Around Town
$11 opera tickets return
Opera Philadelphia’s 2025-26 season, the first curated by General Director and President Anthony Roth Costanzo, will once again feature tickets for as low as $11, or a higher price of your choosing, in the company’s second year of its successful Pick Your Price initiative. Single tickets are on sale now.
“For 50 years, Opera Philadelphia has made art at the highest level, and as this visionary company continues to honor tradition and innovate, we are passionate about charting a new path for opera,” said Costanzo. “Our 2025-2026 Season embraces everything that opera is and helps us envision what it can become. It’s opera, but different. I invite both longtime opera lovers and first-time, opera-curious audiences to join us as we bring Pick Your Price back. We are excited to continue offering tickets for $11, or a higher price of your choosing, for every single performance of the season. An incredible 67% of single ticket buyers were first timers in the first year of this model, selling out every opera of this season. The audiences have spoken, and where there is demand, we want to provide supply.”
The season will feature five opera productions across three theaters on the Avenue of the Arts in Philadelphia. Two operas are world premieres, two are Philadelphia premieres and one is a company premiere.
PA budget proposal ensures that schools provide basic hygiene necessities
First Lady of Pennsylvania Lori Shapiro visited Kensington Health Sciences Academy to highlight how the School District of Philadelphia supports its students by offering free menstrual products in school restrooms. Shapiro met with students, faculty, staff and administrators to discuss the importance of the program and learn more about student needs.
“Access to menstrual products is a matter of dignity and equity, yet too many students across Pennsylvania still face uncertainty during the school day,” she said. “It’s encouraging to see districts like the School District of Philadelphia stepping up to meet this need by offering free period products. With dedicated state funding for the first time, we’re making sure no student misses out on learning due to a lack of basic necessities.”
Thanks to a $200,000 investment from the state, the School District of Philadelphia recently launched its Menstrual Health Equity Program – a new initiative to provide menstrual products including pads, tampons, period underwear and emergency underwear at no cost to 92 middle schools, high schools and educational option program schools. This program was formed after the district worked to collect insights and feedback directly from students – including more than 50 students on the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Board, representatives of Students Against Period Poverty and the Philadelphia Youth Commission – and input from over 600 students in a survey conducted in collaboration with Revolution4Youth.
“We are grateful to Gov. Shapiro and his administration for prioritizing access to necessary hygiene products that will create a more equitable and supportive environment in our schools,” said Tony B. Watlington Sr., Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia. “By reducing period poverty, our students will have the opportunity to better focus on their education.”
Gov. Shapiro is committed to ensuring that students have the necessary tools to succeed in the classroom, which is why he secured $3 million in his 2024-25 bipartisan budget to provide free menstrual products for students in K-12 schools. In his 2025-26 budget proposal, he called for another $3 million to continue providing these products at no- ost for students.
$40 Million soil remediation facility launches in SW Philly
Alterra IOS, a player in the industrial outdoor storage sector that has acquired over 300 sites nationwide, announced the completion and grand opening of a $40 million soil cleanwashing facility in partnership with Eco Materials, which works in construction resource recovery. The new plant offers a sustainable solution to reclaim and repurpose sand, aggregate and construction waste through an advanced wet washing process. The facility remediates and repurposes more than 85% of incoming materials back into the construction ecosystem for future use.
Located at 6110 W. Passyunk Ave., the Wash Plant sits within a multi-acre industrial outdoor storage site with direct access to regional infrastructure. Its location provides a new resource for local contractors, developers, municipalities and businesses looking to responsibly dispose of excavation materials and source high-quality, sustainable aggregates without relying on long-haul transport or distant landfills.
“This facility represents the future of construction, where sustainability and profitability go hand in hand,” said Leo Addimando, co-founder and Managing Partner of Alterra IOS. “We’re transforming dirty soil into clean, reusable material on site, and we’re doing it by cutting costs, reducing emissions and keeping the entire process local. This is a huge benefit for contractors, utilities, government agencies and developers looking to reduce costs and/or reduce their carbon footprint.”
The Wash Plant is purpose-built to extract impurities, contaminants and aggregates from excavated and contaminated soil. In turn, the facility produces quality soil, gravel, sand and stone for future use in public works, infrastructure projects, landscaping and construction projects. This closed-loop system helps builders dispose of excavation waste and purchase certified clean materials from a single, local source, eliminating unnecessary transportation and dramatically reducing the sector’s carbon footprint.
To power its cleanwashing process, the facility is equipped with a suite of advanced machinery designed for maximum efficiency and sustainability. At the front end, a high-capacity scalping screen separates and organizes raw aggregates, ensuring only usable materials progress through the system. From there, a specialized AggMax system separates stone, sand and clay to allow for precise material recovery. Lightweight contaminants are removed through a counterflow classification unit, and throughout the entire process water is continuously captured and recycled using an integrated AcquaCycle system that recovers up to 95 percent of water for immediate reuse.
