A slow-motion crisis | Morning Newsletter
And an ode to Melrose Diner.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
The sun is expected to have to duke it out with clouds for most of the day, with the high temperature reaching 85 and some showers possible later this afternoon and tonight.
In today’s newsletter:
🔎 Important: We took a look at the factors leading people to leave their jobs across city government.
☕ Wistful: An ode to Melrose Diner.
🎼 Promising: A Japanese breakfast show will help fund a Point Breeze rec center.
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.
— Ashley Hoffman (@_AshleyHoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
🎤 And now I’m passing the mic to reporter Anna Orso:
It’s no secret that there was a nationwide labor shortage last year and that all sorts of employers were struggling to fill open positions.
My impression was that those major problems had generally improved, until my colleague Ryan Briggs and I noticed a pattern — we were repeatedly, and recently, writing about short-staffing issues in several city departments and agencies.
I’d written about police and parks and libraries. He’d written about building inspectors and 911 dispatchers. Our colleagues wrote about mass exoduses in the prisons and the DA’s Office. So we asked the question: Is there a common thread? We set out in our reporting and wanted to understand how many vacancies there are across city government, what factors drove people to leave their work, and what is holding the city back from replacing them quickly.
We found a handful of factors — both cultural and regulatory — are contributing to a slow-motion crisis. Keep reading for our full findings.
What you should know today
We’re getting sentimental about South Philly’s after-hours mecca, home of the CB3.
Next weekend, Japanese Breakfast takes part in a Philly benefit show with the Eagles’ Connor Barwin.
Philly renters should probably expect new leases to include higher rent to account for rising tax assessments.
During a visit to Philadelphia on Saturday, Vice President Kamala Harris cast the outcome of Pennsylvania’s November elections as a crucial inflection point.
With a pilot shortage causing havoc, a Philly job fair tried to lure more to the cockpit.
Phillies pitching prospects at Jersey Shore are enjoying the minor league ride.
Local Coronavirus Numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
🍤🍤🍤🍤🍤🍤🍤🍤🍤🍤🍤🍤🍤
❓Pop Quiz❓
What’s not in Zanzibar Blue’s shrimp étouffée that Mike Klein wrote about in his first installment of The 86′d Project?
A) Cajun seasoning
B) Wine
C) Salt
D) Butter
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
The guy who built the first American piano and kept it in 1775.
BE HERN NJ THO
We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if you’d like. Email us if you know the answer. Cheers to Scott Harris who correctly guessed Friday’s answer: PETTY ISLAND.
Photo of the Day
🎶 For today’s Sunday track, we’re listening to: “When we met, light was shed, thoughts free flow, you said you’ve got something deep inside of you.”🎶
👋🏽 Have a lovely Sunday. I saw Third Eye Blind at the Mann on Friday, and I’ll be following the petals to peep Lindsay Bedford’s absolutely stunning installation at Percy Street.