The owner of San Francisco’s Kezar Pub is expecting to turn away 49ers fans ahead of the Sunday playoff game starring his city’s NFL team. Instead, the sports bar will be filled with fans of the Philadelphia Eagles. Philly fans have flocked to Cyril Hackett’s bar before every Eagles game this season, filling up seats before other teams’ supporters even start to arrive. Regardless of what else is playing on the Cole Valley pub’s 24 televisions, the Birds game will be on — with sound. During the Jan. 21 playoff game against the New York Giants, Hackett estimated around 350 Eagles fans showed up ..read more

More jobs and training coming with Beury Building development Plans are moving forward with Shift Capital’s redevelopment of the Beury Building, the long-vacant 14-story tower at Broad and Erie. Best known for years by the “boner4ever” graffiti along its sides, the building is slated to welcome a hotel and several restaurants, including one on the ground floor and one on the roof. With construction due to start in May, developers have committed to providing nearby residents with jobs and training, Jordan Levy reports. → What’s promised for the neighborhood ..read more

Philly is so dedicated to the color green right now that a non-football fan — or non-Philadelphian — might mistake it for St. Patrick’s Day. Folks across the city are getting hyped for the NFC Championships, with restaurants, breweries, bakeries, and cafes in the forefront. Themed food and drink is on offer this week and weekend in many forms. Whether you’re an Eagles lifer, a bandwagon fan (welcome!), or just a person who enjoys verdant food dye, here’s a selection of dishes, drinks, and treats you can consume in the spirit of postseason success. Spread Eagles Formation flavor by 1-900-ICE-CR ..read more

Keep up with the mayor’s race using our candidate tracker As BP readers know, the race to succeed term-limited Jim Kenney and become Philly’s 100th mayor is crowded. We’ll be covering the race consistently throughout, but we pulled together all the info about declared candidates — currently 10 are vying for the Democratic nomination — into a single post we’ll keep updated. From experience to affiliations and endorsements to vibe, our reporters put together a cheat sheet for the upcoming mayoral race. → Track the candidates Philadelphia City Hall Mark Henninger ..read more

An event honoring one of the country’s most vocal hard-line conservatives held in one of the nation’s most progressive cities was guaranteed to result in a culture clash. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was honored Tuesday evening in Philadelphia by the Union League, a storied private club founded during the Civil War to support the Union cause. On the eve of the dinner, organizations including the local NAACP chapter and the Black Clergy of Philadelphia called for a protest — and residents delivered. >> More: DeSantis critics call for protest outside the Union League as it honors the Florida ..read more

Critics who describe Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a racist protested Tuesday outside the Union League, which is awarding him a medal once presented to President Abraham Lincoln. Rev. Alvyn Waller of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church said the Philadelphia branch of the NAACP and others feel compelled to address the Union League’s decision to go ahead with the event, which was postponed after outcry when it was announced last fall. “This specific award, the Abraham Lincoln award, being given to Ron DeSantis, in a city that is 44% African American, is just a smack in our face,” Waller said. “Ron DeS ..read more

Every person running to be Philly’s next mayor talks about doing better to solve the city’s gun violence epidemic. Which of their plans make the most sense? To help voters answer that question, Billy Penn and WHYY are partnering with the CeaseFirePA Education Fund to host the “100th Mayor: Restoring Safety Forum” in early March. Public safety is a top concern for anyone who lives and works in the city, with good reason. Philadelphia experienced nearly 1,000 gun homicides over the last two years. And while the pandemic saw shootings spike in urban centers across the nation, Philly has yet to se ..read more

Being leader of a major U.S. city is anything but easy. Yet difficult as it may be, Philadelphia’s top job is in high demand. The race to succeed term-limited Jim Kenney and become Philly’s 100th mayor is crowded — and started without a clear favorite. The field is full of candidates with solid experience, varied backgrounds, and a diverse array of ideas for the city’s future. One thing most do have in common: they’re Democrats. With many longtime political players vying for the nomination, the Democratic City Committee has said it’s refraining from endorsing. With Philly’s 7-to-1 voter regist ..read more

? Want this daily digest emailed to you? Sign up for the free Billy Penn newsletter and it’ll land in your inbox every morning. API PA backs Helen Gym for mayor, pledging $400k spend Pa.’s statewide Asian American civil rights and advocacy organization is backing former Councilmember Helen Gym for Philadelphia mayor. The API PA endorsement isn’t a surprise, but it comes with a major spend: $400,000 in independent expenditures, with advocacy materials coming in at least a dozen languages. The org plans to make half a million calls on behalf of Gym, Asha Prihar reports, and its ..read more

Four years after Republicans gave up one of their two seats on City Council to a progressive challenger, they’re fighting not to lose another. For decades the GOP held both at-large positions reserved for non-majority parties, in addition to one or two district Council seats. But Kendra Brooks of the Working Families Party in 2019 shocked the political establishment by nabbing an at-large seat. And though he fell short of winning a spot, fellow WFP member Nicolas O’Rourke also performed well — garnering more votes than all GOP candidates who weren’t incumbents. “We got caught flat-footed,” Jim ..read more