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  • A 224-unit senior living facility is proposed for Radnor to help address ‘a woeful lack of senior housing’

    A 224-unit senior living facility is proposed for Radnor to help address ‘a woeful lack of senior housing’

    A Gladwyne-based senior services organization is planning to build an independent living community on an estate in Radnor Township, a move the group says is necessary as demand for senior living services rises in the region.

    Waverly Senior Services presented an early proposal to Radnor Township’s planning commission on Aug. 3 for a large senior living facility at 452 S. Roberts Rd., a historic estate owned by the Haverford School.

    The proposal includes 208 multifamily housing units across 15 buildings, 16 twin homes, and a handful of administrative buildings, including a maintenance building and a welcome house.

    Waverly Senior Services, a nonprofit organization, is in the process of purchasing the 43-acre property, which the Haverford School acquired in 2022.

    Waverly operates Waverly Heights, a life care residence in Gladwyne, as well as in-home healthcare and personalized care management services.

    Tom Garvin, Waverly’s president and CEO, told the Radnor planning commission that the organization is seeing “unprecedented demand” for life care facilities as baby boomers age and their housing and care needs change.

    “There’s a woeful lack of senior housing across the country to serve that sort of bubble that’s coming in the population,” Garvin said.

    The number of U.S. residents 65 and older grew nearly five times faster than the total population between 1920 and 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

    More than 560,000 senior housing units will be needed to meet the demand for older adult housing, according to market research firm NIC MAP. Under current development rates, only 191,000 will be built.

    Waverly currently serves around 365 residents, the vast majority of whom are local, Garvin said.

    The Radnor site would primarily be home to independent living, with some additional care for residents who need it as they age in place. It will not be a skilled nursing facility.

    Waverly representatives said that they are early in the process — they will still need to finalize the land sale and secure township approval — and that it could be three to five years before shovels hit the ground. However, Garvin said, the organization felt it had to jump on the opportunity in a region where it is difficult to find open space to develop.

    “This opportunity for a piece of property that’s 43 acres, zoned institutional, in our primary market area is one we just couldn’t pass up,” he said.

    The property is home to the Glencoe estate, built in 1907 for Thomas McKean Jr., and purchased by Samuel Robinson, founder of Acme Markets, in 1925, according to the Radnor Historical Society. In 1960, Robinson left the estate to Presbyterian Children’s Village, an orphanage run by a local Presbyterian group. The orphanage transitioned over time to become a residential treatment program for children with emotional and behavioral challenges, and in 2019 became Gemma Services after a merger with Silver Springs-Martin Luther School. Gemma Services is building a new campus in Plymouth Meeting.

    The Haverford School purchased the property in 2022 from Gemma Services for $19.88 million and said at the time that it did not have a specific plan for the site.

    Waverly’s early proposal involved retaining the historic mansion and knocking down its dormitory buildings, which are in “poor shape,” said Marc Heil, Waverly’s vice president of campus development.

    Heil said any new construction would “have that Main Line flair to it” and would not be “commercial looking.”

    Planning commission members expressed an openness to having the site developed, but raised concerns about the early plans.

    Commission member Stephen Varenhorst called the plan “chaotic” and “random” and encouraged the organization to reconsider its approach. Lane Vines, the commission’s chair, said he hoped more of the historic property could be retained.

    Residents expressed concern about increased traffic in the quiet neighborhood, stormwater management, and a potential increase in ambulance traffic, especially if an EMS station is placed on the site, a possibility.

    Waverly officials said they will submit plans to the planning commission, which will issue a recommendation to the Radnor Township commissioners, who will ultimately vote on whether to approve the project. Representatives from Waverly said the organization may also seek additional zoning relief if they pursue renovations outside of the property’s institutional zoning classification, which would require a separate approval process through the zoning hearing board.

    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.

  • Montco meat processing plant, slated for closure, will stay open with fewer workers

    Montco meat processing plant, slated for closure, will stay open with fewer workers

    A meat processing facility in Souderton that was slated for closure this week will remain open, downsizing its staff from about 1,700 to 400.

    Global meat producer JBS announced in June that it would shut down the facility as part of a larger strategy focused on “growth, modernization, and long-term competitiveness in the United States.” This week, the company said it changed plans and will keep the plant open, transitioning the site to a new use.

    “This outcome allows us to preserve 400 good-paying jobs, strengthen our case-ready business, and continue serving customers in a key consumer market,” said Wesley Batista Filho, CEO of JBS USA.

    The plant has been one of Montgomery County’s top 25 employers, recently employing roughly 1,700 people. The majority of them are represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Local 1776.

    JBS plans to keep roughly 400 workers at the facility as it moves away from beef processing to become part of the business’ “value-added operation” arm. According to the company website, that side of the business is dedicated to “further-processed beef and pork products, and retail packaged meats.”

    The plan includes investing over $30 million over the next 10 years to “modernize and enhance” the Souderton facility, the company said.

