Andy Reid is a Super Bowl champ; addiction treatment drug often sold on Kensington streets | Morning Newsletter
Plus, Iowans get ready to caucus.
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The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Who says he can’t win the big game? Ex-Eagles coach Andy Reid finally got his chance to lift the Lombardi Trophy. His Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in last night’s Super Bowl.
In other news, Iowa prepares to caucus tonight, and voters are getting anxious, according to my colleague who has been in Iowa covering the lead up to the caucuses. Also, an addiction treatment drug is being sold on the streets. And it might be helping to prevent overdoses.
— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
On Philadelphia’s Kensington Avenue, the city’s largest drug marketplace, you can hear dealers yelling, "Subs — subs — subs!” They’re talking about Suboxone, a brand name for the opioid-based addiction treatment medication buprenorphine. As with so many prescription drugs, there’s a robust black market for it.
But the people who are buying buprenorphine aren’t necessarily buying it to get high, drug users, advocates, and researchers say. In many cases, they’re using it to protect themselves from overdoses, get through withdrawal, or to have their own do-it-yourself addiction treatments.
My colleague Paul Domowitch was down in Miami Gardens, Fla., last night, capturing the scene as Reid and his Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-20 in the Super Bowl. Reid coached the Eagles for 14 seasons. And got the Birds to Super Bowl XXXIX, but the team ultimately fell short.
“I can’t think of any game that we haven’t been involved in where I’ll be rooting harder,’’ Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said ahead of the Super Bowl. “I’ve been wishing for so long that Andy wins his first Super Bowl. I’m just very excited for the possibility."
After last night, that possibility is now a reality.
Tonight, the Iowa caucuses will give the country the first meaningful feedback about the 2020 Democratic candidates for president. In short, this one counts. After months of speculation and debates, voters in Iowa could send a signal that could ripple through the subsequent primaries and the general election. And some voters are a bit nervous.
Every single eventual Democratic nominee has won in Iowa dating to 2000. And, overall, seven of the last 10 Democrats to win in Iowa went on to become the party’s nominee. Check back with Inquirer.com for more coverage later today and tomorrow.
What you need to know today
DoorDash and Postmates didn’t collect Pennslyvania sales tax as they should have.
Some Philly parents were lined up at 4 a.m. one morning last week. The reason: to get their kids into kindergarten.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia has told students in its 17 high schools to stay home if they are just returning from China because of concern about the coronavirus, according to a message sent to families.
Asbestos has forced the closure of another Philly school. It’s the seventh school to close during the 2019-20 school year.
City Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson and his wife, Dawn Chavous, pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges on Friday.
Philadelphia Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph P. Sullivan resigned on Friday. Later this month, a new commissioner, Danielle Outlaw, will take over the department.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
Two years ago, the Birds took it home. Congrats to Chiefs fans on the big win last night. And thanks to @asoldatos for the timely reminder.
Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!
That’s interesting
🤔We’re clearly in the age of online banking. So why are so many new bank branches opening in Center City?
💰Lafayette College’s president has cannon balled into the school pool with a suit, beat an MLB manager at a baseball pitching, hitting, and running challenge, and impersonated a character from Hamilton. And it’s all in the name of raising money for her school’s financial-aid budget.
🐮An accountant in Berks County was charged with milking $60 million from his Mennonite and Amish neighbors in a scheme involving his failing creamery, according to the feds.
👟Philly artist Distortedd just released her first sneaker. It’s a spin on Reebok’s Instapump Fury.
⛅NBC10 meteorologist Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz’s climate novel has crime, sex, science, and a call to action.
🍫Hershey sued a former top executive who allegedly took confidential files when he left to take a role at Kind, the snack bar company.
Opinions
“The school year has resembled a whack-a-mole of toxic schools, with an asbestos problem discovered, the problem fixed, only to be followed by yet another school with exposed asbestos or worse: a 'fixed’ school determined not fixed after all.” — The Inquirer Editorial Board writes about the wide-ranging impact of asbestos issues at Philly schools.
The Inquirer asked local experts to answer two questions: What obstacles have impeded wellness in the Philadelphia region’s black communities? And, what should wellness look like for these communities in the future?
U.S. Reps. Andy Kim (D., N.J.) and Jack Bergman (R., Mich.) write about the bipartisan focus on protecting Americans from cyber attacks.
What we’re reading
Philadelphia’s City Council president is bringing back a measure that would potentially allow Council members to keep their seats while they run for other offices, KYW reports.
Sometimes the only thing standing in the way of two satellites colliding is an automated email alert sent to the inboxes of operators on the ground. NPR reports on surging space traffic.
Need help with ways to save energy? The New York Times offers some low-effort recommendations on how to do just that.
Your Daily Dose of | The UpSide
When the Rev. Donald R. Fletcher was 80, he was recovering from cancer surgery. That’s when he made a prayerful vow. Fletcher, a South Jersey preacher, said to God that if he got another 15 years of life, he’d use them to write. That was 21 years ago. Fletcher, now 101, recently published his ninth book.