Governor Shapiro Throws SEPTA a $153 Million Life Preserver

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced this morning that he will provide $153 million in funding for SEPTA for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Standing in a bus garage at Frankford Transportation Center in Northeast Philadelphia, Shapiro ordered Pennsylvania transportation Secretary Michael Carroll to transfer the money from seven highway projects across the state, most of which have yet to be started. The flexed funds will allow SEPTA to call off a planned 21 percent fare hike scheduled to take effect January 1st. The agency can also avoid deep service cuts this spring.

At the news conference, Shapiro touted this action as another example of how he works to “get shit done.”

Along with funding from the Commonwealth, the five counties must also chip in money. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker announced at the news conference that the city would add $30 million to its SEPTA contribution. Montgomery County Commissioners Chair Jamila Winder said her county would toss another $1 million SEPTA’s way. The other three counties in SEPTA’s service territory will also provide additional funding as the law requires.

Of course, all this merely buys time for SEPTA while Harrisburg figures out a permanent funding fix for public transportation statewide. Shapiro praised the state House leadership for passing his transportation funding package three times this year, but while “not pointing fingers,” he got digs in at the state Senate for repeatedly tacking on additional requests that he would agree to — then failing to pass a bill.

After praising SEPTA’s management, its unions, the police and construction trade unions, and the various elected officials who worked with him to make this happen, Shapiro devoted most of his remarks to the challenge ahead: Making sure that a new steady source of funding makes it into the fiscal 2026 budget.

Like many other big-city transit agencies, SEPTA relied on pandemic assistance funds and additional money supplied by the Inflation Reduction Act to continue to operate service at pre-pandemic levels after ridership crashed. While riders have slowly returned to the buses, trolleys and trains — ridership has recovered to 75 percent of pre-pandemic levels in the two most recent monthly reports — permanent changes in the way people work, especially remote work, mean that ridership will not return to pre-pandemic levels unless new sources of riders arise.

The end of the pandemic money left SEPTA some $240 million short on its fiscal 2025 budget. An infusion of $53 million in state money and local matching funds carried the agency through the fall; the fare hike and future service cuts announced November 12th would have both closed the rest of the gap and put SEPTA on what it called a “doomsday spiral.”

Several bills passed by the House this year would have averted this crisis, including one that allowed the five Southeastern Pennsylvania counties and Allegheny County to levy their own dedicated sales taxes for transit. None of them made it out of the Senate.

However, Parker offered reason to hope for a different outcome in the coming legislative session: she noted in her remarks that the last time PennDOT shifted highway money to SEPTA, former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell served as governor — and the next year saw the passage of Act 89, the first successful measure to provide dedicated transit funding across the Commonwealth.

It might be worth noting here that both of the chief executives who did this hail from the Philadelphia region. Shapiro noted that the five Southeast counties are the state’s economic engine. While he suggested that this meant the region could figure out how to fund its transit system on its own, it also meant that most of the rest of the state needs tax revenue from the Southeast to fund its road and bridge repair projects — and he also touted the progress his administration has made on those fronts this morning. SEPTA is just one of 59 agencies providing transit service to communities large and small, all of which get some of their operating funds from the Commonwealth.

In a news release issued after the conference, the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative think tank, blasted Shapiro (falsely) for not cooperating with the Senate but also pointed out that SEPTA received an unusually high portion of its operating support from the state. “State funds account for 49.9 percent of SEPTA’s funding,” the release states. “This is disproportionately high compared to other large mass transit agencies.

“The state share for New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is 9.2 percent, for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) 26.5 percent, for the New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) 26 percent, and for Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) 30.5 percent,” the release reads. The foundation, however, fails to note that at least three of those agencies — the New York MTA, NJ Transit and Boston’s MBTA — are units of their states’ governments rather than independent regional public authorities.

The release also noted that SEPTA gets a lower share of its revenue from fares than the New Y0rk MTA, CTA and MBTA do and that the county governments provide only 7.4 percent of its revenues. While a statewide funding fix is still needed, some of these figures also ought to rise. Shapiro said at the news conference that he has received commitments from the five counties to increase their share of funding for SEPTA.

In addition to Shapiro, Parker and Winder, a parade of elected officials, SEPTA brass and private business leaders spoke at the event, including both state House Speaker Joanna McClinton and Majority Leader Matthew Bradford, State Representative Jordan Harris, Independence Blue Cross CEO Greg Deavens and SEPTA Board Chair Kenneth Lawrence, Jr.

