🌱 Minivan Crashed Police HQ + Mayoral Hospitality Forum + Bye Target

Good morning, hello! It's me, Patty-Pat Kozlowski, your host of the Philadelphia Patch newsletter. Here's all the community news you need to know right now, including:

• A man crashed a minivan through the front doors of Philadelphia Police Headquarters.
• Those vying to be Philly mayor meet at a Hospitality Forum to talk about tourism and safety and security of visitors.
• Target missed the bullseye as it closes the Washington Square department store due to declining sales.

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But first, today's weather:

Partly sunny and windy. High: 49 Low: 29.

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Here are the top three stories today in Philadelphia:

1. He could have just taken an Uber. Wilfredo Santiago, 71, crashed a minvan into the front revolving doors of the new Philadelphia Police Headquarters on N. Broad Street early Monday morning. Yes, there were police on the scene and after pulling Santiago from the wreck and getting him medical attention, they found he crashed the vehicle intentionally and believed the police were "out to get him." He is being charged with criminal mischief, institutional vandalism, possession of an instrument of crime and recklessly endangering another person. (6abc Philadelphia).
2. Do tourists feel safe coming and staying in Philadelphia? Does Philly welcome visitors like NYC, Boston or Washington, D.C.? The candidates running for mayor gathered for a Hospitality Forum mediated by Channel 6 Action News and sponsored by the PA Convention Center & Visitors Bureau and the PA Restaurant and Lodging Association among others. Of course, gun violence and crime were a major topic of debate. (6abc Philadelphia)
3. Target announced the closing of a Center City store, just seven years after the big-box retailer opened the Washington Square location in Center City Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Business Journal reported that, "the company plans to close the 19,000-square-foot store, located at 1128 Chestnut Street on May 13, due to "several years of declining performance." Target plans to keep the three other inner-city stores open. (nbcphiladelphia.com)

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Today in Philadelphia:

• Spring Picture Day - MAST Community Charter School (12:00 AM)
• 8th Grade Portraits - MAST Community Charter School (12:00 AM)
• Women in Business Conference Committee (8:00 AM)
• All-City Middle School Band & Orchestra (10:00 AM)
• Master Class with the Takács Quartet (4:00 PM)
• The Searchers - Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy (5:00 PM)
• Lenapehoking: Archaeology, Heritage, and the Power of Place (5:00 PM)
• Philly Typewriter Lecture Series : Innovations & Standardization of the Typewriter (5:30 PM)
• One Man Show and Whiskey Tasting with Pops McCann (6:00 PM)
• Parent Education Workshop: Child Development Through a Montessori Lens (6:30 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:

• He's "on the road again" One of the last times Willie Nelson played the Spectrum in Philly back in the 1980s, he performed the day before Frank Sinatra played the same venue. Sinatra wise-cracked about the dressing room having to be aired out and fumigated, much to his audiences' chuckles. Well, forty years later, Sinatra is long passed and Willie Nelson is coming back to Philly. (Philadelphia Patch)
• We heard of crabs and beer but what about crabs and whiskey? Food and Wine named Steven Grasse, (founder of the local ad agency Quaker City Mercantile and New Hampshire's Tamworth Distillery) "Drinks Innovator of the Year." His concoction, "Crab Trapper" earned him the honor. (PhillyVoice.com)
• Teddy Pendergrass and Billy Paul are buried at the Laurel Hill Cemetary, so yes, there will be DJ music. (Wooder Ice)

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That's it for today. I'll see you around!

— 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