The Pennsylvania Court of Discipline ended Michael Fanning’s suspension without pay Thursday because the only reason for it was the criminal charges against him.
“With no charges and no other reason cited for the suspension of Judge Fanning, no reason exists for that suspension to continue,” the order said.
Fanning, 60, will be assigned administrative duty and will not hear cases until the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas leadership can decide his future assignment, said court spokesperson Martin O’Rourke.
His request to end the stay did not mention backpay.
The administrative office of Pennsylvania courts did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Fanning would receive back pay for the four months he was suspended.
Fortunato Perri Jr., Fanning’s attorney, declined to comment.
Fanning was charged with aggravated assault, strangulation, and related crimes in March after prosecutors said he repeatedly punched his wife in the face, choked her, and dragged his 30-year-old daughter to the ground by her hair, causing her to cut her face, during a fight at their East Torresdale home.
Assistant District Attorney Brian Collins said last week that the two women were evaluated by medics and did not suffer injuries.
Attorneys for Fanning also provided the district attorney’s office with “extensive mitigation” records, prosecutors told the court without describing their content.
Fanning’s wife said in a March hearing that the judge had voluntarily entered a 30-day inpatient recovery program to treat his excessive alcohol use, an issue the family had worked to address in the past.
Pennsylvania State Police are investigating after a car full of teenagers crashed in South Philly early Friday morning, killing a 16-year-old girl and sending five other teens to the hospital.
Around 1:30 a.m., Philadelphia police requested state police assistance to close the off-ramp from I-95 southbound to Columbus Boulevard after a “serious” crash, state police said. When troopers arrived, they determined the vehicle crash had begun on the interstate.
The car, a Nissan Maxima, “exited the off-ramp at a high rate of speed, struck the concrete median prior to the traffic light, and became airborne until coming to final rest in the center of the intersection,” said State Trooper Paul Holdefer.
Six teens — four of them sitting in the back — were inside the Nissan, Holdefer said.
A 16-year-old girl who was sitting “in the center rear of the vehicle” was pronounced dead at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Holdefer said. Another girl and the 17-year-old boy who was driving the car also were taken to Thomas Jefferson UniversityHospital.
A 17-year-old girl who had been sitting in the back was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in critical condition, Holdefer said.
Two 17-year-old boys, one who had been sitting in the front passenger seat and the other in the rear, were taken to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and were in stable condition.
Police did not identify anyone involved in the crash, which remained under investigation.
A 15-year-old boy was charged with murder and related crimes for fatally shooting a 43-year-old man in Southwest Philadelphia earlier this month, authorities said.
Zakah Johnson, of East Mount Airy, was already in custody for an unrelated crime when police accused him Friday of killing MD Mahfuzul Haque, who investigators said was shot dead on July 7 in the city’s Kingsessing section.
Police responded to a residence on the 100 block of South Ithan Street that evening to find Haque with a gunshot wound to the back of the head.
He was pronounced dead at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center around 9:30 p.m.
On Thursday, police took Johnson into custody for an unrelated investigation. Before he was set to be released, authorities kept him in custody and charged him for Haque’s killing.
Johnson will be tried as an adult, police said. In addition to murder, he was charged with robbery, conspiracy, and a handful of firearms crimes.
He is being held in the Philadelphia Juvenile Detention Center and was denied bail.
Haque, a native of Bangladesh, had been delivering food for DoorDash at the time of the shooting, investigators said.
Think you know your news? There’s only one way to find out. Welcome back to our weekly News Quiz — a quick way to see if your reading habits are sinking in and to put your local news knowledge to the test.
Question 1 of 10
Nike’s newest Air Force 1 shoes, called “Horse of a Different Color,” feature pony hair in a certain colored hue. They, in turn, look a lot like this Philly icon:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Nike's new "campfire orange" pony hair sneaker is basically Gritty's doppelgänger, writes Inquirer reporter Maggie Prosser. Social media users agree. “Gritty force 1s,” one user on X dubbed the new shoes.
