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‘Prison gerrymandering’ shifts political power in Pa.; 2020 Dems will visit Philly this weekend | Morning Newsletter

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Atiba Kwesi became a voting rights activist after being in prison for 27 years. While incarcerated, he said, it was clear that he was not being represented by the lawmakers of the district where the prisons were located.
Atiba Kwesi became a voting rights activist after being in prison for 27 years. While incarcerated, he said, it was clear that he was not being represented by the lawmakers of the district where the prisons were located.Read moreANTHONY PEZZOTTI / Staff Photographer

    The Morning Newsletter

    Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

Get ready for rain. Forecasts indicate it’ll be a wet Thursday for us, Philly, and some of it might be connected to the storm near the Gulf Coast. It may dry up by Saturday, though, when a handful of presidential candidates are slated to speak at a conference in Philadelphia.

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— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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“Prison gerrymandering” happens when prisoners are counted as living in their prisons, not at their home addresses. Because of that, Pennsylvania’s system for drawing political maps benefits white rural voters at the expense of voters in urban areas. That disproportionately affects people of color, according to experts.

For example, two Villanova University criminologists found that if prisoners were counted based on their home addresses, Philadelphia would gain more representation in the state House of Representatives.

Right now the Census Bureau counts a person’s “usual residence,” meaning where a person “lives and sleeps most of the time." A change could alter political power in Pennsylvania.

A former Philadelphia police officer was given a one-year prison sentence after confessing to the violent sexual assault of a woman while on duty. The assault happened three years ago.

But the judge and prosecutors said they weren’t exactly thrilled with the plea deal for 53-year-old Thomas O’Neill, a 24-year veteran of the force before he resigned in 2016. Prosecutors said the one-year prison term is relatively light, due in part to limitations on what they could charge.

“Quite frankly, I have real trouble with this plea," the judge in the case said. "This is an extraordinarily troubling case because the conduct here is extraordinarily reprehensible and incomprehensible.”

Some of the more progressive Democratic candidates running for president, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, are expected to take the stage at the Pennsylvania Convention Center this weekend.

They’ll be part of Netroots, a convention that started 13 years ago. As its annual attendance has grown, so has its influence. It’s no longer a fringe group, but rather a key voice in the Democratic Party.

The convention opens today and is expected to draw 3,000 attendees, with the headline being Saturday’s forum for presidential candidates.

What you need to know today

  1. After a historically wet June, rain storms could hit our region today and tonight. Our storms might be related to the tropical one on the Gulf Coast that is expected to become a hurricane.

  2. President Donald Trump requested, and Lockheed Martin delivered. Its Coatesville helicopter plant, which last month was scheduled to be shut down by year’s end, will stay open, saving 465 jobs.

  3. About 11,000 Pennsylvanians got a letter this week announcing that the state’s general assistance fund will end on Aug. 1. Now they’re wondering what happens next.

  4. New Jersey’s coastal towns could expect even more flooding as sea levels continue to rise.

  5. The health care industry is growing, but not necessarily for hospital jobs. So what happens to people who are working at the to-be-closed Hahnemann University Hospital?

  6. Lawmakers in New Jersey want to make public records more accessible. Some towns and counties aren’t so sure it’s a great idea.

Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly

Nothing’s much better than the skyline at sunrise. Thanks for the pic, @iambossy!

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. Ever wanted to be a zombie? A new zombie movie filming in Atlantic City is looking for people who are “comfortable with fake blood, simulated levels of human decomposition, and aren’t sensitive to scenes of violence, smoke and walking.”

  2. Yes, mosquito bites itch. A lot. But, resist the urge. We’ve got tips for dealing with bites and keeping mosquitoes at bay this summer.

  3. The beach where Atlantic City’s boardwalk either begins or ends (depending on your perspective) is home to a constantly changing, growing collection of beach bums called “the Circle.”

  4. The Phillies lost 43 games during the first half of the season. Let’s relive their worst 10 defeats so far for a fun Thursday morning pick-me-up.

  5. Consider yourself a Pop-Tart lover? Well, an area brewery has the beer for you.

  6. The older you get, the more time you spend alone, a new study found. While being alone is not inherently bad, sometimes isolation can be linked with health problems in older people.

Opinions

“If Democrats and Republicans take opposing positions on vaccines, we will likely see a polarization on this issue among the public, much like we saw on climate change. That might lead to plummeting rates of vaccine coverage, an outcome no one should want.” Dominik Stecula, a postdoctoral fellow at Penn’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, writes about the danger of vaccines becoming a partisan issue.

  1. Albert Eisenberg, a Philadelphia-based political consultant, urges President Donald Trump to take his 2020 campaign through Philly.

  2. When Disney cast a black woman as Ariel in the new Little Mermaid last week, columnist Elizabeth Wellington said she was glad to see that the company is "taking steps to make sure the next generation of little girls — black, white, Latina, or Asian — will always get their fairy tales.”

What we’re reading

  1. Immigrants’ earnings in Philly are up 13 percent, according to a new report covered by Billy Penn.

  2. Chestnut Hill Local profiles the owner of a Germantown performing arts summer camp that wants to combat learning loss with an hour of academic work per day.

  3. A mirror universe could be right in front of us, and scientists are on the hunt for it, NBC News reports.

Your Daily Dose of | The UpSide

Dave Matthews Band superfans have created a “Tailgate Caravan” that raises thousands of dollars for charities.