SEPTA is piloting contactless payments like Apple Pay
It’s finally happening: SEPTA is testing out contactless payments on buses, trolleys, and subways. As is already common in many major cities, riders participating in the new pilot can leave their Key cards at home and instead pay their fares using a tap of their phone or major credit card.
The service will eventually be rolled out to the general public, Asha Prihar reports — and intrepid testers can apply to start using it now.
Cheesesteak dishes at the Indiana State Fair? We tried them
Pennsylvania doesn’t hold a summertime state fair, but an export from the commonwealth is a common sight at other iterations. Yes, cheesesteaks are apparently state fair fare — as Asha Prihar found out when she attended one in Indiana. Some 600 miles from their city of origin, the sandwiches repped big.
Asha sought out some Indiana State Fair interpretations of one of Philly’s signature foods. Here’s what she found.
RECAP: What else happened?
$ = paywalled
• Philadelphia Proud Boys chapter president Zachary Rehl is among the former leaders of the group who face large prison sentences for their role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. [AP]
• Starting salary in the Pa. General Assembly is $100k. That’s nearly double the commonwealth’s average for the private sector, and higher than any other state but New York ($110k) or California ($120k). [$Inquirer]
• A new ad campaign calling for Philly police recruits seems to be paying off, with recruitment up 42% as the city works to fill hundreds of vacancies. [WHYY]
• The city plans to dedicate a third of its $163 million in Hurricane Ida federal relief money to housing repairs. Residents in flood-prone areas where homes remain damaged are hoping for support. [WHYY’s PlanPhilly/BP 2022]
• Dog days of summer on Baltimore Avenue: 35 photos by Hanbit Kwon showcase the people, pets, and places that form a thriving community. [Billy Penn]
• RIP legendary Eagles linebacker Maxie Baughan, a Hall of Famer who was a second-round pick in 1960. He died this weekend at 85. [NBC Sports Philly]
MAYOR WATCH
Across the nation, there’s a staffing crisis in public service jobs — everything from sanitation workers to election workers. To address this, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union is waging a campaign to “Staff the Front Lines,” and today Mayor Kenney stops by a connected hiring event at AFSCME DC 33 headquarters in West Philly (2 p.m.).
ON THE CALENDAR
🍹 This week! BP Quizzo trivia night lands at the annex. at the Divine Lorraine, in partnership with the North Broad Renaissance. We’ll have happy hour specials and prizes for the winners. A few spots remain, RSVP here. (6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 24)
🍿 Patty Jackson of WDAS joins Ya Fav Trashman to host a screening of the Eddie Murphy/Richard Pryor classic “Harlem Nights” at Center City’s Philadelphia Film Center. Tix are $14. (7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 22)
⚖ A collection of nonprofits gather in Germantown to host “The Nitty Gritty of Building an Equal Justice Judiciary,” a community conversation on the state of the federal judiciary. (6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 23)
📖 Billy Penn is proud to headline the inaugural Philly Story Fest, joining journalists from media outlets around Philadelphia to tell the city’s best stories on stage at the Bok. Tickets are $25. (7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5)
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