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News

Plus, PATCO’s “ghost station” to reopen in mere months.

Pennsylvania State Representative Kevin Boyle seen drunk at a bar in a viral video (video provided)

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Kevin Boyle Caught on Video in Tirade at Local Bar

It must have been great to live in a time before video cameras were everywhere. You could go to a bar, drink your face off, say rude things, maybe get into a bar brawl, and if you just slept it off and waited a few days, you could probably go back to the bar and apologize. Move on with your life. Grab another beer.

Alas, it’s 2024. Cameras are ubiquitous. And that’s probably something Pennsylvania State Representative Kevin Boyle, a Democrat representing the Northeast Philly area, wishes he’d remembered the other night when he went out to his neighborhood bar.

Pennsylvania State Representative Kevin Boyle in his official photo

Pennsylvania State Representative Kevin Boyle in his official photo (photo via Kevin Boyle’s office)

It was Wednesday, February 7th, and Boyle found himself at Gaul & Co. Malt House in Rockledge, very close to where he lives. He decided to have some drinks. And why not? It was his birthday. He’s now 44.

According to the Rockledge police department, bar staff asked Boyle to leave. He refused. And as you can see in the video above, Boyle threatens to use his influence to shut the bar down. He also says something or other about military intelligence. Police responded to the scene shortly after midnight and say the staff at Gaul & Co. Malt House declined to press charges.

In 2021, police arrested Boyle for allegedly violating a protection-from-abuse order filed by his wife. The court record doesn’t indicate a disposition for that case. Another puzzling incident from 2021: Boyle got nasty with Philadelphia City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas on Twitter. Puzzling, because the two are (or at least were) longtime friends. He later deleted the tweet.

Neither Boyle nor his office responded to requests for comment.

Here’s what the spokesperson for the House Democrats in Harrisburg had to say in a statement:

We are aware of a video circulating on social media. It is very troubling. Rep. Boyle has been open about his personal challenges. We are encouraged that our colleague and dear friend is seeking help. Our commitment to delivering mental health services does not stop at the Capitol Steps. One of the main reasons we advocate so strongly for mental health access is the reality that challenges can and do happen to anyone, and seeking treatment should be encouraged, not stigmatized.

Boyle is up for reelection. And Republican Aizaz Gill, who is president of the Burholme Civic Assocation, wants to unseat him. Gill was quick to pounce on the scandal.

“Kevin Boyle’s actions prove he is 100 percent wrong for our families,” Gill said in a statement. “A state representative is supposed to set a positive example, help local people and businesses, and respect the people they serve. It is clear from this video that Kevin Boyle has failed on all three. It is particularly horrible that Boyle seems to threaten to use his official power to close down a local business and is so patently disrespectful to the female bartender in the video, including cursing her out.”

Who the Heck Is Heather Honey?

From the department of names that sound like their holders should be in some other kind of less-clothed business comes Heather Honey. If you ever find yourself wondering where all this misinformation about stolen elections and the like comes from (I mean, other than from Donald Trump himself) and how it spreads, check out SpotlightPA’s investigation into a Pennsylvania activist known as, yes, Heather Honey. According to the report, she’s a huge source.

Local Talent

Here’s your obligatory photo of Pride of Berks County Taylor Swift watching her beau win the Super Bowl last night:

Taylor Swift and friends at the Super Bowl

Taylor Swift and her famous friends at the Super Bowl (Getty Images)

And if you’re wondering But who are the other girls — as no shortage of people were wondering last night — you’ve got Lana Del Rey, Ice Spice, and Blake Lively, who, in olden times, would have been referred to as Mrs. Ryan Reynolds.

Lots of people are also talking about how Travis Kelce went after Kansas City coach Andy Reid, who, of course, used to coach the Eagles. And then there are those among us who consider Kylie Kelce (Jason’s wife) to be a hero because she refused to wear Chiefs gear to the Super Bowl.

In non-Super-Bowl-Taylor-Kelce news …

Tina Fey’s new musical movie version of her hit 2004 comedy Mean Girls (yes, there’s also a musical theater version, just to confuse you further) has had its share of critics, with lots of young women taking to TikTok to express their displeasure with the film. Well, Fey, who grew up in Upper Darby, just unleashed on them during an interview. Sheesh! I didn’t know people were still using the C-word.