    “This announcement provides stability for hundreds of workers and their families while creating a path for long-term success at the Souderton facility,” said Wendell Young IV, president of UFCW Local 1776.

    JBS is the company behind food brands such as Pilgrim’s, and Just Bare. Most recently, the majority of the Souderton plant employees were in the fabrication department, which processes animal parts that move along a conveyor belt, according to the union.

    The change in plans comes after discussions between the union, JBS, county officials, and Gov. Josh Shapiro, among other stakeholders.

    “Pennsylvania’s agriculture and manufacturing industries have powered our economy for generations, and we’re making sure they continue to drive our future,” Shapiro said in a statement. “This facility will remain an important economic driver for Montgomery County.”

    JBS has operated the Souderton facility since 2008, and had planned to distribute the work being done there among its other facilities.

    Workers at the Souderton facility are among some 26,000 JBS employees who secured a new union contract last year with better wages and benefits including a more inclusive bereavement leave policy and the ability to accrue sick days.

    The contract also established a pension plan for workers. That’s a rarity in the industry in recent decades, according to the union, which called the agreement “a new standard” in the meatpacking industry.

    State Sen. Maria Collett, who represents Franconia Township, said in a social media post that the change in plans for the plant “came from the real collaboration of Governor Shapiro and his administration, the state Department of Agriculture, UFCW Local 1776, and countless Montgomery County officials.”

    “No amount of job loss is something to celebrate, and harvesting operations at the plant will still wind down this week,” said Collett. “Some of our neighbors are facing a hard road.”

  • Philly shipyard owner Hanwha is shifting its investment focus to the South and West

    Philly shipyard owner Hanwha is shifting its investment focus to the South and West

    A unit of the Hanwha Group, which paid $100 million for Hanwha Philly Shipyard in 2024, has offered to pay more than $1 billion for an Australian company’s shipyard in Mobile, Ala., the company’s nearby nuclear submarine fabrication sites, and a San Diego ship repair facility.

    Hanwha has four weeks to review the facilities and meet with the U.S. Navy and other government agencies before closing a deal, according to a statement from shipbuilder Austal USA.

    The South Korean-owned Hanwha Group last year promised to pump $5 billion into the facilities it owns at the heart of the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard to add a second giant Goliath crane, a second 1,000-foot dry dock, larger fabrication structures, and other portside facilities. The company also said it would hire thousands more workers, as part of a larger $150 billion investment by several South Korean companies to revive U.S. shipbuilding.

    Hanwha Philly Shipyard has not added those major facilities. Company officials have since said their group is looking at other U.S. sites to build enough ships to turn a profit.

    Hanwha “is exploring a range of options to expand our footprint in the United States,” said James Hewitt, Hanwha Defense USA spokesperson. The company declined to say more about its search.

    South Korean President Lee Jae Myung waves as he arrives at the Hanwha Philly Shipyard for a christening ceremony in 2025. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

    The proposal fits with Hanwha’s ambition to be a leading global defense contractor, competing with General Dynamics and other big shipbuilders, said Gary Kim, a U.S. Naval Reserve engineer and Wharton graduate student who writes extensively on shipbuilding. The Philadelphia yard “would focus on surface auxiliary vessels, where Austal would focus on smaller warships and submarine modules.”

    In Philadelphia last month, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said his bank looks forward to helping fund Hanwha’s expansion.

    Hanwha last year had agreed to purchase portside facilities in Paulsboro, Gloucester County, four miles up the Delaware River from its South Philly yard. It pulled out of the agreement after failing to reach a deal with the port operator, Holt Logistics.

    Hanwha has not ruled out developing another Philadelphia-area location but has been visiting southern facilities that are ready to run, such as the Austral yards. Austal USA employs around 3,500, compared to around 2,000 employees and outside contractors at Hanwha Philly Shipyard.

    The former Philadelphia Navy Base covered a much larger area before it closed in 1994. Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., a partnership between city government and the Chamber of Commerce that screens tenants for vacant land, has since committed much of the property to corporate offices, apartments, and other nonindustrial uses, though some waterside industrial property is still available.

    Hanwha Philly Shipyard in July. Joseph N. DiStefano

    Hanwha’s specialty at its main yard on South Korea’s Geoje Island is mass-producing cargo ships. Hanwha Defense said in a statement last month that building ships for the U.S. government is more profitable for the Philadelphia yard than commercial ships.

    Hanwha is finishing work on the final two of five ships it is building for the U.S. Maritime Administration to use as state merchant marine trading academies. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said last month that the Philly yard had built those ships “on time and on budget,” in part by hiring Tote Services of Jacksonville, Fla., to manage construction. Hanwha says it has lost money on the $1.7 billion program, which began in 2021.

    The government said last month that Hanwha Philly Shipyard will also build two “tracking ships” replacing missile-defense ships from the 1960s.

