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Newsletter for Friday, Oct. 10
HILLARY STUMPS FOR WOLF
Tom Wolf gets a lift from the former Senator and Secretary of State at the National Constitution Center on Thursday, as NJ Gov. Chris Christie stumped for sitting PA Gov. Tom Corbett in the ‘burbs (smaller crowd there, tho). Via Instagram user @maddigray
‘I HAVE EBOLA,’ YELLS GUY ON PHILLY-TO-PUNTA CANA FLIGHT
A passenger on a US Airways flight yelled “I have Ebola!” after flying from Philly to the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, and you won’t believe what happened next… Actually, no, you probably guessed it right away. The 54-year-old man caused the plane to be delayed for a couple of hours, according to this YouTube video. Oh, and the guy? He’d never left America before his brief Punta Cana vacation. And Mr. “I have Ebola!” was returned to the U.S. for, presumably, lots of testing.
TODAY IN TRANSIT: MORE PEOPLE ARE RIDING SEPTA, BUT IT’S FALLING APART
Classic case of good news, bad news: SEPTA is seeing record ridership on the Regional Rail system, but nearly one in seven of its aging cars is out of service. Just how many more people are riding rails? Service is up 50 percent vs. 15 years ago, The Inquirer’s Paul Nussbaum reports. Better cars will eventually be on the way, including bi-level coaches. But when we say “eventually,” we mean 2017.
RIDE-SHARING IN PHILLY: WHAT’S UP WITH THAT?
OK so Philly will be able to make its own decisions on ride sharing, but anybody who wants UberX or Lyft will still be waiting at the curb for a while. A state house committee said Thursday that no legislation permitting ride sharing would be passed this year. But the city can also make its own ride-sharing laws, separate from the rest of the state, because Philly’s cabs are governed by the Parking Authority. The PPA is cool with Uber Black —the more-expensive Uber offering that more closely resembles limos. But that group’s chairman totally shot down any chance of allowing UberX — the cheaper, super-popular service. And so we ask the question via Storify: Who’s going to be the king of transit — SEPTA, Uber or Philly’s city cabs?
TO DO: HANG OUT IN OLD CITY ON SUNDAY
WHAT: Old City Fest, feat. 100+ restaurants, shops, galleries, design firms and more
WHERE: Arch St, between 2nd and 4th; Race St, between 3rd and Market
WHEN: Noon-6 PM
HOW MUCH: Free to walk, pay to eat or shop
DETAILS HERE
DEPARTMENT OF PRE-CRIME: POLICE BUILD REGIONAL CRIME-MAP TECH
Here’s what local law enforcement got with $800,000: A tool that ties together 911 calls, a bunch of databases and all kinds of security cameras. Who has access to this tool? The Philadelphia Police Department, Amtrak, SEPTA, PennDOT, the Coast Guard and ideally, police departments in surrounding counties. And if, along the way, it seems like something you saw Tom Cruise use in Minority Report, then hey — how do you like living in the future?
VIDEO: SUNDAY’S EAGLES-GIANTS IS ‘BROAD STREET VS. WALL STREET’
As if you weren’t already psyched to watch this weekend’s Eagles-Giants game, a minute’s worth of the new Fly Eagles Fly video will turn that up to 11. Homegrown star Bradley Cooper ragging on New Yorkers and their propensity to talk trash? White collar vs no collar? We are SO there.
