Winners & Losers
This week’s biggest Winners & Losers
Who’s up and who’s down this week?
City & State
The dog days of summer are almost over – and there has never been a better time to be frank about highway safety. A truckload of hot dogs spilled across a portion of I-83 near Shrewsbury last Friday, clogging the heavily traveled artery during rush hour in the commonwealth’s latest highway hot dog incident. A mechanical problem caused the tractor-trailer driver to veer into a passenger vehicle and scrape along the concrete divider, ripping open the truck and leaving links all over the highway. Where’s Joey Chestnut when you need him?
Keep reading for more winners and losers!
Turnpike executives -
It pays to be an executive at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission – literally. A new report from PennLive shows that the commission approved a total of $367,000 in pay raises for its chief officers in a closed-door March meeting, including an $86,000 raise for CEO Mark Compton, whose salary now sits at around $348,000.
Columbus Day -
The Commonwealth Court is not on former Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s side. On Wednesday, an opinion by Judge Patricia McCullough stated that seven judges unanimously agreed Kenney’s 2021 executive order renaming Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day violated the City Charter. The successful lawsuit, filed by the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian Organizations, Councilmember Mark Squilla and others, probably has them saying “Grazie.”
Philly’s homicide rate -
Despite several high-profile shootings this summer, Philadelphia’s 2025 homicide rate remains at a historic low. Halfway through the year, the city has recorded the fewest homicides in recent memory, with 134 people killed compared to 319 during the same period in 2021. The plummeting pace brings Philly’s homicide rate to numbers not seen since the 1960s.
The teacher track -
A new report from CBS News Pittsburgh estimated that roughly 9,000 Pennsylvania teachers left the profession last year, underscoring an ongoing problem across the commonwealth. The report highlights a confluence of contributing factors, including stagnant salaries and poor working conditions. One silver lining? The number of teachers who left the profession was lower in 2024 than in 2023, when approximately 9,500 teachers in Pennsylvania left the field.
Old City -
If you have plans to visit Philadelphia’s Old City neighborhood anytime soon, you may want to avoid Market Street. A construction project is set to close down part of Market Street through mid-November, a move that will not only disrupt drivers, but nearby residents and businesses, as well. The project will affect westbound lanes, which will be closed to traffic through Nov. 17.
Pine-Sol fans -
A tractor-trailer full of cargo was stolen in West Hanover Township in Dauphin County on Sunday, officials said. The truck included a load of Pine-Sol worth $400,000, according to State Police – who said they’re seeking any information on the crime, which featured a clean getaway.
NEXT STORY: A Q&A with U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson