Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Poverty is down and income is up in Philadelphia; City weighs proposal about transgender children | Morning Newsletter

All the local news you need to know to start your day, delivered straight to your email.

Russell Hadlock, 49, sits outside the St. Francis Inn, a soup kitchen for low-income and homeless people, in Philadelphia's Kensington section on Wednesday.
Russell Hadlock, 49, sits outside the St. Francis Inn, a soup kitchen for low-income and homeless people, in Philadelphia's Kensington section on Wednesday.Read moreSTEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer
    by Josh Rosenblat
    Published 

    The Morning Newsletter

    Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

Key economic indicators have improved in Philadelphia, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Specifically, the poverty rate went down 📉 and median household income went up 📈. But it’s not all rosy, especially when you compare Philly to other U.S. cities. And, the Eagles are looking to get back to their winning ways tonight as they’re set to take on the undefeated Packers during Thursday Night Football.

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

A new federal report gives some surprising data about poverty and income in Philadelphia

Philadelphia’s poverty rate has dropped to its lowest level in over a decade. At the same time, median household income has gone up. These findings come from a major report from the U.S. Census Bureau released today.

But even with the improvements, Philadelphia remains the poorest of the 10 biggest U.S. cities, according to the report.

Pennsylvania’s senators weigh in on the Trump impeachment inquiry

Predictably, the Keystone State’s two U.S. senators fell on opposite sides of the impeachment debate yesterday. Democrat Bob Casey supports the inquiry. And while Republican Pat Toomey said Trump’s conversation with the Ukrainian leader was “inappropriate," it did not “rise to the level of an impeachable offense.”

If the House of Representatives votes to impeach President Trump, the outcome of a Senate trial could hinge on votes cast by Toomey and other swing-state Republicans.

Philadelphia looks into requiring city institutions that work with children to accommodate transgender kids

A proposal under consideration in City Hall would mean that charter schools, rec centers, and other institutions would have to allow transgender or gender-nonconforming children to wear clothing and use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity.

The bill also contains guidelines for making sure staffers undergo regular antidiscrimination training and ensures a certain level of privacy for children.

What you need to know today

  1. 🦅 vs. 🧀: The Eagles take the field tonight against the undefeated Green Bay Packers. Do our beat writers think the Birds can pull off the upset?

  2. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf came out yesterday in support of legalizing marijuana for recreational use across the state.

  3. The FBI added the case of 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez to its list of high-profile missing-person and kidnapping cases. She was reported missing early last week after disappearing from an 1,100-acre park in Bridgeton, N.J.

  4. Refugee admissions have dropped in the U.S. to historic lows. And they could soon fall even more.

  5. The voting machine vendor that won a $29 million contract with Philly engaged in a years-long effort to lobby elections officials. Then, those officials rushed a not-so-transparent process that was apparently biased toward the vendor, the city’s elected watchdog said yesterday.

Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly

Awesome pic of a cool Philly spot, @iambossy.

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

  1. We went inside Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s free-wheeling bus tour through Iowa, which had its share of politics, Twitter, and beer.

  2. Spotted lanternfly eggs are easy to kill, if you know how to find them. And, if you find a full-grown member of the invasive species, you can compete to see if you’re among “Today’s Top Squishers.”

  3. A Penn professor is officially a “genius.” She was one of 26 recipients of a prestigious MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.

  4. Here are five fall hikes worth doing, both near (7 miles) and far (235 miles) from Philly.

  5. Crystal Yates is the daughter of an ex-Philadelphia firefighter. Now, she runs the city’s emergency medical services.

  6. The coolest punk club in South Jersey is actually in the basement of a house in Pennsauken.

Opinions

“We’ve got to instill in young people a greater respect for human life. We need to teach them to love and respect each other. We need to help them develop better conflict resolution skills. We can’t just leave this to parents and schools.” — Columnist Jenice Armstrong writes about the rising number of women on the Philadelphia Police Department’s Unsolved Homicide list.

  1. A Washington Post op-ed ignited Trump’s impeachment inquiry. Opinion Editor Erica Palan explains what op-eds are and why newspapers run them.

  2. The family who lived in columnist Mike Newall’s house for 70 years invited him to their family reunion, and it was one of the most South Philly things he’s ever been a part of.

What we’re reading

  1. A former Philadelphia Eagle now owns at least two Wawas in South Jersey, Philadelphia Business Journal reports.

  2. The BBC explains why an iconic, Philadelphia-set sitcom is the best thing going on in American comedy.

  3. In an essay, The New Yorker looks at what life was like in Silicon Valley “during the dawn of the unicorns.”

Your Daily Dose of | The UpSide

Stranded at the top of a 40-foot waterfall, a group of hikers was rescued after their message in a bottle was found floating downstream.