This week’s edition of Shackamaxon covers SEPTA’s New Bus Network, an upset victory in Western Pennsylvania, and Center City’s creepy clown.
A sign with a “Frequent Red” designation is posted at a South Philadelphia bus stop on Thursday. Some SEPTA bus routes are changing Aug. 23 with the launch of the New Bus Network program.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Quiet revolution
Philadelphia has changed over the years, yet the city’s bus lines have mostly remained the same. Some of them are even based on routes that were once traversed by horse-drawn streetcars.
The dated nature of these routes has started to take a toll. In the 2010s, bus ridership in Philadelphia declined. In fall 2014, Philadelphians took an average of 505,004 bus trips each weekday. By fall 2019, before any pandemic-induced declines, that number had fallen to 436,109. This made providing bus service less financially viable.
In 2016, each bus trip cost SEPTA $3.44. With fares set at $2.25, riders paid most of the costs of service. Today, the fare is $2.90, but each bus trip costs SEPTA $6.90 — which is an improvement over the last few years, when costs have ranged from $7.19 to $11.32. Still, each ride is now largely subsidized by taxpayers. Given political realities and SEPTA’s deep capital needs, that’s not sustainable.
This meant that it was time for some changes — never an easy task for Philadelphians.
Because SEPTA’s fiscal sponsors were unwilling to invest more money in bus service, SEPTA was tasked with finding more riders without increasing the number of buses, bus operators, or bus depots. This meant cuts needed to be made to facilitate investments elsewhere while ensuring there were no disparate impacts on lower-income communities.
On Monday, those changes will begin to take effect. The new Routes 72 and 76 will debut, providing crucial crosstown service. The 35, 47M, 62, 78, 89, and 106 will be discontinued.
Although I sympathize with anyone who is losing their preferred bus route, these choices were not made without justification. In the case of the 47M and 89, some at SEPTA have been seeking their cancellation for ages.
The 47M exists to distinguish the route from the regular 47, which travels down Seventh and Eighth Streets rather than Ninth. While the Ninth Street Market is an important destination, double-parked trucks making deliveries, double-parked customers picking up orders, and food stalls crowding the streetscape all make staying on time a difficult proposition. As for the 89 — which loops around parts of Juniata, Port Richmond, South Kensington, and Harrowgate — it takes nearly an hour to complete a route that takes 12 minutes on the El.
These changes, to many riders, feel like cuts. This is an understandable response. In fact, SEPTA seems to have dropped the more ambitious-sounding Bus Revolution moniker in favor of the blander New Bus Network in response.
But unlike last fall’s reductions over budget concerns, there won’t be fewer buses overall. The resources formerly used by the canceled routes will shift elsewhere. Importantly, frequency will increase across many routes. Including the regular 47. More and more transit experts are advising agencies to prioritize frequency and reliability in order to grow ridership.
There will undoubtedly be some hiccups, despite SEPTA’s extensive attempts at communicating these changes. But whatever name you use, when it comes to the long-term health of the system, change is a step in the right direction.
Voters walk past a sign pointing them to the polling location in Cranberry Township, Pa. Democrat Brandon Dukes won Tuesday’s special election in a district Donald Trump won by 18 points in 2024.Keith Srakocic
Blue Cranberry
Pennsylvania’s 12th Legislative District, which includes Cranberry Township, used to be represented by Daryl Metcalfe. The commonwealth’s most infamous right-wing lawmaker once invited a white supremacist to testify at a legislative hearing, made bizarre homophobic remarks to a fellow lawmaker, and blocked dozens of bills for no reason other than their sponsor.
After this week’s special election, it appears the Butler County district, which voted for Donald Trump by 18 points, will now be represented by a Democrat.
While provisional ballots have yet to be counted, Democratic candidate Brandon Dukes currently holds an 88-vote lead over Republican Scott Timko. The two will face off again in November.
For House Democrats, this win represents some desperately needed breathing room. While a small cohort of Republicans, many of them representing Southeastern Pennsylvania, have occasionally voted with the Democrats, the one-vote majority they’ve held for most of the last four years makes any defection costly.
For Republicans, it should be taken as a warning sign. Right now, four congressional races are expected to be competitive, along with five races in the Pennsylvania Senate. If Democrats are overcoming 18-point margins, then Republicans may be vulnerable in more districts than anyone expected.
Police are searching for a man in a “Chucky” style horror mask who is harassing Center City pedestrians.Philadelphia Police Department
Clown time is over
No matter how Philadelphia changes, the city seems unable to shake its tradition of men behaving bizarrely in public. From the “Swiss cheese” guy to Pukemon, and now a masked clown creeper.
This time around, however, the city has found a champion who faced the danger and won.
Jameka Wilson was on her way to SoulCycle early Wednesday morning near City Hall when she noticed a man wearing a Chucky doll-style horror mask stalking another woman, whom she tried to warn. As she toldGood Day Philadelphia, when the man later approached her, laughing menacingly, Wilson stood her ground.
