Philly City Council’s agenda in 2021 | Morning Newsletter
And, police tactics brought to light.
The Morning Newsletter
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Good morning from the Inquirer newsroom.
It’s my pleasure to let you know that tomorrow, Tommy Rowan, will be delivering the morning newsletter straight to you. He’s a feeder of the beast here who has been serving it up for six years. Lauren Aguirre and I will stay with you right on schedule as too.
First: Philly City Council is back today. It’s different, and so is Philly. We’re talking about the four things to watch this year.
Then: Philly’s police commissioner sought to use tear gas against protesters as Mayor Kenney hesitated, an investigation released yesterday says.
And: Sen. Bob Casey = open to killing the filibuster without GOP support.
— Ashley Hoffman (@_ashleyhoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Philadelphia City Council is back today for the first meeting of the year with some bold ideas and priorities on the table that are bound to be contentious.
It’s an era battering Philadelphia unlike any other, with multiple videos capturing police brutality ricocheting across the city, social distancing clashes, and an eviction debate in a city where thousands have lost their jobs.
Council has its own version of “the squad” in Congress, political landmines along a complex obstacle course of issues like the budget crisis, and the debate on city policing surrounding what Kenney calls “the ‘defund’ conundrum.”
With plenty at stake in more than one once-in-a-century situations, let’s discuss key dynamics to watch that could reshape City Hall over the year.
Yesterday, a newly released report unveiled details about internal conversations and decisions among Philly officials regarding the police response to protests.
As late May was turning to June and demonstrators took to the streets, police ultimately deployed tear gas three times that weekend. Of particular interest is Commissioner Danielle Outlaw’s actions on the use of tear gas. Not everyone agreed on the decision to use tear gas in one instance we know of.
Officials changed their stance on it as it all boiled over into the city’s consciousness. And while we don’t know everything about the internal decisions, we now know that there was some division among the ranks.
Here’s what people have already been saying about it.
Helpful COVID-19 Resources
What you need to know if you signed up for Philly Fighting COVID’s pre-registration site before the city cut ties.
How to avoid COVID-19 vaccine scams.
Here are the updated coronavirus case numbers as COVID-19 continues to spread across the region.
Use our lookup tool to see where you can get a COVID-19 vaccine in the Philly area.
You can register to get an alert that will tell you when it’s your turn to get a vaccine.
What you need to know today
Some Philly kids will be able to go back to school next month for in-person classes. Reactions are already rolling in, and they’re mixed.
We talked to the new Pa. health secretary, and she wants to improve vaccine rollout communication.
Meet the woman who stood between police and protesters as a neutral watcher to take notes. Now she’s one of two “legal observers” alleging police brutality at the Walter Wallace Jr. protests in a lawsuit.
A new class action lawsuit alleges Devereux was negligent and failed to protect at least six children from abuse. After Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker brought you a special report on Devereux, here’s how you can detect, deter, and stop abuse at licensed child-care facilities, according to child-welfare experts.
City Council is demanding some answers as questions swirl over Philly Fighting COVID partnership and vaccine distribution handling.
The Penn professor who stirred controversy for using a Nazi gesture and rhetoric during a Zoom meeting has retired.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
Our favorite band is the doors of Philadelphia. Thanks for sharing, @jeffphl.
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
🗳️ Sen. Bob Casey is on board with the Democrats’ aggressive posture as they take control of both the White House and Congress for the first time in a decade, he told reporter Jonathan Tamari in our phone interview.
🍹 This is how you try to keep a nursing home upbeat during a pandemic: with escapades, parking-lot concerts, and passion fruit-mango margarita happy hour.
💰 Some employers are paying workers to get vaccinated. But it’s a confusing and high-stakes situation.
Opinions
“Although it may seem like Harris has superhuman powers — like how she deflects insults as though armed with a magical metal cuff, or how she pried the truth out of witnesses at Senate hearings sans magic lasso — she doesn’t. She’s one of us.” — it’s natural to want to compare Vice President Kamala Harris to Wonder Woman like in the above depiction that really took off, but columnist Elizabeth Wellington wonders whether relying on Black women as our lifesaving superheroes is dangerously wrong.
“Is it wrong to compare Trump to Hitler? No,” in seeking to answer this question, former Inquirer editor David Lee Preston says they may not be equal, but we should look carefully at sway over human nature.
This is why you should never let your fear of getting COVID-19 keep you from getting emergency care if you need it, experts Anish Agarwal and Jeffrey Millstein write.
What we’re reading
Let CNBC’s experts be your guide to the Reddit-fueled frenzy that is GameStop’s unstoppable moment.
WHYY unpacks the zoning debate over the hyperlocal “overlay tool.”
This is a way to track the very weird world of made-up science fiction words from Wired.
They used to call this 5′1′' probation officer “The Hammer.” Now she’s blossoming as a florist.