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Tag: Philadelphia International Airport

  • A Philly man is deported to London. He was arrested by ICE last month while attempting to fly home from a business trip.

    A Philly man is deported to London. He was arrested by ICE last month while attempting to fly home from a business trip.

    A Philadelphia man who thought he was waiting for approval of a green card was deported to London on Wednesday night, his wife said, removed a month after being arrested by ICE at a California airport.

    Michael “Sandy” Sims, 42, had flown to California in September for what was supposed to be a short business trip, but was stopped outside the San Jose airport when he arrived to fly back to Philadelphia. He was held at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Bakersfield, Calif.

    His wife, Jennifer Sims, 46, an American citizen, said Thursday that she had spoken to her husband, who was safe and in England. He was deported days before a scheduled Oct. 8 bond hearing that the couple had hoped would free him from detention.

    Jennifer Sims said she and her husband were now trying to figure out the next steps for their future.

    The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that Sims was “a criminal illegal alien” who on Wednesday was lawfully deported to the United Kingdom.

    “This administration will not ignore the rule of law,” the department said in a statement.

    Sims’ Sept. 2 arrest came as American airports have become risky places for foreigners, even those who are here legally.

    Asian Americans United, which works to track airport arrests, estimates more than 20 people have been arrested at Philadelphia International Airport or while seeking to fly there since July 12. That includes at least 13 taken into custody at the Philadelphia airport itself.

    Sims, a veteran of the entertainment-lighting industry, was born in Ireland and raised in London. He had been expecting approval of a green card that he and his wife sought after they married in 2017.

    He told his wife that immigration agents had been waiting for him when his Lyft driver pulled up at the San Jose airport. He was confined at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, a 400-bed facility operated by the for-profit, Florida-based GEO Group.

    The Department of Homeland Security earlier said Sims had entered the country legally but overstayed his visa.

    “Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.,” DHS said in a statement. “Under President Trump and [Homeland Security] Secretary [Markwayne] Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences.”

    The department said earlier, and repeated on Thursday, that Sims faces a criminal charge of domestic battery in Nevada, where he lived at one time. DHS provided no further details and, along with ICE, did not respond to requests for information on what allegedly happened and when.

    In a search of Nevada court documents, The Inquirer could find no record of any criminal case against Sims. And Sims’ Philadelphia immigration lawyer said he had no knowledge of and could locate no record of such a case.

    His wife said he had never been charged with a crime.

    Sims’ family and friends started a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal expenses to try to free him from detention and pay related costs. As of Thursday they had raised nearly $21,000 of a $30,000 goal.

    Sims’ wife said he legally entered the U.S. on a work visa in 2016.

    When that expired, he was approved for entry under ESTA, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization. That is an online initiative the federal government uses to prescreen travelers before they visit the United States under the Visa Waiver Program.

    The waiver program allows citizens from 42 countries, including Ireland and the United Kingdom, to travel here for tourism or business for up to 90 days at a time.

    Jennifer Sims said after they wed, she filed Form I-130, the document required to prove a valid family relationship with a foreigner who wants to immigrate to the United States.

    That application, she said, was approved in March 2020 ― a key step toward a green card. Her husband had completed his biometrics appointment, where the government collects the applicant’s fingerprints, photograph, and digital signature, three months earlier, she said.

    The couple thought they were waiting for approval of his green card when he was arrested, Jennifer Sims said.

  • One of the gloomier Septembers on record in Philly has come to a merciful end

    One of the gloomier Septembers on record in Philly has come to a merciful end

    Given the remarkable gloominess of the last 30 days, it would be reasonable to believe that the sun had lost its will to shine.

    It is due to make a comeback by Thursday afternoon on the first day of a fresh month, but last month has entered the books as one of the wetter and cloudier Septembers in the period of available records.

    Ordinarily, the September sun is some consolation for what is a month of rapidly shrinking daylight hours and lengthening nights. Not this time.

    Officially, Philly had more than a half-foot of rain during a month when the daytime skies were more than 70% cloud-covered.

    “Not your typical September,” said Ray Martin, lead meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, who has his own hypothesis that includes an indirect connection with the burgeoning El Niño event in the equatorial Pacific.

