Some snow is possible in the Philly region during the holiday weekend, but about the only thing certain is that schools will be closed until Tuesday.
Snow — not a whole lot of it — is expected Saturday morning, and possibly again during the day Sunday.
“Definitely something,” said Ray Martin, a lead meteorologist at the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly, “maybe not a lot of something.”
In short, he added, expect a “100% chance of forecast uncertainty.”
How much for Philly?
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Some snow is expected in the early morning hours of Saturday, said Dan Pydynowski, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc., and “sidewalks and streets could be slick for a time” in the Philly region.
However, temperatures in the afternoon are expected to approach 40 degrees and that should melt any snow. If the precipitation lingers, it likely would turn to rain.
That snow would be associated with a system from the west, and more significant amounts are expected well north and west of Philly.
On Sunday when it will be colder, the source would be a coastal storm that has been befuddling computer models the last three days. On Wednesday, the U.S. model was seeing a significant snowstorm for the I-95 corridor. On Thursday, it said never mind and fell in line with other guidance that kept the storm offshore.
On Friday, models were bringing the storm closer to the coast, but the model consensus was that it would be more of threat at the Shore and perhaps throw back a paltry amount to the immediate Philly region.
“On the other hand, a slight shift … in the track could bring 1-2 inches into the urban corridor,” the weather service said in its afternoon discussion.
Said Martin, “It’s always tricky with these offshore lows. It’s also possible that both systems pass us and we get basically nothing.”
Far more certain is a rather big chill
A Philadelphia firefighter spreads salt to control icing at a fire scene on Friday.
That the region was about to experience its coldest weather of the season to date was all but certain.
High temperatures on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, probably won’t get out of the 30s, and no higher than the mid 20s Tuesday and Wednesday, forecasters say.
Overnight lows are due to tumble into the teens, with wind chills approaching zero early Wednesday.
No more precipitation is forecast at least through Thursday, but with odds favoring continued below-normal temperatures through Jan. 29 and above-normal precipitation, it should be a robust period for virtual snow threats, if not actual snow.
Less than 24 hours after losing out to the Dodgers in the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes, the Mets pivoted to Bo Bichette.
After New York swooped in with a three-year, $126 million deal for the infielder, the Phillies immediately made a pivot of their own. They agreed to terms with catcher J.T. Realmuto on a three-year, $45 million contract, a source confirmed to The Inquirer. The contract was first reported by The Athletic. The deal includes incentives worth up to $5 million more per year in awards bonuses, for a potential total of $60 million. The awards bonus package is a record for a free agent, a source said.
The contract will take Realmuto, who will be 35 in March, through his age-37 season.
He is coming off a down year offensively, slashing .257/.315/.384 with 12 homers, but has remained one of the top defensive catchers in baseball with a game-planning and pitch-calling ability that is highly touted by many Phillies pitchers.
“I’ve had a lot of great catchers I’ve been around. [Jorge] Posada. [Iván] Rodríguez for a short period of time. It goes on and on and on,” manager Rob Thomson said in October. “This guy, to me, is the most prepared guy I’ve ever been around as a catcher.”
Re-signing Realmuto, who has backstopped the Phillies since 2019, had been a main focus of the club throughout the offseason. But while the parties were apart on a deal, the Phillies began to show interest in adding Bichette as a lineup upgrade.
They met with Bichette virtually earlier this week, but instead of landing the two-time All-Star, they will now have to contend with him in the National League East.
A shortstop with the Blue Jays, Bo Bichette is expected to move to third base with the Mets.
Bichette spent the first seven years of his career with the Blue Jays as a shortstop. A right-handed contact hitter, Bichette posted a .311 batting average in 2025, second in the American League behind Aaron Judge. He injured his knee in September but returned to Toronto’s lineup in the World Series, playing second base for the first time in his major league career.
The Mets have an established shortstop in Francisco Lindor and traded for second baseman Marcus Semien earlier this offseason. Per multiple reports, Bichette is expected to play third base for the Mets, a position he has not played before.
Top officials across the Philadelphia region are taking a stand against partnerships with ICE.
On Wednesday, newly inaugurated Bucks County Sheriff Danny Ceisler terminated a 287(g) agreement with ICE initiated by his Republican predecessor that enabled deputies to act as immigration enforcement officers.Haverford Township also passed a resolution barring participation in a 287(g) agreement.
These developments come as protests escalate against President Donald Trump’s deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to U.S. cities, after an agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis last week. Good, a poet and mother of three, was in her SUV when the agent fired into the vehicle.
Also on Wednesday, Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social, that federal funding would be cut from any states that have sanctuary cities. These jurisdictions, which limit local law enforcement cooperation with ICE, have been increasingly targeted by the president’s administration.
As local leaders continue to grapple with the ever-changing and escalating Trump immigration policy, here’s what to know about how local governments are interacting with federal immigration authorities:
Everyone has a theory as to why that might be: Could Trump be avoiding the largest city in the most important swing state? Has Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s decision to refrain from publicly criticizing Trump played a role?
But regardless of the name, a 2016 executive order signed by former Mayor Jim Kenney on ICE cooperation remains in place under Parker’s administration. The directive orders city authorities to not comply with ICE-issued detainer requests to hold people in custody unless there is a judicial warrant.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner speaks at a news conference outside the Philadelphia Field Office for Immigration Customs Enforcement in Center City in August.
The sheriff terminated a 287(g) agreement with ICE — what does that mean?
Essentially, it means that sheriff deputies are no longer allowed to act as immigration authorities.
Last April, Ceisler’s predecessor, Fred Harran, a Trump-aligned Republican, signed on to thepartnership with ICE, stirring upcontroversy in the swingcounty. Ceisler, a Democrat who defeated Harran in November, made terminating the agreement a focal point of his campaign.
No one in Bucks had been detained under the 287(g) agreement, Ceisler said.
On Wednesday, Ceisler signed another order that prohibits deputies from asking crime victims, witnesses, and court observers their immigration status.
Does Bucks County still work with ICE?
Yes. Bucks County is not a sanctuary county and, in the words of Ceisler, “will never be.”
