The biggest headlines to come out of Philadelphia in 2024

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia was the epicenter of many historic moments this year. It served as the command post for politicians in an unprecedented presidential election, the backdrop of Jason Kelce’s rise to superstardom, and the home of LOVE Park’s Portal, which is still dumbfounding visitors.

Take a look back at the top headlines that came out of the Philadelphia region in 2024.

Philadelphia is getting a $1.3 billion 76ers arena in Center City. City Council gave final approval to the needed legislation earlier this month after a tumultuous year of protests, negotiations, hearings and deliberations. The vote capped months of discussions and protests by opponents, which switched into high gear in September when Mayor Cherelle Parker threw her weight behind the proposal.

“It’s the best sports facility agreement in the history of Philadelphia,” she said at the time. “I am proud and take full responsibility for what is included in this agreement.”

With the mayor’s backing and labor’s lobbying, a majority of council members showed signs of favoring the deal from the beginning. Still, through weeks of hearings, even those in favor of the arena argued the $50 million Community Benefits Agreement, or CBA, that Parker had negotiated was insufficient. The Sixers ultimately agreed to go up to $60 million.

Earlier this year, Eagles legend Jason Kelce officially hung up his cleats but arguably became an even bigger star in the months that followed.

On March 4, Kelce gave a tearful, nearly hourlong retirement speech. Although the 2023-24 season marked the end of Kelce’s 13-year career with the Eagles, everything has been coming up Kelce ever since.

Kelce joined ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown” pregame show and has become a familiar face on late-night football. He released his third Christmas charity album with the Philly Specials, Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata. The trio even dethroned the queen of Christmas herself, Mariah Carey, by hitting No. 1 on the iTunes Top 100 Christmas Songs. His podcast with brother Travis, “New Heights,” has had continued success. Even his wife, Kylie, has a chart-topping new podcast.

And, starting next month, we’ll be seeing even more of Jason. He will host “They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce” on ESPN, a new one-hour show filmed in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia was at the center of one of the most remarkable presidential races in history. It began as the Biden-Harris campaign. The city was crucial to the race — hundreds of thousands of Democratic votes in the biggest swing state coupled with its proximity to Washington, D.C. made President Joe Biden a frequent visitor.

But then came the fateful debate where Biden flubbed over and over, creating cracks in his pursuit of reelection. Less than a month later, the president stepped aside in favor of his vice president. The focus on Philadelphia and Pennsylvania continued. Kamala Harris considered Gov. Josh Shapiro as a running mate. Even when she chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, she chose to introduce him at a rally at Temple University.

Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance also made numerous visits to the region. At one rally in Oaks, Montgomery County, Trump made headlines for dancing to tunes like “YMCA” and “Ave Maria” on stage for 40 minutes. Of course, the bigger headline came in July in western Pennsylvania, where Trump was shot during an assassination attempt. One rally-goer in the stands was killed.

After half a dozen more Philly visits by Harris and a couple more by Walz, the ticket capped the campaign with a concert and rally outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art on election eve.

It wasn’t enough, though. Even with the lavish attention, only 65% of Philadelphia voters turned out. Although Republicans make up just 12% of registered voters in the city, Trump received nearly 20% of the vote in Philadelphia and won Pennsylvania.

On May 31, the University of the Arts suddenly announced it would close a week later due to hidden financial troubles. Many students and faculty said they found out about the closure that day in the news. The school president resigned a few days later.

Making matters worse, the art institution had just welcomed students for its summer term. Those with only a few credits left had to go elsewhere to finish their degrees, if they could. Some students were accepted at Temple University and the Moore College of Art and Design. Temple welcomed about 300 Unicorns-turned-Owls to campus in the fall.

Two lawsuits have been filed on behalf of UArts staff, accusing the university of failing to give sufficient notice that they would lose their jobs.

The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General is still investigating the abrupt closure.

It was a tumultuous year for SEPTA and its financial uncertainty.