POWER Act passes City Council
City Council voted unanimously to pass the Protect Our Workers, Enforce Rights Act, which empowers workers and the city Department of Labor to hold employers accountable for violations of local labor laws such as the Paid Sick Leave ordinance and the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights. The POWER Act establishes some of the strongest workplace protections in the country.
“As a former domestic worker, I am so proud to see this legislation pass in Philadelphia,” said Councilmember Kendra Brooks. “This is a major victory for every worker who has ever had to stand up for their rights at work. And it’s a new model for every city that is ready to take action to protect workers against escalating attacks from an anti-worker federal administration.”
The POWER Act offers sweeping protections for all workers in Philadelphia and is the first legislation of its kind in the nation. It prevents retaliation against workers who assert their rights, establishing stronger legal safeguards for workers and steeper financial penalties for employers who break the law. It also allows workers to receive direct financial support when employers violate their rights; previously all financial penalties went solely to the City.
The POWER Act will strengthen the city Department of Labor, enabling more thorough and proactive workplace investigations and allowing the DoL to suspend the business licenses of bad actor employers. The law also mandates more public reporting, including a ”Bad Actors Database” that lists employers with three or more violations, and establishes consistent timelines across multiple labor laws.
For immigrant workers, the POWER Act inscribes the DoL’s process for certifying immigration protections for workers facing abuse or other violations. For tipped workers, the legislation raises the hourly rate for paid sick leave, so that workers don’t face a financial penalty for using their paid sick time.
Theater performance of Honk!
The Star Players, of the city Department of Parks and Recreation, will present Honk! The Ugly Duckling Musical on May 30-31 and June 1, at 7 p.m., at Venice Island Performing Arts Center, 7 Lock St., in Manayunk. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Group rates are available. Tickets can be purchased on Venmo @TheStarplayers or at Holmesburg Recreation Center, 4500 Rhawn St. For more information, follow @starplayersPPR on X, like the group’s page on Facebook or contact director Bill Arthur at 215-685-8714 or Starplayers2013@gmail.com. ••
Review returns to old website
The South Philly Review has returned to its original website, southphillyreview.com.
The website includes news, arts and entertainment, crime, sports, opinion and a ways to sign up for a free newsletter that will bring stories to your inbox.
Readers are also encouraged to follow the newspaper on Bluesky, on Facebook and on X @SoPhReview. ••
Memorial Day ceremony
The public is invited to honor the fallen on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26, at noon at the Charles J. Glenn III Memorial, at Marlborough and Wildey streets in Fishtown. The event will feature the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Society honor guard and the Philadelphia Police and Fire Pipes and Drums. ••
Host foreign exchange student
World Heritage International Student Exchange Program is seeking local families to host foreign exchange students. World Heritage students come from countries such as Italy, Denmark, Spain, France, Germany, Ukraine, Japan and Australia. They are ages 15-18. Host families may be single parents, couples and single persons.
The exchange students have pocket money for personal expenses and full health, accident and liability insurance.
If interested in hosting an exchange student, call Debra at 800-888-9040, visit www.world-heritage.org or send an email to info@world-heritage.org to request more information or start the application process. ••
VFW looking for members
Bustleton-Somerton/CTR1 Michael J. Strange VFW Post 6617 meets on the third Wednesday of every month at American Legion Post 810, 9151 Old Newtown Road.
Meetings start at 7:30 p.m.
If you are a military veteran who served in a designated combat zone, you are eligible to join the VFW.
Call Commander Israel Wolmark at 215-725-0630 if you would like to join the post. ••
Trip to Niagara Falls
Polish American Cultural Center is sponsoring a Niagara Falls, New York & Made in America Store trip from Thursday, July 10, to Sunday, July 13. There will be a canal Cruise and lunch, boat ride, underground railroad tour, wine testing, a visit to the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine and casino trip, with $25 slot play. The trip will be by motor coach, and there will be a three-night hotel stay with buffet breakfasts and dinners. The cost is $1,100 per person double occupancy, including taxes and gratuities. For more information and reservations, call Theresa Romanowski at 215-813-2780 or 215-922-1700. ••
Ukrainian festival in August
The Ukrainian Folk Festival will take place on Sunday, Aug. 24, from noon to 8 p.m. at the Ukrainian American Sport Center — Tryzub, County Line and Lower State roads, Horsham.
The event will feature folk art, live music, dance, food, refreshments, vendors, arts and crafts displays and live historical reenactments.
Admission is $20, with a portion donated to the relief of war victims in Ukraine.
Kids under 15 are admitted free.
Parking is free.
For more information, call 267-664-3857 or visit www.tryzub.org. ••
Cruise in July
The Bristol Cultural and Historical Foundation is traveling on an Independence Day Celebration cruise, July 1-8. Ports-of-call include New York, Newport, Boston on July 4 and Halifax, Nova Scotia. A passport is required. Rates range from $1,920 to $2,680 per person, double occupancy. For a flyer, call 215-788-9408. ••