Postponed | Morning Newsletter
🍕 And Angelo’s takes on the world.
The Morning Newsletter
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Morning, Philly. The advice, again, is to bundle up: Temperatures today are expected to be about 30 degrees colder than yesterday.
A crucial City Council vote on the 76ers’ $1.3 billion arena project was delayed for a second time Wednesday evening as negotiations with the team continued.
And five years in, Angelo’s Pizzeria owner Danny Giampietro is undertaking an ambitious expansion. Can he grow a single shop into a Philly food empire?
You’ll also find our 2024 Photos of the Year, and much more, below. Let’s get into it.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Following an initial morning delay, Council President Kenyatta Johnson late Wednesday again postponed a crucial City Council vote on the Sixers’ controversial Market East arena proposal.
Ongoing talks: “We’re having conversations with the Sixers and [Council] members on how best to proceed to move forward,” Johnson said. “We want this deal to work. We think it’s good for the city of Philadelphia.”
Numbers game: A sticking point in the negotiations is how much the team would pay as part of the project’s community benefits agreement. Councilmember Mark Squilla plans to introduce an amendment that would require the Sixers to pay $75.8 million. The team has not agreed to pay that much.
Meanwhile: Building Trades Council leader Ryan Boyer’s board post at an investment firm of a Sixers partner came under scrutiny in the waning hours before the vote.
Next up: The committee reconvenes at 8:30 a.m. today. Council would need to approve the legislation then in order for the project to be approved by the end of the year, as the Sixers have requested.
Visit Inquirer.com for the latest.
Angelo’s Pizzeria entered this fall as one Bella Vista shop. By October, the consistent best-of list maker had launched two delivery-only ghost kitchens for pizza and sandwiches in North Philadelphia. A month later, owner Danny DiGiampietro debuted Uncle Gus’ Steaks at Reading Terminal Market as part of a cheesesteak supergroup.
If DiGiampietro has his way, those expansions are just the start. Among the plans in the oven:
🥖 A New York City cheesesteak shop with actor Bradley Cooper
🍕 Multiple new Angelo’s locations throughout the Philly region
🍞 Baking out of the giant former Conshohocken Italian Bakery
It’s a big leap for the guy once known to his family as “Danny Disaster.” In a city known for its breads, can he pull it all off while maintaining the quality his are now known for?
“Nobody’s tougher on me than me, and there’s some tough people out there,” DiGiampietro told The Inquirer. “I will work ‘til I die to make sure I’m doing the best that I can.”
Food reporter Mike Klein has the details on the lifetime of disasters it took to get here.
What you should know today
The accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is facing firearms and related offenses in Pennsylvania ahead of his expected extradition to New York. See how the search for Luigi Mangione has unfolded across states.
Camden County authorities are investigating the murder of a 45-year-old veterinarian who was found dead outside his Cherry Hill home.
A grand jury has indicted a 44-year-old man accused of a drunken-driving crash in Salem County that killed South Jersey brothers and hockey legends Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.
Delaware County council voted to increase property taxes 23%, despite community outrage. And voters in Haddonfield and Burlington Township approved school bond questions totaling $84.8 million to fund renovations in their South Jersey districts.
Homeland Security and New Jersey State Police met Wednesday about the mystery drones flying over the region, revealing new details about the aircraft. (P.S. No, you can’t shoot down the drones.)
Some tenants in a Walnut Street apartment building say they haven’t had heat this winter. The building also had to temporarily evacuate residents this weekend due to a power outage.
The new Florida owners of the SS United States must pay a $100,000 penalty as the ship lingers in South Philly.
The Philadelphia man who went viral for eating an entire rotisserie chicken on 40 consecutive days has challenged his NYC copycat to a boxing match.
🧠 Trivia time
Ending more than a century of tradition, Haddon Heights voters last month said yes to liquor licenses. Other Jersey communities are considering the same. For now, which of these Jersey towns is still officially dry?
A) Collingswood
B) Atlantic City
C) Moorestown
D) Pitman
Think you know? Check your answer.
What (and who) we’re...
🫶 Supporting: The men caring for loved ones during their breast cancer journey.
⚾ Watching: The MLB Network documentary about former Phillie Mike Schmidt’s career.
⛸️ Anticipating: The not-like-TV figure skating performances in Philly this weekend.
💚 Hoping: This South Jersey Birds fan finds her missed connection.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Philly’s oldest surviving Revolutionary-era bar
MOURNFUL FLOATABLE
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to John Simon, who solved Wednesday’s anagram: Carvertise. The Wilmington company that wraps personal vehicles with ads is one of the outlets through which local rideshare and delivery drivers are making extra cash.
Photo of the day
📸 One last photogenic thing: The Inquirer’s Photos of the Year features the best of our work through 2024 and highlights the moments we captured in Philly and beyond. Watch Inquirer photographers explain how they made three iconic photos, from heroic sports feats to hectic election campaigns:
Thanks for starting your day with The Inquirer. Back at it tomorrow.
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