This time last week, Sean Mannion sat in front of the Philly press corps — which had largely praised his work in the weeks leading up to the Eagles’ preseason opener — and had to face the music.
That’ll happen when you lose 24-7 and get outgained 440-159 yards.
On Monday, he got to sing a much different tune.
Mannion’s offense looked much better in the Eagles’ 24-21 preseason loss to the New England Patriots on Saturday. The unit posted 18 first downs (compared to six vs. the Baltimore Ravens), 301 total yards and finally showcased the potential of the wide-zone scheme.
So, what changed in a week? Mannion said the execution of the run game, which posted 90 yards in 24 attempts, caught his eye.
“It was execution and play style,” Mannion said. “I thought, obviously, the starting unit wasn’t in there, but that second unit [and] third unit, they really did a nice job. We controlled the line of scrimmage early in the game, kind of that first series. I thought the play style was on display. Those are the two things I told them I want to execute — really three — execution, fundamentals, and play style.
“We were a little sloppy in terms of our fundamentals and execution at times in the first preseason game. I thought it was much improved in Game 2, particularly with the offensive line group up front.”
Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion had praise for quarterback Jalen Hurts (right) in his remarks to reporters on Monday. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Now entering the third and final week of the preseason, Mannion can start to think about what life might look like when the starters finally take over during Week 1 (Sept. 13 vs. the Washington Commanders). There are high expectations for the former Green Bay Packers quarterbacks coach, who was hired to modernize the Eagles offense with concepts that look similar to those of Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan.
The spotlight will mostly shine on the relationship between Mannion and quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is now on his sixth play-caller since he entered the league in 2020. What does Mannion think of his progress so far?
“He did a good job,” Mannion said of Hurts’ performance vs. the Patriots in last week’s joint practices. “The first day, we had a lot of big plays and just a couple turnovers we need to clean up. That’s always a focus for us, but you could really see the run game come to life, [and] you could see the play passes off of it.
“We hit a nice pylon route to [wide receiver] Elijah [Moore], but you could see the explosives in the past game as well. A couple turnovers, those are obviously things we always want to address. We talk about the ball relentlessly, but he did a really nice job.
“For the guys who didn’t play in the game, they got a ton of great work in those two practices against the Patriots. I was really happy with how Jalen played throughout.”
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for President Donald Trump to move ahead with his executive order restricting mail-in voting, though it remains unclear how much his administration can implement before the fast-approaching midterm elections.
The decision appears to leave room for additional court challenges that could further slow Trump’s order. The U.S. Postal Service laid out how it would implement the order last week, but time is running short to impose major changes with some states beginning to send mail ballots to voters in just a few weeks.
The Supreme Court’s three liberal-leaning justices dissented from the unsigned order.
Mail balloting has long been a favorite target for Trump, who has claimed that it breeds fraud despite strong evidence to the contrary and his own use of the voting method.
The case could be one of multiple voting-related challenges before the justices. The Justice Department had filed an emergency appeal asking the high court to allow work on implementing the changes before the midterms.
Trump’s executive order, signed in March, calls on his administration to create lists of eligible voters and orders the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail ballots only to people on those lists.
Democratic officials in 23 states, including Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia sued to block the order. They argued that the Constitution gives states and Congress the power to run elections, and Trump’s changes could lead to chaos and partisan abuse.
“The consequences of allowing such transformative changes to take effect so close to this fall’s elections would be extreme,” attorneys for the states wrote. Dozens of state and local election officials weighed in, asking the justices to leave the order frozen while election preparations are already underway.
In response to today’s ruling, Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro posted on X:
“Not so fast. Today’s SCOTUS decision does NOT deal with the substance of Trump’s unconstitutional Executive Order and does not mean his illegal attempt to restrict mail-in voting will go forward. Donald Trump does not run elections here in Pennsylvania — or in any state. We’ll see the Trump Administration in court. In the meantime, I’ll keep defending Pennsylvanians’ right to free, fair, and secure elections.”
A judge in Massachusetts had blocked the plan for the midterm elections in those states. An appeals court upheld her decision. She later granted a second order blocking it nationwide.
The Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court on procedural grounds in late July, arguing that the states sued too soon. They also pointed to another ruling out of Washington, where a judge allowed Trump’s order to proceed. An appeals court backed that decision, while still leaving room for future court action if the changes are implemented.
