đź’§Your water is still safe | Morning Newsletter
And unions are popping up on college campuses.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
We should be getting a break from the rainy weather. Expect partly sunny skies with a high of 53.
The biggest story over the weekend and into the start of the week is Philadelphia’s drinking water.
The city issued — and then retracted — a tap water advisory over the weekend after a latex finishing solution spilled into the Delaware River from a Bucks County plant on Friday night.
Countless Philadelphians made a mad dash for bottled water wherever they could get it.
As of today, your tap water is still safe. Our lead story explains the latest news of the fallout of the spill.
If you see this 🔑 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Philadelphia officials said the city’s tap water is safe to drink through 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Officials will continue to run tests to make sure the chemicals spilled have not contaminated the city’s drinking water.
Good news: So far, no contaminants from the 8,100 gallons of latex-finishing solution have been detected at the Baxter treatment plant, which supplies drinking water for more than half of the city.
The threat of contamination should pass by Wednesday night or Thursday.
Keep in mind: If contaminants reach the plant, officials said they should have the capacity to treat the water. The chemicals would be highly diluted and pose a low-level public health risk. In the event that the city is unable to fully remediate any chemicals from the system, officials said they will have a plan to distribute water.
Continue reading to learn how the spill highlighted the city’s vulnerabilities when it comes to water.
We also have explainers on water safety and the chemicals in the water spill.
Note: We’ve made our urgent coverage on the chemical spill open to all, regardless of whether or not you have a subscription.
More undergraduate and graduate student workers are forming unions in the region and across the country.
The push for better pay and benefits through unions comes as colleges are facing perhaps one of their greatest financial challenges, given inflation, lingering effects of the pandemic, and lower enrollments.
Schools are hard-pressed to raise tuition at the rate of inflation. In some cases, schools are pushing some of that burden onto their workers.
Those workers are fighting back.
Local examples:
University of Pennsylvania’s resident hall assistants could be the first of their kind to unionize in the Philly region.
The union for Temple grad students garnered national attention during its 42-day strike which ended earlier this month when it reached a new agreement. Undergrad students are now trying to unionize, too.
Across the bridge, a strike at Rutgers is a distinct possibility.
Continue reading to learn about union efforts at universities and colleges nationwide. 🔑
What you should know today
Two victims in the West Reading explosion have been identified.
The Yeadon mom stranded in Mexico for the past two years may be heading home soon after the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved a special waiver.
Preservationists want to honor those buried at a centuries-old Black burial ground in Northeast Philadelphia.
Comcast Spectacor announced Flyers governor Dave Scott is retiring after 30 years.
Madonna’s Celebration tour is coming to South Philly.
Mike Trout, the baseball superstar from South Jersey, is building a golf course designed by Tiger Woods in Vineland.
🧠Trivia time đź§
What secret weapon have N.J. scientists been deploying to fight erosion from climate change and save America’s coastline?
A) Really big rocks
B) Corn cobs
C) Sea shells
D) Coconut husks
Find out if you know the answer. 🔑
What we’re...
🗳️ Reading: The first in a series of profiles about the top candidates for mayor. The latest installment features Helen Gym.
đź‘€ Watching: First Citizens agreed to buy the troubled Silicon Valley Bank.
đźš— Avoiding: Getting towed in Philly.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram 🧩
Hint: Race Street’s former name
ASFARSASS
We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if you’d like. Cheers to John Brinjac, who correctly guessed Monday’s answer: Dawn Staley. Email us if you know the answer.
Photo of the day
And that should be everything you need to start your morning. Thanks for waking up with The Inquirer.