When Mike Costanzo, Jr., was born in 1983, his parents brought him home in a tiny Phillies jacket. About 22 years later, the Phillies drafted Costanzo, and when the third baseman appeared at a press conference at Citizens Bank Ballpark he held up that infant-sized tiny jacket he once wore. While his dreams of playing for the Phillies never actually panned out, he’s finally made it back to the ballpark this season, albeit in a very different role via his family wine business. After bouncing around the Phillies farm system and a few brief stints in the majors, Constanzo retired from baseball in ..read more

Hundreds of students and faculty at Temple, Drexel and Penn staged walkouts and rallies at their respective campuses Thursday afternoon. They then marched through Philadelphia streets with other demonstrators as part of a nationwide string of activities to condemn the death toll of the Israel-Hamas war and demand an immediate cease-fire. Protesters march at Temple University’s campus Thursday afternoon, April 25. (Emma Lee/WHYY) Pro-Palestine and pro-Israel protesters face off under the Bell Tower on Temple University’s campus. (Emma Lee/WHYY) Qais Dana, a Community College of Philadelphia ..read more

“Disappointing” primary election turnout worries observers Only 17.7% of registered voters in Philly cast a ballot in Tuesday’s primary election. That’s just 183,538 of the city’s more than one million eligible voters. That low turnout was also evident across Pennsylvania.  Could the low turnout be an omen for November’s presidential election, where Biden and Trump face a range of challenges to getting out the vote? BP’s Meir Rinde and WHYY’s Carmen Russell-Sluchansky explore the issues at play. [Billy Penn/WHYY]  A voter marks their ballot at a polling plac ..read more

Philadelphia is often hailed as one of the greatest music cities in the country. Genres such as R&B, soul, rock, funk, disco, and hip-hop can all trace their roots to Philly. When it comes to jazz, Philadelphia has been incredibly influential in the development of the genre. Since its embryonic stage, Philly has been the launching pad of some of the most celebrated artists in jazz. Dr. Diane Turner, curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University and author of Philadelphia Jazz (Images of America) shared her insight about the history of Philadelphia jazz ..read more

It’s been a long time since so few Philadelphia residents turned out for a presidential primary election. Only 17.7% of registered voters cast a ballot in Tuesday’s election, or just 183,538 of the city’s more than one million eligible voters, according to unofficial results from the City Commissioners.  That’s a little more than half of the percentage — about 32% — who turned out four years ago to pick Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination, or to endorse Donald Trump’s ultimately unsuccessful reelection bid atop the Republican ticket.  And it’s even further below the 40% of Phill ..read more

It’s out with the Ancient and in with the ‘divine’ at 1726 Chestnut St., with last Tuesday’s opening of Sura Indian Bistro. The restaurant is the latest endeavor from the team behind Ancient Spirits & Grille, which had occupied the three-story space since 2021. The name Sura comes from Sanskrit for “of the gods.” The overhauled menu, co-owner Syam Namballa told Billy Penn, explores centuries of Indian culinary arts. “We’ve revived the old, forgotten cuisines from different parts of the subcontinent,” the 41-year-old said, “and tried to make them as authentic as possible.” The aim, Namball ..read more

Primary election results are in Eugene DePasquale wins the crowded contest for the Democratic nomination for state attorney general while Dave Sunday took the Republican nod.  It was a double win for Malcolm Kenyatta as he won the Democratic primary for Pa. auditor general as well as his state House race to hold on to his 181st district seat. With the top of the ticket races already decided, turnout was relatively low. WHYY’s Sophia Schmidt found a number of voters taking part in a protest effort, writing in “uncommitted” instead of ..read more

Everyone knows what to do in a restaurant, says theater professional Kathryn “KC” MacMillan. First the menu, she said. Choose and order what you want — from cocktails and appetizers to main dishes. When your order arrives, enjoy. Or send it back if it doesn’t suit. That’s the same idea behind what will be a completely new taste for Philadelphia theatergoers. “It’s theater as restaurant,” said MacMillan, artistic director of Tiny Dynamite, explaining the concept behind “The Worst Café in the World,” set  in a make-believe restaurant created at Posh Brewery’s quasi-industrial space in Brew ..read more

Voting in Pennsylvania’s primary election appears to be going smoothly today, according to election integrity monitors, with only a few reports of minor hiccups amid apparently low turnout through mid-afternoon. Voters have been calling in various typical problems to election protection hotlines. Those include errors in mail ballots, such as incorrect handwritten dates, that they must fix by the close of voting at 8 p.m. if their votes are to count, representatives of Common Cause Pennsylvania and the ACLU of Pennsylvania said this afternoon. “As with any election day, there are always a few ..read more

Baseball’s a funny game. Was it really just a week ago we were complaining that the Phillies had failed once again to get off to the fast start they promised in spring training? A listless and punchless offense being propped up by a good starting rotation and a punchless offense? Were we really watching all this again? One week later, the Phillies have won seven in a row entering play on Tuesday thanks to series sweeps against two unbelievably awful baseball teams in the Rockies and White Sox, and a series opening win Monday night against the Reds. They are off to their best start since Gabe ..read more