Up next
Author
Share article
The post has been shared by 0 people.
Facebook 0
Twitter 0
Pinterest 0
Mail 0

News

Pew’s latest report on Philadelphia contains plenty of good news.

Philadelphia’s unemployment rate is lower than it’s been in decades.

Check phillymag.com each morning Monday through Thursday for the latest edition of Philly Today. And if you have a news tip for our hardworking Philly Mag reporters, please direct it here. You can also use that form to send us reader mail. We love reader mail!

Philadelphia Unemployment Rate Drops to Lowest In 30 Years

As we shared with you last week, Philly Mag’s April cover story is “An Optimist’s Guide to Philadelphia.” And it’s exactly what it sounds like: a thoughtful, data-driven, glass-half-full look at a city that’s usually viewed from a more glass-half-empty point of view. My personal contribution to the optimistic (but not unrealistic!) feature was this: “Yes, Philadelphia Is Safer Than They Say On TV”. Because it really is!

And it turns out that we here at Philly Mag aren’t the only ones bearing good news about Philadelphia. The Pew Charitable Trusts just released its annual “State of the City” report on Philadelphia. And it includes plenty of data that should make you happy, or at least hopeful.

Philadelphia’s unemployment rate in 2023? Down to 4.2 percent, on average. That’s the lowest Philadelphia unemployment rate in more than 30 years. Median household income? That went up 19 percent from 2019 to 2022. Good news? Yes. But as Pew rightly points out, our median household income is still significantly below the national average. We’re also becoming a more diverse city, with the percentage of residents born outside the United States at 15.7 percent, the highest percentage since way back in the 1940s. (Of course, depending on your politics, you might think that’s a very bad thing; we don’t.) And 36 percent of our residents have a four-year degree or better, a number that goes up to more than 50 percent for those between the ages of 25 and 34.

The Pew report certainly doesn’t ignore major problems the city still faces, including with public safety (though that’s clearly improving), public transportation, poverty and the opioid crisis.

“In this year of transition,” reads the report, “the challenge is clear for Philadelphia and its new leaders: They must nurture and strengthen the positive trends while making progress on a set of deep-seated problems that can sometimes seem intractable. That mission won’t be easy. But its success is essential for the future of the city and its people.”

You can say that again.

Read the full Pew report on Philadelphia for yourself here.

More Deadlines!

Yesterday brought with it an important deadline: filing your taxes. And today brings with it yet another important deadline: requesting a mail-in ballot in Pennsylvania. You can request one here. You can also just go to your county’s local election office, get a ballot, and hand it in. The biggest race you’ll be voting in is Pennsylvania Attorney General. Here’s what you need to know about all that.

Local Talent

Code Emo is a local musical duo that performs, well, emo tunes, as well as music of other genres. And they got a major assist over the weekend when playing a set at the popular Green Parrot bar and restaurant in Newtown, Bucks County.

As they were rolling through “Whiskey Glasses” by Morgan Wallen, they noticed a big guy at the back of the room singing and dancing along. At some point, Code Emo’s lead singer realizes said big guy is none other than Philadelphia Eagles crooner (and offensive tackle) Jordan Mailata, who lent his stellar pipes to those Eagles Christmas albums.

Knowing that Mailata is a John Legend fan, Code Emo immediately starts playing a John Legend song. And before long, the staff at the Green Parrot is telling Code Emo that Mailata wants to do some songs with them. And he does! It doesn’t get much better than that for a local bar band.

You can check out some of the action on Code Emo’s Instagram page.

By the Numbers

$600,000: Speaking of Bucks County, this is the amount that the former director of medical staffing at Doylestown Hospital just pleaded guilty to stealing from the the hospital’s charitable account. That money was supposed to help the community as well as hospital employees in need. Instead, Norma Galagarza used the funds to pay her taxes, car payments, credit cards, and cell-phone bill. Hey, at least she actually paid her taxes!

50: Stories expected at the really tall Harper Square, an apartment building that’s about to go up in Rittenhouse Square. The project has been under discussion for about four years and is finally moving forward with construction. No word on what the rent is going to be, but keep in mind that you’ll want to budget for regular meals at Goldie and The Dandelion, which are just around the corner.

0: Number of independents who’ll be able to vote in Pennsylvania’s primary, which is a week away. That’s thanks to Pennsylvania’s silly closed primary system. But some people are working to change that.

And From the Unlikely-Hero Sports Desk …

In last night’s Phils game vs. the Rockies, Trea Turner doubled in the third and Bryce Harper singled him home to give starter Aaron Nola a 1-0 lead, but Michael Toglia tied it in the fifth on a solo homer. Nola made it through the seventh, in which he struck out the side, and started the eighth as well before coming out for José Alvarado. Nola had nine strikeouts and only allowed four hits and one walk.

In our half, Kyle Schwarber walked to lead things off and took second on a wild pitch. Trea Turner struck out, Bryce Harper flied out, Cristian Pache came in to run for Schwarbs, and the Rockies made a pitching change, bringing in Jalen Beeks to face J.T. Realmuto, who made the third out with a fly ball. On to the ninth! Jeff Hoffman was masterful through two batters, with a pop fly and a strikeout, before Elías Diaz doubled off the wall. Hoffman’s wild pitch sent Diaz’s pinch runner, Kyle Freeland, to third, Nolan Jones was intentionally walked, and this went down:

Nice body block, Jeff! The Rockies challenged the call to no avail. Last chance for the Phils, but Brandon Marsh, Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott couldn’t do squat. Tenth time, with Seranthony Domínguez on the mound. Harper made a nice play to stop a potential single, the runner on second took third on a long fly, and Brenton Doyle flew out to end that threat. In our half, Whit Merrifield sac-bunted second-base runner Bryson Stott to third; Alec Bohm, pinch-hitting for Rojas, grounded out; and Pache, of all people …

The first walk-off winner of his career. Woo! The Rockies are up again at CBP tonight, same 6:40 start.

Got Any NBA News?

As a matter of fact, we do. Joel Embiid is on the USA roster for the Paris Olympics. And there’s this as well:

And please enjoy this replay of former Sixer and current Houston Rocket center Boban Marjanovic deliberately missing his second free throw in order to provide free chicken to the masses:

What a guy. The Flyers also play.

All Philly Today sports coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.

Victor Fiorillo

Source link

You May Also Like

Career gaps, pauses and shifts aren’t stopping Prelude Solutions from hiring talented women

After nearly a decade devoting her time and energy raising four children,…