City gets salty, SEPTA gets soggy, and Eagles get busy

Hey Philly,

Here’s what went down yesterday while you were trying to avoid slipping on a salt-crusted sidewalk. Plenty to catch up on, especially if you commute, care about rent, or just like knowing what your city is up to.

Getting Around: Transit Fails and Possible Bar Wins

• SEPTA’s Jefferson Station looked more like a water park Monday night after a burst pipe flooded platforms. Delays, detours, and a permanent case for rain boots. Add in thousands of new traffic tickets from SEPTA’s bus-mounted AI cameras, and it was not a great day for riders trying to get anywhere fast.
• Amtrak trains were delayed too—blame a downed wire on the Northeast Corridor.
• Despite all that, a win might be coming for night owls: with the World Cup approaching, there’s new pressure to let city bars stay open past 2 a.m. so we don’t look lame for the international crowd.

Your Wallet & Health: Insurance Woes and Salty Streets

• Good news if you like over-salted everything: the city just received 15,000 tons of road salt for icy streets. Bad news: environmentalists say the mess sticks around long after the ice melts.
• Pennie, PA's health insurance marketplace, lost thousands of customers after premiums spiked 102%. Coverage is getting more expensive, especially for older folks (details here and here).
• Looking for some good health news? A new study found certain brain games may cut Alzheimer’s risk by 25%.

City Hall, Homes & What’s Next

• The city is making the youth ombudsperson office permanent to keep a closer eye on how Philly kids are treated in placements.
• Some senior apartment buildings are freezing due to heating failures. Residents are calling it an emergency.
• If flooding is your jam, Nicetown folks are still waiting for the city to fix water main breaks that froze into sheets of ice.

New Eats, New Looks, New Season

• Everybody’s doing French-ish now: peek inside Philly’s next-gen bistros as a whole crop opens.
• Boyz II Men are getting a mural in South Philly—right near their old stomping grounds.
• Get weird or fancy this week: see what’s happening, or start planning for the Flower Show (or just catch a sneak preview at KOP Mall here).

Sports Shorties

• The Eagles have their replacement for Jeff Stoutland: hello, Chris Kuper.
• Offseason is on: here’s what the birds need to fix, and the first batch of possible free agents.
• Sixers’ Dominick Barlow gets a real contract, Embiid is questionable, and you can find Flyers connections in the Winter Olympics.

Streets are icy, news keeps flowing, and there’s always more below the surface. Catch you tomorrow.

–YIP Team