The First Details About Jesse Ito’s New ’80s-Inspired Izakaya

Every night at Royal Sushi and Izakaya was a party. It was like that every single night for years. 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., non-stop, always loud, always crowded. And even though the hours have changed since the pandemic (it operates 5pm-10pm on the weekdays now, until 11pm on the weekends, and the staff takes Mondays off), in front, the izakaya is still all octopus balls and pull-tab cans of sake. In back, a reverential sushi bar offering an incomparable omakase that started serving its multi-course, prix fixe menu long before this current moment where it seems like every restaurant is offering some kind of omakase “experience.”

I wrote about Royal back in 2017, at the long peak of its popularity, at the point when chef Jesse Ito (who ran the omakase nightly with his dad, Massaharu) was just beginning to collect a long string of James Beard Award nominations (seven at last count). It was my favorite review in what was kind of a bleak run of technically-impressive-but-way-too-safe big-name openings in and around Philly — a weird, lagging year in our perpetual boom where it seemed like everyone had a restaurant (or two, or three) that they wanted you to go to, but they were all versions of the same restaurant.

Royal was nothing like any of them. It served unapologetically Japanese bar food in front — monkfish liver with yuzu, skate wing jerky, gyoza, shumai with hot mustard — to an AC/DC soundtrack and anime projected on the wall. In back, Jesse and his father presided over a handful of seats that were among the hardest in the city to get. Even early on a Wednesday night, you could wait weeks for a seat, which I know because I did.

Then came the pandemic. Then came complications. Jesse (who’d started cooking at Fuji, his parents’ restaurant in Cinnaminson, at 14), scaled back, switched to takeout, got sober, and talked about all of it with Hannah Albertine in a great interview back in 2022. It was in that same interview that he teased “a couple things that I’d be passionate about,” but swore he wasn’t looking to expand. That he was just focusing on staying clean, staying healthy, and focusing on himself and his life for “the next few years.”

Turns out, that second part wasn’t entirely true.

Because we just got word that Jesse is absolutely picking up a second location. He’s already picked up a space — the old Foodery location at 1710 Sansom Street — and while there’s not a ton of details yet, I do know it’s going to be another izakaya-style project, focusing on Japanese classics and modern interpretations of Japanese comfort food. Oh, and also that it’s going to be called dancerobot (you can follow Ito’s new restaurant here on Instagram).

“The name just came to me,” according to Jesse. “The restaurant will be a fun, high-energy izakaya. The name captures that feeling, and it’s a little bit inspired by ’80s Japan.”

So basically right in the center of my geeky little food-nerd heart, which I appreciate.

Jesse’s long-time right-hand man at Royal, Justin Bacharach, will be leading the kitchen at dancerobot (where he’ll also be a partner), and while the menu is (obviously) still coming together, there is an idea of what it’ll look like. We’re talking simple katsu curry, hamburger steak with demi and wasabi mashed potato, and mentaiko pasta — which is kinda like a Japanese interpretation of American comfort food. Think spaghetti with pollock roe, butter and soy sauce and you’re in the ballpark. Plus, dancerobot is going to be doing brunch, making it one of the very few restaurants offering Japanese breakfast foods like teishoku, Japanese pancakes, homemade milk bread toasts, kinpira gobu, and breakfast-y yaki onigiri.

Right now, they’re looking at a spring (or possibly summer) opening in 2025. And you can be sure that I’m going to be keeping a close eye on this one as it progresses.

Rampant Rodent Feces Shut Down South Philly Bar

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Rampant Rodent Feces Shut Down South Philly’s POPE (aka Pub on Passyunk East)

OK, I’m going to try my absolute mature best to get through this without making any “POPE poop” jokes. Let’s see how it goes.

On Wednesday night, we had a going-away party for our now-former editor-in-chief Brian Howard. We were debating between Bob & Barbara’s and The Pub on Passyunk East (POPE). We ended up choosing Bob & Barbara’s. And it sounds like it’s a good thing that we did.

On Tuesday, the Philadelphia Department of Health shut down POPE. I see a lot of restaurant inspection reports, and many times, the violations seem petty and minimal. But this was not the case with POPE.

