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  • Penn’s October data breach impacted fewer than 10 people, despite hackers’ claims it was 1.2 million

    Penn’s October data breach impacted fewer than 10 people, despite hackers’ claims it was 1.2 million

    The data breach that anonymous hackers claimed had compromised data for 1.2 million students, donors, and alumni at the University of Pennsylvania actually impacted fewer than 10 people, according to a legal filing in a proposed class action lawsuit against Penn over the breach.

    A Penn source confirmed Tuesday that fewer than 10 people received notifications that their personal information had been affected in the Oct. 31 incident.

    “Penn conducted a comprehensive review of the downloaded files to determine whose information may have been involved,” the university said in a statement. “That review is now complete. Penn sent notifications to the limited number of individuals whose personal information was impacted as required by applicable notification laws.”

    Penn says data breach is contained and scope of records accessed is under review

    A second data breach weeks later involving Oracle E-Business Suite was much more widespread and affected more than 100 companies. Penn’s notifications to impacted individuals in that incident were more widespread, though the school hasn’t released the number.

    In the first case, Penn quickly said it could not verify the hackers’ claim about the number of people whose records were obtained. The incident drew widespread attention because the hackers sent an offensive email, which claimed to be from Penn to alumni and students.

    “We have terrible security practices and are completely unmeritocratic,” the email read. “Please stop giving us money.”

    Penn is investigating a ‘fraudulent’ email breach

    The school hired cybersecurity specialists to help investigate the breach, which accessed systems related to development and alumni activities. Penn said at the time it was taking steps to prevent future attacks and would be instituting mandatory training.

    A series of proposed class-action lawsuits were filed in U.S. Eastern District Court following the hack, alleging that Penn failed to protect users’ sensitive data and in turn allowed it to fall into “the hands of cybercriminals who will undoubtedly use [the information] for nefarious purposes.”

    A federal district judge consolidated 18 lawsuits in December into a single proposed class-action case, but eight members of the Penn community who filed lawsuits dropped out in recent weeks.

    The exodus of plaintiffs is the result of Penn’s disclosure to attorneys involved with the litigation that fewer than 10 people were impacted by the breach, and none of those who sued were among them, attorneys for the plaintiffs said in a Monday court filing.

    The small impact of the breach could be detrimental for the cases if they continue on their own, the attorneys said. They proposed incorporating the remaining cases with the Oracle-breach litigation that is ongoing in Western Texas District Court.

    Another faction of attorneys involved in the case disagree.

    A judge is expected to decide which attorneys will lead the litigation and coordinate among all the litigants, a decision that could determine whether the case will be heard in Philadelphia or Texas.

  • SEPTA ditches social media alerts notifying riders about potential cancellations and delays

    SEPTA ditches social media alerts notifying riders about potential cancellations and delays

    Starting Monday, SEPTA will no longer post alerts about potential delays and cancellations due to bus and trolley driver shortages on social media, the service announced this week on its website.

    Alerts about delays due to weather and other issues will continue.

    Driver shortage alerts originated shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic hit, at a time when the service was operating with a significant deficit of drivers, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said. Now that the service has partly resolved the staffing issue and improved its notification systems, the generic alerts are no longer necessary, he said.

    “It was never very precise,” Busch said. Alerts were not “giving customers a good picture of what they should expect.”

    Since the pandemic, Busch said, the service has refined its tools, like its app and website, to offer customers a more accurate sense of what is happening with their route in real time, including how late a bus may be running and if it has been canceled.

    The service has also gotten a better handle on staffing. During 2022 and early 2023, SEPTA was operating with about 220 fewer bus and trolley operators than its budgeted headcount, Busch said. Now that gap has shrunk to about 100 operators, which makes it easier to adjust for staffing fluctuations.

    Between those two improvements, the generic delay and cancellation warnings became obsolete, Busch said.

    “It just seemed like it was the right time to move on from that and to try to push customers to where they’re going to get more accurate information,” he said.

    Riders who do not rely on the website, social media, or the app can get updates on their route by calling 215-580-7800.

    SEPTA was at one time a trailblazer in governmental use of social media. It first started posting on Twitter, now X, in 2008, long before many municipal transit agencies had adopted social media. In 2013, it expanded its presence on Twitter with @SEPTA_Social, which was staffed by SEPTA employees.

    Customers could post complaints and concerns and receive a personalized response from SEPTA staff, signed with the initials of the staff member. SEPTA shared best practices on social media interaction with transit officials in Chicago, New York, and Boston, Busch said.

