Not long after Xin Guang-Go’s skill game business in North Philadelphia collapsed — a development that led to tension between him and his onetime business partner — Guang-Go decided he wanted his former colleague to die.
To follow through on his threat, Guang-Go sought to hire a hit man — supplying the man with his target’s address, pictures of his intended victim’s car and home, as well as a cash deposit and a tip about where his rival might be storing about $100,000 in a safe.
Guang-Go said the hit man could keep that money as long as the murder was carried out. And he also asked that his target’s girlfriend be killed in the process. For both killings, Guang-Go was willing to pay $30,000.
But unknown to Guang-Go, the hit man he tried to hire was working as a confidential informant for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Guang-Go was arrested before either of his victims was harmed.
In federal court Monday, Guang-Go, 48, of Plymouth, N.C., was ordered to serve more than 15 years in prison for seeking to carry out his scheme — a plot that U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III said was one of the most serious crimes a person could commit.
“It’s totally unacceptable to settle a business dispute by entering into a contract to have your opponent murdered,” Bartle said.
Guang-Go apologized, saying he had been consumed by impulses he now recognizes were wrong.
It was “as if there was evil in my heart,” he said through an interpreter. “Evil was controlling my brain.”
Neither of Guang-Go’s victims appeared in court Monday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda McCool said both remain traumatized by his attempt on their lives.
She said Guang-Go was not simply an unlucky or bumbling criminal who made a deal with the wrong source. He fully intended for his victims to die, she said — and in court documents, prosecutors said he had asked his would-be hired killer to provide photographic proof that the victims had been slain.
“This is not some one-off of the defendant, that [he] ran into someone who suggested” the plot, McCool said. “Throughout the course of a week, he made multiple proactive steps to further his plan.”
Guang-Go — who pleaded guilty this spring to murder-for-hire offenses — said that he had brought shame to his entire family through his actions, and that he regretted his prison sentence would take him away from his children and his aging mother.
In addition to ordering Guang-Go to 188 months behind bars, Bartle imposed a three-year term of supervised release.
Guang-Go, a native of China and a legal permanent resident of the United States, is likely to be deported whenever his term of incarceration is finished.
Two men were killed in separate shootings over the weekend in Philadelphia, police said, adding to the homicide toll in the city even as it continues to see a sharp decline in deadly violence.
The killings occurred within hours of each other late Saturday and early Sunday. Investigators have not publicly identified the victims or released a motive in either shooting. No arrests have been made.
Police continue to investigate, said Officer Shawn Ritchie, a police spokesperson.
The first shooting was reported shortly before midnight Saturday near Wakeling and Jackson Streets in the Frankford section of Northeast Philadelphia. Responding officers found a 64-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the face, police said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers detained a 39-year-old man for questioning and recovered two handguns at the scene, police said. The man had not been charged as of Monday afternoon, according to police.
Several hours later, shortly after 5 a.m., officers were called to the 3200 block of Kensington Avenue for a report of a person with a gun. When they arrived, police said, they found a 35-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds to his back, chest, and right leg.
The man was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
The Kensington shooting occurred along a stretch of the avenue that has long been associated with the city’s open-air drug trade, but police have not said whether the killing was connected to any activity in the area.
Despite the two weekend killings, Philadelphia’s homicide total remains significantly lower than in recent years. By the same time last year, the city had recorded 146 homicides, and 176 in 2024, according to police data. As of Sunday, the data show, the city has logged 117 homicides this year.
Both shootings remain under investigation, police said. Anyone with information about either killing is asked to contact the police department’s tip line at 215-686-8477 (TIPS). A reward of up to $20,000 is available for information leading to an arrest and conviction, police said.
Masked men armed with handguns and what appeared to be an AR-15-style rifle robbed three men early Sunday morning in Center City, forcing at least one of the victims to his knees at gunpoint, according to police.
