Meek Mill fights for probation reform; Phillies respond to Nationals fans’ boos with a win | Morning Newsletter
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The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Philly celebrities have had quite a week. Meek Mill, whose star has risen despite the roller coaster ride surrounding his probation, announced the next steps in his fight for criminal justice reform. Eagle Malcolm Jenkins met with local lawmakers over drug-free school zone laws. And Phillies star Bryce Harper spent last night responding to fans-turned-critics in Washington, D.C. We’ve got the details on all that and more for you this morning, plus more news out of Glen Mills Schools.
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— Aubrey Nagle (@aubsn, morningnewsletter@philly.com)
It may be no surprise that Meek Mill, the Philadelphia rapper and criminal justice activist, wants to reform Pennsylvania’s probation laws.
After all, he’s been on probation for 11 years, a telescoping sentence that has interrupted his music career more than once. Now, Mill and his advocacy group the REFORM Alliance are proposing legislation to change the system.
He’s not the only Philly icon who made political moves this week. Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins toured a Spring Garden-area school zone Monday to push back against reinstating the drug-free school zone law.
A major $270 million settlement made last week by Purdue Pharma for its alleged role in fueling the opioid epidemic has given Pennsylvania ideas.
Now more than a dozen counties want to speed up their cases by moving them back home and out of Delaware County, where over 40 cases are grouped together in a coordinated (and slow-moving) action.
Meanwhile, New York’s attorney general just filed a lawsuit against wholesale drug distributors for their role in the opioid epidemic, and Chesterbrook-based drug distributor AmerisourceBergen is involved.
The Phillies’ new star, Bryce Harper, returned to his former home park last night as the team faced the Nationals in D.C. for the first time this season.
He was showered with boos at every turn throughout Philly’s 8-2 win. That is, except when Phillies fans who traveled to the game chanted “M-V-P” and “We-Got-Harper.”
But Harper, who spent seven years in Washington, had the last word with a homer in the eighth inning. The Phillies are now 4-0, their best start since 1915.
What you need to know today
Three former fraternity brothers were sentenced to jail Tuesday for their roles in the 2017 hazing death of 19-year-old Tim Piazza at Pennsylvania State University.
Glen Mills Schools is laying off 250 staffers and counselors after Pennsylvania ordered an emergency removal of all boys from the Delaware County campus amid allegations of abuse.
Federal authorities have launched an investigation into possible civil rights violations by a Deptford police officer who fatally shot a suspected shoplifter last year.
Pennsylvania transit could soon be facing a funding gap of $450 million a year. A panel of government and business leaders think they know the solution: taxes and fees.
Philadelphia Sheriff Jewell Williams has told federal authorities that ICE agents must now identify themselves to deputies if they’re on duty in a city courtroom following an Inquirer report on courthouse arrests.
Temple University is now going to require incoming students to have the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine following a recent mumps outbreak there. In other campus news, Temple is aiming to become tobacco-free, too.
Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly
It’s definitely water fountain season. Great capture (and handle) @verychrisp.
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
Is that an okurrr I hear in the distance? It must be because Cardi B and Travis Scott will headline the Made in America festival this summer.
Speaking of headliners (albeit of a different era) Elvis Costello and Blondie will be headlining the second night of this year’s Xponential Fest.
Germantown’s Colored Girls Museum has a new exhibit, and it’s all about searching for the heart, mind, body, and soul of black women, columnist Elizabeth Wellington reports.
I’m sorry to put the phrase “dead mice in a deep fryer” into your head this early in the morning, but that’s where our latest list of local eateries closed by health inspections has led us.
It’s official: Zoo Keys are back by popular demand. By Saturday visitors will be unlocking their nostalgia and animals’ stories at the Philadelphia Zoo.
Allergy sufferers, don’t get too excited about that spring weather just yet. It’s going to be a rough pollen season for Philly.
Opinions
“Over the last couple of days, the smoldering aroma of smoke around the as-yet unannounced Biden 2020 effort has burst into a raging dumpster fire.” — Columnist Will Bunch on why Joe Biden needs to cut the apology tour and let the 21st century take over.
The Violence Against Women Act, which supports domestic violence shelters and women’s organizations, lapsed after the government shutdown earlier this year. Its reauthorization demands the immediate attention of Congress, write Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Rep. Karen Bass of California.
Want to improve your pay negotiating skills? Women need to know their worth and practice, write Kris Weldon and Jayna Fey, ambassadors for Ladies Get Paid Philly.
What we’re reading
Research shows experiencing childhood trauma is all too common. A new study is pushing Pennsylvania to create trauma-informed schools to help, WHYY reports.
Not all Americans are audited equally. ProPublica’s interactive map of the U.S. shows where the IRS audits most and where it barely does at all. The spread may shock you.
Just in time for spring, Philadelphians have told Billy Penn about all their favorite outdoor spots. Mayor Jim Kenney’s fave is Franklin Square.
Speaking of outdoor spaces, did you know making your backyard a little greener could qualify you for some money from the city? Philadelphia Magazine has a new how-to guide.
If you haven’t heard of TikTok yet, you might soon. According to the New York Times, the social media app is now the go-to place to learn what Americans do for a living and how they goof off.
A Daily Dose of | Folding
Before Marie Kondo there was Sara Berman — and her closet is going on display at Independence Mall as the first outdoor installation of the National Museum of American Jewish History.