Question 2 of 10
South Street bar Tattooed Mom is unable to host events with music — ranging from drag shows and burlesque performances to karaoke — indefinitely, following an order from the Department of Licenses & Inspections. The required license for events would take at least this long for the business to procure:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The license procurement process requires a public meeting followed by a separate hearing with the delay-plagued Zoning Board of Adjustment. As of March, the wait time for a hearing was 180 days — or roughly six months — according to a manual from the City of Philadelphia. (A $750 expediting fee cuts the wait time down to 140 days, or 4.5 months.) Tattooed Mom has yet to apply for the special exception.
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Question 3 of 10
A grassroots parallel parking competition in Philly already has more than 400 applicants. But organizers are only allowing for how many competitors?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
There are only 20 slots available to compete in the parallel parking competition. Contestants will be judged on speed, clearance length, and closeness to the curb. The winner will get bragging rights and a $76 cash prize to cover a PPA ticket.
Question 4 of 10
Kurt Vile has never repped his hometown so hard as on his new album, Inquirer music critic Dan DeLuca wrote in a recent profile. The album, which came out in May, includes shout-outs to Lincoln Drive, the Schuylkill, and Sun Ra, and an infectious single “Chance to Bleed” that features Philadelphia gangsta rap pioneer Schoolly D in a video shot at Kung Fu Necktie. What is Vile’s album called?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Vile, whom DeLuca calls a “Philadelphia fixture” celebrated his new album, Philadelphia’s Been Good to Me with a vegan cheesesteak giveaway at South Philly’s Triangle Tavern.
Question 5 of 10
The Phillies will play in the MLB’s third Field of Dreams game, played at a ballpark (complete with cornfields) based on the movie and constructed next to the field used in the 1989 film. The game will air on Netflix. The team’s throwback uniforms for the special game were unveiled this week. What color hats will the team will wear?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The Phils will wear navy hats with a bold red “P” on the front. The jerseys — a sharp gray top with red and navy “Phillies” script across the chest — were unveiled Monday along with the uniforms that will be worn by Minnesota on Aug. 13 in Dyersville, Iowa.
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What local connection do the famous hedge maze scene in The Shining and the Rocky run sequence up the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps have in common?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Oscar-winning cinematographer Garrett Brown — a Philadelphia native — invented several camera systems, most notably the Steadicam, a wearable camera rig that allows for stable running shots without any shakiness. The Steadicam was used on The Shining and Rocky, and now, Brown's story is the subject of a documentary Thank You, Mr. Brown.
Question 7 of 10
Philly restaurant Middle Child's BLT is its hottest selling summer sandwich, with locations in Center City and Fishtown preparing 200 to 250 of them per day — and quickly selling out. Each BLT sandwich costs customers:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
At $16 each, Middle Child’s classic BLTs consist of tomatoes from Urban Roots Farm in Newtown Square, five pieces of Leidy’s bacon, Duke’s mayonnaise, and locally grown arugula dressed with tomato vinaigrette all sandwiched on slices of rye bread from Merzbacher’s bakery. There are about $2.60 worth of tomatoes on each sandwich.
Question 8 of 10
Comedian Shane Gillis recently set two Guinness World Records with a performance at Lincoln Financial Field, one of which was the largest audience for a comedian. What was the other record?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Gillis' show sold 77,047 tickets, and was billed as the largest headlining performance of the comedian's career. Previously, North Philadelphia native Kevin Hart packed the stadium in 2015, but only sold 53,000 tickets.
Question 9 of 10
This Pennsylvania snack company went public six years ago, but is now set to become a private company again as part of a $2.9 billion deal with a German acquirer:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
When the latest deal is done, Utz’s founding families, the Rices and Lissettes, will own 50% of the company, and Intersnack Group, a snack maker in Europe and the Pacific, will own the other half. Since 1921, Utz has produced its trademark chips and other snacks from Hanover, York County, about 120 miles west of Philadelphia.