    Hanwha Philly Shipyard is also building three ships for a total of around $1 billion for the Matson container line to operate between U.S. ports under the Jones Act requiring U.S.-built ships between U.S. ports. The cost of those ships is more than double what Chinese yards are charging for similar ships.

    The Trump administration suspended the Jones Act last winter, and foreign ships are now carrying cargoes between U.S. ports, including natural gas from Marcus Hook to ports in Puerto Rico and New England.

    In a securities filing Tuesday, Austal USA’s owner, Austal Ltd., disclosed that its shipbuilding arm has lost $175 million in its recently concluded fiscal year, after the U.S. Navy last week refused to pay more for ships Austal has been building.

    Austal has been building noncombat salvage, dry dock, and equipment-landing ships for the U.S. Navy. The company based its case for larger payments on changes in Navy orders and “deficiencies in design specifications.” Austal said it would “strongly pursue the claims” even after the War Department’s recent refusal.

    At an Alabama facility near its shipyard that would be part of the deal with Hanwha, Austal USA constructs submarine modules for General Dynamics, which builds Navy nuclear submarines in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Austal says that business is profitable.

    Rhoads Industries, Hanwha’s neighbor at the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, also fabricates nuclear submarine modules used by General Dynamics and plans to double employment to 1,400, as it builds new facilities for that business over the next few years.

    Hanwha has said it wants to enter the submarine supply business as well. An Austal USA purchase would add that capability.

  • Letters to the Editor | Aug. 11, 2026

    Letters to the Editor | Aug. 11, 2026

    Bogus claims

    It’s time America goes on the offensive regarding Donald Trump’s lies about his winning in 2020 and his unfounded statements about weakness in the security of our elections. He presented little or no evidence to support his claims. Immediately after Trump’s speech, some GOP pols were pushing for the passage of the SAVE America Act, which is a blatant attempt to stop some citizens from voting.

    In Trump’s second term, the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force has been shut down, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has been cut back sharply, and a task force that warned against foreign meddling and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have been gutted.

    In 2020, Christopher Krebs was fired by President Trump as head of the cybersecurity agency known as CISA after contradicting the president’s baseless claims of widespread election fraud. The same people who perpetuated the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen are now embedded in the White House and throughout the federal government.

    I suggest we call our federal and state senators and representatives and demand they publicly denounce Trump’s lies about him winning in 2020 and his baseless allegations of fraud in our elections.

    Steve Clifford, Langhorne, hs12@verizon.net

    Power paradox

    The blindness community has always had a certain degree of smugness, particularly around energy sources. Using mass transit or various forms of power transit, we did not contribute significantly to the use of fossil fuel. We were not the ones going up to the gas station and driving off — polluting all the way. We frequently worked from home and did not clog the highways. We weren’t the ones snarling traffic. Most blind people have some usable vision, but for those of us with next to no vision, we would often turn off the lights and do whatever tasks needed to be done. Then artificial intelligence came along.

    Now there are data centers that use a lot of energy and water. AI tools, such as smart glasses and advanced GPS units, are marketed heavily to blind people. Many blind people have devices that tell them what is in their environment and describe things around them.

    Blind people are beginning to take photos and videos. AI is able to tell them when something is in the center of the photo frame. It’s also easier to get information off the web by using a chatbot. I find that my ability to cook has been enhanced. I can pick up a package from my spice cabinet and have my smart glasses identify the item. The possibility of needing to open the package and smell it to identify it has been eliminated. I can ask my smart glasses about cooking times and proportions. If I need to find something in my apartment, I no longer need to feel around or think about where I might have put something. The smart glasses can help me find the item.

    This has all been very useful to me, yet I still have concerns about data centers and their power and water usage. I sometimes feel guilty about using AI to do many of these tasks. I used to accomplish so much without AI, but now it’s becoming a default. I do have one question for those technology experts out there: With artificial intelligence and quantum computing becoming so much more advanced every day, why don’t we ask these advanced technological wonders to solve their own energy dilemma? Perhaps quantum computing and AI can figure out how they should be empowered. Perhaps the energy and environmental solution to the data center difficulty can be solved by the very technology that requires the data centers.

    David W. Wannop, former music business worker, Philadelphia

    Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.

  • ‘Phillies Extra’ Q&A: Kevin Stocker on the infield shuffle, why Trea Turner isn’t an outfielder, and more

    ‘Phillies Extra’ Q&A: Kevin Stocker on the infield shuffle, why Trea Turner isn’t an outfielder, and more

    In trading for Luis Arráez at the deadline, the Phillies displaced three-fourths of their infield with less than 50 games left in the season.

    It was unprecedented.

    Kevin Stocker, the Phillies’ pennant-winning shortstop in 1993 and now a member of the radio broadcast team, joined The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast, to share his thoughts on all the moving parts — Bryson Stott to third base, Alec Bohm to first, and Bryce Harper to right field — as well as the one player who stayed put: shortstop Trea Turner.