    For some folks, the gloominess is more than an aesthetic issue: It can have deleterious effects on mood and overall well-being, mental health experts advise.

    “We’re losing daylight quite rapidly, and a stretch of cloudy weather like we’ve certainly had lately can make that change feel even more pronounced,” said Alan Jacobson, a psychologist practicing in Massachusetts and a specialist in seasonal affective disorder, known as SAD.

    What’s going on up there in the skies over Philly?

    Perhaps both the sun and moon, whose fullness last weekend also was obscured by the clouds, had spent so much time out of the public eye they developed a certain shyness.

    For the month, 18 days came close to or exceeded the criteria for “cloudy,” according to the weather service.

    Unfortunately, sky-cover records are wanting since the agency radically changed the observation protocols — replacing humans with a sky-scanning machine — in the mid-1990s.

    However, this September by far was the gloomiest since September of 2018, when close to 10 inches of rain was measured at Philadelphia International Airport. The 6.61 inches of September 2026 was the highest total since then.

    As to why it has been so cloudy: “We’ve definitely had a lot of systems move through, a lot of moisture,” Martin said.

    And why might that be?

    This has become the longest wait on record for the first hurricane of the season in the Atlantic basin, as the warming of waters in the equatorial Pacific has interacted with the atmosphere to generate powerful storm-shearing winds from the West. It is at least possible that what’s not happening in the Atlantic has been a factor in the clouds over Philly.

    “You could almost argue that the energy that normally would be expended in the tropics by hurricanes … maybe kind of worked its way north,” Martin said, but added: “That’s pure speculation.”

    Whatever the cause, the lack of sun has not been exactly an energizer.

    The effects of the lack of sunlight

    To feel enervated and melancholy at times as the days shorten is a sure sign of normality, Phyllis Zee, a circadian and sleep-medicine specialist with the Northwestern University Medical Center, has observed.

    The sunrise-to-sunset periods are shrinking by more than 2½ minutes daily in the Philadelphia region.

    Plus, the sun is losing radiative power daily, and clouds dilute whatever reaches the surface.

    Less light affects people in a variety of ways.

    “For some people, reduced light can affect sleep, energy, concentration, and mood,” Jacobson said.

    An estimated 5% of people experience serious symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, which is a form of depression, and 10% to 20% are affected by mild versions.

    For those who do not require clinical intervention, Jacobson and other specialists advise that an excellent remedy would be to spend time in the sun (assuming it returns), especially in the morning

    “Get outside and move your body daily,” said Tonya Ladipo, a Philadelphia therapist and founder of the Ladipo Group counseling service. “Even if it’s dark and cloudy, you’ll get some natural vitamin D in addition to the mood and energy boost that comes with being outside in fresh air.”

    The sun is due for a comeback

    And the sun is due to rule the day Friday, and it is at least possible it will show up Saturday and every day of the next workweek.

    But showers are possible Friday night and rain is looking likely Sunday, although conditions certainly should not approach anything like last weekend’s.

    At least that’s the forecast.

  • Delta is ending a route out of Philadelphia that it launched months ago

    Delta is ending a route out of Philadelphia that it launched months ago

    Delta Air Lines is cutting a route out of Philadelphia International Airport just months after launching it.

    The daily flight between Philadelphia and Seattle, which began operating in May, will stop flying at the end of November and will not be offered again in 2027.

    The airline made the decision “based on customer demand,” a Delta spokesperson said via email this week.

    American Airlines and Alaska Airlines also offer nonstop flights between PHL and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

    Delta last year carried nearly 1.9 million passengers through PHL, the airport’s third-largest airline by passenger volume.

    American Airlines, the largest, carried over 20 million passengers through the airport that year — roughly 70% of total passengers.

    PHL ranked last among peer airports for the sixth straight year in a JD Power customer survey

    While Delta is terminating service between PHL and Seattle, the airline plans to launch a new daily route between Philadelphia and Los Angeles in June. The airline already offers flights connecting Philadelphia to Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Salt Lake City.

    The airline recently modernized its PHL lounge with new furniture, carpets, and updated restrooms, as well as a larger buffet area. It’s one of many traveler lounges at the airport.

    Delta has over 700 employees based in Pennsylvania, many of which are based out of Philadelphia.