She said she remained calm, turned around to face the man, squared up, and then landed a high kick directly to his chest. She even demonstrated her technique on Fox29 anchor Mike Jerrick, who volunteered for the task. Wilson advised other people who are concerned about the figure to avoid headphones and stay alert as they walk around.
Wilson’s actions, and wise advice, have made her a genuine civic hero. Hopefully the Phillies and Sixers will soon come calling so she can throw out the first pitch, ring the bell, and get some love from grateful Philadelphians.
For years, Graduate Hospital — the Center City neighborhood roughly bounded by South Street and Washington Avenue, and Broad Street and the Schuylkill — has been sorely lacking in places to stop in for a snack, pastry, or ice cream cone.
It didn’t seem to matter: Rittenhouse was so close that residents’ desires for little treats were generally met by walking a couple blocks north, where “little treats,” the culture of which has been surging worldwide, abound. On the 200 block of 20th Street alone, between Walnut and Spruce, you’ll find 1-900-Ice-Cream, which opened in 2022 and sees relentless lines down the block; All Aboard Candy, which opened last year and is one of two places you can buy adorable gummy candies; and Biederman’s, a seafood-centric “appetizing” shop that opened earlier this year.
Now, Grad Hospital is seeing its own treat boom. In recent months, the neighborhood has seen an influx of treat sellers that shows no sign of stopping.
The openings have been concentrated on South Street between 15th and 17th Streets, but other parts of the neighborhood are changing as well.
Winners Ice Cream, Ange Branca’s jacket potato and creamsicle-driven operation Mod Spuds, Sandpiper Cafe (where you can get trendy matcha lattes), and Sweet Mousse (which sells even fancier beverages and mousse cakes) all opened within two blocks of one another on South Street between May and July this year. They are all Asian-owned — a notable aspect of little treat culture, as Asian flavors like matcha and ube have been extremely popular at little treat retailers. (Demand for both ingredients has been so high, both have seen global supply chain shortages.)
The market for little treats, also known as treatonomics, is propelled by Gen Z but not at all restricted to that generation, as spending on “pick-me-ups” generally increases in recessions and in uncertain economic conditions, economists have found.
Cookies and cream dream in a waffle cone at Winners Ice Cream in Graduate Hospital.Kiki Aranita
The Grad Hospital boom is powered by nimble operators with no need for the ventilation systems required at most full-service restaurants. Thus, they are able to launch after footing comparatively light construction costs.
“We’re two months in and it’s been awesome,” said Anh Nguyen, the owner of Winners. “Many are saying Grad Hospital needed an ice cream shop, so I’m happy we opened here.”
Nguyen’s clientele consists mostly of neighborhood residents and families. He hopes to attract more customers from outside the area. “My aim is to win the block, then win the city. I love being the neighborhood ice cream parlor — somewhere for families to go celebrate and make memories.”
Though Nguyen currently lives in Roxborough, he hopes to move. “I’ve fallen in love with Grad Hospital since being here and everyone I’ve met has been so welcoming and encouraging.”
The dark chocolate banana mousse cake from Sweet Mousse in Graduate Hospital.Kiki Aranita / Staff /
Little treats are massively impacting a neighborhood that, until this year, was stalled in gentrification. Once primarily home to working-class Black residents, Grad Hospital fell into disrepair when the manufacturing industry declined in Philadelphia. The neighborhood gentrified rapidly between the late 1990s and early 2010s due to city tax abatements and proximity to University City and Center City. According to a study by Pew Charitable Trusts, Graduate Hospital experienced the most dramatic changes in racial composition in Philadelphia in the early aughts: “[Graduate Hospital’s] total Black population fell from 7,793 in 2000 to 3,450 in 2014. During the same period, the number of white residents more than tripled in the neighborhood.”
The wave of redevelopment, new construction, and gentrification brought comparatively few small businesses and restaurants. Unlike South Philly and Fishtown, Grad Hospital has no established restaurant corridor.
A Malaysian spud from Mod Spuds.Courtesy of Mod Spuds
“Mod Spuds [on the 1400 block of South Street] needed a place that is a fine balance between good traffic, neighborhood-y, and affordable,” said Branca, who said that the location was perfect despite (or even because of) being a “less desirable block.” Its limited kitchen space, which does not allow for an exhaust hood, kept her rent down. It was only after Mod Spuds opened that Branca realized she was right on Grad Hospital residents’ commute home from jobs in Center City.
The neighborhood has also beckoned “empanada queen” Jezabel Careaga, who had left as a business owner, but not as a resident, in 2018. Technically, Careaga’s original Argentine bakery, Jezabel’s, was in Fitler Square, but now she is reopening it at 617 S. 24th St., right on the cusp of Grad Hospital. Careaga’s empanadas and alfajores helped define Philly’s little treat scene long before the culture acquired its tagline.
