? Want this daily digest emailed to you? Sign up for the free Billy Penn newsletter and it’ll land in your inbox every morning.
North Broad could get a game-changing business district
After years of organizing by advocates and biz owners, City Council votes today to establish the North Broad Business Improvement District.
- Similar to the Center City District, the BID would collect a fee from property owners to fund efforts to beautify the corridor, increase safety, and boost visitors.
This is the second attempt at a tax-funded service district on North Broad, after a 2012 effort flopped. Jordan Levy explains how it all would work.
New at Han Dynasty: Bubble tea cocktails from Hop Sing
Bright, boozy bubble tea cocktails designed by Lê of the infamous Hop Sing Laundromat launched this week at Han Dynasty University City.
- Made with ingredients from all over Asia — vodka from Japan, boba from Taiwan — the drinks took weeks of testing. The boba cocktail trend was big in the Bay Area recently.
The versions in West Philly are both sweet and powerful, Beatrice Forman reports, perfect for Han Dynasty’s spicy fare.
RECAP: What else happened?
$ = paywalled
- A new proposal from Republican state legislators could prohibit Pennsylvania schools from teaching gender identity and sexual orientation to K-5 students. [City & State]
- The Center City District upped its street staff numbers to make pedestrians feel safer, increasing bike patrols, homeless outreach, and unarmed security. [CCD/Inquirer$]
- The 14-year-old killed after the football scrimmage this week came from Saul Agricultural High School, whose students can co-op on teams at Roxborough. Some Philadelphians were dismayed over “video game” graphics used in local TV news coverage of the shooting. [Billy Penn]
- Temple is creating a new Center for Interfaith Inclusivity. It’ll provide resources on religious identity, traditions and religious bias, including antisemitism and Islamophobia. [Temple News]
- A scavenger hunt from the Painted Bride that takes you all over the city is a great way to explore — all you need is a $15 map to get started. [Billy Penn]
- Baltimore Avenue is full of Ethiopian food spots (many of them led by women), and this weekend it’s getting another that specializes in fried chicken. [Billy Penn/West Philly Local]
MAYOR WATCH
Mayor Kenney has nothing on his public schedule today, but officials in his administration host a ceremony recognizing department leaders who developed the city’s racial equity strategy (2 p.m.). A year ago, Kenney’s office told Billy Penn there was “more work to be done” around the effort.
ON THE CALENDAR
? Devil’s Den is closing mid-October, so it’s throwing a blow-out farewell bash on 11th and Federal with a DJ and food trucks. (1 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2)
?️ A new exhibit called “Vision & Spirit” opens at the African American Museum, with over 100 works by four dozens artists of the last two centuries. (Oct. 1 through Feb. 19)
? The West Philadelphia Orchestra does a pop-up concert on the Ben Franklin Parkway to welcome back the recently restored “Iroquois” sculpture. (6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6)
