A few votes remain to be counted in a hotly contested Pa. House primary race in West Philly, but it appears likely that state Rep. Amen Brown will hold onto his 10th District seat by a very narrow margin. Brown was 50 votes ahead of the likely second-place finisher, progressive community organizer Cass Green, as of Friday afternoon. The difference is about 0.7% of the overall vote. Brown had 2,971 votes to Green’s 2,291, out of 7,395 counted so far. Radio host Sajda Blackwell had 1,478 votes and there were 25 write-ins. With no Republicans running for the seat, the Democratic primary winner i ..read more

Hundreds of Philly students march in protest Hundreds of students and faculty at Temple, Drexel and Penn staged walkouts and rallies at their respective campuses Thursday afternoon. BP’s Nick Kariuki followed the protests as part of a nationwide string of activities to condemn the death toll of the Israel-Hamas war and demand an immediate cease-fire. Continue reading… Protesters marched from City Hall down Market Street and met up with others from Drexel University. (Cory Sharber/WHYY)New map offers transit-based guide to Philly green spaces If you love Philly’s green spaces and pub ..read more

“The World is Mine,” “Romeo and Cinderella,” “PoPiPo,” “Brain Fluid Explosion Girl.” If those song titles sound familiar, you’ll be excited to learn cyber celebrity Hatsune Miku is currently featuring in a collaboration with Richie’s Café on Temple University’s campus.  For everyone else, here’s an explanation. Hatsune Miku is a virtual popstar, created by Sapporo-based Crypton Future Media as an avatar for its vocal synthesizing software, Vocaloid, which allows users to compose songs with prerecorded voice samples (the character’s name is a Japanese portmanteau translating in full to “f ..read more

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