Systemic racism is a public health issue in Philly, elsewhere | Morning Newsletter
Plus, DeSean Jackson apologized for anti-Semitic posts.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
🗳️Hey, everyone. I’m starting off this morning’s newsletter with a little request. My Inquirer colleagues are creating a group of Pennsylvania voters to help inform our coverage. Basically, we want to hear from you about what matters most ahead of the 2020 election. As we cover politics, we want you — voters — to have a say. You can sign up here.
— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
President Trump has proposed labeling antifa as a terrorist group. But a nationally organized antifa network as imagined does not actually exist. Even so, fears about antifa that have spread online through warnings, hoaxes, and jokes have resonated widely, spilling over into communities — in South Philadelphia and Fishtown, as well as on July 4, in Gettysburg.
In each of those cases, residents that were angry from weeks of civil unrest had organized to fight threats that didn’t really materialize, leading to sometimes serious and violent confrontations.
Systematic racism influences health as unequal access to satisfy basic needs (think education, nutrition, wages, clean air and water, and more) created a pandemic that existed long before the coronavirus, according to experts.
My colleague Kasra Zarei reported on the root of these issues and the efforts of community health workers in Philadelphia who have, in other cities, partnered with police officers to focus on antiracist and holistic responses to issues and have trained other health-care professionals. Experts stress the U.S. needs more community health workers to address disparities.
Can you contract the coronavirus from across a room, or after an infected person leaves it? The answer is unclear. But evidence that invisible “aerosols” can spread infection indoors more stealthily than thought led 239 scientists to urge the World Health Organization to address the risk.
My colleague Marie McCullough goes through what “airborne” actually means, explains the science behind it, and talked to experts about potential safeguards.
What you need to know today
New Jersey held its 2020 primary yesterday, but we probably won’t know most of the results for days. But we do know at least one: Democrat Amy Kennedy emerged as the upset winner in a South Jersey congressional district to face ex-Democrat Jeff Van Drew.
Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson apologized yesterday for his recent anti-Semetic Instagram posts that shared a text that included a fake Adolf Hitler quote. The franchise’s statement on the matter indicated that the Eagles will take further action with regard to Jackson. Ultimately, though, that decision will be up to team owner Jeffrey Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman, writes columnist David Murphy.
Vice President Mike Pence will visit with police officers and their families in Philadelphia tomorrow. Biden will also be in Pennsylvania tomorrow but isn’t scheduled to make a public appearance in Philly.
Philly law firms were the biggest recipients of the Paycheck Protection Program, getting at least $228 million. Charter and private schools in the region also received millions in federal loans, but there are questions about which schools received the money and why.
Philadelphia officials have said they’re nearing an agreement that could disband the homeless community that has camped on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. But organizers of the encampment warn that there’s still uncertainty regarding a deal.
Here are the top aides that are running Joe Biden’s campaign in Pennsylvania.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
The sunset. The Schuylkill. The framing. When you put them together: 😍. Thanks for sharing, @frecklesandredhair.
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
😷A Chester County pharmacy that charged $25 for N95 face masks has been fined for “price gouging.”
🏘️Mortgage and rent assistance applications are now open in Pennsylvania. You can apply until Sept. 30. In Philly, landlords are suing to block a package of city renter protections.
🦉After 45 years and 17 roles, Temple University President Richard M. Englert will retire. That means Temple will search for a new president during the pandemic.
📱Drexel has rolled out a coronavirus contact tracing app. It lets smartphone users indicate every day whether they have symptoms of a potential COVID-19 infection. It’s one of many examples of the tension between privacy and public health when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic.
⚾At long last, the baseball season is getting closer. Here’s my colleague Matt Breen’s story on how the Phillies are prepping for a one-of-a-kind season.
🌃The Philadelphia skyline will be a bit darker — at least until sometime this fall. Peco turned off its iconic Crown Lights for the first time in a decade.
Opinions
“It’s clear the aftermath of the last month or so has lit a fire under so many people who placed race relations in the back of the brain, because, well as a white person, it really didn’t affect them much. I personally love that the struggle of a collective is on full display right now and so many white people are getting educated.” — writes Kerith Gabriel, the editor in chief of Philadelphia Weekly, about how white people’s wokeness needs to extend beyond their posts on social media.
In Trump’s America, the Pledge of Allegiance is a lie, writes columnist Solomon Jones.
Philadelphia needs more contract tracers to help contain the spread of the coronavirus, write Lyle Ungar and Angela Duckworth, both professors at Penn.
What we’re reading
A pair of brothers in Philly want to open the city’s first Black-owned brewery. Currently, out of about 8,000 craft breweries in the U.S., fewer than 100 are Black-owned, KYW reports.
Hundreds of USPS delivery trucks have caught fire in recent years, according to a Vice investigation.
At a youth baseball game in Maine in 2018, a maroon Honda Civic careened across the diamond and narrowly missed dozens of children. It set off a “true-crime mystery 50 years in the making.” ESPN has the (long) story of what happened.
Your Daily Dose of | ‘The beauty of flying'
Pilot Sean O’Donnel, a 42-year-old Newtown Square resident, was paralyzed and lost the use of his legs in 1995 when a car hit the motorcycle he was riding. Now, he’s teaching others with disabilities to fly planes, too. “No picture can capture the beauty of flying,” O’Donnell said. “It’s almost indescribable. It’s a gift, and you have to share it.”