It’s been a while — about a week, actually — but fresh rounds of strong thunderstorms and flooding bedeviled the Philadelphia region yet again Thursday.
South Jersey evidently was bearing the brunt of the ferocity during the afternoon, with 5-plus inches of rain reported in Gloucester County, where flooding closed portions of Route 130.
A tornado warning had been posted in Salem County, but it was not yet known if one was sighted.
During the late-day commute, a second round of heavy rain moved into northern Chester County and central Montgomery County, prompting flood warnings.
“Multiple water rescues” were reported in Parkesburg, Chester County, the National Weather Service said, with water up to car windows. Flooding on Route 422 in East Conventry Township resulted in at least one vehicle accident.
After a couple of uncharacteristically pleasant days, pulses of moisture have returned, and the National Weather Service was warning that as much as three to five inches of rain could fall in “isolated” areas into Thursday night.
Drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike exit for the Molly Pitcher Service Area during a rain storm Thursday.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Strong storms rumbled through the area late in the morning and pounded South Jersey in the afternoon.
Officially, 1.48 inches of rain was measured at Philadelphia International Airport, bringing the 2026 total to 28.84 inches, for 0.03 inches over the year-to-date normal.
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Heavy rains also set off flash flooding warnings in Delaware County and in portions of Bucks County.
In addition, a severe thunderstorm watch was in effect for the entire region.
The flood watch is in effect for the city and the seven neighboring counties from noon Thursday to 4 a.m. Friday, with rain-repelling high pressure moving offshore and a warm front migrating northward.
Said Cody Snell, meteorologist with the national Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Md., “It’s a pretty typical pattern that we’ve seen before this summer.”
Indeed.
Computer model runs were suggesting that the atmosphere would not only be moist, but charged with energy, the weather service in Mount Holly said Wednesday afternoon.
The federal Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., listed a 15% chance of severe storms, those with wind gusts approaching 60 mph, along the I-95 corridor. At least it made no mention of possible tornadoes — yet.
When might the storms hit the Philly region?
The likeliest window for the main events would be between 2 and 8 p.m., said Bill Deger, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. said
The sun is likely to appear after the morning rain shuts off, he said, and that would “help destabilize the atmosphere,” adding a kick to potential thunderstorms.
He expected a midafternoon round, followed by an encore in the evening.
What areas are likeliest to see flooding or severe storms?
For severe weather, all of Southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey areas along the Delaware River are in the storm center’s highest risk zone, which extends from the Maryland-Virginia border to upstate New York.
Along the Delaware River, Snell said, “there’s a little bit of signal for training thunderstorms.” Those are the kind to develop and not move, the kind that can wring out three to five inches.
He said the west-to-east moving storms may run out of steam by the time they get to Jersey.
However, any rains are likely to cause trouble, he said.
“Our ground can’t handle much more at this point,” said Deger, who lives in the Quakertown area and has seen the harvests of the downpours in his backyard.
“I’m mowing every four days,” he said.
Staff writer John Duchneskie contributed to this article.
A 71-year-old South Jersey man was indicted Wednesday on a first-degree murder charge for allegedly strangling his 40-year-old daughter in June, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Dennis J. Hall of Franklin Township faces a maximum of life in prison if he is convicted.
On June 11 around 6:15 a.m., Franklin Township police responded to a home on East Avenue after Hall allegedly called 911 to report that his daughter, Devin Hall, was not breathing and that he had strangled her, the prosecutor’s office said.
Dennis Hall was arrested at the scene. A public defender representing Hall could not be reached for comment.
Police attempted lifesaving measures on the 40-year-old woman, who was then transported to a hospital. She was removed from life support the next day and pronounced dead.
The Gloucester/Salem/Cumberland Regional Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy and determined that cause of death was asphyxiation, and the manner of death was homicide.
Devin Hall’s online obituary described her as “a special daughter who endured many challenges and struggles during her life on this earth. She was an inspiration to others, and she touched many with her beauty, gentle kindness, and innocent presence.”