According to city records, the health inspector found rodent feces. And not just a mouse turd here or there. The inspector wrote that mouse feces were observed “throughout” the floor in the food prep area. Ew. There were also rodent feces under the counters, under prep tables, and throughout the basement. Also, flies.

The inspector also found “potentially hazardous food” in the walk-in cooler and food held at potentially unsafe temperatures as high as 59 degrees rather than the required high temperature of 41 degrees. And then there were old, undated ready-to-eat chicken and dips, which were thrown away on the spot.

The Health Department shut down POPE at 7:10 p.m. on Tuesday. And the bar has to wait 48 hours before requesting a new inspection, after which POPE may be allowed to reopen.

Don’t Want to Cook on Thanksgiving?

No worries. Here’s a thorough guide to Thanksgiving takeout options. Want to eat out on Thanksgiving? There’s a guide for that as well. Just remember to tip generously, since your server is spending their Thanksgiving with you.

By the Numbers

1: Number of Roy Rogers locations in the immediate Philadelphia area that will exist once this one opens in Cherry Hill. I’m sorry, but does anyone actually want a return of Roy Rogers?

60: Minutes it took us last night to get more rain than we had in the two months prior. No, we’re not out of the drought!

600: Medical malpractice lawsuits we could see in Philadelphia this year. That’s… a lot. Actually, 46 percent more than we saw pre-COVID. Well, at least the lawyers are happy.

Local Talent

When I heard that West Philly native Colman Domingo (Euphoria, Fear the Walking Dead, Rustin, Sing Sing) was playing Michael Jackson’s father in the Michael biopic set for release in 2025, I wondered how Domingo felt about the film and the potential for backlash to it, considering the accusations of pedophilia against the late pop star. In a new interview with Variety, Domingo defends the movie and says “everyone has a story to tell.” I guess my main question is, how will the movie deal with these troubling allegations?

Ed. Note: An earlier version of this article misstated the maximum temperature allowed for food storage.

What Leaders Can Learn From Josh Shapiro

The election is over, and at least for me, the end couldn’t have come too soon. Living in a swing state during a Presidential election might put you in the center of the action, but, boy, the barrage of campaign ads was exhausting and divisive.

I always try to be optimistic. And I am sincerely hoping president-elect Trump can be an effective leader for our country. It makes no sense to me to root for anything else.

What does effective political leadership look like? I think we in Pennsylvania are fortunate to have a great example of it with our governor, Josh Shapiro. Shapiro was on Vice President Kamala Harris’s short list to be VP, and people are already talking about him as a presidential candidate in 2028. That’s a long way off, and we’ll see what happens. For now, I think there are a lot of things political leaders everywhere can learn from him.

He Has a Unique Mix of Skills

In my experience, different elected officials have different skill sets. Legislators — from City Council members to members of Congress — stand out when they understand specific issues and act as strong advocates for their constituents. In contrast, executives, from mayors and governors to presidents, typically do best when they see the big picture and are able to get things accomplished.

As I say, most public officials have one set of skills or the other — but Shapiro has both. He works at understanding what really matters to the people he’s serving, and he’s demonstrated the ability to implement real solutions.

One reason for that, I think, is that Shapiro possesses a particular kind of humility. He knows what he doesn’t know, and he’s not afraid to ask questions in order to find solutions. Combine that with the empathy he has, and it makes for a rare and powerful combination of skills.

He Looks for Win-Win Scenarios

During my years on City Council I observed a lot of what I call “win by losing” situations. That is, politicians try to solve the problems of one group of people by punishing another group of people.

Shapiro has always impressed me because his first instinct is to look for solutions that actually help everyone. He does that, again, by listening to people — and taking good ideas no matter where they come from. During his first budget cycle as governor, for instance, he made a point of reaching out to Republicans even before he submitted a budget proposal.

That doesn’t mean everything always goes smoothly — people have disagreements about policies and priorities, and politics can get in the way — but an open approach builds trust on both sides. Even if you didn’t get everything you wanted, at least the process didn’t start with the other side trying to squash you. I wish more of our politicians would follow that model. I think it’s exactly what the public wants.

He Gets Stuff Done

When a truck fire caused a portion of I-95 to collapse in the summer of 2023, the initial fear was that the road would be shut down for months, disrupting the flow of people and goods along one of America’s most traveled highways.

