🍄‍🟫 The fight over fungi | Morning Newsletter
And resignations in Parker admin.
The Morning Newsletter
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Welcome to Wednesday. A flash-flood warning is in effect through 2 p.m., and showers could return in the evening.
Mushroom growers in Pennsylvania are divided over cheap, grocery-store fungi.
A top mayoral appointee is leaving his post with the City of Philadelphia.
Plus, City Council is pressing the school board to return to the negotiating table on school closings, and more news of the day.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Pennsylvania mushroom growers and their Canadian counterparts — whom are winning a larger share of the U.S. market — find themselves on opposite sides of tariff and “dumping” disputes.
🍄‍🟫 The state produces 68% of the mushrooms grown in the U.S., and most of that is within 100 miles of Philadelphia. As domestic production has dropped, imports have risen.
🍄‍🟫 Canadian farms have “dumped” mushrooms, or sold them at unfairly low prices, to U.S. grocery stores, according to a preliminary finding by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
🍄‍🟫 This anti-dumping ruling would ease competitive pressure and other compounding factors on family-owned U.S. growers. But one Keystone State grower called the decision a protectionist move, and warned that consumers would be left with fewer choices.
Dive into the mushroom wars with business reporter Joseph DiStefano.
Philadelphia Managing Director Adam K. Thiel is resigning from his job in Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration.
Thiel supervised many of the government’s day-to-day operations, stood by Parker as a key crisis manager, and was the face of the administration’s strategy in Kensington.
He has also been one of its least visible senior officials. The Inquirer previously reported his frequent absences.
City Hall reporter Anna Orso has the full story.
Plus: Philadelphia’s top lawyer is also parting ways with the Parker administration.
What you should know today
American Airlines flights have resumed after a temporary halt Tuesday night due to a “technology issue.”
City Council on Tuesday renewed its call for officials to amend their plan to shut 17 Philadelphia schools, saying it had been more than a month since talks broke down over removing schools from the closing list.
Philly’s city budget is balanced, but structural deficit and federal funding concerns loom, according to a state board that oversees the city’s finances.
Tower Health is laying off 160 workers at Pottstown Hospital while expanding the emergency department and outpatient behavioral health services.
A Havertown man was charged Tuesday after prosecutors said he left racist, threatening voicemails for the Delaware County sheriff.
A West Philadelphia renter has filed a class-action lawsuit against his property manager and a national company that sells property management software, alleging that his landlord used price-setting algorithms that Philadelphia has banned.
About 2,000 of the 6,600 voters identified as noncitizens who were registered to vote in New Jersey could be citizens after all, Gov. Mikie Sherrill said.
Cherry Hill just became the latest municipality in New Jersey to formally ban the development of large-scale data centers.
Quote of the day
A football player was sexually assaulted by teammates in Cheltenham High’s locker room. Nearly a year since the hazing incident, no charges have been filed. His mother is pushing for answers.
🧠Trivia time
The Eagles signed defensive tackle Jalen Carter to a contract extension through 2031, making him the highest-paid defensive tackle in NFL history.
What’s the value of the deal?
A) $122 million
B) $199 million
C) $173 million
D) $152 million
Think you know? Check your answer.
What (and whom) we’re …
🍣 Hungry for: Budget-friendly omakase.
💰 Explaining: The fine print in Peco’s new contract that gives all workers pensions.
🤖 Wondering: Are Waymo self-driving vehicles really less likely to cause accidents than people?
🤩 Starstruck by: LeBron James and nine other stars who stunned Philly simply by coming here.
⚽ Discovering: What Premier League team to support, based on this quiz. (Paola says: I got Coventry City, and Fulham and Nottingham Forest as alternatives. As an existing Fulham fan, I feel seen — and I concur!)
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Delco fixture selling dairy, groceries, and convenience goods
FRASS SWIMS
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Jody Schiavelli, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: National Treasure. A three-day event in late August will celebrate one of the best and most absurd films ever partially filmed in Philly.
A Philly street artist who goes by irregular. installed a LeBron James mirror mosaic on an old Burger King wall. “It explains itself,” he said.
👋🏽 Thanks for starting your day with us. Take care out there.
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