💌 Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. Update, July 28: After this article was published, condemnations of Muhammad’s actions came swiftly from several local elected officials, faith leaders and members of the Black community. Kenneth L. Huston, state NAACP conference president, denounced the post, before taking any action.  Muhammad initially did not apologize for sharing the meme. Via a statement late Monday, he acknowledged that the cartoon and wording had been used previously by white supremacists, and said it was never his intention to...…💌 Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. Update, July 28: After this article was published, condemnations of Muhammad’s actions came swiftly from several local elected officials, faith leaders and members of the Black community. Kenneth L. Huston, state NAACP conference president, denounced the post, before taking any action.  Muhammad initially did not apologize for sharing the meme. Via a statement late Monday, he acknowledged that the cartoon and wording had been used previously by white supremacists, and said it was never his intention to...WW…

💌 Love Philly? Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. A Monday power surge near the Italian Market created a precarious situation for one of the neighborhood’s most recognizable small businesses. Center City Pretzel Co. is fundraising after the electrical failure took out most of its essential equipment, stopping the flow of fresh-baked twists. The family-owned bakery was already hurting in the wake of the pandemic, said general manager Erika Tonelli-Bonnett, whose father Tony Tonelli founded the pretzel operation in 1981. Asking for help is not...…💌 Love Philly? Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. A Monday power surge near the Italian Market created a precarious situation for one of the neighborhood’s most recognizable small businesses. Center City Pretzel Co. is fundraising after the electrical failure took out most of its essential equipment, stopping the flow of fresh-baked twists. The family-owned bakery was already hurting in the wake of the pandemic, said general manager Erika Tonelli-Bonnett, whose father Tony Tonelli founded the pretzel operation in 1981. Asking for help is not...WW…

Medical workers across the region are being treated to cheesesteaks from Pat’s King of Steaks. The South Philly icon has begun a project to donate 1,000 of its signature sandwiches to hospitals, according to spokesperson Nancy Schure. So far, the local comfort food has been delivered to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Jefferson and Penn Presbyterian, Schure said, with additional batches set for Einstein, Temple Hospital and CHOP this week. The 90-year-old steak shop has also sent hundreds to workers at Mt. Sinai in New York and the University of Maryland Medical Center in...…Medical workers across the region are being treated to cheesesteaks from Pat’s King of Steaks. The South Philly icon has begun a project to donate 1,000 of its signature sandwiches to hospitals, according to spokesperson Nancy Schure. So far, the local comfort food has been delivered to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Jefferson and Penn Presbyterian, Schure said, with additional batches set for Einstein, Temple Hospital and CHOP this week. The 90-year-old steak shop has also sent hundreds to workers at Mt. Sinai in New York and the University of Maryland Medical Center in...WW…

💌 Love Philly? Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. Every day during election week, Branden Bauer oversaw a machine extracting hundreds of ballots from two sets of envelopes, bored out of his mind. As chaos swirled outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center in the middle of Philadelphia’s downtown — from to to the — things were far more orderly inside the ballot counting operation. “It’s very boring, mind-numbing work,” Bauer said. “But the machines were fun.” The 26-year-old musician was one of more than 400 people who staffed the high-profile...…💌 Love Philly? Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. Every day during election week, Branden Bauer oversaw a machine extracting hundreds of ballots from two sets of envelopes, bored out of his mind. As chaos swirled outside the Pennsylvania Convention Center in the middle of Philadelphia’s downtown — from to to the — things were far more orderly inside the ballot counting operation. “It’s very boring, mind-numbing work,” Bauer said. “But the machines were fun.” The 26-year-old musician was one of more than 400 people who staffed the high-profile...WW…

💌 Love Philly? Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. “Donate your fecal sample to help fight gentrification and irresponsible development.” To some, the pitch read like a headline ripped from The Onion. But the campaign that circulated on social media over the weekend appears not to be satire. West Philly United Neighbors, a registered community organization, is soliciting their neighbors to “donate” a “fingernail size” sample of their stool to help with a research project to study the impact of a proposed development on neighbors’ health. The group...…💌 Love Philly? Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. “Donate your fecal sample to help fight gentrification and irresponsible development.” To some, the pitch read like a headline ripped from The Onion. But the campaign that circulated on social media over the weekend appears not to be satire. West Philly United Neighbors, a registered community organization, is soliciting their neighbors to “donate” a “fingernail size” sample of their stool to help with a research project to study the impact of a proposed development on neighbors’ health. The group...WW…