I love the fact that Shapiro wouldn’t settle for that. He pushed for creative solutions to fixing the highway quickly, and he helped slash red tape so that the work could actually be done quickly. The fact that I-95 was reopened within a matter of days was important not only because it let traffic start flowing again, but because — as Shapiro himself has said — it demonstrated that government doesn’t have to be a slow, lumbering bureaucracy that takes forever to accomplish things.

We’ve seen that mindset in other areas of the Shapiro administration. After hearing that dealing with state government was maddeningly slow, his team has implemented a series of standards and practices and technology that cut wait lists, back logs and wait times by the thousands for different government approvals and services.

All of that matters because it gives citizens trust and confidence that government actually works.

He’s Ambitious

One of the criticisms you sometimes hear about Shapiro is that he’s too “ambitious.” People say his eye is always on the next prize, and cite the fact that he’s systematically risen from legislator to county commissioner to attorney general to governor.

My response: Why is that a bad thing? While Shapiro can be humble when it comes to understanding tricky issues, he’s clearly a leader who wants to lead. Isn’t that what we want? Would it somehow be better to have people in charge who are content to muddle through and just stay where they are? I love the energy and focus Shapiro brings to whatever position he has, and the fact that he’s been able to rise through the ranks is evidence that voters (on both sides of the aisle) approve of how he handles himself.

As I say, I’m not rooting for any of our politicians to fail. We’re all in this together. But it comforts me that there are leaders out there like Josh Shapiro, who understand what the public is asking for and are committed to doing it.

What Happens at Mr. Ivy Stays at Mr. Ivy — But We’re Giving You a Sneak Peek Anyway

Upon entering Mr. Ivy,  the daring new nightlife concept opening this weekend in Northern Liberties, you are given stickers to cover up your phone’s camera lenses. “We believe that the true magic of nightlife lies in shared experiences, not in curated social media posts,” say Ryan Dorsey, the creator and owner of the dark, captivating space. “Our goal is to create a vibrant space where people can connect and enjoy a night out without distractions.”

Mr. Ivy will be an avant-garde nightclub, blending provocative entertainment and immersive visuals. Open only on weekends, it will have rotating acts each evening.

Fridays will host Mr. Ivy’s “signature show,” complete with a master of ceremonies directing the multi-act performance featuring cirque, cabaret, burlesque, and more, interspersed with DJ sets. (After the show, stay and dance.) Saturdays are described as a “traditional club experience,” but with a twist: Along with the headlining DJ or musical act, ambient performers will enhance the experience. (It’s giving Cabaret at the Kit-Kat Club pre-show.) Sundays are industry nights.

With the addition of visuals from Klip Collective, the 6,500-square-foot space is designed to be immersive and disarming. At the bar, the lighting design (by Klip artist Riccardo Rivera) plays off a glass installation to create a kaleidoscope-like effect in the space.

Designer Karly Fajardo (Block LII) played up the space’s industrial elements — think exposed trusses and brickwork, high ceilings — adding some lush metallics, gold-washed glass and smooth shapes to contrast. “We wanted to embrace the raw feel of the venue but add elements that feel immersive and exciting,” she says. To that end, a 360-degree stage makes sure you’re part of the action no matter where you sit.

Dorsey, who also helped create NOTO and Recess Lounge, has been planning Mr. Ivy since 2016, and the space is named for his mother, Ivy Dorsey. “Philadelphia deserves a nightclub that celebrates its rich culture and history while also pushing boundaries,” he says. “Mr. Ivy is here to fill that void, offering a nightlife experience that emphasizes connection and community.”

Mr. Ivy opens to the public on Friday, and is located at 461 North 3rd Street in Northern Liberties.

Jawdropper of the Week: Second Empire Mansion in Rittenhouse Square

Welcome back to the Jawdropper of the Week! We’ve dusted off this former “Property” staple because, if you’re like us, you love looking at drop-dead-gorgeous houses for sale in this region. We promise to give you one of the best of them in this space every week. Here’s a good one for starters.

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“When a Biddle gets drunk, he thinks he’s a Cadwalader.”

— old saying about two of Philadelphia’s First Families

I wonder whether those drunk Biddles fantasized about living in a house like this former Cadwalader residence off Rittenhouse Square.

This Rittenhouse Square Second Empire townhouse for sale was built in 1865 as a wedding gift for John Cadwalader and Mary Fisher. (City property records place its construction date 15 years earlier.)

Up to now, it has had only four owners in its 159- (or 174-)year history. You now have the opportunity to become its fifth.