Federal attorneys argued that the Massachusetts order “blocks the government’s ability to finalize and implement the President’s proposed policies to promote election integrity for the upcoming federal elections in November.”
A dozen Republican-leaning states supported the federal government in their own appeal before the high court, saying states would have input on the final voter lists.
The Supreme Court has previously ruled against Trump-backed arguments on mail-in ballots, finding in June that states can count ballots that arrive after Election Day. That case was decided after full briefing and arguments, rather than on the court’s emergency docket.
Trump has blamed mail voting — without credible evidence — for his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. He has promoted the proposed changes in his executive order as safeguards to keep non-U. S. citizens from voting.
He’s also repeatedly pressed for the passage of the legislation that requires proof of citizenship to vote. Noncitizen voting has been shown to be rare, and is a felony that can be punishable by deportation.
Using mail ballots has become increasingly popular with voters of both parties, with about 30% of all ballots cast that way during the 2024 presidential election, according to federal data. The process also is secure. A 2025 Brookings Institution study found only about four cases of fraud out of every 10 million mail ballots cast.
A Delaware County school board member was killed during the weekend in a vehicle crash in South Jersey, officials said Monday.
Phillip Eastman, 68, was a longtime Springfield resident who recently retired from a 44-year career with Peco and Exelon, the Springfield School District said in a statement.
“Phil tragically lost his life in a car accident this past weekend,” the district said.
For nearly three decades, Eastman coached youth and high school ice hockey, including 17 years as the varsity head coach at Springfield High School, the district said.
“While his teams enjoyed success on the ice, he considered mentoring student athletes and helping them develop teamwork, responsibility, perseverance, and other lifelong skills to be the most rewarding aspect of his coaching career,” the district said.
“Phil and his wife, Maureen, raised their son and daughter in Springfield, where both attended Springfield schools and participated in high school athletics,” the district said.
“His family’s enduring connection to Springfield schools was a primary motivation for his desire to serve on the School Board,” the district said.
On Saturday around 8:30 a.m., Eastman was driving a Chevrolet SUV north on Route 55 in Vineland when his vehicle was struck by someone driving a Tesla heading in the opposite direction, said Trooper Caitlin Brennan of the New Jersey State Police.
The Tesla was traveling south when it crossed over a grass median, hit a tree, and then entered the northbound side of Route 55, Brennan said.
The driver of the Tesla and a passenger in Eastman’s SUV suffered injuries and were taken to an area hospital, Brennan said.
The crash remains under investigation, she said.
It was at least the second fatal accident on Route 55 this summer.
In July, two women were killed and another injured in a one-vehicle crash in Deptford Township.
Jessie Hilker and her father, Jeffrey, knew they had built some buzz and intrigue ahead of opening their West Chester fantasy bookshop, Leaves & Lore, this past weekend.
But nothing could have prepared them for the hours-long line that wrapped around the building and left their shelves “pretty much barren.”
“We’re a little, like, what just happened,” Jessie Hilker, 29, said.
Leaves & Lore officially opened its doors Saturday at 118 N. High St., and the response was immense and instantaneous. The bookshop, which is themed around fantasy novels, had a line for six hours. It sold 600 orders on the first day. Jeffrey Hilker, 64, estimates about 1,500 people walked through.
“I’m a pretty optimistic person, and I thought we would do well,” he said. “I just didn’t think it would be like this.”
Though spotlighting fantasy and “romantasy,” the bookshop also sells genres like romance, dark romance, mystery/thriller, horror, and fiction, plus books for kids and teens.
It also carries “bookish merch” like apparel, bookmarks, themed candles, stickers, and more. Customers can purchase a “book bouquet” — a book swaddled with flowers — or book the space for events (think birthdays or girls’ nights) and photography sessions (like engagement shots or bridal portraits).
A sweet treat or freshly brewed coffee and tea are also on offer.
By Saturday night, the shelves were nearly empty, Jessie Hilker said. On Sunday, she and her father had planned to open during normal hours, from 10 to 4 p.m., but had to close early because they had run so low on stock.
“It’s definitely a passion project,” Jessie Hilker said. “I wanted to open a bookstore because I enjoy reading. So to see so many other people enjoy it, as much as I do, makes it very special.”
