You Can Now Get the New Pennsylvania License Plate

The new Pennsylvania license plate design. You can now apply for the new Pennsylvania License Plate.

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You Can Now Get the New Pennsylvania License Plate

Pennsylvania has long suffered from an underwhelming license plate, as my colleague Christine Speer Lejeune lamented in this 2023 Philly Mag feature. As I told you last July, Governor Shapiro finally announced a new license plate design that would become available sometime in 2025. And it turns out that sometime is right now.

The new Pennsylvania license plate design sees the keystone replaced by the Liberty Bell. The keystone first became a Pennsylvania license plate feature around 1910, disappeared in the 1930s, and then reappeared in the 1950s. This actually isn’t the first time the Liberty Bell showed up on our license plates. Maybe you have a limited edition 1976 Bicentennial State plate in your garage bearing the bell.

If you’re inclined to get the new Pennsylvania license plate, all you have to do is give PennDot this form along with $13.

And, no, this doesn’t mean that you can get “FUTRUMP” or “FUKRAS” on your new plate.

We’re Number One!

ICYMI, the Phillies have reclaimed the number one spot in the NL East. The Mets are now down 1.5 games to us, and the Braves are 6.5 games back. We start a series against the pretty bad (but surprisingly better than everyone expected!) Athletics tomorrow.

Pat Dugan Could Run as a Republican Against Larry Krasner In November

As we told you yesterday, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner handily defeated challenger Pat Dugan in Tuesday’s primary. And as we told you last week, local GOP leaders had concocted a scheme to get Republican voters to write in Dugan’s name at the polls since they couldn’t actually push a button for Dugan, as Pennsylvania has closed primaries.

Republicans needed 1,000 write-in votes to trigger the possibility of Dugan running as a Republican in the general election. Well, Dugan got more than 6,000 write-in votes. He’s said he’s not interested in doing that. But I bet right now some consultants and pollsters are trying to figure out if he’d actually have a shot at winning. It would take a massive voter mobilization effort and lots of lots of money, probably from this guy.

By the Numbers: The Joey Merlino Edition

22: Times that supposedly former mafioso Joey Merlino used the word “fuck” or “fucking” or “fucker” in my sprawling interview with him that just came out.

$150,000: Value of the watch he’s wearing in this photo, a watch that Philly restaurant publicist Peter Breslow perilously suggested could be a fake. (Watch your back, Breslow.)

0: Chances that you’ll ever spot Merlino inside the popular South Philly cheesesteak and pizza joint Angelo’s. Merlino has major, well, beef with the owner, a beef he hints at in the interview.

Reader Mail: The Joey Merlino Edition

My aforementioned interview with Joey Merlino appears in the brand new June issue of Philly Mag. We released it online yesterday. And more than a few people took issue with us even considering Merlino for an interview subject.

Here’s a sampling of criticisms:

• I’m sorry, but, who cares?! This is part of what’s wrong with society today the glorification of scumbags. He is a criminal and a tough guy who hasn’t repented his ways. Who the fuck are you kidding? — Patrick
• It’s pretty disgusting honoring people with a violent past like that. — Blaine
• Why do we care about this guy? Aren’t there any decent people in this city without blood on their hands who deserve a spotlight? — Anonymous

It’s interesting, because I thought society today was all about second chances. And, in point of fact, Merlino was never convicted of a violent crime. Accused of attempted murder and murder multiple times. But the charges never stuck. Lots of people are also upset that I didn’t print what Merlino said about the owner of Angelo’s. I summarized it as:

[At this point, Merlino goes into a long and winding and profanity-filled tirade about Angelo’s owner Danny DiGiampietro that, for the sake of length and out of legal concerns, we’ll leave between the two of them.]

Merlino is also upset that we didn’t run his specific allegations against the owner of Angelo’s. The good news is that if you check out Merlino’s podcast, he talks about it on there, I’m told.