There’s a New Weather Woman in Town

6ABC’s Payton Domschke, Philadelphia’s newest meteorologist (photo courtesy Payton Domschke/6ABC)

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There’s a New Weather Woman in Town

There are a lot of weird things about Philadelphia. One is that many people seem to be obsessed with the folks who deliver the weather each night on Philadelphia TV stations. And, okay, full disclosure, I have interviewed Cecily Tynan, Karen Rogers, Hurricane Schwartz, Sue Serio and Adam Joseph. So I may very well be part of the problem.

In any event, it’s time to welcome a new meteorologist to town: Payton Domschke. She headed to 6 ABC from an NBC station in Cleveland. No, Cecily Tynan, Adam Joseph, and the other 6 ABC meteorologists aren’t going anywhere. Domschke is an addition to the preexisting team. A “much needed addition,” in the words of Adam Joseph on Twitter.

Prior to Cleveland, Domschke worked in the Norfolk area. She’s originally from Chicago. No word on if she’s a Bears fan. (Then again, is anyone these days?) But her parents actually did name her after the late Chicago Bears legend Walter Payton.

To give you an idea of Domschke’s on-air personality, here she is November with Al Roker:

Good luck, Payton. Just know that Philly will eviscerate you if you get the forecast even a little wrong.

And Now for Some Bad News …

I do my best to keep things around here a little lighter than, say, Steve Keeley over at Fox 29. But today, it’s a little hard to do that.

First, there’s this headline I definitely didn’t need someone to send me at 2:24 a.m.: “Levittown man charged with beheading father. He posted grisly YouTube video after.”

Meanwhile, there’s an investigation under way into a police-involved shooting in Philadelphia last Friday. It happened inside one of those corner stores with bulletproof windows, gambling machines and beer for sale. Cops walk into the store and start questioning some men inside. It turns out one of those men had a concealed gun. The end result: The man with the gun wound up dead, and one of the cops got shot. The cop survived. There’s lots of video of what happened. And investigators and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office are trying to piece together exactly what happened and whether police followed proper protocols.

Finally, a police officer was shot early on Wednesday morning while trying to serve a warrant in North Philadelphia. SWAT responded to the barricade situation that ensued. And the police officer is listed in stable condition.

David Oh’s New Job

We’ve been wondering what some of those people who ran for mayor and didn’t win were going to do after losing. In the case of former City Councilmember David Oh, a Republican, he’s about to start a new job as the head of the Asian American Chamber of Commerce. With all the turmoil in the world, it’s a little surprising that the Green Berets don’t need him.

By the Numbers

21: Maximum years one Philadelphia woman could face in federal prison if convicted on charges just filed against her stemming from a Frontier Airlines flight last November. The woman wanted to go to the bathroom, but the plane was preparing to land. According to the feds, she wound up pulling her pants down in the aisle, cursing and screaming at a flight attendant, and threatening to kill some of the passengers. Yes, alcohol was involved. Though as one colleague put it to me yesterday: “1) Frontier has made me that mad before. 2) I’ve had to pee that badly before.” You know, he’s right on both counts.

5: Number of speed cameras some local legislators want to add in Philadelphia.

$8 million: Amount that partners in a new Center City nightclub have dumped into the project. It’s called Midnight & the Wicked. And naturally, there’s lots of velvet involved.

Reader Mail

Sometimes, the things you think will generate controversy don’t while more innocuous items do. On Monday, I told you about a novel anti-Valentine’s Day promotion. The long and short: An animal shelter names a feral cat after your ex-boyfriend and then neuters him. I thought it was hilarious. But others, who emailed me and commented on social media, not so much. One guy had this to say: “lol misandry is sooo funny.” Another gent: “Ah yes, let us turn benevolent population management into a sadistic act.” Chill, boys!

Where Are You Eating this Weekend?

I don’t know about you, but I’ll be trying my darnedest to get to one of Philly’s 50 Best Restaurants:

That’s the cover of our brand-new February issue. And I have to say, it’s one of our best 50 Best lists in a long time. You can read the whole list here. But do get yourself a print copy as well. The thing is gorgeous.

And from the Make-It-Stop Sports Desk …

Due to those ol’ Circumstances Beyond Our Control, there was no Philly Today yesterday, so we’re appending yesterday’s sports news to today’s. It was back-to-back road games for the Sixers on Monday night as they visited the Trail Blazers. Joel Embiid was still out with his knee problems, and Tyrese was out with his bad ankle. Starting five: Nic Batum, Tobias Harris, Kelly Oubre Jr., Paul Reed and Pat Beverley. But the Trail Blazers have been terrible this year, so … didn’t matter. We were down 58-55 at the half.

And Portland came out hot after the break, going up 80-63 halfway through the third quarter on a 14-0 run. Great, great. Jerami Grant — remember him? — led all scorers at that point with 23. Even the Sixers’ official Twitter feed was getting snide:

watch til the end for a surprise! pic.twitter.com/xPCXlnEhX4

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 30, 2024

A wholly embarrassing 130-104 debacle. Pfft.

And last night, against the Warriors? Well, Tyrese was still out, and so were Marcus Morris and Batum, but Joel was in as a starter, along with Beverley, Tobias, Oubre and Danuel House. They had a 12-0 run to lead at the first quarter’s close, 28-23. But Joel vanished into the locker room early in the second quarter and was wearing ice on his knee when he reappeared. He came back into the game, though, and the Sixers led through most of the rest of the half, until Golden State tied it with two minutes left, then went ahead on foul shots. We were down 52-50 at the half. Would Joel return or not?

Respect Embiid for trying to tough through it.

But he should not play another minute tonight.

— Sixers Nation (@PHLSixersNation) January 31, 2024

He did return, for better or worse; a 17-4 Warriors run in the third quarter put them in the lead, 69-57, as Stephen Curry found his footing and was up to 25 points. Things were getting out of hand. Joel sat near the close of the third with four fouls and the team down 80-66. A Korkmaz three cut it to nine … did we still have a chance?

Tobias made it a three-point game four minutes into the fourth, and Embiid checked back in at 7:45. Eh, it got seriously ugly after that.

Joel Embiid went to the locker room after getting tied up with Jonathan Kuminga pic.twitter.com/bkOREMkd7F

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 31, 2024

Give Furkan his due; he had 16 points in the 119-107 loss — our fourth in a row. Please, come home soon, guys.

In other news, Ben Simmons was baaaaack for Monday night’s Nets game against the Jazz. He played 18 minutes and had 10 points and 11 assists in his team’s 147-114 win. Welcome back, Ben! Life’s so much more fun when we have you to kick around.

The Flyers also played last night. What happens to Carter Hart from here on in? Time will tell.

Any College Hoops News?

Marquette came to town last night to play Villanova. In their meeting two weeks ago, the Golden Eagles bested the Wildcats, 87-74. This time around, the ’Cats hung tough, were down 39-31 at the half, and actually outscored sixth-ranked Marquette in the second half but had another tough loss, 85-80, in their oh-so-tough season. Tonight’s schedule sees La Salle at Rhode Island and George Mason at St. Joe’s, both beginning at 7 p.m.

All Philly Today sports coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.