    SEPTA does not plan on moving away from social media any time soon, he said, even as other large organizations move away from personalized customer service with artificial intelligence. The goal for SEPTA is more tailored support, Busch said, not less.

    “That’s been a very successful program and we’ll probably only grow that going forward,” he said.

  • Trevor Zegras is finally getting a chance to prove he’s a center ― and his new roommate is along for the ride

    Trevor Zegras is finally getting a chance to prove he’s a center ― and his new roommate is along for the ride

    Trevor Zegras went over to Denver Barkey after a morning skate at Xfinity Mobile Arena a few weeks ago and asked the rookie if he wanted to live with him.

    Since being called up on Dec. 19, and making his Flyers debut the next day at Madison Square Garden, the 20-year-old has been living out of a suitcase in a hotel.

    “Couldn’t really turn that possibility down? And I was quick to say yes. And then we started to plan on when I move in,” Barkey said.

    “I’ve been chipping in,” he continued when asked if he was doing the dishes. “We’ve got to clean now. It’s getting a little messy, trying to do my chores here and there.”

    The two are hoping they can clean up on the ice now, too.

    Zegras and Barkey will be on a line with Owen Tippett against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday (7 p.m., NBCSP).

    Sean Couturier hopes ‘getting back to the basics’ will help him snap his 27-game goal drought

    According to Natural Stat Trick, at five-on-five, the trio has played just 3 minutes, 25 seconds together. That came during the Flyers’ 6-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Jan. 17. The line had nine shot attempts to the Rangers’ three, including five shots on goal. The trio generated five high-danger chances, held an eight-to-one advantage in scoring chances, and outscored New York, 1-0.

    Zegras had the goal, with Barkey and Tippett getting the assists. Tippett went to put the puck on goal but it deflected off the stick of Barkey and then the boot of Urho Vaakanainen to Zegras sitting wide open atop the crease at the right post.

    “Yeah, pretty fortunate to be on the line with someone like him,” Barkey said of Zegras, calling it an exciting opportunity. “I think just tonight, play my game, try to find open space for him to find me, because I know he makes those crazy plays. He sees the ice at an insane level. So just trying to get open and create time and space for him to have the puck.”

    Dating back to when Zegras was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks in June, and entering training camp, the consensus from the player and the front office was that Zegras would get a chance back at his natural position of center. That hasn’t been the case, but Tuesday will mark the third straight game Zegras will play down the middle. He had moments when he played there this season, but they were few and far between; Flyers coach Rick Tocchet is sticking with it for now.

    Trevor Zegras, whom Rick Tocchet called a joy to coach, will play his third straight game at center on Wednesday.

    “For the first 30 games, he was going so good I didn’t want to make that [change]. I think he would have looked at me like I was crazy. I mean, he was filling the net and he was doing really well,” Tocchet said when asked why he decided now was the time to experiment with Zegras down the middle.

    “I thought we were good and we had it locked down [with] the centers, and I thought the lines were good. So then, out of necessity a little bit now, yeah. See if he can hold that position now for us.”

    Tocchet and Zegras talk often — the coach was late to Monday’s availability with reporters after practice because the two were chatting — and they talked the other day about his faceoffs. After going 1-for-12 at five-on-five against the Boston Bruins, and losing the one faceoff he took in the defensive zone, he went 4-for-6 at five-on-five against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

    ‘It just blew me away:’ Penn State-Michigan State puts on a show to remember in outdoor hockey event

    “I think he’s been doing OK,” Tocchet said before adding about Zegras’ faceoff percentage rising: “That’s a positive; that was one thing that he was worried about the draws — and some coverages down low.

    “But I didn’t see a guy confused out there. I think there’s some runway there, let’s see if he can hold on to this position. He’s got a couple of good linemates today, so maybe he’ll get some offense for us.”

    Breakaways

    Dan Vladař (16-8-5, .903 save percentage) will start in net. He is 3-2-0 with a 3.59 goals-against average and an .871 save percentage in five career games against the Capitals. His last start against Washington was Feb. 25, 2025, in which Alex Ovechkin scored goal No. 883 in a 3-1 win for the Calgary Flames. Ovechkin, who has 919 career goals entering Tuesday, has scored 52 times in 78 games against the Flyers, his second-best mark against any team. … Carl Grundström will slot in for Garnet Hathaway. The forward last played on Wednesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He has seven goals and nine points in 25 games this season.

