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What else could you get for the cost of Pa.’s Senate race?
Pa.’s race for U.S. Senate was the second-most expensive in history. Between candidate campaigns and outside orgs, the total spend was about $375 million.
- What else could you get for that sum? Statewide housing repairs and construction, for one thing. Or a Bryce Harper-caliber baseball player for a decade. It would cover city worker overtime!
Jordan Levy runs through some comparisons that help grok how much it really is, and breaks down how the political money actually got spent.
AG looking into Ticketmaster’s T-Swift ‘trouble, trouble, trouble’
After years of people complaining about fees and glitches, Ticketmaster may face legal action because it messed with the wrong group: Taylor Swift fans.
- Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro is one of the officials looking into the snafu, which saw Swifties experience widespread problems during the pre-sale of tickets to the pop star’s first tour since 2018.
Shapiro is starting by soliciting consumer complaints about the issue. Asha Prihar has more on the situation fans just can’t shake off.
RECAP: What else happened?
$ = paywalled
- A political consultant allegedly forged signatures on nomination petitions for multiple Democratic judicial candidates in Philly during the 2019 cycle. [WHYY]
- The four new members of City Council will be sworn in the Monday after Thanksgiving, bringing the body back to full strength — until Helen Gym resigns to join the mayor’s race, at which she strongly hinted during yesterday’s session. [Billy Penn / @sbcmw / Inquirer$ / @TMacDonaldWHYY]
- Philly has its first new historic district in decades in Powelton Village. The overlay will protect 817 buildings from demolition or major modifications. [Inquirer$]
- The Philadelphia School Board’s transition report left out community voices and offered nearly nothing new, writes a longtime education advocate. [Billy Penn]
- Next season will be the last for the Philly Pops, considered the country’s largest standalone orchestra dedicated to American popular music. [6ABC]
- In planning for nearly a decade from the couple behind Hawthornes, Portuguese-inspired bar/restaurant Grace & Proper is open for business in the Italian Market. [Eater 2015 / PhillyVoice]
The story you didn’t read
? Highlighting good BP articles few people clicked on ?
- Some argue Philly is too diverse to settle on something as constricting as a standard burger — but if there was one, what would it be? Five chefs offer answers.
MAYOR WATCH
The Urban Affairs Coalition celebrates 53 years of coordinating community organizations with a breakfast at the Pa. Convention Center, where Mayor Kenney gives remarks (9 a.m.). He then steps over to another part of the building to kick off Philadelphia Marathon weekend, which is expected to bring 30,000 runners to town (11:15 a.m.).
ON THE CALENDAR
? To celebrate the opening of a second location in Fishtown, Bagels & Co. is giving away free bagels with a schmear with a little help from local influencer Bran Edelman. (8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 19)
? The Art Star Holiday Craft Bazaar takes over Rivers Casino with 80 local vendors offering prints, knits, and plenty of quirk — all for a $3 entry fee. (11 a.m to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 19-20)
