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Mayor Kenney apologizes as calls mount for his resignation

At a middle-of-the-night news conference after the fireworks shooting, Mayor Kenney said he’ll be “happy” when he’s not mayor and “can enjoy some stuff.”

• Calls began immediately for Kenney to resign. Both residents and other elected officials, some of whom are considering running for mayor themselves, saw the comment as an abdication of leadership.

On Tuesday, the mayor put out a remorseful statement that cited “frustration. But what would happen if he did resign? Lizzy McLellan Ravitch runs it down.

Who’ll open a restaurant at Love Park? City seeks new operator

Eight years after the Love Park revamp began, there’s still nothing in the “flying saucer” visitors center, which was outfitted for a food vendor.

• The planned Loveluck restaurant will not open there, KYW reports. It was slated to be a venture from Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran, who run Bud & Marilyn’s, Barbuzzo, Little Nonna’s, and others.

Now Parks & Rec has to start over with the RFP process, officials said. Interested restaurateurs should look for the application here at the end of July.

RECAP: What else happened?

$ = paywalled

• “Never Mastriano” is the rallying cry of a group of Republicans forming a super PAC to back Shapiro for governor. They hope voters will split the ticket, voting Dem for gov but GOP for Senate. [Inquirer$]
• A progressive newsroom out of Chicago tracked Mehmet Oz to Florida, where in the days following his Pa. Senate primary victory, he gave a keynote at a multi-level marketing conference. [Heartland Signal]
• SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel III announced his retirement Tuesday, amid widespread reports he’d been ousted. Charles Lawson will serve as acting chief while SEPTA searches for a replacement. [WHYY/Fox29]
• A Philadelphia cross-stitch artist who gained a following for her Taylor Swift-inspired pieces made a series of pieces highlighting the star’s Pa. roots [Axios]
• Former Sixer co-owner Michael Rubin showed off with his annual July Fourth “white party” at his Hamptons mansion, with basketball stars mingling with a ton of rappers from Meek Mill to Jay Z to Drake. [Vibe]
• Frankford Avenue has a new wine garden called Mural City Cellars, with a former trolley car serving as the order counter and kitchen. [PhillyVoice]

Weekly brief on gun violence prevention (with PCGVR)

We publish this report each week in partnership with the Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting at the Community College of Philadelphia. 

• PCGVR is expanding its staff with Oronde McClain as credible messenger newsroom liaison; Shannon Hodges as podcast producer; and Maria Mitri as Lenfest Next Generation summer fellow. [PCGVR]
• States neighboring Pa. now have tighter gun laws. Del. Gov. Carney signed a package banning the sale of assault-style weapons and raising the firearms purchase age. N.J. Gov. Murphy signed a package mandating training, regulating ammunition, and cracking down on ghost guns. [WHYY/NJ.com]
• Philly officials are investigating whether the Independence Day shooting on the Parkway was celebratory gunfire. The two officers hit were Montco Sheriff’s Deputy John Foster and PPD Highway Patrol Officer Sergio Diggs. [Billy Penn/CBS3/6ABC]
• At least 15 other people in Philadelphia were shot in separate incidents on July Fourth in Philadelphia, and five died. [Open Data Philly/@pcgvr]
• There’s a racial disparity in homicide clearance rates, per data analyzed by CBS Philly: police solved slightly more than a quarter of murders involving Black victims, versus 60% to 80% for white victims. [CBS3]

By the numbers in Philadelphia

• 42: Shooting victims recorded last week so far, vs. 57 the week prior. [PPD Google Drive]
• 1,199: Shooting victims this year, up 5% from last year [PCGVR]
• 268: Year-to-date homicides, down 6% from last year; up 61% vs. five years ago [Philly Police]

MAYOR WATCH

Mayor Kenney is dedicating this edition of the city’s regular biweekly breifing on gun violence to discussion of the Independence Day shooting on the Parkway — and it’s actually being held in person at City Hall (1:30 p.m.). You can still watch live on Facebook.

Kenney then heads to the Iron Gate Theater for the Sakura Collection Fashion Design Awards, cohosted by the Japanese Consulate and Penn’s Center for East Asian Studies (3 p.m.).

ON THE CALENDAR