Board of Ed. mandates metal detectors in Philly high schools; Can city maintain faster SEPTA bus service? | Morning Newsletter
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Tension and frustration were on display at a Philadelphia school board meeting on Thursday night. The result of the board’s vote on whether to mandate metal detectors in city schools prompted activists and students to quickly react. SEPTA’s reaction to declining bus ridership involved testing heightened traffic enforcement around bus lanes. It’s helped speed up service times, but some wonder if the resources are in place to sustain it. And hopefully the Phillies can keep this up for 161 more games. They looked really good on Opening Day.
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— Ray Boyd (@RayBoydDigital, morningnewsletter@philly.com)
Philly’s school board voted 7-2 on Thursday night to mandate metal detectors in Philadelphia high schools. Shortly after, activists and students voiced their displeasure and shut the meeting down.
“Whose schools? Our schools!” the crowd chanted, prompting the board to recess the meeting. Then, activists themselves took control of the dais to make their message loud and clear.
The board was forced to finish the meeting in a conference room. They stressed that they respected the passion of activists, and hope to open a discussion about how the metal detectors will be used.
A months-long traffic enforcement surge that began last fall ramped up the speed of SEPTA bus service. It took aim at bad behaviors like double parking and stopping in bus zones.
SEPTA undertook the effort to see if it could improve service — a mission that’s obviously necessary for the agency considering the trend in bus ridership numbers in the city.
SEPTA and city officials say a lack of manpower is standing in the way of expanding heightened enforcement efforts. Philadelphians will get to vote on one possible solution in the voting booth in May.
The notion that suicide rates go up in the winter around the holidays is not backed by research. In fact, experts say the danger zone is right about now.
Researchers are quite confident in the rise that they’ve seen over decades in the spring. However, they aren’t nearly as sure about what’s causing it. But there are several interesting theories.
Despite the rise in suicide rates in the spring, experts make it clear that suicide is a year-long issue and that people should be vigilant at all times.
What you need to know today
Jacob Sullivan was sentenced to death Thursday for raping and murdering Abington teenager Grace Parker in 2016. Sullivan will join 142 inmates on death row in Pennsylvania — a state that hasn’t had an execution since 1999.
A Franklin & Marshall College poll released Thursday highlights two questions that split Pennsylvanians down party lines. Its conclusions: Legalizing pot is popular in Pennsylvania; President Donald Trump is not.
A new $40 million city payroll system is supposed to help rein in overtime pay to Philadelphia’s city employees. But it could wind up doing the opposite.
A Pennsylvania state representatives prayer on the House floor this week sparked criticism for its tone on the day the chamber’s first Muslim woman was sworn in. Rep. Stephanie Borowicz says she’s standing by her prayer and won’t apologize.
All eyes were on the new Phillies — and Bryce Harper’s cleats — on Opening Day. But it was a few familiar faces that came up big in the team’s 10-4 win over the Braves.
Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly
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That’s Interesting
As if we needed more reasons to love Wawa — The new South Street store handed out not just free coffeefor its grand opening Thursday, but also offered a new meatball sandwich co-created by award-winning chef Michael Solomonov.
After you hit up Wawa, why not head over to Geno’s Steaks for a meatball sandwich comparison? That’s right. The Philly cheesesteak institution is mixing up the menu.
There’s also changes coming for the coaching staffs of two Philly hoops teams. One of Brett Brown’s assistants with the Sixers is set to take over for a longtime, beloved Big 5 coach.
In other Sixers news: Behind a monster performance from Joel Embiid, the team picked up a big win over the Nets in a possible playoff preview last night.
Manatawny Still Works in Pottstown took home a lot of hardware from the American Craft Distilling Institute’s awards this month. It’s whiskey offerings earned four honors to be exact.
If you’re more of a beer drinker, you might want to try this one. Several well-known Pennsylvania breweries are joining forces to create a beer to honor American military service members.
Opinions
“Instead of exulting in joy, many Democrats acted like kids who hadn’t gotten everything on their Christmas list. That’s frightening. There is something twisted in the idea that Americans would rather have their partisan dreams fulfilled than be assured that the man who leads us — however repellent his character and policies might be — is not a traitor.” — Columnist Christine Flowers on Democrats’ reactions to the Mueller report.
It’s time to stop painting “anti-vaxxers” with a broad brush because doing so could be detrimental to all of our health, writes Bernice L. Hausman, author and Chair of the Department of Humanities at Penn State.
Despite the destructive and deadly power of recent storms across the world, GOP lawmakers are doubling down on climate denial and see it as a winning strategy for 2020, writes columnist Will Bunch.
What we’re reading
PhillyVoice shares the story of artist Jeremy Grant-Levine. His 1,000 glass cranes will be on display in Fishtown this weekend. He created each one as he battled depression and every bird serves as a reflection of his deepest emotions.
Philly sports fans are well known for letting players know exactly how they feel. ESPN took a swing at a bunch of predictions for Bryce Harper’s time with the Phillies including when he’ll be booed for the first time and when he’ll reach the World Series.
Children come home and do homework. That’s the way it’s always been, right? Wrong. The Atlantic looks at America’s decades-old on-again-off-again relationship with homework and examines whether heavy take-home workloads are causing more harm than good.
All of that homework is supposed to set you up for college. But despite all of the work, it still comes down to ACT and SAT performance. Vox breaks down the prohibitive costs of these exams and why some colleges are shifting away from them.
Texting while driving in New Jersey could soon cost you as well. The Garden State’s annual campaign to curb distracted drivers kicks off next week and hundreds of police departments are receiving a boost that will help them ticket more texters, NJ.com reports.
A Daily Dose of | Wine
Philly Wine Week 2019 kicks off this weekend. Wine lovers can look forward to more than 100-plus vino events and lots of deals throughout the city.