$9M and police demilitarization pledge for 2020 tear-gassing
Philadelphia will pay $9.25 million to protesters and residents who sued the city over excessive force, reckless behavior, and discriminatory policing in 2020.
- Over 340 plaintiffs from four different lawsuits will split the financial settlement. The agreement also includes a pledge that the PPD will stop accepting military equipment from the Dept. of Defense.
Residents of West Philly, where homes were tear-gassed, will also be invited to twice-annual meetings with the PPD commissioner, Jordan Levy reports.
→ Settlement details and backstory
Philly students win spots in the Scripps National Spelling Bee
Two Philadelphia students are heading to Washington, D.C. this spring to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
- WHYY and Billy Penn hosted the regional bee championships for the second year on Saturday, welcoming 24 talented spellers from two dozen public, charter, and independent schools across the city.
The last four contestants all appeared evenly matched — and they went round after round for nearly an hour, until finally a winner emerged.
→ Meet the victorious spellers
RECAP: What else happened?
$ = paywalled
- Domb has spent over $4M on ads so far, nearly double Brown and dwarfing Parker and Rhynhart, who is joining the fray with a spot featuring both former mayors who endorsed her. [@jblumgart/Inquirer$/NBC10]
- A challenger some deemed as viable has dropped out of the West Philly Council primary, paving the way for Gauthier’s second term. [Billy Penn]
- Of 1.5k city-owned statues and monuments in Philadelphia, only four pay tribute to real women. In fact, depictions of Ben Franklin are more plentiful than the sum total of depictions of historical women. [Axios/BP 2016]
- A Brewerytown school is now home to a pediatric dental clinic run by Temple. It’s open to students and community members regardless of insurance status. [WHYY’s The Pulse]
- Amtrak has a new $10 “night owl” base fare on the Northeast corridor from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. for trips between Philly and DC or NYC. Or head to Baltimore for just $5. [PhillyVoice]
- Stop by LOVE Park at noon next Thursday to help Philly set a new world record for the most jazz hands at once. The current record, held by a Michigan elementary school, is 477 people. [Eventbrite/Guinness]
MAYOR WATCH
Nothing public for Mayor Kenney today after yesterday’s rollercoaster of announcing the Philly Joy Bank, helping break ground at the new apartment development in Port Richmond, and then issuing a mea culpa for the 2020 protest response.
ON THE CALENDAR
🌮 Tonight: BP Quizzo! Join Billy Penn for a night of local trivia with Taco Tuesday deals. We’ll be at Pistolas Del Sur on East Passyunk, handing out prizes for high scores and best team name. Free with RSVP. (6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 21)
🎭 Want to see a performance without spending big? Philly Theatre Week features over 50 shows and events with pay-what-you-can tix. (Thursday to Sunday, March 23-April 2).
💿 East Passyunk record store Latchkey hosts a pop-up shop with dozens of local makers offering candles, clothes, and art. (11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 25)
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