The obituary said she had traveled to 32 states and loved music, especially Toby Keith. Besides many family members, Devin Hall left behind one dog and four cats, the obituary said.
Her mother, Jan Hall, told 6abc that she was born with multiple disabilities, used a wheelchair, and did not speak.
Jan Hall said Dennis Hall, her husband, awakened her and allegedly said he had strangled their daughter.
In June, the prosecutor’s office said that a witness, who was not identified, was awakened by Dennis Hall, who told the witness that he had strangled his daughter.
Four Green Cats Cafe, which has brought authentic European flavors to Mount Laurel for the last seven years, is about to get a bigger home.
Started as a farmers market stand in 2019, the Rancocas Woods café, whose owners have Czech Republic roots, has become a destination both for South Jersey locals and within the broader Czech diaspora.
Now, with the building’s lease expiring at the end of the year and business that owner Nadia Vasa says has been more popular than ever, she’s soon planning to move her offerings of handmade Czech delicacies to a new, larger location in Haddonfield.
Mila and Nadia Vasa posed for a portrait outside of Four Green Cats Cafe on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in Mount Laurel. Nadia is moving the cafe to a larger location in Camden County.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“To continue to provide the customers authentic food and entertainment, we need a bigger space,” Nadia Vasa said in Czech, translated by her husband and business partner, Mila Vasa.
The new spot at 18 Tanner St., the former home of Sang Tong Thai, has both a larger kitchen and dining area to provide enough space to expand their menu and to continue to host musical performances, comedians, and other live events.
The expanded menu will undoubtedly include the staples that Four Green Cats has become known for: Bohemian doughnuts, traditional kolaches, apple strudel, babka — all handmade with flour imported from Europe.
Chimney cakes on display at Four Green Cats Cafe. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Soon to be equipped with a full-service kitchen, the Vasas hope to add new breakfast and lunch offerings in addition to Nadia’s traditional Sunday night dinners.
Once complete, Nadia envisions the new location as embodying the character of classic European cafés of the past that could have been found on street corners from Vienna to Paris.
The Vasas are aiming to open the new location sometime in September and will run both locations concurrently until their Rancocas Woods lease expires, they said.
And while they never wanted to leave Mount Laurel, they hope that the community they’ve built over the years will make the move with them.
The exterior of Four Green Cats Cafe on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in Rancocas Woods in Mount Laurel. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
“We’re hoping some of our customers follow us,” Mila said, but he knows that they’ll inevitably lose some of their regulars, especially those who currently live close enough to walk to the café.
More than just a coffee shop and bakery, Nadia sees Four Green Cats as a window into the world that raised her.
Owner Nadia Vasa holds a plate of Czech sandwiches at Four Green Cats Cafe. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
She makes every decision thoughtfully and with cultural authenticity at the forefront, from using her great-grandmother’s recipes to decorating the walls with her grandfather’s art, she said.
“It’s culture that no one gets here unless you fly home,” Mila said.
The interior of Four Green Cats Cafe. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Customers have traveled from across the country to get a taste of their European roots without having to cross the Atlantic, Mila said.
Over the years, the business has also developed a relationship with the Czech embassy in Washington, he said, which will routinely send traveling musicians and artists to Four Green Cats to experience a taste of the Czech Republic.
The interior of Four Green Cats Cafe on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026 in Mount Laurel. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
More than once, he said proudly, traveling Czechs have raved that Nadia’s food is better than what they have at home.
“Now, she has the room to do what she wants to do,” Mila said.
Dolly Parton’s literacy program, Imagination Library, has provided nearly 800 children with free monthly books mailed to their homes in West Philadelphia.
In Montgomery County, around 3,500 children have been served in the Norristown and Pottstown areas since 2023, thanks to Parton’s program.
“We don’t anticipate any changes to the program,” said Jennifer Leith, executive director of the West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC).