Question 10 of 10
The Delaware River stretches some 330 miles between Delaware and New York, and is home to about how many islands across its lengthy run?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The federal government, states, counties, corporations, and private individuals all own Delaware River islands that are used for recreation, industry, or, in most cases, nothing at all. Some islands are mere shoals or sandbars, while others span hundreds of acres. Some are no longer true islands after reattaching to mainland via nature or human engineering.
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Seems like you’ve been skimming more than reading there, buddy. There’s always next week.
You’ve read some articles (or made some educated guesses) but we wouldn’t come to you first for our local news recaps. Better luck next week!
Do you work here? You’re a local news stan with the latest updates on Philly happenings. Your friends definitely ask you for summaries on what’s going on and it shows.
And the next day, on July 21, 1969, the Muppets landed on televisions across Philadelphia.
But unlike the moon landing, the Muppets’ debut was a test run.
Over five days, producers of Sesame Street broadcast five hour-long test-pilot episodes on WHYY-TV’S UHFChannel 35 on televisions spread across 70 homes throughout the city.
So, why Philly?
“The station is one of the country’s top public TV stations,” Edward Palmer, then Sesame’s director of research, told The Inquirer in August 1969. “It has displayed great interest in the [Children’s Television] Workshop and has been most cooperative. And it has Channel 35.”
Those first few episodes, set at the fictional Manhattan meeting place at 123 Sesame Street, paired a snappy theme song with a cast of unusual and friendly oddballs.
The program, which can trace its roots to the mid-20th-century civil rights movement, would go on to delight, instruct, and entertain,thanks to the worldview and genius of Jim Henson.
But it wasn’t a complete home run.
The Philly research showed that of course the kids loved the Muppets, but they were bored by live-action street segments featuring only human actors.
This taught the producers that they had to integrate the Muppets with the human cast, and have them interact, rather than keep the Muppets and humans separate.
“Test audiences of preschoolers in Philadelphia had rejected live-action sequences shot on a mock urban street, with trash cans on the curb and laundry hanging from tenement windows,” according to Michael Davis’ book Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street.
The human-operated puppets would go on to charm millions of children and parents, and their names would become iconic: The Count, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Oscar, Miss Piggy, Elmo, Kermit, and many others.
And they would later be joined by an endless A-list of guest stars.
Joyce Brooks is dismayed by the contractors who illegally dump behind a shopping center at 15th and Wingohocking Streets.
But it’s the neighbors who dump therewho sadden her most, she said. Some bring children with them to toss waste in a dump that has lasted 20 years, despite being cleaned out over and over again.
“That’s a legacy. Passing it from adults to children to their children,” said Brooks, who leads the Block Captains Committee of Nicetown, a neighborhood grassroots group.
Brooks was one of about 75 Philadelphia residents representing neighborhood groups and nonprofits who gathered Thursday at the Discover Center in Fairmount Park to map by hand illegal legacy dumps scattered throughout the city.
The groups want a comprehensive, transparent map of illegal dump sites across city streets, vacant lots, and parks as a step toward being able to address them comprehensively.
The event was organized by Clean Philadelphia NOW, a collaborative with multiple neighborhood organizations and nonprofits. It pulled together community groups and residents from 11 neighborhoods.
“I just want to encourage us as a people to stop this,” Brooks said, “not just in Nicetown but all over this city of Philadelphia. … I believe there’s hope.”
Legacy dumps are one of the biggest issues affecting the quality of life in Philadelphia, said those at the event, and theywant to find solutions.
In April, The Inquirer identified one of the largest illegal dumps in the city. The dump spans more than a blockdown a slope off Pennway Street in Northeast Philly and finally comes to a dirty halt just feet from a clear creek.
One of the maps where event attendees added pins to show the locations of potential dumping sites in their neighborhoods.Frank Kummer
The root cause
Shari Hersh, a codirector of Trash Academy, one of the groups collaborating under Clean Philadelphia NOW, said the goal is not only to clean sites but also toreplace outdated waste management systems with sustainable, long-term solutions.