The victims — ages 27, 35, and 36 — were talking on the sidewalk around 3 a.m. on the 1500 block of Locust Street when three robbers stepped out of a gray Hyundai sedan and demanded the men’s belongings, said 9th District Capt. Anthony Ganard.
Two of the men complied, police said, but the third resisted, and one of the robbers hit him in the face with a handgun. He was taken to an area hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, Ganard said.
The assailants took cell phones, watches, car keys, wallets, driver’s licenses, and cash, police said.
No arrests have been made.
Surveillance video reviewed by investigators shows one of the victims on his knees on the sidewalk as two of the robbers pointed guns — including what appeared to be an assault rifle — at his head. The video shows the victim handing over cash and the watch on his right wrist before the robbers ran back toward the Hyundai, Ganard said.
“It’s always concerning, any type of robbery involving a firearm, [but] especially when you have a high-powered-style firearm,” Ganard said at a news conference Monday.
Police believe a fourth man acted as the getaway driver and remained in the Hyundai during the robbery.
The Hyundai had been circling the area for about three hours before the robbery, Ganard said. It was unclear Monday whether the men were targeted or victims of a random crime, he added.
The sedan, which police recovered early Monday morning, had been stolen from Cheltenham Township on Wednesday, Ganard said. He declined to say where the car was found.
Detectives are examining the vehicle for evidence and searching for additional surveillance footage that may have captured the robbery. Investigators have not linked the men to any other similar robberies, Ganard said.
The investigation remains active, police said.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact investigators at the department’s tip line, 215-686-8477 (TIPS).
During the bridge closure, cars and bicycles will be detoured to Chestnut and Walnut Streets, according to PennDot’s plans. The agency has said one sidewalk would remain open to pedestrians to cross the bridge during construction.
Six SEPTA bus routes will be detoured in the area for roughly a year starting Monday: buses 31, 44, 49, 124, 125, and L1 Owl.
Parking restrictions are also in effect in the area through 2028 because of the project, PennDot spokesperson Helen Reinbrecht confirmed. Those restrictions affect Chestnut Street between 23rd and 22nd Streets, 23rd Street between Market and Walnut Streets, and Walnut Street between 23rd and 33rd Streets.
PennDot’s multimillion-dollar project is mostly funded with federal money, with 20% of the cost paid for by the state.
Pedestrians can cross, but the Market Street Bridge (at left) is closed to vehicle traffic Monday for a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation project that could span 14 months.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
Dom DiSandro, the Eagles chief of security started off as the guest star on Friday’s episode of The Pete Davidson Show on Netflix.
In his standard uniform of a track suit and hat, DiSandro and Davidson spent the 23-minute episode discussing everything from players retiring to his relationship with other security guards in the league, and finished with a FaceTime call to Mike Tyson.
In his longest — and, as far as we can tell, only — extended on-camera interview, the normally reserved DiSandro spoke about his relationships with players throughout his years with the Eagles and how he tries to learn everything about the player when recruiting, something that continues after they’re signed. He shared how that translates into helping players once they’re part of the organization, whether it’s on the mental side of the game or helping them manage their contracts.
Despite being a behind the scenes guy, Big Dom gained notoriety around the city — and the country — following his suspension stemming from a sideline altercation with San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw in Week 13 of the 2023 season. During the Eagles’ visit to the White House last year, President Donald Trump even shouted out DiSandro and offered him the chance to speak.
Although Big Dom’s cultlike following extends beyond the city limits, the South Philly native has no plans on leaving.
“I’ve been offered jobs in the past to go to other teams, but I don’t even think about it,” DiSandro said. “Philly’s just always gonna be home for me.”
While it was the first time DiSandro opened up on camera, it wasn’t the first time the pair has been connected. In December 2024, Davidson was spotted at a Sixers game wearing a Big Dom hoodie with a photo of the security guard on it in a spoof of The Godfather movie poster.