Its second owner was the French government, which took the Cadwalader Mansion off the family’s hands sometime in the 1950s and made it their Philadelphia consulate. (I’m guessing its Second Empire design appealed to the French.) It returned to private ownership in the 1960s, and its owners since have restored its past glory and then some.

The way they restored it, however, makes it ideal for someone who owns a business they can run from home.

The first floor is where business and pleasure can mix. A vestibule whose front door still has the original lock and key (above) opens into a spacious foyer (below).

All the moldings you see in these photos were reconstructed from the original plaster molds used to make them. The inlaid oak floors were also refreshed.

In front of the foyer and next to the vestibule is this elegant living room with a marble fireplace, a custom gold-wash mirror (one of three in this house) and a Tiffany crystal chandelier (also one of three in this house).

Behind the foyer, a formal dining room has the second Tiffany chandelier and the second of those custom mirrors. This one has a large C (for Cadwalader) incorporated into its frame.

A fully equipped catering kitchen and bar sit off the dining room. A powder room sits off the corridor connecting the dining room and foyer, next to the kitchen, and a silver safe hides behind a door to the right of the corridor.

Behind it is a deck whose staircase leads down to a landscaped patio that also connects directly to the lower level (more on it below). At its far end (not pictured) sits a carriage house that now functions as a two-car garage.

The second floor combines personal and professional space. The personal space is the primary bedroom at the front. Like all the other rooms on the first three floors, it has a marble fireplace.

Its en-suite bathroom includes a steam sauna. A second en-suite bedroom in the middle of the floor currently serves as a dressing room.

A large study sits at the back of the floor, facing south. It has a fireplace, the third Tiffany chandelier and the third gold-wash mirror.

The top two floors constitute the purely private realm. The third floor contains three en-suite bedrooms, each with its own fireplace.

The top floor, under the mansard roof, has been transformed into a modern everyday living suite. A high-ceilinged den takes up the front of the floor. A full bathroom sits next to the den.

Behind it is the skylit kitchen and family dining room. This kitchen, however, can also handle a meal for visiting friends, as it has a six-burner gas range, dual ovens, two sinks, a two-drawer dishwasher, two pantries and a Sub-Zero fridge.

Past the stair hall beyond the kitchen, doors open onto a roof deck with 360-degree skyline views.

From here, you can take the vintage Otis elevator all the way down to the basement to retrieve your favorite wine from the 650-bottle, climate-controlled wine cellar.

Also on this level: the main laundry room (there’s a second one on the third floor), plenty of storage space, the mechanicals and a large room at the back that opens onto the patio. Once a commercial kitchen, this room now serves as an exercise room, craft room, and storage space for sports equipment.

With all this Rittenhouse Square Second Empire house for sale has to offer, you may never want to leave it, and if you use it as your business home base, you wouldn’t have to, since you can have just about everything you might want delivered. But then you’d be depriving yourself of the many great dining, shopping, cultural and leisure options in both Rittenhouse Square and Fitler Square — this house sits close to both.

It also sits just a short distance from South Street and the Grays Ferry Triangle, where you will find two of three nearby supermarkets and even more dining, shopping and entertainment options.

So whether you want to live like a Cadwalader or drink like a Biddle, this house has exactly what you want to do either — or both.

THE FINE PRINT

BEDS: 5

BATHS: 6 full, 2 half

SQUARE FEET: 5,752

SALE PRICE: $4,625,000

2102 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA 19103 [Mary Genovese Colvin and Margaux Genovese Pelegrin | On the Square Real Estate | Compass]

 

Massage Therapist Eric Elliott Gets Probation in South Philly Sexual Assault Case

Way back in 2016, a Rittenhouse Square woman accused Philadelphia massage therapist Eric Elliott of sexually assaulting her during a massage inside her home. A first trial resulted in a mistral — the second, an acquittal. Then in 2021, a South Philadelphia woman accused Elliott of sexually assaulting her during a massage inside her home. But this time, there would be no acquittal.

On Tuesday at the Criminal Justice Center, Elliott, his attorney Vincent Lorusso, his accuser, and an assistant district attorney all appeared for a 9 a.m. trial, where a jury was set to hear the case against him. The charges included felony aggravated indecent assault and misdemeanor indecent assault.

