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Bike crash victim's parents call for action, latest on Lauer scandal, cabs combine to combat Uber | Morning Newsletter

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

This Nov. 8, 2017 photo released by NBC shows Matt Lauer on the set of the "Today" show in New York. NBC News fired the longtime host for "inappropriate sexual behavior."
This Nov. 8, 2017 photo released by NBC shows Matt Lauer on the set of the "Today" show in New York. NBC News fired the longtime host for "inappropriate sexual behavior."Read more(Nathan Congleton/NBC via AP)

It's Thursday, folks. Yet more public figures have been accused of sexual harassment. We're following this and more today as we slowly inch toward the weekend.

If you like what you're reading, it's free to sign up to get this newsletter in your inbox every weekday. I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and feedback, so please email me, tweet me @aubsn, or reach our social team on Facebook.

— Aubrey Nagle

» READ MORE: Matt Lauer fired, Trump tweets ensue

Today host and long-ago Philly talk show host Matt Lauer was fired Wednesday for "inappropriate sexual behavior;" his co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Koth delivered the news on air. Hours later, Variety published a report of sexual harassment allegations that included dozens of interviews with current and former staffers.

President Trump took the opportunity to tweet that MSNBC president Phil Griffin and Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough should be fired, too. (This was after he retweeted three videos from a fringe nationalist party in Britain.)

Former "Prairie Home Companion" host Garrison Keillor was also fired Wednesday by Minnesota Public Radio for improper behavior. Also, a fourth accuser has come forward against Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D., Mich.). Yes, it's been just a week since Charlie Rose was fired, too. And experts say the days of doubting sexual harassment victims aren't over. Sheesh.

» READ MORE: Advocates, victim’s parents call for action following cyclist’s death

After the loss of 24-year-old Emily C. Fredricks, killed by a trash truck Tuesday while riding her bike at 11th and Spruce Streets, cycling advocates are demanding action and her parents ask that their daughter's death not be in vain. Dozens of people formed a human wall to create a protected bike lane in protest.

What is a protected bike lane, exactly? It's one with a physical obstacle, like flexible posts or a curb, between the car and bike lanes. Philly has 200 miles of bike lanes and about 2.5 of those are protected.

Why aren't there more? Money, politics, and often nearby residents who don't want to lose parking space.

Still, advocates say there are things the city could do right now to prevent future tragedies.

» READ MORE: Rep. Bob Brady mad about Temple marijuana deal

Rep. Bob Brady wants weed — grown in Philadelphia, that is. The Democratic congressman, who has been under FBI investigation, is angry that Temple University is looking at a Lancaster location for a new medicinal marijuana facility.

He's got a perfect locale in mind, too: a property controlled by his right-hand man Ken Smukler. Smukler is also the target of a related federal investigation.

It seemed a federal indictment could have been coming Brady's way over allegations of having paid a primary challenger to drop out of a 2012 race, among other charges. But just this week he found out the statute of limitations on many of those charges is up.

What you need to know today

  1. Uber, but for…cabs? Three Philadelphia cab companies are banding together under the 215-GET-A-CAB  brand. They'll all be using a new mobile app where you can call a cab, pay with your phone, and rate the driver.

  2. Camden residents are upset over a decision to approve a new methadone clinic, which mostly serves suburban clients, in the city.

  3. Former Temple student Joshua Hupperterz was held for trial on murder charges for the killing of Temple student Jenna Burleigh in August.

  4. After a Penns Grove, N.J., police officer was suspended and charged with kicking a handcuffed suspect in the face, community activists want information and answers.

  5. Former Bosnian Croat military chief Slobodan Praljak, 76, has died after poisoning himself in front of a court that had just affirmed his 20-year sentence for war crimes against Muslims.

  6. It's cold and flu season, folks. Does all that hand sanitizer you're using really kill 99.99 percent of germs?

  7. The 76ers are building a state-of-the-art sports and youth training complex in Wilmington scheduled to open in 2018. It'll house their NBA G League affiliate, the Delaware 87ers, next season. Meanwhile, the Sixers held off the Wizards, 118-113, at the Wells Fargo Center Wednesday night.

  8. Fusion Academy, a unique private school, is opening three new campuses in the Philly area. The sales pitch? Each school has a one-to-one ratio of teachers to students.

» READ MORE: #OurPhilly

We want to see what our community looks like through your eyes. Show us the park that your family walks through every weekend with the dog, the block party in your neighborhood or the historic stretch you see every morning on your commute to work.

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 to build those followers!

That’s Interesting

  1. Want to buy a Fiat the Pope rode in during his visit to Philly? Good news: one is up for auction. The other Fiat he rode in sold for $82,000 last year.

  2. Philadelphia's Central High School is getting $10 million, the start of a $40 million campaign. The money will go toward a new performing arts center.

  3. Philly is getting Wings — that's the name of the new National Lacrosse League franchise heading this way for the 2018-2019 season.

  4. Party time, excellent, 19th century-style: South Broad's Vintage Instruments shop is exhibiting early (like, very early) guitars.

  5. CSA (community supported agriculture) isn't just for warm weather anymore. A few year-round CSAs have popped up of late. 

  6. Flyers general manager Ron Hextall understands fans are angry over the team's losing streak. "This falls on all of us," he said.

  7. Never one to shy away from throwing a little shade, Dictionary.com has chosen "complicit" as its 2017 word of the year.

Opinions

"Call me crazy, but I think they can succeed using only a single word — love." — Columnist Solomon Jones hopes the example set by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will show love can conquer racism.

  1. Following Roy Halladay's tragic death, Air Force Reserve pilot and aviation attorney Lee C. Schmeer explains why pilots take to the skies, despite the risk. 

  2. New Jersey's battle over sports betting features a Prohibition-like collaboration between "bootleggers and Baptists" writes columnist George Will.

What we’re reading

  1. Two years after a spinal injury from the 2015 Amtrak train derailment left him mostly paralyzed, star Philadelphia chef Eli Kulp is learning how to be a new kind of chef, writes Grub Street. His strength is truly inspirational.

  2. This WHYY News story/radio documentary on one Philadelphia woman's journey into and out of prison shows just how hard it can be to come back home.

  3. A Philly photographer is taking 18th-century-style pet portraits and I've never clicked on anything faster than this Philly Weekly profile of him.

  4. In the midst of legions of sexual misconduct allegations across the realms of Hollywood, media and politics, it's interesting to look back on Hollywood's first big scandal 96 years ago, as recounted by The Cut.

  5. Keep an eye out for cool cleats on the field during the NFL's "My Cause, My Cleats" campaign this weekend. Then read up on the Chicago artist who turned his cleat designs into a living.

Your Daily Dose Of | Scrapple

Love it or hate it (love it, right?) scrapple is making a culinary comeback thanks to local chefs.