Imagination Library, which Parton started in 1995 in Tennessee, provides deeply discounted books that are mailed each month to any child in a given zip code whose parent or guardian applies to participate. Governments and nonprofits provide funding to cover the remaining costs of the program, which is available for children from birth to age 5.
The Dollywood Foundation said in a recent fact sheet that it has delivered more than 300 million books to children in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland.
WePAC started with one zip code, 19104, in July 2024, then expanded to include four more zip codes in July 2025, Leith said.
“In that time, literally thousands of books have been delivered to West Philadelphia children,” Leith said.
“Anyone from any income level, from any background, can participate,” said Eliza Brumbaugh, executive director of the Literacy Council of Norristown, which helps to run the program, with assistance from the Justamere Foundation, in Montgomery County.
Leith said “it would be great” if Mayor Cherelle L. Parker or Gov. Josh Shapiro “decided to do this in honor of Dolly Parton’s legacy.”
In Delaware County, The Community’s Foundation has provided books from the Imagination Library program to more than 140 children in Eddystone since 2024, said Dierdre Woody Konar, president of the nonprofit.
“The Dolly Parton Imagination Library has shared with TCF and their other partners that they have prepared carefully for this day and for the future of the Imagination Library,” Konar said in an email Wednesday morning.
“TCF is incredibly sad to hear of Dolly’s passing, and we look forward to continuing this important work,” Konar said.
Foundations Inc., a national education nonprofit based in Mount Laurel, ran the first Imagination Library program in Philadelphia for five years, helping to provide books to children in North Philly’s 19133 zip code.
“It was pretty much a book desert,” Casey Jones, executive director of marketing and communications for Foundations, said of the zip code before the program started.
Through Parton’s program, Foundations was able to deliver around 27,000 books to children in that one zip code until the five-year commitment was completed at the end of 2025, said Rhonda H. Lauer, CEO and president of Foundations.
“We went to Dollywood to present it to her in person,” Lauer recalled, saying she had several in-depth conversations with Parton about life and family and the program.
In the end, Lauer said, “all she cared about was getting books in the hands of children.”
People take phone photos as Dolly Parton performed at the Wilmington Public Library, in 2022. She promoted her Imagination Library, a free book gifting program for children.JOSÉ F. MORENO / Staff Photographer
Six South Jersey gas stations that the White House promoted in July, touting below-market fuel prices, have racked up environmental violations with the state dating back to 2023.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued close to $430,000 in fines in May to operators who run 17 gas stations, including the six Freedom Fuel locations, for the violations accrued over the years, according to an administrative order first reported by Politico and obtained by The Inquirer. The fines were issued before these stations rebranded to Freedom Fuel.
The Freedom Fuel stations, which made their debut this summer, accrued more than $202,000 in fines, according to department records. All 17 stations are owned by asset manager Blue Owl Capital and operated by Cherry Hill developer Shamikh Kazmi and his brother Syed Kazmi.
Blue Owl and the Kazmi brothers could not be reached for comment.
The owner-operators have requested a hearing, according to DEP spokesperson Larry Hajna, but no date had been set as of Wednesday.
The violations include failing to properly register underground storage tanks, failing to provide overfill prevention for some tanks, failing to cut and cap lines that lead to out-of-service tank systems, and violating delivery bans.
A Freedom Fuel location at 6801 Tilton Rd. in Egg Harbor was issued a fine of $50,000, the maximum penalty for the violation. The location received four deliveries in November 2023, despite having been banned from doing so because it did not properly register its storage tank.
In its justification for the fine, the department described the operator’s actions as a “deliberate and knowing act,” noting it was a major violation.
The Kazmi brothers have been embroiled in at least two lawsuits related to previous gas station ventures, including a 2021 trademark dispute with BP American Inc. and BP Products North America Inc. Additionally, Petroleum Marketing Group Inc., a fuel distribution company, accused the brothers of stealing thousands of gallons of gas from the company.