“Big Dom” DiSandro shows off his new Italian flag sock collection, a collaboration with comedian Pete Davidson.Courtesy of Tim O'Connell
A few months later, in February 2025, Davidson told NBC Sports Philadelphia about how he loves Big Dom, calling him the “real life Tony Soprano.” That summer, the pair teamed up for a limited edition sock collaboration through Davidson’s brand, DoubleSoul. The socks were a nod to DiSandro’s Italian heritage.
DiSandro’s heritage came up multiple times throughout the episode with Davidson, including when he shared one of his pregame superstitions: eating “at least four, five, six cannolis” from Termini Brothers Bakery before every game.
On Saturday, ahead of the Eagles preseason game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, DiSandro shared this tradition with another Italian figure in the NFL.
Sean Stellato, agent of noted Italian and current Patriots quarterback Tommy DeVito, shared cannolis from Mike’s Pastry, a famous bakery in Boston’s North End, with Big Dom on the field ahead of the game.
Stellato even added a “Go Birds” to the end of the video — but followed it up with a “Go Patriots.”
TRENDING: #Patriots quarterback Tommy DeVito’s agent Sean Stellato and #Eagles security chief Big Dom went viral after sharing cannolis together on the field before the game.
Eagles center Cam Jurgens kept himself busy growing up in Pickrell, Neb., whether he was harvesting on the family farm or making deer jerky with his father’s homemade smoker.
That’s why it should come as no surprise that Jurgens would enter the beef jerky business.
“If I told myself as a little kid that, ‘Hey, not only are you going to have your own beef jerky brand, but you’re going to play in the NFL and be a Super Bowl champ,’ I would be like, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have to go do chores,’” Jurgens said.
Jurgy is a farm-raised beef jerky line founded by Jurgens and his family. The brand features five flavors: original, hot honey, teriyaki, cracked pepper, and Jurgens’ favorite — mango habanero.
And now Jurgy is introducing a new flavor to the lineup in its first flavor and bag collaboration. Its partnering with Oceans Casino Resort to launch a limited-edition blueberry BBQ flavor. The flavor is a nod to the region’s roots, with Atlantic County being one of the largest blueberry-producing areas in the country.
“It’s been in the works for a while, and we’re happy that it’s finally at the point where we can talk about it and get this new stuff out there,” Jurgens said.
Ocean Casino Resort has partnered with Cam Jurgens’ beef jerky line, Jurgy, to release a blueberry BBQ flavor.Jurgy
Jurgy, a reference to Jurgens’ college nickname “Beef Jurgy,” was created when he was a senior at Nebraska.
It started with his mom, Beth, making T-shirts and hats on a Cricut machine and shipping them out from their family farm. Eventually, Jurgens’ best friend, Matt Sichterman, set up an online store to expand their reach.
“I saw Cam and his mom building this T-shirt and hat brand, and Cam’s mom was staying up all night shipping orders from the farm, taking orders, like pen-and-paper type of deal,” Sichterman said. “I was like, ‘I think I can add some technology in the loop.’ So, that’s always what I’ve done. I’ve always worked at technology companies and built websites. So it helped us get digital, and then we’ve continued to expand the brand.”
They entered the jerky game by finding a meat locker in Nebraska that was willing to work with them. Jurgy fully launched in 2024. Since then, Jurgens and Sichterman have been working to build the brand.
But with Jurgens preparing for the Eagles’ season and Sichterman running Flamel.ai, Jurgy will have to take a backseat.
“This is like our side job that we’re trying to build up and grow and have fun with it,” Jurgens said. “When we started Jurgy, the main thing was to stay connected with Matt, he’s one of my best friends. … And then also the No. 1 thing is just to make my mom a little bit of money through the business. It’s us three that own the LLC together.
“I try not to worry about balancing it because my No. 1 job is playing for the Eagles and taking care of that side of things. And then this is the fun side of the job. … So it’s really helpful when we get a partner like Ocean and meet all these new people and grow along the way.”
Though Cam Jurgens has been working to grow Jurgy, his “No. 1 job is playing for the Eagles.”David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
The Ocean Casino Resort flavor is available at Bottled in Ocean Casino Resort, on the resort’s website, and at Jurgy.co.