But at the last minute, Elliott accepted a plea deal, pleading guilty to simple assault and harassment. The court dismissed the indecent assault charges and sentenced Elliott to three years of probation. Also part of the plea deal: he’d be supervised during probation by the sex offender unit and required to undergo sex offender evaluation, though he is not, at this time, required to register as a sex offender. Plus, the judge banned him from giving massages while under supervision.

“I am actually really satisfied,” Elliott’s accuser tells Philly Mag. (At her request, we are not publishing her name.) “I wasn’t out for revenge. I wasn’t looking for punishment. Honestly, incarceration does not align with my belief system. I don’t think jail would have rehabilitated him. In fact, he could have come out hardened and even more dangerous.”

When she addressed Elliott at the hearing on Tuesday, just before sentencing, she spoke about the Jewish practice known as Teshuvah.

“We believe in this process of repairing harm,” she said to Elliott from the stand. “And it begins with first admitting to the harm.”

She says that Elliott looked away from her as she spoke to him and that the judge wasn’t having any part of it.

“She reamed him out and told him she didn’t like his demeanor,” recalls Elliott’s accuser. “Literally yelled at him. She said that he was acting like a victim, while here is this humble and compassionate actual victim. She actually increased his probation time from what was originally agreed to because of the way he was acting.”

While she says that she’s satisfied with the outcome and relieved that the “humiliating” experience is over, she is worried that Elliott will continue to give massages despite the judge’s order. It’s not an unreasonable concern.

In February 2022, a week after Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner filed charges against Elliott in the South Philadelphia case, the state’s Board of Massage Therapy suspended Elliott’s massage license. A state prosecutor had successfully argued to the board that Elliott was an “immediate and clear danger to the public health and safety.” And yet, in July 2022, Elliott showed up at a Delco woman’s house to give a massage, as we discovered for ourselves when we were there upon his arrival, as part of Philly Mag’s investigation into him. Less than two weeks after we published our report, the state board fully revoked his massage license.

It’s unclear what Eric Elliott’s future in the massage world might be after his probation is over. But his South Philadelphia accuser hopes he finds another profession: “This is an industry that is just ripe for abuse.” When reached for comment on Wednesday morning, Lorusso, Elliott’s attorney, assured Philly Mag that his client would abide by the judge’s order and refrain from giving massages while on probation.

“I don’t think she could have been any more clear about it,” Lorusso says of the judge’s orders.

His accuser isn’t so sure.

“He didn’t care before,” she says. “So why should he care now? And what’s to stop him from doing massages under a different name?”

Comcast Is Ditching MSNBC and Other Cable Channels It Owns

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Comcast Is Ditching MSNBC and Other Cable Channels It Owns

The big national news in the media and entertainment world today is that Comcast has decided to divest itself of some of its most well-known cable channels: MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen, USA, Syfy, E!, and the Golf Channel. The channels will be owned by a new corporate entity and will not affect Comcast’s balance sheet, an active concern when cord-cutting has become such a prevailing trend.

A Comcast executive wrote in an internal memo that the action will allow Comcast to focus on and invest more in other areas of its business. Comcast will hold on to NBC, Bravo (don’t worry: your Real Housewives aren’t going anywhere), and its Peacock streaming service.

MSNBC co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough awkwardly joked about their job future on Wednesday morning, given the news of the day.

For the full story on Comcast’s plan, go to the Wall Street Journal, which broke the news.

Direct from New York

Starting on Thursday, Philadelphia will have its own TKTS booth, the famed New York City ticketing booth that offers last-minute discounts to live performances. Participating venues and groups include the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Wilma and Arden theaters and Ballet X. The booth will be at Independence Visitor Center at 6th and Market streets. Expect discounts of up to 50 percent.

When Uber XL Just Isn’t Big Enough…

You can now request Uber XXL. The new service is designed to provide passengers flying in and out of Philadelphia International Airport with plenty of trunk space for all that luggage.

By the Numbers

5 percent: Wage increase for SEPTA’s city drivers in a tentative agreement between SEPTA and the union representing those drivers. So it sounds like your city buses, trolleys, and subway will keep running just fine. As for those in the burbs, that negotiation is ongoing. But Regional Rail trains would remain unaffected, in any event.

$600,000: What it will cost you to buy Muhammad Ali’s former home in the Greenhill Farms section of West Philly, just off City Avenue. Bonus: Kobe Bryant once lived there. It’s currently owned by Bryant’s grandmother. You’ll want to replace the hideous carpets. But otherwise, I see a lot of possibilities.