City won’t shut down Philly Freedom Fuel station
The Freedom Fuel station on Bustleton Ave. in Philadelphia.Dana Munro / staff
The network’s Bustleton Avenue station — also linked to the Kazmi brothers — failed a license renewal inspection at the end of July that could have forced its closure. But the owners remedied the issue and can continue to operate the station, according to a city spokesperson.
More than two months after having been loudly promoted by the White House and PresidentDonald Trump, Freedom Fuel’s owners have remained silent about their discount gas operation.
Baltimore Ravens assistant coach Randy Brown and former commodities trader Yoni Gontownik signed the company’s certificate of formation in Delaware and have not spoken publicly about the highly touted enterprise.
Freedom Fuel launched with prices 40 to 50 cents a gallon cheaper than nearby stations, frustrating competitors and confusing experts who follow the notoriously low-margin business.
“With every new site, we’re driving down gas prices at the pump for more communities,” reads a message on the network’s website.
In recent weeks, prices across Freedom Fuel locations have risen closer to other discount locations.
Take the location on Dreshertown Road in Upper Dublin Township, which was promoted in a video shared by the White House. When it launched at the beginning of July, the station sold gas for $3.47 a gallon — a nod to Trump being the 47th president. But as of Tuesday, the station was selling gas for $3.89 a gallon, about a dime cheaper than a nearby Citgo station and slightly more than Sam’s Club, according to gas-tracking website GasBuddy.
The average cost of a gallon of gas in Philadelphia on Tuesday was $4.15, according to AAA. That was up more than 28% from this time last year, when the cost averaged $3.23.
It’s not all spike ball and boogie boards at the ocean’s edge. That singular spot can be a place of reflection, beauty, memories both welcome and painful, a grasping for meaning, a bracing crash of the waves of time.
One recent evening, I went to sit out after work, a perk of living here, but it started with an uncomfortable land breeze: hot, flies, stifling air, and existential doubt. Should I just go back inside and watch Jeopardy? But then, a lovely wind shift, spectacular in its suddenness. Things became lighter, cooler, calming. Everything seemed, well, solvable. There was that lesson again: perspective, insight, change, sometimes just a wind shift away. I stayed for that lovely pink dusk.
This week, I spoke with Shanda McManus, former resident of Ventnor, family physician and professor, and author of the riveting new memoir Brother Epistles, a collection of letters to her little brother, Monir Hall, who was shot to death in Philadelphia in 1992 at the age of 20. Now living in Monmouth County, not far from Sea Bright, McManus, 56, has written vividly of her girlhood in North Philadelphia, across from the old Connie Mack Stadium — it’s “a really Philly book,” as she says. She also writes of the adulthood she moved through without her brother, most of it at the Jersey Shore. How, and why, their trajectories diverged underscore McManus’ intimate storytelling.
“I do feel like young Black boys aren’t given the same opportunity to be children,” she said. “Even when I lived in Ventnor, two nephews came to visit, and the police chased them home, they assumed they would have stolen those bikes. What does that do to you if you’re always suspect?”
Shanda’s decades of proximity to the ocean, to the natural beauty and spaces that were mostly missing from her Philly childhood, she says, has helped her grieve.
“The access to the ocean and the beach, natural places in general — if you grow up in the inner city, North Philly, there’s not a lot of places,” she said. “Growing up, my grandmom and granddad, they used to drive down the Shore, but we would never go on the beach. We would go in the stores and get saltwater taffy. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I actually sat on the beach. To have the community here, with my children. It was restorative.”
As she writes in Brother Epistles, “Grief for me is not a series of five steps, but a spiral and a repeating loop. I walk alone outside of time. The past is the present is the future — it is infinite and eternal, like you and me.”
Like the ocean.
Keep scrolling for a slam book Q&A with Shanda, and a Shore memory. Plus, your thoughts on Ocean City remaining a dry town. Shanda’s forthcoming Philly appearances are here.
