Philly sanitation workers are leading a movement | Morning Newsletter

The Philadelphia region went under a tropical storm warning yesterday, with Isaias expected to bring wind gusts and rain. Those gusts could be in the neighborhood of about 50 mph in some areas and there could be three to five inches of rain in Philly, with more falling in some suburban counties. Stay safe out there.

— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Filled trash bags have been on Philly’s streets for days as pickups have been delayed and Philadelphians complain about the pileup. The workers, though, aren’t to blame, at least according to some in the city.

My colleague Juliana Feliciano Reyes reports on “how the narrative around work has shifted, especially during the pandemic.” Sanitation workers, Reyes writes, have been leaders in a movement for hazard pay and better protective equipment since before the pandemic.

Convention centers, like schools, sports, and more, are wrestling with their paths forward. How can you get large groups of people together with air circulating indoors? When conventions support a $100 billion economy, my colleague Inga Saffron reports, their comeback might determine when cities can get back on their feet.

For example in Philly, the hospitality industry pumps $600 million a year into the economy, supplying 77,000 jobs. But since the Philadelphia Flower Show closed March 8, there hasn’t been a single event held at the Convention Center. Nearly 60% of the city’s hospitality workers are now unemployed. And the tax revenue? That’s another huge loss.

Some Republicans don’t think that voters will buy the fear that President Donald Trump is trying to sell to America’s suburbs. In speeches and on Twitter, Trump is saying that a Joe Biden presidency would “destroy your neighborhood” with of low-income housing and increasing crime.

“I do not think that type of messaging is going to help Republican candidates,” said Bucks County Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo, a Republican who served in the state legislature for 25 years. DiGirolamo and other Republican and independent analysts suggest that Trump’s campaign has misread a more diverse and progressive suburban electorate.

These are great Shore shots. Thanks for sharing, @seandergen.

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!

“Truth be told, no matter the strength of our governmental response, our ability to defeat COVID-19 was always going to be about our collective individual sacrifice for the good of our country. Past tragedies ... have been punctuated by the American spirit to lift communities up together. In that spirit of patriotism lies the foundation of unity that defines us as Americans and help us regain our liberty.” — writes David Rubin, the director of the PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, about why America’s individualistic culture is key to turning the coronavirus pandemic around.

Stephen Galiczynski is a New York artist who grew up in Philly’s Ludlow neighborhood. He designed a flag named “More Modern Madonnas,” which was selected from more than a thousand entries to fly on a flagpole around the ice rink at Rockefeller Center. It’s up until Aug. 16.