Jessie Hilker is a lifelong reader. If she was punished for something as a child, she would get her books taken away, she said. Her dad had a hard time giving her enough books to read. During college, she fell out of the habit for a bit, but the fantasy genre sparked the love within her again.
Leaves & Lore opened at 118 N. High St. in West Chester with enthusiastic success on Aug. 22. Lines wrapped around the building for hours.Photo courtesy of Robin Dayley
She is not alone. “Romantasy,” a blend of romance and fantasy, has buoyed the publishing industry in recent years, selling millions of copies and generating hundreds of millions of dollars. You’ll see those novels, like A Court of Thorns and Roses or Fourth Wing and plenty more, on Leaves & Lore’s shelves. Traditional fantasy, alongside romance and dark romance, has also seen staggering success.
Fantasy is not exactly Jeffrey Hilker’s genre, but he and his daughter always wanted to open a business together. When it became clear that business would be a bookstore, he was down to see her vision through. They went to Europe, traveling across Scotland and the U.K. to peruse bookshops that they wanted to emulate.
For about two years, they kept an eye on available spaces in West Chester. They knew that was where they wanted to be since they both live in the borough, and it felt like the right spot for such a shop.
Leaves & Lore is fantasy-focused, and offers bookish apparel and merch, along with “book bouquets” and freshly brewed coffee.Photo courtesy of Robin Dayley
Jessie Hilker wanted Leaves & Lore to feel like stepping inside a fantasy novel, with the space “Renaissance-inspired, very medieval.” She pictured bookcases that stretch floor to ceiling and a moving ladder; her father was “just trying to make it happen,” he said.
They built up a following on social media. A peephole let passersby take a peek as the Hilkers brought Jessie’s vision to life, creating some in-person interest, they said.
Still, their opening was unbelievable, Jessie Hilker said.
But they plan to keep the momentum going. They have events scheduled for some forthcoming book releases in the fall, and an interest to partner with local authors on signings.
Jessie Hilker said she was “ordering like crazy” to replenish the store’s stock, though there was enough supply left to fill the shelves to reopen Tuesday.
“I wanted to just be a place where people feel like they can come and just escape for a little bit. Whether they come to study, whether they come to pick up a book … whether that’s picking up just their coffee for the day, I hope it’s just a place that many people feel like they are accepted and welcomed,” she said.
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
Lemon’s wish was granted late last week when he was a limited participant in Thursday’s joint practice against the New England Patriots. It was his first practice as a participant in any capacity since Aug. 3.
He made more progress on Monday. The first-rounder out of USC was upgraded to a full participant in practice, taking a significant step in his preparation with the season opener against the Washington Commanders 20 days away.
Lemon took part in team drills, both in seven-on-seven and 11-on-11.
“It felt great,” Lemon said. “Definitely a blessing every time I’m able to step on the field. I never take it for granted.”
His time spent off the field helped him gain that perspective. Lemon said he injured the same hamstring that sidelined him for a portion of the offseason program, forcing him to sit out once again.
He said he felt “a little tweak” in his hamstring while bursting upfield. Lemon suggested that he hadn’t warmed up sufficiently, adding that the experience taught him to make sure that he’s being “more professional off the field” with his regimen.
“I feel like it was definitely tough,” Lemon said. “I’m real competitive. I never want to be away from this game. So, me knowing that it’s a hamstring again, just making sure I take the right precautions. I’m learning from it, so it don’t happen again.”
He also learned the importance of taking mental reps. Even though his view from the sideline wasn’t ideal, Lemon said it allowed him to see the game from a different perspective.
Mental reps are just as important as actual reps, Lemon asserted. Sean Mannion said he was “super engaged” in practice and the meeting room so he could jump back into action upon his return.
Lemon also went through his rehab process with DeVonta Smith, who missed the same amount of time as the rookie receiver with a hamstring injury of his own. Like Lemon, Smith was a full participant in Monday’s practice for the first time since Aug. 3.
Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion (right) talks with wide receiver Makai Lemon during team drills before a joint practice with the Patriots last week. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Lemon said the time he spent with Smith was valuable, as he was able to talk to the veteran about different aspects of the game.
“Any time I’m able to get some game from him, I’m doing that,” Lemon said.
On Monday, Lemon joined Smith and the starting offense in team drills. It was an unpadded practice that lasted approximately an hour. Lemon only caught a couple of short passes, but he took on a seemingly typical workload with the group.
