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Mayor Kenney offers his second-term promises; more fallout from Wentz’s concussion | Morning Newsletter

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Newly sworn in for a second term Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney acknowledges the applause of the audience by placing his hands together as a thank you gesture, prior to his Inaugruation address at the Met Philadelphia on North Broad Street on January 6, 2020
Newly sworn in for a second term Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney acknowledges the applause of the audience by placing his hands together as a thank you gesture, prior to his Inaugruation address at the Met Philadelphia on North Broad Street on January 6, 2020Read moreMICHAEL BRYANT / Staff Photographer
    by Josh Rosenblat
    Published 

    The Morning Newsletter

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

Jim Kenney took his oath of office yesterday, officially launching his second term as Philly’s mayor. With it, he made some promises for the next four years, including one that would require Philadelphians to do something that many don’t want to do.

We also heard from the Eagles yesterday, a day after their season-ending loss to the Seahawks. There was some talk about Carson Wentz’s injury and the futures of some key players.

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

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney begins his second term with a call to confront gun violence

Priority No. 1 for Kenney as he gets his second term as Philadelphia’s mayor started will be reducing the city’s gun violence. He said as much yesterday.

“Talking to the moms and dads, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, of the young men and women cut down on the streets of Philadelphia has left deep scars on our communities, and, frankly, on me personally," he said in his inauguration speech.

Also, all 17 members of City Council were sworn in for four-year terms. And there was a shakeup in Council leadership with a new Democratic majority leader emerging.

Philly, get ready to move your cars. Citywide street sweeping is coming by 2023, Kenney says.

Kenney also had another point to make after his speech: “If you don’t want to move your car, tough.” Every Philadelphia neighborhood will have sweet sweeping in the next few years, he said. If that becomes a reality, it would fulfill a campaign promise Kenney made when he ran for his first term as mayor in 2015.

Kenney didn’t offer specifics, but his biggest hint about the program dealt with the sometimes controversial car-moving issue. It’s a sore subject in neighborhoods with especially tight street parking.

Hayes: Carson Wentz must protect himself better for the Eagles

“Maybe that hit will finally teach him his lesson. It’s a fine line, as Doug Pederson likes to say, between aggressiveness and recklessness. Sunday, Wentz needed to stay further behind the line,” writes sports columnist Marcus Hayes.

But not everyone agrees. Sports columnist Bob Ford writes that neither Wentz nor the player who tackled him is to blame for Wentz’s concussion. Rather, he writes, it’s the nature of the sport itself.

And columnist David Murphy comes at Wentz’s injury from another angle: the hit that knocked the QB out should have been a penalty, and when the refs didn’t throw a flag, the NFL failed Wentz, the Eagles, and their fans.

What you need to know today

  1. Mike Fitzpatrick, a former Republican congressman who represented areas of the Philly suburbs, died yesterday at age 56.

  2. Workers from Philadelphia’s Department of Parks and Recreation cleared a homeless encampment from the walkway along Vine Street between 17th and 18th Streets yesterday morning.

  3. Another Democrat is lining up to take on Dem-turned-Republican Jeff Van Drew in South Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District. She’s a Kennedy.

  4. The murder trial for an ex-Philly cop accused of shooting a man during a traffic stop in North Philadelphia in June 2017 has been delayed indefinitely. He was fired over the shooting later that year.

  5. Some chocolate makers want U.S. and European Union regulations after failing in self-regulation to curb child labor for two decades. Hershey hasn’t yet taken that step but says it supports regulations aimed to decrease child labor.

  6. A Chinese scientist has been extradited from Switzerland to stand trial in Philly for a plot to steal valuable cancer research from a pharmaceutical giant’s Montco facility.

Through your eyes | #OurPhilly

Anybody else get outside yesterday to enjoy the sun and some warm-ish temps? Great shot, @menuka_basnyat.

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 76ers are in the top half of the league in three-point percentage this season. But their coach wants them to shoot even more from deep. Could that make a difference for the Sixers?

  2. 🤓During Jeopardy!'s “Greatest of All Time” tournament this week, the youngest candidate might have an advantage over his more experienced competitors.

  3. 🌿Some states are cracking down on smokable hemp, which looks like marijuana and smells like marijuana but isn’t quite marijuana.

  4. 💪A 61-year-old wants to return to TV’s American Ninja Warrior. The Villanova resident has a new hip and a low-tech, hardcore exercise routine to help him return to the competition he first appeared on in 2015.

  5. 🦈Philly’s Veteran Shark Tank provides an opportunity for vets to network and compete for a chance to win a $50,000 prize to fund a new business venture.

  6. 🦅In non-Carson Wentz news, a few prominent Eagles might be moving on after playing such key roles for the team over the past handful of seasons.

Opinions

“Now the end is clear, and the time is near. To be in place for the next census count, which will be delivered in March 2021, a new process for drawing election maps will have to be approved by early this spring. Who will lead the parade that has formed?” — David Thornburgh, president and CEO of the Committee of Seventy, about why 2020 is the year of the voter.

  1. The Inquirer Editorial Board writes about why the Wawa data breach reflects a global problem.

  2. Columnist Will Bunch writes about the uncertainty that has stemmed from the U.S.'s assassination of an Iranian general.

What we’re reading

  1. The U.S. Census Bureau has bumped its pay up to $27 an hour in places such as Montgomery County. But it’s still finding it hard to recruit census workers, WHYY reports.

  2. Tech predictions for the 2020s, courtesy of Vanity Fair.

  3. The new season of The Bachelor debuted last night. The Ringer has a really interesting story on how the reality TV franchise has become a launchpad for lucrative internet influencers.

Your Daily Dose of | the Palestra

At 87, Jack Scheuer believes he’s attended more Big 5 hoops games than anybody ever. And, if you throw in the 76ers, he’s been at more than 3,500 local basketball games. Scheuer is a staple of Philly basketball, a legacy he cemented during his 50 years working for the Associated Press. And another “stat” he claims to have the record for: most points ever scored at the Palestra. You’ll have to read the story to find out why that is.