“I’ve been down to Ocean and see how passionate they are in Atlantic City and just how many Eagles fans flock down there,” Jurgens said. “So I’m excited. I mean, I saw their partnership with Hanks and how that grew and just how neat it looked. I’m really excited about our product and this packaging and how it benefits both of us.”
The release comes less than three weeks before the Eagles’ season opener against the Washington Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field. Jurgens says he’s ready to compete. That confidence comes from the “harvesting” the team has done leading into game day.
“The harvest is the fun part of the season,” Jurgens said. “You do your planting and taking care of the weeds throughout the year and making sure the crops grow. And then when you get a harvest, the whole family comes together, and you’re spending all the time together. It’s kind of similar to football.
“You work so hard in the offseason, and then you finally get to the season, you get to play a game, and it’s like you’re harvesting your own crop every Sunday, and then you get to the postseason. It’s like even more of the whole family coming together.”
Eighth graders tossed a football across the concrete schoolyard. A fourth grader broke into a dead run, intent on catching up with friends she hadn’t seen all summer. A teacher hugged a first grader with a shy smile and a giant pink backpack crammed with school supplies.
The scene at Overbrook Elementary played out across the city Monday morning as most of the Philadelphia School District’s 113,000 students returned to class for the start of the 2026-27 school year. Kindergartners are due to begin classes Thursday.
At McClure Elementary in Hunting Park, Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. repeated at a news conference his overarching goal: for Philadelphia to become the fastest-improving big-city school district in the U.S.
McClure Elementary principal Luis Garcia greets students Monday, Aug. 24, 2026 before they head into class on the first day of school in the Philadelphia School District.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The district will “double down this year to continue to drive this fast improvement, and we won’t rest until all of our children are at grade level in reading and math,” Watlington said. According to 2024-25 state data, 34% of district students meet state standards in reading, and 23% in math. (More recent PSSAs, typically available to teachers and principals by now, have not been shared by Philadelphia leaders.)
Reginald Streater, the school board president, said improving educational outcomes is also about creating generational value.
“A student can walk through the doors, irrespective of their race, creed, class, gender, or shared ancestry, in our schools with a world of possibilities in front of them and leave those same doors with the knowledge, confidence, and opportunity to pursue the future they envision for themselves,” said Streater, father of two children in district schools, “armed with the tools to break the bonds of generational curses and barriers designed to keep them and their ancestors and their progeny in a perpetual state of servitude and second-class citizens.”
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker was not present at the district’s first-day festivities, a rarity, but Debora Carrera, her chief education officer, touted Parker’s $48 million agreement that restored some of the 340 positions that otherwise would have been axed because of budget cuts.
That was good newsfor Johnny Beauchamp, a single father and truck driver, who was dropping off his son for his first day at McClure.
While Beauchamp said he is confident the city has addressed its budgetary concerns regarding staffing and school openings, he hopes to see some initiatives on school safety.
“I’m actually more excited than he is. It’s his first day … and his bright future starts today,” Beauchamp said. “But my main concern nowadays is the safety, especially with guns and stuff like that. Also, making sure our schools are clean and sidewalks are clear of glass and other dangerous stuff where our kids are playing.”
Overbrook is a small, high-performing school in a very old building: The school is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year. Its tight-knit community wraps its arms around Overbrook and has mounted a fierce fight to keep it open.
“Leave Overbrook alone,” said Fahmee Shabazz, dad of an Overbrook fourth grader. “Please, somebody help us.”
Teachers union and elected officials were on hand at Overbrook for a news conference to pledge continuing efforts to try. Multiple politicians have said they will keep the pressure up to remove Overbrook Elementary, Robeson High, and Lankenau High from the district’s closing list.