    Watch the full interview below and subscribe to the Phillies Extra podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

    Q: What was your reaction when you heard the Phillies were trading for Luis Arráez, and that they were going to uproot three-quarters of the infield with less than 50 games left in the season?

    A: I was happy because it was Luis Arráez. I like the kind of player that he is offensively, and very confused, I guess, onto the limitations he kind of put on if he was only going to play second. I got so many feelings about uprooting three guys in the middle of the season. It’s not like it’s new. We’ve seen this before with other guys. I think the most recent maybe Mookie Betts has moved. I remember back in the day, Robin Yount moved out to center because of an injury, but never three guys at once. So I guess if we were to take each spot as it is, for example, Bryson Stott having to move from second to third. I don’t think it’s going to affect Bryson as much, other than the fact … the middle infield, shortstop, and second base are your main spots that handle most of the baseballs. To me, Bryson Stott is probably the best fielder, definitely on this team. I know he’s not an All-Star. … He’s the captain of the infield, and now you’re moving him out of there. That was my first concern.

    … He’s constantly directing traffic, calling timeout. He’s helping the pitcher. You’re going to lose some of that by bumping him over to third base. However, defensively, I think he’ll be fine. He’s played that side of the infield, super strong arm. I don’t worry about him over there at all.

    Now you bump Bohm over to first. Now I think Alec has done tremendous things at third as far as making strides. He’s worked his tail off. He’s become pretty comfortable. I wouldn’t say he’s the best third baseman, anything like that. But he’s solid over there. At first base, to me, he’s got a lot to learn. I love the fact that he’s 6-5. If I was a shortstop throwing over there, I would want the tall first baseman. Fred McGriff was over there for me, and I loved that. So it’s going to take him a little while, I think, to kind of get better at first base.

    So that is a little bit interesting to me. It’s going to take him a while. I’m not sure how that’s going to go. I will say that in the same breath, I love that Harper’s going back to right field. … and here’s why. One, he’s a hitter first. When he’s on that field, he’s thinking about hitting. When he goes to first base to play defense, he’s still thinking about hitting. I’ve played with a lot of guys in my career, and all the hitters were the same. The guys in the outfield, I would look out in left field, and I might see a guy out there who’s a hitter, and he’s in between pitches. He’s working on a swing, and I’m like, ‘Hey, man, we got to play defense.’

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    The infield demands so much focus all the time, and at first base, Bryce was good. He’s very athletic, but I think there was a lot of balls over there that he wasn’t comfortable maybe helping Trea out or helping the infielders out. Not that he was bad. I don’t know that he’s having the greatest year this year, but a couple years ago he was fine. I just think in right field to me, he will be a better hitter, better player, and happier. That’s just me. I haven’t seen him play a lot of right field, and I also think it takes care of the right field problem that the Phillies had. So you get Luis Arraez and people are like, ‘Why didn’t we go get a right fielder?’ Well, the Phillies did. They bumped Bryce out there and now they have one.

    Trea Turner’s 18 errors are second in baseball only to the Nationals’ CJ Abrams (19) going into Monday’s games.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
    Q: What’s your take on leaving Trea Turner at shortstop and moving everyone else around?

    A: I never saw Trea play outfield. I saw him play a little bit at second base. That was with the Dodgers for a short period of time, and I don’t think he was comfortable over there. But a lot of people want Trea to go to the outfield. So this is what I would say with that in the outfield. I’ve watched Trea long enough to know now that he is not the most aggressive player defensively. And what I mean by that is, for example, if he’s going back on a popup over his head, it’s pretty ginger when he goes back there. Whereas Bryson Stott just goes … running back. Trea doesn’t play that way. He’s a little bit more cautious.

    Trea Turner isn’t moving off shortstop (yet). The Phillies’ goal for now: Help him get better.

    So now everybody wants him to go to center. You do not want a cautious center fielder. That’ll totally mess up the corners. Now you got [Brandon] Marsh, and you got Harp over here. I’ve talked to [infield coach] Bobby [Dickerson] about this a lot. He’s worked so hard at shortstop. He’s not having that great year that he had last year, a much better year. I just don’t know if he’s better anywhere else on the field. And if you asked me to disrupt three guys, Turner would be the last one I would want to disrupt right now because that would just create a lot more problems in his head. And he’s starting to hit.

    The other thing about Trea, he is just like Harper. He is a hitter first, defense second. When I played, I was defense all the way. I think Stott is defense first, and then kind of mixes in the offense. So as a hitter-first guy, you’re going to get some years that are good. You’re going to get some years that he struggles, and it’s been a challenge there. But I just don’t think it would have been a wise move for me to move him. I just think that would have created more problems in his head.