The Clean Philadelphia NOW initiative began mapping sites in fall 2024, initially documenting 48 dump sites in the Fairhill and Harrowgateneighborhoods. It hosts the map on its website.
While the city has heavily invested in abatement, Hersh argues that the approach falls short of addressing the root causes of the persistent “clean-dump-clean cycle.”
Hersh said community cleanups are not a solution.
She said some illegal dump sites, such as one at Ninth and Ontario Streets in North Philadelphia, have been actively dumped on multiple times a week since 2005. Simply cleaning them out does not stop dumping.
“It can’t just be the neighbors who have the time to work on it,” Hersh said. “It has to be that we have a successful waste management system in the city of Philadelphia.”
She believes dumping is fueled by several factors.
“There are a lot of reasons why there’s dumping, and there are a lot of people doing it because, to some degree, it’s normalized in Philly,” said Hersh, who lives in Fairmount. “They think, ‘It’s always been dumped there, so we’re just going to keep using it as a dump.’ And some people don’t even know it’s wrong.”
Hersh said collaborators would like to see municipal curbside composting to manage the food odors from residents putting trash out on non-collection days.
And they would like to see cost-effective voucher programs for construction and demolition waste.
“We don’t just want to manage illegal dumping,” Hersh said. “We want to end it.”
She said she did not have a final tally yet on the number of legacy dump sites but estimated the group’s current totalcould be around 100.
On Thursday, event attendees hand-pinned dumping sites to a physical map. Clean Philadelphia NOW volunteers will vet the sites against an online map to get a true count.
Hershexpects the list of illegal dumping locations could swell to 200 as they keep adding more through the end of the year.
Rosemary Duarte (front right) and Melmarys Gonzalez (back right) of the group North10 Philadelphia help mark a map of Hunting Park.Frank Kummer
A sense of pride
Dallas Herbert Sr. of the 215 People’s Alliance said he hopes the collaboration can help “create a sense of pride in the community.”
Construction waste is a big issue, he said. It worsens as homes are razed and new ones built. He calls itan “unintended consequence” of the city’s attempt to create more housing. People unload the contents of old homes at the sites. Some contractors dump debris there.
Herbert said contractors should have to show proof to the city that they dispose of waste correctly, andthe city should “hold them to account.” He said much construction waste can be recycled.
Most of those in attendance at Thursday’s event credited the city‘s focus on litterunder Mayor Cherelle L. Parker. But they would like to see more done.
Residents crowd around a table at an event organized by Clean Philadelphia NOW that focused on having residents from 11 neighborhoods map known illegal dumps sites. Seen here are maps of Cobbs Creek.Frank Kummer
A dumping voucher
Rosemary Duarte, director of neighborhood impact services for the nonprofit North10 Philadelphia, believes there are solutions. The group works to improve the Hunting Park and East Tioga neighborhoods.
She said one dump in her neighborhoodgets cleaned by the city each Tuesday and is monitored by video cameras. Still, contractors and others sneak in at night.
North10 Philadelphia has a grant from the William Penn Foundation to give residents $120 vouchers for bulk-itemtrash taken to Burns Services in an effort to curb dumping. Burns has a 13-acre Hunting Park complex where demolition debris is sorted for resale to steel mills, building-materials makers, plastics plants, and other re-users.
So far this year, North10 Philadelphia has given out $10,000 worth of vouchers, Duarte said.
The group reaches illegal dumpers by posting signs at legacy locations that read “Please don’t dump here” and telling them how to reach out for vouchers.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said Thursday that the two prosecutors who accused DA Larry Krasner of encouraging them to act unethically in a controversial appellate case did so in a court filing that was both unauthorized and “ill-informed.”