  • A business trip from Philly led to an ICE arrest at a California airport. Now a local man is in detention.

    A business trip from Philly led to an ICE arrest at a California airport. Now a local man is in detention.

    Michael “Sandy” Sims was supposed to be back in Philadelphia by now, after a business trip to the West Coast. Instead, he is locked up in an ICE detention center in California.

    Sims, 42, a veteran of the entertainment-lighting industry, told his wife that immigration agents were waiting for him when his Lyft driver pulled up at the San Jose airport early on Sept. 2.

    Sims was born in Ireland and raised in London, and had been expecting approval of a green card that he and his wife, an American citizen, sought after they married in 2017.

    Now he is in custody as U.S. airports become risky places for foreigners, amid an ICE push for ever-greater numbers of arrests.

    “It’s horrible,” said Sims’ wife, Jennifer, 46. “We thought we were waiting for a green card.”

    For so long, she said, the United States has been a beacon for people around the world who want to come, work, and contribute, to create better lives for their families. Now, she said, “the American dream is gone.”

    Sims is being held at the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center in Bakersfield, a 400-bed facility operated by the for-profit, Florida-based GEO Group.

    The advocacy organization Asian Americans United, which works to track airport arrests, said it estimates more than 20 people have been arrested at Philadelphia International Airport or while seeking to fly there since July 12. That includes at least 13 taken into custody at the Philadelphia airport itself.

    The Department of Homeland Security said Sims had entered the country legally but overstayed his visa.

    “Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.,” DHS said in a statement. “Under President Trump and [Homeland Security] Secretary [Markwayne] Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences.”

    The department said Sims faces a criminal charge of domestic battery in Nevada, where he lived at one time. DHS provided no further details and, along with ICE, did not respond to requests for information on what allegedly happened and when.

    In a search of Nevada court documents, The Inquirer could find no record of any criminal case against Sims. And Sims’ Philadelphia immigration lawyer, Hunter Yost, said he had no knowledge of and could locate no record of such a case.

    Jennifer Sims said her husband has never been charged with a crime.

    When she subsequently asked her husband about the government’s assertion that he had a pending criminal case, she said, he told her that when he was arrested and handcuffed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, one of the agents kept saying, “You’re a wife-beater,” and the other repeatedly said, “No, he’s not.”

    Jennifer Sims pictured with her husband, Michael “Sandy” Sims.Courtesy of the family

    Sims’ family and friends have started a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal expenses to free him from ICE detention and pay related costs, so far raising more than $20,000 of the $30,000 goal.

    Sandy Sims sent a note from detention that was posted there:

    “Hello to everyone from Dorm B Mesa Verde Detention Center,” he wrote. “Thank you one and all for your support. … I’m so grateful. Thank you all and I hope this situation will be over soon.”

    Sims’ wife said he legally entered the U.S. on a work visa in 2016. When that expired, he was subsequently approved for entry under ESTA, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization. That is an online initiative the federal government uses to prescreen travelers before they visit the United States under the Visa Waiver Program.

    The waiver program allows citizens from 42 countries, including Ireland and the United Kingdom, to travel here for tourism or business for up to 90 days at a time.

    Jennifer Sims said after they wed, she filed Form I-130, the document required to prove a valid family relationship with a foreigner who wants to immigrate to the United States. That application, she said, was approved in March 2020 ― a key step toward a green card. Her husband had completed his biometrics appointment, where the government collects the applicant’s fingerprints, photograph, and digital signature, three months earlier, she said.

    He was given a U.S. Social Security number, she said.

    The couple worries their green-card paperwork might have been lost when they relocated to Las Vegas and back to Philadelphia between 2018 and 2021.

    Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s nationwide effort to increase arrests at U.S. airports has spurred warnings from immigration attorneys that even those with valid work permits and government-issued identification can be in danger.

    An ICE summer push saw a record 49,571 people arrested across the nation in July, many of them taken into custody at airports, courthouses, and scheduled immigration check-ins. That is an average of 1,599 arrests a day, a 15% increase over the previous month, according to figures from the Deportation Data Project.

    The July arrests included 1,174 in Pennsylvania and 2,112 in New Jersey.

    Homeland Security said airport arrests are occurring because the Trump administration “reversed the horrendous Biden-era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country.”