    Kevin Stocker, seen here sliding into third base past the Expos’ Doug Strange for a triple in 1997, played five seasons with the Phillies.George Widman / AP
    Q: How was shortstop different for you when you were 24, 25, vs. when you were 30? How does it get harder as you get a little older?

    A: Well, there’s a couple of things. The most direct thing that gets tougher, whether you’re 30 or 33, you start to, I don’t want to say lose a step, but I needed to go out and take ground balls at full speed on Sunday morning when I did not want anything to do with that. I didn’t want to go take ground balls or BP. When I was younger, I was so jazzed. I was like, ‘I’m going to go to the park, and I would go get Bowa and say, ‘Let’s go take ground balls.’ … As you get older, you start to lose that edge. You start having to go out. … you’re just not getting in the same work, and so then what happens is you’re not quite playing … I call it playing on the edge. That’s where you want to be. So that’s one thing.

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    And then you just don’t recover as quickly. You just don’t. Like that dive [Turner] had the other day, it was very jarring. When you lay out and you land on your chest, it is a huge jarring. … that stuff gets tougher to recover from the next day. You’re rolling out of bed, like I got hit by a truck. So the amount of work — that’s why I admire Edmundo Sosa, who has all these positions. He’s out there every day. He has to in order to keep the legs and the body moving.

    But I do remember that last year. I think I was even in camp with the Rockies. It was right before I retired, and I went out and played a little bit of shortstop. And I’m like, I’m not moving as fast as the other guy that’s 25, 26 to my left and right. So that’s one of the things I think is just keeping the edge to go out there and make sure you get the right amount of work in. I really admire the fact that Trea, at his age at 33, and the amount of time he’s played, hasn’t really lost a step. I don’t think he has. Sprinting and running. I think he’s guarded as times, like he’s not running full speed all the time, but I don’t know if he has to.

  • Bucks County farm owner who fled to Belize to dodge animal abuse charges pleads guilty

    Bucks County farm owner who fled to Belize to dodge animal abuse charges pleads guilty

    A Bucks County woman who presided over squalid conditions on a Wrightstown farm and mistreated more than 100 animals in one of the worst neglect cases in county history has pleaded guilty.

    Abigail Tuttle O’Keeffe, 55, the former owner of Narrow Way Farm, entered guilty pleas to aggravated cruelty to animals, neglect of animals, and related crimes late last month. She was spared from prison by entering a diversionary program, prosecutors said Monday. O’Keeffe must attend substance-abuse and mental-health counseling, and is barred from owning animals.

    Her attorney, Josh Buchanan, declined to comment Monday.

    A Bucks farmer flew to Belize, leaving 124 animals behind in one of the biggest abuse cases in county history

    In August 2024, the Bucks County SPCA served a search warrant on O’Keeffe’s property after a farm manager notified the agency that a sheep had been found dead, according to the affidavit of probable cause for her arrest.

    Abigail Tuttle O’Keeffe was extradited to Bucks County in September 2025 by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force. In this photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service, her face was obscured.U.S. Marshals Service

    Officers rescued more than 100 pigs, goats, and sheep, many suffering from infections, parasites, and other chronic medical conditions. One severely emaciated goat died while investigators were searching the property. Another one was so malnourished and riddled with parasites that it had to be euthanized after weeks of intensive care, the affidavit said.

    Volunteers at Narrow Way who spoke with The Inquirer in 2024 said O’Keeffe, who holds a doctorate in developmental psychology, did not have the skills to match her ambitions of running a working farm.

    Most of O’Keeffe’s workforce also had little to no farm experience, and the 36-acre property was in disarray, to the detriment of the livestock she kept there, according to some of those volunteers.

    In one incident, workers botched the dehorning of a calf, leaving the animal with permanent nerve damage.

    Word of the conditions at Narrow Way spread quickly: The owner of a nearby farm said O’Keeffe was not “a real, active farmer,” shied away from the work that required of her, and ran the operation like a cult, comparing her farmhands to “disciples.”

    But when local investigators came to the farm, O’Keeffe was thousands of miles away. Prosecutors said she moved to Belize, where she was arrested in April 2025 on gun charges.

    U.S. Marshals extradited her to Bucks County months later.

    Staff Writer Jesse Bunch contributed to this article.

  • ‘We survived, right?’ Andrew Painter and Phillies bullpen rise to occasion, deliver 6-5 win over Cardinals

    ‘We survived, right?’ Andrew Painter and Phillies bullpen rise to occasion, deliver 6-5 win over Cardinals

    ST. LOUIS — There was no backup plan.

    As the Cardinals wheeled around the bases in the eighth inning, finding gap after gap, lucky break after lucky break, interim manager Don Mattingly could do nothing but watch. The Phillies’ lead shrank from four runs to one, and still, the bullpen phone in left field never rang. It couldn’t. There was no one to call on.

    “We had one bullet out there,” Mattingly said, “and that was it.”

