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Mexican consulate provides help for domestic violence survivors; Are New Yorkers flocking to Philly? | Morning Newsletter

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Alicia Kerber-Palma at the Mexican consulate in Philadelphia. She instituted a program here that grew to 600 referrals from 10.
Alicia Kerber-Palma at the Mexican consulate in Philadelphia. She instituted a program here that grew to 600 referrals from 10.Read moreHeather Khalifa / File Photograph

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Good morning, Philly. It’s Mexican consulate head Alicia Kerber-Palma’s last week in Philadelphia, but the women’s rights advocate is leaving things better than she found them: with a program in place to screen and advise women on domestic violence and trauma-related issues when they come to the consulate for an ID or other civil services. And while Kerber-Palma is on her way out of the city, New Yorkers are moving in. Reporter Alfred Lubrano looks at the exchange between the Big Apple and the City of Brotherly Love.

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— Oona Goodin-Smith (@oonagoodinsmith, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Alicia Kerber-Palma is finishing her tenure at Philadelphia’s Mexican consulate this week, but the program she implemented to help women confront domestic violence and access justice while they stop by the office for passport guidance or other civil services will stay in the city for years to come.

Often taught that any trauma they have suffered is a burden they should bear in silence, Mexican women who experience a high rate of domestic violence in the community don’t tend to share information about their situations or seek help due to cultural and social norms, a counselor explained.

So, Kerber-Palma developed a program to come to them, where consulate staffers screen for traumatic situations and advise women on violence and trauma-related issues while they receive legal and civil services at the office.

The Brooklynites are coming, and they’re congregating in Fairmount and Fishtown.

Census data shows that the flow of New Yorkers moving to our city is slightly greater than the drain of Philadelphians heading to the Big Apple — and that’s made up largely by Gothamists flocking from Brooklyn to the City of Brotherly Love.

In response to a Curious Philly reader’s question about an influx of New Yorkers coming to Philadelphia, reporter Alfred Lubrano looks at the movement of our neighbors from the north.

They’re mean, green, public transportation machines, but will they survive the city’s conditions?

SEPTA’s 22 electric, emissions-free buses are on Philly’s streets, and time will tell whether they’re a first step toward greener public transit or a novelty that will prove unsustainable.

The battery-powered buses join SEPTA’s fleet as part of the agency’s attempt to meet sustainability goals, and produce minimal pollution. But electric buses used elsewhere have proved less reliable than their emissions-spewing predecessors, and it is unclear whether the buses’ cost and SEPTA’s battery charging capacity will prevent them from being used widely in a big city.

What you need to know today

  1. A former Bucks County district judge who extorted business owners for bribes, boasted of his ability to control the votes of other elected officials, and lorded over his working-class township like an old-school political boss was sentenced Monday to 6½ years in federal prison.

  2. Funeral arrangements have been set for Dante M. Austin, Philadelphia’s first openly gay deputy sheriff found dead at his Center City office desk Friday. Austin died by suicide, the Medical Examiner’s office confirmed Monday.

  3. Residents of the rapidly-transforming Callowhill neighborhood will soon decide whether to pay a subsidy for a business improvement district in the once mostly industrial area — a move some worry will increase gentrification and decrease opportunities for affordable housing.

  4. A helicopter crash-landed on the roof of a midtown Manhattan skyscraper Monday, killing the pilot and briefly unnerving the city.

  5. Calls continued Monday for Sen. Daylin Leach to resign as a dozen lawmakers — including eight of Leach’s Democratic colleagues in the Senate — took turns calling for movement on bills aimed at preventing workplace harassment, noting that the government is not immune.

  6. Hadestown, the musical brainchild of Philadelphia theater scene influencer Mara Isaacs, scored big at the Tony Awards Sunday night, winning eight of 14 nominations including best musical. Isaacs spoke to theater critic John Timpane on what it means to clean up on Broadway’s biggest night.

  7. The Golden State Warriors swatted back the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 last night, hanging on to hopes of an NBA title by one point and sending the series back to California for Game 6 Thursday.

Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly

Anyway, here’s “Wonderwall.” Great shot of this @jessieandkatey mural, @kylehuff.

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

  1. Cheers: Chinatown’s rule-heavy Hop Sing Laundromat has been named to Esquire’s list of best bars in America. We’ll drink to that — as long as it’s a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, and we’re not on the “banned list” or wearing flip-flops.

  2. Looking to live in a piece of second-in-command history? The Lebanon County lieutenant governor’s mansion may soon be on the market as Pennsylvania legislators contemplate selling the state-maintained 1940s stone home.

  3. Anyssa El Manfaa was working a busy shift at a South Philadelphia bakery when a stranger’s words and $50 tip changed the course of her life, inspiring her to re-enroll in school. Three years later, she’s a community college honors program standout studying abroad and headed to Swarthmore College on a scholarship.

  4. Old MacDonald had an om? If you’ve ever wanted to break into downward dog in the presence of ducks and baby goats or mountain pose among monkeys and alpacas, mark your calendar. The ultimate animal yoga experience is coming to East Passyunk.

Opinions

“With one in four children in West Philadelphia currently struggling with asthma, how many more children could be affected if air quality continues to worsen?” — Perelman School of Medicine public health student Georgia Reilly on what Philadelphia can do to better the air quality for children with asthma.

  1. A “National Safety Exchange” is necessary to ensure responsible online sports gaming, argues this former Pennsylvania governor and this former NBA player.

  2. “Slow and steady” is not a winning pace when it comes to Philadelphia doing business with firms owned by minorities, women, and disabled persons, writes the Inquirer Editorial Board.

What we’re reading

  1. Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke’s office notified a developer that a valuable piece of public land was headed for sale, then cancelled the sale when the developer — Clarke’s landlord — didn’t get the property, a PlanPhilly investigation reveals.

  2. Pennsylvanians burying loved ones sign checks for thousands of dollars and agreements that promise to maintain the grave forever. But do cemeteries follow through? The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette looks at grave-keeping in the Keystone State.

  3. Can you really support a presidential campaign with just a five dollar donation? The New Yorker explores the small-donor system and why famous and powerful candidates are begging for your petty cash.

Your Daily Dose of | Cheesesteak cheesecake

Try saying that five times fast. Then try eating it and, well, you might be surprised. Inquirer food writer Allison Steele put the savory, viral meat-on-cake recipe to the test — and, in the words of a colleague, “It’s definitely not a disaster."