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Meet the women leading the cannabis industry; where local politicians stand on impeachment | Morning Newsletter

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

Jennifer Zavala poses for a picture at a kitchen in Philadelphia, PA on Monday, Oct. 25, 2019. Zavala is one of three chefs in Philadelphia working with cannabis.
Jennifer Zavala poses for a picture at a kitchen in Philadelphia, PA on Monday, Oct. 25, 2019. Zavala is one of three chefs in Philadelphia working with cannabis.Read moreMIGUEL MARTINEZ / MIGUEL MARTINEZ / Staff Photogra

    The Morning Newsletter

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

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

Amid the bro culture of the marijuana industry, opportunities for women are increasing. Female investors, activists, and entrepreneurs are carving their own paths, doing everything from pop-up pot parties and wellness to agriculture and law.

And the industry (known as cannabusiness) is attracting women of all backgrounds and generations. The Inquirer is profiling women who have started businesses or are active in the field of recreational and medical marijuana.

Inspector Anthony Washington had been overseeing the Special Victims Unit since April, when then-Commissioner Richard Ross put him in charge despite accusations that Washington had sexually harassed four female police officers and a Temple University student.

On Friday, the Police Department quietly removed SVU from the list of divisions that fall under Washington’s command. This happened just one day after District Attorney Larry Krasner charged Chief Inspector Carl Holmes with sexually assaulting three female police officers between 2004 and 2007.

The House is preparing for its first formal vote regarding the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. And that means lawmakers will have to actually act, going beyond public statements about the issue.

It’s looking like the vote might come tomorrow. So, we took stock of where our local delegation stands on impeachment. It can be divided into three camps: those firmly in favor, those slower to embrace impeachment, and those against it.

What you need to know today

  1. Pediatricians are worried not only about what vaping might do to their patients’ lungs, but also the harm to their developing brains.

  2. A proposed change to voter registration deadlines was meant to increase political participation. But election officials in Pennsylvania are warning that it actually could cause confusion for voters and unintentionally disenfranchise people in 2020.

  3. A new study points out that a needle exchange program in Philly prevented more than 10,000 HIV diagnoses in 10 years. It shows how harm-reduction measures can have an impact and how public policy can directly affect the health of a city, the study’s lead author said.

  4. Philadelphia City Council took a step toward strengthening tenants’ rights. A bill is moving forward that would provide free legal counsel to low-income tenants who face eviction.

  5. Who’s winning the big-money race in each state? Joe Biden’s got Pennsylvania and Delaware. New Jersey is a different story.

  6. A Philadelphia Day of the Dead event is honoring migrant children who died crossing the border.

Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly

Well, this is a different view of Rittenhouse Square. Thanks for sharing, @lightbender_photo!

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. The NCAA changed course yesterday, with top execs voting to allow college athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness. But what will that actually mean in practice?

  2. Is Halloween sexist? Here’s what researchers have to say.

  3. SEPTA’s old slogan was “We’re Getting There.” It took on a life of its own. It still gets mentions on social media and has at least one song written in its honor.

  4. Just nine Philadelphia public schools have certified librarians. Concerned about this, a retired teacher and administrator decided to lead volunteers to organize and modernize a school library in Germantown. And, even after her death, those volunteers keep the library going.

  5. Nerdtino Expo is the East Coast geek convention for Latinos, happening in Philadelphia on Saturday. The event is designed to showcase the work of Latino comic book artists and writers.

  6. The Eagles are going to be the stars of an all-access documentary series. And they’re not happy about it.

Opinions

“The fact that Mayor Kenney and most of the Democratic slate aren’t being challenged this fall — to either explain how they’ll fix this, or to defend controversial but arguably good parts of their record, such as funding pre-kindergarten through a soda tax — is unconscionable. And yet, dig deeper and you see the glass of democracy, in the city that claims to have invented it, is only about two-thirds empty. There are a few drops of hope.” — columnist Will Bunch writes about how Philadelphia’s politics have been broken for 70 years and how Tuesday’s election could change that.

  1. The City Council at large election presents an opportunity for political diversity, the Inquirer Editorial Board writes in its latest endorsement.

  2. Standardized tests favor wealthy students, writes Ezekiel J. Dixon-Román, an associate professor at Penn.

What we’re reading

  1. Babies in CHOP’s neonatal intensive care unit got dressed up for Halloween, wearing costumes from your classic Eagles player to a chili pepper. Fox29 has the pictures.

  2. While D.C. is looking into online monopolies, the Wall Street Journal has a story on what the future of the web could look like.

  3. TurboTax has tried to stop Americans from filing their taxes free. ProPublica went inside Intuit’s 20-year fight against free and easy taxes.

Your Daily Dose of | A Corgi Shorti

Meet Miles, a corgi who donned a hoagie costume, complete with a receipt. The internet fell in love with the dog, and Wawa even reached out in approval. Paired with his owner, who dressed as a Wawa employee, Miles debuted his costume at an event last weekend.