    That bullet was Jonathan Bowlan, who was tabbed for the ninth. With a relief corps that has been run ragged over the past week, the Phillies had no choice but to rely on rookie Andrew Painter and fringe starter Alan Rangel to cover eight innings against the Cardinals.

    If the game went to extras — like the Phillies did three times in the last five days — Mattingly was planning to put backup catcher Garrett Stubbs on the mound and functionally concede the game to St. Louis.

    But Rangel, who had piggybacked Painter, took a breath. He went back to the rosin bag behind the mound. The Cardinals had already tagged him for three runs on five hits — including three doubles — in the inning. They had the tying run on third, the go-ahead run on second, a pinch-hitting lefty at the plate.

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    Rangel went to his best pitch — his change-up — and left-handed Bryan Torres sent a soft liner out to Justin Crawford’s waiting glove in center field. For now, the threat was quelled.

    “Gutsy,” Mattingly said.

    The Phillies ultimately pulled off a 6-5 win over the Cardinals to open the series because the plan — the only plan they had — worked out. Painter delivered one of his strongest starts of his rookie season, taking a no-hit bid into the sixth. Rangel managed to survive 2⅔ innings. And Bowlan delivered his first career major league save with a 1-2-3 ninth.

    “It’s the first time that they’ve given me such an important task,” Rangel said. “And I just feel proud of myself and I feel good with what we did today.”

    The offense did just enough to back them up. They jumped out to an early lead in the second, capitalizing on a throwing error from Cardinals starter Hunter Dobbins and a single from Edmundo Sosa. From there, the Phillies continued to tack on. Kyle Schwarber finished with two doubles and came a foot away from a homer in the eighth, but it hung up just enough to be playable for right fielder Jordan Walker.

    Sosa, who spent nearly 10 years in the Cardinals organization until being traded to the Phillies in 2022, also hit an RBI double in the eighth.

    “It’s always nice to come here and enjoy playing in this beautiful stadium,” Sosa said. “Back when I was younger, way younger, I dreamed of playing in this stadium.”

    Meanwhile, Painter kept St. Louis off-balance with his change-up, which has been a weapon for him since being recalled from the minors. While in triple A, Painter tweaked its grip, and he has been throwing it with conviction.

    Three of his six strikeouts came on the pitch.

    “Just more and more reps with that build the confidence up, and I feel comfortable throwing it to both sides of the plate, lefty or righty, and really just in any count,” Painter said of his change-up.

    The Phillies’ Brandon Marsh (center) crosses home plate. He scored two runs in his team’s 6-5 win. Joe Puetz

    Painter, 23, became the youngest Phillies pitcher to carry a no-hit bid through five innings since Cole Hamels did so at age 22 against the Astros in September 2006.

    “It’s three in a row that he’s thrown the ball well since he’s come back,” Mattingly said. “So that’s obviously positive for us, but that was something that the team needed right there. And for him to come through in that spot is really good for him, and good for our club.”

    But soon after the Cardinals’ first hit fell in the sixth — Iván Herrera tucked a line drive just inside the left field line for a double — the shutout evaporated, too. Alec Burleson hit a two-run single to chase Painter from the game, bringing in Rangel.

    The Phillies were well-aware of the state of their bullpen heading into Monday night. That morning, they had been dealt another blow with newly acquired reliever Caleb Kilian landing on the injured list.

    As usual, the Phillies staff checked in on every reliever and how they were feeling ahead of the game, and Bowlan was the only one they felt comfortable calling on.

    “I was prepared,” Bowlan said. “I mean, you always got to be prepared down there.”

    Phillies put reliever Caleb Kilian on injured list with left oblique strain

    He added that he would do anything he was asked to, even if it was to pitch more than one inning. But as it happened, he only needed 10 pitches to retire the side in order. Bowlan fulfilled the last piece of the plan and picked up his first major league save, all at once.

    For him, it was kismet that it happened on this day, in this ballpark. Bowlan grew up in Tennessee watching the Memphis Redbirds, a Cardinals affiliate, and his father Mark was a 19th-round pick for the Cardinals back in 1989. Bowlan estimated he had 20 family members and friends looking on in the stands on Monday.

    Last season, Bowlan bounced between the majors and minors in the Royals organization. This year, he has ascended into a key high-leverage arm, most often to set up Phillies closer Jhoan Duran. And his family was there to see it come to fruition with his first save.

    “It’s kind of full circle,” Bowlan said. “Family was able to come out, and being the fact that they were here for it, it’s very special. Family means the world to me. Personal accolades, that’s cool. That’s awesome. Keep going and see where this thing goes.”

    The Phillies bullpen will have more options on Tuesday, but will still likely not be back at full strength. That’s how much stress has been placed on the unit in the past week. But with Cristopher Sánchez and Zack Wheeler scheduled to be on the mound, the Phillies have come to expect quality starts, which would lighten the load.

    To get there, though, they needed a rookie, a fringe starter, and a breakout reliever to step up.

