🚲 Whose lane is it anyway? | Morning Newsletter
And curating PAFA’s permanent collection.
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The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Morning, Philly. It’s set to be another warm and sunny day. That forecast and yesterday’s record heat (84 degrees!) come as the region closes in on century-old records for dryness.
As safety advocates agitate for more protection of the bike lanes along Spruce and Pine Streets, a new bill before Philadelphia City Council pits residents against cyclists.
And Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is curating a new permanent collection. If you were in charge, what would go in it? Our interactive story lets you choose.
Plus, we have the latest on Pennsylvania’s role in the fast-approaching presidential election.
Here’s what to know today.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Three months after 30-year-old Dr. Barbara Friedes was killed while riding her bike on the 1800 block of Spruce Street in Philadelphia, a proposed no-stopping bill is the basis of the latest clash between cyclists and residents of two well-trodden downtown streets.
By the numbers: About 1,600 cyclists a day travel along Spruce and Pine Streets’ bike lanes, from 22nd to Front, according to the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.
Pending legislation: The new bill would ban cars from stopping in bike lanes for any amount of time, instead of 20 minutes as the current ruling allows. It will be put to vote during Thursday’s City Council session.
In favor: Supporters say enforcement of such a law would improve safety for not only cyclists — who in present conditions may need to veer into car traffic to avoid vehicles stopped in their dedicated lane — but everyone, by reducing unpredictable vehicle movement.
And against: Those who live along those routes want to continue to be able to temporarily park in front of their homes for deliveries and unloading. They also cite accessibility issues for older and disabled neighbors.
PAFA is the country’s oldest fine arts museum and school. In its 200-plus years, it’s amassed more than 16,000 works, from architectural drawings to pop art to the portrait of at least one Founding Father.
The Center City institution will open a new permanent exhibition in 2026 and is now deciding what will go in it. In that spirit of celebrating magnificent art, The Inquirer’s Peter Dobrin and Charmaine Runes teamed up so you can curate your own imaginary gallery, potentially featuring some of these iconic pieces:
🖼️ Animal Locomotion, Volume XII, Miscellaneous. Plate 161, pioneering photographer Eadweard Muybridge’s 1887 collotype print
🖼️ Gamin, Harlem Renaissance leader Augusta Savage’s 1929 plaster sculpture
🖼️ We Emerge at the Sunset of Your Ideology, multimedia artist Saya Woolfalk’s 2023 site-specific installation
What you should know today
Nearly 1 million fewer Pennsylvania voters have applied and been approved for mail ballots than at this point in 2020, which will likely speed election results.
After her CNN town hall in Delaware County tonight, Vice President Kamala Harris will be back in Philly Sunday to campaign. Bruce Springsteen will hold a pro-Harris concert and rally with former President Barack Obama in the city Monday.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro became a political darling this year. He’s now on a multi-state tour to boost Democratic candidates.
Meet Howard Lutnick, Haverford College’s largest donor and close ally of former President Donald Trump.
A Northeast Philly man and his daughter were charged with luring women in addiction into a commercial sex ring over the last 12 years.
An Orthodox Jewish man from Philadelphia was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for anonymously threatening Jewish business owners.
The owner of a defunct historic dining spot in Ambler was sentenced to more than a year in federal prison for stealing nearly $1 million in pandemic relief funds.
The region’s leading health systems will no longer consider race in screening tools for lung, kidney, and obstetrics care.
How should Philly fix teacher recruitment problems? Start with higher pay, a new citywide report says.
Ahead of the Sixers home opener, watch for these 10 storylines during the 2024-25 season. Included in the list is Joel Embiid’s health — and indeed, both he and new teammate Paul George will be sitting out tonight. (On the bright side, now we know which Pokémon these stars would be.)
🧠 Trivia time
The woman who recorded Wildwood’s classic “watch the tram car, please” warning 50 years ago held a news conference Tuesday for what reason?
A) She’s suing to finally get paid for the use of her voice
B) She’s picking a successor to record a new announcement
C) She’s advocating for electricity-powered tram cars
D) She’s raising awareness about the unfair treatment of seagulls
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
👀 Curious to see: How the Garage Fishtown v. Garage Sale Vintage trademark issue gets resolved.
☮️ Watching: Citizen George, a doc about West Philly Quaker activist George Lakey.
🕺 Dancing with: Philly’s rhythm gamer community, which plays DDR at the Fashion District.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Philadelphia songwriter-producer duo _ _ and Leon Huff
Hint: 🎲
BANKY LEGMEN
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Nancy Gale, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Guy’s Grocery Games. Restaurateur Justin Coleman of South Philly’s Bake’n Bacon will appear in the Food Network show from Guy Fieri tonight.
Photo of the day
👊 One last raw thing: Fans dressed to impress when Monday Night Raw came to the Wells Fargo Center. They won’t need to wait long to wear those outfits again, as WWE NXT is coming to South Philly’s 2300 Arena on Nov. 6.
Have a great Wednesday. See you back here tomorrow.
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