👋 That’s it for me this season. Jason Nark, as usual, will wrap up Down the Shore next week. Thanks for playing along! Let us know what you liked and didn’t like! What would you want to see more of in this newsletter or in our Shore coverage? Send your thoughts to us here.
🥶 Nights are starting to cool off down here, bring on September (local’s summer).
🎣 The 72nd annual Surf Fishing Classicbegins this weekend on LBI, a Shore sign of fall.
Shore snapshot
Cathy Green, owner of Cathy’s 14th Street Bakery in Ocean City, finishes preparing cream-filled donuts on Aug., 13, 2026. Former Cathy’s dishwasher and junior baker, Dominic Sessa, plays Anthony Bourdain in the new A24 biopic “Tony.”Tim Hawk / For The Inquirer
🧠 Trivia time
Rich Coniglio was first with last week’s answer: Atlantic City has the country’s oldest operational beach patrol, established in 1855.
This week: Ocean City’s been dry since 1909, and drinking on the beach was officially banned in 1951. But it took a city council vote to totally eliminate BYOB.
What year did Ocean City do away with wine-with-dinner?
We asked our Shore Line texters. Not many advocated bringing bars or liquor stores to Ocean City, but there was some sentiment for BYOB.
The best case for remaining dry:For years I wanted BYO’s but lately the old charm of this town seems to be drifting away. I have little doubt that the OC would lose its unique identity. It should remain a dry town.
The best case for BYOB: I think it would be nice if Ocean City was at least a BYOB. So many wonderful restaurants, but we just don’t go for that exact reason.
Author Shanda McManus shared her faves. (She’s still got a soft spot for Ventnor after all these years in Monmouth County.)
Favorite beach: Ventnor. We live 10 minutes from Sea Bright, but we’ll drive down to go to the beach in Ventnor. The sand is softer. I love the community.
Favorite summer breakfast? Blueberries. Fresh.
Perfect beach day: Going to the beach with two books and finishing one and a half and sitting on my chair all day.
Perfect night: Walking on the boardwalk, stopping for ice cream, walking back with that nice wind.
Favorite Shore sandwich: I don’t usually buy lunch meats, but when I’m down at the beach, it’s Lebanon bologna, peppered turkey, Martin’s potato rolls.
Water ice order: Classic lemon water ice.
When the end of summer approaches I feel: Devastatingly sad. I can feel the winter coming.
Surfing or fishing? Reading.
Sunrise or sunset? Sunrise.
Shore pet peeve: People riding their bikes on the boardwalk during the hours they’re not supposed to.
The Shore could be improved if: It enlarged access. I would love if the beaches were free and open to all. Up here [Sea Bright], I live in the land of the beach clubs. It’ll cost you $5,000 for a locker.
Your Shore memory
In Brother Epistles, McManus writes: I lived a short walk from the ocean for five years. You know where? Ventnor, the town right next to Atlantic City. I could see the casinos from the beach. AC was the place to go and party. Dad never took us to the beach because he didn’t like sand, and that was even before he had his prosthetic foot. Grandmom took us to Atlantic City and Wildwood, but that was to ride the rides on the boardwalk and get saltwater taffy. It never occurred to me that we might sit on the beach like the white people we saw. Grandmom laughed at them for “trying to get Black.” I never thought of Atlantic City being a place of natural beauty either, where ocean waves crashed and foamed. But it is. From my house in the next town over, I could hear the steady, endless roll of waves crashing at night. The sound made me think of infinity or eternity or our souls. I would pack up however many kids I had at the time, and we’d spend days in the sand and water.
ACLU-NJ is defending protesters who received traffic and criminal citations from the Bellmawr Police Department during summertime protests against President Donald Trump and his administration.
The infractions include honking and jaywalking, according to the roadside rallies’ organizing group, Cooper River Indivisible.