    “We survived, right?” Mattingly said. “And that’s really what you’re looking for, is find a way to win a game tonight.”

  • How local contractors and construction companies are leaning into AI | Expert opinion

    How local contractors and construction companies are leaning into AI | Expert opinion

    Painters? Windows installers? Flooring specialists?

    These may not be the first people that come to mind when you think of AI. But many local companies in construction and contracting are struggling with a very tight labor supply and higher costs, so every dollar they save through automation can make a big difference.

    This is why AI is producing a measurable business impact for approximately 38% of contractors, according to a 2026 survey of 1,000 companies by field service management software company ServiceTitan. That’s up from just 17% in 2025.

    Takeoffs

    Construction professionals know how important it is to get their estimates right. AI is quickly becoming integral to the process, beginning with the initial “takeoff” phase.

    A takeoff is the process of reviewing construction plans to identify and measure the materials, surfaces, and fixtures needed to prepare an accurate project estimate or bid. AI is helping to improve speed and accuracy during this process.

    AI is used in construction applications like Togai, Stack and On Center to read specification sheets, analyze photos, flag revisions, verify measurements and then set up estimates, produce reports, and recommend construction documents.

    “When we receive a set of drawings, our team will upload the plans into our AI takeoff platform, which automatically identifies walls, ceilings, substrates, finish areas, and other relevant surfaces for painting or wall covering,” said James Geisel, a project manager at Philadelphia-based Hispanic Ventures, which does painting and wall covering. The AI tool “calculates square footage, linear footage, and quantities with a very high accuracy rate.”

    AI does the “time-consuming measurement work,” Geisel said, while his estimators still apply their judgment to labor pricing, logistics, risk, and competitiveness.

    Commercial flooring contractor Seamless Flooring Systems in Somerdale, Camden County, also relies heavily on AI for project takeoffs, said president Chris McDermott.

    “It has really streamlined our production rate and has eliminated a ton of human error,” he said.

    Estimating and bidding

    In construction, after a takeoff comes estimating and bidding.

    Applications like Procore, Autodesk, and Stack can advise an estimator on square footage and linear footage, material quantities, and cost-related inputs to draw up project estimates and determine pricing and bid preparation.

    An application like this is “essential,” said Matt Biedekapp, a sales manager with Pella Windows & Doors in Scranton. It’s used when bidding on both residential and commercial construction projects because it helps with measurements, cost analysis, and timing of installation.

    On the residential side, Biedekapp said his company uses AI tools to help with window measurements and hard-to-reach places, as well as overall quality assurance. For commercial customers with very large plans, they use AI software to identify, filter, and tag windows and doors for better accuracy and efficiency.

    “Along with quickly getting window counts, we can also provide more accurate material lists using built-in formulas or even creating our own formulas,” he said. “Our AI-assisted measurements provide another layer of quality assurance and help us reduce remeasuring or reordering of materials, which can be costly.”

    Geisel said AI also helps his team create standardized cost assemblies and recognize patterns from previous jobs.

    “It recommends labor or material benchmarks based on similar projects,” he said. “It allows us to provide tighter, more accurate bids with less administrative work.”

    Office automation

    Like many of my clients, all three construction companies said they’re using AI in the office to help draft emails and proposals, summarize long email threads, prepare responses to requests for information, produce scope letters, and turn estimating data into professional reports.

    Geisel said his team uses Microsoft Copilot.

    “Copilot also helps turn raw estimating data into clean, professional reports that can be sent to clients,” Geisel said. “Instead of spending an hour formatting a scope breakdown or executive summary, you can generate a polished version in minutes and then refine it to your needs.”

    Reporting and analysis

    After projects are completed, companies can use AI to analyze and report on job performance in comparison to the estimates and evaluate overall profitability.

    “Thanks to AI, we have been able to reduce our ‘recoveries’ significantly, which in our industry boils down to time,” Biedekapp said. “It helps us save the time spent to remeasure, reorder windows, parts, pieces, as well as the time spent tying up our project coordinators and carpenters.”

    That translates to money saved too, he said, “but as a small business, the time is most valuable.”

    As for staffing, McDermott said AI won’t be replacing any employees. But it will allow them to work better. “It will just give them a way to redirect their skills to strengthen on a different task and be more productive.”

  • Sixers open season Oct. 20 at Knicks, face Cavaliers in Philly home debut for LeBron James, Jaylen Brown

    Sixers open season Oct. 20 at Knicks, face Cavaliers in Philly home debut for LeBron James, Jaylen Brown

    The 76ers will be one of the NBA’s highest-profile teams this season after adding LeBron James and Jaylen Brown to a roster that already included Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.

    And they’re being treated as such as the league announces its schedule. That started with the opening week slate and marquee meetings on Tuesday, including opening night and Christmas Day. The Sixers will travel to face the Knicks in the season-opener on Oct. 20, returning home two nights later to host the Cavaliers in the home Philly debut for James and Brown.

