☕ Changes brewing at La Colombe | Morning Newsletter
And Pa.’s teacher shortage, by county
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The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Welcome to Thursday. Expect some showers and temps in the high 60s.
Five months ago, La Colombe was acquired by Chobani for $900 million. Our top story today looks at whether the iconic Philly coffee brand will stay the same. And counties across Pennsylvania face a teacher shortage — but it’s especially bad in Philadelphia, exacerbated by funding inequities.
Read on for these stories and more.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Is La Colombe still a Philly company?
☕ Pour over the details: The 20-year-old, Rittenhouse-founded coffee roaster and cafe chain was acquired by Chobani back in December for $900 million. At the time, the Greek yogurt brand’s CEO insisted La Colombe — which counts 900 employees across its 32 cafes, plus corporate roles, compared to Chobani’s 2,700-person workforce — would continue to operate as an independent brand.
🥤Tall order: But mergers come with cultural shifts. That includes different management styles, policies, and pay structure. So how’s it going, five months in?
🫘 Changes percolating: Consumers will notice La Colombe’s new canned drink and updated logo (the dove faces right now). Baristas report a more corporate feel during team meetings, and some stricter policies that align with Chobani’s. But those who spoke to The Inquirer generally see the changes as positive — including a minimum wage bump to $20 per hour.
🥐 Still home-brewed: “A big component of the La Colombe brand is being from Philadelphia,” the company’s chief marketing officer said. “We are a national brand now, but our home is Philadelphia, and we don’t intend to change that.”
Reporters Lizzy McLellan Ravitch and Ariana Perez-Castells have the buzz.
Pennsylvania schools need to hire at least 15,000 teachers to counter a statewide teacher shortage, per a new report. The “crisis,” as one advocate put it, is not new — but it is particularly serious in Philadelphia.
🍎 The scope of the shortage varies by county. In Philly, it’s considered severe. Bucks and Chester have mild shortages, Montgomery’s is moderate, and Delaware’s is high.
🍎 The state’s education programs aren’t producing enough certified teachers to make up the difference, with a 66% decline over the past decade.
🍎 Attrition and funding inequities exacerbate the problem.
Education reporter Maddie Hanna breaks down the full stats on the shortage, and what could be done to improve them.
What you should know today
Police and city workers dismantled a homeless encampment in Kensington early Wednesday morning and ordered people living on the street to leave the area. The event drew some criticism and confusion, as stakeholders expected the planned clearance to be led by outreach workers offering support to those moved, not law enforcement.
Panera Bread will discontinue the highly caffeinated Charged Lemonade drinks that recent lawsuits — including one filed by the family of a University Pennsylvania student who died after consuming the beverage — have linked to death and serious injury.
U.S. Rep. Scott Perry is facing criticism after he reportedly called the Ku Klux Klan the “military wing of the Democratic Party” in a closed-door meeting with lawmakers.
Delco’s director of emergency services has been placed on administrative leave after a former employee accused him of groping her and forcibly kissing her in his office.
Faced with dropping enrollment at its 20 Commonwealth campuses, Pennsylvania State University is looking to reduce its workforce through a voluntary buyout offer sent to employees.
Kensington’s Friendly Pharmacy is closing after 26 years. It’s a sign of the industry’s growing challenges as smaller, independent operations are pinched by changing pricing and fees.
The Devereux behavioral health campus in Devon is being demolished to make way for an upscale, 10-unit housing development.
A student-supported project called “Mapping Spaces of Meaning” will mark religious sites on an interactive digital map of Temple University and surrounding North Philadelphia neighborhoods.
🧠 Trivia time
Who is the typical millionaire homeowner in the Philly area?
A) Millennial content creator
B) Gen X physician
C) Boomer lawyer
D) Silent Generation retiree
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we're...
👀 Ogling: This new $50 million luxury resort in Wildwood Crest.
🦦 Squealing over: This river otter that took a selfie in Ridley Creek, and these Cape May Zoo capybaras finding love in their own version of The Bachelor.
💡 Heeding: These tips for Peco customers, who have been targeted by scam callers since a recent system upgrade.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
This Shore town is banning tents and cabanas from its beaches in a bid to fight beach erosion: North ...
OLD WIDOW
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Becky Bowlby, who solved Wednesday’s anagram: Thomas Jefferson. Susan C. Aldridge is the newly permanent president of the Philly university named for the Founding Father.
Photo of the day
West Philadelphia native and Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson told Temple graduates at commencement to keep their community close. (Fun fact about this Owl: Quinta and I were in the same Acting 101 gen-ed class in 2010. And look, we’re about equally famous now!)
Enjoy your Thursday. Back at it tomorrow!
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