We’re in for more clear skies and temps reaching the high 40s.
For the third consecutive year, Philadelphia has experienced historic levels of gun violence. The city surpassed 500 homicides for the second year in a row, totaling 512. That’s slightly lower than last year but is still higher than any other year in the past six decades.
Our lead story explores the trends and impact of the unrelenting crisis.
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— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
While other crime categories have been on the decline — particularly those without guns — police statistics show several offenses increased in 2022 compared to last year:
Commercial burglaries are up by 41%.
Retail thefts increased by 51%.
Auto thefts are up by 30%.
Carjackings increased by 53%.
Important note: Most victims were young Black men, concentrated in neighborhoods with poverty, blight, and other systemic disadvantages.
Necessary context: Gun violence spiked all across the country since the COVID-19 pandemic began three years ago and has become the leading cause of death for American children.
Criminologists point to various factors at play including record-high gun sales, political and social unrest, and societal and economic upheaval in response to the pandemic.
Continue reading to understand how the Police Department is responding and the sprawling mental toll the crisis has on communities.
The founder of Philly Fighting COVID — the student-run start-up whose attempt to distribute some of Philadelphia’s first COVID-19 vaccines ended in national embarrassment for the city — has filed a lawsuit against Drexel University.
His argument: Andrei Doroshin alleged Drexel did not allow him to defend himself before it labeled him a thief, expelled him, and “very publicly branded [him] a racist, classist, elitist, leaving his entire future in ruins.”
Reminders: Doroshin founded the start-up in 2020 to help with the city’s pandemic response and secured a $194,234 city contract to run a fleet of testing sites. But he then abandoned its nonprofit testing operations and pivoted to a for-profit vaccine distribution business in January 2021.
Health officials entrusted the then-22-year-old Drexel grad student with no health-care experience to distribute some of Philly’s first doses at a mass clinic only to then cut ties after questions emerged about the group’s for-profit intentions and its privacy policy.
He was involved in another vaccine distribution outfit that planned to launch clinics in New York and Georgia with his father. A whistleblower alleged to Philadelphia Magazine that the group did some “corner-cutting measures” similar to Philly Fighting COVID and the Georgia Health Department subsequently cut ties.
Keep reading for more details about the lawsuit.
What you should know today
Joseph Augustus Zarelli, the now identified “Boy in the Box,” was honored at Masses in the city.
Nearly all Southwest flights from Philadelphia International Airport were canceled as the airline’s travel woes persist.
A new reading room at West Philly’s Paul Robeson House honors his wife, Eslanda Cardozo Robeson.
Bill Cosby wants to return to touring in 2023.
Former Philly politico and top adviser to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Jamie Fleet, told the Jan. 6 committee that preparations for election challenges began in the summer of 2020.
Local coronavirus numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
🧠 Philly Trivia Time 🧠
Last week, a Sixers dancer got the surprise of her life when her future husband proposed to her during a timeout in front of the Wells Fargo Center crowd.
Who were the Sixers playing?
A. Los Angeles Clippers
B. Brooklyn Nets
C. Cleveland Cavaliers
D. Chicago Bulls
Find out if you know the answer.
What we’re...
📰 Reading: A story of a cable service call leading a man to discover more about his late father and a new friend.
👠 Perusing: Iconic shoe designer Stuart Weitzman’s and Jane Gershon Weitzman’s private collection of shoes throughout history. 🔑
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
Hint: Philly’s only sober bar
DEVOTES LATH
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.
Photo of the Day
And that’s all you need to start your Thursday. I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow. 📧