“Graduate Hospital has changed so much since I first came to this neighborhood, but what is really special to me is seeing the generations grow up here,” said Careaga, who has lived in the neighborhood since 2010. “It feels like I’m creating a little piece of the memory I had with my grandmother, right here in my own neighborhood.”
Assorted dishes from Jezabel Careaga, including empanadas, medialunas, escabeche, ricotta cake, facturas, olive oil crackers and preserved lemon labneh.Lucas Careaga / Innprodev Agency
The same children who would stop at her bakery after school are now grown up — some have even asked her for jobs. “And now I’m seeing them with children of their own, stopping by our bake sales with their little ones,” said Careaga. “It makes me so happy to think that the traditions we started years ago can continue with another generation.”
An Outdoorsy reader named Bill Moore was searching for scenic trails around Media for his church group of middle-aged and senior adults. So I checked in with my colleagues on The Inquirer’s Greater Media desk, and they gladly took on the challenge, narrowing down 10 suggestions that are suitable for every skill level.
Here’s a preview:
🌳 Tyler Arboretum boasts 17 miles of hiking trails, including the 1.07-mile paved Scenic Loop (stroller, wheelchair accessible). Some more rugged experiences like the 7.9-mile Minshall Trail will take about four hours to complete, and gains nearly 1,000 feet in elevation.
🐦 Hildacy Preserve spans 55 acres of meadows that draw a number of bird species to gawk at while you hike. The Hildacy Preserve Loop clocks in at 1.8 miles and is considered easy. All paths are unpaved.
🌊 Newlin Grist Mill is a historic property featuring 8.5 miles across seven trails, some which wander along or cross the water (pictured above). It’s free to enter.
Upper Darby residents are rallying to save the “Mozino Forest” from mixed-use development plans. Locals have long used the private, unmaintained forested land to walk, hike, and commune with nature.
A “historic” El Niño developing in the Pacific Ocean could mean a gentler Atlantic hurricane season, and maybe less risk of flooding in Philadelphia.
Now that FIFA Fan Fest has come and gone, Lemon Hill’s caretakers fear the city’s $4 million in park upgrades won’t include the long-term maintenance funding they’ve long asked for.
The hazy skies may have mostly cleared, but wildfire season is far from over. Approximately 17.5 million acres of land have burned so far this year across the United States and Canada combined.
🍄🟫 Your outdoorsy experience
Shoutout to Outdoorsy reader Barbara B., who spotted this cool-looking (and humongous) wild fungus:
It’s quite large! Bigger than my head for sure. Appeared on the base of a weeping cherry tree after the recent rains at Ashbridge Park in Lower Merion.
Thanks for sharing!
If you’re into mushroom-curious, check out Jason Nark’s story about the Pennsylvania woman who wants to demystify mycology: “When it comes to wild mushroom foraging, Barbora Batokova has a simple rule for beginners: learn what can kill you, then go have fun.”
What are you doing or seeing out there?Send me an email with any recent or past happenings (plus pictures, if you have them). You may see it featured here.
🎤 Here’s Terri Akman with a report for The Inquirer on Shore gardeners’ efforts to plant native vegetation.
Virginia Rettig’s garden is her passion.
The 60-foot-by-100-foot plot on her Cape May property boasts about 200 varieties of native plants, which she estimates have drawn roughly 135 wildlife species. Monarch butterflies, hummingbirds, cardinals, gray catbirds, moths, and a host of other creatures suck nectar from her flowers and drink water from the small waterfall that flows into a pond.
Once she even saw a black-billed cuckoo, a rarity in Cape May.
“During spring and fall migration, millions of birds fly through Cape May County, and every blade of vegetation is critically important for them when they need to stop for food,” Rettig said.
Rettig owns Cape NativeScapes in Cape May. After a 30-year career in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, she is sharing her knowledge and passion for managing wildlife habitats by helping clients create native gardens.
She’s found plenty of customers who live at the Shore and want to help — not hinder — native species with their own landscaping choices. Nearly 80% of self-identified gardeners incorporate native plants into their outdoor spaces, according to gardening consumer research organization Simple Spring. And over a third dedicate a quarter to half of their garden to local flora. — Terri Akman
Loris Assadian, a viral French singer-songwriter and animal advocate known as Plumes, stopped by the Philadelphia Zoo this week with his signature flamingo-pink guitar to serenade the tortoises.
👋🏽 Until next time.
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In between his shifts as a guard at the State Correctional Institute at Chester, David Lemmon sent multiple child pornography videos to users on an encrypted messaging app, according to court documents obtained Thursday by The Inquirer.
After sending one video involving a girl that appeared to be between 5- and 7-years-old performing a sex act on an adult man, Lemmon, 45, bragged about his collection, the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest said.
“I have quite a bit I can share,” he told an unidentified person in a June 12 conversation.