  • Montco lawyer suspended for 3 years for misleading clients about settlements that didn’t exist

    Montco lawyer suspended for 3 years for misleading clients about settlements that didn’t exist

    A Montgomery County attorney specializing in personal injury claims against large corporations has been suspended for three years following allegations that he misled at least 16 clients on settlement offers that did not exist.

    Brian McCormick was a former partner at Ross Feller Casey, a Philadelphia-based personal injury firm. The conduct that led to his suspension revolves around misleading statements to clients he represented in two types of cases.

    The first set of clients are those who alleged that using agricultural giant Monsanto‘s weed killer, Roundup, caused their cancer. These cases can be lucrative, as Philadelphia juries returned verdicts against Monsanto for millions, and even billions, of dollars.

    Due to the large number of Roundup lawsuits, a federal court appointed a special master who developed a formula to calculate settlement amounts. At least nine of McCormick’s clients rejected the formula-proposed settlement and the attorney claimed he was attempting to obtain, or had obtained, higher offers, according to the suspension order issued last month by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Board.

    McCormick went as far as to ask some clients to sign releases to obtain the nonexistent settlements. As his clients waited for their expected checks, according to the order, the attorney reassured them via emails, text messages, and voice messages between 2023 and January 2025 that the delays were part of the settlement process.

    “[McCormick] did not settle any of the Roundup cases on behalf of the nine clients who rejected the formula determined settlement amount,” the order says.

    Clients suing Monsanto weren’t the only ones McCormick misled. The attorney followed a similar pattern with at least seven clients who sued manufacturers of Risperdal, an antipsychotic drug that thousands of men said led them to develop excessive breast tissue, according to the disciplinary board.

    McCormick promised settlement to his Risperdal clients, the order said, and at one time even gave a client a specific date on which he should pick up his check “knowing that no settlement check existed.”

    Neither McCormick or the attorney who represented him during the disciplinary proceedings responded to a request for comment.

    Ross Feller Casey terminated McCormick in January 2025 after finding that he had clients sign settlement agreements even though no settlements were reached.

    “The firm’s owners terminated Mr. McCormick’s employment on the very same day they learned of his conduct, and they immediately took steps to ensure that the interests of all affected clients were protected,” said Mario Cattabiani, a spokesperson for Ross Feller Casey.

    McCormick admitted to the misconduct and consented to the three-year suspension, the order says. The board noted that he “accepts full responsibility for his misconduct and is remorseful.”

  • Schuylkill Yards Starbucks is the latest to unionize in Philadelphia

    Schuylkill Yards Starbucks is the latest to unionize in Philadelphia

    Another Starbucks has unionized in Philadelphia, after a vote at the Schuylkill Yards location last week.

    “I see a need for improvements and am optimistic that this win will make great change,” shift supervisor Asia Wright-Wilson said in a union statement. “When problems are not well addressed through the traditional Starbucks channels the greatest strength lies in the collective action of our coworkers.”

    The Schuylkill Yards location has 18 union-eligible workers. All participated in the election, with 10 voting to join, according to the union.

    The first group of Starbucks workers to unionize did so in 2021 at a Buffalo, N.Y., store. Workers across the country have since joined the Starbucks Workers United union, which has been negotiating a first contract.

    “We respect our partners’ right to choose, through a fair and democratic process, to be represented by a union or not to be represented by a union,” said Starbucks spokesperson, Jaci Anderson, via email on Monday. “Any agreement needs to reflect the reality that Starbucks already offers the best job in retail.”

    Anderson said Starbucks’ hourly employees’ pay and benefits equate to over $30 an hour on average.

    Starbucks has several dozen stores in Philadelphia and more in the surrounding counties. Several city and suburb locations are unionized, including nearby West Philadelphia locations at Penn Medicine, 39th and Walnut Streets, and 34th and Walnut Streets.

    The union has reached multiple tentative agreements as they negotiate a contract, but pay has been a sticking point. Workers also want more staffing, and resolution to hundreds of unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks.

    Workers launched an open-ended nationwide strike on Nov. 13, including stores in Philadelphia. Not long before that, Starbucks announced it would close hundreds of underperforming stores, including six in Philadelphia.

    Nationwide Starbucks strike includes workers at five Philadelphia locations

    Sara Kelly, Starbucks’ chief partner officer, said in December, citing information from the union, that employees from 166 of the 215 strike locations wanted to return to work.

