60 acres. $6.4 billion. The gas plant plan known by few | Morning Newsletter
And get screened for cancers, this week
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
If you’re waking up to precipitation, know that it’s forecast to end mid-morning, opening up to sunny skies and temperatures approaching 90.
Today, we’re diving into the very quiet push to bring a liquefied gas plant to Chester, spearheaded by a native Philadelphian. But although city officials are excited about potential job opportunities, residents and advocates alike oppose the notion.
And, we have the details on free cancer screenings happening through Thursday in Philly.
Also, we have images from yesterday’s return of the Odunde Festival after a two-year hiatus and its place along South Street, a strip still reeling from a mass shooting a week earlier.
— Kerith Gabriel (@sprtswtr, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Chester officials really love the idea of a liquefied natural gas export terminal along their waterfront, and a New York firm spearheaded by a native Philadelphian who wants to put one there.
Penn LNG, affiliated with a company called Penn America Energy, has been positioning support for the estimated $6.4 billion project, and it has targeted a 60-acre waterfront site in Chester now occupied by a warehouse complex.
“Would liquid fuels be a financial boon to the city?” said Chester Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland, who has met with Penn LNG officials several times in recent years and welcomes the potential tax revenue and job opportunities. “Yes, it would probably put us in a great financial position for decades to come.”
However, many Chester residents oppose the notion, citing pollution, safety risks and potentially harmful gas production.
“We will be vehemently opposed to this LNG plant,” said Zulene Mayfield, 👆 founder of Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living, an environmental justice group that opposed the relicensing of a Chester waste-to-energy incinerator. “An LNG plant is the last thing our community needs.”
Our reporter Andrew Maykuth examines the ongoing debate between the city, its officials, labor leaders and LNG proponents who hint that Chester doesn’t necessarily need to be the end result in turning this vision into reality.
What you should know today
Responding to last month’s mass shootings in New York and Texas, a group of U.S. senators announced a bipartisan framework on guns.
A rooming house in Haddon Heights, one of the last of its kind, is up for sale, leaving residents in limbo.
Former City Commissioner Al Schmidt is to testify today before the Jan. 6 Select Committee.
Didn’t get a chance to make it to the Philadelphia Flower Show this past weekend? These images will make you feel as if you took a walk among gerber daisies (and the show continues through next weekend, by the way).
Our columnist Will Bunch explores the one thing he says no one is talking about when it comes to Pa. GOP gubernatorial hopeful Doug Mastriano.
We spoke to people on South Street out Saturday night, a week removed from a fatal mass shooting on the same strip.
As part of an ongoing Inquirer Sports series, former sportswriter turned women’s basketball historian Mel Greenberg on how Title IX impacted his life’s work.
Local Coronavirus Numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
A recent study from the American Cancer Society suggests that scores of Americans are missing key cancer screenings. The pandemic had much to do with the decline but the missed opportunities, according to the research, were surprising.
🏥 Mammograms dropped 6% in 2020 compared with 2018.
🏥 Cervical cancer screening was down 11% compared with 2018.
🏥 Colonoscopies dropped 16% in 2020 compared with 2018, but the decline was partially offset by a 7% increase in at-home stool testing for colon cancer.
With that in mind, Penn Medicine plans to hold a series of free cancer screenings through Thursday at the William C. Bryant Promise Academy (6001 Cedar Ave.) from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., (Thursday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.) offering screening for a variety of cancers in addition to free mammograms. Walk-ins are OK, but scheduling an appointment by calling 267-414-2205 is encouraged.
Our reporter Sarah Gantz has more on the clinic and how you can get yourself set up to get screened.
🧠 Philly Trivia Time 🧠
The Phillies have been red hot and are over the .500 mark for the first time since the season opened. Today’s question: Since the departure of former manager Joe Girardi, what was the Phillies’ win streak heading into Sunday’s game against Arizona? Take a guess and find the answer here.
a. 7 games
b. 8 games
c. 9 games
d. 10 games
What we’re…
😮 Wowed by: That COVID-19 research reaped nearly $1 billion in residual royalties for the University of Pennsylvania.
🤝🏽 Sharing: The full report of what’s believed to be the mishandled remains of MOVE bombing victims.
🏘️ Noticing: The struggle for home builders to source materials even as demand from home buyers slows down.
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
The boy in this Philly movie saw things that came before.
TITHE SHENS SEX
Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shoutout to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shoutout goes to Pam Reese, of Sewell, N.J., who correctly guessed GIANT HOAGIE as Sunday’s answer.
Photo of the day
That’s all I have for Monday. Have a good one. I’ll catch you all tomorrow. ✌️