A LETTER FOR PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE
THU · NOV 5 · 2026
Decisions are being made about your block. You should know.
Pennsylvania went fully blue, Joe Milton gets his first NFL start Sunday, and somebody listed a museum of Philadelphia on Facebook Marketplace.
AROUND
It was a sweep, top to bottom. Gov. Shapiro beat Garrity by more than 20 points, Democrats flipped the state Senate and took full control of Harrisburg for the first time in more than 30 years, and in the city Chris Rabb won retiring Rep. Dwight Evans' seat and heads to Congress as Philadelphia's first democratic socialist. The ballot questions passed, including one making the Office of Arts and Culture permanent, and city turnout was 43.45 percent. The people are already arguing about what the trifecta should do first, and the governor is talking minimum wage and transit money.
The week's hardest news: police sources say remains found in a car in Lindenwold overnight have been identified as Jalayshia Alford, the 10-year-old who went missing from West Philadelphia on October 26. The identification has not been officially confirmed and no one has been charged, and we will let the police, not the thread, be the source here.
The Joe Milton era starts Sunday. The Eagles are naming Milton, signed off the Cowboys' practice squad last month, their starter against the Giants, with Tanner McKee headed to the bench. Jalen Hurts, out for the season after blood clots were found in both lungs, visited the practice facility Wednesday, and the people found that one quietly moving. The trade deadline is Tuesday, and after six straight losses the chatter is all about whether the Eagles will sell, Saquon included.
The Phillies mural on 24th and Walnut is in real danger. A 31-story tower has been proposed for the block, the mural would likely come down with the building, and the zoning fight has not even been scheduled yet. We wrote up where the fight actually stands: the plan, the council math, and the honest housing-versus-art tension. The people in the new thread are split right down the middle.
The Museum of the Philadelphian, the pop-up 2,400 people visited in 18 days, is now listed on Facebook Marketplace for $65,000. The listing reads "Museum, lightly used," pick-up only, cash or Venmo. It is real, it might actually come back, and we wrote the whole thing up.
The cookie company that started in a Penn dorm room says it is going to 1,800 stores. Seth Berkowitz told How I Built This that Insomnia will finish the year around 393 bakeries, and he explained why it will never franchise. We wrote it up here, with the full conversation recapped at ListenerReader.
The city is still deciding where Philadelphia's permanent intercity bus station goes. An update went up Monday, this week's open house showed the three finalist sites, and a surprise fourth at 23rd and Fairmount is suddenly in the mix; Billy Penn has the rundown.
A group says it will ride through Center City on Sunday calling for boycotts of Jewish-owned businesses. The Jewish community's organizations, the attorney general and the governor's office have all condemned it, and police say they will prioritize safety.
New census data says Philadelphia is once again the poorest big city in America.
UP
The Sixers are 8-1 after Wednesday's win in Detroit, and LeBron says it is too early to be talking Finals. He would know.
Penn's Adam Grant went on a podcast and said the research shows your frenemies are worse for your health than your enemies. The claim checks out, with a podcast-sized haircut. We wrote it up, and the full conversation lives at ListenerReader.
A couple opened a video rental store in South Philly. DVDs, VHS, Blu-ray, a club membership, the whole ritual, at 10th and McKean. Philadelphia.today paid a visit.
ON
FRI 6 Rain moves out Friday morning and the nice weekend gets here (CBS Philly). The Sixers are at Cleveland at 7:30 on Prime Video.
SAT 7 The Peoplehood Parade steps off at 1 from the Paul Robeson House and ends at Clark Park, and the Pierogi Festival runs noon to 8 at St. Nicholas Cathedral on 7th Street, free. The Sixers host the Bucks.
SUN 8 The Eagles host the Giants at 1 on FOX (click here for the schedule), and it is Joe Milton's first NFL start. The Red Gravy Cookoff runs on Passyunk from 4, tickets free to $20.
WENT ON
In November 1790, George Washington moved into the President's House on High Street, today's Market Street, while Philadelphia served as the capital. You can stand on the footprint at Independence Mall.
See you Monday.
PHILA.FYI
Everything here links to where we found it: local reporting, city records and what neighbors are posting. Corrections welcome.