distributors losing work.
Harrity,an ally of the Teamsters, noted that revenue from the tax has declined as Philadelphians either drink fewer sweetened beverages or find ways to purchase them outside the city. The tax produced about $73.4 million in the 2023 fiscal year, but only $64.4 million last year, he said.
A Council staffer arranges a table of sugary drinks before Councilmember Jimmy Harrity (not shown) holds a hearing in City Council Monday, Oct. 27, 2025 on former Mayor Jim Kenney’s tax on sweetened beverages.
For Harrity, that means that the city should consider eliminating the “soda tax,” as it is widely known, in favor of a more “sustainable” funding stream. He did not offer any alternatives.
But based on his colleagues’ reactions, it is unlikely the tax will be reconsidered in a serious way any time soon.
Marcy Boroff with Children First dresses as a coke can for a City Council hearing Monday, Oct. 27, 2025 on former Mayor Jim Kenney’s tax on sweetened beverages. She was there to support the tax. Children First advocates for policy changes to improve child health, education, and welfare, especially for low-income children. .
And they stressed its critical role in paying for the three initiatives that Kenney launched alongside the tax: PHL Pre-K, which provides free childcare to 5,250 kids; community schools, which offer a multitude of services to families in 20 Philly schools; and the Rebuild program, which renovates and improves recreation centers and playgrounds.
“We have to make tough decisions that will actually benefit the greater good, and that’s what we did here,” Democratic Councilmember Rue Landau said during the hearing, adding that “the majority of us up here on this panel think this is a great investment.”
“We would not have been able to fund these programs without that beverage tax money,” said city Finance Director Rob Dubow, who has held his role under Parker, Kenney, and former Mayor Michael A. Nutter. Nutter twice tried unsuccessfully to implement a “soda tax” before Kenney succeeded.
Dubow told lawmakers that the decline in the tax’s revenue over time was always part of the plan and that city leaders intended for the regular city budget to make up the difference for funding Rebuild, pre-K, and community schools when they created the tax. The moment when the soda tax began taking in less money than the city pays out for the three programs it helped launch was the 2024 fiscal year, he said.
“We pay for it out of the general fund, which is what we always intended we would do,” Dubow said.
This year, Rebuild, pre-K, and community schools are projected to cost $110 million, Dubow said. Of that, $73 million pays for the 5,250 slots in the city’s pre-K program.
Preschoolers and their caregivers attend a City Council hearing held by Councilmember Jimmy Harrity Monday, Oct. 27, 2025 on former Mayor Jim Kenney’s tax on sweetened beverages. The tax funds the city’s universal pre-kindergarten program
‘Why not Taj Mahals?’
Councilmember Brian O’Neill was the only other Council member besides Harrity to vocally criticize the tax at Monday’s hearing.
O’Neill, Council’s lone Republican, noted that Council members have traditionally had control over capital funding for Philadelphia Parks and Recreation projects in their districts. That money, he noted, is split evenly among the 10 district Council members.
“This program — Rebuild, they call it — they didn’t decide to bring playgrounds up to some minimum level where people over the years may not have spent their money well,” O’Neill said. “They decided to build Taj Mahals in many cases. … You know what happens when you build a playground and spend tons of money on it? … All the playgrounds around it look terrible.“
Councilmember Brian J. O’Neill (center) speaks during a hearing in City Council Monday, Oct. 27, 2025 on former Mayor Jim Kenney’s tax on sweetened beverages. Behind him, front to rear, are: Councilmembers Kendra Brooks, Jimmy Harrity, Nina Ahmad, and Rue Landau.
That comment did not go over well with some of his colleagues.
“My community benefited from a rec center that was through the Rebuild program,” said Councilmember Kendra Brooks, a member of the progressive Working Families Party who lives in Nicetown. “It’s not a Taj Mahal. It’s a quality rec center in the middle of North Philadelphia. It does not have everything, because I personally went and bought a refrigerator.”
And Councilmember Nina Ahmad, a Democrat, questioned why building grandiose rec centers would be a problem in the first place.
“Why not Taj Mahals for all our folks? Why not have the best-quality rec centers so our children want to go there, our children want to spend time there?” Ahmad said. “We live in a first-world country and yet we are begging for scraps for our youngest citizens.”
