President Donald Trump announced he would advise federal agencies to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to Schedule III, easing federal restrictions on the plant.
Trump announced the executive order Thursday in the Oval Office, alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and a line of medical workers in white coats and scrubs. The president does not have the direct authority to reschedule marijuana but can request his federal agencies to do so.
Jeff Hodgson smokes a pre-roll at his home in Cape May, NJ on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Hodgson mostly uses medical marijuana to help him sleep.
Marijuana has been a Schedule I controlled substance since the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, meaning the federal government considers marijuana to have no accepted medical use, with a high risk of abuse. Schedule I drugs, such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD, are illegal and strictly regulated, making medical research on these drugs, including cannabis, nearly impossible.
A reclassification would be the most significant reform on marijuana in more than half a century, opening the doors for medical research. But it would not be full legalization, said Adam Smith, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. It could also pave the way to federal intervention in the state-run medical and recreational marijuana industries, something stakeholders fear.
“There is a possibility that in moving cannabis to Schedule III, instead of opening up access, what it will do is incentivize federal agencies to clamp down control on the availability of cannabis,” Smith said. “Treating it as other Schedule III substances, which virtually all require prescriptions, is not how this works in medical cannabis and could really create chaos and a lot of economic pain in the industry.”
Frank Burkhauser of Woodbury displays the legal marijuana purchase that he just made at Cannabist in Deptford, N.J. on April 21, 2022. Burkhauser said he has been working for the legalization of marijuana since the early 90’s.
Smith said stakeholders are unsure what this might mean for the wider industry but remain optimistic, as rescheduling of marijuana has been a priority for decades.
This executive order has plenty of positives, said Joshua Horn, a Philadelphia cannabis lawyer at Fox Rothschild. Loosening restrictions could clear the way for the IRS to allow cannabis businesses to deduct business expenses (which they currently cannot do). Additionally, more traditional banking options might become available to entrepreneurs.
“It could also rectify the criminal injustice that has been ongoing since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act, where people of color have been disproportionately impacted by the ‘war on drugs,’” Horn said. “In the end, rescheduling should reinvigorate these businesses out of their current tax and financial struggles.”
This federal rescheduling of marijuana would come on the heels of Congress’ banning all intoxicating hemp products, which are derived from cannabis plants. While this may seem like a policy flip-flop, Smith said, these are two different issues at hand.
Hemp products photographed at the Philadelphia Inquirer, November 21, 2025.
“The hemp ban is the result of the fact that the market was chaotic and, in many cases, unsafe. Without regulation, that market was rife with pesticides, heavy metals, and products that should not be on shelves,” Smith said.
But he contends there is a movement to push back against wider marijuana legalization. “There’s always pushback when there’s big change,” Smith said. “But also because of the instability created when we have state-regulated markets operating in a federally illegal area.”
Industry folks are hoping this move better aligns the federal government and state markets, opens the doors to research, and provides better clarity to states that are hesitant to legalize marijuana, Smith said.
In this July 19, 2019, file photo, Pierce Prozy examines a Yolo! brand vape oil cartridge marketed as a CBD product at Flora Research Laboratories in Grants Pass, Ore.
Reducing restrictions on commercially available cannabis is “a key missing ingredient toward making clinical breakthroughs,” said Stephen Lankenau, director of Drexel University’s Medical Cannabis Research Center.
“A key issue is that any reclassification efforts need to reduce restrictions for university-based researchers to have access to cannabis-derived THC — commercially available products in particular — for clinical studies, whether laboratory or human subjects,” Lankenau said.
Researchers now are only able to examine hemp-derived nonpsychoactive cannabinoids like CBD or CBC. However, Lankenau said, it is unclear whether Trump’s proposal would give them the green light.
The Shore this time of year is truly a lovely, if sometimes desolate, place. But the desolation is the point: Emptied of its chaotic summer bustle, the simple natural beauties take center stage.
But yet. There are still plenty of humans here, and they are doing things, some good, some dubious, and so we will take note. Here is our first-ever winter solstice Shore Town Report Card.
As to the grading system, let’s just say, it was tough to give any town less than a B- when that winter light turns the sunset sky over the ocean a thousand shades of pink, and snow turns a magical place even more magical. Even Atlantic City, in spite of its burgeoning mayoral and other problems, is worth an off-season visit.
Atlantic City
The paradoxical Shore town has had a doozy of a year, with its newly reelected Mayor Marty Small Sr. on trial for allegedly physically abusing his daughter, charges he denied during the trial, and for which a jury on Thursday acquitted him. Meanwhile, three casinos were green-lit in New York City, New Jersey is contemplating how to tighten its control over Atlantic City, Peanut World caught fire, and ICE was making car stops in city neighborhoods.
The city’s holiday parade featured the red-clad Mayor Marty Small on a special Mayor’s Office float, with his wife, schools Superintendent La’Quetta Small, festively clad in a fluffy red coat, beside him. She is also charged with child abuse.
When will Atlantic City, arguably the last affordable Shore destination along the entire Northeast coast, finally break out of its slump? I explain in this story.A+ for holiday traditions like the elaborately decorated and festive iconic spots, from the Irish Pub to the Knife & Fork Inn; for its new skate and dog parks; and its casino giveaways. But, behind the salt air tinsel, A.C. isjuggling some C+ drama.