    The Sixers will reportedly play in 30 national TV games in the 2026-27 regular season, starting on opening night against the defending champion Knicks.

    The marquee matchups keep coming on Christmas Day as the Sixers are slated to face a Los Angeles Lakers team James decided to leave this offseason.

    The matchup against the Knicks speaks to the outsized expectations for this new iteration of the Sixers. While the Sixers and Knicks have shared recent history, including a 2026 second-round sweep as the Knicks marched to a title, New York has gotten the better of that rivalry. But the Sixers have since fired former president of basketball operations Daryl Morey and hired Mike Gansey, traded for Brown and signed James to a two-year, $8 million deal. They also added depth in the offseason, with Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Labaron Philon Jr. all figured to feature heavily in the rotation.

    The prominent scheduling of the matchup against the Lakers was almost a foregone conclusion. Christmas Day, which some consider the unofficial open of the NBA season, is as good a day as any. James decided to leave Los Angeles as the franchise prioritized younger players in the offseason, with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves both playing on max deals.

    Record-breaking ticket prices, player reactions and more buzz surrounding the Sixers-Knicks season opener

    More games against rivals come early as the Sixers will see the Boston Celtics twice in the NBA preseason. That means we will get an early preview of Brown against his former team and running mate Jayson Tatum in some form, with the real games coming later. The Sixers’ three preseason games will be played at the Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 8 and in a back-to-back against the Celtics on Oct. 10 and 16.

    James spent the previous eight seasons as a member of the Lakers, delivering a title in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He kept the Lakers in contention for the rest of his tenure, including last season when he averaged 20.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists in his 23rd season. James also served as the offensive engine in the postseason at age 41, delivering a surprising first-round defeat of the Houston Rockets with Doncic and Reaves dealing with injuries. The 2025 champion Thunder ended the Lakers’ run in the second round.

    Brown played his entire 10-year career with the Celtics, winning Eastern Conference finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP as he helped lead the franchise to a title in 2024. An All-NBA performer in 2025-26, Brown is fresh off one of his best individual seasons. He averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists as the Celtics outperformed expectations and landed the second seed before falling in seven games to Embiid, Maxey and the Sixers.

    James and Brown will join a Sixers franchise big on talent. Maxey has blossomed into an All-NBA performer, Embiid is a former MVP and Edgecombe finished third in a competitive Rookie of the Year race last season.

    The Sixers’ opening night matchup against the Knicks is part of a tripleheader that starts with a matchup between the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons, followed by Sixers-Knicks and Spurs-Thunder. The week continues with Oct. 21 meetings between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat, followed by a meeting between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers. The next night, which is headlined by Sixers-Cavs, will also feature the Thunder against the Denver Nuggets.

    Christmas Day, the league’s vaunted quintet of games will start at noon with an NBA Finals rematch between the Knicks and Spurs and run deep into the night, with the final showing, a West Coast game between the Nuggets and Warriors, kicking off at 10:30 p.m. ET. Heat-Celtics, Sixers-Lakers and Thunder-Timberwolves will fit in between those games.

    Inquirer Sixers beat reporter Gina Mizell contributed to this report.

  • House of the week: A Queen Village trinity for $349,000

    House of the week: A Queen Village trinity for $349,000

    When Hunter Wages and his wife, Lauren Nalley, bought their Queen Village trinity in 2023 after renting nearby for two years, they especially liked having the Weccacoe Playground across the street.

    They liked the constant activity there, such as park cleanup days, and, “It’s hard to beat having a tennis court in your front yard,” said Wages.

    For Nalley, an environmental engineer in water resources, and Wages, who does software testing for a veterinarian agency, the two-bedroom, 1½-bathroom house was the first they had owned together.

    Living roomJim Armstrong

    Noting the home’s “historic charm,” Wages said, “trinities are unique.” And he found the exposed brick sections of the interior attractive. But they are moving to Colorado to be with friends and family.

    The 710-square-foot house on a tree-lined street has replacement windows and central air-conditioning.

    The private fenced patioJim Armstrong

    The living room has hardwood floors, built-in custom cabinetry, and French doors opening to a private fenced patio.

    The lower level also has a modern kitchen.

    KitchenJim Armstrong

    The second floor has a bedroom, the full bathroom, and multiple closets. The primary bedroom is on the third floor, with built-in shelves, vaulted ceilings, and an updated half-bathroom.

    There are also decorative fireplaces on the first and third floors.

    The primary bedroom has built-in shelves and a decorative fireplace.Jim Armstrong

    The house is steps away from neighborhood restaurants such as Southwark and Ambra, as well as the Famous 4th Street Delicatessen and the Delaware River Trail.

    It has easy access to I-95 and several bus routes.

    It is in the William M. Meredith School catchment area.

    It is listed by Jim Armstrong of JG Real Estate for $349,000.