WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania is not participating in President Donald Trump’s Great American State Fair, which kicked off Wednesday, after state leaders failed to find a company willing to represent it at one of the hallmark 250th anniversary events in Washington that some say have become overly partisan.
Pennsylvania’s state government, like those in some other Democratic-led states, had already chosen to not sponsor a booth at the 16-day fair. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office had still been trying to connect Freedom 250, the nonprofit behind the fair, with organizations and companies that could represent the state, according to federal and state sources familiar with the planning.
“Unfortunately, due to the high cost to taxpayers and not being able to secure PA businesses to sponsor the booth, Pennsylvania will not be a participant in the Great American State Fair,” the Pennsylvania Department of Economic and Community Development said in a statement.
The fair, being held at the National Mall to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary, was originally planned to feature a pavilion dedicated to each state and territory.
But as tourists visited Thursday on the fair’s first full day, there were no signs of the commonwealth where American democracy was born 250 years ago.
Almost every other state was showcased — with most sending state or local government staff and tourism boards to host educational or interactive exhibits.
Cape May County, a Republican stronghold that is representing New Jersey after the state government declined to participate, featured an 8-ton sand sculpture that a sculptor from Wildwood took 4½ days to create.
An 8-ton sand sculpture promotes Cape May at New Jersey’s pavilion at the Great American State Fair, in Washington, D.C. The pavilion was sponsored by Cape May County, a Republican stronghold that chose to represent New Jersey after the state government declined to participate.
Maryland’s state tourism department handed out information about its vacation hot spots. Staff in the Lone Star State’s pavilion greeted tourists with a cheerful “Welcome to Texas” and offered an interactive space flight exhibit, a replica of the Alamo, and an Austin City Limits music display.
Delaware highlighted Founding Father Caesar Rodney’s ride to cast the decisive vote for independence in Philadelphia.
Delaware’s pavilion at The Great American State Fair highlights Caesar Rodney’s ride to cast the deciding vote for independence.
Pennsylvania joined seven other Democratic-led states — Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, and Washington — in declining to participate.
Some of those states had flags outside the pavilions where they would have been located. A few chairs and a sign with the state’s name were also inside.
But in the booth where, according to an interactive map, Pennsylvania’s location was supposed to be, a flag reading just “250″ was outside and the room was blocked off for the fair’s staff.
As recently as this month, Pennsylvania was still seeking companies to represent it, but Rosie Lapowsky, Shapiro’s spokesperson, confirmed Thursday that the state had given up that effort.
“None were interested,” Shapiro said to the New Republic in a story that first reported Pennsylvania’s lack of participation. “It reflects this sad state of affairs that we find ourselves in — that the president has politicized this to a degree that businesses don’t want to participate.”
Trump’s presence has increasingly hung over events tied to the 250th anniversary in the nation’s capital, with the president planning to hold a political rally on the Fourth of July as part of the long-planned fireworks celebrations. It has made the decision to participate by entertainers and states alike more politically fraught.
“Freedom 250 is a nonpartisan organization, full stop — and our track record of collaboration across red, blue, and purple states speaks for itself,” Freedom 250 spokesperson Rachel Reisner said in a statement earlier this month. She did not respond to a request for comment Thursday about Pennsylvania’s lack of involvement or Shapiro’s comments.
Cape May represents New Jersey at the Great American State Fair Thursday, June 25, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
In New Jersey’s pavilion, visitors were met with not just the sand sculpture but also a new three-minute video highlighting Cape May County and a giant image of George Washington lounging at the beach with a cold drink.
County administrator Kevin Lare said it took a significant amount of work — and at least $150,000 from the county’s tourism budget — to pull it all together in recent weeks. It is worth it, he said, to highlight the county in the hopes of bolstering its largest economic engine — tourism.
“It’s a once-in-a-250-year event,” Lare said. “It’s not something the county will do every year at this level. It’s a celebration of our country, and our board of commissioners still believe we live in the greatest nation in the world. They’re happy to be a part of it.”
Staff writer Gillian McGoldrick contributed to this article.
Ember & Ash restaurant on East Passyunk Avenue in South Philadelphia is closed indefinitely after a late-night fire Wednesday sent flames to the roof through its ventilation system, its owners said.
No injuries were reported. Owner Lulu Calhoun said she, her husband and chef-partner Scott Calhoun, and another chef, John Forkin, were leaving for the evening through the kitchen door about 10:20 p.m. when they heard a loud sound from above.
Firefighters positioning a ladder outside of Ember & Ash, 1520 E. Passyunk Ave., on June 24, 2026.
“We didn’t know what it was,” she said. “We thought maybe like a helicopter or a jet.”
Scott Calhoun looked up to see fire on the roof. He grabbed fire extinguishers and ran upstairs to try to put it out, she said.
The couple called 911, and firefighters arrived almost immediately. Ember & Ash is about two blocks from Ladder 11 at 12th and Reed Streets, a fire company that was restored in 2024 after having been shuttered for 15 years. “We’re just so grateful, because it could have been a much, much worse situation,” Lulu Calhoun said.