Lemmon, of Clifton Heights, was charged last week with more than 100 counts of possessing and distributing child pornography after detectives in the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Arik Benari, whose law firm is representing Lemmon, declined to comment Thursday. Lemmon, who was freed after posting $10,000 bail after his arrest, did not respond to a request for comment.
The investigation into Lemmon began in March, after county detectives received the tip that an IP address connected to Lemmon’s email had uploaded a video to Snapchat of an adult man sexually assaulting a girl between 3 and 6-years-old, according to the affidavit.
Detectives served a search warrant on Lemmon’s cell phone in June, and found nearly 190 child pornography files on the device.
The warrant also showed Lemmon had been sending some of those files through Session, an end-to-end encrypted messaging application that detectives said is commonly used to share child pornography, the affidavit said.
Within those chat logs, Lemmon also discussed having sex with another user who told him she was 17, the affidavit said. Detectives noted that Lemmon “sent more [child pornography] than he was receiving.”
Maria A. Bivens, press secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, said Lemmon has not worked at SCI Chester since his arrest last week, and that the department is moving to suspend him.
Lemmon is scheduled to appear before a district judge for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 24.
In the early hours of a summer Sunday morning, vapors snuck out of an overfilled oil storage tank and snaked through the hulking Gulf Oil Refinery smeared along the Schuylkill in Southwest Philly.
What happened next was so destructive, and so deadly,it was assigned a chilling and haunting label: “Refinery Holocaust.”
The overfilled storage tank, which at the time was being filled from a Venezuelan tanker, contained more than 70,000 barrels when the fire started.
The explosion at the sprawling refinery Gulf called Girard Point drew a massive response from local fire departments.
Teams coated the oil-slicked flames with firefighting foam, and the six-alarm blaze was declared under control just before 9 a.m.
Eight hours later, a second explosion rocked the refinery, spreading to more storage tanks and sending racing flames through waist-deep pools of water mixed with oil and chemicals and engulfing a group of firefighters standing in those pools.
The second explosion elevated the inferno to 11 alarms.
Ruin and ashes
Under thick clouds of charcoal-gray smoke a day later, three Gulf employees steered a rowboat over the toxic pools to shut off a valve that was spewing liquid naphtha. The highly flammable chemical used in the refining process was fueling the last fire, and the last dangerous threat.
On Aug. 26, nine days after the escaped vapor silently swept through the refinery and ignited a blaze that wreaked $10 million (or more than $60 million today) in damage, the last of the flames were finally and fully extinguished.
The Daily News noted that the occasion was celebrated by those in attendance with cigars and watermelon.
Investigators ultimately concluded that inattentive employees had let the tanks overfill, and the buildup of flammable vapors ultimately led to the explosions. The city cited and fined the corporation for code violations.
Many large storage tanks, the refinery’s office building, and an assortment of pipelines and processing units were wiped out.
Six firefighters died at the scene, two others succumbed later to severe burns, and more than 30 were injured — two critically — in what is considered one of the deadliest days in the department’s history.
“The tanks, the line — maybe you can replace them,” Bill Zahner, then a Gulf fire safety man, told the Daily News in 1975, “but the bodies you just can’t replace.”
Blair Tonzelli was reported missing in February 2023.
Friends last saw her the year before at a house in Olney. That property is now the site of a sweeping police investigation into the disappearances of four women.
The Inquirer has found that months after Tonzelli vanished, her picture remained on a pornographic website maintained by Raymond “R.C.” Horsch, a former occupant of the Olney house, who passed away last year.
Inquirer reporters recovered an archived version of his site, where Horsch posted hundreds of similar images of many still-unidentified women.
One day early last week, Inquirer reporter Alfred Lubrano observed as 16 toddlers darted around a playground in Southwest Philadelphia, trailed by four teachers.
These were just a few of the estimated 7,500 low-income Philadelphia children who receive free education, health, or other services from Head Start.
Now, the 61-year-old federal program is poised for a major overhaul. The Trump administration plans to cut 1,400 of the program’s mandates.
Those changes would cause the number of students per teacher to rise “dramatically,” one Head Start provider told Lubrano.
Following his executive order earlier this week, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Pennsylvania now has the “strictest guardrails in the nation” on data center development. We fact-checked that claim.
Welcome back to Curious Philly Friday. This is our forum for readers to ask about the city’s quirks and then we report the answers.
This week, we’re resurfacing an explainer from 2023 about a towering brick structure in Queen Village. Several readers wondered what its original purpose was, and how it came to be nestled among a playground and rec center.
It turns out, this building was once among the tallest structures in Philadelphia, and its height was key to its initial function. Read on for the full story.
Cheers to Nancy Gatti who correctly guessed Thursday’s answer: The Scottish Rite. A chaotic debate has broken out in Collingswood over who should be paying for the historic theater.
Photo of the day
The Union blocks the free kick of Miami’s Lionel Messi during the second half of MSL action at Subaru Park in Chester on Wednesday. The game ended in a 2-2 tie.Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
Have a wonderful weekend, Philly! And if you or your kids are heading back to school on Monday, I hope you get to savor the final dregs of summer.