13: Years since fellow boxing great — and Ali opponent — Joe Frazier died. And it sounds like the building that once housed his gym is in a fair amount of peril. We make a whole lot of fuss about a fake boxer and his movie prop-statue but can’t preserve Joe Frazier’s old gym?

Local Talent

I know I was just telling you yesterday about Grammy-nominated Quakertown native Sabrina Carpenter and her upcoming Netflix Christas musical special, featuring our own Quinta Brunson of Abbott Elementary fame. And right after that, I learned of a new development in a scandal surrounding the pop star. Around this time last year, Carpenter came out with a pretty sexy (OK, very sexy) music video for her song “Feather,” in which she appears in various states of skimpy dress. (You can watch it here.)

The problem is that Carpenter shot some of the scenes inside a church in Brooklyn, with the permission of the priest. Many Catholics were none too happy about it. An investigation ensued. And, well, the long and short of it is that the church has now, er, stripped the priest of all of his duties. Guessing the priest won’t be saying the blessing at the Christmas special.

Life After Couch Cafe: Scampi Brings the “Italian Diaspora” to Queen Village

Liz Grothe made a name for herself in Philly with Couch Cafe, a quirky series of semi-private dinner parties themed for whatever whims were striking her fancy: her travels through Italy, nostalgic takes on ’90s restaurant chains, and the comfort dishes from her childhood in Oklahoma, to name a few. From her apartment, she fried perfect arancini, presented homemade pastas to guests gathered around her living room, and once even crawled through her window to serve seafood boils to hungry guests. And it was all gearing up toward this moment: opening Scampi, a permanent restaurant that captures the intimacy of Couch Cafe with an even better menu supported by, you know, a real professional kitchen.

Grothe is opening Scampi on December 4th in the former Neighborhood Ramen space just off South Street. The menu will be prix-fixe like the pop-up, priced at $115 (inclusive of tax and tip) for five courses, and will have two seatings a night at 5:30 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. Prepaid reservations are available on OpenTable.

In a city of Italian restaurants, Scampi stands out for a couple of reasons. First of all, the decor speaks specifically to Grothe’s niche “fearlessly silly” sense of humor. The entire dining room is painted pink and green, like cactus flowers in bloom, and on the walls, shrimp-themed pop-art and photos of things Grothe loves, like her chubby white cat named Heavy Cream. She has even removed Neighborhood Ramen’s host stand to make room for a small bar where she hopes people will eventually be able to walk in for “just a bowl of pasta and a bottle of wine.” Second, the cooking isn’t what you think of when you think Italian; she calls it “Italian diaspora cooking.”

“It’s regional Italian food with influences from everywhere Italians have gone,” she explains. That means pasta, yes, like the plump culurgiones that got her a shout-out from Bon Appétit earlier this year. At a preview dinner, she served them stuffed with trout, sitting in sour cream and topped with trout roe. Fans of Couch Cafe will find some beloved classics (including fancy hot dogs), but Grothe is also excited to experiment with her bespoke cooking style in a real restaurant kitchen. “We’ve got a real stove, a dishwasher that cleans stuff in two minutes,” Grothe says, excited. “It means we can do things we couldn’t do in literally an apartment.”

Her dishes are both familiar and surprising, driven by her own cravings and palate, and made with a lot of care. Take, for example, the handmade pici she rolled for the recent preview dinner, topping them with a chili and pecan-laden sauce that landed somewhere between mapo tofu, salsa macha, and macaroni and cheese. Grothe’s tiramisu is another representative dish — a decidedly classic iteration, made modern and punchy with the addition of crushed Frosted Flakes on top.

The personal nature of her cooking and the journey she’s taken to get to this point is reflected in the restaurant. Her friends at Pietramala gifted her the restaurant’s pasta extruder. The restaurants’ chairs and glassware were hand-me-downs from Randy Rucker, the first person to give Grothe a shot in the restaurant. And the space itself is essentially Neighborhood Ramen passing the torch as they move toward their goal of opening a ramen shop in Japan.

For as fun-loving as Grothe is, she’s also pretty thoughtful and sentimental. She’ll tell you she thinks shrimp are hilarious, but there’s a deeper meaning behind “Scampi,” the beloved shrimp dish you can get at Red Lobster. It’s a reference to the way that Italian food has changed in the United States. In Italy, Grothe explains, scampi refers to langoustines, whereas in the United States, it refers to the way most Italians would cook their langoustines with butter, lemon, and parsley. And at Scampi, the evolution of Italian food is sure to continue.