💌 Love Philly? Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. Philly is to receive COVID-19 vaccine directly from the federal government. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health then distributes the doses to qualified organizations and companies around the city. All adults in Philly will be eligible to receive the vaccine as of April 19 — but being eligible doesn’t meant you’ll be immediately able to get an appointment. Most vaccination sites are invitation-only, though some accept walk-ups on specific days or times. Each has a different schedule, and...…💌 Love Philly? Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. Philly is to receive COVID-19 vaccine directly from the federal government. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health then distributes the doses to qualified organizations and companies around the city. All adults in Philly will be eligible to receive the vaccine as of April 19 — but being eligible doesn’t meant you’ll be immediately able to get an appointment. Most vaccination sites are invitation-only, though some accept walk-ups on specific days or times. Each has a different schedule, and...WW…

As the gun violence epidemic , officials and community leaders are struggling to fight it in the face of the twin drags of the coronavirus and pervasive income inequality. This is not just a Philly thing. Experts believe around the nation — in part because community intervention efforts have to be completely redesigned to handle social distancing. and Chicago have both seen in shootings compared to last year, and even smaller cities like Kansas City, Mo., are seeing homicides rise, according to NPR. What does distinguish Philly among the biggest U.S. metro areas, however, is its poverty...…As the gun violence epidemic , officials and community leaders are struggling to fight it in the face of the twin drags of the coronavirus and pervasive income inequality. This is not just a Philly thing. Experts believe around the nation — in part because community intervention efforts have to be completely redesigned to handle social distancing. and Chicago have both seen in shootings compared to last year, and even smaller cities like Kansas City, Mo., are seeing homicides rise, according to NPR. What does distinguish Philly among the biggest U.S. metro areas, however, is its poverty...WW…

💌 Love Philly? Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. There’s usually no reason for police to stop on the 3700 block of North 15th Street. On a cloudy Wednesday afternoon, friends and neighbors communed on porches and came home from work while children played near a basketball court. Many residents didn’t realize it was the one year anniversary of the shootout that briefly but significantly disrupted their lives — and brought intense media focus to the close-knit block. “This is an up-and-coming Black middle class community,” Cynthia Muse said. “Every...…💌 Love Philly? Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. There’s usually no reason for police to stop on the 3700 block of North 15th Street. On a cloudy Wednesday afternoon, friends and neighbors communed on porches and came home from work while children played near a basketball court. Many residents didn’t realize it was the one year anniversary of the shootout that briefly but significantly disrupted their lives — and brought intense media focus to the close-knit block. “This is an up-and-coming Black middle class community,” Cynthia Muse said. “Every...WW…

💌 Love Philly? Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. Malcolm Nance awoke at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday to begin monitoring the situation in DC, where he knew supporters of President Donald Trump were already congregating. One of the nation’s more prominent counterterrorism experts, the Philly native and West Catholic High grad had organized four teams to watch how the day unfolded. Using livestreams, social media feeds and forums, they carefully tracked the insurrection that for several hours delayed of President-elect Joe Biden’s win. What they saw, Nance...…💌 Love Philly? Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. Malcolm Nance awoke at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday to begin monitoring the situation in DC, where he knew supporters of President Donald Trump were already congregating. One of the nation’s more prominent counterterrorism experts, the Philly native and West Catholic High grad had organized four teams to watch how the day unfolded. Using livestreams, social media feeds and forums, they carefully tracked the insurrection that for several hours delayed of President-elect Joe Biden’s win. What they saw, Nance...WW…

💌 Love Philly? Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. Three months ago, the 2020 presidential race was the most important story of the year. The Democratic field was a multi-headed hydra, the caucuses were packed and the debate stage was a battleground for the national zeitgeist. Then the coronavirus happened. Elections were postponed. Millions lost their jobs. Virtually overnight, the nation faced its most sudden economic gutpunch in modern history. Politics? Who had time for politics anymore? At the same time, government actions took center state....…💌 Love Philly? Sign up for to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day. Three months ago, the 2020 presidential race was the most important story of the year. The Democratic field was a multi-headed hydra, the caucuses were packed and the debate stage was a battleground for the national zeitgeist. Then the coronavirus happened. Elections were postponed. Millions lost their jobs. Virtually overnight, the nation faced its most sudden economic gutpunch in modern history. Politics? Who had time for politics anymore? At the same time, government actions took center state....WW…