Pa.'s election nightmare happened in Iowa; Jenkintown Holocaust survivor returns to the Nazi’s deadliest camp | Morning Newsletter
Plus, Gov. Wolf proposed his budget yesterday.
The Morning Newsletter
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With the full Iowa caucus results yet to be released, election officials in Pennsylvania spoke to my colleague Jonathan Lai about the fear they feel, as they will also use new election protocols this year. Could a similar debacle happen in the Keystone State? Also, a Jenkintown woman returned to Auschwitz last month, connecting her past with her future. And, further down in the newsletter, we have a story on Philly’s new-age bagels, wood-paved streets, and a look back at 2010′s ″snowmaggedon."
— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
In October 1944, Anneleise Winterberg’s train had stopped at the gate of death: the Auschwitz-Birkenau death and concentration camps in southern Poland. Now Anneliese Nossbaum, she is 91, a mother of two and grandmother of four. She lives alone in a tidy rowhouse in Jenkintown. And she and her family recently returned to Poland to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Soviet Red Army’s liberation of Auschwitz on Jan. 27, 1945.
The Nossbaums allowed some of my colleagues to join them and chronicle their journey. This trip was Anneliese’s second return to Auschwitz, and she says she won’t go back again. She had places within the Nazi’s deadliest camp that she wanted to show her family. And she also had one building she wanted to visit alone, to perform a ritual that would show Auschwitz that life found a way.
Iowa’s debacle this week is Pennsylvania’s nightmare. And elections experts said something similar could happen here in November when all eyes are on the critical battleground state. Some of the problems present in Iowa this week could show up in Pennsylvania because of new voting machines and the most dramatic electoral changes in decades.
And, again similar to Iowa, officials have already warned that results make take longer to tally than they have in the past. That could allow for unfounded claims and conspiracies to spread.
Gov. Tom Wolf proposed a $36 billion budget yesterday. While it has no major tax increases, it would boost funding for public schools, expand full-day kindergarten, borrow money to address environmental hazards in schools, and make changes to how charter schools are funded. Plus, he asked for stricter gun laws in the state.
In particular, Wolf called for $204 million for a tuition assistance program. The program could enable more than a quarter of the students who attend Pennsylvania’s state universities to graduate debt-free. The money would come from the state Horse Race Development Trust Fund, an idea that’s already drawn criticism.
Also, Wolf asked state lawmakers to act on guns by mandating universal background checks and other measures. Republicans control both legislative chambers and were noncommittal about Wolf’s call for action on gun bills.
What you need to know today
Philadelphia has no reported cases of coronavirus, yet some in the region say that fear and racism are already spreading. Also, Philadelphia-area businesses are beginning to feel the impact.
Asbestos will keep a Philly school closed at least until tomorrow. The district is currently investigating whether workers disturbed asbestos when they replaced ceiling tiles at the school last summer.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew got a Trump-fueled surge of campaign cash after the South Jersey congressman switched to the GOP, finishing last year with over $1 million.
The South Philly refinery sale has been delayed. And the issues won’t get resolved this week.
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are dominating Pennsylvania donations so far. But they’re doing so in opposite ways.
A man has been indicted for the murder of a 10-year-old boy at a South Jersey high school football game in the fall.
Last night, on the eve of the impeachment verdict, President Trump used his State of the Union address to extol a “Great American Comeback” on his watch.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
🐟One of my favorite things about Philly is how different neighborhoods keep themselves unique. Fishtown is no exception. Thanks for capturing that, @jeffphl.
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
⛄Ten years ago this week, we got 44 inches of snow in five days. Here’s why this winter is so different.
😋Philly’s bagel scene is on the up and up. Meet the bakers pushing Philly’s bagels farther than they’ve ever gone before.
☕Two Philly coffee roasters grabbed national awards recently.
🏘️More young professionals are opting to rent single-family homes in the Philadelphia suburbs as apartment rents rise.
🚧Did you know that some Philly streets were once paved with wood? And one street might be returning to its historic roots.
🎼Not only does a Philadelphia Orchestra star shine on the stage, but he helps Philly school kids shine, too. Joseph Conyers is in his fifth year conducting the Philadelphia School District’s All-City Orchestra.
Opinions
“The president’s actions were not ‘perfect.’ Some were inappropriate. But the question before the Senate is not whether his actions were perfect. It is whether they constitute impeachable offenses that justify removing a sitting president from office for the first time and forbidding him from seeking office again.” — writes Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) about his decision to vote against removing President Trump from office.
Columnist Jenice Armstrong writes that the deaths of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna exposed an emotional vulnerability in black men that, for a number of reasons, the culture historically encourages them to mask.
Columnist Will Bunch writes about the issues with the Iowa caucuses and their impact on trying to fix American democracy.
What we’re reading
A Temple grad was behind Hyundai’s “Smaht Pahk” Super Bowl commercial. USA Today ranked it as this year’s No. 2 Super Bowl ad. Philadelphia Business Journal spoke with the Scranton native who grew up in Lehigh County.
Can being a nudist really help you have a better relationship with food? The New York Times explored cooking naked at a nudist resort in Florida.
Personally, I can struggle with time management. The Harvard Business Review offers an interesting look at how to improve your time management skills. (Hint: it’s not just “life hacks.”)
Your Daily Dose of | Bill Murray and a rescued groundhog
Less than a year ago, a man in Lancaster County found a baby groundhog in his driveway. He took it to a local wildlife refuge and she was found to be incapable of surviving in the wild. But it’s been quite the turnaround for the now 10-month-old groundhog named Poppy. While she might not be as famous as Punxsutawney Phil, Poppy starred alongside Bill Murray in a Jeep commercial during the Super Bowl that revisited the 1993 movie Groundhog Day.