A charred portion of the ventilation system at Ember & Ash, 1520 E. Passyunk Ave., as seen June 25, 2026.
Thursday morning, the full extent of the destruction was still being assessed, but she said the restaurant was facing professional cleanup for water throughout the building and repairs to the hood and roof. Fire damage was not apparent from the Passyunk Avenue sidewalk. The Philadelphia Fire Department said the fire was under control in about an hour and 20 minutes but had no information on its cause.
“That’s the part that’s the most heartbreaking,” she said. “It’s not only our livelihoods, but our entire team.”
She said the timeline for repairs was not yet known, adding that the duct work had been professionally cleaned recently as part of maintenance.
Ember & Ash, 1520 E. Passyunk Ave., on June 25, 2026.
The hearth at Ember & Ash, a live-fire restaurant built around a custom wood-burning grill made by Grills by Demant, has been the center of the kitchen since the restaurant’s opening in late 2020.
Fires that travel through ventilation systems can sideline a restaurant for months because damage is not always immediately visible and insurance claims can drag on. Kampar in Bella Vista has been closed since a February 2025 fire and has not announced a reopening date. Black Sheep in Rittenhouse has been closed since a May 18 fire. Tequilas in Center City was shuttered for about two years after a 2023 fire, though owners spent some of that time creating a second restaurant, La Jefa, in its rear dining room.
Calhoun said Ember & Ash was contacting customers with bookings along with parties that had reserved private events in July and August.
The Flyers are making a few changes on the fourth line.
The team announced Thursday that Garnet Hathaway has been traded to the Florida Panthers along with a 2026 sixth-round pick for a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft and a 2027 fourth-rounder. The Flyers now own four picks in this weekend’s NHL draft: 21, 53 (second round), 136 (fifth round), and 213 (seventh round).
Signed as a free agent in 2023, the 34-year-old winger played three seasons in Philadelphia and put up three points in 66 games last season, down from his 21 points in 2024-25 and 17 in 2023-24. Alongside Sean Couturier and Luke Glendening, he was part of a formidable fourth line in the playoffs, scoring one goal and recording one assist in eight games while asserting himself physically.
A Maine native who graduated from Brown, the undrafted Hathaway ranked fourth in hits in the NHL across his three seasons in Philly. The past two seasons, for every hit the Flyers recorded, Hathaway and his wife, Lindsay, pledged to donate to local first responders with a match from Flyers Charities through Hits for Hath’s Heroes. Following the 2024-25 season, the Hathaways donated $30,000 to the Families Behind the Badge Children’s Foundation, a Conshohocken-based nonprofit.
Hathaway has one year left on his two-year extension signed last July 1, which is worth $2.4 million annually. A team source has confirmed to The Inquirer that the Flyers will retain 50% of Hathaway’s salary, leaving a cap charge of $1.2 million on the books for 2026-27.
With the move, the Flyers have two of three salary retention spots available for next season. The Flyers still have a projected $33.6 million in cap space with which to extend restricted free agents Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras, and to make any new additions to the roster.
Ciara VanBuren was on the couch with her 4-year-old daughter in the next room and her 13-year-old upstairs when she smelled something burning.
She looked out the window of her Franklinville rowhouse a few moments later and saw smoke coming from her neighbor’s window. She heard pounding on the door as neighbors and firefighters checked for anybody inside. In the moments that it took to get outside with her daughters, the front porch had collapsed, with the blaze killing a 69-year-old man and prompting charges for the woman accused of setting it.
Natasha Teague, 38, has been arrested and charged withmurder and arson, among other offenses, in connection with the Monday fire, police said Wednesday. Teague had been a frequent presence in the neighborhood over the last year, said neighbors, who said they believed she knew the fire victim’s brother.
Two fires were started on the block that day. In the early morning, police were called to the 3600 block of Percy Street after a small fire was started on the porch, according to the Philadelphia Fire Department. The fire department was not called, and no one was arrested. In the early afternoon, police say,Teague started the second fire, which severely damaged five homes and killed Barry Turner.
A preliminary hearing for Teague is scheduled for July 13. She remained in custody Thursday and no attorney for her was listed in court records.
Turner, 69, grew up in the area and came back to live with his brother, neighbors said. Other residents have described Turner as having been a straight-A student in school, said James Martinez, a 21-year-old who was in the shower when his house started to burn down.Hesaid he did not know Turner well.
Martinez sat by the burned porch, sighing as he looked toward to the homes that were destroyed. “We are missing half a block.”
James Martinez sitting on the porch of a neighbor’s house on Percy Street.
Neighborssaid they were saddened and scared by the tragedy. Kendra Olen, who lives a few houses down from the fire with her 66-year-old mother and 22-year-old daughter, said she had not been able to sleep since the fire.
“It’s from fear,” she said. Firefightersknocked down the front door to rescue her mother, and they had to install fans in the house to get rid of the smoke.