The Bucks County Department of Corrections will continue to share information with law enforcement agencies, including ICE. The federal agency will also continue to have access to county jails and Bucks will honor judicial warrants from immigration enforcement.
Bucks County Sheriff Danny Ceisler announces the termination of the county’s partnership with ICE, an agreement formally known as 287(g), during a press conference at the Bucks County Justice Center in Doylestown, Pa., on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.
“It’s sporadic, it’s reports,” Ceisler said of ICE’s presence in Bucks.
“I can’t get ICE out of Bucks County,” he added. “I have no authority over them. All I can do is prevent 16 deputies from participating in a program that enables them to perform immigrant enforcement in the community.”
Bucks County was the only county in the Philadelphia region that did not appear on an initial list published by the Trump administration of sanctuary jurisdictions that could have federal funding at risk. That list was later deleted. The most recent list, published by the administration in August, also does not feature Bucks.
Haverford Township
Will Haverford Township participate in a 287(g) agreement?
While the police department has not requested to enter an alliance with ICE, township commissioners passed the resolution as a preventive measure.
Montgomery County
What is Montgomery County’s policy on immigration?
Montgomery County’s Democratic commissioners have not passed a formal ordinance or a resolution labeling Montco a sanctuary or welcoming county, citing limits to their power, concerns about creating a false sense of security, and a preference for internal policy changes.
In early 2025, county officials approved a policy that limits communication between county employees and ICE officials and said they would not answer prison detainer requests without warrants.
Montgomery County activists hold a news conference about ICE incidents in the county last month.
What do Montco residents think about it?
County residentshave urged individual municipalities within the county to limit collaboration with ICE, especially as the county has become a hot spot for immigration enforcement. Norristown, a heavily Latino community, has specifically become a target for ICE.
“ICE has created a crisis in our neighborhoods, and we cannot afford silence, mixed signals, or leadership that only reacts once harm has already happened,” Stephanie Vincent, a resident and leader of Montco Community Watch, said last month during a news conference at a West Norriton church.
As of early December, local organizers estimated that only six out of 62 municipalities had enacted policies, though they consider some to be lackluster.
Staff writer Katie Bernard contributed to this article.
Anna Stone was doing the first rounds of her nursing shift at St. Luke’s Upper Bucks Campus when she noticed a patient’s heart rate was elevated, a sign that they could be at risk of a cardiac emergency.
Before she could look into the patient’s chart and decide whether to call for help, a critical care doctor came rushing to the patient’s bedside.
A drop in the patient’s oxygen levels had been detected by a monitor that uses artificial intelligence to continuously evaluate vital signs. This triggered an automatic alert for the hospital’s critical care team to send help.
The AI tool is intended to help doctors and nurses more quickly identify patients whose condition is deteriorating — often before signs of distress are visible to medical staff — and intervene sooner.
The approach contributed to a 34% decline in cardiac arrests, and a 12% drop in patients crashing so hard and fast that they required rapid response transfers to the ICU between 2022 and 2024, according to St. Luke’s.
Survival rates among cardiac arrest patients rose from 24% to 36%.
St. Luke’s experiment with a program called the Deterioration Index, created by healthcare software giant Epic, is among the latest ways hospitals are bringing artificial intelligence into their patients’ rooms.
In other Philadelphia-area initiatives, Jefferson Health and Penn Medicine recently debuted an ambient listening tool that records conversations between doctors and patients, distilling the critical details into a well-organized visit note.
St. Luke’s has been using its AI monitoring system across all 16 of its campuses, including Quakertown, Upper Bucks, and Grand View, which the health system acquired in July.
The health system’s initiative was recognized by The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, the region’s largest industry group for hospitals, with an award honoring safety and quality initiatives that improved patient care while reducing hospital costs.
Using AI to predict emergencies
The monitoring device, which attaches to a patient’s finger, records and continuously updates patients’ electronic medical records with vital metrics such as heart rate, blood pressure, and lab work results.
Using this matrix of data points, it assigns each patient a “deterioration index” — a score between 0 and 100 indicating their overall stability — and automatically alerts critical care when the score rises too high.
Matthew Zheng, a doctor at St. Luke’s Upper Bucks, holds the monitoring device used to continuously track patients’ vital signs.
It is not intended to replace in-person monitoring, but serves as an extra set of eyes when nurses are away from their bedside.
What’s more, the sophisticated technology is capable of picking up on nuanced changes in a patient’s status before they show physical signs of distress.
“We would ideally like to intervene on these patients before they reach a point where the intervention isn’t that helpful,” said Matthew Zheng, a critical care doctor at St. Luke’s Hospital — Upper Bucks. “Our nurses work very hard, but they can’t be in the same room all the time.”
When a patient’s “deterioration index” rises above 60, the device sends an alert to the hospital’s virtual response center — a remote hub where a nurse monitors three screens showing the status of all patients.
Alerts may also be sent directly to a patient’s care team or the rapid response unit, if the AI monitoring detects that a patient is quickly deteriorating and needs emergency care.
“What that’s allowed is for us to have a proactive response instead of being reactive to patients,” said Charles Sonday, an associate chief medical information officer at St. Luke’s who leads AI initiatives.
Stone, the Quakertown nurse, said having the tool to constantly watch over patients while she’s out of their room is reassuring.
Doctors like that it enables them to quickly get up to speed on the status of a patient they transferred out of the ICU, and respond more immediately to their new medical needs, said Zheng, the critical care doctor.
St. Luke’s plans to continue fine-tuning the technology, and customize it to meet the unique patient profiles of each of its campuses, which span 11 counties and two states, from the Lehigh Valley to New Jersey.
The social and economic factors that affect patient health, such as pollution, and illness rates, vary significantly across the health system’s sprawling network, Sonday said.
The system will also explore customizing the tool for specialty services, such as pediatrics and behavioral health.
Five years after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, Gov. Josh Shapiro and other Pennsylvania Democrats on Tuesday marked the anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack by sharply criticizing President Donald Trump.
Trump, who was impeached for inciting the riot in the final days of his first administration, pardoned nearly every Jan. 6 defendant and commuted sentences for a handful of violent offenders as one of his first actions upon returning to office last year.
