What welcoming Ukrainians here could look like | Morning Newsletter
And Craig reviews a Ukrainian restaurant.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Though the sun will be a major presence today — except for that possible stray shower — it’ll be chilly with highs in the low 50s. Jackets or sweatshirts advised if you’re going to the Phillies game.
In today’s newsletter:
🇺🇦 Important: What to expect as Ukrainian refugees resettle here.
🎸 Exciting: Spring 2022 will be filled with live music. Our resident music critic Dan DeLuca lists the best concerts in our area until Memorial Day.
🥘 Inventive: A Main Line restaurant that reimagines Ukrainian comfort food as odes to French classics that resonated with critic Craig LaBan.
🧩 Playful: Our regular fun and games. Here’s hoping you remember a certain pedagogue’s footwear debacle.
— Ashley Hoffman (@_AshleyHoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
🎤 And now, I’m passing the mic to reporter Jeff Gammage to present our story he crafted with reporter Jonathan Tamari:
My head snapped up when President Biden announced the United States would accept 100,000 Ukrainian war refugees. That might not seem like a lot of people — it wouldn’t fill Beaver Stadium on a football Saturday — but from years of covering immigration, I knew that for the refugee-admissions system, that figure was massive.
Accepting 100,000 people would rank with the largest resettlements of the last 50 years. It would be nine times the number of refugees accepted last year. The administration offered little information about how this might actually work. So colleague Jonathan Tamari and I started calling people who might know, including those in Congress and those who work in resettlement agencies.
From that came two big takeaways for our region, home to one of the country’s largest Ukrainian communities. One, the Ukrainian program is unlikely to follow the course of last year’s Afghan evacuation, in which 76,000 people were quickly flown here and housed on military installations like Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in South Jersey. And two, Philly needs to start preparing. People will be coming. And they’ll need lots of help when they arrive.
Keep reading for the closest possible look ahead.
What you should know today
Researchers want to know about the experiences of those who have lost their smell.
PSERS trustees have spent $4 million in legal fees defending the pension plan.
Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania’s crucial Senate race.
Airlines expect to keep this spring travel boom into summer.
Rev up the mower, it’s about to get a whole lot greener.
Peep a sprawling three-bedroom Fairmount home with a parlor and a powder room.
We’ve cherry-picked the best free things to do this weekend, from the primo spot for cherry blossom season to music on Cherry Street Pier.
Local Coronavirus Numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
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❓Pop Quiz❓
What kind of brand new shoes were the kids who started that hilariously funny “Mr. Julian needs new shoes” plea going to get him with the money they raised?
A) wingtip shoes
B) Nike Blazer ‘77s
C) Crocs
D) water shoes
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
ANISATE ENTRAIN PINSETTER
No hints today. It’s Philly-related and if you know, you know.
We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Email us if you know the answer.
Photo of the Day
And for today’s Sunday track, we’re listening to 🎶 “I want to break free from your lies. You’re so self satisfied, I don’t need you. I’ve got to break free. God knows, God knows I want to break free.” 🎶
Check out the best concerts. I have tickets to see The Who, Cimafunk, and the Bob Dylan birthday show.
👋🏽 I hope you get to dance this weekend.