Ventnor
You’re never more aware that your town tilts toward summer than when it rebuilds its boardwalk during the winter. A big chunk of the boardwalk (from Surrey to Cambridge) has been closed since November for a complete reconstruction and will remain closed until at least May. A similar chunk up to the A.C. border will be rebuilt after next summer. Hence the odd sight of lots of people on Atlantic Avenue detoured from the beloved wooden pathway. In better news, some of Ventnor’s favorite places have stayed open into the dead of winter. On a recent weekend, I trudged in the snow over to my friends at Remedee Coffee for a specialty hot cocoa (delish) and was surprised to find the place … full of people. Everyone in town had had the same idea, apparently, and with no boardwalk, it’s not even out of the way. B
Margate’s business administrator launched a personal investigation of the city’s CFO and was making public accusations against one of its commissioners. A former mayor wants him fired. What even is going on over there? C+
Ocean City
The identity crisis continues. The town did a complete turnaround earlier this month with respect to the former Wonderland Pier site, voting to ask the planning board whether the site is in need of rehabilitation as requested by developer Eustace Mita, who wants to build a luxury hotel. Meanwhile, its mayor declared bankruptcy and got sued by his stepmother. The iconic McDonald’s in town abruptly closed. Still, Playland’s Castaway Cove is offering its half-price ticket sale now through New Year’s Day. B-
Sea Isle City
The city canceled its holiday parade, which made people a wee bit annoyed. But dollars are being spent, most recently on a new community center and with the adoption of a five-year, $50-million capital budget targeting flood control, road work, beach projects, emergency vehicles, and sewer upgrades. . B+
A winter Sea Isle City with just a dusting of snow. Dec. 16, 2025.
Avalon
The sleepy offseason town, which came in for some summer criticism for its off-the-charts exclusivity,gets an A+ from me for its sensible and family-friendly 5:30 p.m. New Year’s Eve fireworks plan.
Stone Harbor
The city adopted a 3% occupancy tax on hotels, motels, and short-term rentals. Mayor Tim Carney said in an e-mailed statement: “This local tourism tax will generate revenue for the Borough while helping us avoid any increase to homeowner property taxes in 2026.”
However, on behalf of short-term visitors from Philly, though, and amid criticism over the quality of the Garden Club’s urn-based Christmas decorations, I’ll have to score the town a B-.
The Wildwoods
Wildwood and Wildwood Crest cut loose North Wildwood on their beach replenishment sharing agreement. Meanwhile, North Wildwood signed a 10-year agreement to police West Wildwood. Wildwood proper recently approved 24 new homes for its gateway area.
It’s one island divided into the have-sands and the have-not sands. This winter could exacerbate both ends of the spectrum. B-
Long Beach Island
The city was battling mail delivery issues, but otherwise, the peace and quiet and lack of crowds seemed to be settling well over locals, who boasted of martini towers at the Hotel LBI and $10 lunch specials at Joy & Salt Cafe (also available, $45 short ribs). Whoever it is that lives there this time of year must know something. A-
Christmas Day is Thursday this year, and with it comes a wave of closures across the Philadelphia region. If you’re planning last-minute errands or outings, knowing what’s open, and what’s not, will save you time and frustration.
Trash and recycling collection will be impacted, with pickups running one day behind schedule all week.
From city services and grocery stores to pharmacies and big-box retailers, here’s your guide to navigating holiday hours in Philadelphia.
City government offices
❌ City of Philadelphia government offices will be closed Dec. 25.
Free Library of Philadelphia
❌ The Free Library will be closed Dec. 25.
Food sites
✅ / ❌ Holidays may impact hours of operation. Visit phila.gov/food to view specific site schedules and call ahead before visiting.
Trash collection
❌ No trash and recycling collections on Christmas Day. Collections will be picked up one day behind the regular schedule all week. To find your trash and recycling collection day, go to phila.gov.
❌ UPS, FedEx, and DHL will be closed Christmas Day. There will be no delivery or pickup services either, except for critical services.
Banks
❌ Most, if not all, banks including TD Bank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase Bank, and PNC Bank will be closed on Christmas Day.
Pharmacies
CVS
✅ CVS locations will operate on modified business hours for Christmas Day with most open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Call ahead to your local store before visiting or view hours at cvs.com/store-locator/landing.
Walgreens
✅ Walgreens locations will be open but hours have not been announced — check your local store at walgreens.com/storelocator.
Each of the city’s libraries, from Bustleton to Kingsessing, is a neighborhood hub stocked with books, movies, magazines, video games, and other media that anyone with a library card can access. This year, the Free Library circulated 7.6 million items and hosted 1.7 million people across its 54 branches.
So what were your neighbors reading this year?
We asked the library for the most borrowed fiction, nonfiction, and video games across the city. (The numbers don’t include e-books or audiobooks because they’re handled by a third party.) Can you sort the lists below from most to least popular?
Fiction
Rank
Which was the most popular?
Library Checkouts
Your Ranking
Drag to reorder this list
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2
3
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5
6
Liz Moore
The God of the Woods
Percival Everett
James
Alison Espach
The Wedding People
Suzanne Collins
Sunrise on the Reaping
Emily Henry
Great Big Beautiful Life
Dave Pilkey
Dog Man: Big Jim Begins
Liz Moore
The God of the Woods
Percival Everett
James
Alison Espach
The Wedding People
Suzanne Collins
Sunrise on the Reaping
Emily Henry
Great Big Beautiful Life
Dave Pilkey
Dog Man: Big Jim Begins
The most checked-out print book of the year across all Philly’s library branches — in any genre — was Liz Moore’s 2024 The God of the Woods, a propulsive thriller about a girl who goes missing from a summer camp in 1975, eerily mirroring the disappearance of her brother from the same place 14years earlier.
“An extraordinary storyteller, Philly would adore her transportive books even if she weren't an English professor at Temple,” said Kim Bravo, the Free Library’s adult materials selector.
Bravo said she was surprised that a few popular books, including Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros and Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, weren’t also at the top of this year’s list.
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Nonfiction
Rank
Which was the most popular?
Library Checkouts
Your Ranking
Drag to reorder this list
1
2
3
4
5
6
Tariq Trotter & Jasmine Martin
The Upcycled Self
Mel Robbins
The Let Them Theory
Jonathan Haidt
The Anxious Generation
James Clear
Atomic Habits
Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson
Abundance
John Green
Everything is Tuberculosis
Tariq Trotter & Jasmine Martin
The Upcycled Self
Mel Robbins
The Let Them Theory
Jonathan Haidt
The Anxious Generation
James Clear
Atomic Habits
Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson
Abundance
John Green
Everything is Tuberculosis
The most popular nonfiction book borrowed in Philly libraries this year was The Upcycled Self: A Memoir on the Art of Becoming Who We Are by The Roots’ Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and Jasmine Martin.
