🕯️ Grief beyond borders | Morning Newsletter
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The Morning Newsletter
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Good morning, Philly.
Partly sunny skies and a high near 83 are in store for Saturday.
Today, I’m talking about the Dominican community in Philadelphia seeking solace and support in grieving lives lost at a popular Santo Domingo nightclub.
But first, we have new details on the attack on Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion including the 911 call that followed, layoffs at a heavy-duty truck factory in the Lehigh Valley, and why fast fashion is about to get pricier.
— Paola Pérez ([email protected])
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What you should know today
A woman in her 30s was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash in the Mayfair section of the city late Thursday night, police said.
In a Good Morning America interview, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Cody Balmer, the man charged in the attack on the governor’s residence, triggered an alarm but remained hidden before he set the home ablaze. Shapiro also said President Donald Trump has not reached out to him about the incident.
Listen to the 911 call Balmer placed after allegedly setting fire to Shapiro’s mansion.
A Connecticut physician is seeking an immigration attorney after the Department of Homeland Security ordered her out of the country via email. She was born in Pennsylvania.
President Trump said this week that he was looking to close a loophole that exempted import shippers from paying added duties. Foreign online retailers, especially fast-fashion retailers like Shein and Temu, benefited from it.
A former Victoria’s Secret employee said she was sexually harassed by the lingerie department manager at a Philadelphia store, according to a lawsuit.
Pennsylvania’s federal workforce took a bigger hit than other states last month. Here’s a look at the new data.
A former debt collector for Par Funding, the now-defunct local lending company, was sentenced to 18 months in jail for using mob-style threats against borrowers.
Despite some protest, an Asian-owned company will retain its $1.73 billion contract to run the E-ZPass electronic toll collection system on the New Jersey Turnpike and other state roads.
Mack Trucks will lay off between 250 and 350 workers at its Lehigh Valley facility in the next three months, the company said, citing economic uncertainty and tariffs.
Grief beyond borders
Physically, I’m in Philadelphia. Mentally, as a Dominican woman, I’m nearly 1,500 miles away in the Dominican Republic, where millions are still reeling from the catastrophic collapse of a nightclub roof that killed over 200 people and injured as many on April 9. Among the victims are former Major League Baseball players, politicians, and iconic merengue singer Rubby Pérez.
The heartbreak has hit hard for everyone in the nation. It’s especially tough to think about how these families and friends were simply enjoying life and entertainment when the crash happened. But that mourning is happening beyond the borders of the Caribbean country, including in Philadelphia, where Dominicans are on track to become the city’s largest immigrant group. I knew I couldn’t be the only person here shaken to my core over this unimaginable tragedy. That’s why on April 11 I jumped at the opportunity to gather with dozens for a vigil in Hunting Park.
It was cold, windy, and soggy. The miserable conditions matched the mood. Under a pavilion, speakers expressed sadness and pain over the worst loss of life in the DR’s history. They shared memories of fun nights at the Jet Set club. Representatives of local groups chimed in to voice their support. Dressed in black, we held a moment of silence, lit candles, sang “Volveré” and other Rubby Pérez songs, and waved flags. Tears inevitably started flowing, and we hugged and consoled one another. In those moments of solidarity, the weight of our collective grief felt less difficult to carry alone. Several other events across the Philly region brought people together, including a special prayer service in Camden.
You can see, feel, hear, and taste Dominicans’ influence across Philly, woven into the city’s rich cultural fabric in the form of food, art, music, and beyond. Living in proximity to pieces of my native land and the larger Caribbean diaspora makes me and other Dominicanos feel even more at home here. After the vigil, I stopped by Casa del Mofongo for its namesake dish and treated myself to dessert from Ciddianys bakery. I may have arrived in North Philly that night with a heavy heart, but I left with a sense of gratitude and a deeper connection to the city I now call home.
Affordable homes are scarce across the city.
In a column for The Inquirer, Kelvin Jeremiah, the head of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, outlines the agency’s $6.8 billion strategy to preserve and expand affordable housing.
“Philadelphia is heading for a devastating public housing crisis,” Jeremiah writes. “A fundamental shift is needed in how we approach public housing that will benefit future generations.”
Keep reading for Jeremiah’s perspective on the strategy’s advantages and what’s at stake.
🧠Trivia time
More than a year after Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts ended its degree programs, it has revealed details of its revived curriculum.
Which of the following is NOT one of PAFA’s new educational offerings?
A) A program to study abroad in Italy at the Florence School of Fine Arts
B) A foundation certificate
C) A one- or two-year studio residency certificate
D) A postbaccalaureate, one-year, graduate-level bridge program
Think you know? Check your answer.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Section of North Philly
ROADSHOWS
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Eileen Cleary who correctly guessed Friday’s answer: Woodmere Art Museum. The Chestnut Hill arts organization is one of several in Philadelphia that have seen federal grants canceled.
Columnist Stephanie Farr recently crossed another item off her Philly bucket list: touring the ever-mysterious Masonic Temple in Center City.
Join Farr and staff photographer Monica Herndon inside the fascinating building to discover all its unusual yet delightfully unexpected quirks.
Somewhere on the internet in Philly
Ever noticed the stunning staircase scaling the Delong building at 13th and Chestnut in Center City?
Philadelphians on Reddit are discussing its majesty and the overall property’s history: It was built in the late 1890s, and the ornate fire escape is believed to have been designed by Horace Trumbauer.
And over on The Inquirer’s Instagram, readers are sharing their thoughts on this week’s season finale of Abbott Elementary. Here’s a sweet one: “the please touch museum helped turn me into the creative woman i am today. ❤️ almost 34 and still have fond memories of the mock grocery store and such"
👋🏽 See you again tomorrow morning.
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