Axios Philadelphia

March 18, 2026
Wednesday, the weekly halfway point.
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π€οΈ Today's weather: Mostly sunny, with a high of 42 and a low of 30.
Today's newsletter is 1,086 words, a 4-minute read.
1 big thing: π Bellwether's big moment
A massive South Philadelphia development project has scored a $450 million investment from Bill Gates' nuclear science company.
Why it matters: TerraPower Isotopes is the largest tenant yet for the growing Bellwether District and will expand the city's life sciences industry.
The big picture: Philly edged out eight other cities to be the site of TerraPower's flagship East Coast site for producing actinium-225, a radioactive isotope used to fight cancer, per a news release from Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration.
State of play: TerraPower will lease a new 250,000-square-foot facility, with production expected to begin in 2029, per a news release.
- The project is anticipated to create 225 new jobs.
- The company secured $10 million in state grants for the project and is eligible for tax credits.
What they're saying: "Pennsylvania is competing again and winning major deals," Shapiro said in a news release.
- TerraPower president and CEO Chris Levesque added in a news release that the new facility will increase access to actinium-225 for researchers and drug developers, who are advancing new cancer treatments.
Between the lines: Gates founded the nuclear company TerraPower β the parent company of TerraPower Isotopes β in the 2000s with other investors.
- TerraPower is based in Bellevue, Washington.
Context: The Bellwether District is a multibillion-dollar campus spanning 1,300 acres along the Schuylkill River, and it sits on a former refinery site.
- Developer HRP Group secured its first tenant for the Bellwether District in late 2025 βΒ canned drink manufacturer DrinkPAK.
2. π€ Jay-Z headlining Roots Picnic
The Roc is in the building β Jay-Z is headlining this year's Roots Picnic.
Why it matters: The Roots Picnic needed a shakeup after last year's rain-soaked mess β and booking the Brooklyn icon and Roc Nation founder is a big get that restores buzz to Philly's signature summer festival.
Driving the news: Jay-Z is performing alongside The Roots on the opening day of the two-day festival, which is being held May 30-31 at Belmont Plateau in Fairmount Park.
- General tickets for the rain-or-shine event go on sale Wednesday at 10am.
Catch up quick: The Picnic is moving from its usual home at the Mann Center after last year's mud-filled mess sparked widespread complaints.
- Some concertgoers demanded refunds, but organizers refused, noting it was a rain-or-shine event and that artists still performed despite the downpour.
What they're saying: Changing venues and reuniting Jay-Z and the Roots are "bucket-list moments for us," the band's manager Shawn Lee said in a statement, adding the group was inspired to "dream even bigger" in reimagining this year's picnic for the nation's 250th birthday.
Flashback: Jay-Z and The Roots last teamed up for the rapper's 2001 "Jay-Z: Unplugged" album, recorded as part of MTV's "Unplugged" series.
What we're watching: What Jay-Z's involvement in the Roots Picnic means for the shaky future of his "Made in America" festival.
3. News Market: π½οΈ Starr goes Greek
π Philly restaurant mogul Stephen Starr is lining up his next Rittenhouse restaurant.
- Set for a fall opening, the Pelican Club will feature Greek cuisine "with a touch of Aegean glamour," per a social media post from Starr Restaurant.
π The on-ramp connecting Market Street to I-95 South reopened yesterday for the first time in a year, state officials said.
- Work on and around the on-ramp was tied to a project to build a new city park and cap atop I-95 at Penn's Landing.
β TSA security checkpoints at Philly airport at Terminals A-West and F are shut down starting today because of the ongoing partial government shutdown.
- The checkpoint at Terminal C has been shut down for roughly a week. (FOX)
4. Eastern State's glow-up
Eastern State Penitentiary is seeking donors to close a funding gap as it works to stand up a new welcome center and fund exhibit upgrades ahead of the nation's 250th birthday.
Why it matters: Since reopening in 1994, the former penitentiary has transformed into an educational hub and tourist draw, welcoming more than a quarter of a million visitors a year interested in learning about our country's criminal justice system.
State of play: Philly has invested $620 million to prepare for this year's packed slate of events β and many cultural institutions are pursuing their own overhauls as they prepare to serve as visitors' first impression of the city.
The big picture: Eastern State, which once housed infamous inmates like Al Capone and bank robber "Slick Willie" Sutton, was opened in 1829 and was recognized as the world's first penitentiary.
- Shuttered in 1971, the former prison sat abandoned for more than 20 years before it reopened and began hosting history tours in 1994.
- It now holds a busy calendar of events, including its popular Halloween Nights festival with five haunted houses sprawled across its 11-acre grounds.

Driving the news: The prison has met 90% of its $2.7 million fundraising goal, boosted by a more than $807,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation.
- The funding will support construction of a new welcome center, expected to open next spring, including an orientation desk for visitors, restrooms (the prison currently lacks permanent public facilities), and upgraded lighting and signage.
- The center is a capstone initiative to the prison's semiquincentennial programming, "A Time for Liberty," exploring the nation's evolving ideas of freedom and justice.
5. π March Mac-ness
One dish is about to be crowned the Mac Daddy of them all.
The big picture: Northern Liberties sports bar Craft Hall is tapping into March Madness fever with its own in-house Mac Madness tournament.
Driving the news: The beer hall is pitting its top mac-and-cheese dishes against each other in a single-elimination bracket, starting Thursday with Crab & Old Bay vs. truffle and wild mushroom.
Other first-round matchups:
- Friday: French onion vs. Chipotle brisket
- Saturday: BBQ pork shoulder vs. jerk chicken
- Sunday: Al pastor pork vs. broccoli cheddar
How it works: Each $12 mac order counts as a vote, with winners advancing to the Final Four (March 26β29).
- The top two dishes will face off in the championship round on April 4 and April 6.
π Isaac's thought bubble: Quibbles here, but March Mac-ness is like a finger-roll off the tongue. My money's on "The Crab Five."
The bottom line: Get ready for the cheesiest "One Shining Moment" yet.
βΉοΈ Isaac's rooting for Duke all the way, baby β in his best Dick Vitale impression.
Today's newsletter was edited by Katie Peralta Soloff.
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