In a court document filed late Thursday, written by Assistant District Attorney Thomas Gaeta and signed by Krasner, the office said prosecutors Katherine Ernst and Steven J. Wildberger acted inappropriately and without Krasner’s permission when they filed a brief Monday saying the office had a conflict in the appeal of Dennis Johnson, who is seeking to have his murder conviction overturned.
The office said it had taken steps to address all of the issues it saw with Johnson’s case, and that Ernst and Wildberger’s assertions were “ill-informed” and made without firsthand knowledge because they were no longer a part of the case.
The filing primarily focused on the steps the office took to ensure it was handling the case in a legal and ethical manner — and did not directly address the two prosecutors’ contentions that Krasner had asked them to “protect the office.”
In their filing Monday, Ernst and Wildberger said they tried to persuade Krasner to allow the state attorney general’s office to take over Johnson’s appeal after the prosecutor previously assigned to the case, Jaclyn Mason, recommended that his case be overturned — a recommendation the office later sought to reverse, saying Mason’s filing was full of false statements.
U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond then ordered a hearing on the matter. And in explosive testimony in federal court last week, Mason said she had sought to vacate Johnson’s conviction at the direction of her boss, Matt Stiegler — whom she accused of colluding with defense attorneys. Stiegler has said that was not the case.
Mason, who has since resigned, also said she was later told to lie about the case to minimize scrutiny of the office.
District Attorney Larry Krasner at a 2025 press conference. Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Ernst and Wildberger, who work in the law division of the DA’s office, said that as they were evaluating the case in the spring, they tried to encourage Krasner to refer the case to the state attorney general because of issues with how it was handled.
For example, they said, Stiegler, the supervisor who they believed had made mistakes while overseeing the case, was still offering legal advice about it from a different role in the office, which Ernst and Wildberger viewed as self-interested and “inappropriate” because of his potential interest in clearing his name rather than evaluating the case on its merits.
But Krasner’s office kept the case. And as they deliberated how to move forward, the two prosecutors wrote, Krasner told them “to litigate the case in a manner to ‘protect the office.’”
Then, in late June, Ernst and Wildberger wrote, they again asked Krasner to refer the matter to state prosecutors, but “DA Krasner stated that there would be ‘consequences’ for anyone who notified the court of the conflict issues.”
Ernst and Wildberger then filed a notice in federal court saying they believed the DA’s office was beset by conflicts and should not handle Johnson’s appeal.
Krasner’s team, in its first response to the matter this week, said that was not true.
Ernst and Wildberger, they said, were appropriately excluded from the case as soon as they disclosed a personal conflict with it, and did not have firsthand knowledge of the office’s discussions thereafter.
The prosecutors “are disqualified from filing or speaking on behalf of the Commonwealth” and were not authorized to file the “notice of conflict” or to speak for the office about the matter, they said.
Any discussions Ernst and Wildberger had with the office about the case are privileged conversations they should not be able to disclose, the DA’s filing said.
To remedy the issue, the office said, it has hired a new prosecutor to handle the case who has been walled off from the ongoing conversations. Assistant District Attorney Jean Peters-Baker, who recently joined the office and has spent more than 25 years as a prosecutor, will review Johnson’s case and decide if it has merit, the filing said.
Johnson was convicted of second-degree murder in 2009 in the shooting death of Kenyatta Smith during a robbery outside a North Philadelphia convenience store two years earlier. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Johnson appealed his conviction, in part because he said his trial attorney was ineffective. Mason filed court documents in 2022 agreeing with that assertion and saying Johnson’s conviction should be overturned.
But then, this spring, others in the office reviewed the case and took the opposite view.
Ernst and Wildberger said they were prepared to testify before Diamond about the situation. Others in the office are also expected to take the stand as the case proceeds.
The judge has not yet scheduled a date for testimony.
Tynan’s last day with the station will be Monday, Aug. 31.
At the end of the 6 p.m. Thursday newscast, Tynan publicly confirmed her plans.
“After more than 30 years at Action News, I will be retiring in a few weeks, and honestly, I’m thrilled about it,” Tynan, 57, said.