Some of his snaps required him to run block, including one rep against Jalyx Hunt. The third-year outside linebacker said he learned a little bit about Lemon through his willingness to engage with him in the run game.
“He didn’t shy away from it,” Hunt said. “He didn’t try to just get around me. He put hands on me and tried to really block me, and I respect that and that’s cool to see, ‘cause his demeanor on the field is totally different than who he is. He’s a laid-back guy. But on the field, he’s just a different energy.”
After practice, Lemon spent extra time with Mannion running routes. The receiver called the new Eagles offensive coordinator “super helpful” as they worked on some of the finer details of the offense.
Lemon is no stranger to post-practice work, even when he was sidelined. He spent time with Jalen Hurts and some of the other receivers, too, as he took more mental reps.
“[Hurts] just wants the best for all the guys, and for him to work with me, work with all the guys, it’s only going to help the team,” Lemon said.
The team will be put to the test for the first time in the regular season in less than three weeks. Lemon said he can “for sure” get back to his normal self by the home opener.
But before the season begins, will Lemon suit up for the preseason finale against the Cincinnati Bengals on Friday? The Eagles have two more practices before the contest, including Tuesday night’s open practice at Lincoln Financial Field, and thus two more opportunities for Lemon to ramp up for game action.
He was hopeful, but noncommittal, regarding his status against the Bengals.
“Man, every time there’s a game, I definitely want to play,” Lemon said. “So I’m just taking it day by day out here just putting the work in, and then we’ll see how I feel Friday.”
Regardless, Monday was a step in the right direction for Lemon. He is eager to build on that progress.
“The team brought me here for a reason, so I’m just making sure I’m available,” Lemon said. “So it felt great to get out here with the guys, to run around. I just never take it for granted every time I step on the field.”
A Delaware County volunteer fire chief was convicted of ethnic intimidation, terroristic threats, and related crimes for calling a woman the N-word, among other slurs, during a tense encounter in 2024.
John Romano, 48, said the woman was “a wild animal,” according to police body camera footage played during his trial last month before Judge Margaret J. Amoroso, who handed down her verdict Monday.
Romano, the assistant fire chief at the Sharon Hill Fire Company, also said he was “tired of dealing with them,” the footage showed.
District Attorney Tanner Rouse said that Romano’s conviction “is an important reminder that words have consequences.”
“What happened in this case was not an argument between two people,” Rouse said. “It was a disturbing encounter involving racial slurs, intimidation, threats, and behavior that left someone fearing for their safety. No one should have to endure this kind of treatment, plain and simple.”
Romano and the woman crossed paths on Hook Road in Darby Township in November 2024, while Romano was using a forklift to unload Christmas trees. His forklift, the woman testified, was blocking the road, causing a traffic jam of irritated drivers who were honking their horns.
After the car in front of hers squeezed through a small gap near the forklift, the woman said, Romano got out of the forklift, “rushed” to the passenger-side window of her car, and demanded to know why she was honking at him.
From the outset, she said, Romano was “on full-blast rage.”
He called her the N-word, as well as another slur, she said, and took a picture of her license plate, telling her he would “take care” of her at her home. When she said she was calling the police, Romano told her to do so, saying he knew the county sheriff.
Romano’s attorney, Christopher Boggs, said in his closing arguments that the confrontation was “more akin to a road-rage incident” and was not a case of ethnic intimidation.
Romano, upset at the car horns honking, would have said “awful things to anyone in that circumstance,” he said.
Amoroso is expected to sentence Romano on Sept. 28.
A member of the Lower Merion School District Board of Directors embezzled more than $50,000 from the marketing agency where she works, prosecutors said Monday, and spent the money on family vacations, clothing, and a videographer to film a friend’s son’s bar mitzvah.
Jennifer Rivera, 41, has been charged with theft, receiving stolen property, and related crimes in the theft from SMB Team, a Bala Cynwyd firm that helps lawyers advertise to prospective clients.
She was released on $25,000 unsecured bail. Rivera could not be reached for comment, and there was no indication she had hired an attorney.
Representatives of SMB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rivera used a company credit card issued to her to make the purchases, which began in October, when she had a dress and a bathroom organizer shipped to her home, according to the affidavit of probable cause for her arrest.
