N.J. coastal towns face high cost of sea rise; Who will pay for the King of Prussia rail line? | Morning Newsletter

Some March we’re having, huh? Depending on where you are in our region, you may have woken up to six inches of snow or hardly anything. Either way, it makes for a messy morning commute for many, so be careful out there. Many schools in the region are opening on a delay today and SEPTA is operating on a Saturday schedule. But that’s right now. This morning we’re all about the long game: the effects of coastal flooding in N.J., paying for the King of Prussia rail line, and the relationship that left Arcadia University with its biggest gift ever.

— Aubrey Nagle (@aubsn, morningnewsletter@philly.com)

Jersey Shore communities will face steep costs associated with sea level rise if steps aren’t taken, according to a new report, but not in the places you might expect.

Though attention is often focused on tourist-filled areas facing the ocean, New Jersey’s other shorelines have been a problem spot for flooding.

The report, released Friday by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, cites climate change as a “significant” contributor to back bay flooding in the Garden State and predicts a combined average of nearly $1.6 billion a year in damage for coastal communities in the future.

Chemist Ellington Beavers spent 40 years at Rohm & Haas before being forced into mandatory retirement at age 65.

He wasn’t quite ready to set aside his career, so he wrote to local universities offering his services for free if he could work in their labs.

Arcadia University answered. Forty years, 11 patents, and one new company later, and four years after Beavers’ death, the agreement they struck has really paid off — in the form of the largest single gift in the university’s history.

One day a five-mile extension to the Norristown High-Speed Line could connect Philadelphia to King of Prussia. Despite resistance, plans for the line are full-steam ahead: SEPTA approved $7 million in January for an engineering firm to work out more details.

One relatively important piece of the puzzle — you know, how to pay for it — isn’t quite figured out yet, however.

The bill will run SEPTA about $1.2 billion. A federal grant will almost certainly be necessary. Meanwhile, state officials say their ability to contribute money may be limited and a lawsuit could completely change how public transit is funded in Pennsylvania.

Raise your hand if it took you a second to figure out where this picture was taken. 🙋 (Hint: It’s a SEPTA station.) Nice one, @d_smoove.

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“Another incident occurred while traveling through West Memphis, Ark., where my father tried to buy my brother and me some ice cream. The owner told Daddy to go to the back to be served. But rather than face that humiliation, he got back in the car and pulled off, the rocks and dust spewing from the spinning tires.” — P.J. Thomas, co-founder of Pathfinders Travel Magazine for People of Color, on how Oscar-winning film Green Book rang true to her own family’s travels in the South in the 1950s.

Dancers from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Dance Theatre of Harlem surprised Joan Myers Brown, the founder of Philadanco and an icon of black dance, with an emotional reunion over the weekend.