Teachers, politicians and Philadelphia Federation of Teachers officials listen to Kenneth Glover, principal of Overbrook Elementary School, speak on the first day of the 2026-27 school year. Glover said the school, which is one of 17 Philadelphia schools slated to close, will focus on academics this year and let adults fight a battle to stave off closure.Kristen A. Graham / Staff
“We cannot disrupt the good things that are happening here,” said State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D., Philadelphia), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Hughes said action needs to happen in Harrisburg to help better fund schools. But he added: “We’re still going to fight for Overbrook Elementary and the schools like it, [which] deserve to stay open.”
Last year, many Overbrook Elementary teachers used news of the school’s closing as an object lesson — in civics and the world around them — said Kenneth Glover, the school’s principal.
“I’m so happy that it’s day one,” he said. “Like I tell my students all the time, each day is a fresh start, and this year is a fresh start. Last year, a lot of the focus was on adult issues, right, fighting to keep the school open. This year, I really want students to focus on academics … for us to just have a beautiful school year.”
Overbrook Elementary School students get ready to enter the building for the first day of the 2026-27 school year. It could be the 120-year-old school’s last first day, as it’s one of 17 schools the Philadelphia School District has slated to close.Kristen A. Graham / Staff
While Glover said he still hoped the school could be kept open, he has begun to work with the district’s newly created transition office to plan for what comes next.
Still, said Kathryn McQuade, Overbrook Elementary’s art teacher, the closure and the fight to prevent it are overshadowing the year for many.
“Seven million could easily go towards … modernizing this building for the future,” McQuade said. “And that wouldn’t be a lease, that would be a one-time price tag.”
Arthur Steinberg, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, said he “was hoping that when I came here today I’d be able to say, ‘Well, we saved Overbrook from the chopping block.’ Unfortunately, that is not the case. However, we have not given up the fight to keep Overbrook and every other school in the city open.”
Steinberg said the PFT would release a plan this week that would give the district a path to keep all 17 schools open.
Robin P. Cooper (upper right) watches as school and city official gather for a group photo outside the district bus. Cooper is president of Commonwealth Association of School Administrators (CASA). At far left is Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. The bus, part of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s Neighborhood Community Action Centers, was to visit and rally at schools in every city council district.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The Phillies are the hottest team in baseball, hotter than they’ve been all year, winners of nine straight for the first time since May of last season and just the second time in the Schwarber Era, which began in 2022.
We’ll call it the Schwarber Era because it was Kyle Schwarber’s 459-foot, two-run, walk-off Schwar-bomb that extended the winning streak Sunday afternoon, and because, with due respect to Bryce Harper and Zack Wheeler, Schwarber is the soul of this ballclub.
Everybody always loves Schwarber. Not everybody loves these Phillies.
Maybe you don’t. Who can blame you? Whether it’s collapses against the Diamondbacks or Mets, or an inexplicable bunt or an unforgivable error against the Dodgers, these Phillies have a way of breaking your heart.
Once bitten, twice bitten, thrice bitten … goodbye?
Paul told the Galatians, “Be ye not faint of heart,” but the greatest apostle would be ashamed of Phillies fans today. Why?
Because these Phillies are for real.
They’re beating good teams by playing mature, sound baseball, and they’re doing it generally without the best efforts of their best players.
Nevertheless, they’re 16-5 in their last 21 games and a season-high 15 games over .500 going into Monday’s series opener in Seattle. They were 9½ games behind the Braves in the NL East when the streak began, but now they’re just three games out with 31 games to go, seven of them head-to-head with Atlanta. The Phils held the No. 2 wild-card slot, two games behind the Cubs, two ahead of the Padres, and four games ahead of the Diamondbacks, the first team out.
The Phillies on Monday began a nine-game, 10-day road trip three time zones west. They face the Mariners, then the Angels, two relatively poor American League teams, by the time they get to Arizona.
They swept Miami, St. Louis, and Minnesota, all teams with valid playoff aspirations, at least until they played the Phillies. That’s the biggest reason why you should learn to love again.
Here are four more.