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.
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
What’s SEPTA’s name for its new bus route changes and updates?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
This weekend, the region’s transit agency will roll out the first phase of its New Bus Network, the bus system’s first significant update since the agency was formed in the 1960s. Once dubbed Bus Revolution, the project began in 2021 after transit agencies around the country saw massive declines in ridership. SEPTA’s Bus Revolution was set to launch in 2025 but faced significant community pushback and coincided with the state funding crisis that halted many planned transit initiatives. Two years after being shelved, a slimmed-down version of the plan has a new name and a new approach.
Question 2 of 10
In an interview with Kevin and Michael Bacon about their Philly roots, Kevin revealed he indulges in this treat, which he’ll snag at Wawa, every time he’s in town.
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
“I go to Wawa and get a Tastykake Jelly Krimpet,” Kevin said. “The secret to eating a Jelly Krimpet is you delicately peel back the cookie dough, and extract a jelly ball. You actually hold the jelly ball in your hand, and pop it in your mouth. And then you can eat the rest of it.”
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Question 3 of 10
A small town in this state will attempt to break Philly’s record for the world’s longest cheesesteak on Sunday:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The bad news: Lewiston, Idaho, is coming for Philly’s newly established “longest cheesesteak” world record. The good news: It’s an unofficial attempt — preserving Philly’s Guinness honor — and the proceeds are going to charity, which is kind of hard to bash.
Question 4 of 10
Viral French musician Plumes, known for serenading wild animals around the world, took his talents to the Philadelphia Zoo. When he first arrived in the city on Tuesday, he greeted these animals first with a tune:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
He visited the zoo Tuesday — after running up the Rocky steps — and serenaded the tortoises ahead of sessions on Thursday and Friday, where he played for other animals.
Question 5 of 10
Crossing Broad reported that this store was keeping LeBron James jerseys behind the counter to avoid theft. But store managers told The Inquirer that wasn’t the case:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
A representative from the Dick’s Sporting Goods corporate offices, located in Coraopolis, Pa., confirmed that no jerseys were reported stolen. Jerseys were initially kept behind the checkout to boost sales, but are in the process of being moved to the floor. Some stores already have them on the floor.
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What is being proposed to replace the current site of the Walnut Gardens beer garden on Walnut Street and the previous site of three historic buildings demolished after fire damage?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
The proposed building is a two-story retail site with a roof deck. The property is owned by the Gridmark Group, which was founded by Ari Weber, a Brooklyn-based real estate investor. The building is being designed by Philadelphia-based JKRP Architects. After Weber acquired the property, he said he eventually planned to build a 30-story apartment building on the site. Now he has decided that conditions are not favorable for such a large-scale project.
Question 7 of 10
This local journalist’s likeness is at the center of an ongoing catfishing scheme, emailing authors and other personalities about being interviewed on their show — for a fee:
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
A recent string of scams and catfish-style attempts, targeting stars and other media personalities, are using Philly’s own Terry Gross as the bait. Writer Bruce Vilanch says he was the latest victim. WHYY says it’s investigating.
Question 8 of 10
Philly is one of three finalist cities to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention. What are the other two?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
In addition to Philadelphia, the Democratic National Committee said it is also considering Denver and Boston on its narrowed short list of cities to hold the next presidential nominating convention. The announcement means that Atlanta and Chicago, which were on a previous list of five potential host cities, have been eliminated from contention.
Question 9 of 10
A new food vendor is replacing Poe’s at Human Robot’s Kensington and Brewerytown locations. Who is it?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Poe’s will be replaced by Cantina La Martina, the acclaimed Mexican restaurant from James Beard-nominated chef Dionicio Jimenez and his wife, Mariangeli Alicea Saez. The move is both an expansion of the couple’s relationship with Human Robot — Cantina La Martina has been serving brunch, tacos, and enchiladas at the brewer’s Jenkintown location since 2024 — and a homecoming.
Question 10 of 10
Which local university will, for the first time, require most freshmen students to live on campus for the 2027-28 school year?
CorrectIncorrect. XX% of other readers got this question right.
Temple University will require freshmen under the age of 21 to live on campus, with certain exceptions for students living locally with parents or guardians and others facing financial hardship. The university’s decision comes as the school makes an effort to improve the first-year experience and stem a declining retention rate. It’s a significant change for a university that for much of its history was largely a commuter school and only transitioned to a major research university with an on-campus living community in recent decades.
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Two days of joint practices with the New England Patriots offered the Eagles the best barometer they will get during this training camp to see where they stand.
Don’t expect to see many regulars when the teams collide again Saturday night for preseason game No. 2. The Eagles rested most of their starters in their preseason opener in Baltimore and likely will do the same again.