    “Under President Trump, DHS will no longer tolerate this,” the agency said last month, as news spread of Philadelphia airport arrests. “This administration is working diligently to ensure that aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport.”

    The Trump administration says that its immigration-enforcement effort targets criminals, that it has been arresting and deporting killers, rapists, and child-abusers to make the country safer. However, the latest data showed that half of those arrested in July had no criminal convictions or charges, and less than 25% had been convicted of a crime.

    Sandy Sims has worked in entertainment lighting since 2002, including on shows for Metallica, Usher, and Florence + the Machine, the popular English rock band, his wife said.

    She said she feels as if the immigration system has been turned into a moneymaker, where people trying to follow the law are charged high fees, and private companies reap profits by keeping people in custody.

    The GEO Group signed a contract with ICE in 2019 to run five locations, including the Mesa Verde center, where Sims is being held, that is expected to bring the company $200 million a year.

    “I feel,” Jennifer Sims said, “like they just want people’s money.”

    Inquirer staff writer Dylan Purcell contributed to this article.

  • Equipment outages grounded flights into Philly airport and caused long delays

    Equipment outages grounded flights into Philly airport and caused long delays

    Flights into Philadelphia International Airport were grounded for much of the day Monday due to a stop instituted by the Federal Aviation Administration that impacted hundreds of flights in the Northeast in the wake of equipment outages.

    Incoming flights were briefly allowed to resume at one point, but were again halted a short time later, according to the FAA’s airspace system status. The ground stop was again lifted at about 5 p.m. Monday.

    As of late Monday afternoon, PHL had experienced about 400 delays and 200 cancellations, according to data from flight tracking website FlightAware. Some airlines were allowing their customers to change flights without fees. The FAA advised travelers to check the status of their flights with their airline before heading to the airport.

    On Monday night, arrivals and departures at Philadelphia were still delayed by an average of at least two hours, according to Flighty, the popular flight-tracking app.

    During the stops, FAA said planes departing from a U.S. airport and heading to PHL should remain on the ground. At times, flights at John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, and Bergen County’s Teterboro Airport were also affected.

    The ground stop came after a circuit failed at an air traffic control tower in Philadelphia, and officials found that a line from a backup system was cut at a construction site in New Jersey, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said. The technical problems happened at the same FAA facility in Philadelphia that caused numerous disruptions at Newark Liberty International Airport in spring 2025.

    “Unfortunately, that circuit failed today,” Bedford said at a Monday news conference. “And when it went to flip into the backup, we discovered that the backup fiber had a break, and that fiber break is probably 13 hours to repair.”

    Bedford described the break as “massive,” and said it consisted of about 600 feet of fiber line somewhere between New Brunswick and Newark. It was not immediately clear when the break in the fiber line for the backup occurred, he said.

    Verizon said contractors had dug up and cut the cable that runs along the Amtrak rail line in New Jersey. The company said in a statement that its technicians were racing to get the cable fixed.

    Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the ground stop showed the need for more funding to modernize infrastructure.

    “This is not shocking to us,” Duffy said. “It’s an old system that we’re stuck working with.”

    The FAA on Monday also began testing a new computer system that uses AI to help predict schedule conflicts and weather issues, but it did not appear to be linked to the outage because it was only being tested in the Washington, D.C., area.

    Inquirer staff writer Robert Moran contributed to this article, which also contains information from the Associated Press.

  • There was a possible measles exposure at Philadelphia International Airport

    There was a possible measles exposure at Philadelphia International Airport

    Philadelphia health officials are warning travelers of a possible measles exposure at Philadelphia International Airport early this week.

    The Philadelphia Department of Public Health is notifying travelers and others who may have been exposed. This incident is unrelated to the recent measles exposures at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the department said in a news release.

    CHOP’s measles exposure shows the growing danger of Pa.’s outbreak, experts say

    The airport exposure occurred in Terminals B and F, and in areas connecting to Terminals C, D, and E, on Sunday, Sept. 13, from 7:25 p.m. to Monday, Sept. 14, at 12:05 a.m.

    A person with measles was traveling through Philadelphia and stayed in the airport, according to the health department. Officials are encouraging anyone who may have been exposed to check their vaccination status and monitor symptoms.