The Phillies are winning despite middling performances of late from their aces, including Cristopher Sánchez.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
2: They’re streaking without good starts from the Big 3
During the streak, top three starters Wheeler, Cristopher Sánchez, and Jesús Luzardo all left the game while trailing after an ungainly outing. They surrendered a combined 10 earned runs in 17⅔ innings. The Phillies won anyway.
All three are healthy. They just faced decent offensive teams in the dregs of summer. The Mariners have scored the fewest runs in baseball. The Angels have the second-worst OPS. The next seven days should be a feast for the Big Three.
Luis Arraez is an unconventional but productive cleanup hitter for the Phillies.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
3: The Arraez Affect
Since three-time batting champ Luis Arraez, a deadline addition, joined the lineup Aug. 4, the Phillies have mimicked his approach. Their swings are more controlled. The hitters are more on balance.
The result: fewer home runs, but more hits.
They’ve hit nine homers in the nine wins, a rate of 1.0 per game. They’d hit 148 home runs in their first 123 games, a rate of 1.2 homers per game. Sometimes, less is more.
Since Arraez’s arrival and his insertion in the No. 4 spot, No. 3 hitter Bryce Harper has a .506 on-base percentage with 25 walks. No. 5 hitter Alec Bohm saved his season: He’s hitting .393 with a 1.015 OPS and 15 RBIs in 17 games. Bryson Stott, who bats sixth, is hitting .295 with 15 walks.
Bryson Stott has been great at third base since his move there following the Arraez trade.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
4: The defense got better
The Phillies chose to play Arraez at second base. This meant Stott had to move from second to third base, Bohm had to move from third to first base, and Harper had to move from first back to right field.
The unintended consequence: This is the best Phillies infield since 2011, when Placido Polanco won a Gold Glove at third base and Jimmy Rollins should have won it at shortstop. Granted, this is a low bar — Phillies infields have been atrocious for 15 years — but Stott, a shortstop by birth, already was an elite second baseman, and his play at third has been otherworldly. Bohm is an unnatural third baseman but a natural first baseman, unlike Harper, who is a very good outfielder. Arraez is a fine second baseman, and even Trea Turner looks better at shortstop.
Aaron Nola has been solid of late after a very slow start to his season.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
5: Andrew Painter and Aaron Nola settled in
Andrew Painter, who is 23, spent all of 2025 in triple A coming back from elbow surgery that cost him all of 2023 and 2024. His big-league debut was March 31. He was inconsistent, and was sent back to triple A in mid-June.
We call this “normal.”
Aaron Nola, who is 33, threw more innings than anyone else from 2018-24. In 2025 he suffered his first significant injury since 2016, which cost him three months in the middle of the season. He struggled the first three months of this season.
Nola’s ERA in his last nine starts is 3.63. He’s had one bad start. He’s learned to lean on his knuckle-curve.
You know what happens when you get 3.6-ish ERAs from fourth and fifth starters? You win divisions, you win pennants, and you win back the hearts of your fans.
Love Hurts
I get it. It’s hard to love a team with a $300 million shortstop hitting .245; a team that had to release $20 million outfielder Nick Castellanos and $18 million starter Taijuan Walker; a team with a bullpen that is injured and ineffective and, with the exception of the closer, utterly maddening.
But in matters of the heart, there are no guarantees. You take a chance, you ride the thrill, and, as fate decides, your devotion is rewarded … or not.
“ ‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
Lord Tennyson was English, and he died in 1892. His grandson, Lionel, became England’s cricket captain, and Tennyson simply wallowed in heartbreak: It took him 17 years to finish the elegy.
In a different time the poet properly known as Alfred, Lord Tennyson — a moderate conservative rashly bearded — surely would have been a baseball fan.
Given his predilection for misery, he probably would have followed the Phillies.
Several weeks ago, The Inquirer food desk deliberated on declaring a sandwich of the summer, after the New York Times designated Italian piadinas their pick for said title (a phenomenon that seems mostly confined to Brooklyn). Personally, I think the designation is pretty silly. Why?
The hot dog is the sandwich of the summer. It always has been, but it’s especially true now.
