Water Woes, History Fights & Back-to-School (Cursive?!)
Welcome to Yesterday in Philly, your daily catch-up. Here’s what actually mattered around here yesterday:
City Stuff
- Water main chaos: If you were anywhere near Penn Hospital or Spring Garden yesterday, your GPS hates you. One break clogged traffic and shut roads by Penn, while another submerged close to 20 parked cars in a Spring Garden garage. Check your shortcuts—and hope your ride didn’t end up underwater.
- History, erased? The National Park Service quietly dropped a crucial part of the slavery exhibit at the President’s House—including the story of Ona Judge, the enslaved woman who escaped George Washington. Local historians are calling it a huge loss for Philly’s public history.
- Measles alert: Health officials warned of a measles exposure at PHL Airport last week. If you or anyone you know was flying through, check the details and watch for symptoms.
Policy & City Life
- E-pollbooks roll out: Philly’s among the test spots for internet-connected pollbooks in the May primary. Translation: check-in should get faster...but expect grumbling about tech glitches and privacy.
- Cursive making a comeback: No, you didn't time travel. Cursive handwriting is on its way back to Pennsylvania schools. Why? Official reasoning: ‘essential life skill’, plus reading old documents and grandma’s birthday cards.
- MOVE curriculum update: Some Philly students will get new lessons on the MOVE bombing, but a lot of community demands aren’t in there. Don’t expect all the context you might want.
Sports & Out and About
- Bryce Harper (still) amazed: The Phillies’ star is perplexed by his 'elite' contract label. ‘It’s kind of wild to me,’ he says. Spring training: on. World Series dreams: also on, naturally.
- Something fun: For your weird plans file: Murder-mystery scavenger hunt at the Franklin Institute later this month. Solve a crime while you check out the exhibits.
- Lunar New Year: If you saw lion dancers roaming the city, you’re not dreaming. Philly Suns brought the Lunar New Year celebrations all over town.
Quick Hits
- Rain and snow showers overnight: Bundle up, slop ahead.
- Commuters: Give yourself extra minutes—water damage cleanup and detours are not going anywhere for a bit.
- Random joy: People literally got married at Reading Terminal Market because Philly.
That’s the roundup. Stay dry, see you tomorrow.