“This has been in the works for a while. I’ve been counting down here at the station. Both my children have graduated from high school. My daughter is going to college in less than a month, and she’ll be running cross country and track. And my husband and I, we plan to attend every single one of her meets. So it’s the right time for me. It’s the right time for my family, and I’m so very thankful,” Tynan said.
Responding to her announcement, anchor Brian Taff told Tynan: “You are a treasure, not just in this newsroom, of course, but among everybody out there watching who loves tuning in every night and feeling the comfort of having Cecily Tynan tell them what’s coming up.”
In a written statement, Tynan said she was “honored” to have been a key part of the Action News team, where she began as the station’s first-ever weekend meteorologist before becoming its first female chief meteorologist in 2009, replacing the retiring Dave Roberts.
“I’m proud of the work we’ve done and thankful to 6abc viewers for trusting me with their weather forecasts,” Tynan said, adding she plans to spend her winters “in Florida water skiing, traveling and having lots of quality time” with her family.
Tynan is a mainstay in Philly’s closely watched TV news ecosystem, spending much of her career alongside famed anchor Jim Gardner on the 11 p.m. edition of Action News before his retirement in 2022.
Cecily Tynan cleans a cab with former WIP host Howard Eskin during a fundraiser at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel in 1999.G.W. MILLER III / Philadelphia Daily News
She began at the station in 1995 as a weekend weather anchor and reporter, parlaying a two-year contract into a multidecade career that also included the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts and a prime spot on the station’s Thanksgiving Day parade coverage.
“From the moment she first walked off the elevator and joined Action News, Cecily has been a trusted voice for viewers, a leader in our newsroom, and one of the most talented broadcasters in Philadelphia,” John W. Morris, 6abc’s general manager, said in a statement. “Whether guiding us through storms or being part of our holiday traditions, Cecily has been a part of our lives for a long time.”
On Oct. 9 last year, Tynan celebrated her 30th anniversary in a social media post, recalling that she had originally planned to stay with the ABC network’s Philadelphia station for three years.
“That’s what happens when you find your ‘home,’ where your co-workers evolve into some of your closest friends,” Tynan wrote.
“If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!” she added.
Prior to landing in Philly, the Connecticut native made stops in Las Vegas and Roanoke, Va. She also previously hosted the public affairs show Primetime Weekend.
“As much as our viewers are going to miss her, we will miss her even more,” Morris said.
While Action News has been known for its stability, Philly’s most-watched news broadcast has said goodbye to a few notable people recently. Fellow meteorologist Chris Sowers left the station in 2024 to join the ABC affiliate in West Palm Beach, longtime general manager Bernie Prazenica retired in 2025, and Tom Davis, the station’s former vice president and news director, departed in March.
There have also been a few departures on the sports side, including reporters Gabriella Galati, Jeff Skversky, and Jamie Apody. Both Skversky and Apody later landed at Fox 29.
The station hasn’t yet announced Tynan’s replacement. Among the candidates are 6abc veterans Karen Rogers, Adam Joseph, and Brittany Boyer.
A Center City dentist is reopening her practice this week after correcting infection-control lapses that health inspectors say put patients at risk of HIV and other communicable diseases.
Kirti Chopra’s license was temporarily suspended in May after an inspection by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health found she was not following sterilization protocol.
She was ordered to temporarily close her practice, Smiles at Rittenhouse Square, located at 255 S. 17th St., Suite 2507. The practice is also known as Smiles on the Square.
The Pennsylvania Board of Dentistry reinstated her license under probation earlier this month after she agreed to four years’ probation anda $10,000 civil fine, plus about $4,400 in fees to cover the cost of the investigation.
Chopra told The Inquirer she resumed seeing patients on Thursday.
Chopra also hired a consultant to oversee infection-control improvements, including new policies for storing sterile supplies and staff training on sanitation protocol.
“I will work tirelessly to rebuild trust with my patients and demonstrate accountability,” Chopra said in a statement.