The 2023 book traces Trotter’s life growing up in South Philly: “Our history leaks a particular radiation into the blood of those born within its city limits. Loyalty, fight, pride, honor,” he writes. The book was the library’s 2025 One Book, One Philadelphia selection.
The library’s adult nonfiction selector, Ai Leng Ng, said one surprising book that didn’t make the list was Inner Excellence, by Jim Murphy, the self-help book that went viral after wide receiver A.J. Brown was seen reading it on the sidelines of an Eagles playoff game in January.
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Video Games
Rank
Which was the most popular?
Library Checkouts
Your Ranking
Drag to reorder this list
1
2
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4
Nintendo
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
XBox Game Studios
Minecraft Legends
Sega
Sonic x Shadow Generations
Nintendo
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Nintendo
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
XBox Game Studios
Minecraft Legends
Sega
Sonic x Shadow Generations
Nintendo
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
The most popular video game checked out this year was Nintendo’s 2023 Super Mario Bros. Wonder, a 2D adventure in the new, whimsical Flower Kingdom.
All the most checked-out video games were ones that could be played by gamers of all ages, said Kris Langlais, the library’s AV Selector. The top titles “also have a nostalgic factor for our adult patrons.”
Langlais said that books set in the worlds of widely played video games, including the Five Nights at Freddy’s, Minecraft, and Pokémon series, are also popular with patrons.
Thanks for playing! If you think you can hack it, head to our bonus round below and order the Dog Man graphic novel series from most to least popular.
Staff Contributors
Design and development: Charmaine Runes
Reporting and data: Zoe Greenberg
Editing: Sam Morris, Evan Weiss
Copy Editing: Brian Leighton
Bonus Round: Dog Man
The Dog Man graphic novel series is extraordinarily popular all over the country, including Philly. Here are five Dog Man books, each of which were checked out over 100 times across the local library system. Which was the hardest to get your hands on?
Rank
Which was the most popular?
Library Checkouts
Your Ranking
Drag to reorder this list
1
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5
Dave Pilkey
Dog Man: Fetch 22
Dave Pilkey
Dog Man: Grime and Punishment
Dave Pilkey
Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties
Dave Pilkey
Dog Man: Scarlet Shredder
Mo Willems
Dog Man: Mothering Heights
Dave Pilkey
Dog Man: Fetch 22
Dave Pilkey
Dog Man: Grime and Punishment
Dave Pilkey
Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties
Dave Pilkey
Dog Man: Scarlet Shredder
Mo Willems
Dog Man: Mothering Heights
The 14-part Dog Man series by Dav Pilkey features a part-man, part-dog hero.
“We’re in the golden age of graphic novels for children. Most of the most heavily circulated children’s items this year were graphic novels, including graphic adaptations of popular fiction series like The Baby-Sitters Club, Sweet Valley Twins, and Wings of Fire,” said Megan Jackson, the library’s middle grade selector.
As for Dog Man in particular, “Dav Pilkey has been tapping into what kids want to read since Captain Underpants was first published in 1997— fast-paced, emotionally honest, hilarious stories that balance words and illustrations for multi-layered reading.”
In both West Philly and Northeast Philly, a Dog Man book was the top checked-out item across all genres.
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Price: It starts at $54,095 for this higher-end model tested.
Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes the ID.4’s “good price, good range, good space.” They complained that the “infotainment system is still wonky, base model lacking in range, it’s not the GTI of EVs.”
Marketer’s pitch: “The future of driving is here. And it’s electric.”
Reality: The driving experience can be awkward, but there may be another big reason to avoid ID.4.
Catching up: So we’ve already tested a bargain-priced Chevrolet Equinox, and a Hyundai Ioniq 5 that’s a fairly nice price match for the ID.4.
What’s new: After upgrades in performance for 2024, the ID.4 only gets an adapter for Tesla Superchargers for the 2026 model year.
Up to speed: Like most EVs, the ID.4 makes quick work of getting on the move. I could pull in front of cars I would never consider when driving most gasoline-engine vehicles, and passing could be a real treat.
The 335 horses available in the all-wheel-drive version tested get the EV SUV to 60 in a quick 4.8 seconds, according to Car and Driver.
Rear-drive models offer 282 horses and a 0-60 time of 7.3 seconds.
Back down again: The ID.4 has a one-pedal feature, which allows for driving without using the brake much at all. Unfortunately, it required so much foot pressure to get moving that it made me nervous in parking lots, worried I would overcompensate and smash into something. Without that feature on, pulling out is easier, but when it’s time to slow down, the brakes are exposed as the indifferent bastards that they are.
Shifty: The twisty stalk gear selector in last week’s Hyundai Ioniq 5 impresses, but a similar setup in the ID.4 irked me. The type on the ID.4 is subtle and easy to misunderstand; Hyundai makes it obvious what to do with theirs.
On the road: Drive mode control is tucked away in the touchscreen, but it’s easy to get to and to follow. Sport mode did tighten up the steering and boost the acceleration but the suspension became so firm I felt like I was driving a brick, and the ID.4 hit potholes with a thud.
Because the ID.4 is larger, the drive experience had a Jeep feel without any of the retro touches or quirky handling that add a sense of fun. Even the ID.Buzz minivan is a better drive.
The 2026 Volkswagen ID.4 interior is definitely a hip place to be in all black, but function and comfort are lacking.
Driver’s Seat: The speedometer and gauges also disappoint. The diminutive through-the-steering-wheel display can be difficult to inform at a glance. The long-ago Chevrolet Spark and Sonic sported a similar motorcycle-esque unit, but those were easy to read.
Seat comfort is also lacking; the Driver’s Seat is almost rock hard without wings or bolsters to hold you in place.
Later that day I became even more annoyed when the seat lumbar support seemed to be knuckling my kidneys. Try as I might I couldn’t release the pressure. Soon I realized that the massage feature somehow activated itself and proceeded to give me the saddest massage I have gotten in a long time.
Friends and stuff: The rear seat offers plenty of legroom and foot room. Headroom is not bad but I expected more from this tall vehicle.
The rear seat seems angled a little far back for me and matches the front for comfort, or lack thereof.