Still, roster spots and places on the depth chart are up for grabs. With that in mind, here are the players and positions we’ll be watching closely on Saturday night:
Who gets the start, Andy Dalton or Tanner McKee? The competition for the No. 2 spot behind Jalen Hurts is ongoing, Nick Sirianni says, but Dalton appears to be the leader for the time being, and the Eagles said as much by starting him in their first preseason game.
That being said, Dalton wasn’t very impressive playing alongside his fellow backups trying to execute a toned-down version of Sean Mannion’s playbook. Neither was McKee.
Will Andy Dalton get a second straight preseason start for the Eagles?David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Can the offense — and the quarterbacks — show a little more life on Saturday?
The Eagles don’t want to put too much of their offense on film, but they do want to make one of their backup candidates attractive for a potential trade.
Rookie quarterback Cole Payton should again be the closer. He made some plays with his legs in his pro debut, but he has been turnover-prone during training camp, and while the Eagles like the excitement his athleticism offers, a more sound performance in the pocket and with his arm will be desired. That’s assuming the third-string offensive line can protect him.
It’s not as sexy as a quarterback battle, but the competition for the final spots on the offensive line is a good one.
It’s probably fair to assume eight spots are locked up by Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, Lane Johnson, Markel Bell, Fred Johnson, and Drew Kendall. But the most likely scenario is the Eagles keep 10 players here, and the final two spots are seemingly still available.
Willie Lampkin has come on strong in camp and performed well in his first preseason game. The undersized interior lineman played both center and guard and had some noticeable plays. Rookie guard Micah Morris, a sixth-round pick, may currently have the No. 10 spot and played 34 snaps (77%) in the first game. As did Jake Majors, who was on the practice squad last year and, like Lampkin, can play both center and guard.
Tyler Steen (left) and Micah Morris practice during a training camp drill.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Others are in the mix, too. The Eagles have been repping veteran tackle John Ojukwu at guard, but he’s unlikely to play after missing practices with a pectoral injury. Veteran guard Michael Jordan has NFL starting experience that the Eagles could value on their 53-man roster.
Myles Hinton, meanwhile, has struggled in his transition from tackle to guard in his second NFL training camp. He had a rough joint practice session Wednesday and was beaten badly in most of his one-on-one reps.
Cooper played 29 snaps in the first preseason game, eight more than the next wide receiver on the list (Quez Watkins). It was fair to expect a little less run from the second-year camp standout, who has taken advantage of the absences of DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon during team drills.
But Cooper has come back to earth a little bit. He made a few plays in the 24-7 loss to the Ravens, catching two passes for 21 yards, but he also had a drop on what would have been a first-down conversion.
Wide receiver Darius Cooper can make a persuasive bid for a roster spot on Saturday. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Did the Eagles reveal with their usage that Elijah Moore (7 snaps) is above Cooper on the depth chart? It’s probably a little unfair and unwise to read that deeply into it, but Moore made a big play on a deep ball from Hurts during the joint session Wednesday, while Cooper was a little less visible.
Cooper’s job seems safe for now, but a strong showing Saturday can’t hurt.
Mac McWilliams and Kelee Ringo
Speaking of players who have been up and down of late, McWilliams played most of the game in Baltimore, logging 65 snaps (81%). Pro Football Focus had him allowing four catches on four targets for 37 yards and a 105.2 passer rating against. He also had two penalties.
It seems like the competition for the depth spots at corner is still ongoing. The first four spots on the depth chart are set with Quinyon Mitchell and Riq Woolen on the outside, Cooper DeJean at nickel, and Jonathan Jones as the primary backup. But Jones has missed time with a shoulder injury, and behind him the Eagles are looking for more consistency.
Cornerback Mac McWilliams (left) could use a better showing on Saturday that what he displayed in Baltimore. David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
McWilliams has gotten first-team reps recently, and he seems to be ahead of Ringo, but Vic Fangio seemed to sort of challenge Ringo earlier this week when he said he had a sense that Ringo “could be coming.”
“He’s been everybody’s piñata doll for a while,” Fangio quipped.
The Ringo experience was on full display in Baltimore. He was beat for a touchdown and also had an interception. Ringo has been a primary special teamer and a good one, but he may need the Eagles to willingly keep six cornerbacks in order to make the team. And with Michael Carter II, a safety, in line to play backup nickel and be on the field in dime packages, it’s a bit unnecessary to keep a sixth corner unless that player gives you reason to.
Elsewhere in the corner competition, Jakorian Bennett’s knee injury in Baltimore may make it tough for him to get back in the mix. But time will tell.
Uar Bernard and Joshua Weru
The “exchange students,” as Fangio calls them, will suit up for their second padded football game of their lives. They had some moments in Baltimore, especially Weru, who had a quarterback hit and looked the part of a speedy edge rusher.
Weru played 30 snaps (38%) while Bernard played 15 (19%).
Joshua Weru (46) has had some eye-opening moments for a guy whose football experience is limited. Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Both have taken strides in their first NFL training camp, but as Fangio says, “they’ve got a long way to go.”