This was the second incident of arson reported on the block in less than a month, according to the fire department. On May 23, a Molotov cocktail was thrown into an unoccupied house. No other houses were affected. Before these two incidents, neighbors could not remember a fire starting on their block in recent decades.
The fires concerned and confused neighbors who previously thought of their block as an idyllic place.
Days after the fire, there was a clear blue sky and cool breeze. Many residents sat on their porches as they usually do. Jose Vazquez lounged comfortably, wearing a blue-and-white-striped linen shirt, as he looked out to the row of burned houses.
“Almost everyone knows me, even if I forget their names,” Vazquez, who is 85 and has lived in the neighborhood for decades, said with a laugh. He does not plan to move.
BOSTON — A federal judge on Thursday halted President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to create a federal voter list and limit who can receive a mail ballot.
U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani, who was nominated by Democratic President Barack Obama, sided with a coalition of nearly two dozen states that challenged the Republican president’s order in granting a summary judgment. Her ruling applies to this year’s midterm election cycle.
Plaintiffs argued in two lawsuits, both filed in federal court in Boston, that Trump’s order should be found unconstitutional because the states and Congress, not the president, have the power to set election rules. The judge agreed, noting in her ruling that the provisions of Trump’s order “unconstitutionally violate the separation of powers.”
It was the second ruling in as many days against executive orders Trump has signed seeking oversight of the nation’s elections. A separate ruling Wednesday prohibited an executive order he had signed last year that would have required people to show documents proving their citizenship when registering to vote.
The administration, in its motions to dismiss the lawsuits challenging the order seeking to establish a federal voter list, argued that the motions are premature and that plaintiffs lacked the legal basis to bring their claim based on the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.
But in an interim order before Thursday’s ruling, Talwani said the motions pertaining to this year’s election cycle were relevant: “In light of the EO’s specific deadlines over the next three months, and the reality that elections will be occurring throughout this period with the November 3, 2026 midterm occurring in just five months, postponing judicial review is impracticable and may inflict significant hardship on Plaintiffs,” she wrote. That order denied the Trump administration’s motion to dismiss the challenges.
Trump’s executive order, the second one aimed at elections during his second term, comes as he continues to raise the specter of widespread voting by noncitizens as a reason to change election rules. But states already have detailed processes aimed at keeping their voter rolls accurate, and voting by noncitizens has been shown to be rare. It also is a felony that can be punishable by deportation.
Trump issued his second order in March after a bill he supported to overhaul voting stalled in Congress. The order would have had the federal government create a list of eligible voters and then directed the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to those on the list. Election officials argued that it was ripe for abuse and could cause chaos, and the postal union has objected to the idea of mail carriers policing ballots.
The Postal Service has published a proposed rule required by Trump’s executive order in the Federal Register. Among other things, the rule would not apply to primary elections or overseas ballots.
The lawsuit seeking summary judgment was filed by Democratic attorneys general representing 22 states and the District of Columbia. Also signing on were attorneys representing Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, which has a Republican attorney general.
“Donald Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional Executive Order sought to undermine eligible voters’ ability to make their voices heard in our democracy,” Pennsylvania Shapiro posted on X Thursday. “Our Constitution is clear: the authority to set our election rules belongs to the states.”
The states also told the court that the move imposes a costly burden on election officials to comply and would spread fear about the possibility of prosecution. Stephen Pezzi, a lawyer for the Trump administration, had argued that no one would be prosecuted for violating the order.
In a separate lawsuit filed against the executive order, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., in May agreed with the Trump administration that it was too early to block the order because it had yet to be implemented. That lawsuit was brought by Democratic and civil rights groups, who have appealed.
Peco workers plan towalk off the jobon the Fourth of Julyif they don’t have a contract by then, their union announced Thursday.
IBEW Local 614, whichrepresents roughly 1,500 Peco employees including gas and electric field workers and call center staff, has been negotiating for a new contract for months. They include employees who work to restore electricity during power outages.
The workers voted at the end of May to authorize a strike if their union called for it, with over 1,000 participating in the vote.It would be the first worker strikein the company’s history.
“We’ve exhausted every avenue to reach a deal,” IBEW Local 614 president Larry Anastasi said in a statement Tuesday. “If Peco won’t invest in the workers who keep the lights on, we’ve got no choice but to stand together and demand the respect we’ve earned.”
Under its most recent contract, the union is required to provide Peco with at least seven days’ notice before going out on strike. A large crowd, including leaders of other area unions, gathered at Washington Square Park on Thursday morning for the union’s strike date announcement.
Peco spokesperson Candice Womer said in a statement Thursday morning ahead of the strike date announcement that the company is committed to negotiating in good faith for an agreement that “is fair to our employees, while supporting the long-term needs of our customers and the communities we serve.”
“We have presented a strong, market-competitive compensation and benefits package,” Womer said.
Customers should not expect delays or interruptions in service, said Nicole LeVine, Peco’s chief operating officer.
“We’re an emergency response company,” LeVine said. “We’ve been working on contingency planning in the event of a strike, and we were well prepared to execute our plan if needed.”