Cargo space is 30.2 cubic feet behind the rear seat and 64.2 with the seat folded, the giant among the three EVs tested, and similar to a Volkswagen Tiguan.
In and out: It’s only a tiny step up into the ID.4.
Play some tunes: The giant 12.9-inch touchscreen offers quick access to most of the usual functions, and the home screen features big, clear icons for all the choices.
The touchscreen’s stand-up iPad-like configuration provides a nice way to hold your hand in place while selecting functions, and that makes operation easier.
I neglected to note the sound from the Harman Kardon stereo system. It’s scored an A- in other VW SUVs and an A+ in the EV ID.Buzz minivan. I’d lean toward the lower score; Mr. Driver’s Seat would have been typing furiously about the sound if it were an A+.
Keeping warm and cool: The ID.4 continues with the tiny touchslider thingies to adjust the temperature, and also activate the HVAC screen controls. These were the most cumbersome part of the screen, not quite user-friendly for adjustment on the fly.
The required buttons for front and rear defroster are on the left with the light control. It works in the sense that we’re supposed to use the lights when the wipers are on, but not in the sense of being away from the touchscreen where the rest of the HVAC controls are.
The big touchscreen means the center vents have been pushed disappointingly far down on the dashboard. It made cooling down difficult after one humid post-YMCA adventure, and the ambient temperature may have only been about 70 degrees.
Fuel economy: The range advertised in the vehicle was about 260 miles, but it seemed to exceed that more than a few times.
Where it’s built: Chattanooga, Tenn.
How it’s built: The ID.4 gets a 2 out of 5 reliability rating from Consumer Reports.
I don’t usually delve into recalls too deeply — the Sturgis family Kia Soul has been recalled nearly half a dozen times, but has never shown any of the potential problems so it’s just another inconvenience.
But Do Not Drive orders have been issued for the ID.4 for the second time, this time for wheels that could fall off — the first was for potential fire hazards in 2023. And I’ve collected anecdotal information on ID.4 troubles.
In the end: Hyundai has proven themselves over and over again in the EV world, and the Chevrolet might be worth a look. But I’d leave the ID.4 alone.
For a little while, Philadelphia’s Fishtown Analytics looked as if it might put the city where the modern computer was born back on the tech map as a software headquarters.
Cofounders Tristan Handy, Connor McArthur, and Drew Banin started their company in 2016. They created the Data Build Tool, which helps a range of employers — Philly firms like Gopuff, business software makers like GitLab, HubSpot, and New Relic, publisher Condé Nast, manufacturer Thermo Fisher Scientific, airline JetBlue — manage their proliferating databases out in the cloud of rent-a-servers.
As the tool caught on, they talked of taking the company public, drawing investors and hundreds of software recruits to one of the city’s popular neighborhoods, proof that Philadelphia is a place tech leaders flourish.
But that’s not quite how things worked out. In 2021 the start-up raised $150 million from Roblox backer Altimeter Capital and Silicon Valley giants Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. Thefounders dropped the Fishtown name in favor of dbt Labs, for their software tool’s initials.
Then in October, they agreed to a merger with a larger data-integration software company and sometime-partner, Fivetran, with headquarters in California. The 20-person Spring Garden Street office will remain.
Handy agreed to talk with The Inquirer about what was, what might have been, and what’s next. He came to the interview wearing an Eagles No. 27 jersey. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
I talked to Bob about lessons learned. Bob is focused on his relationship with the Reveal founder. He says everything else is solvable, as long as the relationship between the founders is strong.
Bob Moore has founded a string of Philadelphia software companies. Crossbeam, “LinkedIn for businesses,” raised $76 million in October 2021, from firms led by Silicon Valley venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz.
Are customers glad you’re consolidating or worried at losing a choice?
We have a lot of customers we share with Fivetran. In general we are finding excitement, with a little initial trepidation.
George [Fraser, Fivetran’s CEO] and I have spent a lot of time thinking about what our customers need to hear and to de-stress them. Generally the reactions are positive. It’s not uncommon we will hear from a customer: ‘I was thinking about what I was going to do with this set of data pipelines, and now we should talk about that.’ Which is part of the point of all this.
We are still pre-closing. We need to seek [U.S.] Department of Justice input. We are waiting to see if we meet that test — if DOJ will care about us at all. The answer should be no.
Does Philadelphia make enough software to be a ‘tech center?’
All three of us cofounders came out of Bob Moore’s RJMetrics, and then our first employee, Erin Vaughan [head of customer services], came out of RJ. Bob sent me a note after that: ‘Maybe you should hire some other people.’
A big part of the reason I started Fishtown Analytics was that in 2016, RJ was coming close to the end of its main chapter. I didn’t see other start-up opportunities locally that I was excited about. My wife had just gotten a job at CHOP. We weren’t moving. I had to figure something out.
So you built it. Was Philly a good place to start and then grow?
I just turned 45. A bunch of people I know have moved back to the area from San Francisco. A lot of times that is because you want to be close to family when you have kids or it’s a higher quality of life around here.
We are at 915 Spring Garden St. The elevator is always broken. We are still about 20 people there — the same as when we raised money [in 2021].
But my network is now nationwide. We are a distributed business with 730 people. And Fivetran has a big headquarters in Oakland, Calif.
dbt Labs employs more than 700, but most work remotely. Its headquarters, with 20 people including some of its founders and earliest employees, is upstairs at 915 Spring Garden St., a former Reading Railroad building whose first floor is home to Triple Bottom Brewing.
Will the merger mean expansion and hiring, or consolidation and firing?
Growth is good, and in general, we are not imaging cost-cutting targets. There is figuring out who occupies the leadership ranks. That is the main area where there might be some departures.
It’s a consolidation move from a products perspective. Historically in our space, the products Fivetran sells and the products we sell have been sold together. Our customers have budget lines for that combination.
Both companies are on track. Both companies were going to IPO at some point. This brings that date in closer. Combined, we have the growth and scale to go public. We just need to get through the integration and prove to everybody we have effectively combined these companies, and need a few quarters of numbers.