“Law enforcement officers literally gave their lives to protect our country and our democracy — yet one of the first things Donald Trump did when he took office was pardon people who were convicted of assaulting police officers,” Shapiro said in a post on X Tuesday morning.
“The President may not respect our law enforcement officers’ courage and commitment to service — but here in Pennsylvania, we remember the sacrifices they make and will always have their backs.”
Shapiro played a key role as state attorney general in defending the 2020 election results in Pennsylvania in the weeks leading up to the attack, which took place the same day that Congress was certifying former President Joe Biden’s victory.
Trump has downplayed the events of Jan. 6, and on Tuesday the White House unveiled a webpage dedicated to the events, falsely describing the riot as a peaceful protest and blaming Capitol Police for the violence that unfolded.
Pennsylvania Senate Democrats hold an event in the state Capitol Tuesday to commemorate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Shapiro was one of several Democrats who marked the anniversary of the attack for the first time since Trump returned to office.
State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, of Philadelphia, introduced a resolution alongside other House Democrats to designate Jan. 6 as the “Democracy Observance Day for Education, Remembrance, and Vigilance.”
AndPennsylvania Senate Democratsheld an event in the state Capitol Tuesday.
State Sen. Art Haywood, who represents parts of Montgomery County and Philadelphia, described the events of Jan. 6, 2021, as an “attempted coup” orchestrated by Trump.
He recounted the events in minute-by-minute detail drawing from what has been reported about the day, from Trump’s direction to rally-goers to go to the Capitol to former Vice President Mike Pence’s evacuation from the Senate chambers and rioters’ success breaking into offices.
State Sen. Jay Costa, of Pittsburgh, said Tuesday’s anniversary eventwas aimed at drawing attention to the “lawlessness” of the day. Trump’s decision to pardon those involved, he said, was a “slap in the face” to law enforcement.
Costa contended that other incidents of political violence in the years that have followed could be traced back to Jan. 6.
“We cannot pick and choose, as our president has done, when we think about what we’re going to do and say about our law enforcement officers,” he said. “We need to stand with them all the time.”
One team had a meaningful game with a lot on the line and everything in its control. The other had a meaningful game with a lot on the line and only some things in its control.
The Eagles, the latter team, went the conservative route and rested most of their regulars. The San Francisco 49ers, meanwhile, played a big game in prime time Saturday and lost at least one starter for the playoffs in the process.
Of course, had the Eagles been in a situation in which a win guaranteed them the No. 2 seed in the NFC, Nick Sirianni likely would have made a different decision for Week 18 vs. Washington.
As it happens, the decision may have cost the Eagles a chance at a second home playoff game, but what it did guarantee was them entering wild-card weekend with the healthiest roster they could have. It was an extra week for right tackle Lane Johnson and linebacker Nakobe Dean to continue working toward their returns from foot and hamstring injuries, respectively. It was a day off for defensive tackle Jalen Carter to give his ailing shoulders a break. Edge rusher Jaelan Phillips got to rest his ankle injury. Tight end Dallas Goedert got to stay off his knee.
Lane Johnson (left) and Jaelan Phillips rested during the Eagles’ loss to Washington.
The 49ers, meanwhile, lost linebacker Tatum Bethune to what coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters was a season-ending groin injury during their Saturday night loss to Seattle. San Francisco remains without star linebacker Fred Warner (ankle), who has been out since Week 6 and is unlikely to be ready until at least the NFC championship game. Bethune started in Warner’s stead. Two other linebackers, Dee Winters (ankle) and Luke Gifford (quadriceps), will be evaluated this week for their injuries, Shanahan told reporters on Monday. Winters has played 92% of the 49ers’ defensive snaps this season.
The Eagles could be facing a hodgepodge of linebackers on Sunday (4:30 p.m., Fox29).
San Francisco also was without star left tackle Trent Williams for its game Saturday. Williams is dealing with a hamstring injury, and the 49ers struggled offensively without him, although the Seahawks have one of the best defenses in the NFL. San Francisco was held to 173 yards and managed just nine first downs vs. the Seahawks, while 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was sacked three times. Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall practiced in a limited fashion last week but was ruled out for the game with knee and ankle injuries.
Johnson, the Eagles’ star tackle, seems to be trending toward returning for the postseason. Dean’s status remains unclear, but his Week 16 injury was not expected to be long-term. “Good news is, I don’t think it’s too serious and I don’t think we’re done seeing him for this season,” Vic Fangio said on Dec. 23. The Eagles could end up starting their postseason run with all of their active-roster regulars ready for action. (Rookie safety Drew Mukuba is on injured reserve.)
“I think it’s always a fine line of there’s two things that need to happen,” Sirianni said Monday. “[You’ve] got to have your players available, and you do different things to make sure that happens throughout the year, but it is so important that you continue to get better as the season goes on.
“Our guys know how to practice. They know how to practice efficiently. So we’ve had a tendency of getting better while also having guys healthy.”
Resting the regulars meant Tank Bigsby got the start at running back with Saquon Barkley on the sideline.
Bigsby has flashed in his limited role as a backup, and he showed Sunday why some are clamoring for more of him.
Bigsby rushed 16 times for 75 yards and a touchdown. He also turned a check-down completion into a 31-yard gain, making Washington’s Jordan Magee miss with a nifty cut in the process. Bigsby, however, played just two snaps in the fourth quarter and did not have a touch after the third quarter during the 24-17 loss.
Eagles running back Tank Bigsby rushed for 75 yards on 16 carries on Sunday.
“He runs hard,” Sirianni said. “He’s got extremely good ability to make you miss while also being able to put his shoulder down and finish runs through contact.
“The way he walks through, the way he practices, it really does show up in the game with how hard he runs and how hard he plays.”
Perhaps the Eagles will feature more of him, especially if they find success on the ground vs. a weakened San Francisco front seven.
Former Phillies star Lenny Dykstra was arrested for possession of narcotics and narcotics paraphernalia during a traffic stop just after midnight on New Year’s Day in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the state police said.