She said she was “deeply sorry” to her patients and grateful to the health department for working with her to reopen.
Sterilization problems lead to shutdown
The Philadelphia health department said Thursday its recommendations had been “satisfactorily implemented.”
“We are not opposed to the practice reopening, subject to continued compliance with their agreement with the state,” James Garrow, deputy health commissioner, said in a statement.
In March, the health department had cited the clinic for reusing saline bags and a vial of septocaine, a local anesthetic, that were supposed to be thrown out after having been used on a patient.
During its investigation, the Pennsylvania Board of Dentistry did not find evidence the partially used vial of septocaine had been reused with another patient.
Reusing these types of single-use medical supplies can expose patients to HIV, hepatitis C, hepatitis B, and other diseases that are transmitted through blood or saliva.
She was ordered to shut down the practice in May, when the Pennsylvania Department of State temporarily suspended her license pending an investigation by the dentistry board.
The Philadelphia health department in May issued a public notice urging Chopra’s patients to get tested for HIV, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B.
Reopening with safety improvements
In an interview with The Inquirer, Chopra said she began addressing the health department’s concerns immediately after the March citation.
She overhauled sanitation policies, set up new procedures to ensure used dental tools are kept separate from sterile instruments, and purchased a new ultrasonic cleaner. The independent consultant she hired to oversee that work will conduct quarterly inspections, she said.
“The goal is to not look at the past but outlook at the future, and the future is to provide quality care to my patients,” Chopra said. “This is the most humbling experience of my life, and I’ve learned my lesson the hard way.”
Chopra has been licensed to practice dentistry in Pennsylvania since 2021 and purchased her Rittenhouse Square practice in April 2025.
Staff were trained on the new protocols and equipment, and Chopra plans to work with Learn2Prevent, a dental compliance and education company, to provide annual infection-control training.
Under her agreement with the Pennsylvania Board of Dentistry, Chopra’s practice will be monitored for infection-control safety and is subject to unannounced inspections.
A Philadelphia man has been charged with fatally gunning down another man three years ago on a North Philadelphia street, authorities said Thursday.
A grand jury on Wednesday indicted Richard Pridgen, 21, on charges of murder, attempted murder, and related crimes for the 2023 shooting death of George Smith, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
The case marks the third time state prosecutors have charged Pridgen with murder. He is currently serving a 17-year federal prison sentence for a separate crime.
In a news release Thursday, state prosecutors said Pridgen is a member of the “Backblock” gang, a violent North Philadelphia group that has been at the center of joint investigations by the attorney general’s office, the Philadelphia Police Department, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for years.
Just before midnight on April 22, 2023, two people attacked Smith, 27, in the 2400 block of North 17th Street, state prosecutors said. Surveillance cameras captured the killing, and showed one of the men — whom state prosecutors identified as Pridgen — firing multiple shots into Smith’s body before fleeing in a vehicle driven by a third person.
That vehicle, state prosecutors said, had been stolen at gunpoint the day before in the 2500 block of East Monmouth Street, less than four miles away.
The two other homicides Pridgen is accused of committing also occurred in 2023 in Philadelphia, state prosecutors said.
In one case, Pridgen is accused of shooting Hassan German, 31, and another man, who survived, on May 24, 2023, at the intersection of North Gratz Street and Susquehanna Avenue in North Philadelphia. The details of the other case were not immediately available on Thursday.
“There are public dangers, and then there is Richard Pridgen — for whom killing, stealing, and harming people is a way of life,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said in the news release.
Pridgen has pleaded not guilty in both prior murder cases.
A spokesperson for the Defender Association of Philadelphia, which is representing Pridgen in those cases, declined to comment.
In February, Pridgen was convicted in federal court of two carjackings and sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison.
In the carjackings — which also took place in 2023 in Philadelphia — Pridgen robbed two men of their vehicles at gunpoint, federal prosecutors said. Neither man was injured.