Why did you drop ‘Fishtown’ from the name?
Every sales call started out with ‘What’s Fishtown?’ Locally people have a lot of pride in Fishtown. But nobody else knew what it meant.
Both companies are keeping their brands. We’ll figure out what to call the combination.
Do you hire a lot of Philly engineers?
We did originally. Our first class of data people we trained, there were two Penn people and a Princeton person. For a long time that was the plan: continue hiring incredibly talented people from these schools. But then we went in a different direction.
Why, when Fivetran expanded in Oakland, did you not do the same in Philly?
It’s real hard to do any kind of office-space culture for tech workers in Philly because SEPTA is so bad.
As the people in the company start to age into having kids and move out to the suburbs, it is getting very challenging to come into the office. Even from the Main Line, the train is once an hour. That’s very hard.
Bob Moore calls you a pillar of the Philly start-up ‘connectivity’ who helps other founders and causes. Are you planning to stay around?
Eduard “Teddy” Einstein, a beloved professor and mathematician, was biking home from a haircut when a driver killed him earlier this month.
Einstein, 38, was struck and killed by the 18-year-old driver on Dec. 3 while riding his bicycle on Providence Road in Upper Darby. No charges have been filed in Einstein’s death, according to Upper Darby police, but an investigation is continuing, and police said the driver cooperated with police at the scene of the crash.
The West Philadelphia husband and father of two young children, Charlie and Lorcan, was known for his sharp wit, encouraging students, and scouring cities for the most interesting, and spiciest, foods. Einstein was, above all else, dedicated to his family.
“He didn’t need much more than me and the boys. It was like he was my home, and I was his,” Einstein’s wife, Ruth Fahey, 45, said. ”That’s kind of how we agreed that we would move around the country together as a family, and it was wonderfully freeing.”
Teddy Einstein (left) reading a book to his son while the family cat plays with his arm. Einstein was a devoted husband and father who covered the lion’s share of storytelling and bedtime, but especially cooking, as he was an avid chef who liked trying new recipes, his wife Ruth Fahey said. Einstein was killed on Dec. 3, 2025, while riding his bike in a bike lane when he was hit by a driver on Providence Road in Upper Darby, Pa.
Born in Santa Monica, Calif., Einstein graduated from Harvard-Westlake School before receiving a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Pomona College, a master’s in mathematics from University of California, Santa Barbara, and his Ph.D. from Cornell University. He would go on to hold postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Chicago and the University of Pittsburgh, where he taught, and most recently completed a three-year teaching term at Swarthmore College.
“He loved mathematics and wrote a first-rate thesis,” said Einstein’s Ph.D. adviser, Jason Manning. “Many mathematicians, even those who write a good thesis, don’t do much after graduate school. But Teddy’s work really accelerated during his postdoc at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and he was doing even more exciting work when he passed.”
His colleagues describe a mathematician working at, to put it simply, the intersection of algebra and geometry. Building on the work of mathematicians before him, including modern geometric breakthroughs in years past, Einstein studied abstract 3D shapes that cannot be visually represented in the real world. Work like that of Einstein and others contributes to a tool chest of solutions that scientists can use to study physics, neuroscience, and more.
“It is a terrible loss, especially to his family,” Manning said. “But also to his part of the mathematics community.”
Teddy Einstein (right) holds his second-born, Lorcan, soon after he was born.
As his term at Swarthmore ended earlier this year, Einstein had been working on research that was seven years in the making, Fahey said. This would help springboard him into the next chapter of his career.
Fahey said the day he was killed, Einstein was biking back from a fresh haircut to impress his potential new employers at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Mr. Einstein’s work ethic matched his appetite for camaraderie. He fed grad students out of his tiny Cornell kitchen and hosted a weekly trivia night. That is where he met Fahey. “He just loved to entertain with food,” she said.
Every week, he cooked for Fahey and the boys, from his prized favorites of Korean short ribs and fried chicken to testing out falafel recipes. A keg of home-brewed beer was always in the house so that Einstein could share his creations with friends. Fahey said his most recent yeast yield is still waiting to be processed.
Maddie Adams-Miller, who took Einstein’s math classes in her freshman year at Swarthmore, said her funny and wise math teacher never wanted to see a student fail.
“I loved talking to my friends from high school and telling them I had ‘Professor Einstein’ for math. Teddy always wore funny T-shirts to class and made a lot of jokes,” said Adams-Miller, now a senior. “When I was taking his course, I was struggling with my confidence and was not performing my best academically. Teddy reached out to me to offer support and genuinely wanted me to succeed in his class.”
Teddy Einstein (left) holds his eldest son, Charlie, while he walks down a flight of steps wearing the usual safety gear that he wore while riding his bike. The precautions Einstein took to bike safely weren’t enough to stop a driver from crashing into him on Providence Road in Upper Darby earlier this month, leaving his wife, Ruth Fahey, and their two sons without a father.
An avid cyclist who biked everywhere and advocated for safer streets, Einstein was killed doing one of the activities he loved most. Philly Bike Action, an advocacy organization that Einstein and his wife frequented and his friend Jacob Russell organizes for, shared that he was hit by the driver while riding in an unprotected bike lane and wearing a helmet and high-visibility clothing.
“But there will never be a helmet strong enough or a clothing bright enough to make up for dangerous infrastructure. All Philadelphians deserve the freedom to travel without fear of tragedy,” the group said in a statement.
Russell believes safety improvements will not come solely from attempting to change laws or behavior, but rather by changing the road infrastructure, so that even “when mistakes happen, there aren’t tragedies,” he said.
A screenshot, dated July 2024, from Google Maps showing the intersection where Teddy Einstein was killed on Dec. 3, 2025, in Upper Darby, Pa.
Providence Road, where Einstein was hit and where he biked weekly, is considered a dangerous road by local planning commissions, appearing on the Regional High Injury Network map as a thoroughfare where multiple people have died or been seriously injured in vehicle, pedestrian, or bicycle crashes. Delaware County is currently in the process of onboarding most of its townships onto a “Vision Zero” plan to end all traffic fatalities by 2050 — similar to Philadelphia’s own Vision Zero.