Jennifer Rivera (second from left) paid for her family’s vacations using a credit card given to her by her employer, SMB Team, which Montgomery County prosecutors say was a violation of company policy.Denali Sagner / Staff
In a statement Monday, Lower Merion school board president Kerry Sautner emphasized that none of the criminal charges Rivera faces are related to the district or its finances.
“As of this time, I have not had an opportunity to discuss Ms. Rivera’s future on the School Board with her,” Sauter said. “While it is important to note that anyone charged with a crime remains innocent until proven guilty, we must also consider the potential impact of this situation on our Board.”
Her theft from her employer was uncovered in May, when a senior vice president at SMB found that she had used the company card to pay a coworker nearly $1,400 through Venmo, the affidavit said.
When questioned, prosecutors said, she lied and said it was a business expense.
But her coworker, who owns a private videography business, told company officials the payment was for a “last-minute” bar mitzvah gig he agreed to do after the original videographer canceled. He said Rivera told him he had paid her from her personal account, but he realized afterward she had used company money.
He said he knew it was “shady” and was “not sure how she could be so blatantly untruthful,” according to the affidavit.
The coworker said Rivera also used the company card to fly him and his wife to another employee’s wedding, where he was hired to take photos. He said Rivera assured him she was allowed to use the company card for that, according to the affidavit.
After being presented with evidence about the bar mitzvah payment, Rivera said she may have used the wrong Venmo account by mistake. She “became distraught” and said the accusations put her in a “dark place,” the affidavit said.
Rivera was placed on administrative leave, but asked to be fired, saying “the waiting is adding stress,” the affidavit said.
As SMB continued to investigate, the company learned that Rivera had also spent more than $25,000 for airline travel and family vacations, according to the affidavit.
At the time of the investigation, Rivera had booked a forthcoming trip to the Bahamas that was worth more than $9,000 in credit card travel points.
Rivera is scheduled to appear before a district judge for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 2.
Burlington County is in the early phases of designing a new $30 million extension of the Rancocas Creek Greenway Trail that would cross Route 130 and Rancocas Creek.
The preliminary plan is to build a boardwalk-style path along the southbound Route 130 embankment and underneath the highway that will connect to a new bridge across Rancocas Creek, officials announced Monday.
Likely years away from completion, the project would extend the trail system from Pennington Park in Delanco to separate connections in Willingboro Lakes Park in Willingboro and Rainbow Meadow Park in Delran.
The first segment of the Rancocas Creek Greenway Trail, a four-mile stretch between Amico Island Park in Delran and Pennington Park, opened in 2022.
The new trail will put the county one step closer to achieving its goal of building a path along the 30-mile stretch of Rancocas Creek from the Delaware River to its source in Pemberton Township.
In a statement, Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel said the extension will “provide an important route for vulnerable pedestrians and cyclists to travel across the Rancocas Creek and Route 130, providing a long-sought safe connection for both sides of the highway.”
While the project is still in its preliminary phase, the community can weigh in on it during a virtual public information session on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
The project is expected to cost around $30 million and will be paid for mostly by federal funding, according to the county.
The Delaware Valley Planning Commission has already approved more than half a million dollars for planning and design on the trail extension.
With the project still in the Local Concept Development phase, it is too early to nail down a detailed timeline, county spokesperson David Levinsky said in an email.
“The county anticipates finishing that portion of the planning and design later this fall,” he said, before it pursues funding for preliminary and final engineering for the project.
“Construction would come after those steps,” Levinsky said, which is still “several years” away.
He expects a timeline could come once the design phase is completed.
According to New Jersey Department of Transportation data, there were 111 crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists along Route 130 between 2019 and 2026, including 11 fatalities.
“The deaths and injuries on Route 130 over the years are proof positive that more needs to be done to improve safety for all road users, especially pedestrians and cyclists,” State Sen. Troy Singleton (D., Burlington) said in a statement.
Singleton cosponsored legislation in 2018 to reduce the speed limit on Route 130 and make other safety improvements along the highway within Burlington City. The law is named after Antwan Timbers Jr., a 17-year-old Burlington City High School student who was killed in 2016 after being hit by a car along a stretch of the roadway.
“Infrastructure enhancements, like the one Burlington County is planning, will absolutely save lives and improve mobility through the Route 130 corridor,” Singleton said.
Abington Township commissioners are set to vote Thursday on a contract to replace the police department’s controversial Flock Safety surveillance system.
