This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

As the storied Philadelphia Orchestra celebrates its 125th season, the sweetest sound isn’t coming from the stage, but from the clapping of the audience: Attendance has rebounded to exceed pre-pandemic levels, with younger patrons increasing by nearly 80%. In addition, a $330 million fundraising campaign for the once-bankrupt ensemble is set to meet its goal early – all validating a community engagement strategy and the vitality of Philly’s cultural sector.

A Keystone State supermarket chain, flush with cash, is spending more than $100 million to renovate stores. A “new era” for Giant Eagle, fresh off the $1.6 billion sale of GetGo, will include a marketing and strategic shift to address rising prices and store remodels. The chain plans to kick off its initiative with a one-week sale that lowers 1,000 items to $1 and by replacing noisy metal carts with quieter plastic ones.

Philadelphian speech was ranked among the most trustworthy-sounding in a survey of American accents conducted by the online outfit BetUS Casino. Boston’s distinctive vowels inspire the most confidence, according to the report, but Philadelphia’s accent came in No. 3 – notably, ahead of New York’s, at No. 5.

The Steel City recently received some sobering news: Even as Pennsylvania’s poverty rate – as well as the nation’s – experienced a decline in 2024, Pittsburgh’s poverty rate rose. The city’s poverty rate increased from 19.9% in 2023 to 20.1% in 2024, meaning roughly 57,000 residents are living below the poverty line. The poverty rate for Pittsburgh children in 2024 was 31.2%, per U.S. Census data.

Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group, two media corporations that own a plethora of local news stations, currently won’t be airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” following Kimmel’s return from suspension, which came due to remarks made after the killing of activist Charlie Kirk. The move means many, including those who watch via their local stations in Pennsylvania, won’t be able to watch the show, thanks to the cancel culture at the two national media companies.

In a somehow more tragic take on “Of Mice and Men,” four Pittsburgh-area men have been charged in connection with videos posted to social media showing mice being taped to fireworks that were then set off. The four men allegedly purchased mice before duct-taping them to fireworks and setting them off, all while recording the incident. They now face animal abuse charges in addition to charges related to the illegal use of fireworks.