💰$30K for two courtesy tow victims | Morning Newsletter
And it’s officially the Jersey Shore off-season.
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We’re set to have clear skies and sunny weather heading into the weekend with a high of 76☀️. We’re inching closer to fall, but the heat doesn’t feel like it.
What’s a summer activity you’re still doing? Bonus points if it’s in something you can do in the city 📧 Email us to let us know and you might be featured in the newsletter.
If you’ve lived in Philly long enough and don’t see your parked car, you know there’s a chance you got “courtesy” towed. It’s the notorious Philly policy where the Philadelphia Parking Authority or private towing companies take your car from legally parked spots for special events but don’t always tell you where they put it.
Today’s lead story uncovers what happens when you take the case to federal court.
If you see this 🔑 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Four courtesy tow victims filed a federal lawsuit last year against the city. The goal was to force the city to fix the issue.
But instead of fixing it, the city quietly offered them $15,000 each.
The Inquirer has been writing about this issue for three years and no city official or agency has taken any steps to remedy it.
Two of the plaintiffs took the money — totaling $30K — while the other two rejected the settlement, moving the case forward.
One of them was pulled over by police and held at gunpoint in 2020 because they thought the car was stolen after it was “courtesy” towed. At the time, she reported it stolen, as police advised. Philadelphia police mistakenly left it in the stolen-vehicle database.
Learn more about the people behind the suit and their unbelievable city-bred horror stories through William Bender’s reporting.
What you should know today
Philly mail ballots will be further delayed because of a zoning dispute between the mayor and City Council.
Philly extended its deadline to file property assessment appeals.
The FBI and state police are investigating the SCI Phoenix prison in Montgomery County after a training exercise explosion left at least five people injured.
Local coronavirus numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
School’s back, it’s September, and we’ve officially entered the Jersey Shore off-season.
So how did the high season go? It’s a mixed bag
Business was down but decent. Some businesses reported being as much as 20% off from 2021. Several restaurants couldn’t withstand higher rents, wages, supplies, and food costs and had to close their doors. Although, there were brights spots, like Brigantine, which showed a strong, growing economy.
Construction continues to turn Shore towns into wealthy summer retreats. The towns are slowly getting fancier, sparking widespread anxiety on if it’s still for the middle class.
Free activities — like the Cape May County Zoo — skyrocketed in popularity. (That’s no surprise — inflation hurt most people’s pockets.)
Reporter Amy S. Rosenberg walks you through the Shore towns’ hopes and hurdles.
One quick update: We told you last week about Elon Musk’s college sweetheart selling off 20 items from her time with the richest man in the world. The two dated while attending the University of Pennsylvania.
She raked in $165,256 (or about .00007% of Musk’s estimated worth of $219 billion).
The single highest bid was $51,008 for a necklace Musk gave her that contains an emerald from his father’s mine in South Africa.
Reporter Stephanie Farr has the rundown of the other bids (and a plethora of old pictures).
What we’re…
💭 Wondering: How effective Republicans’ strategy to focus on crime will be in the Pennsylvania Senate race 🔑.
👀 Watching: The tentative labor deal that narrowly averted a rail strike.
🗣️ Pondering: How language has radically changed over the last four years since the pandemic, the 2020 protests, and so much more.
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
Hint: The name of a book and a brewery in Philly
MECHANISM UNPRINTED
Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shout-out to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shout-out goes to Joe DeSanto from New Hope, who correctly guessed Ward’s Pastry as Thursday’s answer.
Photo of the Day
That’s it from me. My colleague Ashley Hoffman has you covered this Sunday. Enjoy your weekend and thanks for starting it with The Inquirer.