The Delaware County Planning Commission said the county does not own the roads, which are overseen by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation or specific municipalities; however, officials are “actively working to obtain additional funding for further safety improvements, and are continuing to work with our partners in our 49 municipalities on either our Vision Zero plan or to help them develop their own,” said Delco spokesperson Michael Connolly.
Fahey said she won’t rest until Providence Road’s lack of safety is addressed and will continue campaigning for safety improvements in Philadelphia.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Fahey to help fund efforts to protect Einstein’s legacy as a teacher and advocate, as well as to invest in campaigns to make streets safer, with an emphasis on the road where Einstein was killed. It has already raised more than $60,000.
In addition to his wife and children, Einstein is survived by his parents, K. Alice Chang and Thomas Einstein, and siblings, Michael Einstein and Lily Einstein. The family encouraged people to donate to Fahey’s GoFundMe to honor Einstein’s legacy.
The region is brimming with holiday attractions this season, from Center City’s extravagant affairs to the most humble of mall Santas.
But what about ones that skirt tradition and lean more into the humorous than the Yuletide?
Christmas House at the Deptford Mall combines nostalgia with irreverence for one of the region’s most tongue-in-cheek holiday experiences.
Stepping into the former Victoria’s Secret-turned-holiday-walking tour, guests are greeted by familiar faces like Buddy the Elf and Santa Claus, but they’ll also see a recreation of a Blockbuster video store; a drunk, passed-out Santa; and a reindeer stable where it looks like Donner and Blitzen pooped all over the place.
The tour starts at $25 per person, when buying in groups of four. There are at least nine rooms — not including the seven wacky “hotel rooms” in the back — within the Christmas House to explore at your own leisure or alongside a tour guide.
Ticket prices may prove too burdensome for many families, owner Peter Coyle said, which is why they offer a “No Families Left Out” program, where families can contact the Christmas House and discuss a name-your-price model.
The light tunnel at the Christmas House at Deptford Mall on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Deptford.
Coyle said the humor is meant to make adults laugh just as much as kids — hence why so much space is dedicated to nostalgia of the 1980s and ‘90s. Apart from a Blockbuster, which children certainly haven’t visited before, there are Easter eggs only adults will recognize, such as A Christmas Story’s sultry leg lamp — “Fragilé! It must be Italian” — and Red Ryder BB gun or a Griswold family photo from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
“We take the same approach as the creators of the Shrek movies,” Coyle said. “[Those movies] had a lot of fun things that kids loved, but then there were all these innuendoes and references that only adults could appreciate.”
Walking into the “Blockbuster Room” for the first time, adults let out a light chuckle that usually turns into some play-pretend as they reminisce on their former Friday night ritual, while teens who never got the chance to visit one can pretend they’re a ’90s kid for a change, Coyle said. It’s a pared-down Blockbuster with only four shelves of movies, but the store decorations and logos are close enough to feel like a cute homage.
The “Blockbuster Room” at the Christmas House at Deptford Mall on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Deptford.
Rita Giordano, 42, of South Jersey, was visiting the Christmas House with her mother, Denise Maloney, 70, and Giordano’s two sons, Richie, 9, and Charlie, 4. Together, they searched for Buddy the Elf hidden in each room.
“We got all of them!” Richie and Charlie said.
For mom and grandma, they were just happy to be enjoying the holiday spirit inside the Deptford Mall as opposed to the bone-chilling weather at outdoor attractions.
A Shrek room at the Christmas House at Deptford Mall on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025 in Deptford.
The Christmas House’s wackiest elements are sequestered in the back, where Coyle converted the former fitting rooms of the retail space into the hotel rooms of the “Holiday’s Inn.” The surprise of finding out what’s behind each door will have some bursting out laughing and others rolling their eyes.
There are tamer rooms like the “Hootel Room” — filled with artificial trees and owls — to a New Year’s Eve strobe-light room. A few backrooms go the extra mile, with one featuring Shrek taking a nap in a small bed, bundled up in Christmas and Shrek blankets.
In “The Santa’s Little Surprise,” the limits of guests’ potty humor will be tested. As soon as one walks up to the room, a large handprint and streak of brown substance are plastered on the door. The more one looks, the more fake reindeer poop on the walls and flooring can be found, with used toilet paper strung from the ceiling.
The “Santa’s Little Surprise Room” at the Christmas House at Deptford Mall on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Deptford.
Santa’s got his work cut out for him.
For parents trying to keep the Santa make-believe alive for a few more years, they may find the drunk Santa in “The Sleighed and Sloshed” room a little too over the top. Here, a Santa mannequin is laid out on the floor with crushed red Solo cups around him in what looks like Kris Kringle after a bender.
The “Sleighed and Sloshed Room” at the Christmas House at Deptford Mall on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Deptford.
There is good, clean fun in the “Harry Potter Christmas Room,” where a photo-op is staged with a broomstick, wizarding hats, and Hogwarts House-themed scarves. Venture into the “Elf Command Center,” where a Santa live tracker displays where Kris Kringle is currently dropping off gifts, and the little ones can write letters to Santa before dropping them in the giant mailbox marked for the North Pole.
The North Pole Movie Theater is usually playing Will Ferrell’s Elf on repeat throughout the day, and the final room features cotton snowballs, ready for harmless snowball fights, accompanied by an artificial snow machine.
The “Harry Potter Christmas Room” at the Christmas House at Deptford Mall on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Deptford.
“The best part for me was that it was indoors,” Maloney said. “The kids loved seeing Jack Skellington and the Grinch, plus they got me with the snowballs in the last room.”
Located inside the Deptford Mall at 1750 Deptford Center Rd., Deptford, N.J. 08096, the Christmas House is on the first floor, closest to the Boscov’s entrance and parking. Open weekdays from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. It runs through Jan. 2. christmashousedeptford.com/
Cole Hamels was among the best pitchers in baseball for 15 seasons. He was the MVP of the World Series in 2008. The history of the Phillies can’t be written without him.
And for the first time, he’s on the Hall of Fame ballot.
