🐪 Happy Wednesday!

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, with a high of 83 and a low of 68.

Today's newsletter is 1,186 words, a 4.5-minute read.

Northeast High School's auditorium gets muggier than a summer day at Eagles training camp, but by next year it'll be just like its new benefactor, Jalen Hurts — cooler than a cucumber.

Why it matters: The Eagles' ballyhooed quarterback's $600,000 donation is the latest investment aimed at keeping Philly students cool in classrooms that can top 90 degrees in the summer.

The big picture: The lack of adequate cooling systems in some district schools has interrupted teaching, led to early dismissals and made hiring educators difficult.

• But Hurts has now donated at least $800,000 to help the Philadelphia school district achieve its goal of equipping every school with adequate cooling by 2027.
• Now, 52 schools remain without adequate cooling, down from 118 in 2022, Superintendent Tony Watlington said during a pep rally Tuesday at Northeast High School.

Driving the news: Students erupted into chants of "MVP" when the red stage curtain pulled back, revealing Hurts sitting among city and school officials gathered to unveil the quarterback's latest gift.

• The money will help bring air conditioning to the school's 1,400-seat community hub, which hosts everything from town halls to musical performances.

Inside the room: About 1,000 students roared as the band rattled out its rendition of "Fly, Eagles, Fly." Vikings cheerleaders waved glittering red-and-black pom-poms and danced to Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk."

• The typically stoic Hurts fired up the crowd, reminding students he was once in their shoes — juggling classes, homework and football practice while chasing his NFL dream.

What they're saying: The son of two educators, Hurts knows all about the dog days of summer — both as a former high school football standout at Channelview High School and now as the Eagles' starting quarterback.

• But he told Axios he was lucky enough not to have to worry about keeping cool in the classroom, unlike Philly students whose learning time is often cut short by heat-related dismissals.

"That's why I'm so passionate about it," said Hurts, who learned about the issue while watching the local news a few years ago.

• "That's something that I want to pay forward given what this city means to me."

What's ahead: The school expects to have air conditioning in the auditorium by the start of the 2027-2028 school year.

Keep reading

The Philadelphia Ballet is making a splash this week with the public opening of the company's flashy new home on North Broad Street.

Why it matters: The Center for Dance is the latest addition to a long-term effort to revive the commercial corridor — like what's happening on South Broad along the Avenue of the Arts.

State of play: The $45 million, five-story building at 323 N. Broad St. is the first public theater the ballet company has owned and operated in its 63-year history.

• The digs are a statement piece: elevating the Philadelphia Ballet's place among U.S. ballet companies, while securing its future in Philly and likely helping to draw top talent.

📍 Worth noting: The Academy of Music will still host the company's major performances — think "The Nutcracker."

• The season opens Oct. 8.

Context: The new HQ greatly expands (and is connected to) the company's previous footprint: a 15,000-square-foot former garage on Wood Street that was also renovated.

• Previously, dancers rehearsed in cramped studios and shared space with the company's school.

Zoom out: North Broad is in the midst of a renaissance.

• Over the past decade, scores of apartment units have come online; the Rail Park opened and aims to expand; the Met arrived; and hip restaurants opened, like Honeysuckle.

Zoom in: The new building spans roughly 43,000 square feet of space and includes:

• 🎭 A black box theater with seating for 120-150 people for community events, film screenings, educational programs and performances from outside companies
• 🧑‍🩰 Three new double-floored studios, as well as a double-height company studio along the top of the building with windows looking out onto North Broad Street.

👀 First look: You can check out the new space during a free open house and festivities from noon to 5pm Saturday.

• Another (costly) option: A soirée gala is set for 7pm Thursday. Tickets: $1,250.

Keep reading

🏠 Developers added an estimated 10,005 apartment units across Philly in the first half of 2025, per a new analysis from the Center City District.

• 1 hotspot outside Center City: 12% of units were built in North Philly's 19122 ZIP code, which includes parts of Norris Square, Ludlow, Hartranft and Olde Kensington. (Read the full report)

🕯️ Two more people in Pennsylvania have died from measles, bringing the total to four so far this year, state health officials revealed yesterday.

• One of those individuals lived in Jefferson County, and the other in Mifflin County. (CNN)

⚡ Uh oh. Rising electric demands fueled by data centers could lead to an estimated 13 blackout days a year starting in 2030 across our regional power grid, per a new report from the state's Public Utility Commission. (WHYY)

🐕 UPenn pediatrics professor Kevin B. Johnson has sound advice for anyone looking to build empathy and stronger community ties.

• Go to a local dog park: "The park is not a utopia. It's a corner bar without the booze," he writes in The Conversation.

Sen. John Fetterman's appearance at the GOP midterm convention further inflamed tensions with Pennsylvania Democrats — but party leaders have shown little appetite for formally rebuking him.

The big picture: Fetterman's video message defending working with President Trump and praising Republican Sen. Dave McCormick for boosting America's steel industry is the latest in a string of actions by Fetterman applauding Trump and Republicans.

• Pennsylvania parties have punished lawmakers for high-profile breaks before. So why aren't Democrats doing the same with Fetterman?

State of play: There's little appetite among Pennsylvania Democrats to officially condemn Fetterman's behavior, said J.J. Abbott, a former staffer with former Gov. Tom Wolf who is now a Democratic strategist working on several campaigns in Pennsylvania.

• "I just think that a lot of folks working on stuff in 2026, they have more productive things to do," he said, noting Dems' focus on trying to flip the state senate and four U.S. House seats.

Keep reading

Axios Social Club brings together curious locals for good food, good conversation and a night out with people you might never meet otherwise.

How it works: Take a quick quiz, reserve your seat and we'll match you with five fellow locals at one of our favorite restaurants.

Here's the twist: You won't find out your restaurant or dinner crew until the day of the event.

• After dinner, all the tables meet up at a surprise afterparty.

If you go: Join us Oct. 6 at 6:30pm in Fishtown.

• Tickets are $15.99 per person.
• Food and drinks are purchased separately.

Come hungry. We'll handle the rest.

🩰 Mike has never seen a ballet performance in Philly and is looking to change that this fall.

Have a good day!

Today's newsletter was edited by Jen Burkett.