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Secrecy surrounding a murder case | Morning Newsletter

And the intense scrutiny over the Sixers’ proposed downtown arena

Boyke Budiarachman (l), former business partner of Keven Van Lam, (r), who is accused of hiring a hit man to kill his ex-associate over a deal that soured. Both men lived in Philadelphia, and for four months, all details of Lam's arrest had been shielded by the Westmoreland County courts.
Boyke Budiarachman (l), former business partner of Keven Van Lam, (r), who is accused of hiring a hit man to kill his ex-associate over a deal that soured. Both men lived in Philadelphia, and for four months, all details of Lam's arrest had been shielded by the Westmoreland County courts.Read moreMike Jones, The Observer-Reporter
    by Taylor Allen
    Published 

    The Morning Newsletter

    Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

The rain should be over now. Expect mostly sunny skies today with temps reaching the low 40s.

Our lead story follows the story of a Philly businessman’s murder and why nearly every detail of the case was hidden from the public.

— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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The murder case removed from court records

Boyke Budiarachman, a Philadelphia businessman, was walking toward his pickup truck after leaving a restaurant when a man dressed as a parking attendant snuck up from behind and fatally shot him.

The next day, Westmoreland County police brought his dinner partner and neighbor, Keven Van Lam, in for questioning. Two days later on Nov. 7, 2022, Lam was charged for orchestrating the murder of the man he had worked with in his business of hiring, housing, and transporting immigrants for Western Pennsylvania meatpacking plants.

But if you were following local media, you would’ve never known.

For 10 days, authorities wouldn’t identify the dead man nor the suspect. For four months, Lam sat in a lockup with nearly every fact of his arrest hidden from the public. Reporters scouring electronic dockets of the local courts couldn’t find any reference to him or the charges he faced.

Read on for more details about the case shrouded in intense secrecy.

Sixers face hours of scrutiny over their proposed downtown arena

The first official city review of a draft of the Sixers’ proposed downtown arena generated hours of questioning on Monday.

At least 30 members of the public weighed in during the special meeting of the advisory-only Civic Design Review (CDR) committee. They were uniformly critical of the $1.55 billion project.

The CDR committee members voted at the end of the day to invite the development team back — the only power the advisory board has — to give them a chance to make changes in response to the critiques they heard in the meeting.

Monday’s presentation on the “master plan” for the project focused on parking, loading zones, pedestrian access, and the layout of the buildings. Representatives of the project faced scrutiny and questions on traffic and crowd control from both committee members and public commenters.

Continue reading to learn what’s next for the proposed Sixers arena, and what the draft includes.

What you should know today

  1. Philadelphia Mayor-Elect Cherelle Parker Monday announced her “Big Three” staffers who will lead her administration.

  2. South Street landmark Copabanana vacated its home of 45 years as part of its bankruptcy case. It plans to reopen two doors away in the space that used to be Hurricane Alley, a bar that shared ownership.

  3. Doylestown is considering a proposal for 60 affordable apartments for seniors and veterans.

  4. Independent contractors who worked with David Bridal are out as much as $12,000 after the company’s bankruptcy. They will likely never get paid.

  5. December is the season for scams. More than a third of U.S. consumers fell victim to holiday scammers in 2022, losing nearly $400 on average. Take our quiz to see how good you are at avoiding them, and then send to your friends and relatives.

  6. According to the National Association of Realtors, the Philly region is one of the top 10 housing markets to watch in 2024.

  7. We rounded up the best places to ice skate in and around Philly this winter.

🧠 Trivia time

Philly-born coffee company La Colombe was sold to which Greek yogurt brans for $900 million?

A) Fage

B) Chobani

C) Oikos

D) None of the above

Think you know? Check your answer.

What we’re...

💭 Wondering: Will there soon be an uptick in political candidates using AI to call voters?

✈️ Providing: The best holiday travel tips if you’ll need to drive or fly.

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: College

EARTHWORMS

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Dawn Leinberger, who correctly guessed Monday’s answer: Rothman Rink.

Photo of the day

And that should have you covered for the day. I will be out for a few days, but my wonderful colleagues will jump in for the rest of the week. Thank you for starting your morning with The Inquirer.