Clean and green, but not for long | Morning Newsletter
🥖 And FRENCH CHEESE STEAK.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Hi, Philly. This Tuesday is set to be partly sunny, with a chance of showers and high temps in the mid-80s.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s Office of Clean and Green aimed to deep clean every city neighborhood this summer. Halfway through the program, Philly 311 data shows that trash complaints have not receded.
And columnist Mike Sielski, who is in Paris covering the Games, made a surprising discovery near the Olympic village: a sandwich shop selling a Frenchified version of Philadelphia’s most famous food creation. His review? Le cheesesteak is actually ... good.
Find these stories and many more below.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.
The block-by-block cleaning that’s part of the Parker administration’s “clean and green” pledge is well underway, with leaf blowers, street sweepers, and water trucks on track to visit every Philly neighborhood this summer.
Residents say they’re grateful for the attention. But they also question the program’s long-term impact: “It doesn’t last, because people keep littering,” one Kensington resident said.
Their concerns are captured in the data. A new Inquirer analysis found that garbage-related complaints made to Philly311 are trending up, and did not decline after the start of the cleaning and greening initiative.
What solutions might have a longer-lasting effect? Residents suggested more trash cans, more accountability for illegal dumpers, and more reliable trash pickup. Some of that is on the way.
What you should know today
Former President Donald Trump will be in Harrisburg on Wednesday for his first Pennsylvania rally since the attempted assassination against him in Butler County. Meanwhile, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer packed the Wissahickon High School gymnasium with Kamala Harris supporters for a campaign rally on Monday.
Shapiro’s relationship with Mike Vereb, a top aide who resigned last year amid a sexual harassment investigation, is drawing new scrutiny as Harris vets the governor as a potential running mate.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. has maintained a substantial lead over Republican challenger Dave McCormick in recent polls in Pennsylvania’s nationally watched Senate race.
New Jersey’s Robert Menendez Elementary, named for the recently convicted congressman, will be rechristened Public School 3.
The nearly 500 sets of human remains exhumed from the colonial-era First Baptist Church cemetery during the construction of an Old City luxury apartment building were quietly reburied last week at Mount Moriah Cemetery.
Some Philadelphia childcare centers’ operations are in jeopardy, owners say, after the nonprofit Caring People Alliance that was supposed to pay them for services failed to do so.
A South Korean firm paid $240 million for a controlling stake in Ghost Robotics, the Philly developer of dog-like robots used by the military and law enforcement.
Collingswood sushi destination and James Beard Award semifinalist Sagami will reopen this week following the death of cofounder Chizuko Fukuyoshi.
The Inquirer’s Olympics coverage continues: Meet the 21-year-old Friends Select grad-turned-standout fencer.
Whether you’re in Tokyo, Istanbul, or Paris, if you’re a Philadelphian abroad and you find a Philly-themed restaurant, you have to eat there. It’s just the rules.
🇫🇷 While covering the Olympics this week, Inquirer columnist Mike Sielski decided to see if any local establishments had attempted to recreate our finest delicacy, the cheesesteak. His search led him to the straightforwardly named FRENCH CHEESE STEAK. (The French are nothing if not direct.)
🥖 Sielski’s chief — and entirely reasonable — question for the proprietor: Why?
🧀 “He created the concept because he wanted to try the sandwich,” the shop owner’s son translated for Sielski. “He knew in Philadelphia it was very famous. He wanted to do a French cheesesteak because France is the country of cheese.”
🧅 Fair enough. And the result didn’t taste half bad, according to the sports writer.
The biggest shocker of his review, though? The only other Americans he met while dining there were Cowboys fans. Read Sielski’s well-stuffed column for his take on this Frenchified slice of home.
🧠 Trivia time
Seven-year-old Mikey Williams of South Jersey is off to the second round of the national Kids ____ Championship.
A) Baking
B) Break dancing
C) Tee ball
D) Mullet
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
💻 Learning: How to spot misinformation online and avoid falling for false claims during this presidential election.
📽️ Planning: Our viewing schedule for this weekend’s BlackStar Film Festival.
⚽ Watching: The Union’s Jack McGlynn and Nathan Harriel play against Guinea at 1 p.m., plus a bunch of other local Olympians.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
The pediatric surgeon who founded the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium.
RANDA FLOATS
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to John Buhring, who solved Monday’s anagram: Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla. Lawyers for the electric car company will gather in a Delaware courtroom Friday to again ask for approval for a record stock grant worth around $50 billion for Musk.
Photo of the day
Have a great Tuesday. I’ll see you back here tomorrow.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.