How Philadelphia’s New Twice-a-Week Trash Collection Works

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How Philadelphia’s New Twice-a-Week Trash Collection Works

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker wants to clean up this city, forever eschewing the Filthadelphia moniker. Well, I don’t know that we’ll ever shed the Filthadelphia thing. I mean, it’s legit catchy. Regardless, Parker is serious.

Over the summer, she sent out crews to clean up every single block in the city. Crews disposed of trash. They removed abandoned cars. They painted over graffiti. And they scrubbed dirt and grime from the sidewalks. It wasn’t perfect. But an A for effort.

Now, the Parker administration has announced that trucks will pick up your trash twice a week instead of one — depending on where you live.

The new twice-a-week trash collection pilot programs kicks off on Monday, December 2nd for all residences between Callowhill Street and Pattison Avenue and Delaware Avenue (yes, Columbus Boulevard in parts) and the Schuylkill Expressway. So, basically, the vast majority of South Philly and then Center City, Old City, et cetera. The map shows you the way:

If your normal trash collection day is on Monday, they’ll now pick up your trash on Monday and Thursday. Tuesday pickups get Friday added. If you’re a Wednesday pickup, they’re adding Saturday. Thursday gets a second pickup on Monday. And, I’m guessing you see the pattern here but… Friday pickups enjoy a second pickup on Tuesday. In the event of a city-observed holiday, your normal day gets bumped by a day, as it always has, and there’s no second pickup.

As for your recycling, crews will only pick that up on your normal trash day. Undoubtedly, thousands of Philadelphia households will put their recycling out on both days. Because after all these years, we still haven’t properly figured out recycling.

Don’t live in one of those neighborhoods? Parker’s office says you can expect more two-days-a-week trash collection in Philadelphia starting next fall.

About That SEPTA Strike…

Yesterday, I warned you that not one but two SEPTA strikes could happen at any time, with one union’s contract having expired earlier this month and another’s expiring at 11:59 p.m. last night. Well… no SEPTA strike. Yet. Negotiations continue. Fingers crossed. (And not only because I’ll pretty much be forced to drive my son every day for college if both of these strikes happen.)

Things That Make You Go Hmmmm….

Does Center City really need a jazz club with ping pong tables and “Philly-inspired bar food,” all conceived of by some guy from New York City? Philly Mag restaurant critic Jason Sheehan seems highly skeptical.

Searching for Future Opera Stars In South Philly

You probably know Jennifer Weiner as the bestselling novelist from Queen Village. But it turns out Weiner is also a big opera fan. And so she set out for Settlement Music School last week to check out a Metropolitan Opera competition. Check out her report here.

By the Numbers

$21 million: Cost of renovations to the just-reopened Vare Recreation Center in Grays Ferry. That includes a full-sized indoor basketball gym, a fully-equipped gymnastics center, and a state-of-the-art computer lab with the only fiber optic internet connection of any rec center in the city. If you’re wondering where all that money came from, you can largely thank the much-loathed soda tax. Take that, Jeff Brown! (Remember him?)

0: Number of undated or misdated mail-in ballots from the recent election that Pennsylvania counties are allowed to count. That’s thanks to a new ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. And if you’re thinking to yourself: Wait, I thought the election was over… the McCormick vs. Casey recount is not.

3: Number of former Philadelphia elected officials who went on to become convicted of crimes and who now have taxpayer-funded jobs working for the city. You know, sometimes bad things really do happen in Philadelphia. For more on the sometimes amusing history of corrupt and allegedly corrupt politicians in Philadelphia’s storied past, read this.

Local Talent

Quakertown native Sabrina Carpenter, who’s nominated for the same number of Grammys as Taylor Swift is this year, appears to be trying to channel some of that Christmas-is-a-goldmine business savvy demonstrated by Mariah Carey. Sabrina has her own musical Christmas special coming out on Netflix. A Nonsense Christmas will stream beginning at 6 p.m. on December 6th. Among the guest stars? Philly’s own Quinta Brunson. Well, I’m sure it won’t be watched by as many people as that Tyson vs. Paul thing. But at least it will be more entertaining. Well, hopefully. Here’s the trailer.