The Week in Philly: Breast Cancer Awareness Month, wild car meets, and a new exhibit in LOVE Park

 PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — How do police plan to stop car meets in the city? What’s that new exhibit in LOVE Park for? And what's Al Schmidt’s focus for the upcoming election?

Look back, look ahead, and get a better understanding of the stories shaping the Philadelphia region on “The Week in Philly” with Matt Leon and KYW Newsradio’s team of reporters. Listen on KYW Newsradio 103.9 FM Saturdays at 5 a.m. and 3 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Episodes are also available as a podcast or, you can check out individual segments below

LOVE Park is an iconic destination in the birthplace of liberty, making it a fitting spot for a temporary art installation encouraging people to get out and vote. KYW Newsradio’s Shara Dae Howard scoped out the exhibit and spoke to a few contributors about the inspiration for their art.

For KYW’s Community Impact Reporter Racquel Williams, Breast Cancer Awareness Month is personal. She joins us to share her breast cancer story and talk about a special series she’s hosting on KYW’s radio show and podcast Bridging Philly, called “Stories from the Journey.”

Recently, we’ve seen a string of car meets in the city involving street racing, vandalism, fireworks, and firearms. Police officials testified at a City Council hearing on how they are working to stop these meetups, which have been planned on social media. KYW’s Crime and Justice Reporter Kristen Johanson explains what’s been happening and what the consequences could be.

Nearly four years ago, Al Schmidt found himself in the crossfire of a tenuous moment for American democracy. With former President Donald Trump casting doubt over the validity of the 2020 presidential election results, Schmidt, then City Commissioner of Philadelphia and, like Trump, a member of the Republican Party, was responsible for upholding the integrity of the city’s votes, which helped tip Pennsylvania in Joe Biden’s favor. Now, serving as Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Schmidt is once again focused on running a smooth election, albeit on a much larger scale. He tells KYW Newsradio’s Matt Leon why Pennsylvanians should rest assured their votes will count and be counted accurately, regardless of party affiliation or political forces.

A suburban Philadelphia woman is doing everything she can not to lose hope but admits the longer her family friends — taken hostage during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack — remain unheard from, the harder it gets. Noga Senderowitsch shares her story with KYW Newsradio’s John McDevitt.