LeVine said some workers who would be called on during a strikeare “familiar with our specific system,” and others “are coming in from outside of the region.” She declined to say how many workers are part of the contingency plan.
Jim McGill, a union representative with local 614 (holding microphone), speaks to workers and union representatives who gathered in Washington Square Park on Thursday.
The union workers’ most recent five-year contract expired March 31, and negotiations, which started in January, have led to some tentative agreements, Peco has said. But sticking points have emerged around wages and benefits, the union says.
The most recent bargaining session was June 19, and the next one is scheduled for July 2, LeVine said. She noted that the company would like to conduct that session sooner.
Peco has suggested using a federal mediator to reach an agreement, LeVine said. “If we get a mediator in here, he can help making sure both parties are participating in negotiations, and we can reach a good deal,” she said.
Hundreds of Peco workers and supporters met in Washington Square Park on Thursday, a little after 11 a.m., some holding signs that read “Ready to strike. Ready to win.”
When Anastasi, the local president, announced that workers would go out on strike at 12:01 a.m. on the Fourth of July, the crowd behind him erupted in cheers. Anastasi said the union had not made the decision lightly.
“We didn’t want to do this,” Stephen Giorgio, a Peco employee for nearly three years, said after the news conference. But, he added, the union has been negotiating for months, and “enough’s enough.”
Giorgio, who works in the western suburbs, is part of a Peco team that gets called upon when a customer’s power is out.
“We’re out there day and night, weekends, holidays,” he said. “My wife forgets what I look like sometimes.”
His line of work is dangerous, he says, and can include climbing a 60-foot pole in the rain — but he wouldn’t trade it for another job.
“I love this job,” Giorgio said. “I can never see myself doing anything else. Took me 10 years to get here, and now I’m here, and I don’t ever plan on looking back.”
Sparkling wines are having a moment, and it’s hard to beat Spain in this category when it comes to great value. The country may be most commonly associated with red wine, but sparkling, white, and even rosé wines from Spain are all seeing significant growth in total exports. While there are other sparkling wine appellations in Spain, the vast majority — including this example — are labeled as cava.
Where most wine appellations take their name from a place — think Champagne from France’s Champagne region — cava is different. The term means “cave” or “cellar,” referring to how it is made. Cava wines must, by law, follow the same traditional method of production as Champagne, which involves a second fermentation that takes place inside each bottle. The mechanism for adding the bubbles and letting the wine patiently age in a cellar is also central to its quality.
Cava’s appellation was first conceived as a means for wineries across Spain to be able to sell a high-quality sparkling wine regardless of their region. In practice, however, most cava is grown and produced in northeastern Catalonia, near Barcelona, using native Spanish grapes such as macabeo, parellada, and xarel-lo. That’s the case for this wine as well, which is labeled under the name of a Rioja-based brand better known for their reds. In Spain, it’s not uncommon for large wineries in one region to extend their range by sourcing wines from partners elsewhere.
Cava wines can be found at every level of ambition and price, from the cheap and cheerful to the ambitious and gastronomic. This wine falls at the simpler end of the continuum (as the price might suggest), with a delicate mouthfeel and refreshing flavors of apple, lemon, and blanched almond. It’s an ideal choice for relaxed day-drinking — mimosas highly recommended.
Gran Campo Viejo Cava Brut Reserva
Gran Campo Viejo Cava Brut Reserva
Spain; 11.5% ABV
PLCB Item #6563 — $10.49 through July 5 (regularly $13.49)
For most Americans, the U.S. Supreme Court occupies a seat on the back burner. We know it is important, but so much of what it does seems unconnected to our daily lives.
Every now and then, it pops up in the news when something major is on the table and briefly grabs our attention — overturning Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to choose to have an abortion grabbed the headlines, as did throwing out Donald Trump’s tariffs. But, outside of the circles of lawyers, judges, and academics, most of what the court does goes unnoticed. For a brief moment, the nation pays attention. Then the spotlight moves on.
Enduring consequences
Over the next two to three weeks, before the justices depart for their four-month summer recess, the court will issue a series of decisions in cases it has been considering for months. They have listened to the lawyers argue their cases for hours, reviewed thousands of pages of briefs submitted by lawyers, interested organizations, and government officials, and debated among themselves.
Any day now, decisions will be handed down that could alter the legal landscape for decades to come. These cases will affect millions of people, directly and indirectly. These decisions become the law of the land, and their impact will endure for decades. While the court can later reverse its own decisions, it rarely does. So the decisions it makes in the next two to three weeks will endure long after many of us are dead. In 1954, for example, the court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education finally ended desegregation, 50 years after the same court had infamously approved it in Plessy v. Ferguson.
More recently, in 2022, the court reversed Roe v. Wade, ending a constitutional right to abortion that had been established since 1973.
In short, the decisions it makes in the next couple of weeks are not likely to change for half a century or more. Given what the court is about to decide, all of us have a stake in the outcome.