    A union spokesperson acknowledged on Tuesday that while some striking workers have returned to their jobs, more than 1,000 remain on strike.

    “The nationwide unfair labor practice strike that began in November is still ongoing and has become the longest in company history,” said Michelle Eisen, a Workers United spokesperson and 15-year Starbucks barista.

    Starbucks Workers United members cheer during a rally at City Hall on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
  • Princeton president says school will make cuts given ‘political threats’ to finances and endowment projections

    Princeton president says school will make cuts given ‘political threats’ to finances and endowment projections

    Princeton University’s president, in a message to campus, said the school will take the unusual move of consolidation and cuts, given federal policy changes and “political threats” to its financial model, as well as lowered expectations about future endowment returns.

    “Changed political and economic circumstances require that we transition from a period of exceptional growth to one defined by steadfast focus on core priorities,” Christopher Eisgruber wrote Monday in his annual message to campus. “That shift is necessary for multiple reasons, including because it will help Princeton to stand strong for its defining principles and against rising threats to academic freedom.”

    The Ivy League university, he wrote, “will have to look for areas where we can consolidate or cut, both to offset rising costs (including salaries and benefits) and to support the investments required for teaching and research excellence.”

    Penn says its finances are stronger than anticipated. More budget cuts are still coming.

    Eisgruber’s announcement came days after the University of Pennsylvania announced it would institute another round of budget cuts in response to actions by President Donald Trump’s administration that threaten future funding and revenues, and because of rising legal and insurance expenses. The Trump administration has placed new caps on loans that graduate students can take out, temporarily paused student visa interviews, and sought to cut research funding to universities. Some colleges, including Penn and Princeton, also will see their endowment taxes rise.

    Penn’s schools and centers were directed to cut 4% from certain expenses in the next fiscal year and keep in place financial cutbacks instituted last year, including a staff hiring freeze and freezes on midyear adjustments in staff salaries. Schools and centers also were asked last year to cut 5% of certain expenses, and the new 4% reduction would be on top of that.

    The new Penn cuts come even though university officials said finances look better than they anticipated a year ago.

    At Princeton, university officials also asked units across the school to make 5% to 7% cuts to their budgets over the last year, given an increase in the endowment tax that Princeton faces and federal threats to research funding. Eisgruber noted that the proceeds from its $36.4 billion endowment and sponsored research grants make up 83% of Princeton’s revenue.

    The university’s endowment tax is scheduled to rise from 1.4% to 8% in 2026-27. (Penn’s tax on its $24.8 billion endowment is rising from 1.4% to 4%.)

    Now, “more targeted, and in some cases deeper, reductions over a multiyear period” are likely required, Eisgruber wrote.

    Last year, things were different.

    In his 2025 message, Eisgruber noted that the school was “in the midst of an 18-month period in which the University will open more than a dozen substantial new facilities and spaces that enhance the University’s mission.”

    Those include a new health center, a commons with a library, an art museum, student housing, and buildings that house an environmental institute and science and engineering programs.

    “Princeton will continue to build, but more slowly in the years to come,” Eisgruber said in this week’s message. “Princeton will continue to evolve, but in the future it will more often have to do so through efficiency and substitution rather than addition. That will be a major change for most Princetonians, in comparison to not only the past five years but the last three decades.”

    Princeton’s long-term endowment return assumptions have been lowered to 8% from 10.2% three years ago, Eisgruber wrote.

    The university’s endowment returns in the three years following 2021 were “the second worst in more than four decades, better only than the returns in the years surrounding the Global Financial Crisis in 2008-09,” Eisgruber wrote. Two of those years saw negative returns.

    Princeton spends about 5% of its endowment each year to support operations.

    “An 8 percent return rate will require us to get the payout rate down below 5 percent even to cover payout plus inflation,” Eisgruber wrote.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    The summer concert calendar is already filling up.

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

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

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

    Here’s a chronological list:

    Don Toliver, May 24, Xfinity Mobile Arena

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

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

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

    Tickets are on sale at LiveNation.com.

    Noah Kahan, June 26, Citizens Bank Park

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

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

    Paul Simon, July 5, Highmark Mann Center

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

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

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

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

    Tickets are on sale at PaulSimon.com.

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

    Tim McGraw, July 23, Freedom Mortgage Pavilion

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

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

    Tickets are on sale at timmcgraw.com.