Dykstra, 62, who lives in Scranton, was a passenger in a 2015 silver GMC Sierra truck in the area of Route 507 and Robinson Road in Greene Township, Pike County, when the vehicle was stopped by the Pennsylvania State Police for an alleged motor vehicle code violation, the state police said in a report.
“During this investigation, the passenger was found to be in possession of narcotics and narcotic related equipment/paraphernalia,” the state police report said. “Charges to be filed.”
Neither Dykstra nor the Pike County District Attorney’s Office could be reached for comment Friday night.
Dykstra played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball in center field, spending the first four with the Mets — including as part of the team that won the 1986 World Series — before being traded to the Phillies during the 1989 season. He retired with the Phillies in 1996.
Nicknamed the “Dude” and “Nails,” Dykstra was a celebrated member of the 1993 Phillies team that made it to the World Series, but lost to the Toronto Blue Jays.
After his baseball career, Dykstra ran afoul of the law multiple times. He spent time in prison after pleading guilty in federal court for bankruptcy fraud and pleading no contest to grand theft auto in California.
In February 2024, Dykstra suffered a stroke. In an interview later that year with the Times-Tribune in Scranton, he reflected on his health recovery and his legal and drug problems.
Dykstra told the Times-Tribune he did some drinking while playing for the Mets, but his drug use intensified when he played for the Phillies.
“It was a pharmacy,” he said.
Dykstra said he liked using drugs and alcohol, but did not consider himself an addict, the Times-Tribune reported.
“There were a lot of other players that were worse than me,” he said.
The perimeter of the gridiron isn’t necessarily the vantage point the Eagles quarterback enjoys. But with the playoffs looming, Nick Sirianni is expected to rest most of his key starters for the regular-season finale against the Washington Commanders, even with the NFC’s No. 2 seed up for grabs.
That choice is out of Hurts’ hands. And he says he has faith in those decision-makers that they’re making the right one.
“Just giving my trust to the coaches and trusting their plans and everything that we do,” Hurts said Wednesday. “Obviously, I’m very competitive. Every opportunity we have, we want to take advantage of and try and go out there and compete at a high level. So if that opportunity is given to us this week, I’ll have that mentality, just as I had last week.”
That trust extends beyond Sirianni’s decision. For all of the ups and downs the Eagles offense has experienced this season, Hurts emphasized the trust he has in the coaching staff to put the players in advantageous situations going forward.
Sunday’s 13-12 win over the Buffalo Bills was a microcosm of the offense’s inconsistency this season. The group had a solid start in the first half, then cobbled together just 17 yards in 17 plays in the second.
Jalen Hurts and the offense had a miserable second half in Sunday’s win at Buffalo.
The Eagles couldn’t recover from their inefficiency on early downs in the second half. They punted on all five second-half possessions, outside of the final kneel down.
Following the early-December mini-bye in the aftermath of the loss to the Chicago Bears, Hurts said the sequencing of the offense from seasons past was one of the details he focused on in his film study. But as evidenced by Sunday night’s performance, an inefficient first down is going to make it more difficult on offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo to sequence the ensuing plays.
While Hurts acknowledged he has opinions and even a degree of influence over the sequencing of plays, he said it’s not his primary focus.
“As a quarterback, you want to go out there and purely focus on executing what’s called and doing that,” Hurts said. “We all have a feel for the rhythm of a game and how it flows. And I think as a unit, you don’t want to speak from a place of divisiveness or anything, but we are what we are, and we have what we have, and we’ve got a great opportunity in front of us, and so everybody’s working together to try and figure those things out.
“Ultimately, trusting my teammates to go out there and make plays. We’ve got to master the material. We’ve got to know what to do. We’ve got to know where to line up and operate efficiently and control the things we can, and then, from a coaching standpoint, I trust our coaches to go out there and put us in good positions.”
Every year, Hurts is required to reestablish that sense of trust with his offensive play caller, which this season is Patullo. Hurts has had a revolving door of offensive play callers since he was drafted in 2020 (and even before that as a college player at Oklahoma and Alabama).
One of his constant companions as an Eagle has been Tanner McKee, the 25-year-old backup who is expected to start Sunday for the first time this season. Since the Eagles drafted McKee in 2023, he has been a valued sounding board for Hurts.
“I think the conversations, the dialogue, those things are very important in the quarterback room,” Hurts said. “And considering he’s been a constant in the room for the last three years he’s been here, being able to go through some of those changes together and process those things and take the coaching and go out there and play — I think that’s very beneficial.”
For now, the focus is on preparing McKee and the rest of the backups for the Commanders. But in just two weeks, Hurts is slated to return to action as the playoffs begin.
It’s a stage he knows well, having appeared in the postseason in every year since he’s been the starter. That experience, Hurts said, is the biggest teacher, especially for an offense that has “played ball together” dating back to last season.
Can that experience provide a spark in the playoffs? Despite the inconsistency that has defined the offense this year, Hurts is optimistic about the opportunity ahead.
“For everything it’s been this year, we’ve got a great opportunity in front of us,” Hurts said. “And that’s not saying that in a bad way. We’ve done a lot of special things this year. We’ve set a high standard for ourselves. And when you’ve had the level of success you have that comes with it, ultimately, nothing else matters.
“As we play through this week and prepare through this week and then enter the tournament, it’s 0-0 for everyone. And so the mentality is just go find a way to win.”
In 2025, Philadelphians said goodbye to a beloved group of broadcasters, radio personalities, sports heroes, and public servants who left their mark on a city they all loved.
Some were Philly natives, including former Eagles general manager Jim Murray. Others, including beloved WMMR host Pierre Robert, were transplants who made Philly their adopted home. But all left their mark on the city and across the region.
Pierre Robert
Former WMMR host Pierre Robert, seen in his studio in 2024.
A native of Northern California, Mr. Robert joined WMMR as an on-air host in 1981. He arrived in the city after his previous station, San Francisco’s KSAN, switched to an “urban cowboy” format, prompting him to make the cross-country drive to Philadelphia in a Volkswagen van.
At WMMR, Mr. Robert initially hosted on the weekends, but quickly moved to the midday slot — a position he held for more than four decades up until his death.