The new, five-year contract with Axon Enterprise would cost $6,576.50 per year and includes two cameras with accessories, installation fees, two licenses for Axon’s automated license plate recognition tool, and warranties for accidental damage or vandalism.
Both Flock and Axon systems aim to store photos of every vehicle that passes their cameras, along with the plate number and other details, for a set period of time. The systems also allow police to search camera data from other jurisdictions, which Abington police say helps solve crimes.
But Flock’s network design and vulnerabilities are leading Abington police to let their Flock contracts expire over data security concerns after the department’s searches on the company’s nationwide network leaked, along with searches by other police departments across the country.
“Flock had told us before that we own the data. Somehow, that turned out not to be the case,” Lt. Joe Blei said Monday.
Abington police will still have access to Flock’s network until the township’s second Flock contract expires in 2028, Blei said, and Abington cannot terminate it early. Its other contract expired this month.
“It’s the terms and conditions,” Blei said. “We can’t get out of it.”
Blei said the department fulfilled The Inquirer’s request for Abington’s Flock contracts last week, but the newspaper still had not received those records from the township by Monday. The township’s Right-to-Know officer did not return calls and emails.
The Axon cameras are set to arrive in mid-September, if approved, and access to Axon’s ALPR tool would begin on Oct. 15, according to the pending contract.
How Abington plans to use new ALPR cameras
The new Axon camera system, known as Axon Outpost, would not connect to Flock’s network. That is part of the appeal, Blei said: “Axon has a much clearer structure for how that data continues to belong to us.”
Axon puts more limits on data sharing so that Abington’s data are not duplicated in the systems of law enforcement agencies that Abington shares information with, Blei said. One of the ways that Abington’s Flock data had leaked was through records requests to police in other states.
The new cameras would also integrate well with the department’s existing Axon technology, officers wrote in an agenda memo for Thursday’s commissioners’ meeting.
Although the Outpost system has a livestream feature, Abington police will not be monitoring feeds in real time, Blei said. Instead, police will search data associated with a specific criminal investigation, as the department has done with Flock.
The department would check officers’ Axon searches randomly, Blei said, and Abington is considering instituting scheduled audits in addition to the random checks.
Oversight is critical, Abington officer says
Police departments in New York, Arizona, and Colorado in recent months have begun swapping Flock for Axon, a company that already supplies body cameras and Tasers for many departments.
But civil liberties groups have continued to raise concerns that without adequate regulation, other systems like Axon still present privacy risks.
Abington will prevent overreach by continuing to log, audit, and limit the department’s searches, Blei said.
“We are not doing generalized surveillance,” he said. “We are only accessing information for very specific reasons.”
The American Civil Liberties Union has criticized the data retention settings on some ALPR systems because of how much information long-term storage could reveal about private citizens, and recommends a 48-hour cap for mass data retention.
Abington police are about to implement a data retention limit of 30 days, Blei said, for data that are not being used in a criminal investigation.
While storing large quantities of accurate information has raised concerns, collecting erroneous data has also caused problems: An analysis by a California police department found that alerts Flock sent their officers in 2023 and 2024 about vehicles that were stolen or used in a crime were wrong more than 70% of the time.
Faulty ALPR readings can lead to unrelated cars getting flagged repeatedly, as happened in the California department. In Florida, a woman spent almost two weeks in jail this year after a Flock camera wrongly tied her car to a fatal hit-and-run.
Abington does not yet have accuracy data from Axon, Blei said, but township police would not act on a camera notification without manually checking the photo of the plate themselves.
“These cameras are not probable cause for us,” Blei said.
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
Ron Avery, 85, of Philadelphia, retired eclectic reporter and columnist for the Daily News, Philadelphia historian, volunteer city tour guide, author, high school history teacher, veteran, and canoe enthusiast, died Sunday, Aug. 2, of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at his home in East Falls.
Reared in Fairmount, Mr. Avery graduated from Thomas Edison High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in history at Pennsylvania State University. He was assigned to the ship newspaper in the Navy after college, found a creative niche in journalism, and went on to work for more than 30 years at the Associated Press, the Bucks County Courier Times, the Courier-Post in South Jersey, and the Daily News.