People demonstrate outside the U.S. Supreme Court Building in 2025 before justices hear oral arguments in a birthright citizenship case, one of many critical issues before the court.
President Trump signed an executive order ending automatic citizenship for those born in the United States unless they meet certain conditions, despite the Constitution (in the 14th Amendment) explicitly conferring it to “all persons” born in the United States.
The stakes in this case extend far beyond immigration policy or the end of birthright citizenship.
The issue is not simply whether birth in the United States confers automatic citizenship. More fundamentally, it asks whether a president may effectively amend the Constitution, eviscerating rights and guarantees formerly entrenched in American society, literally with the stroke of a pen.
The Constitution is meant to endure and survive political winds — and it has for 250 years. In that time, aside from the Bill of Rights, there have been only 17 amendments. The Constitution provides a process for changing its provisions. It is purposefully neither quick nor easy. The framers understood that fundamental rights should not fluctuate like a weather vane depending on who occupies the White House. Constitutional rights are meant to endure and survive political winds — and they have for 250 years.
Executive orders signed by the president, any president, are not among the methods the Constitution provides for rewriting its guarantees.
Critical decisions
The decision is critical. If a president’s signature on an executive order can override constitutional guarantees in one area, where does that authority end? What’s next? The right to remain silent? Free speech? The freedom to practice your religion, safe from government interference? The right to counsel? The guarantee of a fair trial? Presidential term limits? Can Trump end the constitutionally mandated two-term limit with his signature?
Free speech is a central issue. Can students be punished for participating in peaceful demonstrations on college campuses because officials disagree with their views? Does freedom of expression apply equally to all viewpoints, or only to favored ones? If the government can silence one unpopular group today, what prevents it from silencing another tomorrow?
Among the issues that will be decided in the next few weeks are whether states can exclude transgender women from participating in female athletic competitions. Earlier, the court addressed whether states may prohibit licensed therapists from discussing certain issues relating to gender identity with their patients — can they prohibit some of it, or all of it, or none of it. The First Amendment won that battle. Surprisingly. But transgender rights are not a favored policy, and the administration is unashamedly hostile to them, and civil liberties advocates are not hopeful.
The court was asked to revisit long-standing Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Under what circumstances may police officers enter a person’s home without a warrant, probable cause, or judicial authorization? How far may a warrant reach before it undermines the constitutional guarantee that people should be secure in their homes?
Gun safety advocates rally outside federal court in Philadelphia in 2023 as the Third Circuit Court of Appeals hears oral arguments about a New Jersey law keeping guns out of parks, playgrounds, bars, and other sensitive places. The law was challenged by the National Rifle Association and other gun lobby groups.
The Second Amendment and gun control remain among the most active areas of constitutional law. If school shootings and the murder rate are important to us, we need to be paying attention.
Beyond individual rights, the courts are increasingly confronting questions concerning executive power and the structure of the federal government itself. May a president deploy National Guard troops without the consent of state officials? Can federal employees be dismissed without cause? Does the president have the authority to remove senior agency officials at will, or are there constitutional limits on that power?
Shaping lives
The fundamental right to vote is also at stake, as the plethora of decisions already announced on redistricting and voter rights will undoubtedly shape the political landscape. In the next few weeks, the court’s decisions on mail-in ballot restrictions will add to that mix.
These are not abstract legal debates. They are questions that go to the heart of citizenship, liberty, equality, and the limits of governmental power. They will shape lives, influence public policy, and define constitutional rights long after today’s political battles have faded from memory.
The Supreme Court may not dominate our daily conversations, but the decisions it issues in the coming days will touch every American in one way or another. Whether we agree with the outcomes or not, this is one of those moments when paying attention is not merely advisable — it is essential.
Susan Sullivan is a lawyer and professor of constitutional law and politics at Temple University.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The excitement on the other end of the phone from Nathan Quinn was unmistakable.
But this conversation, for the most part, wasn’t focused on Quinn, the Flyers’ sixth-rounder in 2025, who had a tremendous season for Québec of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. It was about his linemate, road-trip roommate, and buddy Maddox Dagenais, who is on the verge of being drafted into the NHL.
What if it were the Flyers snagging Dagenais at No. 21?
“Oh, it’ll be awesome,” Quinn said emphatically. “Just being at the [development] camp a couple of days after together, it’s another step to your life, too. If you want to make it to the pro level, being with someone that you know, you may be more comfortable [with], and of course, one of my best friends, so it would be an incredible thing.”
Ready to Start
Dagenais moved around a lot as a kid. It’s what happens when your dad is chasing his own hockey dreams. Pierre Dagenais was drafted twice by the New Jersey Devils, in 1996 and then two years later. The first time it was in the second round, 47th overall, and yes, Maddox and his dad have a little competition going to see which Dagenais is selected higher.
Pierre played 142 games in the NHL, mostly for the Montreal Canadiens, while also spending time in the American Hockey League and in Europe. The shuffling around didn’t stop the younger Dagenais from working on his own game.
