Obama-Trump voters may hold the key for 2020; Philly’s cashless store ban could come with an exemption | Morning Newsletter

Philadelphia’s cashless store ban might include a pretty big exemption: the city itself. While private businesses would have to accept cash, the city’s offices could get away without doing so as long as one “convenient location" takes paper bills. And across the state, voters are beginning to assess their choices for the 2020 presidential election. A major focus for Republicans is to keep voters who chose Obama and then Trump, while Democrats think that flipping those voters back could secure them the entire state.

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

Pennsylvania is a swing state that was decided by fewer than 44,000 votes in 2016. That means that so-called “Obama-Trump” voters played a really influential role in deciding the election, and helped deliver Pennsylvania to a Republican candidate for the first time since 1988.

But as 2020 gets nearer, those voters are conflicted about their allegiances. Some are confident in their choice and want another Trump victory next November. Others, though, see themselves moving back to a Democrat in the upcoming presidential election.

Philip Rinaldi is the retired chief executive of Philadelphia Energy Solutions. And yesterday, he announced that he is formally bidding to buy and restart the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery that went bankrupt and shut down after a fire and explosion earlier this summer.

The 73-year-old has extensive connections to business and political leaders, energy executives, and the refinery’s labor union. That, combined with his experience reviving the same complex in 2012, makes him the new front-runner to take ownership of the largest refinery on the East Coast.

Philly’s first-in-the-nation law banning cashless stores will force private businesses to accept cash from customers. The city, however, doesn’t think all of its government offices need to abide by the rule.

Proposed regulations implementing the law would largely exempt city offices from the requirement, just as long as there’s at least one “convenient location” that takes cash. The city has designated a Center City building as that spot for all of Philadelphia.

Love seeing bits of nature in the city. Thanks for sharing, @mangoleira.

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!

“Allergies and asthma are defined as disabilities by the Americans with Disabilities Act, but most people in society just shrug it off or label people like me as being 'dramatic’ when we ask for accommodations. I’ve even heard some people say that people with pet allergies are lying about it because they don’t like animals.” — Paige Wolf, an author who has a severe dog allergy, writes, urging people to leave their pets at home.

Marshall James Kavanaugh writes poems on demand for those who pass by in Rittenhouse Square and other Philly parks. “I’ve found that people want that realness. They want that experience. They want to be seen. They want to be reflected,” he says.