Hot dogs at Royal Tavern’s Dog Days of Summer special, held annually in July. (A few dogs remain on the menu in August.)Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
The boom times won’t necessarily end after Labor Day, but, for many people, hot dogs have a season, and it is summer. After all, nearly half of the 100 million hot dogs made annually by Dietz and Watson, Philly’s homegrown deli meat maker, are sold between May and August, according to Lauren Eni Canseco, Dietz’s vice president of brand strategy and fourth-generation family owner.
Food handlers packaging Black Forest Uncured Knockwurst at Dietz and Watson plant Philadelphia in 2025. Dietz and Watson produces and distributes deli meats, cheeses, and other specialty food products.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
That the hot dog is the sandwich of the summer, here or anywhere, seems so obvious, it almost shouldn’t even need to be verbalized. It’s ballpark food, barbecue food — summer food.
The one major hitch? The enduring, irreconcilable debate over whether a hot dog is a sandwich. This is well-tread ground among hot dog enthusiasts, a subset of civilization that is fiercely opinionated and quite vociferous.
To give both sides of the argument equal air time, I asked several local glizzy authorities — makers, avid consumers, etc. — to weigh in. Is a hot dog a sandwich? Here’s what they said:
Craig LaBan, Inquirer restaurant critic: Technically, yes. As much as a hoagie, or hot roast beef, cheesesteak or cutlet can be a sandwich. You put sausage on a bun and call it a sandwich. Hot dog is a sausage, so …That is not to say hot doggery is the same thing as eating a peanut butter and jelly. … and it’s true hot dogs can absolutely exist on their own — in a pot of beans or Korean Army soup, baked into a croissant, wrapped in a blanket, in which cases they are not a sandwich. So … now that I rethink it, a hot dog is NOT a sandwich, but it can become one.
Standard hot dog with ketchup and mustard, hot dog with pepper hash, and hot dog with fish cake and pepper hash at Johnny’s Hots on Aug. 17.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
Chris Barnes, owner of Lucky’s Last Chance: A hot dog is a hot dog! It’s unique and perfect and one of one. Anyone who says otherwise probably also likes ketchup on it.
Jen Zavala, owner of Juana Tamale: Yes, a finger sandwich.
Sandwiches are commonly considered a complete meal. One hot dog is a snack. You need two or three to make a meal.
Sandwiches are usually portable, packable. Something you can put in a Ziploc, bring for lunch, or save for later. This is not a pleasant or regular practice with hot dogs, they are designed to be eaten immediately.
Sandwiches are usually COLD, unless advertised as a “hot sandwich.” Hot dogs are almost NEVER served cold.
Hot dogs and sandwiches are best purchased from different sorts of vendors. You probably wouldn’t want a hoagie from your favorite Center City hot dog lunch cart; and you probably wouldn’t want a hot dog from your favorite Philadelphia deli (I’ve tried) — unless it was Famous 4th Street.
I’ve been painting and writing about hot dogs for almost 20 years. Poring over old articles, menus, going back to the early 1900s. Very rarely, or maybe even never, have I seen a hot dog historically referred to as a sandwich.
An assortment of classic hot dogs with mustard and ketchup writing at Ortlieb’s in Northern Liberties.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Nic Macri, chef at Royal Tavern: Considering a hot dog is a hot dog without the bun, I am going to say no. I’ll tell you what is not a hot dog — a sausage in a hot dog roll!
Pierre Li Peters, aka @theehotdogsummer: A hot dog is not a sandwich because it’s an entirely different art form. A hot dog is a hot dog, even when it doesn’t look like the classic Nathan’s frank we all imagine. For example, a corn dog could be considered a part of the hot dog family but doesn’t really fit into the sandwich category … The beautiful thing about the hot dog community: It’s not limited in being classified as a sandwich; creativity flourishes due to unique characteristics shaped by the regions that enjoy them.
Lauren Eni Canseco, Dietz & Watson VP: A hot dog CAN be a sandwich, but it can also be an ingredient, an entree, or a snack! If it’s a high-quality, high-protein dog, the possibilities are endless.
