✨ It’s lit (professionally) | Morning Newsletter
And SEPTA reaches deal with union
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Good morning. It’s Thursday, or as I like to call it, Friday Jr.
Here comes the rain again. It’s cold and wet outside, with a high near 52. Another round of showers is expected tonight, and Tony Wood says wet snow may be somewhere in the mix.
For some of the more taxing parts of seasonal decorating, a growing number of Philly-area homeowners are outsourcing the work and dishing out as much as $5,000.
And we have details of SEPTA’s tentative deal with its largest employee union, derailing a strike that would have snarled travel in the Philadelphia region.
Let’s get into the news.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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That cool holiday display you saw in the Philly suburbs may have been installed by a holiday-lighting business. They’re raking in big bucks right now as more residents opt to pass the arduous, annual job on to the professionals.
This service was once a luxury only enjoyed by the wealthiest of people. These days, it has become a yearly investment for many middle- and upper-middle-class homeowners.
Take Four Seasons Property Services. Customers pay them about $2,000 to $3,000 on average, but lower-end options start at $950. Some companies offer packages as high as $30,000. And early birds who want lights up ahead of the holiday season can get discounts.
But businesses like Four Seasons don’t just lease the lights and put them up. The professional holiday heroes maintain the outdoor displays, and take care of another dreaded task: taking it all down.
Notable quote: “We’ve doubled our business in holiday lights every year,” said Brice Abrams, who started Four Seasons in 2021. “It’s crazy how many people want it done.”
Consumer reporter Erin McCarthy dives into how this business took off.
SEPTA will continue running for now.
The transit system and Transport Workers Local 234 reached a deal, ensuring the operation of bus, trolley, subway, and elevated train lines around Philly.
The tentative contract between SEPTA and its largest employee union also ends the possibility of a history-making “mega-strike” of roughly 14,000 public-sector union members in transit and city services. They had been bargaining almost daily since Nov. 8.
Let Tom Fitzgerald and Ariana-Perez Castells bring you up to speed on the tentative contract details.
What you should know today
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected another attempt by Philadelphia officials to overturn a long-standing state provision that prevents the city from enacting its own gun laws.
An elderly man and woman were shot and killed, allegedly by a next-door neighbor who then fatally shot himself late Wednesday afternoon in the city’s West Oak Lane section, police said.
Amid an ongoing drought, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker on Wednesday announced the creation of a special team that will patrol Kensington looking for nuisance fires that can turn dangerous.
The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president said the stabbing of two staffers at Castor Gardens Middle School by a student was caused by an “epic administrative failure.”
The Philadelphia School District is asking parents, staff, and community members to raise their hands to shape its facilities master plan.
A second teenager has been charged with aggravated arson for starting a Burlington County wildfire that blazed for several days beginning Oct. 30.
Federal authorities in Philadelphia listened in on the phone calls of George Norcross, his brother Philip, and others for months in 2016 before ultimately deciding years later that they did not have a case against the Democratic power broker.
GOP activists flooded the Bucks County Board of Commissioners meeting Wednesday, loudly calling for Democratic members of the board to resign and launching a long-shot impeachment effort over board members’ decisions last week to defy court orders related to mail and provisional ballots.
Councilmember Rue Landau, the city’s first openly LGBTQ Council member, plans to introduce a resolution Thursday calling for public hearings focused on how Philadelphia can prepare for President-elect Donald Trump’s second term.
Community groups are skeptical of a proposed eight-story, 204-unit apartment in North Philadelphia. The project still needs permission to move forward.
The University of Pennsylvania will expand full-tuition scholarships to families with typical assets and incomes of $200,000 — up from $140,000 — and no longer consider the primary family home as an asset in its calculation for institutional aid.
TKTS, the ticketing service that offers heavily discounted tickets to theater and other arts performances, is coming to the Philadelphia Visitor Center.
🧠 Trivia time
Even though an item might have the recycling symbol on the bottom, that does not mean the city of Philadelphia can recycle it.
Which of the following can be recycled?
A) Shredded paper
B) Clothing hangers
C) Batteries and electronics
D) Newspapers and inserts
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
🍝 Hungry for: Philly’s quirkiest new Italian restaurant.
📱 Watching: How West Chester-based QVC is rebranding and stepping into the TikTok age.
🦅 Asking: Should Saquon Barkley win the NFL’s MVP award this year?
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Chester County-born actor and major Philly sports fan
MILLER STEEL
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Paul Meissner who solved Wednesday’s anagram: Great White. The Wildwood roller coaster, which debuted in 1996, is getting a revamp that might help rattle the bones above the beach a bit less.
Photo of the day
👋🏽 Have an excellent day.
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