And if you’re an Abbott Elementary fan, good news: ABC just renewed Quinta Brunson’s show for a fourth season.

By the Numbers

90 percent: Chance it will be very wet when you wake up on Tuesday morning.

$30 million: Cost to reopen PATCO’s “ghost station” down at 7th and Race. The Franklin Square station is expected to debut (or re-debut) as early as this summer and as late as — well, it’s Philly, so at some point. Currently, the first PATCO stop in Philadelphia is at 8th and Market streets.

10: Beds inside Philadelphia’s new micro-hospitals. Micro-hospitals are a newish innovation in health care. But the innovation I’d really like is a version of medical tape that doesn’t rip all your body hair off when it’s removed. That would be progress.

And from the Whole-New-Team Sports Desk …

I’m assuming you all know what happened in the Big Game last night — three quarters of grinding boredom followed by a quarter plus overtime of mayhem — so let’s get right to the Sixers.

New acquisitions Buddy Hield and Cam Payne made their debuts in Philly on Friday vs. the Hawks, in the wake of all of Thursday’s big trades. Gone: Furkan Korkmaz, Pat Beverley, Marcus Morris Sr., Danuel House and Jaden Springer. The former Pacer and former Buck, respectively, both started along with Kelly Oubre, Paul Reed and Tobias Harris. (Tyrese Maxey was ill. Again.)

“We expect there to be some miscommunication tonight,” Kate Scott announced, and she wasn’t wrong. They sure weren’t shy about shooting for the new home crowd, though; both scored in the early going. Still, we were down 37-26 one quarter in — and 73-56 at the break. Reed did have a double-double, though.

They fell behind by 22 in the third before cutting that to six in the fourth with 3:50 to go — such teases! Another loss — eight out of nine. This is not the enticement you imagine it is, Sixers.

Then again … on Saturday night, Tyrese was back, and he started with Reed, Oubre, Harris and Hield against the Wizards in D.C. The two teams rode the proverbial seesaw through most of the first quarter until a Sixers run made it 33-26 at its close. They pulled ahead as much as seven in the second, but it was closer than that at the half: 59-56. Halfway through the third, we were up 10, and the scoring was nicely spaced out among the five starters plus Ricky Council IV. Teamwork! Maybe we were gonna win one without Joel? Argh, the Wizards cut it to a two-point lead with five and change to go. Council was having himself a night.

After the game, news broke that North Philly native and Villanova’s own Kyle Lowry is also joining the team. Tonight, they head to Cleveland to play the Cavaliers, with a 7 p.m. start.

Any Doop News?

The Union lost a friendly with Cincinnati down in Clearwater on Friday, 4-3. They got goals from Mikael Uhre, Jack McGlynn and Daniel Gazdag. Our guys led 3-0 but gave up four unanswered goals in the loss.

Any College Hoops News?

Temple had a comeback for the ages on Thursday at home against Memphis, reeling off a 13-0 run in the second half. The Owls were within three with half a second to go … but the win went to the Tigers, 84-77. That makes eight Temple losses in a row. Meanwhile, Drexel lost badly at UNC-Wilmington, 75-56.

Saturday saw St. Joe’s squeak past St. Louis in a home-court thriller, 87-86; La Salle got stung by the Richmond Spiders, 82-65; Drexel went down to the College of Charleston Cougars, 80-70; and Penn’s Quakers led the Princeton Tigers at the half, 40-36, fell behind, made a valiant comeback attempt, and couldn’t quite pull it out. Final: 77-70.

On Sunday afternoon, Villanova had a healthy 39-24 lead on the Seton Hall Pirates at halftime, and tamed them completely by the end, 80-54. As for Temple, they trailed UNC-Charlotte 33-29 at the half and came back to tie it in the second half. A flurry by the 49ers put their lead at 60-49, but the Owls cut that lead to two points with 30 seconds to go. Could the Owls pull it off on Superb Owl Sunday? Not quite: Charlotte triumphs, 73-70. Damn. 

Tonight, it’s La Salle facing off against the Davidson Wildcats at 7 p.m.

The Flyers also played.

All Philly Today sports coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.




Victor Fiorillo

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