Still, the Eagles will be faced with some difficult decisions on their roster statuses when it’s time to cut down to 53 on Aug. 30.
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, N.J. — Taxidermy and weathered photos line the walls at Higbee’s Bait and Tackle in Fortescue, artifacts from bygone days when the sleepy Delaware Bay town was truly the “weakfish capital of the world.”
The taxidermy is a dusty, 12-pound “tide runner,” the nickname fishermen bestow on the biggest, trophy weakfish, a member of the drum family with a tan, often iridescent body and a reputation for fighting hard on a fishing line. The black-and-white photo shows a single fisherman standing beside his catch, about 30 weakfish of various sizes.
Tide runners are unicorns today, a rarity on New Jersey coasts and across the bay, in Delaware. Catch limits enacted by state fisheries would prevent a single fisherman from catching dozens of fish today, though most would be happy with one legal keeper they could fry up in lemon and butter.
Fishermen have plenty of theories about where all the weakfish have gone. They blame dolphins and dogfish for gobbling up the young; nuclear power plants; the rise of other popular game fish, like striped bass; and offshore seafood trawlers.
Some are introspective.
“I’ll be real honest. It’s us. Back in the day, in the ’80s, we fished these things so hard,” said Mike Rothman, captain of the Bonanza II, a 65-foot charter boat out of Fortescue. “We did it to ourselves, and I’m the first one that — 100% — we did this to ourselves.”
A weakfish hangs on the wall of Higbee’s Bait and Tackle located at the Higbee Marina on Monday, Aug., 3, 2026. Once known as the “Weakfish capital of the world,” locals are curious where the fish has gone.Tim Hawk / For The Inquirer
Jessica Gorzo, a scientist with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, who’s studied weakfish, said the population has been on the decline since the mid-2000s. She said the decline over those two decades is the result of natural mortality from predators, not fishing.
“The prevailing thought is the majority of predation is likely dolphins, offshore, in the winter. It’s estimated that 55% of the mortality can be attributed to dolphins,” Gorzo said. “Coming in second, a far second at 21%, is attributed to striped bass, but the dolphins are taking the lion’s share.”
Like all things under the sea, however, there’s a degree of mystery involved in spawning stock estimates. Gorzo said weakfish spawning stock estimates, in 2017, were 1,922 metric tons, which was a low number.
“To have a healthy weakfish population, the spawning stock threshold would be 6,170 metric tons,” she said.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act protects dolphins, and most fishermen and beachgoers agree their populations have grown along the Jersey coast in the summer for decades.
“More than ever,” said Joseph LoBianco, owner of Cape May Bait & Tackle. “When I go out on the Delaware Bay, I see them year-round. They are here all the time, and they’re eating a lot of the smaller fish.”
‘I would’ve released all those tide runners’
In 2010, New Jersey tightened weakfish regulations, allowing fishermen to keep just one fish, 13 inches or longer, per day, but many said it was too late to stop the population free fall.
“Back in the day, you were allowed to keep 15 fish per fisherman,” Rothman said.
Mike Rothman looks at a picture of weakfish, from 1920, that hangs on the wall of Higbee’s Bait and Tackle located at the Higbee Marina, Monday, Aug., 3, 2026. Once known as the “weakfish capital of the world,” locals are curious where the fish has gone.Tim Hawk / For The Inquirer
Gorzo said tight regulations on weakfish should result in a comeback. That’s what happened with striped bass, arguably the most popular sport fish along the Jersey Shore, a species that seems more abundant today than it was decades ago.
“Striped bass do seem to be doing really well,” she said.
Striped bass are also voracious and grow large enough to swallow bigger weakfish.
“They are the vacuum cleaners of the ocean,” Rothman said of striped bass.
In May, Gorzo appeared on the Finnsylvania podcast to discuss the decline of weakfish. The episode was titled “The Ghosts of Cape May,” another longtime weakfish destination for anglers. Host James Suleski reminisced about catching them during childhood summers there.
“They were just so abundant,” Suleski said.
Suleski, in his podcast, described the population collapse as one of the biggest mysteries in marine biology.
Around the same time the episode was released, avid fisherman Frank Ruczynski posted on Facebook, reminiscing about Fortescue’s claim to be the “weakfish capital of the world.” It received close to 700 likes and 200 comments, many of which discussed theories or dismissed the issue.
“They are probably cyclical like many species,” one man wrote.
Another said you could almost walk across the backs of weakfish in the bay at one time.
“If I would’ve known, I would’ve released all those tide runners,” another wrote.
Weakfish caught by New Jersey angler Frank Ruczynski.Frank Ruczynski
Ruczynski, who also works for NJDEP, said 2026 was especially bad for him.
“Overall, I think it’s a mix of 100 different things going on,” he said in May, in Fortescue. “They just disappeared. It’s a shell of what we had here, back in the day.”