    “Anyone who is not immune, is unsure of their vaccination status, is an infant, is pregnant and not immune, or is immunocompromised should contact a healthcare provider as soon as possible,” the department said in the release on Saturday, adding that some people may still be eligible for treatment that can prevent the disease or reduce its severity.

    Officials are urging anyone experiencing symptoms to call ahead before visiting a healthcare facility and notify the provider about the exposure.

    “This week’s measles exposures are a reminder of how important it is for all of us to be up to date on our vaccinations,” city Health Commissioner Palak Raval-Nelson said in the statement. “Every Philadelphian who is fully vaccinated has little to fear from the situation at CHOP and the airport. Even more importantly, every one of those people is doing their part to help protect our most vulnerable from measles.”

    Raval-Nelson is encouraged residents to visit the city’s website, phila.gov/measles, to learn more about measles and the MMR vaccine.

    Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak, the largest in the nation this year, has sickened more than 760 people. The state has confirmed four measles-associated deaths, the most seen in the nation in more than three decades.

    The state’s outbreak is centered in Lancaster County, right outside of the Philadelphia region, and measles is actively spreading in suburban Chester County. The widening outbreak has affected more than half of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.

    Two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine have proven 97% effective at preventing the disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.

    Nine in 10 unvaccinated people exposed to measles will acquire the disease.

    Typical measles symptoms include a high fever, a cough, runny nose, red, watery eyes, and a rash. Measles can cause severe complications, especially in young children, including pneumonia and brain swelling. While deaths are rare, about three in 1,000 children who contract measles will die.

    Measles, long considered eradicated in the United States, is resurging amid declining vaccination rates. Scientists say that about 95% of a community should be vaccinated to prevent spread.

    In the Philadelphia region, at least 40% of kindergartens were vulnerable to an outbreak as of last school year, up from 33% the prior year, according to an Inquirer analysis of school immunization data widely used to assess community protection levels.

  • At 5 Philadelphia airport restaurants, employees want to unionize and get health insurance

    At 5 Philadelphia airport restaurants, employees want to unionize and get health insurance

    Martina Lyons, 59, loves her job at Bud & Marilyn’s in Philadelphia International Airport, but she misses having employer-funded healthcare.

    For 20 years, she worked at PHL’s Sky Asian Bistro, where staff was represented by a union and she had a pension. When the bistro shut down around three years ago, she became a bartender at Bud & Marilyn’s in Terminal C. She started paying for her own health insurance, until her premium nearly doubled this year and she couldn’t afford it anymore.

    Lyons is one of the 160 workers at PHL’s outposts of Bud & Marilyn’s, Sabrina’s Cafe, Chick-fil-A, Insomnia Cookies, and Good Luck Bar & Restaurant. Many of them have signed onto an effort to unionize and get better benefits.

    “I just always get so worried. God forbid, I have an accident … an emergency. It’s pretty scary to not have healthcare right now,” Lyons said.

    On Monday, the group of cooks, dishwashers, cashiers, servers, and bartenders asked management to voluntarily recognize their affiliation with Unite Here Local 274.

    Restaurateur Hakan Ilhan operates the five eateries. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Unite Here Local 274 already represents 1,200 other food-service workers at PHL, as well as hundreds of employees of Philadelphia hotels.

    Hotel workers want better pay ahead of Philly’s big tourism year

    According to the union, a super majority of the 160 potential new union members have signed cards to join.

    What are the PHL restaurant workers seeking?

    Health insurance has already emerged as a top priority among the group. Other unionized airport workers have employer-provided health insurance, said Rosslyn Wuchinich, president of Unite Here Local 274.

    “We’ve made a lot of improvements over the years to the point where most of the union workers at the airport have free healthcare,” she said.

    Unite Here Local 274 gather union organizers and employees outside the Hilton Garden Inn at 11th and Arch Streets to ask for higher wages before the festivities in 2026 for the nation’s 250th birthday, MLB All-Star Game, and FIFA World Cup.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer

    Shymeik Ramsey, a busser at Sabrina’s Cafe in Terminal C, hopes a union can bring clearer rules so that workers have an “understanding on what you can and can’t do instead of coming in every week to new rules.”

    He also wants set work schedules, with more advance notice. Shanah Moment, a server at Sabrina’s, said worker input on schedules is important too.