“Every house had a net to shoot on,” he told The Inquirer, recalling some were in the basement, some in the garage, and others were outside, like the one he has today.
“Every night, just a couple of 100 pucks, even a thousand pucks … become natural with me to just go out there and shoot pucks with my dad or myself.”
And that work paid off as his shot is considered his biggest strength, with draft analysts like FloHockey draft and prospect analyst Chris Peters liking his release, and The Athletic’s senior NHL prospects writer Corey Pronman calling it one of the better shots in the draft.
Following a tough first season in the QMJHL as a 16-year-old, where he potted only 12 goals in 43 games, Dagenais stayed in Quebec City that summer to train. The potential was always there, but he learned that he needed to compete.
And at the end of this past season, Dagenais had notched 30 goals, making him one of 22 players out of the 521 to skate in at least one game in the QMJHL to hit the mark, while chipping in 32 assists across 62 games. He added another three goals and six points in 11 playoff games.
Maddox Dagenais considers his wrist shot his strong shot and wants to work on his slap shot more after potting 30 goals this past season, with 10 coming on the power play.
“He probably has the best shot I’ve ever seen, to be honest with you,” said Quinn, who finished with 73 points in 58 games. “When you give him the puck in the slot, or on his one-timers, it’s a goal almost every time. So it’s fun to play with a guy that can create space, but also put the puck in the back of the net.”
When he was drafted with the No. 1 pick into the “Q” by the Remparts in 2024 — the Dagenais’ are the first father-son duo to go first overall — he was a center. He is also listed as a center by Central Scouting, and did win 51.3% of the 545 faceoffs he took this past season.
However, the left-handed Dagenais actually spent the majority of the time as Quinn’s right winger. For one thing, Flyers general manager Danny Brière will like the versatility as Dagenais is being projected to play on the wing in the NHL.
So how did this happen? As the Remparts’ general manager explained it, centers look to pass the puck, and wingers look to shoot. He feels Dagenais is the latter, having put the fourth-most shots on goal in the league with his shoot-first mentality. And this GM knows a thing or two about scoring goals himself: Simon Gagné scored the 10th-most in Flyers history (264).
“[Whichever] team is going to pick him, he’s going to score goals for them. … The sky is really high for Maddox. … He’s a type of player that I’m sure the fans will love to have on their team, and I’m sure [the Flyers] organization as well,” Gagné told The Inquirer during a recent phone interview.
“When you look at your player like that, to where the ceiling is at, and for Maddox, I think he’s just starting … but the ceiling is really high for him. And he’s a kid that loves to come to the rink, loves to want to learn, and wants to get better. He’s a geek for that, so that’s always a good thing to see that from a player.”
‘Ring the bells’
When Drew Bannister first saw the 6-foot-3¾, 198-pound Dagenais on video, he wasn’t too sure of his game. The former NHL player and coach, who was figuring out his roster for Canada’s U18 team, thought he was being opportunistic and hung back a little behind the play.
Dagenais learned what he needed to do to gain Bannister’s trust. He changed his game and was one of the players who surprised the coach by the end of the U18 World Championship this past spring. Although he only scored once in five games, it wasn’t for lack of opportunity. “Just didn’t have any puck luck,” Bannister said.
Known to use his size and physicality to create space, he brought his reverse hits to the international stage with one scout telling Daily Faceoff after a big-time hit during the U18 tournament, “It’s kind of his thing. He’s terrifying.”
“Oh, it’s impressive,” exclaimed Quinn when asked about the reverse hits Dagenais can lay. “I remember one time in Moncton, I think the guy was like maybe 6-6 or 6-7 and like 230 and [he hit him] like the guy was like 140 and like 5-7.”
Maddox Dagenais Film Room coming soon.
In the meantime, here's two minutes of him throwing the nastiest reverse hits in the Q.
The two players, who play video games like Fortnite together and are always talking strategy, plays, and small details, usually stay on the ice after practice to work on things, but rarely is it the reverse hit; Dagenais said he is “not trying to hurt my teammates.”
Although it is a good tool to have in the toolbox as the reverse hit creates time and space on the ice for himself and his teammates, usually because the guy he hit fell, and now the Remparts have a five-on-four advantage for a few seconds at least.
“He’s a big kid. He’s starting to use his physique at his advantage now. … That reverse hit, that some Flyers fans remember with Peter Forsberg doing it, Maddox started to do that a couple times last year, and it kind of reminded me of … Peter Forsberg when I played with him,” Gagné said.
Dagenais knows he is a big body, and he focuses on using it to be physical and to create offense. He considers his comparables to be Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson and Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovský. He is a solid puck protector and can use his skating to his advantage.
However, while there are some small concerns about his attention to detail, one major issue that consistently pops up in conversations is that while he is physical and competitive, it’s only when he wants to be.
It’s something that will have to be buttoned up as his career progresses, because while there are some concerns about how impactful he will be, the consensus is that he will be an NHLer.
