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Philly’s 34,000 abandoned cars | Morning Newsletter

And how trees are sprouting from trash.

Abandoned cars junk up the landscape behind homes off the 4800 block of Merion Avenue in West Philadelphia on Thursday.
Abandoned cars junk up the landscape behind homes off the 4800 block of Merion Avenue in West Philadelphia on Thursday.Read moreHEATHER KHALIFA / Staff Photographer
    by Ashley Hoffman
    Published 

    The Morning Newsletter

    Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

Get outside today as much as you can. Sun is expected to be in abundance with temperatures reaching the low-70s.

In today’s newsletter:

🚗 Confounding: Philly’s thousands of abandoned cars are taking a back seat on the city’s agenda.

🗑️ Encouraging: In Kensington, “Ya Fav Trashman” led a unique Earth Day observance.

📕 Disappointing: The beloved Shakespeare & Co. bookstore and cafe in Rittenhouse Square is closing.

🧩 Our regulars: An anagram puzzle and the pop quiz for Kerith’s most dedicated newsletter readers.

— Ashley Hoffman (@_AshleyHoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Philly is sitting on a backlog of 34,000 abandoned cars

🎤 And now, I’m passing the mic to reporter Max Marin to present our story he crafted with reporter Ryan Briggs:

I started noticing more abandoned cars during the pandemic — world-weary junkers left for dead around my area of Kensington. My neighbors and I would file 311 claim after 311 claim, but months and months would go by with no response. It turned out we weren’t alone.

This deep dive came out of an ongoing probe into the state of basic city services in Philadelphia. Nearly every one of them has suffered in the last two years. We’ve reported on widespread street light outages that spread darkness over the city, increasing delays in police response times, and even bugs with the city’s 311 app for reporting quality-of-life problems.

It’s easy to brush these nuisances aside amid a profound gun violence crisis. But as many residents have told me in recent weeks: That abandoned car sitting on the street sends a clear message — that the city does not care. Luckily, with mayoral and City Council elections on the horizon next year, lawmakers are training their sights on these bread-and-butter issues again, calling for more resources to get the blighted cars off the streets.

You can read more about this here.

What you should know today

  1. A team is resurrecting New Jersey’s struggling Atlantic white cedar ghost forests.

  2. Mayor Kenney elaborated on the story behind the call to abruptly end the mandatory mask mandate.

  3. A one-woman play about Native American heritage and history explores borders and identity.

  4. We’ve got everything we know about Villanova coach Jay Wright’s retirement and Kyle Neptune, his replacement.

  5. Local Coronavirus Numbers: The new case rate has risen in the last two weeks. Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.

❓Pop Quiz❓

What is still an illegal move to make down the Shore?

A) Beachspreading

B) Smoking marijuana or hashish on the boardwalk

C) Starting a water fight at the water squirt gun place

D) Tanning and doing laundry BEFORE going to the gym

Find out if you know the answer.

🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩

We talk a lot about Philly people of note in here. This one’s always with you before the sun.

You’re very warm. Hint: ☀️ 🏙 📧

AREL BRIG KEITH

We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Email us if you know the answer.

Photo of the Day

For today’s Sunday track, I’m listening to: 🎶 And the world still so wild, come to me. 🎶

👋🏽 Send us your favorite live music experience at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com.