Shore beaches prep for Memorial Day weekend | Morning Newsletter
Plus, choosing your “quaranteam.”
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
As we inch closer to summer, beach-goers and Shore towns are trying to figure out how to proceed. More beaches reopened this weekend as a sort of test run for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. Here’s how that went.
— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
In a practice run for Memorial Day weekend, three more Jersey Shore beaches reopened this weekend. People were mostly following social-distancing rules and staying apart from each other. But on Ocean City’s boardwalk, thousands were standing close together in what could be a warning for an uncertain summer season. Here’s what the beaches and boardwalks looked like.
Some renters are still debating whether they’ll make the trip down the Shore. And those who are there might have questions about wearing masks. Here’s what you need to know before you even think about going to the beach.
Should insurance companies pay for business losses due to the coronavirus? In courtrooms both locally and nationally, small businesses and insurers are in a high-stakes battle over whether business-interruption policies will have to pay out for the losses businesses have seen during coronavirus shutdowns.
Already, local restaurants, medical and dental practices, hotels, sports arenas, and more have filed suits. And more are expected as insurance companies begin denying claims. Some lawyers want the individual cases to be consolidated into one nationwide suit to be heard in front of one judge, possibly in Philadelphia.
With hundreds of billions of dollars at stake, both the businesses and insurance companies claim that the outcomes of the suits have the potential to end them.
Candidates who are running for office are facing a new political landscape. No more retail politics and door-knocking. Handshakes at community centers are no longer. News coverage that once focused on local elections is now focused on the pandemic.
Instead, campaigns are trying to help people get food or get connected to agencies and programs they need. Candidates are hoping that the help now will mean a vote for them later.
What you need to know today
The leaders of three retirement communities in Camden County say they followed all the guidelines laid out by state and federal authorities. Even so, the coronavirus still invaded.
In Philly, the city had to collect 22,000 tons of extra residential trash during March and April. And there’s more to come.
Dozens, and in some cases, hundreds, of students are still living on college campuses even months after most were forced to leave. Many are international students who couldn’t fly home or those who grew in up foster care.
What can Pennsylvania and Philly do to protect workers during the coronavirus? Experts weighed in.
Our spending was slowing even before official stay-at-home orders came down in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to new data from a Harvard-based research group. So will reopening the economy reopen our wallets?
COVID-19 has killed eight people at a South Jersey center for adults with disabilities. Most of the residents and many staff have been infected.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
Wow, what a shot. Thanks for sharing, @jwalter21.
Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!
That’s interesting
🎶It might be two years until we hear a live choir, as choral singing gatherings can be particularly risky for spreading the coronavirus.
👪Philadelphians are secretly picking “quaranteams” to survive the shutdown.
🎂We have tips to help make your quarantine birthday as fun as possible.
⚾What will it take for the MLB season to start? Take a look at its 67-page health and safety manual to see why it’s going to be such a challenge.
💰Chef Tyler Akin, who owns Res Ipsa Cafe in Rittenhouse and Stock Restaurant in Fishtown, spoke with my colleague Jenn Ladd about what independent restaurants need to survive. And, Philly food trucks are hoping to get out and about again, maybe even in private parking lots.
🏘️There were a few houses on the Philly real estate market last month. How quickly did they sell?
Opinions
“Barbershops and beauty salons are sanctuaries. They are where we go to get groomed, but also to connect with folks and catch up on the latest news. Besides liquor stores and small grocers, they are the only viable businesses in some neighborhoods.” — writes columnist Jenice Armstrong about things we can do to help barbers and hairstylists during the pandemic.
Former Pennsylvania Gov. and Philly Mayor Ed Rendell offers seven ways elected officials can change America for the better right now.
Nursing homes had problems with oversight and staffing long before the coronavirus hit, writes The Inquirer Editorial Board.
What we’re reading
Everything hasn’t been terrible in Philly during the coronavirus pandemic. Philadelphia magazine outlines 50 good things that have happened in the city.
The New York Times interviewed the Smithsonian’s historian of medicine and the chair of the Medicine and Science Division about the meanings of masks and the historical artifacts of the pandemic.
TechCrunch has a guide to making your videoconferencing setup the best it can be, with options for every budget.
Your Daily Dose of | ‘Pomp and Circumstance'
It wouldn’t be a graduation without hearing some of Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D Major, the traditional accompaniment to caps and gowns. So, the Philadelphia Orchestra made its recording available to all grads.