A city in the dark | Morning Newsletter
And who’s keeping track of the booster shots Philly’s older adults need?
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 Monday. We’re 19 days from Christmas; 20 days from Umoja, the first night of Kwanzaa; and last night was the final night of Hanukkah. Happy holidays.
Today’s top story looks at how a botched city contract and the slow-moving response to gun violence has Philly neighborhoods in the dark — literally and figuratively.
And with nursing home residents facing higher risks from COVID-19, it’s been hard for officials to keep track of who’s received a booster shot and who has not.
— Kerith Gabriel (@sprtswtr, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
The cliche of a “light at the end of the tunnel” has perhaps never been more true in the case of Philadelphia right now.
We recently reported how botched contract negotiations have left neighborhoods without working street lamps and residents in the pitch black of night — in a city that just eclipsed its record for homicides.
And the response to that gun violence epidemic from city officials has been underwhelming. So last week, as holiday revelers took selfies under the lights displayed outside City Hall, they did so under the backdrop of an anti-violence rally. Our metro columnist Helen Ubiñas was there, and she implores the city to apply “equal urgency to all epidemics plaguing this city.”
What you should know today
The city’s commerce director who allegedly abused staffers verbally and made anti-Semitic comments resigned from his role Sunday.
It was an emotional weekend in Sharon Hill as parents and activists gathered seeking justice in the police shooting death of 8-year-old Fanta Bility.
The Union saw its MLS Cup aspirations dashed by an 87th-minute game-winner from New York City FC in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Eagles look really good with QB Gardner Minshew, but head coach Nick Sirianni says he’s sticking by Jalen Hurts.
New Jersey highways ranked dead last in performance and cost, with Pennsylvania faring only slightly better.
Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency is awarding hundreds of millions in funding to improve water infrastructure in both states.
Joining a slew of other delicious ice cream peddlers, Milk Jawn is opening a brick-and-mortar parlor in South Philly.
And our national columnist Will Bunch looks at the collapse of the idea of “the public good.”
Local Coronavirus Numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
When Philadelphia Protestant Home, a nursing home in the Northeast, suffered a COVID-19 outbreak, it sounded the alarm.
But it also underscored that there’s no hard data on just how many nursing home residents are fully vaccinated, including with booster shots. Gaps in federal and state reporting make it impossible to know whether residents in other long-term care facilities have been given boosters.
Roughly 1,400 nursing home residents nationally died in November from COVID-19, according to the CDC. Our reporter Stacey Burling takes a look at what facilities are doing to safeguard their residents.
🧠 Philly Trivia Time 🧠
It’s the holidays, which means light shows abound across our region. Today’s question: Do you know which blocks are the best in Philly? Take a guess and see if you’re right while planning a trip to one or more of these destinations.
Photo of the day
Hope you have a great start to your week. I’ll catch you all tomorrow. 💯