He wrote for the Daily News as a correspondent in 1981, joined the staff in 1982, and, until his retirement in 2000, wrote thousands of stories about crime, casinos, war orphans, historic houses, the MOVE bombing, local notables, and other subjects. His columns, “Poor Ronald’s Almanac” and “One of Us,” hammered away at local issues and featured everyday people doing exceptional things.
“He covered every nook and cranny of the city,” said his son Serge. “That burning curiosity sustained him till his last days.”
He wrote three books about Philadelphia, including A Concise History of Philadelphia in 1999. He produced a series of video guides he called the Urban Explorer for local TV in 2004 and posted blogs about the city from 2017 to 2019 on a website called Philadelphia Cracks Me Up.
“Like all cities,” he said in a 1995 Daily News column, “Philadelphia is honeycombed with hidden spaces and forgotten places.” In a 1997 review of his book, City of Brotherly Mayhem: Philadelphia Crimes and Criminals, The Inquirer’s Thomas Brady said: “The book … is decidedly a fun read.”
Alex Strang, his director on the Urban Explorer videos, called Mr. Avery an “unforgettable legend” and “a walking encyclopedia of the city’s history and eccentricities” in a Facebook tribute. Other former colleagues said he was “a clever journalist” and “a true Philadelphian.”
Longtime Daily News colleague Robin Palley said on Facebook: “He had an amazing knack of finding quirky people with fascinating skills or habits and making them come to life on our pages.”
Mr. Avery (left) mans a Salvation Army donation kettle in 1999.Steven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Before the Daily News, Mr. Avery wrote news and feature stories for the Courier-Post in the 1970s, and the Courier Times and the AP in the 1960s. He moved to Israel for six months in 1972 but returned to work for the Courier-Post in 1973.
He also wrote freelance pieces for the Hidden City Daily, PhillyHistory.org, UShistory.org, and op-eds later for The Inquirer and Daily News. He served in the Navy from 1964 to 1966, joined the Philadelphia Canoe Club later, and led water trips in the New Jersey Pine Barrens and elsewhere.
Knowledgeable, energetic, and naturally affable, he was a tireless promoter and volunteer guide in Philadelphia. He led walking tours throughout the city for students, civic groups, and other organizations, and his explanatory video tours featured cobblestone alleys, urban gardens, museums, statues, and other features of city life.
He was a stickler for details and historical accuracy, and he helped spur City Council to pass an ordinance in 2008 to educate and certify paid Center City tour guides. “They score high as Philadelphia ambassadors of good will,” he said in a 1995 column about uneducated guides, “but as historians they often flunk out.”
Mr. Avery wrote a column for the Courier-Post in 1974.Newspapers.com
Ronald Avery was born June 10, 1941, in Strawberry Mansion. He joined the Boy Scouts, earned his bachelor’s degree at Penn State in 1963, and taught history at Bensalem High School for a year.
He was a boxer in college and, mesmerized by the sport, later worked as a referee for amateur matches.
He met Suzet Habif in Israel in 1967, and they married in 1968. They had sons Serge and Ben, and lived for years in a rowhouse in Oxford Circle.
Mr. Avery cared for his wife during her long illness in the 1980s and ’90s. She died in 1993.
Mr. Avery liked to hang out with Benjamin Franklin and other historic figures. Alex Strang
He lived later in Pennsport and East Falls, was diagnosed with ALS in 2015, and proudly outlived its average life expectancy of 18 months by nearly a decade. “He defied that diagnosis and did not let it define him,” his son Serge said. “He always said he had a lot to live for.”
Mr. Avery was an avid reader and street photographer. He liked poetry, wrote limericks on birthday cards, and posted hundreds of his photos on flickr.com. One of his photos won a contest and was displayed at the airport.
He enjoyed jazz and jokes, led the prayers at family gatherings, and gave Yiddish quizzes to his two grandsons. He shared favorite recipes with Daily News colleagues and whipped up memorable homemade soups, especially white bean.
“I’ll greatly miss his endless anecdotes about all things Philadelphia,” said his daughter-in-law, Rebecca Houlding, “the stories about the local criminals, and his love of his family and friends.”
Mr. Avery wrote about his life in Northeast Philadelphia for the Daily News in 1997.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
His son Serge said: “He loved chasing the stories from the back alleys and driveways, highlighting the working people of our town.”
In addition to his sons, daughter-in-law, and grandsons, Mr. Avery is survived by other relatives. A sister died earlier.