Now the only question is, where will Dagenais be drafted? Will he go earlier than the consensus expects, as Peters thinks? Will it be by the Flyers, who have kept tabs on the right winger this season? And if that does happen, who will be more excited, Quinn or Dagenais?
“He’s texting me every day about it,” Dagenais said at the combine in early June. “It would be nice if I were drafted with him.”
An overwhelming majority of Philadelphians feel safe in their neighborhoods and more than 40% believe that the city has become cleaner under the leadership of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, according to a new poll, suggesting that city residents see significant progress on the mayor’s key campaign promises.
However, there is not a broad citywide consensus on Parker’s tenure as she heads into an expected reelection campaign next year, and there were also red flags for her and the city, including alarmingly bad evaluations of the public school system.
That is according to a recent Suffolk University/Philadelphia Inquirer poll that surveyed 500 Philadelphians across the city on issues including crime, quality of life, city services, and education. More than half of those surveyed said they would rate Philly as a “good” or “excellent” place to live.
About 83% of residents reported feeling safe in the city just five years after record-high rates of gun violence in Philadelphia, with respondents in neighborhoods most affected by violent crime most likely to say they feel that crime has decreased since Parker took office in 2024.
And the city’s public school system emerged as a primary concern, with 45% saying they would rate Philadelphia’s schools as of “poor” quality, while more than half of the poll’s respondents said that schools play an important role in whether they stay in the city or move out.
The survey was conducted last week, after the financially struggling Philadelphia School District and its controversial school closure plan dominated local headlines for more than a month.
David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston, said the poll provides Philadelphia policymakers with a blueprint for how to keep people in the city: continue progress on crime and improve the public schools.
“If that happens,” he said, “then Philadelphia is poised to be a renaissance city.”
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker attending the Juneteenth Block Party at the African American Museum in Philadelphia on June 19.
Parker said in a statement that her administration “values both qualitative and quantitative information.”
“The real-life, lived experiences of people in this city are what matters most,” she said. “Polling is not my North Star in how I govern. My solutions always come from the ground up, from what people can see, touch, and feel.”
For Parker’s political fortunes, the poll represents mixed results. It showed that the substantial base of support that lifted the mayor to office in 2023 is holding up, with Black residents and older Philadelphians most likely to say they have a favorable view of her and see progress on her campaign promises.
But Parker has not consolidated broad citywide enthusiasm, with 44% of respondents saying that they have a favorable view of the mayor and 35% saying they have an unfavorable one. That is positive territory for Parker more than halfway through her first term, but not overwhelmingly so.
Her biggest vulnerability is with young people — respondents under age 45 were more likely to say that they had an unfavorable view of the mayor than a favorable one. White residents were also more sour on Parker.
(function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();
Paleologos said that the poll shows there are “pockets of strength” that make Parker, a centrist Democrat, electorally strong, but that he would not consider her support broad-based.
Those results come as the city’s most prominent progressive political groups are weighing whether to mount a challenge against Parker next year. As the incumbent, Parker would be the hands-down favorite in any contest, as no Philadelphia mayor has lost a campaign for reelection in modern history.
Aren Platt, the executive director of People for Parker, the mayor’s political arm, said in a statement that Parker’s support “has always been under-counted, especially in public polling.” He cited polling conducted during the 2023 mayor’s race that showed her tied with or trailing her top opponents in the Democratic primary, in which Parker prevailed by a commanding 10 percentage points.
Platt also said the Suffolk University/Inquirer poll is not necessarily predictive of how the mayor could perform in a theoretical reelection race. The poll was of Philadelphia residents, not likely primary voters.
“This poll may reflect the demographics of Philadelphia, but elections are decided by the people who show up to vote on election day,” he said. “In Philadelphia, those are two very different universes.”
The poll also showed relatively positive marks for one of Parker’s potential successors: City Council President Kenyatta Johnson. He has said that he supports Parker for reelection, but Philadelphia mayors are limited to two terms and Johnson is widely seen as a potential future contender for the city’s top office.
Overall, 48% of respondents said they had a favorable view of Johnson and only 12% had an unfavorable one. Johnson is also far less publicly known than Parker, with 40% of those surveyed saying they had either never heard of him or were undecided on their view of him.
Negative reviews of the Philadelphia School District
About one in five respondents said that schools and education are the most important issue in the city, making it second only to crime. Paleologos said that is somewhat unique to Philadelphia — in other major cities where he has polled public opinion, he said, respondents often rank jobs and the economy as greater concerns.
(function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();
Nearly 75% of respondents said they would rate the quality of Philadelphia’s public schools as “fair” or “poor.” Younger residents were far more likely than older ones to rate the schools as “poor,” and more than half of all respondents said the public schools are an important factor in determining whether they and their family stay in the city or move away.
“That’s a big number,” Paleologos said. “That research alone gives the policymakers a bird’s-eye view of what they need to do to keep people here in Philadelphia.”
The survey also shows that residents see issues across the school system. When asked what should be the highest priority in improving the schools, there was little consensus among respondents: About a third said teacher pay, while a quarter said school safety, and another quarter said building repairs.
