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Mayor Kenney considering run for governor, sources say; Philly installs new safeguards to curb housing theft | Morning Newsletter

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Mayor Jim Kenney listens as others speak during a press conference to brief the media about a 2-year-old who was killed in the second shooting of a child in Philadelphia in the past two days, at the Philadelphia Police Department Headquarters, in Philadelphia, October 21, 2019.
Mayor Jim Kenney listens as others speak during a press conference to brief the media about a 2-year-old who was killed in the second shooting of a child in Philadelphia in the past two days, at the Philadelphia Police Department Headquarters, in Philadelphia, October 21, 2019.Read more / File Photograph
    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

🎃Happy Halloween, everyone! I’ll be dressing up as Clark Kent because, well, I obviously have an uncanny resemblance to Superman’s journalist alter ego.

And speaking of Halloween, we’ve got a story about what the weather might look like during prime trick-or-treating hours (spoiler: not too bad). Expecting rain, some towns moved trick-or-treating, and some residents aren’t happy about it. We also have a story about Philly’s mayor weighing a political decision, and another about new city safeguards against housing theft.

Also, thanks for taking the survey I sent out yesterday. The feedback has been really informative. If you missed it, you can fill it out here. (It’ll take about three minutes.)

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

Philly Mayor Jim Kenney is considering a 2022 run for governor, sources say

Two people with direct knowledge of what Kenney is thinking told The Inquirer that the mayor might run for governor after Tom Wolf’s second term concludes in 2022. Kenney is widely expected to coast to a second term as Philadelphia’s mayor in Tuesday’s general election against Republican Billy Ciancaglini. A spokesperson for Kenney neither confirmed nor denied that he’s considering a gubernatorial run.

If he does seek the job in 2022, he would likely try to re-create a statewide version of the coalition of unions and progressive groups that won him the mayor’s office in Philly.

Philly announces a crackdown on rampant housing theft

Over the last year, a series of Inquirer articles has shown that housing theft has become a real problem in Philadelphia. That’s in part because gentrification has spread and property values have risen. Fraudsters forge deeds and pose as fake heirs to gain control of properties and flip them to developers for big profits.

Yesterday, city officials announced a series of safeguards intended to crack down on people stealing houses and lots. Among them is a new digitized system that is supposed to automatically send emails to people who sign up any time their name appears on a deed, mortgage, or other real estate record filed with the city.

What you need to know today

  1. Four people, including a 6-year-old and 17-year-old, were found fatally shot yesterday in a West Philadelphia home in an attack allegedly carried out by a family member.

  2. Elizabeth Warren just got another big endorsement from a Philadelphia figure.

  3. Twenty-two members of two rival Chester drug gangs were indicted yesterday, according to authorities. The raids took down members of the 3rd Bone and William Penn gangs after a year of coordinated efforts from local, state, and federal law enforcement.

  4. Here are some of the top New Jersey races to watch in next week’s election. Plus, we took a look at “sleepy” Pennsylvania judicial races, for which groups are still spending $2 million on TV ads.

  5. Students are blasting Pennsylvania’s largest community college for cutting its campus mental health services while spending big money on renovations.

  6. A proposed constitutional amendment called Marsy’s Law will be on Pennsylvania ballots next week, but your vote won’t be counted right away, if at all.

  7. Lawyers for a Bucks County school district plan to file a lawsuit against e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs. It could be the first Pennsylvania school district to sue the company.

Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly

🎃💀Hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween! Nice shot, @globalsal.

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. Some towns in Pennsylvania and New Jersey moved trick-or-treating due to the rain, and some people are mad. There’s a chance that the rain might hold off today during peak trick-or-treating hours.

  2. For La Salle men’s basketball player Isiah Deas, the cliché about making a basketball court your home was an unfortunate reality. “I spent a lot of nights there. A lot,” Brooklyn native Deas said inside La Salle’s Tom Gola Arena.

  3. A King of Prussia investor bought 80 apartment complexes from a New York company that has been charged with mortgage fraud.

  4. Even though it might not be the most popular Philadelphia museum, the Shoe Museum still has a lot of sole. (Sorry. I have to credit — er, blame — my colleague Stephanie Farr for that pun.)

  5. How can parents help their college-bound children with mental health prep?

  6. The Inquirer’s film critic got a peek inside the new AMC theater at the Fashion District. It’s nice, but a bit pricey.

Opinions

“It’s the kind of detail that chills to the bone even in a city that can be tragically inured to deadly violence. Two babies, shot in the head, in completely separate cases, in completely different parts of this city of 1.5 million — yet inextricably linked by the circles through which guns so easily move in Philadelphia.” — columnist Mike Newall about the gruesome coincidence that linked the shootings of two children in Philadelphia.

  1. “Lynching," a word used by President Donald Trump to describe the impeachment proceedings against him, is “best confined to the trash heap of history," the Angry Grammarian writes.

  2. The Inquirer Editorial Board weighs in with its endorsement in the City Council 10th District race.

What we’re reading

  1. WHYY reports that a proposed business improvement district will not go into the Italian Market after it divided property owners, tenants, and residents.

  2. As wildfires rage in California, the blackout is hitting cellphone service, a crucial lifeline for those in danger, according to the New York Times.

  3. The Washington Post writes about what happened when a black man took over a neo-Nazi group.

Your Daily Dose of | Día de los Muertos

The Day of the Dead is not intended to be spooky or scary like Halloween. Instead, Día de los Muertos honors spirits’ returns to this world. Som no tricks, but lots of treats for the deceased, including creations from traditional recipes Philly Mexican women shared with The Inquirer.