ACLU-NJ sent a letter to the Camden County borough’s police department asking it to investigate officers’ conduct regarding the protesters’ “free-speech activities.”
“No one’s freedom of speech should be chilled because they’re afraid of getting a citation,” ACLU-NJ’s criminal law reform advocacy director told The Inquirer.
Bohemian doughnuts, traditional kolaches, apple strudel, babka — Four Green Cats Cafe is known for these Czech treats and more, with customers traveling from both nearby in South Jersey and across the country to sample its authentic European flavors.
The Mount Laurel café will soon be taking over a larger space in Haddonfield to meet demand.
The new location will allow Four Green Cats to offer more menu items and host more live events for those of the Czech diaspora and beyond, owners Mila and Nadia Vasa say.
New Jersey will get more than $500 million from a landmark Meta settlement over child protections, part of a larger payout of up to $17.1 billion. A multistate coalition sued the tech giant for failing to keep kids from becoming addicted.
A Franklin Township man has been charged with first-degree murder for allegedly strangling his 40-year-old daughter in June, prosecutors said.
A dean of research at Rutgers University has been charged with invasion of privacy for allegedly taking “upskirt” photos while working at the Jersey institution.
A Philadelphia man was arrested for allegedly trying to meet and have sex with underage girls in a Mount Laurel hotel.
Camden County officials are warning residents to follow federal guidance on rabies prevention and safety after a rabid raccoon was discovered in Barrington.
Marlton-based Virtua Health and other health systems in the region have filed lawsuits against healthcare provider network MultiPlan and several major insurers, Philadelphia Business Journal reports.
RIP, Dolly Parton, who is remembered as both a singer and philanthropist whose Imagination Library worked to get books into children’s hands. Mount Laurel-based nonprofit Foundations Inc. ran the first Imagination Library program in Philadelphia and awarded Parton as its “Champion of Children” in 2020.
🗓️ The best things to do this week
🌿 Life that Glows: Take a guided walk and use UV flashlights to see fluorescence on various plants, invertebrates, and mushrooms that glow in various colors at night. ⏰ Friday, Aug. 28, 7:30-9:30 p.m. 💵 Free 📍Long Bridge Park, Hainesport.
🎤 Music on the Porch Day: Enjoy live music on porches, storefronts, lawns, and other gathering spaces. ⏰ Saturday, Aug. 29, noon-4 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Downtown Mount Holly.
🍷 Wine Down Summer: Sample award-winning wines, listen to live music, and peruse food and artisan vendors at this annual fest. BYO chairs, blankets, and pop-up tents. ⏰ Saturday, Aug. 29 and Sunday, Aug. 30 12-5 p.m. 💵 $20-25 plus fees, $5 for spectators 📍Veterans Island at Cooper River Park, Pennsauken.
Thanks for starting your day with The Inquirer. Ellen Dunkel has you covered tomorrow.
Clarification: Yesterday’s newsletter featured a story on the opening of Del Buono’s Pastry Shop. Its cream doughnuts are reminiscent of the ones McMillan’s Bakery once sold.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
The ACLU of New Jersey has urged the Bellmawr Police Department to investigate its officers’ conduct after local protesters alleged the department gave out citations while attendees engaged in “free-speech activities.”
The letter, sent by email Tuesday, said ACLU-NJ had been contacted by several members of Cooper River Indivisible, a Camden County-based grassroots organization, after members alleged that they were targeted by Bellmawr police officers during months of summer protests against President Donald Trump and his administration despite sidewalks and streets being “traditional public forums.”
“As I understand the facts, officers have been issuing traffic and criminal citations — for honking, jaywalking, and other offenses — to participants and supporters during lawful roadside rallies,” the letter reads.
Rebecca Uwakwe, ACLU-NJ’s criminal law reform advocacy director, said Cooper River Indivisible members told her that Bellmawr police have been targeting them since at least June, but that the citations have ramped up this month. She could not confirm how many citations have been given out but said she is representing “a good amount of people” affected by the citations in municipal court.
