A painful wake-up call | Morning Newsletter
🍽️ And Philly’s 76 most vital restaurants.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Good morning, Philly. Expect lots of sun and temps in the high 50s today — then get ready for the frost that may come to areas outside the city later this week.
Our top story explores allegations of a troubling new phenomenon in Kensington, where some in the beleaguered neighborhood say police are using Narcan on people who aren’t overdosing.
And we’re excited to introduce The 76, The Inquirer’s guide to the most essential restaurants in the region. From vibe-y downtown spots to suburban stalwarts, this is where to eat in Philadelphia right now.
Find these stories and more below.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Naloxone nasal spray, more commonly known as Narcan, can save the life of a person overdosing from opioids.
But in Kensington, the neighborhood at the heart of Philadelphia’s opioid crisis, people who use drugs and harm-reduction providers allege police have been using the medication improperly. Officers, they say, are administering naloxone to people who are not overdosing, either to prod them into complying with orders or because they are misinformed about what an overdose looks like. The medicine’s effects are immediate, and painful.
Law enforcement departments say officers are trained to err on the side of caution.
“It’s better to be safe,” a SEPTA transit police inspector told The Inquirer. “They have a job to go out there and try to save this individual’s life. The days of walking past them are gone. We’re trying to help.”
But harm-reduction providers are skeptical. Some say they’ve seen officers administer the drugs to people who are merely sleeping or continuing to sit somewhere after officers tell them to move.
Reporters Max Marin and Samantha Melamed dig into the troubling trend.
May you never again have a hard time deciding where to eat in Philadelphia. The 76 — The Inquirer’s reimagined dining guide featuring the restaurants that most define the Philly food scene right now — is here.
🍽️ Winnowed from hundreds of possible entries after many months of research (read: taste tests) and debate, this list is more than simply the best the region has to offer. The 76 seeks to answer: What does it mean for a restaurant to be not just excellent, but essential?
📍 That means it also aims to represent the true breadth of the region’s culinary expertise, spanning cultures, prices, and geographies.
🍝 You’ll see mainstays such as Villa di Roma (Italian) and Tierra Colombiana (South American) alongside newcomers Little Walter’s (Polish) and My Loup (French).
🥙 You can either spend 10 bucks at Saad’s Halal (Middle Eastern) or drop $200 to go all out at Lark (seafood).
🍛 And it’s not all sit-down spots: Head to the Southeast Asian Market on a Saturday or Sunday, or Reading Terminal Market any day of the week for a smorgasbord of cuisines.
Methodology: Check out the explainer on how our food team made the list. (Any guess of how many slices of pizza were consumed to determine the must-eat pies is probably too low.)
Dissents: Inquirer staffers visited many, many more places than could appear on The 76. See their picks for what should have made the cut.
What you should know today
A woman in a wheelchair was killed in Fairmount Park on Tuesday morning in yet another hit-and-run crash in recent weeks.
The family of the train operator killed Monday in a collision with a tree on the River Line light rail in Burlington County has filed notice to sue New Jersey Transit and others.
The Pennsylvania political parade continues: Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Bucks County today, as well as interviewed by Fox News in Philadelphia. Former President Donald Trump will visit Latrobe this weekend and “work the fry cooker” at a McDonald’s somewhere in the state.
Trump wants to revoke Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, a move that would impact thousands of immigrants in Pennsylvania.
Over his 18 years in office, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s evolving stances on same-sex marriage, abortion, and gun control have signaled the nationalization of Pennsylvania politics. (P.S. The Inquirer Editorial Board, which operates separately from the newsroom, named their winner in his second debate against Dave McCormick.)
Andy Kim is on track to become the fourth youngest U.S. senator, the first Korean-American, and the rare U.S. Senator to hail from South Jersey. He got here while defying the state’s political bosses.
A pending bill would require New Jersey schools to include instruction on the history and contributions of Latinos and Hispanics.
🧠 Trivia time
Which rare item gifted by Marquis de Lafayette will be publicly displayed for the first time in a century at the Museum of the American Revolution?
A) Document
B) Musket
C) Jacket
D) Sword
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
👐 Helping: Victims of Hurricanes Milton and Helene from Philly.
🏛️ Chuckling over: This unserious list of 10 places where CNN should hold Kamala Harris’ Delco town hall on Oct. 23.
☄️ Peeping: The supermoon and comet that should be visible the next few nights.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
The super-secretive, no-phones-allowed bar hidden behind an unmarked steel door in Chinatown
Hint: 🐇 🎤 🧺
RUDOLPH ANTAGONISM
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Elmer Borger, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Philadelphia Ballet. The org celebrates its 60th anniversary this fall.
Photo of the day
Thanks, as always, for starting your day with The Inquirer. Back at it tomorrow.
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