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Is This the Death of the Carnival?

Violence and rowdy behavior lead to carnival cancellations.

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an abandoned carnival ride

An abandoned carnival ride (Getty Images)

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Is This the Death of the Carnival?

I’m pretty sure that ever since the first carnivals came into being, they were places for a bit of mischief and misbehavior. You cram a bunch of rowdy and hormonal tweens, teens and young adults into one place, and not all of them are going to be sweet little darling angels. But in recent years, carnivals have had to cope with more serious incidents.

In just the past week, we’ve seen three major unhappy developments in the world of local carnivals.

First came an announcement from the Broomall Fire Company that it would no longer host the Delco carnival it’s been organizing for decades, citing attendee behavior as a major factor.

“In recent years, we have taken significant steps to mitigate these issues, including earlier closing times, the installation of fencing around the carnival grounds, and bolstering security measures with additional police presence,” the fire company said in a statement. “Regrettably, despite these efforts, complaints regarding attendee behavior concerningly persist,” the department said in a statement to local residents.

Marple Township police chief Brandon Graeff chalked a lot of the problem up to a lack of parenting. “We see kids just starting to be dropped off of all ages,” Graeff told 6 ABC. “And it’s free babysitting for three to four hours. That’s become a problem.”

That was last Thursday. Then came Saturday.

Out in Chester County, police revoked the permit for the carnival at the Exton Square Mall. That came after a group of teens violently attacked someone once the carnival had closed for the night. Police have released surveillance footage of the assault and are asking for the public’s help to identify those involved.

And down in Wilmington, things turned deadly at a carnival outside the Concord Mall. Somebody opened fire during a fight, wounding one teen and killing another. As of Monday morning, the carnival was still scheduled to continue through May 19th. Ironically, the carnival is sponsored by an anti-violence organization.

Last year, a popular annual carnival in South Philadelphia banned unaccompanied minors after police responded to a group of disorderly teens there that reportedly numbered in the hundreds.

I think this is where I’m supposed to say: This is why we can’t have nice things.

PPA Crackdown on ADA Violations

In case you hadn’t noticed, people have decided they can park anywhere they want. They park on sidewalks. They park on crosswalks. Cars regularly block curb ramps. All of this is bad news for people with disabilities, since this illegal parking can sometimes make it impossible for them to navigate the streets. But the PPA recently hired a bunch of new enforcement officers whose focus will be ticketing cars that do this. I think this is one of the few times when most of us will side with the PPA. The ramped-up enforcement began today.

Donald Trump In Wildwood

A quick recap of the Donald Trump rally in Wildwood on Saturday: Trump falsely claimed that protesters have been “rioting” at Penn. He also suggested that his administration would deport any foreign students displaying “anti-Americanism” at campus protests. And he somehow connected migrants to Hannibal Lecter. And the size of the crowd at the Trump rally is a matter of much dispute. So, yeah, just another day on the Trump campaign trail.

By the Numbers

60 percent: Decrease in spending that Mayor Parker has proposed for this year compared to last year on Vision Zero projects. Former mayor Jim Kenney created Vision Zero in 2016 with a mission of making streets safer for bicyclists, drivers and pedestrians and a long-term goal of zero traffic-related fatalities. In other words, it’s why all those speed bumps have popped up in your neighborhood over the past few years. IMHO, we need fewer of these aggressive speed bumps and more (lots more) protected bike lanes.

$0: Funding in Mayor Parker’s budget proposal for the 70 affordable housing units the city agreed to build in University City as part of a lawsuit settlement last year. So, less money for bike lanes, no money for an affordable housing project. Pretty much the opposite of what you’d be getting had we elected Helen Gym.

2: Games played by the Philadelphia Soul before the team “paused” (pretty sure they mean canceled) the rest of its season. Gotta be honest: I had no idea the Philadelphia Soul still existed. (It’s arena football.)

