🌱 SEPTA Avoids Strike + High Vaccination Rates For City Workers

Hello, neighbors! Dan Casarella here with the Saturday issue of the Philadelphia Daily.

First, today's weather:

Milder with a few showers. High: 67 Low: 53.

Here are the top stories in Philadelphia today:

1. Transit Workers Union Local 234 on Friday said they have reached a tentative agreement with SEPTA on a new 2-year contract, avoiding a strike that would have brought the city's transportation services to a screeching halt. The union said it asked for and received modest wage increases of 3 percent in each year of the new agreement and pandemic-related hazard bonuses of one dollar for each hour worked between March 15, 2020, and March 15, 2021, to a maximum of $2,200. The union says workers will also retain top-quality healthcare coverage with no increase in out-of-pocket payments for insurance payments or co-pays. (FOX 29 Philadelphia)
2. The City of Philadelphia released the vaccination rates of its employees, broken down by department on Thursday. The percentages come in ranges, according to the health department, to “protect staff privacy in smaller departments.” Most City Departments' employees are 81 to 90 percent vaccinated or higher as of Thursday. The data was compiled through a combination of records submitted by employees along with other vaccine records maintained by the health department. (WHYY)
3. A 17-year-old boy is in stable condition after being shot twice in the leg in the city’s Logan section. It happened just before 8 a.m. Friday in the 1400 block of West Cayuga Street.
   Police on the scene were looking at a white car with front-end damage. (CBS Philly)
4. Student-athletes in the Philadelphia School District will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the school district announced Friday. Officials said any athletes participating in winter sports must show proof of vaccination by Saturday, Dec. 18, and spring sports, March 1, 2022. The only exceptions will be for approved medical or religious reasons, according to the school district. (CBS Philly)
5. Sparked by a $30 million Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) and the City of Philadelphia today celebrated the completion of North Central, a neighborhood revitalized and designed for, by and with the community. The vision for North Central emerged from recommendations from residents, partners, and stakeholders who sought a more inclusive, resident-centric approach to housing and economic development. It sits upon the former site of the 1950s-era Norris Homes apartments, public housing that had been walled off and hidden from the nearby community. (Philadelphia Sunday Sun)

Today in Philadelphia:

• Medical Cannabis Education Certification Course (4:00 AM)
• 2021 Ridley Halloween 5k Run & Costume Contest (8:00 AM)
• Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation End Childhood Cancer Walk/Run (8:00 AM)
• “Finding a Bit of Japan” Bus Tour: The James Rose Center & The Russel Wright Design Center (8:30 AM)
• Fright Night HalloWeekend Pub Crawl Philadelphia - October 30, 2021 (9:00 AM)
• Free Mini Photo Sessions in Philadelphia! (9:00 AM)
• Ranger Program: "John Adams and the Navy" (12:00 PM)
• Lansdowne Borough Halloween Party - Lansdowne Borough (12:00 PM)
• Ranger Program: "Calumnies and Contempt - John Adams and the Press" (1:00 PM)
• Boo on the Breeze! (3:00 PM)
• Ranger Program: "John Adams and Independence" (3:00 PM)
• Letty's Ghoulicious Halloween Party (5:00 PM)
• The Devi's Crawl - Philadelphia (6:00 PM)
• The Dinner Detective Halloween Murder Mystery Dinner Show (6:00 PM)
• Pennsylvania Online Concealed Carry Class (6:00 PM)
• CarnEvil at JJ Bootleggers (8:00 PM)
• 14th Annual Heaven And Hell Halloween Party (8:00 PM)
• Stratus Lounge Presents: Seven Deadly Sins (8:00 PM)
• Theatre Exile presents Extreme Home Makeover by Makasha Copeland (8:00 PM)

Philadelphia Patch Notebook

• City of Philadelphia Government: "Don’t forget to vote in the November 2 election! Make a plan today. #PhillyVotes" (Facebook)
• Free Library of Philadelphia: "#RebuildPHL recently hosted a community meeting at the Kingsessing Library and Kingsessing Recreation Center locations to hear ideas about design and to invite residents to meet the project architects!" (Facebook)
• City of Philadelphia Government: "Meet some of the grassroots organizations working to make our communities safer. ⬇️ #SaferPHL" (Facebook)

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Events:

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Thanks for following along and staying informed! See you Monday for your next update. If you're feeling these newsletters, consider inviting some of your friends and neighbors to follow along. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Dan Casarella

About me: Dan Casarella is a writer, podcast producer, and small business development specialist who formerly worked in late-night television. He’s produced many talk segments, including with President Joe Biden, Kobe Byrant, and Chadwick Boseman. Dan studied Media Studies and Production at Temple University. He also enjoys running, painting, and the highs and lows of Philadelphia’s sports teams.