— Nick Vadala, Dan DeLuca
Bernie Parent
Former Flyers goaltender Bernie Parent, seen at his home in 2024.
Bernie Parent, the stone-wall Flyers goalie for the consecutive Stanley Cup championship teams for the Broad Street Bullies in the 1970s, died in September. He was 80.
A Hall of Famer, Mr. Parent clinched both championships with shutouts in the final game as he blanked the Boston Bruins, 1-0, in 1974 and the Buffalo Sabres, 2-0, in 1975. Mr. Parent played 10 of his 13 NHL seasons with the Flyers and also spent a season in the World Hockey League with the Philadelphia Blazers. He retired in 1979 at 34 years old after suffering an eye injury during a game against the New York Rangers.
He grew up in Montreal and spoke French as his first language before becoming a cultlike figure at the Spectrum as cars throughout the region had “Only the Lord Saves More Than Bernie Parent” bumper stickers.
— Matt Breen
David Lynch
David Lynch, seen here at the Governors Awards in Los Angeles in 2019.
David Lynch, the visionary director behind such movies as Blue Velvet and The Elephant Man and the twisted TV show Twin Peaks, died in January of complications from emphysema. He was 78.
Mr. Lynch was born in Missoula, Mont., but ended up in Philadelphia to enroll at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1965 at age 19. It was here he developed an interest in filmmaking as a way to see his paintings move.
He created his first short films in Philadelphia, which he described both as “a filthy city” and “his greatest influence” as an artist. Ultimately, he moved to Los Angeles to make his first feature film, Eraserhead, though he called the film “my Philadelphia Story.”
— Rob Tornoe
Ryne Sandberg
Former Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg, seen here at spring training in 2018.
Ryne Sandberg, the Hall of Fame second baseman who started his career with the Phillies but was traded shortly after to the Chicago Cubs in one of the city’s most regrettable trades, died in July of complications from cancer. He was 65.
Mr. Sandberg played 15 seasons in Chicago and became an icon for the Cubs, simply known as “Ryno,” after being traded there in January 1982.
He was a 10-time All-Star, won nine Gold Glove awards, and was the National League’s MVP in 1984. Mr. Sandberg was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005 and returned to the Phillies in 2011 as a minor-league manager and, later, the big-league manager.
— Matt Breen
Bob Uecker
Bob Uecker, seen here before a Brewers game in 2024.
Bob Uecker, a former Phillies catcher who later became a Hall of Fame broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers and was dubbed “Mr. Baseball” by Johnny Carson for his acting roles in several movies and TV shows, died in January. He was 90.
Mr. Uecker spent just six seasons in the major league, two with the Phillies, but the talent that would make him a Hall of Fame broadcaster — wit, self-deprecation, and the timing of a stand-up comic — were evident.
His first broadcasting gig was in Atlanta, and he started calling Milwaukee Brewers games in 1971. Before that, he called Phillies games: Mr. Uecker used to sit in the bullpen at Connie Mack Stadium and deliver play-by-play commentary into a beer cup.
— Matt Breen and Rob Tornoe
Harry Donahue
Harry Donahue, seen here at Temple University in 2020.
Harry Donahue, 77, a longtime KYW Newsradio anchor and the play-by-play voice of Temple University men’s basketball and football for decades, died in October after a fight with cancer.
His was a voice that generations of people in Philadelphia and beyond grew up with in the mornings as they listened for announcements about snow days and, later, for a wide array of sports.
— Robert Moran
Alan Rubenstein
Judge Rubenstein, then Bucks County district attorney, talks to the media about a drug case in 1998.
Alan M. Rubenstein, a retired senior judge on Bucks County Common Pleas Court and the longest-serving district attorney in Bucks County history, died in August of complications from several ailments at his home in Holland, Bucks County. He was 79.
For 50 years, from his hiring as an assistant district attorney in 1972 to his retirement as senior judge a few years ago, Judge Rubenstein represented Bucks County residents at countless crime scenes and news conferences, in courtrooms, and on committees. He served 14 years, from 1986 to 1999, as district attorney in Bucks County, longer than any DA before him, and then 23 years as a judge and senior judge on Bucks County Court.
“His impact on Bucks County will be felt for generations,” outgoing Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said in a tribute. U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.) said on Facebook: “Alan Rubenstein has never been just a name. It has stood as a symbol of justice, strength, and integrity.”
— Gary Miles
Orien Reid Nix
Orien Reid Nix, seen here being inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame in 2018
Orien Reid Nix, 79, of King of Prussia, retired Hall of Fame reporter for KYW-TV and WCAU-TV in Philadelphia, owner of Consumer Connection media consulting company, the first Black and female chair of the international board of the Alzheimer’s Association, former social worker, mentor, and volunteer, died in June of complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
Charismatic, telegenic, empathetic, and driven by a lifelong desire to serve, Mrs. Reid Nix worked as a consumer service and investigative TV reporter for Channels 3 and 10 in Philadelphia for 26 years, from 1973 to her retirement in 1998. She anchored consumer service segments, including the popular Market Basket Report, that affected viewers’ lives and aired investigations on healthcare issues, price gouging, fraud, and food safety concerns.
— Gary Miles
Dave Frankel
Dave Frankel in an undated publicity photo.
Dave Frankel, 67, a popular TV weatherman on WPVI (now 6abc) who later became a lawyer, died in February after a long battle with a neurodegenerative disease.
Mr. Frankel grew up in Monmouth County, N.J., graduated in 1979 from Dartmouth College, and was planning to attend Dickinson School of Law to become a lawyer like his father. But an internship at a local TV station in Vermont turned into a news anchor job and a broadcast career that lasted until the early 2000s.
— Robert Moran
Lee Elia
Former Phillies manager Lee Elia, seen here being ejected from a game in 1987.
Lee Elia, the Philadelphia native who managed the Phillies after coaching third base for the 1980 World Series champions and once famously ranted against the fans who sat in the bleachers of Wrigley Field, died in July. He was 87.