Just 4.4% said the highest priority should be instituting year-round school, an initiative that Parker campaigned on and that the district is piloting.
Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr., School Board President Reginald L. Streater, and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker stand together during an announcement at the School District of Philadelphia Headquarters on June 10.
In a statement provided to The Inquirer after the initial publication of this story, Monique Braxton, a spokesperson for the School District of Philadelphia, said district leaders share “the public’s sense of urgency to significantly improve public schools in the City of Philadelphia.”
She said the district is making progress toward the superintendent’s goal of making the district the “fastest improving large urban district in the nation.”
Braxton added that the district’s own survey suggests most parents are satisfied. The district’s 2024-25 survey, Braxton said, found that 90.3% of more than 26,000 parents whose students attend district schools said they were pleased with the quality of education their child received.
The quality of Philadelphia’s public schools has been a perennial concern, and city leaders have long pointed to the chronic underfunding of the Philadelphia School District. In 2023, the state Commonwealth Court ruled that Pennsylvania had for years unconstitutionally deprived students in low-wealth districts of an adequate education, and state lawmakers are now funding schools under a new formula.
District leaders have undertaken significant efforts in recent years to improve academic performance. There have been some positive results, including improvement on test scores and a recent report that said Philadelphia School District students’ learning post-pandemic was tops in the nation among large urban districts.
The district also earlier this year adopted a sweeping, $3.3 billion effort to renovate and modernize 169 schools. That multiyear plan was hotly debated, as it included the closure of 17 schools.
Councilmember Nina Ahmad shows off her T-shirt during a rally outside of the School District of the Philadelphia School District headquarters building on May 28. Council members rallied to oppose the school closure plan.
Parker said the Commonwealth Court “got it right” in declaring that low-wealth districts like Philadelphia’s are chronically underfunded.
“If we had all the resources we need, we’d see even more enhanced improvements in our schools,” Parker said. “I’ll never stop fighting for our children and their right to a high-quality education.”
Crime is the top concern, but most residents feel safe
Despite rates of violent crime in the city plummeting to record lows under Parker, public safety remains the top concern for three in 10 Philadelphia residents, suggesting that people who live in the city are still anxious about crime.
When asked about whether they believe crime in their neighborhood has increased or decreased over the last two years, a third of respondents said they believe it has increased, about 32% said it has decreased, and 28% said they believe it has stayed the same.
(function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();
(function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();
A closer look at the results shows that a plurality of respondents in the neighborhoods most affected by violent crime, including North and West Philadelphia, believe that crime has decreased.
The respondents most likely to say that they believe crime in their area has increased live in Northeast Philly. But public data maintained by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office show overall crime has decreased there, too. There are five Northeast Philadelphia police districts, and the total number of crime incidents reported to police declined in all of them between 2023, the year before Parker took office, and last year.
Despite the mixed poll results, a vast majority of Philadelphians — nearly 83% — said that they feel safe in their own neighborhood.
That is good news for Parker, who ran for office as a tough-on-crime Democrat amid a historic wave of gun violence and who vowed often to “bring order back to our city.”
Philadelphia police officers stand along the 2800 block of Kensington Ave. after a police involved shooting on May 23. Police shot a robbery suspect.
Parker said in a statement that the polling results are evidence that her public safety strategy is working, calling it her “number one priority.”
She also vowed to continue her administration’s efforts in Kensington, the epicenter of the city’s opioid crisis. The Parker administration has deployed a multipronged approach, including increased police patrols in the neighborhood and an expansion of offerings for people in addiction.
But 53% of poll respondents said they do not believe the mayor’s efforts there are working, and those who live closest to the problem were the least supportive. In the region that encompasses the Lower Northeast and the river wards, where Kensington is located, 68% of people said Parker’s strategy is not working while only 18% said it is.
The mayor’s overall favorability was also lowest in that area of the city, the only region where more respondents said they had an unfavorable view of the mayor than a favorable one.
(function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();
Parker acknowledged that there is “much more work to do” in Kensington and said that “changing culture and going to war with the status quo is never easy.“
Parker’s ‘clean and green’ message is landing
For a city derisively called “Filthadelphia” and where cleanliness has been a longtime concern, a significant number of people seem to think Philadelphia is getting cleaner.
When asked about trash and litter, 41% of poll respondents said they believe the city has gotten cleaner over the last two years. Just 19% said Philadelphia has gotten dirtier, and 38% said it has stayed the same.
A sanitation department truck is seen along Cresson Street at West Earlham Street in Philadelphia on the first day of trash collection after a strike on July 14, 2025.
Those are positive marks for a mayor whose slogan is “safer, cleaner, greener” and who has instituted new programs including twice-weekly trash pickup in the densest parts of the city.
Despite those efforts, Philadelphians gave worse reviews to the overall quality of city services in their neighborhood. About six in 10 respondents said the quality was either “fair” or “poor,” while 40% said “good” or “excellent.”
Staff writer Michelle Baruchman contributed to this article.