    “We don’t have a set schedule so our days literally change like every week,” said Moment. “Even if we post our availability in our scheduling app, sometimes we don’t always get the days that we need off and we’re still scheduled outside of our availability.”

    Moment also wants job security. She gave birth in April, and was unsure she would still have a position at Sabrina’s when she was able to work again, she said.

    Overall, says Wuchinich, “the biggest issue for workers in organizing always is just having real respect and voice at work.”

    PHL’s concessions workers were 100% unionized into the early 1990s, according to Wuchinich. Aramark operated those businesses at the time, she said.

    Then the city brought in more food and beverage operators, she said, which meant some nonunion employers came in. Around that time Unite Here began to organize at the airport. Today, some 1,200 PHL concessions and catering workers are members of Unite Here Local 274.

    The airport, meanwhile, has suffered from a poor reputation broadly, landing at the bottom of a national customer satisfaction survey for five years in a row. But food, beverage, and retail options were a bright spot, according to the most recent report.

  • American Airlines is adding new direct flights to these European cities

    American Airlines is adding new direct flights to these European cities

    American Airlines will officially add three new international routes out of Philadelphia International Airport next year.

    The airline announced on Thursday that flights to the European cities of Porto, Portugal, and Vienna, Austria, will depart from Philadelphia in 2027.

    The airline is also adding trips to Reykjavik, Iceland, a route that was previously announced in 2019 but never came to fruition because of pandemic travel restrictions.

    The flight to Porto was announced earlier this year, but required government approval.

    Flights will begin operating to Porto on March 28, to Vienna on May 6, and to Reykjavik on May 27. The routes to Porto and Vienna will be operated on an Airbus A321XLR aircraft, and the route to Reykjavik will be served on an Airbus A321neo.

    Travelers can purchase tickets on the new routes beginning on Aug. 31. When the new routes are operational, American will have 21 transatlantic routes operating out of PHL.

    The new destinations are American’s latest service expansion at PHL. American is the largest carrier out of PHL by passenger volume, carrying more than 20 million travelers through the airport last year — nearly 70% of PHL’s total passengers. The second largest carrier, Frontier Airlines, carried roughly 3 million passengers through the airport in 2025.

    American increased the number of flights traveling through Philadelphia by 10% this summer compared to the same time last year, according to the airline.

    John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, one of America’s other transatlantic gateways, sees business and leisure travel, but Philadelphia “has a much bigger footprint when it comes to leisure summer travel,” said Cesar Marchese, vice president of operations for the airline in Philadelphia.

    In recent years, American has added new flights out of Philadelphia to Copenhagen, Denmark; Nice, France; and Naples, Italy. The airline has also recently brought back routes to Budapest, Hungary, and Prague, Czech Republic.

  • New trail connector lets bikers ride 70 miles from Philly to Reading. It’s ‘a really, really big deal.’

    New trail connector lets bikers ride 70 miles from Philly to Reading. It’s ‘a really, really big deal.’

    Cyclists Alvin Morris and Rick Young departed Philadelphia via Shawmont Avenue on the Schuylkill River Trail on Tuesday morning for a heart-pumping, 75-mile round trip ride.

    On previous trips, they, like thousands of other riders, had to stop at a gate where the trail abruptly ended near Pottstown and decide whether to risk traveling a busy alternate route.

    No more.

    Schuylkill River Trail organizers are celebrating the completion of a nearly one-mile connector in Montgomery County that gives cyclists a clear 70-mile path from Philly to Reading. The connector took about 10 years from planning to its Aug. 19 opening.

    “I just found out about the connector Sunday,” Young said. “I love it. I told Al about it. We’re preparing for the [city-to-Shore] MS ride, so we need to get in some distance.”

    The duo planned to continue on the Schuylkill River Trail for a few more miles past the connector before returning to Philly.

    A Montgomery County Planning Commission map of the new Schuylkill River Trail connection between Industrial Highway and the Route 422 bridge near Pottstown. The 0.9-mile section of paved asphalt trail is now open, providing an unbroken path from South Philadelphia to Reading.Frank Kummer

    ‘A really, really big deal’

    Elaine Paul Schaefer, executive director of the nonprofit Schuylkill River Greenways, says the connector is more than just a new trail segment.

