Searching for Pa.’s coldest places | Morning Newsletter
And the Philly Police Department shortage.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Happy Friday. Expect a high of 91. We might luck out with some showers over the weekend.
In today’s newsletter:
💉 Monkeypox vaccines: Reporters Jason Laughlin and Kasturi Pananjady break down the disparities of who needs the vaccine vs. who’s getting it.
📱Mobile tickets: SEPTA may give you the option to ditch your Key Card.
🚨 A police shortage: It’s not looking good for the Philadelphia Police Department.
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)
We’re roughly halfway through August, the Sunday of summer. It’s around the time your peers begin longing for fall because of the unrelenting heat. The ever-present air-conditioner hums are a familiar background noise.
Regardless, this is still the season for outdoor activities.
After a humid camping trip during the brutal heat wave, reporter Jason Nark went on a mission: Find the coolest places in the summer.
Experts say the best sleeping weather is 65 ... but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a night below 75 locally. So Nark branched outside of Philadelphia and into the rest of the state. He spoke to weather experts and locals across the state. He even visited a few to test some spots.
Follow his quest to find the ideal camping location.
What you should know today
Black Philadelphians make up about half of the monkeypox cases but get only a fraction of the vaccine doses.
More monkeypox news: Universities are preparing to mitigate the spread of monkeypox as college students return to campus.
Bernie Sanders will rally in Philadelphia with labor organizers tomorrow to advocate for better pay and safer work conditions.
SEPTA could have mobile tickets by next month.
Parents are struggling to afford school supplies as prices shoot up.
A 33-acre wetland project at FDR Park is set to break ground soon.
Local coronavirus numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
The Philadelphia Police Department officer shortage is going to get worse.
The breakdown of the storm:
The force is already operating about 20% below its target staffing level, and more than 800 are heading toward the door, as they will retire over the next four years.
The department is already dealing with nearly 600 officer vacancies, an uptick of resignations, and hundreds of injury claims that took officers off active duty.
All told, the force is short 1,300 officers of its full complement of 6,380.
The reality collides with the highest rates of gun violence Philadelphia has seen in generations. Officers are leaving faster than the department can recruit them.
Reporters Anna Orso and Ryan Briggs detail how we got here and the city’s attempts to solve the issue.
🧠 Philly Trivia Time 🧠
This former Phillies star moved to England to be MLB’s ambassador to the United Kingdom
A. Pat Neshek
B. Ryan Howard
C. Jimmy Rollins
D. Chase Utley
Think you know? Find out 🔑
What we’re...
🎧 Listening to: I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (the audiobook version). The memoir is just as much a gut punch as the title. McCurdy excels at balancing brutal honesty and humor.
✨ Excited about: Dreamgirls coming to Malcolm X Park. 🔑
🗓️ Planning: The next few days with our “10 Best Events Around Philly” guide.
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
Hint: Independent book store in Fishtown
ARTEBROTH SPOOKISH
Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shoutout to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shoutout goes to Daniel Tureck from Somerdale, N.J., who correctly guessed Megalodons as Thursday’s answer.
Photo of the day
See you bright and early on Monday ☀️. My colleague Ashley Hoffman has you covered Sunday. Stay hydrated out there.