🚯 Mapping illegal dumps | Morning Newsletter

Welcome to Friday!

We’ve all heard heaps about Trashadelphia. A multigroup initiative is pinning its cleanup efforts on first mapping illegal dumping throughout the city.

Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel wants the department to work on the less-glamorous side of policing — like customer service.

Plus, surely not everyone was pro-Revolution. What happened to Philadelphians who supported the British?

— Ellen Dunkel (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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About 75 Philadelphia residents representing neighborhood groups and nonprofits gathered Thursday to map by hand illegal legacy dumps scattered throughout the city.

The Clean Philadelphia NOW initiative, made up of multiple neighborhood organizations and nonprofits, wants to tackle the dump sites comprehensively and coordinate with city officials, the residents said.

Legacy dumps are one of the biggest issues impacting the quality of life in Philadelphia, they said, and they want to find solutions.

While the city has heavily invested in abatement, that falls short of addressing the root causes of the persistent “clean-dump-clean cycle,” said Shari Hersh, a codirector of Trash Academy, one of the groups collaborating with Clean Philadelphia NOW.

Reporter Frank Kummer explains how they plan to do it.

When someone reports a minor crime, it can take hours for police to respond — if they do at all. Much of their paperwork is done by hand.

To Bethel, those details capture something bigger: a department in need of a systems upgrade.

In a new five-year strategic plan released Thursday, Bethel chose to treat the police department and its nearly $900 million budget like a business in need of modernizing. He plans to put an eye toward better “customer service” for residents.

Reporter Ellie Rushing explains how Bethel plans to do it.

Welcome back to Curious Philly Friday. We’ll feature both new and timeless stories from our forum for readers to ask about the city’s quirks.

This week, we’re resurfacing an explainer on the Philly people who were loyal to the British crown in Revolutionary days.

It might seem like Philly was always pro-Revolutionary, but “tons of people were against the Revolution, very lukewarm, or their opinions changed,” said Tyler Putman, senior manager of gallery interpretation at the Museum of the American Revolution.

Ultimately you were either all in or you were out. Here’s the full story.

Have your own burning question about Philadelphia, its local oddities, or how the region works? Submit it here and you might find the answer featured in this space.

Nike calls its new Air Force 1 shoes “Horse of a Different Color.” The company says they contain pony hair. We suspect someone else’s fur. Which Philly mascot do they resemble?

A) Swoop

B) Gritty

C) Philly Elmo

D) Philly Phanatic

Think you know? Test your local news know-how and check your answer in our weekly quiz.

🍷 Drinking: Garnacha, a wine made from grapes native to Spain, although many think they’re French.

🤔 Wondering: Is buying a home still the way to wealth? Some young Americans aren’t sure.

🏀 Getting ready to watch: This weekend’s WNBA All-Star Game, with North Philly’s Kahleah Copper, who is a last-minute replacement. It’ll be her fifth WNBA All-Star Game.

Hint: This delicious reason this month is Middle Child’s “Super Bowl.”

HOME MOLTO RATIO

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Paula N., who solved Thursday’s anagram: Baltimore. Southwest Airlines will offer the one-hour flight twice daily next year.

Nearly 400 Philadelphia high school students almost didn’t make it to the finish line. But they completed their last credits and crossed the stage in joy and celebration at the district’s summer graduation.

Have a great day. Hope you’re looking forward to some fun weekend plans.

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