🛣️ Exit strategy | Morning Newsletter
And the data behind school closures plan.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Welcome to Thursday, Philly. We have new details on what to expect from this weekend’s encore storm. Meanwhile, some city residents are still waiting for their streets to be plowed.
Malvern’s Pennsylvania Turnpike ramp has sparked billions in economic development since it opened in 2012, including by paving the way for a more convenient commute to the city. Demand is now shifting further from commercial to residential.
And the proposed Philadelphia school closures would disproportionately affect Black students. See the data behind the decisions.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Ease of commute can make or break a day, as plowed-in drivers were reminded this week. It also has big implications for economic development.
🛣️ Since Exit 320 opened in 2012, the interchange connecting to Route 29 has helped spur billions of dollars of new commercial and residential development in Chester County’s Great Valley.
🛣️ Growth can’t be attributed exclusively to the turnpike exit. But the ramp’s construction aligned with infrastructure and other projects that dramatically improved access to the area, boosting jobs, population, and median income.
🛣️ Altogether, it’s led to an “explosive” impact in the past decade-plus “in a way I’m not even sure we had anticipated,” the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s chief operating officer told The Inquirer.
Transportation reporter Tom Fitzgerald has the story on how the suburban area is changing again.
The closures proposed in the Philadelphia School District’s facilities plan would affect schools in some of the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.
They would also will affect Black students disproportionately: Among the 20 schools slated for closure, about 68% of the student population is Black, compared with 40% for the rest of the district’s schools.
Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. is expected to present the plan to the school board next month ahead of a final vote later this winter.
Reporters Kristen A. Graham and Dylan Purcell dig into the data.
What you should know today
A new report from federal investigators offers the most detailed account so far of what happened in the lead-up to the Bristol nursing home explosion that killed three people on Dec. 23.
The dismantled slavery exhibits from the President’s House are being held at the National Constitution Center, according to a legal filing.
Sen. John Fetterman is facing pressure from constituents and fellow Pennsylvania Democrats to vote against funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Here’s why he probably won’t do it.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is forming a coalition of progressive prosecutors who are committed to charging federal agents who violate state laws.
City Council’s “ICE Out” bills range from codifying into law Philly’s existing “sanctuary city” policies to a ban on law enforcement officers wearing masks. See what’s in all seven.
A Montgomery County woman was sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding the government of more than $1.5 million intended to aid victims of Hurricane Ida in 2021.
The inaugural public Girl Scout cookie sale, held in 1932 at Broad and Arch Streets, will be remembered this Saturday. Plus: Both cookie sales and Center City District Restaurant Week have been extended because of this week’s snow.
Quote of the day
By midweek, cabin fever had set in for many snowed-in Philly parents.
Today should bring some reprieve as city schools return to in-person learning. In New Jersey, too, most public schools have reopened — though now, districts must figure out how to make up for missed days.
🧠Trivia time
Temple University recently purchased the former McDonald’s site near the corner of Broad Street and Girard Avenue. President John Fry said he envisions using that property as what?
A) A new STEM center
B) A campus gateway
C) A new residence hall
D) A community green space
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
🪧 Listening to: Bruce Springsteen’s new ICE protest song, “Streets of Minneapolis.”
đźš’ Learning: Why Swarthmore and Nether Providence want to merge fire departments.
🏒 Cheering on: The Philadelphia Liberties, a growing hockey program for girls.
🏀 Excited for: Unrivaled’s Philly debut this Friday, just like Temple coach Diane Richardson.
🔎 Considering: How juvenile probation could move beyond supervision.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: Community in Lower Merion Township
EDGY LAWN
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Dennis Bingham, who solved Wednesday’s anagram: Market Street. On West Market Street, the upper half of an office building will be converted into 273 apartments. (Psst: See how another office conversion project on this commercial stretch turned out.)
In other development news: Permits for 824 apartments have been issued ahead of a housing ban at the former Hahnemann Hospital site.
Photo of the day
🏥 One last constructive thing: KJ Muldoon’s life-threatening genetic condition was treated at CHOP. While the infant was at the hospital receiving a first-of-its-kind gene editing therapy, his construction worker dad joined the team building its new 26-story patient tower.
Enjoy the rest of your Thursday. Back at it tomorrow.
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