The board approved an ambitious redesign of its bus routes to create more frequent service with the same size fleet. But with federal COVID-19 relief expiring, SEPTA faced a $240 million budget hole. State lawmakers were unable to agree on increases in transit funding over the summer, so the transit agency — facing a “transit death spiral” — announced a second round of fare increases and service cuts.

But the week before Thanksgiving, the governor provided a lifeline, announcing he was flexing federal highway funds to balance SEPTA’s budget until July 2025. A city transit strike was averted that same week, when the Transport Workers Union agreed to a new one-year contract.

Additionally, Leslie Richards announced she was stepping down as SEPTA’s general manager after five years. “There’s never a right time, right?” she said in November. “You have to figure out when the time is for a good transition.”

Chief Operating Officer Scott Sauer was named interim GM. And, that bus route overhaul was put on hold until SEPTA’s financial future becomes more clear.

Over the summer, several weeks without rain created dangerous conditions throughout the region. Multiple wildfires erupted in New Jersey — often several at the same time — putting the capability of forest fire officials to the test.

The fires burned thousands of acres, but firefighters kept residents safe and protected most structures from damage, even as raging flames encroached on neighborhoods.

The region experienced the driest conditions in 120 years — a record-breaking 42-day drought that forced many towns to enact burn bans. Forest fire officials were pleading for an assist from Mother Nature, and they finally got it with a few wet days in late November. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said it will take several months of normal rainfall to replenish depleted reservoirs.

It came as a major shock to the hockey world and beyond when NHL All-Star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, were struck and killed while riding bikes in Salem County, New Jersey. It happened on Aug. 29, the night before their sister’s wedding. Police said they were struck and killed in Oldmans Township by Sean Higgins, who failed a field sobriety test at the scene.

Their deaths broke hearts around the world and in the South Jersey communities where both brothers made lasting impacts. Higgins was indicted on multiple charges, including vehicular homicide. He has another court appearance scheduled for January.

On April 8, many of us looked up to the sky to experience the rare total solar eclipse. Although Philadelphia was not in the path of complete totality like other parts of the U.S., hundreds flocked to the Franklin Institute for a viewing party.

In the Philadelphia region, the moon covered 90% of the sun. Unfortunately, heavy cloud coverage progressed through the afternoon, making the partial eclipse more difficult to see. Many attendees became impatient and called it a day.

College activists around the country protested the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in 2024 by setting up encampments on their campuses. The largest encampment in our region took place at the University of Pennsylvania.

On the night of April 25, pro-Palestinian protesters hit the streets of the city and marched over to the heart of Penn’s campus, College Green. Many of them — even non-Penn students —  pitched tents on the grass. Organizers said they wouldn’t leave until their demands were met: that the university divest from Israel.

Penn President Larry Jameson said the students had the right to protest peacefully and the college would negotiate with them. Quickly, however, Jameson changed course, saying the encampment must disband because the protesters were violating university policies, and there were claims of antisemitic threats. Organizers defended their movement while a number of Jewish students, community members and faculty expressed concern and fear.

The encampment and the daily rallies continued until May 10. Before dawn, scores of cops in riot gear cleared out the encampments one by one.

In October, Philly got to take part in a viral trend: a high-tech art installation that unites cities around the world through a livestream. The Portal was launched in LOVE Park, giving Philadelphians a live view of a busy Dublin, Ireland street. Every 3 ½ minutes, the live feed connects to an identical portal in a different city.

The Philadelphia Portal is still up and is currently the only portal installation in the United States.

The SS United States, a former ocean liner that has been docked at South Philadelphia’s Pier 82 for nearly 30 years, should be long gone by now, but its move has been delayed again and again.

Many fans of the SS United States were sad to hear that plans to transform it into a floating hotel, casino or museum were no longer a possibility. After legal issues and economic woes, the ship’s owner, the SS United States Conservancy, was evicted from Pier 82. Other options were needed.

In October, it was sold to Okaloosa County, Florida to become the world’s largest artificial reef. It was supposed to ship out in November, but plans were postponed due to bad weather. Now, the U.S. Coast Guard is in the process of determining if the ship can even make the trip at all. We’ll have to see what happens in the new year.