Philadelphia police officers to be fired over offensive Facebook posts, sources say; A group seeks to save St. Christopher’s | Morning Newsletter
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The Philadelphia Police Department is expected this week to begin the process of firing cops for their racist or offensive social media activity, sources told The Inquirer. Last month, the department took 72 cops off the streets amid its investigation into the online behavior. In South Philly, a retail and food landmark for many Asian American communities is being threatened by gentrification, and it’s a symbol of a larger issue for the city.
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— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
The Philadelphia Police Department is expected to start the process of firing cops whose racist or offensive Facebook posts were documented in an online database, according to three sources with knowledge of the situation. The process, which will suspend officers with intent to dismiss, is expected to begin on Friday.
The sources said that as many as 13 officers are expected to be put through this protocol.
Last month, 72 officers had been taken off street duty pending the department’s investigation into the social media activity, according to Commissioner Richard Ross.
Hoa Binh Plaza has become another retail center “threatened by the unstoppable tidal force of Philadelphia’s housing boom,” Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron writes.
The plaza, which translates as Peace Plaza in Vietnamese, is said to be the first shopping area outside Chinatown to cater to Asian immigrants, and has become a landmark for South Philly’s Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, and Chinese communities.
Yes, Philadelphia needs to expand its housing options, she writes. However, it can’t be at the expense of the social networks, culture, and jobs present in the city’s heritage business centers.
Einstein Healthcare Network, Jefferson Health, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Temple Health are coming together to negotiate a deal to buy St. Christopher’s. The children’s hospital is a sister institution of the soon-to-be-closed Hahnemann University Hospital.
Hospital finance experts differed on a possible price tag, though a purchase price for the hospital could be revealed as part of the court process for the bankruptcy filing by its current owner.
So far, it seems like leaders at St. Christopher’s are supporting the group’s efforts.
What you need to know today
Senior citizens demonstrated yesterday on Independence Mall, penning themselves in a makeshift “detention center” to protest the treatment and deaths of migrant children in U.S. custody.
The New Jersey judge who gave leniency to a teen boy accused of sexual assault because of good grades and Eagle Scout status will no longer be on the bench.
Gov. Tom Wolf signed a bill into law that allowed Pennsylvania schools to let their students work from home when the weather is bad. Some are worried that it could lead schools to take away snow days, eliminating what one Philly parent called the “pure joy” that is “waking up and finding out there was no school.”
New Jersey last year passed a law that allows towns to create charitable foundations that residents could donate to instead of paying taxes and claim those donations as federal tax deductions. Now, the state with the highest property taxes in the nation is fighting the IRS and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over a new rule.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that Pittsburgh can make businesses in the city provide paid sick leave for their workers. It’s another example of cities, including Philadelphia, passing laws governing workplace standards.
A new book from a Penn alum details Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency, including a 1999 interview at the college that foreshadowed his eventual run for office.
After experiencing its hottest day of 2019 yesterday, when the official high reached 95 and the heat index soared to 104 in Philly, the region might be about to experience some of its warmest nights on record.
Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly
Some invaluable advice from @ellencm to help beat the heat. Thanks for sharing the pic!
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That’s Interesting
Have you played around with FaceApp yet? It’s an app that uses AI to alter your appearance to make you look older. We ran it on some famous Philadelphians.
OK, we love our Tastykates and water ice. I mean, it’s been like, 100 degrees — I need my lemon water ice from Rita’s, ya know? Regardless, Philly health officials launched a new war on sugary snacks, and they have a bunch of reasons for it.
Willie Mays played at the Vet in 1979. Hank Aaron did in 1989. But now, MLB Old-Timers Games have largely disappeared. Could they make a comeback?
Inquirer film critic Gary Thompson reviews The Lion King reboot. Is it a roaring success or just a copycat?
When a recent widow’s gold bracelet escaped her right wrist, she thought she had lost another piece of her husband on Ocean City’s beach. Its discovery by newlyweds linked a woman who is grappling with the end of her marriage to a couple just starting theirs.
How many of you remember the first moon landing? Fifty years later, we asked stargazers where they were, what it mean, and if we should go back.
A small town nearly 300 miles outside of Philadelphia is holding a festival to honor a man who helped take down Al Capone. It’s the second annual Eliot Ness Fest in Coudersport, Pa., complete with vintage cars, costumes, a Capone trial re-enactment, and a Capone look-alike contest.
Opinions
“When the need for educational enhancement is so obvious in a neighborhood like Mantua, is it any wonder one could feel a bit edgy reading about an already wealthy politician banking a near million bucks for showing his face around a prosperous nearby college campus? So, here’s the deal, Penn alums: Skip the donation to your alma mater this year and donate instead to a program nearby ye olde college campus.” — Tim Whitaker, the executive director of a nonprofit that teaches kids to write in Philly, writes about what he thinks Penn should have done with the $900,000 it paid Joe Biden.
Today, addiction is often framed as a disease. But, research suggests that this framing may backfire, The Inquirer’s Abraham Gutman writes in a new series of columns called Brain Trust.
The only thing rising in Camden is budget deficits, The Inquirer Editorial Board writes.
What we’re reading
PhillyVoice reports on a new study that reveals Philly as one of the most stressful U.S. cities to live in.
One of the world’s most-wanted drug kingpins was sentenced to life in prison yesterday. The New York Times previously detailed Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera’s second escape from a Mexican prison four years ago.
The Verge profiles a group of Amazon “nomads” who scour America’s backroads looking for things to sell on the site for profit.
Your Daily Dose of | The UpSide
Beth Catlin sends 5,000 birthday cards each year — and she doesn’t have a single name, address or birthday written down anywhere.