At-risk scholars find refuge in Philly | Morning Newsletter
🐟 And Lenten fish fry frenzy.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Happy Friday. I hope the cherry blossoms aren’t too confused by the weather this week. The morning is another freezing one before temps rise to a high around 50.
A Penn program is bringing international scholars who fear persecution in their home countries to work at the university. In the past three years, Penn has welcomed intellectuals from Afghanistan, Venezuela and most recently Ukraine.
And on Fridays during Lent, one Northampton County firehouse transforms into the region’s hottest Italian restaurant.
Read on for these stories and more. Plus, be sure to scroll far enough to see this newsletter’s newest feature: Curious Philly Fridays!
— Julie Zeglen (@juliezeglen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Their stories and home countries are varied: a Venezuelan congressman advocating for better economic policy. A Russian art historian working as a curator in Ukraine. A former Duke law student nervous about Taliban control of Afghanistan.
They all ended up in Philly, thanks to a Penn program that brings at-risk scholars — academics as well as journalists and other public thinkers — to work at the university. The program launched in 2021 and has so far hosted six scholars who feared persecution of some sort back home.
“Philadelphia for me has been Heaven in a sense,” said Angel Alvarado, who hopes to return to Venezuela if there is a regime change.
Penn Global is part of a national effort going back decades and spanning dozens of countries. Susan Snyder spoke to several of these scholars and their university advocates about how both they and the Penn community have benefitted.
During Lent, fundraising fish fries are popular across Pennsylvania, as Catholics abstain from eating other kinds of meat on Fridays during the 40-day period of reflection before Easter.
The concept is slightly elevated at Columbia Fire Company No. 1 in Roseto, Northampton County. The firehouse serves homemade lobster bisque, chianti, local trout, and plenty more on these Lenten Fridays.
“This is Roseto,” fire chief and head chef Michael Goffredo told The Inquirer’s Jason Nark. “This is no fish fry.”
OK, fine, more than slightly. As Nark notes in his look at the town’s closely held tradition, Roseto’s firehouse is the place to be if you want to eat great Italian food and don’t mind sitting on metal folding chairs to do it. You’d better plan ahead, though: Even the mayor needs a reservation.
What you should know today
City Council passed a mandatory 11 p.m. curfew that would apply to about two dozen businesses in Kensington, including smoke shops, takeout restaurants, and bodegas.
Police arrested a 15-year-old who they say texted “go” to gunmen just before the shooting in Northeast Philadelphia that left eight students injured.
Sen. Bob Menendez, the New Jersey legislator facing bribery and corruption charges, announced he will not run in the state’s Democratic primary — but may later reenter the race as an independent.
An Elkins Park woman and the hitman she hired to kill a romantic rival will spend the rest of their lives in prison.
A conservative Latino political group is launching a Pennsylvania chapter just days after President Joe Biden’s campaign launched its own Latino voter outreach initiative.
How much would Jersey school districts stand to lose in Gov. Phil Murphy’s reduced budget? Here’s a handy chart to figure it out.
The Phillies say they’re joining with Comcast Spectacor in its $2.5 billion transformation of South Philadelphia Sports Complex, which would replace parking lots with amenities like restaurants and hotels.
If Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s proposed budget is approved, its $1 million cut to Mural Arts would be one of the largest financial drops the nonprofit has seen in years.
The start of the beloved Southeast Asian Market’s season in FDR Park has been postponed to the end of April. Check out the vendors’ Instagrams for other ways to score some yummy food in the meantime.
Love Run Philadelphia returns this Sunday. We have everything you need to know about navigating the half marathon, from road closures to bus detours.
Why don’t SEPTA Regional Rail trains have bathrooms? Why is the Broad Street Line so slow between Walnut-Locust and Lombard-South? Why doesn’t Citizens Bank Park have a dedicated hoagie place?
Inquirer reporters have been answering essentially Philadelphian questions like these through Curious Philly, our forum for readers to ask about the city’s quirks.
Welcome to Curious Philly Friday, where we’ll feature both new and timeless stories from the series in this newsletter.
First up is a feature by Michelle Myers, who has details on the most recent addition to the city’s sprawling park system. (As it turns out, we have a whopping 576 parks, including 403 overseen by the city’s parks and rec department.) She also shares what’s next and whether there are plans for green space in the in-development Bellwether District.
Have your own burning question about Philadelphia, its local oddities, or how the region works? Submit it riiiight here.
🧠 Trivia time
Wawa is opening more than 70 new stores in 2024 as it celebrates a big milestone. How many years has the homegrown convenience chain (and so much more) been in business?
A) 70 years
B) 60 years
C) 50 years
D) 40 years
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we're...
🚲 Biking: Washington Ave, cautiously, after reading this summary of recent traffic-calming changes.
🍷 Drinking: The pinot gris at Mural City’s new winery, opening this Friday at Frankford and Berks.
🥸 Filing: A claim to the self-described minister of loneliness.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
This vessel just made its first journey down the Delaware River from Camden to Paulsboro in three decades.
Hint: 🚢 🇯🇪
ABSENTS JEWELER PITHY
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Sithi Bucciarelli, who correctly solved Thursday’s anagram: Koch’s Deli is the nearly 60-year-old deli at 43rd and Locust that’s in a legal pickle, as an evicted tenant seeks to use its name at a new Center City location.
Photo of the day
Wishing you a wonderful weekend. See you next week!
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