Retro wall decor at Dietz & Watson pop-up store at Fifth and South Streets in 2019.JESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer
Emilie Dormer, aka @glizzygirliez: In my heart, I don’t consider a hot dog a sandwich. A hot dog feels like its own category entirely. There’s something culturally distinct about it that gets lost when you simply call it a sandwich. That said, if you forced me to place it into one of the traditional food categories, I’d have to admit that yes, structurally, I guess that it probably qualifies as a sandwich. Bread, filling, handheld … the evidence is unfortunately there.
Ralph Stollenwerk, artist and hot dog illustrator: I think a hot dog is as much of a sandwich as a hoagie. Nobody officially calls it a “hoagie sandwich,” [just] as nobody calls it a “hot dog sandwich,” but it is meat held between bread. I’m calling it a sandwich, but I would NEVER call it a sandwich in public.
As for me, I pretty much agree with Stollenwerk. You can quibble with my headline, but the substance of the argument is undeniable: The hot dog is the sandwich of the summer, even if the “sandwich” is silent.
New Jersey officials have deleted 5,100 registered voters from state voter rolls and directed another 1,650 to county election officials for review, one month after Gov. Mikie Sherrill revealed that thousands of noncitizens may have registered to vote after interactions with the Motor Vehicle Commission.
Sherrill announced the moves Wednesday, saying only about 340 of 6,600 erroneously registered to vote in 2023 and 2024 actually voted. She has blamed the problem on a software error by Idemia, the vendor that has managed driver’s license printing in New Jersey since 2010, and blasted former Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration for transparency and accountability failures. Idemia has denied responsibility for the problem, and Murphy has said he was unaware of it.
Sherrill on Wednesday said state officials have worked around the clock to fix the issue and review state records “to preserve the integrity of our voter rolls, and ensure that our elections remain free and fair.”
“I said we would conduct a thorough, complete, and fair investigation, and that is exactly what we are doing. Because that is what accountable government looks like,” she said in a statement. “My commitment to the people of New Jersey is to confront this issue with the urgency it deserves, so we have strong and fair elections.”
Republicans, including those in the Trump administration, have criticized Sherrill for the voter registration debacle, saying it proves their claims that noncitizens have committed widespread voter fraud. On Wednesday Sherrill said the GOP’s “only interest has been in trying to use this issue for political gain.”
Assemblyman Paul Kanitra (R-Ocean), one of the Republicans who have sharply criticized the Sherrill administration and Democrats on this issue, believes the number of noncitizens who have cast ballots could be far larger than state officials have admitted. Kanita told the New Jersey Monitor Wednesday that the governor has been less than fully transparent here by not specifying where and in what elections noncitizens have voted.
“Governor Sherrill has over and over again minimized the harsh reality created by her own party members: Hundreds of noncitizens have voted in several elections in New Jersey,” he said, adding, “We need total and full cooperation of the Sherrill Administration right now. Anything less is a betrayal of the office of governor.”
State officials took New Jersey’s voter registration system offline briefly so state election officials could copy and preserve it and then update it to remove or modify the status of people impacted, she said.
That review drove the state to delete 5,100 of the improperly registered voters from voter rolls because officials could find no other proof of their eligibility to vote. State officials also changed the status of about 1,450 others to “rejected” pending further review, because they found separate voter registrations or other transactions in the system suggesting eligibility. County election officials have been tasked with verifying their eligibility and further amending their status after that review.
Sherrill, who has previously said fewer than 400 of the wrongly registered people had actually cast ballots, put that number at 340 on Wednesday. An additional 220 voted but had previously been registered to vote or otherwise had made attestations in state systems suggesting they are eligible, Sherrill said. County officials also are reviewing that second batch of people, too, to verify eligibility.
Sherrill said her administration has directed county officials to complete their reviews before voting begins in the upcoming general election. The state’s investigation remains ongoing, she added.
