🍺 Philly craft brewers going bottoms up?

💼 Philly Is Open for Business

Mayor Cherelle Parker signed an executive order on Monday to help make the city more business-friendly. The PHL Open for Business initiative is aimed at simplifying regulatory processes and speeding up permits. It also established the Mayor’s Business Action Team, which will provide personalized assistance to businesses navigating city services. [NBC10]

🍺 Craft Brewers Going Bottoms Up?

There’s a trend of bankruptcy filings affecting Philly-area craft brewers, due in part to a combination of growing competition, a rise in canned cocktails, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Though bankruptcy is not ideal, experts say it’s a positive alternative to shuttering, as it allows breweries to restructure and continue to operate. [Business Journal 🔒]

• Patio season is ramping up, so take our tour of the best craft brews in Pennsylvania. [City Cast Philly 🎧]

🧑‍🏫 Philly Schools To End ‘Leveling’

Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. announced the School District of Philadelphia is discontinuing “leveling,” the controversial practice of shifting teachers between schools based on student enrollment. The district will use $8.8 million from central office cuts and energy savings to halt the program starting in the 2025-2026 school year. [Philadelphia Inquirer 🔒]

🏭 Clearing the Air

Three Philly-area facilities will have to cut down on hazardous emissions to comply with new EPA regulations finalized this week. The new rules will boost air monitoring and target chemicals, polymers, and resins known to cause cancer. The deadline for compliance varies by facility, though it’s likely that at least some organizations will appeal the rule changes. [WHYY]

Welcome back to our weekly public art geolocation challenge, “Where Is It?” Every week, I show you a photo of some kind of public art in Philly, and you tell me where in the city it lives.

Last week, we asked you to send the location of these statues:

The answer: You can find these statues in front of Mr. Barstool at the corner of 2nd and Race in Old City.

It turns out that about two decades ago, there was some controversy surrounding the statues. We contacted Barry Belsky at Mr. Barstool and he was kind enough to share some old news clippings about the debacle. Back in 2002, the city Department of Licenses and Inspections told the store it wasn’t allowed to display their wares on the sidewalk, as doing so was in violation of a city ordinance banning objects that could block pedestrians.

If you’ve walked by Mr. Barstool, you might have noticed that the sidewalk is plenty wide to accommodate both pedestrians and “celebrities.” After some pushback from the store and lovers of the statues, the city agreed not to fine the store and let them keep the statues outside.

Congrats to the (many!) Hey Philly readers who recognized the statues’ location: Tom Z., Louisa B., Quanta C., Kathie K., Mike I., Helen S., Donna B., Alberta S., E. S., L. K., Becky F., Louis R., Darcy L., Jennifer C., Sheila W., Jamaal J., Daniel S., and T. M.

Let’s see how many people can guess the location of this week’s public art. This mural of Philly legend Patti LaBelle was submitted by Hey Philly reader Karen G.:

Guess the location here, or send me an email. Try to be as specific as possible — and no Googling!

Is It Local News? Or 'Pink Slime'?

It's primary election season, which means partisan information is everywhere. So, how do you know if the news you're consuming is accurate and objective? Host Trenae Nuri speaks with Andrea Wenzel, author and associate professor at Temple University’s Klein College of Media and Communication, about strategies for telling the difference between real news and AI-generated content known as “pink slime.”