“No one’s freedom of speech should be chilled because they’re afraid of getting a citation,” Uwakwe said.
The letter asks the police department to investigate officers’ conduct and requests that the department respond by Sept. 11.
The Bellmawr Police Department declined to comment. Uwakwe said she has not heard from police yet.
Cooper River Indivisible, a South Jersey affiliate of nonprofit Indivisible, hosts weekly roadside rallies at an intersection in Bellmawr Borough, Camden County, where people gather to “joyfully disturb the peace” to protest fascism and actions taken by the Trump administration.
Neither Cooper River Indivisible nor its founder, Craig Strimel, immediately responded to requests for comment.
It was unclear who was arrested or whether charges were filed after the recent rally.
If the police department is not receptive to dialogue, Uwakwe said, the ACLU will continue to defend protesters and drivers against citations. ACLU-NJ is still interviewing people affecting by the citations, she said, and investigating the situation.
Frank Spagnuola, 85, formerly of Philadelphia, one of the original American Bandstand dancers, 1957 Chalypso dance champion, longtime interior designer, and gourmet home cook, died Monday, Aug. 17, of congestive heart failure at the Complete Care at Court House nursing center in Cape May Court House.
Born and reared in South Philadelphia, Mr. Spagnuola was lifelong friends with performers Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon, Fabian Forte, James Darren, and Jerry Blavat, and dozens of other singers, dancers, musicians, and disc jockeys from the neighborhood. He enjoyed socializing as well as music and dancing, and, at 15, became one of the original dancers when the old WFIL-TV station hosted Bandstand and then American Bandstand in the 1950s and ’60s.
The TV station invited local teens to dance to the latest hits in its Studio B on Market Street in West Philadelphia, and Mr. Spagnuola did just that on many afternoons from 1955 to 1963. In 1957, he and partner Dottie Horner finished first in American Bandstand’s first Chalypso contest, spotlighting an original Philly dance that combines the cha-cha and the calypso.
“We would cut classes” to dance on Bandstand, Mr. Spagnuola, a graduate of the old Bishop Neumann High School, said in a 2017 video interview. “We had eight or nine classes, and we would leave, like, the sixth class. Father would say, ‘Where are you going?’ Well, you know where we’re going, Father. The priests watched the show. I mean, everybody watched the show.”
Mr. Spagnuola graduated from the old Bishop Neumann High School in 1958.Courtesy of the family
It was downstairs at Studio B, Mr. Spagnuola said, that he encountered Bandstand guest stars Pat Boone, Bobby Darin, and Sal Mineo. As a teen in the neighborhood, he performed in local skit shows with Rydell and played football and double-dated with Fabian.
On Facebook, Fabian called Mr. Spagnuola “a gentleman and talented dancer,” and said: “Frank Spagnuola was one of the most popular and beloved regular dancers on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand during the show’s iconic Philadelphia era.”
Mr. Spagnuola is profiled at history-of-rock.com and bandstand.cafex.biz, and he and Dottie Horner are on the cover of the 1997 Dick Clark’s American Bandstand souvenir collectors’ magazine. He is featured in the 1997 New Jersey Network documentary Bandstand Days and called the show “part of American history.”
Over the years, as Bandstand’s popularity ebbed and flowed, he routinely reconnected with other original dancers — they were called the Bandstand Regulars — at reunions, public events, and celebrations in the region. American Bandstand went off the air in 1989.
Mr. Spagnuola and his dance partner, Dottie Horner, were on the cover of this 1997 souvenir collectors’ magazine. Courtesy of the family
“Everybody loved Frank,” said longtime disc jockey and music director Tommy McCarthy. “He had an infectious smile. He was a guy you just liked.”
Friends on Facebook called Mr. Spagnuola “movie star handsome,” “a rock & roll soldier,” “a Bandstand pioneer,” and “one of the nicest gentleman you could ever meet.” One said: “Wonderful dancer, wonderful person, wonderful friend.”