Mr. Elia’s baseball career spanned more than 50 seasons. He managed his hometown Phillies in 1987 and 1988 after managing the Chicago Cubs in 1982 and 1983.
After his playing career was cut shot by a knee injury, Mr. Elia joined Dallas Green’s Phillies staff before the 1980 season and was coaching third base when Manny Trillo delivered a crucial triple in the clinching game of the National League Championship Series. Mr. Elia was so excited that he bit Trillo’s arm after he slid.
— Matt Breen
Gary Graffman
Gary Graffman, seen here playing at the Curtis Institute of Music Orchestra Concert at Verizon Hall in 2006.
Gary Graffman, a celebrated concert pianist and the former president of the Curtis Institute of Music, died in December in New York. He was 97.
The New York City-born pianist arrived at Curtis at age 7. He graduated at age 17 and played roughly 100 concerts a year between the ages of 20 and 50 before retiring from touring due to a compromised right hand. Diagnosed with focal dystonia (a neurological disorder), he went on to premiere works for the left hand by Jennifer Higdon and William Bolcom.
Mr. Graffman returned to Curtis as a teacher in 1980, became director in 1986, and was named the president of the conservatory in 1995, with a teaching studio encompassing nearly 50 students, including Yuja Wang and Lang Lang among others. He performed on numerous occasions with the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1947 to 2003.
— David Patrick Stearns
Len Stevens
Len Stevens was the co-founder of WPHL-TV Channel 17.
Len Stevens, the cofounder of WPHL-TV (Channel 17) and a member of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame, died in September of kidney failure. He was 94.
Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Stevens was a natural entrepreneur. He won an audition to be a TV announcer with Dick Clark on WFIL-TV in the 1950s, persuaded The Tonight Show and NBC to air Alpo dog food ads in the 1960s, co-owned and managed the popular Library singles club on City Avenue in the 1970s and ’80s, and later turned the nascent sale of “vertical real estate” on towers and rooftops into big business.
He and partner Aaron Katz established the Philadelphia Broadcasting Co. in 1964 and launched WPHL-TV on Sept. 17, 1965. At first, their ultrahigh frequency station, known now as PHL17, challenged the dominant very high frequency networks on a shoestring budget. But, thanks largely to Mr. Stevens’ advertising contacts and programming ideas, Channel 17 went on to air Phillies, 76ers, and Big Five college basketball games, the popular Wee Willie Webber Colorful Cartoon Club, Ultraman, and other memorable shows in the late 1960s and early ’70s.
— Gary Miles
Jim Murray
Former Eagles general manager Jim Murray (left), seen here with Dick Vermeil and owner Leonard Tose following the 1980 NFC championship game in January 1981.
Jim Murray, the former Eagles general manager who hired Dick Vermeil and helped the franchise return to prominence while also opening the first Ronald McDonald House, died in August at home in Bryn Mawr surrounded by his family. He was 87.
Mr. Murray grew up in a rowhouse on Brooklyn Street in West Philadelphia and watched the Eagles at Franklin Field. The Eagles hired him in 1969 as a publicist, and Leonard Tose, then the Eagles’ owner, named him the general manager in 1974. Mr. Murray was just 36 years old and the decision was ridiculed.
But Mr. Murray — who was known for his wit and generosity — made a series of moves to bring the Eagles back to relevance, including hiring Vermeil and acquiring players like Bill Bergey and Ron Jaworski. The Eagles made the playoffs in 1978 and reached their first Super Bowl in January 1981. The Eagles, with Murray as the GM, were finally back.
— Matt Breen
Michael Days
Philadelphia Daily News Editor Michael Days celebrates with the newsroom after word of the Pulitzer win.
Michael Days, a pillar of Philadelphia journalism who championed young Black journalists and led the Daily News during its 2010 Pulitzer Prize win for investigative reporting, died in October after falling ill. He was 72.
A graduate of Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia, Mr. Days worked at the Wall Street Journal and other newspapers before joining the Daily News as a reporter in 1986, where he ultimately became editor in 2005, the first Black person to lead the paper in its 90-year history. In 2011, Mr. Days was named managing editor of The Inquirer, where he held several management roles until he retired in October 2020.
As editor of the Daily News, Mr. Days played an essential role in the decisions that would lead to its 2010 Pulitzer Prize, including whether to move forward with a story about a Philadelphia Police Department narcotics officer that a company lawyer said stood a good chance of getting them sued.
“He said, ‘I trust my reporters, I believe in my reporters, and we’re running with it,’” recounted Inquirer senior health reporter Wendy Ruderman, who reported the piece with colleague Barbara Laker. That story revealed a deep dysfunction within the police department, Ruderman said, and led to the newspaper’s 2010 Pulitzer Prize win.
— Brett Sholtis
Tom McCarthy
Tom McCarthy, seen here in 2002.
Tom McCarthy, an award-winning theater, film, and TV actor, longtime president of the local chapter of the Screen Actors Guild, former theater company board member, mentor, and veteran, died in May of complications from Parkinson’s disease at his home in Sea Isle City. He was 88.
The Overbrook native quit his job as a bartender in 1965, sharpened his acting skills for a decade at Hedgerow Theatre Company in Rose Valley and other local venues, and, at 42, went on to earn memorable roles in major movies and TV shows.
In the 1980s, he played a police officer with John Travolta in the movie Blow Out and a gardener with Andrew McCarthy in Mannequin. In 1998, he was a witness with Denzel Washington in Fallen. In 2011, he was a small-town mayor with Lea Thompson in Mayor Cupcake. Over the course of his career, Mr. McCarthy acted with Zsa Zsa Gabor, Harrison Ford, Kristin Scott Thomas, Cloris Leachman, Robert Redford, Donald Sutherland, John Goodman, and other big stars.
— Gary Miles
Carol Saline
Carol Saline, seen here at her Philadelphia home in 2021.
Carol Saline, a longtime senior writer at Philadelphia Magazine, the best-selling author of Sisters, Mothers & Daughters, and Best Friends, and a prolific broadcaster, died in August of acute myeloid leukemia. She was 86.