    “It’s a really, really big deal,” Schaefer said. “On many, many levels.”

    Schaefer and others believe the unbroken 70-mile stretch could be a tipping point for cycling tourism because it is long enough for cyclists to plan trips that allow them to linger in towns for brews and food, or overnight stays, she said.

    “At that point, the economic impact to towns along the way really exponentially increases,” she said.

    Her group manages the Schuylkill River Greenways National Heritage Area, connecting people to the river and trail. Schuylkill River Greenways has its office in Pottstown, but manages 40 miles of the trail in Berks and Schuylkill Counties, raising money to help maintain it.

    The new connector allows riders pedaling south from Chester County to ride parallel to Route 422 in Pottsgrove Township, Montgomery County, then loop under the busy highway and continue into Pottstown Borough.

    “The trail now connects the population centers of Philadelphia to Montgomery County and Reading,” Schaefer said. “Soon, it will connect beyond that.”

    Elaine Paul Schaefer, executive director of the nonprofit Schuylkill River Greenways, speaks with Sue Shellman, foreground, and her husband, Bill Shellman, in yellow, both of Skippack, at the new connector.Frank Kummer

    A boost for Pottstown?

    Schaefer believes the new connector will lure cyclists willing to stop and spend money in Pottstown, a former steel town whose sizable downtown contains restaurants, inns, and breweries. Pottstown’s Riverfront Park along the trail is already widely used.

    Peggy Lee-Clark, executive director of the nonprofit Pottstown Area Economic Development Inc., said it is too early to judge the impact of the connector, but there is “excitement.”

    “I think that always any connection for the trail is an economic boost,” she said.

    Commuting workers also use the trail, Lee-Clark noted.

    “The river is an important asset to us, as is the trail,” Lee-Clark said. “The connector is just one more thing that brings people to the area and exposes them to all of the other opportunities here in Pottstown.”

    When complete, the Schuylkill River Trail will run about 120 miles from Fort Mifflin near Philadelphia International Airport to Frackville, Schuylkill County. About 80 miles of paved and crushed stone trail are currently open. A swing bridge connecting Grays Ferry to Bartram’s Garden is nearing completion.

    Jason Brudereck, of the nonprofit Schuylkill River Greenways, rides new the Schuylkill River Trail connector as it crosses from Chester County into Montgomery County.Frank Kummer

    How the connector got built

    Montgomery County is planning a formal ribbon-cutting on Sept. 29 for the connector, which is already popular. On Tuesday, dozens of cyclists were riding at midday.

    Scott France, executive director of the Montgomery County Planning Commission, said the county started trying to acquire rights-of-way to the land a decade ago.

    “We are super excited this is open,” France said. “It’s been a long time in the works. This has had its share of challenges, but the fact is that we got there.”

    The connector cost $1.28 million, France said. Most of it was paid for from a $550,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and a $542,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation. The county funded the balance.

    Although the connector is less than a mile, it was a challenge, France said.

    This is the sign cyclists and pedestrians once had to stop at before the connector was finished.Frank Kummer

    The county had to build around a state-owned bridge, work with Peco and Verizon to move utilities, and obtain permits to build in a flood zone. Additionally, crews had to stop work during the breeding season of the northern red-bellied turtle, a threatened species common in the area.

    Bill Hartman, trails and open space planning manager for the commission, said the connector serves another key role.

    “It provides full access to a number of other trails,” Hartman said, including the Cross County and Perkiomen Trails.

    Further, Montgomery County Commissioner Neil Makhija noted that the connector and Schuylkill River Trail are also part of the much wider Circuit Trails network, a planned 850 miles of interconnected trails in the Philadelphia region, including South Jersey.

    Makhija said he plans to celebrate his 40th birthday on Sept. 13 by riding the inaugural Tour de Montco, a 40-mile ride from Pottstown to Bala Cynwyd.

    The new trail segment, Makhija said is, “not just a trail in the woods — it’s a connection, bringing us closer to Philly and Reading and connecting the two.”

