Cherelle Parker talks week 1 | Morning Newsletter

09/01/2024

Mayor Cherelle Parker signs executive orders in her new office on Inauguration Day at City Hall in Philadelphia, Pa. on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. Cherelle Parker is the citys 100th mayor and the first woman.

Today we go inside the mayor’s office where Cherelle Parker’s settling into Philly’s highest seat.

Our beat writers did predict that it would be close but the Iggles ultimately would win yesterday’s game against the Giants at MetLife Stadium. It became pretty clear early on that the competition dwarfed us, ending the weekend on a low note. Perhaps columnist Mike Sielski wrote it best back in late December after chronicling a series of humbling events.

“There is a measure of arrogance inherent in each of those anecdotes, a presumption that the Eagles can play recklessly and carry themselves like they’re 10 feet tall and bulletproof and get away with it every time. If they haven’t figured out by now, after these last three weeks, that they can’t, just wait until mid-January. They’ll learn then, and the lesson will be quick and painful.”

And after our first snow, today’s skies look clear, but another major storm looms soon.

— Ashley Hoffman (@_AshleyHoffman, [email protected])

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Cherelle Parker reflects on her first week as Philly’s mayor

“I’m not superwoman,” was the line our new mayor used a lot when she talked about her plans to tap business leaders, non-profit leaders and allies to achieve ambitious goals that she can’t tackle alone. Just days into 2024 it occurred to her how true it was.

“You get here in this office, and I was like, ‘Cherelle, you were spot-on. You can’t do this alone,’” Parker told us. “It takes a hell of a whole lot of people to do this. I don’t care who you are.” She’ll be woking behind the scenes to get her administration up and running. Her primary campaign promise is crime reduction. And she’s had calls with President Joe Biden and Gov. Josh Shapiro and “constant communication” with newly minted Council President Kenyatta Johnson, a partnership she hopes will be key.

“It’s incumbent upon us to wrap our arms around this young lady and make sure she’s successful because where she goes, there goes the city of Philadelphia,” Johnson said. Keep reading for reporter Sean Collins Walsh’s interview with Parker on what she’s set her sights on.

What you should know today

🧠 Trivia time

The “earliest record of any theatrical company in the Western Hemisphere” from 1599 — which miiiight have been bought legitimately in the ‘20s, but they were stolen from a book located in the Peruvian archives — has been residing where, right here in town?

A) The Barnes

B) The Rosenbach

C) The Philadelphia Art Museum

D) The Free Library

Think you know? Check your answer.

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: The venue contains the word🗼. And it was taken over by 1️⃣ 🥈+🕰️ +☀️ Concerts in 1972.

Where David Bowie performed his sold out show with 3,072-member cast for a whole week.

WROTE EATHERT

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Maryellen Glackin who correctly guessed Friday’s’s answer: Wissahickon Valley. I’ve been enjoying my team member’s Paola’s picks and counting down the days til spring when her newsletter Outdoorsy returns.

Photo of the day

I had two good reasons to brave the weekend’s weather. First, I had the pleasure of experiencing Philly Loves Bowie Week, where you might just catch the beloved Patti Brett, one of the original “Sigma Kids” at plenty of the festivities detailed by our music critic. Trust me, the audience is the real show. And I also saw the entirely religion-free tour de force performance of “A Case for the Existence of God” at Theater Exile. Have a wonderful week.

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