And From the Quick-Nick Sports Desk …

Red-hot Ranger Suárez was on the mound for the Phils on Friday night in Miami, and the team was back to its early-scoring ways, with two in the second inning on a Nick Castellanos solo homer, an Edmundo Sosa double and a Johan Rojas single. They added to that in the fourth when Whit Merrifield reached on an error, Sosa walked, Cristian Pache doubled and Kyle Schwarber singled, to give Ranger a 5-0 lead.

That was it for Marlins starter Trevor Rogers, but the Phils tacked another on his replacement, Declan Cronin, in the fifth: Whitfield walk, Pache single, Rojas on with a fielder’s choice, and a fielding error that made it 6-0. Rojas added a solo homer in the seventh. And Ranger? He went seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out nine.

In the eighth, J.T. Realmuto singled, and Bryce Harper doubled him home: Hey, everybody gets a hit! Gregory Soto came in to pitch the bottom half and gave up two runs on a double, a walk, a double and another walk, but it could have been worse. And José Alvarado took the ninth and was unscathed. Another great outing, with an 8-2 final.

It took our guys a while to get started in Saturday’s early-evening game; they actually put nothing on the board through the fifth inning and went down 1-0 in the bottom half on Vidal Bruján’s solo homer off Taijuan Walker. We tied it up in the sixth, though, on a Merrifield double and a J.T. single, then went up 4-1 after Bohm singled, Castellanos walked, and Bryson Stott tripled. Walker finished with six solid innings.

The Phils had another four-run inning in the eighth, after Castellanos was hit by a pitch and Stott, Sosa, Pache and Rojas all singled in quick succession. There was a Marlins flurry in the final inning off reliever José Ruiz, including a two-run Otto Lopez homer, but he finished them off after that for an 8-3 final.

And Sunday? Another early start, with Castellanos’s first-inning homer that scored Bohm, who’d doubled, and Bryce Harper, who’d walked.

The Marlins got one back in the second when Zack Wheeler dished up a walk, a wild pitch, and a ground-rule double. He followed that up with two outs and another walk, then a big K to end the inning. Another ground-rule double to start the Marlins’ third, then a walk and a three-run Josh Bell homer put the Fish up 4-3. And two more in the fourth on a hit batter, a single and a triple? Maybe it was time to pull Wheeler … so it was Orion Kerkering for the fifth, and three quick outs.

Hey, and we picked up two runs in the sixth on a Harper single, a Stott walk and an Edmundo Sosa triple, then tied it with a Marsh sac fly! That’s right where it stayed into extra innings, until in the bottom of the 10th, Gregory Soto intentionally walked Josh Bell, pinch-hitter Emmanuel Rivera singled a run home, and the Marlins walked it off, 7-6. Booooo! The Phils start another away series, this one vs. the Mets, tonight at 7:10.

Any Doop News?

In Chester on Saturday night, it only took Mikael Uhre 12 minutes to score on Orlando City, but Orlando got it right back 10 minutes later against Oliver Semmle, in for the injured Andre Blake. And they notched another in the 41st minute — Luis Muriel’s first-ever MLS goal. And another by him just 20 seconds into the second half — yikes. Andre, for God’s sake, get better soon. Quinn Sullivan scored one in the 53rd, but it was called back for offsides, much to the home crowd’s derision.

A handball call on Orlando in the 62nd gave Dániel Gazdag a PK after a review and got us back within one, but Damion Lowe got a red card for a trip on an Orlando break just outside the box to put us down a man — but then that call was reversed. He did get a yellow a few minutes later, though. And then, in the 85th minute, a miracle occurred: a PK called for us, fury on the part of Orlando, another chance for Gazdag — but the Orlando goalie blocked it, and Gazdag kicked his follow-up a mile above the post. Fifteen minutes of stoppage — really?

A final Union corner, a near-miss, and that was it — their third straight home loss. Sheesh. No tweets for you. Console yourselves, fans, by reading up on what the Wall Street Journal had to say about Cavan Sullivan last Friday.

All Philly Today sports desk coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.

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