    Sue Shellman, foreground, and her husband, Bill Shellman, in yellow, both of Skippack, ride from Chester County onto the new Schuylkill River Trail connector into Montgomery County.Frank Kummer
  • Small Idaho town absolutely not known for cheesesteaks will attempt to ‘unofficially’ beat Philly cheesesteak record

    Small Idaho town absolutely not known for cheesesteaks will attempt to ‘unofficially’ beat Philly cheesesteak record

    A restaurant group in Idaho is determined to reclaim what it insists was theirs to begin with: a world record involving cheesesteaks.

    On Sunday, Happy Day Restaurants — a company with a slate of eateries across the Gem State — is hosting an event where they’ll attempt to assemble the longest cheesesteak.

    It was only earlier this year that Philadelphia claimed that record with a massive event at Philadelphia International Airport, piling nearly 1,000 pounds of rib-eye atop Amoroso rolls as far as the eye could see.

    Philly ended up setting an official Guinness World Record that fateful March day, with about 1,291 cheesesteaks stretching out about 1,271 feet. It’s worth noting that Philly’s cheesesteak line was the inaugural record for that category, according to a Guinness World Records adjudicator who spoke with The Inquirer.

    Guinness World Record for longest line of cheesesteaks is set at Philadelphia International Airport

    But, over the years, others have attempted unofficial cheesesteak records — including Idaho.

    Main Street Grill in Lewiston, Idaho, made a 700-foot cheesesteak on August 26, 2023. Until March, it held the unofficial world record for the longest cheesesteak.Frank Webster

    In 2023, the Main Street Grill in Lewiston, Idaho, (operated by Happy Day Restaurants) completed a 722-foot line of cheesesteaks as part of a fundraiser event for the regional Boys and Girls Club. Locals took bragging rights and observers (including The Inquirer) admitted at the time that the sandwich line appeared to be a record-holder. But it was all under “unofficial” terms.

    Now, let’s fast-forward to this week.

    The bad news: Lewiston, Idaho, is coming for Philly’s newly established “longest cheesesteak” world record. The good news: It’s still unofficial and the proceeds are going to charity — which is kind of hard to bash.

    According to a statement from Happy Day Restaurants, participants are aiming to break Philly’s record with an attempt of a 1,350-foot Philadelphia cheesesteak (notably, not called an Idaho or Lewiston cheesesteak).

    The event will again benefit the local Boys and Girls Club with $10 sandwich tickets. In 2023, the fundraiser raised more than $10,000 for the organization.

    This year’s attempt is also an effort to showcase local agriculture and food production infrastructure.

    All of the cheesesteak ingredients, from the beef and veggies (including — gasp — peppers!!!) to the rolls, are being sourced locally for Sunday’s installation.

    “It’s a demonstration of what our local food system can do,” the restaurant group said in a statement. “The hardest part of farming isn’t always growing the food. For small and medium-sized farms, one of the biggest challenges isn’t necessarily production. It’s finding someone who will reliably buy what they grow.”

    The Lewiston cheesesteak line will include:

    • 1,350 rolls with regenerative grain from Cottonwood, Idaho.
    • 720 pounds of beef processed at a local USDA butcher shop (a 50/50 blend of Idaho beef and supplemental supply, citing summer heat impacting processing capacity).
    • 275-plus pounds of onions and peppers grown regionally in Lewis-Clark Valley.
    • 64 gallons of “cheese sauce” (their words not ours).
    From left: Clarence LeJeune, Dana Krawchuk, marketing and guest experience manager for Marketplace PHL, and Mel Hannah, vice president and general manager of Marketplace PHL, with the award from Guinness World Records for a record-setting cheesesteak assembled at Philadelphia International Airport on Tuesday, March 24, 2026.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer

    Asked for comment on Lewiston’s attempt to break Philly’s record, PHL sends its regards.

    “As the first and current official Guinness World Record holder for ‘Longest Line of Cheesesteaks,’ MarketPlace PHL and the 18 restaurants serving cheesesteaks at Philadelphia International Airport send our very best wishes to Lewiston, Idaho,” Dana Krawchuk, MarketPlace PHL’s marketing manager who organized the airport’s spring record-breaker, said. “In partnership with all the Philly purveyors who supplied ingredients for 2026’s National Cheesesteak Day celebration honoring TSA workers at PHL and making Philly history … We just gotta ask the people of Lewiston, wit or witout?”