After graduating from Bishop Neumann in 1958, Mr. Spagnuola worked in a high-end carpet store, studied interior design, and earned an associate’s degree at the old Philadelphia College of the Arts. He became an interior designer, worked for Sears at the Moorestown Mall for 25 years, and was active with the American Society of Interior Designers.
On his own, he did private design work for Muhammad Ali, former Eagles assistant coach Jon Gruden, and other local notables. “He cultivated an eye for beauty and design,” his family said in a tribute, “shaping spaces with elegance and functionality.”
Mr. Spagnuola (left above) stands with his wife, Janet, and Bobby Rydell. Below, he is flanked by Fabian (left) and Frankie Avalon.Courtesy of the family
Francis Michael Spagnuola was born Nov. 2, 1940. The oldest of three brothers, he liked to hang out at the Jersey Shore and dine on Italian food.
He married Janet Moretti, and they had a son, Stephen, and a daughter, Carrie, and lived in South Philadelphia and Center City. His wife died in 2005.
Mr. Spagnuola moved to Cape May later, became an accomplished home cook, and was known for his crab salad dip. He was passionate, upbeat, and funny, everyone said, and his children called him “a steadfast anchor and a lifelong source of support.”
His family said: “He leaves behind a memory as warm and enduring as the summer shore and the Wildwood days he so dearly cherished.”
Mr. Spagnuola enjoyed time with his children (above) and grandchildren (below).Courtesy of the family
His son said: “He loved life. He loved people. He loved characters.”
In addition to his children, Mr. Spagnuola is survived by three grandchildren and other relatives. Two brothers died earlier.
As part of a settlement involving almost every U.S. state, Pennsylvania and New Jersey will each receive more than $500 million from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, after a multistate coalition sued the tech giant for failing to protect kids from becoming addicted.
The two states’ shares are part of a larger payout ofthe $12.1 billion to $17.1 billion Meta will be required to make over the next 10 years to the states and U.S. territories involved in the suit. The exactfigure will depend on other social media companies agreeing to make similar changes.
Pennsylvania is expected to receive at least $516 million and up to $729 million, while New Jersey is expected to receive at least $525 million and up to $752 million, according to statements from each state’s attorney general.
“We can’t simply tell parents to do better while allowing technology companies to design platforms that are engineered to addict children,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said during a news conference Wednesday. “Parents deserve better. Children deserve better, and today shows that Big Tech can do better — some just chose not to. Today is the first step in forcing Big Tech to do better.”
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In addition to the monetary payments, the tech giant will also be required to make changes to satisfy the states’ concerns over child safety.
“As a parent, protecting your kids is always your North Star,” New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a statement. “This agreement achieves critical protections for our children today.”
Neither attorney general commented on how the settlement funds would be used.
Instagram and Facebook will have to implement a combined two-hour daily time limit for child users with a mandatory pause after 15 minutes of continuous use and again at 60 and 90 minutes. These time limits will be in effect for five years. If Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube — social media apps owned by other companies — agree to adopt similar terms, the daily limit on each platform would drop to 60 minutes and last for 10 years.
Child users also will not be able to access the websites from midnight to 6 a.m., will have limited access during school hours, and willnot receive push notifications on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. during the school year.
The company will be required to bolster its age-assurance measures to more accurately verify the age of users. It will also need to improve its age-appropriate content controls to better shield child users against bullying, content promoting eating disorders, and content related to suicide and self-harm.
Meta will have to limit its social comparison features, including beauty filters and visible tallies of likes on posts, and willbe required to make parent controls stronger and more user-friendly.
“These are changes that matter because they directly address how young people interact with these platforms, how long they use them, when they use them, what they are exposed to on these platforms, and the role that parents can play in keeping them safe,” Sunday said.
These changes, which are required to be enacted in the next six months, will be regularly assessed by an independent auditor and the settling parties.
