What to do if you didn’t get your mail ballot yet | Morning Newsletter
And what miners are saying about the election
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
If you applied for your mail ballot and haven’t received it yet, fear not. Our data and democracy reporter, Jonathan Lai, has every step of the process covered with his comprehensive guide to what to do.
And with Election Day two weeks away, President Donald Trump recently vowed that his policies are delivering a coal industry reborn under his watch. Reporter Jason Nark talked to people in Greene County, where coal runs deep, about how they’re voting.
And after protests against police brutality and systemic racism swept Philly this past summer, we checked in with activists playing a core role in the movement about how they’re keeping the momentum going in the city.
— Ashley Hoffman (@_ashleyhoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Jonathan Lai has you covered with his guide to what to do, where you can find out what to expect, and all the options you still have at this late hour. Bonus: He translates the misleading language people have been encountering with this process, too.
Trump recently declared during a rally in Johnstown that his policies are “putting our great coal miners back to work.”
Despite this and his routine 2016 campaign promises, the coal industry that helped build Pennsylvania hasn’t actually rebounded under Trump. Many plants have sat vacant as the economy turns to cheaper natural gas, a trend that Phil Smith, the communications director for the United Mine Workers, says will “be true no matter who is elected.”
Nark talked to miners and advocates about how the coal industry has fared under Trump and how they believe Biden might affect jobs if he wins.
Activists are hoping to build the movement against systemic racism from large-scale street protests demanding that “Black Lives Matter” to a movement that says “matter is the minimum.” "Black histories and Black futures matter,” as activist Samantha Rise puts it. Philly protest groups came together to lay their vision out in new ways. Expanded objectives include establishing their own community group model to focus actions on housing, employment, education and health.
What you need to know today
Last night, Trump held a rally in Erie County, which he won in 2016 after Democrats hadn’t lost it in century. He doubled down on his assertion that the coronavirus pandemic is coming to an end, which rising case counts contradict.
And former President Barack Obama will campaign for former Vice President Joe Biden at a drive-in car rally in Philly tomorrow.
You don’t have to be that handy to build your own air filter to possibly limit your exposure to potentially virus-laden particles.
If the measure to legalize recreational marijuana for people 21 and over in New Jersey passes, here’s everything you need to know from whether Pennsylvanians can import it to when it might be for sale.
A child getting a runny nose is different under our extraordinary circumstances. Here’s what doctors say you should do if your child is sick.
These schools are cutting down on remote learning screen time in response to concerns about fatigue.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
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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
🏡 How this couple finally got their dream house after it looked like it would never happen.
🍂Lifting massive pumpkins and raking leaves? Let a personal trainer tell you how to avoid common injuries people get while enjoying fall festivities.
🖥️71 years later, a Yom Kippur Zoom session brought two Holocaust survivors together, including long-lost friends who had no idea they were living 60 miles apart.
🗳️He calls himself “Tokyo Joe,” and is running for sheriff of Atlantic County. Want to know more?
Opinions
"In a second term, Trump could appoint an even more compliant ally to head the Justice Department, and a sycophant to direct the FBI. In control of the Supreme Court and increasingly appellate courts, he would be in a position to persecute his ‘foes.’” — writes columnist Trudy Rubin about how Trump is likely to ramp up political prosecutions of opponents.
Columnist Will Bunch writes that once-divided citizens will need to focus on exposing the truth of what happened under Trump’s first term in order to heal from what looks like the brink of a modern civil war.
Elaine Paul Schaefer, a member of the Delaware County Council, writes that lawmakers should not cut investments in vital parks, trails and open space further, hurting our economy and the health of Pennsylvania residents.
What we’re reading
The Atlantic delves into how the pandemic has revealed that most of university life has nothing to do with education.
Philly Mag remembers how celebrated food writer Jim Quinn covered the Philly food scene in a lasting, complex portrait.
Philadelphia Weekly talked to a jazz vocalist who just dropped her debut album about Philly’s inspirational community of independent artists.
Your Daily Dose of | Heart
Heart of Camden celebrates the 85-year-old Irish-born Msgr. Michael Doyle, a city fixture as the Sacred Heart Chuch’s pastor for nearly half a century. We talked to the now retired Camden champion himself and the director Douglas Clayton about the warm portrait of the man, well-known for his message of doing your part to help others. No wonder the sold-out drive-in screening ended in a spontaneous ovation of car horns.