Ruczynski said he’s followed weakfish north, up into Cape May County and even into New York, and he wondered whether water temperatures were prompting the species to move. He said he received a message from a man in Portugal — straight east from New Jersey — who claimed that he caught a weakfish there.
Weakfish caught by New Jersey angler Frank Ruczynski.Frank Ruczynski
Rothman, the mayor of Downe Township, which includes Fortescue, said he can take customers out and still catch weakfish, but he relies on other species, or whale and dolphin sightseeing, and even dinner cruises, for the bulk of his business.
“I’m in the entertainment business these days,” he said.
Fortescue has never been bustling as far as Shore towns go. There are no traffic lights, few businesses, and plenty of biting greenhead flies. Fishermen will always go there, but the loss of the weakfish gives it a bit of a ghost-town feel at times.
“We had a world-class fishery here, right in our backyard,” Ruczynski said.
Across the road from Rothman’s boat, at the tackle shop, owner Cliff Higbee Sr. said there were far larger weakfish in the Delaware Bay than the taxidermy on his wall.
“We had 16-, 17-pounders in here,” he said. “Used to at least.”
Higbee isn’t waiting for the tide runners to return, though. The family tackle shop is for sale for just under $400,000.
Cliff Higbee Sr. owner of Higbee’s Bait and Tackle located at the Higbee Marina, talks about the lack of weakfish, Monday, Aug., 3, 2026. Once known as the “Weakfish capital of the world,” locals are curious where the fish has gone.Tim Hawk / For The Inquirer
Some Philly athletes are household names, and there are some who should be. It’s the latter we hoped to explore when we created The Inquirer’s inaugural list of the 25 top athletes in Philly under 25.
Listen, it’s like Pokémon: You can’t catch them all, but we think you’ll find this list pretty robust across not just sports but levels of sport. From top pro athletes like Cooper DeJean to rising up-and-comers like women’s boxing sensation Natalie Dove, this is a good look at the young athletes to keep a close eye on as their careers are just beginning.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and New England Patriots wide receiver A.J. Brown meet at the end of joint practices on Thursday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
The Eagles held the 14th open practice of their 2026 training camp on Thursday, the second of two joint practices with the Patriots in Foxborough, Mass. Eagles reporter Jeff McLane was there to give his latest observations along with others from the start of camp.
Bryson Stott “can do everything. He’s one of the best gloves we have,” said Luis Arraez.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
No matter where he is on the infield, Bryson Stott is only thinking about one thing.
It could be second base, where he started the season, or third, where he’s been playing since the trade deadline. But even back in college and the minor leagues, when Stott was primarily a shortstop, he was only focused on catching and throwing.
“Still an infielder, still on the dirt,” Stott said. “So, just catching and throwing it.”
Next: The Phillies open a home series against St. Louis at 6:40 tonight (NBCSP). Jesús Luzardo (11-5, 3.23 ERA) will start for the Phillies. The Cardinals have not announced their starter yet.
Players like 18-year-old defender Neil Pierre has three goals in the last five matches for the Union.Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
After Wednesday night’s 2-2 Union draw with Inter Miami, much of the conversation has centered on the melee sparked by Miami’s Ian Fray and his stoppage-time confrontation with Quinn Sullivan. And rightfully so.
But what that fracas overshadowed was just how much the Union’s young guns are stepping up to the challenge — and it’s not just Cavan Sullivan. Now, in a push for the MLS playoffs, it’s very possible that members of the Union’s supporting cast could become the main attraction.
On this date
Aug. 21, 2008: Delran native Carli Lloyd scored the game-winner in extra time to lead the United States women’s soccer team to gold medal glory at the Summer Games in Beijing, China.
The Phillie Phanatic hugs Joe Girardi before the start of the All-American Perfect Game in Philadelphia last Sunday.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
Each Friday, Inquirer photo editors will pick our best shots from the last seven days and share them with you, our readers. This week, photos include a showdown for the ages at Subaru Park, baseball from the site of an Iowa cornfield, some choice shots from the Eagles’ first preseason game and more. Enjoy.
Former pitcher Steve Ontiveros would become the first Phillies hurler to return from Tommy John surgery.Elwood P. Smith/Daily News via newspapers.com
“It gave me longevity. That was good. That wouldn’t have happened otherwise. I’d have been done. It gave me an opportunity to continue my career. It’s just unfortunate that there weren’t that many people ahead of me.” — Former pitcher Steve Ontiveros, the first Phillies player to return from Tommy John surgery, as told to columnist Mike Sielski.
We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from Lochlahn March, Kerith Gabriel, Mike Sielski, Isabella DiAmore, Jeff McLane, Conor Smith, The Inquirer Sports Staff, and The Inquirer’s photography staff.
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.
That’s our week. We’ll be back on Monday to get your week off right. Enjoy your weekend, watching the Phils, Union, and the Birds duke it out. — Kerith
