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Delco (literally) stinks; How Philly plans to fight its opioid crisis in 2020 | Morning Newsletter

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Catalyst Twomey sets up a memorial with a rose that signifies each of the 1116 deaths to overdose in Philadelphia in 2018 at the Federal Courthouse in Philadelphia Thursday, September 5, 2019.
Catalyst Twomey sets up a memorial with a rose that signifies each of the 1116 deaths to overdose in Philadelphia in 2018 at the Federal Courthouse in Philadelphia Thursday, September 5, 2019.Read moreMargo Reed / File Photograph

    The Morning Newsletter

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

Have you smelled Delco recently? Apparently there’s an odor that some liken to gasoline and other compare to sulfur that’s been popping up unannounced in towns throughout the county. Officials don’t really know where it’s coming from. In other news, the impeachment trial against President Donald Trump opens today, Philly shares its plan to combat the opioid crisis in 2020, and a Kansas City Chiefs bar in South Philly celebrates its favorite team’s Super Bowl berth.

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

Philadelphia’s health department estimates that tens of thousands of Philadelphians are addicted to opioids. More than 3,000 people have died of drug overdose here in the last three years, making the city home to the worst urban opioid crisis in America.

The 2020 strategy for the city and its partners focuses on four main areas, according to reporting by my colleague Aubrey Whelan: treatment, communities, prevention and law enforcement, and harm reduction, including the opening of the country’s first supervised injection site.

For months, a mysterious fuel-like stench has plagued the 200-square-mile county. Residents are mad and government officials are confounded. It operates on its own schedule, appearing and disappearing as it travels between towns.

“That’s where the whodunit factor comes in,” said the director of emergency services for Delaware County. “When you’re dealing with fuel spills, smoke, pipeline incidents, there’s usually some type of starting point. But when it’s in the air, it’s hard.”

What you need to know today

  1. Leaders of the Philadelphia teachers’ union plan to sue the city School District, accusing it of failing to protect students and staff from asbestos.

  2. I still have hope that she’s alive,” said the mother of missing 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez. The search has continued for four months.

  3. The Supreme Court will review a Philadelphia federal judge’s decision to block new Trump administration rules that would have let almost any employer deny female workers no-cost birth control coverage because of religious and moral objections.

  4. Thousands of people affiliated with gun-rights groups and militias went to Richmond, Va., yesterday morning ahead of a rally that some warned could turn violent. It didn’t. Among the groups was one called the PA Light Foot Militia, a far-right group whose leader was banned from rallying with weapons after the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville.

  5. One victim was looking to “get his head up.” The other took in foster-care kids. Their connection was Xavier Johnson, a 17-year-old who police say killed them two weeks apart.

Through your eyes | #OurPhilly

Philly puts on a pretty good light show. Great shot, @justin_time_915.

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. 🏈At a South Philly bar, fans can find a pocket of Kansas City Chiefs diehards and, now, Andy Reid reverence. Since the 1980s, Big Charlie’s Saloon was been packed for game-day crowds of red-and-gold-jerseyed fans.

  2. 📈A Philly-based startup founded by Drexel grads just raised $1 billion in investments.

  3. 🅿️Why has the Philadelphia Parking Authority relocated spaces for drivers with disabilities?

  4. 💃🏾For 49 ballerinas of color, Philadelphia was the place to be seen by some of the top companies and schools in the world, which haven’t been all that accepting of non-white dancers.

  5. 🥗Let’s hear it for an “unsung stalwart of the vegetable world.” Restaurant critic Craig LaBan writes about the new veggie king of Philadelphia.

Opinions

“Even more worrisome is that the rush to American authoritarianism is taking place thanks to a government in which the ancient rituals of impeachment can also be seen as symbolic of a stultified democracy, no longer up to the task of governing an increasingly diverse nation of 330 million people. A modernly corrupt presidency deserves a modern impeachment trial — one that’s 100 percent open to the public and accessible to the press.” — Inquirer columnist Will Bunch about President Trump’s impeachment trial, which opens today.

  1. It’s going to take more than volunteerism on MLK Day to achieve racial justice in Philly, writes the Inquirer Editorial Board.

  2. A City Council bill to prohibit or strictly limit hookah lounges outside of Center City is unfair to small and minority-owned businesses, writes Eric Diaz, the cofounder of a minority-owned law firm.

What we’re reading

  1. “One of my mentors was just like, ‘Girl, you are so crazy. You know you can’t open a bookshop in Fishtown. You’re black,'” the owner of Harriet’s Bookshop told Billy Penn. The shop, which features a woman-centric selection, will open next month.

  2. The New York Times profiled chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who opened a new restaurant in the Comcast Technology Center this summer. (Our restaurant critic wasn’t too fond of his experiences there.)

  3. Why are there so many exotic flavors of potato chips now? The Guardian explores the “crisp” industry.

Your Daily Dose of | Legacy

Ex-Eagles coach Andy Reid can cement his legacy in the Super Bowl, writes sports columnist Bob Ford. Will he be remembered as a great coach? Or will he go down as a loser of big games?