#BILLYPENNGRAM OF THE DAY
If UPenn has ghosts, they probably live here
(photo by @gritadelphia)
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Frustrated by PA unemployment hotline? New chatbot could help
With more than half a million Pennsylvanians still out of work and depending on unemployment benefits, the state's help hotline is overloaded — about 20,000 people call each day. The Dept. of Labor is hoping an online effort helps. Over the next few months, its chatbot will expand capacity so it can help 50k people at once, versus the current 500. If and when a new federal stimulus passes, unemployment benefits would be retroactive through September, and the state says it could implement payments within a few days.
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Election Day off work? Not at most big Philly companies
It’s easy for to cast a mail ballot early this year, but if you want to go in person to the polls on Nov. 3, you'll have to navigate your work schedule. Nationwide, some companies make that easy by giving employees the day off, but that phenomenon doesn't really hold true for Philadelphia. Billy Penn surveyed several of the city’s biggest employers, from Comcast to Penn to SEPTA, and found none offering a universal day off — though some employers are closing early, offering extra PTO hours, or banning meetings.
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City expands event size limits, Eagles fans can return to the Linc
The city followed in the state's footsteps yesterday and shifted event size limits to a percentage basis, which paves the way for fans to return to the Linc for Sunday's Eagles game. Only 7,500 (masked) people will be allowed in the 67k-seat stadium, and the team has released lots of safety rules they must follow. It could be a boost for many South Philly businesses built around gameday customers, CBS3 reports.
Notably, the city's new limits on indoor gatherings — 10% of total capacity — mean fewer number of people can attend some inside events. (A 50-person conference room, for example, could previously host 25 people; now that's down to 5.) Philly Health Commissioner Farley said this was intentional, as contact tracing finds those kinds of events are exactly where spread is occurring.
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🗳️Procrastinator's Guide to the 2020 General Election in Philly🗳️
A cheat sheet for everything you need to know to cast your vote
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"I believe in supporting good local journalism."
— new BP member Robert H. 🌆
During an election season like this one, local news is more important than ever. If you appreciate our voting guides, mail ballot explainers and other coverage, please make a donation today. Your support pays directly for that work. Thank you.
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Philly's COVID curves, updated daily
Left: Case count, hospitalizations, fatalities; Right: % positive, total tests
(View interactive versions here)
Data: Phila Dept. of Public Health; Graphs: Kindhearted city resident
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Tracking COVID-19
At a glance (vs. a week ago)
Pennsylvania: cases ↑, positivity rate ↓
Philadelphia: cases ↑, positivity rate ⇔
- Pennsylvania's rolling average is 1,343 new cases/day, 27% higher than a week ago. There have been 175k total positives out of 2.23M tests taken. Average statewide positivity rate is 3.7%, down more than half a point from a week ago. [health.pa.gov]
- Philadelphia is averaging 145 new cases/day (up 13% from a week ago) out of 3,600 daily tests. The average positivity rate is 4.0%, same as a week ago. The city has recorded 39.4k cases out of 454k tests taken. The Dept. of Health data feed is semi-broken right now, so we can't report an accurate race/ethnicity case distribution. [phila.gov]
- In the city, 1,830 people are known to have died of COVID-19, with an average of 12 deaths weekly. Statewide, there have been 8,384 lives lost. The average of 20 deaths daily is 40% higher than a week ago. [phila.gov]
- Back to school? The Philadelphia School District will today announce its plan to restart in-person learning for preK through 2nd grade on Nov. 30. Families will likely be able to choose a hybrid model, or opt out entirely. [Keystone Crossroads]
- Comcast is offering $10k loans and free commercials to thousands of small businesses harmed by the pandemic. [Inquirer$]
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Browse Philly jobs + internships, and sign up for Campus Philly's FREE events, like Careers in Biotech, Create Philly, Careers in Advertising and Public Relations, and Black & Brown Students in Tech. (Sponsor message)
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RECAP: What else happened?
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Sponsor message
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MAYOR WATCH: Oct. 14, 2020
Another Rebuild event for Mayor Kenney today: a ribbon cutting at McCreesh Playground and Skate Park in Southwest Philly (3:30 p.m.).
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PA Republicans work to replace Toomey as gov candidate
 When he announced last week he would not run for reelection, U.S. Senator Pat Toomey still had two years left on his term. The news has sent Pa. Republicans scrambling to find their candidate for the 2022 governor's race. Inquirer reporter Jonathan Tamari says the party is now in a tug of war over whether to choose a traditional Republican or someone more like Trump.
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ON THE CALENDAR
🏆 Billy Penn event: Our Philly Quizzo live trivia night is back! Form a team or play solo, and use your local knowledge to battle for the prize. DJ Bounce Gawd spins between rounds. Free RSVP required. (6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21)
🏠 The Strawberry Mansion CDC hosts an online session where neighborhood residents can get info on a program that'll provide free repairs for historic homes. (10 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 15)
🧁 Some of Philly's best bakers and pastry chefs host a voter registration drive x Boozy Bake Sale at Sunset Social atop the Cira Centre. (3 to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16)
♾️ The National Liberty Museum in Old City reopens to the public with an exhibit called "Philly’s Freedom," featuring 75+ works from more than 50 artists. (10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday to Sunday, Oct. 16-18)
👻 Boo at the Zoo is a go for the next three weekends, so costume up your kids (and yourself) and head out for face painting, candy bags and lots of non-scary animals. (9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
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