Hamels was the first guest when The Inquirer launched the Phillies Extra podcast in February. He made a return appearance to chat about a variety of topics, including Kyle Schwarber’s return to the Phillies, what’s next in the team’s offseason, and, oh yeah, the honor of being considered for Cooperstown.
Watch the full interview below and subscribe to the Phillies Extra podcaston Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Q: What did you think of Schwarber coming back for five more years on the largest contract ever for a DH?
A: I never doubted what Schwarber means to the team and what he means to the organization and the city. I didn’t think he was going to go somewhere else. But it’s the game you have to play. It’s understanding free agency. It’s understanding you not wanting to have to think about it during the year. You have agents. But to be able to see, it was the first of what the Phillies are really trying to do this offseason, and to finally get their guy — I don’t think they were going to let him get away.
And it’s just a testament to John [Middleton] and Dave [Dombrowski] and Preston [Mattingly]. They know who he is as a player. They’ve had him for a couple of years. I think a lot of organizations who have had him know how special he is, and they didn’t want him to go. And for the Phillies to lock him up, they do know it’s ‘go’ time, and this is a person that they need in the clubhouse, and they need him in the lineup. He produces runs, and he’s so patient, and especially to see his lines on lefty-on-lefty. That was something I always favored. I didn’t mind lefties coming up. I knew I was going to succeed more. But Schwarber comes up, he’s not the type of guy that you want to see in the box in a big moment when you’re facing him because he’s a tough, tough hitter. So it’s good. I think there’s going to be a lot of moves that are going to start to kind of roll, but I think he was first. I’m glad it’s done. He’s a big part of this organization, and it’s good to see for five more years.
Cole Hamels believes veteran catcher J.T. Realmuto is “in the driver’s seat” with his market in free agency.
Q: Now the focus shifts now to J.T. Realmuto, and I can’t help thinking back to the 2013-14 offseason when Carlos Ruiz was a free agent. He was 34 going on 35, just like J.T. is now, and, also like J.T., all the pitchers love throwing to him. I know you swore by him. Do you see any similarities with where the Phillies are now with J.T.?
A: So, the hardest part about a catcher is, most of the time, you just look at what you can try to perceive as some sort of statistical value, and that’s how they hit, how they receive. But there’s something else that’s really difficult to measure, and that’s just his presence and confidence behind the plate in making a pitcher feel good, to want to execute, and to listen to a game plan, and then adjusting on the fly. And that’s something that [Realmuto] has really shown over the last couple of years.
He’s been a tremendous receiver, but he throws guys out. And you can never count them out with his bat. And you got to see that in the playoffs. He comes through in big moments. He’s an incredible athlete, and I think that’s what is the difference. When you look at age, it’s how athletic he is. He sets a bar that’s a lot different. And then you have to look at what is available, and on the given market, there’s not really much available that are comps to him. So he’s kind of in the driver’s seat.
But at the same time, when you have a catcher that is really good and instills confidence in a pitching staff — both the starters and the relievers — you don’t want to let those guys get away. And you can see that in all the greatest catchers in the history of the game is you don’t let the good ones get away.
Cole Hamels had a 3.09 ERA in 13 postseason starts with the Phillies.
Q: I don’t think we spend enough time celebrating what it means to be on the Hall of Fame ballot. When you think about how few people actually get to the big leagues in the first place, and then you’ve got to play at least 10 years to be eligible for consideration, and then there’s a screening committee that whittles it down even more. It’s like the top 5% all-time of players that actually get on that ballot. What does it mean to you to be on that ballot for the first time?
A: I think a lot of us, we all kind of say the same thing, to really be recognized, it’s incredibly rewarding for a job that is so humbling. This job is a career that you fail a lot, and you fail more than everybody else. In order to play that sort of period of time, you had big successes, but you probably failed twice as many times as you had successes. And that’s why we were able to create a career out of it [because] we always knew how to get back up, and we always knew how to never doubt ourselves, and to keep trying. That is probably the one thing that happens, is when they do put you on the ballot, they send you a letter, and you get to read, and you see statistics of percentages, and that is the wildest thing. You’re going, ‘Oh my gosh, 13% of drafted players make the big leagues?’ And then you’ll go see a smaller percentage, and we just start to see that. Wow.
We were so fortunate to be able to play the game of baseball as a career and a job that we loved as a kid, and it never changed. And now getting recognized, it’s a very special moment, and I’m incredibly thankful. I put in a ton of time and effort. My family devoted a ton of time and effort to try to get to have the career that I had, and then for it to actually be somewhat recognized, to be as one of the best ever. … It’s a small percentage, and I look at names that are in the Hall of Fame. I was lucky enough to go there [to Cooperstown, N.Y.] and pitch in the Hall of Fame Game, and we took a tour. And just the nostalgia of baseball and what it means to America’s pastime, I have a part in that history in certain moments. And I’m just lucky to do what I did. I loved every minute of it, and now this is kind of the reward.
Check out the full episode for Hamels’ thoughts on how Hall of Fame voting for pitchers has changed, the Cooperstown cases for former teammates Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley, and more.
Emma Zielinski wasn’t sure how her business selling unclaimed mystery mail would fare at the Christmas Village in Philadelphia this year, or if she’d even be accepted into the holiday market at all.
“I didn’t think they’d take us because we’re not handmade, but when I picked up my vendor badge, they were like, ‘We’ve been waiting for you to apply!’” she said.
As it turns out, thousands of people from across the region have also been waiting for the chance to buy orphaned packages that never found their way home and nobody went to look for — the contents of which remain shrouded to both Zielinski and the buyers until after they are purchased.
“The Christmas Village has really turned my business upside down,” she told me. “I don’t think anyone realized this was going to happen.”
Emma Zielinski, owner of Chain Mail Unclaimed, opens for business at the Christmas Village at City Hall.
From boxes to heavily-taped-up opaque bags, Zielinski is selling about 300 to 500 items a day, each between $10 and $40 a pop, based on weight. On the opening weekend for her Chain Mail Unclaimed hut, which is located in the interior courtyard of City Hall, she sold two weeks of inventory in just two days — and business hasn’t slowed down since.
