$400k spend for Gym; What’s the READI delay?; Another St. Joe’s … – Billy Penn
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API PA backs Helen Gym for mayor, pledging $400k spend
Pa.’s statewide Asian American civil rights and advocacy organization is backing former Councilmember Helen Gym for Philadelphia mayor.
- The API PA endorsement isn’t a surprise, but it comes with a major spend: $400,000 in independent expenditures, with advocacy materials coming in at least a dozen languages.
The org plans to make half a million calls on behalf of Gym, Asha Prihar reports, and its past efforts have made a difference.
Philly entrepreneurs launch a new niche travel guide platform
As travel picks back up, a Philly couple is rethinking how to make it easier for people to explore places around the globe — starting with their own city.
- “Saltete,” a new publishing platform, is from the minds behind BeerMenus.com. It lets travelers pay for custom interactive handbooks, and offers writers a simple way to monetize their work.
Featured now on the site is “A Guide to Visiting Philadelphia with Kids,” Emma Riverso reports, written by one of the founders herself.
RECAP: What else happened?
$ = paywalled
- Heads up: Mayoral candidates participate in an LGBTQ+ forum tonight from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the William Way Center. [Philly Gay Calendar]
- SEIU organizer Jarrett Smith announced a run for city commissioner as a Working Families Party candidate. One of the three seats is reserved for a non-majority party; currently it’s held by Republican Seth Bluestein. [@JarrettBSmith/Broad & Liberty]
- Philadelphia’s been talking about implementing an anti-violence program called READI since 2021. A new study showed it led to a 64% drop in shootings among participants in Chicago, but Philly officials refused to answer a reporter’s questions about the delay, other than to promise more info in March. [SocArXiv/WHYY]
- Half a year after St. Joe’s merged with USciences, the Northwest Philly Jesuit university has another acquisition in the works: the 2000-student Pa. College of Health Sciences in Lancaster. [BP 2022/Axios]
- There weren’t any known instances of students trying to use it, or any complaints filed, but AI writing program Chat GPT is now blocked on Philly School District computers. [KYW]
- Jason Kelce’s 3-year-old daughter woke up singing the Eagles fight song yesterday. It was a banner sports weekend all around: In addition to the Birds win, the Sixers took their fifth straight road game despite missing Harden and Embiid, and Temple Men’s Basketball beat their first No. 1 ranked team since 2000. [@billy_penn/Liberty Ballers/NCAA]
MAYOR WATCH
The Philadelphia Flower Show is previewing its 2023 edition, which has “The Garden Electric” as its theme and will be back inside the Pa. Convention Center after two years at FDR Park. Mayor Kenney helps announce details at a press event at PAFA (10 a.m.).
Kenney then heads up to Hunting Park Rec Center, joining Sen. Casey to discuss the $78 million federal grant we described yesterday, to make Roosevelt Boulevard safer (11:15 a.m.).
No word on whether Kenney actually tasted the wager prize he got from NYC Mayor Adams after the Eagles beat the Giants — it was a vegan cheesesteak and vegan cheesecake.
ON THE CALENDAR
🌮 Jose Garces is opening an outpost of taqueria Buena Onda in the Comcast Center concourse, and launch day features a meet and greet, with the chef signing cookbooks and handing out free samples. (1 to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24)
💵 Philly’s Office of Economic Opportunity has a new monthly seminar series on “Creating a Pathway to Generational Wealth.” This edition focuses on the psychology of owning a business. (1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25)
🏍️ What should the city do about ATVs and dirt bikes? WHYY’s Bridging Blocks hosts a community conversation at the Blackwell Library in West Philadelphia. (6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25)