On TV, she hosted a cooking show and a talk show, was a panelist on a local public affairs program, and guested on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Inside Edition, Good Morning America, and other national shows. On radio, she hosted the Carol Saline Show on WDVT-AM.
In June, she wrote to The Inquirer, saying: “I am contacting you because I am entering hospice care and will likely die in the next few weeks. … I wanted you to know me, not only my accomplishments but who I am as a person.
“I want to go out,” she ended her email, “with a glass of Champagne in one hand, a balloon in the other, singing (off key) ‘Whoopee! It’s been a great ride!’”
— Gary Miles
Richard Wernick
Richard Wernick, seen here before a concert at the 2002 Festival of Philadelphia Composers.
Richard Wernick, a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, acclaimed conductor, and retired Irving Fine Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania, died in April 25 of age-associated decline at his Haverford home. He was 91.
Professor Wernick was prolific and celebrated as a composer. He wrote hundreds of scores over six decades and appeared on more than a dozen records, and his Visions of Terror and Wonder for a mezzo-soprano and orchestra won the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for music. In 1991, his String Quartet No. 4 made him the first two-time winner of the Kennedy Center’s Friedheim Award for new American music.
“Wernick’s orchestral music has power and brilliance, an emphasis on register, space, and scale,” Lesley Valdes, former Inquirer classical music critic, said in 1990.
— Gary Miles
Dorie Lenz
Dorie Lenz, seen here on Channel 17 in 2015.
Dorie Lenz, a pioneering TV broadcaster and the longtime director of public affairs for WPHL-TV (Channel 17), died in January of age-associated ailments at her home in New York. She was 101.
A Philadelphia native, Ms. Lenz broke into TV as a 10-year-old in a local children’s show and spent 30 years, from 1970 to 2000, as director of public affairs and a program host at Channel 17, now PHL17. She specialized in detailed public service campaigns on hot-button social issues and earned two Emmys in 1988 for her program Caring for the Frail Elderly.
Ms. Lenz interviewed newsmakers of all kinds on the public affairs programs Delaware Valley Forum, New Jersey Forum, and Community Close Up. Viewers and TV insiders hailed her as a champion and watchdog for the community. She also talked to Phillies players before games in the 1970s on her 10-minute Dorie Lenz Show.
— Gary Miles
Jay Sigel
Jay Sigel, seen here after winning the Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions title in 2006.
Jay Sigel, one of the winningest amateur golfers of all time and an eight-time PGA senior tour champion, died in April of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 81.
For more than 40 years, from 1961, when he won the International Jaycee Junior Golf Tournament as an 18-year-old, to 2003, when he captured the Bayer Advantage Celebrity Pro-Am title at 60, the Berwyn native was one of the winningest amateur and senior golfers in the world. Mr. Sigel won consecutive U.S. Amateur titles in 1982 and ’83 and three U.S. Mid-Amateur championships between 1983 and ’87, and remains the only golfer to win the amateur and mid-amateur titles in the same year.
He won the Pennsylvania Amateur Championship 11 times, five straight from 1972 to ’76, and the Pennsylvania Open Championship for pros and amateurs four times. He also won the 1979 British Amateur Championship and, between 1975 and 1999, played for the U.S. team in a record nine Walker Cup tournaments against Britain and Ireland.
— Gary Miles
Mark Frisby
Mark Frisby, seen here in the former newsroom of the Daily News in 2007.
Mark Frisby, the former publisher of the Daily News and associate publisher of The Inquirer, died in September of takayasu arteritis, an inflammatory disease, at his home in Gloucester County. He was 64.
Mr. Frisby joined The Inquirer and Daily News in November 2006 as executive vice president of production, labor, and purchasing. He was recruited from the Courier-Post by then-publisher Brian Tierney, and he went on to serve as publisher of the Daily News from 2007 to 2016 and associate publisher for operations of The Inquirer and Daily News from 2014 to his retirement in 2016.
Mr. Frisby was one of the highest-ranking Black executives in the company’s history, and he told the Daily News in 2006 that “local ownership over here was the big attraction for me.” Michael Days, then the Daily News editor, said in 2007: “This cat is really the real deal.”
— Gary Miles
Leon Bates
Leon Bates, seen here at the Settlement Music School in Germantown in 2018.
Leon Bates, a concert pianist whose musical authority and far-reaching versatility took him to the world’s greatest concert halls, died in November after a seven-year decline from Parkinson’s disease. He was 76.
The career of Mr. Bates, a leading figure in the generation of Black pianists who followed the early-1960s breakthrough of Andre Watts, encompassed Ravel, Gershwin, and Bartok over 10 concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra between 1970 and 2002. He played three recitals with Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and taught master classes at Temple University, where he also gave recitals at the Temple Performing Arts Center.
In his WRTI-FM radio show, titled Notes on Philadelphia, during the 1990s, Mr. Bates was what Charles Abramovic, chair of keyboard studies at Temple University, described as “beautifully articulate and a wonderful interviewer. The warmth of personality came out. He was such a natural with that.”
— David Patrick Stearns
Lacy McCrary
Lacy McCrary in an undated photo.
Lacy McCrary, a former Inquirer reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize at the Akron Beacon Journal, died in March of Alzheimer’s disease at his home in Colorado Springs, Colo. He was 91.
Mr. McCrary, a Morrisville, Bucks County native, won the 1971 Pulitzer Prize in local general or spot news reporting as part of the Beacon Journal’s coverage of the May 4, 1970, student protest killings at Kent State University.
He joined The Inquirer in 1973 and covered the courts, politics, and news of all sorts until his retirement in 2000. He notably wrote about unhealthy conditions and fire hazards in Pennsylvania and New Jersey boardinghouses in the late 1970s and early ’80s, and those reports earned public acclaim and resulted in new regulations to correct deadly oversights.
— Gary Miles
Roberta Fallon
Roberta Fallon, seen here in an undated photo.
Roberta Fallon, 76, cofounder, editor, and longtime executive director of the online Artblog and adjunct professor at St. Joseph’s University, died in December at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital of injuries she suffered after being hit by a car. She was 76.
