#BILLYPENNGRAM OF THE DAY
Sunrise over the battleship
(photo by @justjo1002)
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Docked across the Delaware from the Philly waterfront, the Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial is open for tours. Want to see your photo here? Tag #billypenngram on Instagram
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Which city employees took part in the Capitol breach?
Stressing his support for the First Amendment right to free speech, Mayor Kenney put out a call for tips yesterday. He asked the public for help IDing any city employee who may have participated in the violent breach of the U.S. Capitol. One has come to light so far: Philly Police Detective Jennifer Gugger, according to the Inquirer, who posted she was at the rally preceding the insurrection and called VP Pence "a traitor." Internal Affairs is investigating, and Gugger has been reassigned from her unit, where she did background checks for prospective officers. Meanwhile, after an FBI bulletin warned of armed protests at all 50 state capitals, the AP reports, Harrisburg is ramping up security efforts.
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Temple alum’s jiu jitsu aims to pull kids away from gun violence
More than 170 Philadelphia children younger than 18 years old were direct victims of gun violence in 2020. Jeff Whittingham, an Atlantic City native who became a Temple football star, hopes to help interrupt the siege of violence with a free martial arts and mentoring program for local teens. The practice helped him overcome his own troubles, and it's something different for the community, he told Billy Penn: “You never see a Black man or Black kids do jiu jitsu.” Weekly classes launch tomorrow in South Philly.
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Eagles fire Doug Pederson, who has fans' everlasting thanks
End of an era: Doug Pederson was fired yesterday, becoming the second NFL head coach let go within six years of winning a Super Bowl — in his case, less than three years. The move came as a surprise, and raised the possibility Wentz would remain as franchise QB. Eagles fans were by turns angry and sad (see this Bleeding Green tweet roundup), but nearly everyone expressed thanks to the man who brought home Philly's first Lombardi Trophy. Where were you on Feb. 8, 2018? We were out and about and working hard: here are 52 photos from the victory parade down Broad Street.
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"Love local coverage and the magnificent photos of Philadelphia every day!"
— new BP member Mark R. 🌇
Things that won't change: We don't have a paywall and there's no subscription fee. Our nonprofit newsroom runs on reader support. If you value our coverage, please join as a member today. Any amount helps, and just $5/month means more than you'd think.
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Philly Quizzo Question of the Day 🎲
Which 1900s architect designed both the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Parkway Central Library?
(Answer below; take the most recent online quiz here)
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Tracking COVID-19
At a glance (vs. a week ago)
Pennsylvania: cases ↑, positivity ↓
Philadelphia: cases ⇔, positivity ↑
Summary: Positivity in the city is inching up again — see the far right on the graph above — but tests are way down, so it may be that fewer healthy people are getting checked; case count continues to fall. Statewide, however, case count is on the rise.
- Philly has given an average of 2,518 first vaccine doses/day over the past week, for 46,004 partial vaccinations. Not including the city, Pa.'s rolling average is 14,613 first doses/day, for 264,380 partial vaccinations. Second doses are also being given, leading to 21,291 total vaccinations statewide. [phila.gov/pa.gov]
- Pennsylvania's rolling average is 8,722 new COVID cases/day, 19% higher than a week ago. • There have been 726k total positives out of 4.12M people tested. • Last week, statewide positivity rate averaged 14.4%, six-tenths of a point down from the week prior. [pa.gov]
- Philadelphia's rolling average is 507 new cases/day (3% lower than a week ago) out of an average of 5,150 daily tests. • The city has recorded 98.5k positives out of 1.15M tests given. • Positivity rate in Philly is averaging 9.7%, a full point up from a week ago. [phila.gov]
- In the city, 644 people are hospitalized with COVID, with 91 on ventilators. • Since March, 2,621 Philadelphians are known to have died of the disease. • The city reported 169 deaths over the past seven days. [phila.gov]
- Statewide, 5,232 people are hospitalized with COVID, including 1,070 in the ICU. • Since March, 17,853 Pennsylvanians are known to have died of the disease. • The state reported 1,492 deaths over the past seven days, 17% higher than a week ago. [pa.gov]
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Sponsor message
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RECAP: What else happened?
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Sponsor message
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Philly Quizzo answer: Julian Abele, the first Black man to earn an architectural degree from UPenn.
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MAYOR WATCH: Jan. 12, 2021
Mayor Kenney joins the city's weekly coronavirus briefing with Managing Director Alexander and Health Commissioner Farley (1 p.m.). You can watch live on Twitter or Facebook, or catch the recording later on YouTube. |
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ON THE CALENDAR
🎲 Billy Penn event: How well do you know this city? Join us live on Zoom at our monthly news and history quiz — winning team gets a prize. Philly Quizzo is free to play, but RSVP is required. (6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 27)
🚥 After decades of collecting, the founder of the Neon Museum of Philadelphia finally found a home last year. Instead of waiting any longer, the space launches with a virtual grand opening that's free to attend. (7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15)
⚖️ The African American Museum is taking its MLK celebration virtual with a weekend of free online events. (Saturday to Monday, Jan. 16-18)
👩🎤 Partner event: Drag cabaret Martha Graham Cracker is back with another virtual show. Tickets are pay what you wish. (8 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23)
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