Philadelphians, she’s found, are always up for a good surprise.
“They are down to party and see what’s going on,” Zielinski said. ”It’s a really good vibe in Philly when we do events, people are a lot of fun and up for trying something new and playing along.”
The element of surprise
When I arrived around 1 p.m. on Thursday, I was shocked to find Chain Mail Unclaimed had one of the only lines at the Christmas Village, aside from the ever-popular raclette cheese stand.
“To be compared to the raclette stand is quite an honor,” Zielinski said.
As I was waiting in line, a young man who’d just purchased a package opened it on the spot and pulled out what appeared to be a spandex elf suit — in a women’s medium.
“At least it’s seasonally appropriate,” I said.
When my turn came, I dug in a large bin and rustled through a couple shelves with the crowd, massaging the bags and shaking the boxes to see if I could prognosticate what was inside of them. Unlike Christmas at home, these tactics are totally fair game at Chain Mail Unclaimed.
Mayumi Burgess takes a guess at what’s inside a package for sale at Chain Mail Unclaimed.
I was pretty sure one of the packages had wicker baskets in it, and another, a pair of shoes, but beyond that it was hard to decipher the contents. All of the $10 items were gone, so I settled on two $15 packages and one for $20. All three are soft goods in opaque bags secured with clear tape, two of which came from the U.S. Postal Service and one from the UPS Store.
Beyond that, I know nothing about them. Even the sender and intended recipient’s names have been artfully covered up with Chain Mail Unclaimed stickers by Zielinski and her crew.
I intend to give one package to my husband (he signed up to deal with the consequences of marrying a total rando) and one each to my Secret Santa recipients at our respective family gatherings.
I can’t wait to see what’s inside. I’m getting older and by the time Christmas rolls around, sometimes I forget what I’ve bought people anyway, but with this it’s guaranteed to be a surprise for the recipients and for me.
I mean, these gifts could literally be anything! They could contain lost Inca gold, the French crown jewels stolen from the Louvre, or a heretofore unknown Dunlap broadside printing of the Declaration of Independence.
Emma Zielinski, owner of Chain Mail Unclaimed, unloads merchandise at her booth at the Christmas Village at City Hall.
Of course, they could be total rubbish or completely embarrassing. I hope my beloved, self-proclaimed “spinster aunt” isn’t going to open a gift of lacy red lingerie before our entire family this Christmas, but sometimes, these are the chances we take in life, and actually, that would be pretty entertaining.
Because part of the fun of giving a gift like this is getting to tell the story behind it, which is why I pshawed a fellow customer in line who requested that I open my packages on the spot.
“Ma’am, these are gifts,” I said, before walking away with my treasures.
‘The tip of the iceberg’
Zielinski, of Lawrenceville, N.J., said she was inspired to create her business after seeing a video of someone on social media visiting a similar pop-up shop at a farmers market in Paris.
She was already attending vendor events in the region for her permanent jewelry business, Off the Chain Studios, and thought this could be a good companion to it.
“It’s exciting, it builds a crowd, and it’s also an entirely different crowd,” Zielinski said. “The person who gets a bracelet welded on won’t necessarily buy an unclaimed package.”
Chain Mail Unclaimed — a name that’s a nod to both her original business and the archaic tradition of chain mail letters — opened in April 2024. Zielinski started with pop-up shops at area weekend events like the Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market and the Northern Liberties Night Market before leveling up to the multiweek Christmas Village in Philadelphia this year.
At left is Emma Zielinski, owner of Chain Mail Unclaimed, a business in the City Hall courtyard of the Christmas Village, looks on as customers sort through packages.
She works with a broker who deals with warehouses across the country where mail sits unclaimed, overstocked, or returned and then gets auctioned off.
“The amount of unclaimed packages is insane. This is the tip of the iceberg, if they don’t get bought, they get incinerated,” she said. “I think we’ve all returned something, but you don’t think what the next step is.”
Zielinksi said she was already aware of human overconsumption as a whole, having been a fashion school student, but she told me this business gives her a whole new perspective.
“People question the legality — yes, it’s legal. Where do you think it goes? It doesn’t just go somewhere and live a happy life, it gets thrown out,” she said.
And suddenly, I was transported to the Island of Misfit Toys from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and my heart ached. Charlie-in-the-box deserves a happy life too, darn it, especially around the holidays!
‘Who ordered these?’
Zielinski usually orders six months of stock, or 24 pallets, at a time, but the Christmas Village has upended her business and she’s ordered three times that in the last two weeks alone. Her broker is now on stand-by for the remainder of the season and her staffing has tripled to match the demand.
“People are excited this is here. It also fills a great white elephant gift niche,” she said. “It takes the responsibility off of you if you don’t know what to get someone and it’s a fun talking point.”
Mayumi Burgess and her husband, Alfonso Burgess, of Philadelphia, look for mystery packages sold by weight at the Chain Mail Unclaimed business at the Christmas Village at City Hall.
Packages are typically sold through her website as well, but right now that’s on pause as she tries to keep the Christmas Village stocked. Sometimes she’ll get big items she can’t sell in a palette, like furniture, and she works with Habitat for Humanity and local nonprofits to give those things away.
Zielinski swears she doesn’t open any package before she sells it, nor does she keep any for herself (“I am a total maximalist so once I get started, I could not stop”), but she does love hearing about what her customers received.
So far, the most impressive find was an 18-karat gold diamond bracelet that retails for $4,000.
And the strangest?
“It was a set of animal pregnancy tests, which really took me back,” she said. “Who ordered these? What are the circumstances? I need to know the backstory. That part drives me crazy.”
Emma Zielinski, owner of Chain Mail Unclaimed, opens for business at the Christmas Village at City Hall.
Zielinski said what’s considered a good find is also very subjective. The other day, a woman opened a package and discovered a deadbolt inside. She told Zielinski her door’s been blowing open and it was just what she needed.
“Once, a girl got the perfume she wears,” Zielinski said. “It’s bizarre, but sometimes these items find their way back to where they’re supposed to be.”