Described by family and friends as empathetic, energetic, and creative, Ms. Fallon and fellow artist Libby Rosof cofounded Artblog in 2003. For nearly 22 years, until the blog became inactive in June, Ms. Fallon posted commentary, stories, interviews, reviews, videos, podcasts, and other content that chronicled the eclectic art world in Philadelphia.
— Gary Miles
Benita Valente
BENI26P Gerald S. Williams 10/18/00 2011 Pine st. Philadelphia-based soprano Benita Valente has sung all over the world. At age 65, she is making her Oct. 29 performance with the Mendelssohn Club at the Academy of Music her last. 1 of 3: Benita goes over some music at the piano in her upstairs music room.
Benita Valente, a revered lyric soprano whose voice thrilled listeners with its purity and seeming effortlessness, died in October at home in Philadelphia. She was 91.
In a remarkable four-decade career, Ms. Valente appeared on the opera stage, in chamber music, and with orchestras. In the intimate genre of lieder — especially songs by Schubert and Brahms — she was considered one of America’s great recitalists.
This year was a big one for eating at restaurants. I had the largest beat in scouting for The 76 this year, my first year doing so. For that list alone, I dined at 74 restaurants. For the other features, guides, and reviews I wrote, I dined at several dozen more.
It was fascinating to look at Philadelphia’s dining scene according to the cross sections provided by eating many of the same dishes, served in different establishments. I ordered gon chao ngau ho or beef chow fun all across the city, comparing the differences between many restaurants’ versions. Some of them were drastic, some more nuanced. This past year, I spent cumulatively two whole days at omakase counters. I tracked the culinary trends and trendy ingredients that pervaded dining rooms and kitchens: Caesar salad everything, fermentation going strong, late-night menus finally emerging from their post-pandemic slumber, and the continuing rise and diversification of little treat culture.
Trendy techniques and ingredients do not exist in isolation. Philly’s dining scene is part of a larger ecosystem of American dining and as our restaurants attract more and more out-of-town visitors and our kitchens attract out-of-town talent (the presence of Michelin in Philly ensures both), the borders of what makes dining in Philadelphia will expand and open. Social media buffets these trends around the globe, like the shades in Dante’s Inferno.
What I learned eating all over Philly in 2025
All green everything
Matcha prices rose and quality fell, as farmers in Japan struggled to keep up with the global obsession with matcha that Philadelphia was not immune to. A similar trajectory happened with pistachios, as the Dubai chocolate bar maintained a chokehold on establishments from ice cream shops to smoothie shops and everywhere in between.
Steakhouses and bakeries dominated openings (in Philly, the latter was more the case). They also developed distinct personalities, informed by the cultural backgrounds of third culture kids. We got Baby’s Kusina, Seaforest Bakeshop, a wave of Indonesian cafes with fluffy pastries, and a host of other “little treat”-forward bakeries. New York and London reported similar little treat trends.
Nostalgia, or signs of a shifting economy?
Recession indicator foods like burgers and baked potatoes are dominating the discourse when it comes to restaurants’ marketing. I’ve also heard my friends hotly debate which restaurants in Philly serve the best cabbage dishes. Cabbage is the epitome of recession indicator foods.
Cocktails, both complicated and delicious
So much in-house fermentation and liqueur-concocting continues to fuel the creativity of Philly’s bars, especially with Almanac, La Jefa, and Honeysuckle leading the way in preserving foraged ingredients and brewing amazake, traditionally made with koji applied to rice but in Philly, bartenders are making it with everything from corn to sweet potatoes.
Hail, Caesar
I started my tenure at The Inquirer by covering the viral kale caesar cutlet at Liberty Kitchen. Now, just over a year later, there is nothing that cannot be a Caesar, whether it’s a martini or Scampi’s take on bruschetta. The word “salad” has now been elided from the dish.
Superb sauces, not enough rice
There simply isn’t enough rice on the menu to sop up the incredible sauce work happening in many of our newer restaurants. Ordering a side of white rice whenever I get a crudo at Sao or Mawn has become regular practice for me. I also longed for sides of rice when dipping into Uchi’s many, very saucy crudos.
I can’t see my food when I’m with you
The dining rooms are getting dark. I can’t see my food. And yet, we’re in the golden age of food photography.
Hokkaido scallops on crispy rice with vadouvan curry at Bardea, served on shells inside a box.
No plates, no problem
Restaurants continue to love serving food on plates that are not plates, from the jewelry boxes that bear delicate squares of crispy rice topped with raw scallops, weighed down by rocks at Bardea, to just rocks at Honeysuckle, to cleaned out parts of animals like the tuna spinal jelly served in a cleaned-out piece of tuna spine at Nakama and the scallop sashimi in shells at Ogawa. When Elwood served its venison scrapple stabbed onto deer antlers in 2019, it broke the Philadelphian internet. Nowadays, you wouldn’t bat an eye. This phenomenon is worldwide. When I get my initial “snacks” course — they’re always called “snacks” at a fine dining establishment — it would be weird if they weren’t served on ceramic orbs like at Miro in Honolulu or ceramic test tube holders at Washington’s Jont or custom pieces made by Felt and Fat that resemble the surface of the moon at Provenance.
Break out the vinyl
Speakeasy cocktail bars are out. Inclusive listening lounges are in.
Every restaurant needs a hamachi crudo
The Aged Hamachi Crudo at Sao on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025 in Philadelphia.
Pickle martinis, chicken karaage, koji-aged proteins and vegetables, and hamachi crudo are on so many menus, regardless of cuisine or concept.
Let’s call it ‘American Fusion’
The term “New American” is so yesteryear, but the conglomeration of many different influences and dizzying collections of seemingly disparate global flavors on single menus pervade at ambitious restaurants like Wilmington’s Bardea, where muhammara and calamansi are on the same menu, to great effect, and Grad Hospital’s Banshee where, of course, there is a hamachi crudo but also patatas bravas on one menu.
Get off the list
Finally, we often keep going to the same places. The 76 was a great exercise in not doing that and I encourage you to dine out widely. To eat beyond the places that have endless notify lists on Resy. To only be blinded by the dark depths of current dining rooms, and not the hype that blankets hot new restaurants.
