Indoor dining awaits Philly’s approval, which could come this week | Morning Newsletter
Plus, how the Philly school district endangered children’s health in a $50M project.
The Morning Newsletter
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Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Philadelphia has frequently waited until after the rest of the state has resumed some part of pre-COVID-19 life to make its own decisions. And it’s been no different with the ban on indoor dining in the city, which has repeatedly been extended. My colleagues report that a decision on whether indoor dining could resume in September could come this week.
And, it was a tough sports night for Philly as the Flyers weren’t able to close out their playoff series and the Sixers dropped Game 2 to the Celtics in a blowout.
— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Julia and Eugene Gross of Elkins Park have filed a lawsuit that alleges that their stillborn son, Noach, was buried in a mass grave at Mount Sinai Jewish Cemetery in Lakewood, N.J., against their wishes. They’ve heard similar stories from other Orthodox Jewish mothers.
“You go to the cemetery and you think you’re visiting your son’s grave — and there is none,” Julia Gross told my colleague William Bender.
In recent months, new coronavirus outbreaks have been tied to indoor gatherings, including crowded restaurants and bars. Philadelphia’s ban on indoor dining has been repeatedly extended, with a potential lift of that ban depending on trends in new confirmed cases of the virus, the city’s health commissioner said.
While some restaurant owners are eager to bring guests inside, especially into the fall as the weather changes, others are hesitant and are planning to rely on takeout and outdoor seating even if the city lifts its ban.
City officials are expected to announce this week whether indoor dining can resume next month, my colleagues Laura McCrystal and Sean Collins Walsh report.
Warning signs were ignored. Crucial work was rushed. Money was wasted. The Philadelphia School District did all of those things, endangering students and staff on a $50 million construction project, the district’s inspector general found. There were “critical missteps” in the planning, design, and construction stages of the project that aimed to co-locate Benjamin Franklin High School and Science Leadership Academy.
The issues resulted in both environmental and health concerns and led to the displacement of 1,000 students. The findings in the report echo what my colleagues reported during their investigation of the project. Kristen A. Graham and Wendy Ruderman have the story.
What you need to know today
The Democratic National Convention has had a decidedly regional flair. From “that girl from Philly” Jill Biden to local representatives playing roles to Wilmington’s and Scranton’s spotlight moments and Barack Obama’s speech last night from the Museum of the American Revolution.
Here’s who got the money from Pennsylvania’s $50 million hazard pay program.
A law passed in 1955 is keeping the Wolf administration free of scrutiny for its coronavirus response.
In a lengthy federal court hearing yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Philly-based Par Funding of being a “sham” operation with “no respect for the law,” my colleague Joseph N. DiStefano reports.
SEPTA has threatened to cut Regional Rail lines and pull back the subway and trolleys if the state doesn’t give it more money.
The coronavirus could make health care even more unaffordable for Americans, according to findings from a new study.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
You can find more info on this building here. Thanks for sharing, @sarahmarsom.
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
🏒The Flyers couldn’t hold off the desperate Canadiens, who pushed the series to a Game 6 tomorrow.
🏀The Sixers’ blowout loss to the Celtics in Game 2 was “embarrassing,” writes columnist David Murphy.
🎒NBC10 broadcaster Monique Braxton attended a high school in Virginia named for a Confederate general. Earlier this summer, she rallied friends, family, and alums to nominate her parents, trailblazing activists, to be the school’s new namesakes.
🍽️A chef is trying to combine old and new to reinvent the landmark restaurant at the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington.
😷A man has been arrested after being accused of attacking a teenage Sesame Place employee last week because of the theme park’s mandatory mask requirement.
📱Pranavh Joshua Vallabhaneni has been working tirelessly to help prevent car deaths among young kids. He invented a device that sends automated alerts to parents and local authorities when the temperature inside a car reaches certain points. Oh, by the way, he’s just 15.
Opinions
“I like that unlike so many of us, they can still see the humanity in the shooters and others who are wilding out in the streets. Instead of judging and condemning the way most of us do, they try to offer compassion.” — columnist Jenice Armstrong writes about advice for curbing violence from former juvenile lifers.
Democrats owe Black voters more than Kamala Harris’ nomination, columnist Solomon Jones writes.
The Inquirer Editorial Board writes about a new report that offers a road map for overhauling Pennsylvania’s nursing homes.
What we’re reading
A Philadelphia Magazine article examines why restaurants might never be the same again — and why that’s a good thing.
The Tokyo Olympics have been postponed. And they might not ever come back. A Longreads piece explores the place the Olympics have in modern society.
Your Daily Dose of | Broad Street’s Mother Teresa
Sister Jocelyn Edathil is a Philadelphia-born nun who seeks to help those who are homeless and addicted to drugs. She’s one of the medical heroes who has emerged during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I initially thought that if I wore a habit, some patients might judge me differently,” Sister Jocelyn said recently. “Some people have this idea that nuns are judgmental. But I’m very free and open and just try to love my patients. Now the majority of them don’t even comment on it.”