? Want this daily digest emailed to you? Sign up for the free Billy Penn newsletter and it’ll land in your inbox every morning.
City starts publishing monkeypox demographic data
The Philly Health Dept. now has a dashboard that shows demographics around the city’s monkeypox outbreak, which just topped 200 cases.
- The new data confirms fears that while the virus affects more people of color, most vaccines are going to white people. In Philly so far, 55% of cases were diagnosed in Black people — who received 23% of vaccines.
Limited vaccine supply will make it difficult to correct the inequity, Michaela Winberg reports, but organizations are trying.
Meet Local 80, new union for Philly coffee shop workers
Get ready for your favorite cafe to get unionized, thanks to a new local connected to Philadelphia’s branch of SEIU affiliate Workers United.
- Multiple underground campaigns at popular cafes around the city are expected to go public in the coming weeks and months, with Local 80 providing support for the worker-led drives.
Jordan Levy has an inside look at how the national Starbucks unionization movement helped spur coordinated organizing in the Philly coffee shop scene.

RECAP: What else happened?
$ = paywalled
- State lawmakers’ income is tied to inflation, which means they’re due for a raise that could boost their base salary past $100k. Lawmakers can return their raises to the state treasury, but hardly ever do. [Spotlight PA]
- Bernie Sanders will be in Philly this weekend helping lead a labor rally on Independence Mall. [PhillyVoice]
- John Coltrane’s sons are suing to take over his former house in Strawberry Mansion, escalating a family feud over a tangled title that’s blocking restoration of the deteriorating property. [Inquirer$/BP 2020]
- Update to plans for FDR Park’s big renovation: A golf driving range is out in favor of 12 acres of natural space, partly because “Mother Nature wants it to remain a marsh.” [WHYY’s PlanPhilly]
- Outdoor beer garden Parks on Tap will start roving again after spending the summer at the Water Works, with weekly stays in five parks around the city. [Parks on Tap/Philly Mag$]
- PETA has what may be the most strategically placed billboard in Philly. Just north of Pat’s & Genos, it reads, “A cheesesteak stops a beating heart.” [@miles__bryan]
MAYOR WATCH
Mayor Kenney joins Sen. Casey on North Broad (10:40 a.m.) to celebrate $25 million in federal funding for the “Great Streets PHL” project to make high-crash corridors safer in neighborhoods that have historically been underserved.
ON THE CALENDAR
? Spend the day cosplaying as waterway explorer the Academy of Natural Science’s new exhibit “Ocean Bound.” Highlights include: piloting a watercraft, fun quizzes, and plenty of interactive games. Tickets range from $21 to $25. ( 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20)
? An ice cream social for adults? Heck yeah. The University City Arts League hosts its annual Ice Cream Bowl, where $15 to $20 can get you a ceramic dish from a local artisan plus unlimited frozen treats. (1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20)first-ever Drag High Tea, complete with cute finger sammies and entertainment from up-and-coming queens Mandy Mango and Valencia Prime. Tix are $55 for 2 hours. (11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21)
? Assembly Rooftop Lounge hosts its➡️ more from Billy Penn
💌 Love Philly? Sign up for the free Billy Penn newsletter and stay in the know