✨ Reasons to feel hopeful in 2025 | Morning Newsletter
And the Office of Public Safety’s first year.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Hi, Philly. After the region’s biggest snow of the season (so far), expect wind gusts and prolonged cold today.
Once that shimmering snow turns gray, you might need something to look forward to in the dark days of January. Our top story rounds up a dozen reasons to feel hopeful in 2025, from a forthcoming dinosaur museum to the premiere of Delco: The Movie.
And the city has had a new public safety director for a year. Has it made a difference? Read on for these stories and more.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.
January can feel sort of ... blah. It’s cold out, it gets dark before dinnertime, the holidays are over, there’s nothing to do — or nothing that seems worth leaving the house to do. How is an unenthused Philadelphian supposed to get excited for the new year?
To help us out, columnist Stephanie Farr came up with a dozen local things to look forward to during these winter doldrums. Among them:
✨ Beloved Philly-centric shows Abbott Elementary and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia teamed up for a crossover episode, airing tomorrow. Delightful shenanigans and PG-rated mischief are sure to ensue.
✨ The Phoenixville Firebird Festival will host the burning of its giant, wooden bird effigy next month after the December event was postponed.
✨ The Eagles are in the playoffs, baby! And they definitely won’t let us down in the first round this Sunday, like they did last year. (Right? ... Right?)
Read Farr’s full list of weird and wonderful Philly-area happenings to give us hope for 2025.
In other cheer-worthy news: Abbott star Sheryl Lee Ralph will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this month.
One of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s first actions upon taking office was establishing the Office of Public Safety to coordinate the city’s response to crime beyond traditional policing.
A year in, Chief Public Safety Director Adam Geer points to city-run interventions with would-be shooters as well as community-led antiviolence programs as contributors to Philadelphia’s sharp decline in homicides.
Measuring the impact of the new office has been a challenge, and it’s not yet clear if progress can be sustained. But Geer is optimistic: “I do truly believe in five or 10 years the city is going to be unrecognizable,” he told The Inquirer.
City Hall reporter Anna Orso digs into the public safety office’s first year.
What you should know today
A Philadelphia man has been arrested for a double murder inside a North Philly home last month, police said Monday.
The victims of the New Year’s Day 2023 explosions in Port Richmond are suing PGW and Peco, alleging they failed to maintain infrastructure that would have prevented the incident.
President Joe Biden on Monday banned all future oil and gas drilling off U.S. coastal waters, including New Jersey. President-elect Donald Trump has already pledged to reverse the ban, but it won’t be easy.
Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta is running to be vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, a role that would make him a key player in the party as it reckons with November’s losses.
New Jersey’s primary elections have been rescheduled to accommodate the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.
Two Delaware County Council seats will be on the ballot this November. Republicans think the county’s recent 23% tax hike gives them a chance to gain ground.
Resident physicians and fellows at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia voted against forming a union by a slim margin.
A Shanghai-based biotech giant sold its South Philly arm, easing worries that federal limits on Chinese ownership of U.S. cell and gene factories could cripple local start-ups.
In 2024, homes for sale in the region were more affordable than across the country as a whole. But that doesn’t mean they were affordable.
🧠 Trivia time
Which of these is not a new law in Pennsylvania as of 2025?
A) Government officials got a 3.5% pay increase
B) The minimum wage is now $15.49 per hour
C) First responders can receive workers’ comp for PTSD
D) Medicaid patients can access certified doula care at no cost
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
☃️ Making the case for: Letting kids have their snow days.
🏆 Cheering: Doylestown-set The Brutalist, which just won big at the Golden Globes.
🍣 Anticipating: The 110-plus Philadelphia-area restaurants opening in 2025 — including Uchi, the James Beard Award-winning Japanese spot coming to Center City.
🪵 Admiring: Philadelphia artist Wharton Esherick’s modernist wood furniture, part of new Brandywine show.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: The city’s largest arts center, based on South Broad Street
CEMENT MILKER
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Sheila Hofferman, who solved Monday’s anagram: Lynnewood Hall. An Inquirer op-ed details efforts to restore the stately, 125-year-old Gilded Age mansion in Elkins Park.
Photo of the day
❄️ Some snowy reminders: There’s still time to catch the best sledding hills in Philadelphia, the suburbs, and New Jersey. You can be fined up to $300 for not shoveling your sidewalk in Philly. Use warm water — not hot — to thaw a frozen door handle. If a pipe in your home bursts, don’t panic, but do call a plumber. If you work outside and need to stay warm, aim to stay as dry as possible, and if you must bike in the freezing weather, make sure you have the right gear. And no, you probably shouldn’t eat the snow.
Stay warm out there. See you same time, same place tomorrow.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.