🛼 Rolling into nostalgia | Morning Newsletter

Welcome to Saturday, Philly. It’s a sunny, slightly breezy day with a high near 73.

Today, I’m highlighting the unique atmosphere at a beloved skating rink in Northeast Philly. Plus, there’s a possible strike by city workers over a contract dispute with the mayor’s administration, a longtime radio host was let go from his job, and a popular art installation is coming to Philadelphia.

— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

Every Saturday, I’ll share a Philly story here that’s stuck in my mind. This week, I’m obsessed with Philly Skateplex, the legendary rink in Northeast Philadelphia.

The nostalgia is rich there in more ways than one. Between the tunes, the arcade games, the faint scent of funnel cake, and the retro colors and designs, you’re immediately transported into another era. The legendary rink first opened off Roosevelt Boulevard in 1981, and some people still fondly remember it as “The Palace” (it used to be called Palace Roller Skating Center). It’s so popular that folks come from out of town just to hang out there.

Few things feel as fun and carefree as gliding on skates, and the Skateplex keeps that vibe alive and well. It took me back to when I first went roller skating in elementary school. My local rink became synonymous with some of life’s simple delights: music, community, and good food. At Skateplex, they nailed all three elements, especially in the music department. The DJ played loads of throwback jams and feel-good music to ride along with. My favorites: “Off the Wall” and “Give It To Me.”

It will probably take me years to nail the #PhillyFastBackwards skating style. But the Skateplex community prides itself on being welcoming to all skill levels, and the people there proved it. They treat you like they’ve known you forever. They share tips and tricks. They encourage you. They remind you it’s okay to let loose and be yourself. And they make sure you’re okay after you fall down. (Spoiler alert: The best of them fall.) It’s the place you go to get away from the daily grind. I’m already planning my next visit.

One weekend in 1977, a big headline in the Sunday Inquirer read: “Pittsburgh 76, Temple Oh!”

“Temple dropped football yesterday,” wrote the late Chuck Newman after that big flop, floating the idea that the university might consider scrapping its program altogether. Now, with the Owls’ 30 losing seasons in the last 43 years, former sports reporter and Temple grad Dave Caldwell suggests the school should think about that option again.

“I don’t write this casually,” Caldwell says in a guest column. “Temple football, we love you, but we have to talk.”

Read on for Caldwell’s take on why the institution’s football program is a “lousy way to sell everything else” at the university.

Pray Tell Wines, a tasting room and winemaking facility, opened in August in a North Philly warehouse.

A bottle from this company made a cameo in the third season of which hit series?

A) The Bear

B) Abbott Elementary

C) What We Do in the Shadows

D) House of the Dragon

Think you know? Check your answer.

This uninhabited piece of land in the Delaware River has been largely been inaccessible to the public for nearly 50 years.

Hint: 🏝️

BLUNTING ROSALIND

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Maryellen Glackin who correctly guessed Friday’s answer: Alex Cooper. The Newtown native’s Call Her Daddy success is empowering women’s sports podcasters, too — and her latest deal marks a “landscape shift.”

Elon Musk briefly appeared in Delaware County on Thursday for a pro-Donald Trump town hall hosted at Ridley High School. He’s holding several other events across Pennsylvania through Monday.

Standing in all black before a large American flag, the world’s richest man cast an apocalyptic view of America under Democratic control and delivered several false or unproven statements.

The event was sponsored by Musk’s America PAC, which is spending $45 million a month to support the Trump campaign. Watch our video recapping Musk’s pro-Trump strategy and his involvement in the battleground state.

Cybertrucks give some people “the ick.” So Philadelphians cheering on the PPA as it towed one away on Walnut Street makes sense. Then one person shared “intel” that the futuristic vehicle may belong to a Sixers player, another theorized it was KJ Martin getting a ticket. The sleuths might have been onto something.

There was another noteworthy car in another corner of the web, this time posted on X to show someone’s encounter with what they called the “Most insane vanity plate in human history.” It reminded me of my colleague Stephanie Farr’s deep dive into rejected plates — some crude, others clever — and how they reveal a lot about the Pennsylvanian mind.

Here’s my imaginary plate: GO BIRDS.

👋🏽 I’ll see you again tomorrow with the latest news.

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.