🌱 Gun Shots At Memorial + Global Insomnia + Old City ATM Holdup

Hi all. I'm back with your new copy of the Philadelphia Patch newsletter, fresh off the presses. Let's get this Wednesday started off right, with a quick review of everything you need to know about what's happening around town. In today's issue, you'll learn about:

• During a memorial service for a slain police officer, two teenagers in the immediate area were shot.
• Insomnia Cookies, started in Philly, takes its baking global.
• A man was forced at gunpoint by a group of men in broad daylight to withdraw money from an ATM in Old City.

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But first, today's weather:

A little afternoon rain. High: 44 Low: 39.

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Here are the top three stories in Philadelphia today:

1. The family of fallen Temple University Police Office Christopher Fitzgerald had to be hurriedly escorted away from his street side make-shift memorial because of gunfire in the immediate vicinity. In a heartbreaking snapshot of gun violence in Philadelphia, as family stood at the spot where Officer Fitzgerald was shot and killed this past weekend, gunshots rang out a few blocks away, hitting two teenagers, ages 13 and 17 at Uber Street and Montgomery Avenue. ( 6abc Philadelphia )
2. Smell those cookies baking? Started in Philadelphia, Insomnia Cookies opened 20 years ago to feed college student's midnight cravings for hot, chewy, fresh baked cookies delivered right to their dorm rooms. It's now planning to open 50-100 stores in the U.K. and Canada as the cookies go global.
3. Old City Philadelphia is touted as a huge tourist area for Historic Philadelphia, but a broad daylight holdup has the founding fathers probably turning over in their graves. Police say a 27-year-old man was walking along the 200 block of Market Street when he was surrounded by a group of young men. They threatened him with a gun and forced him to a nearby ATM where he withdrew money and was robbed. (fox29.com)

Today in Philadelphia:

• Q3 Student-led Conferences - U School (12:00 AM)
• Grantseekers Briefing (12:00 PM)
• Arts Access TV - Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (6:00 PM)
• NJ Boat Safety Class and Exam (6:00 PM)
• Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night at El Camino Real Restaurant (7:00 PM)
• Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night at Trolley Tap House (8:00 PM)

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From my notebook:

• Sailing to Kansas City-yep, it's time to settle our Super Bowl debts. According to WHYY, "The Philadelphia Museum of Art has decided on the painting it will be sending to its counterpart in Kansas City, the Nelson-Atkins Museum, per the Museum Bowl wager made before the game: Thomas Eakins' "Sailing," an 1875 painting of a pair of men sailing a small boat on the Delaware River south of Philadelphia." (WHYY)
• Hey, you have something on your forehead! Yeah, you might see a couple hundred or thousand Philadelphians with black smudges on their foreheads today. Ash Wednesday kicks off the Lenten Season. Your Catholic friends will be eating fish sticks and pizza on Fridays for the next 40 days. (https_archphila.org)

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You're all caught up for today! See you all tomorrow morning for another update.

— Patty-Pat Kozlowski

About me: Patty-Pat Kozlowski has been writing community news and Philly-cenric Op/Eds for over 20 years. A Jill of all trades she's been a stand-up comedian, chef, DJ, newspaper editor, food trucker and Parks Director for Philadelphia Parks & Rec as well as a community relations/legislative aide for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Philadelphia City Council.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Philadelphia Patch newsletter? Contact me at philadelphia@patch.com