How much are your school taxes going up?; Trump immigration plan’s impact on hunger | Morning Newsletter
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The Morning Newsletter
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For the last decade, school taxes in Philly’s Pennsylvania suburbs have been climbing higher and higher. The Inquirer analyzed every school district in four counties, so you can find out how your own district compares. Also, the Philadelphia Orchestra rescinded its invitation to opera megastar Plácido Domingo who has been accused of sexual misconduct.
— Josh Rosenblat (@joshrosenblat, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Of the 59 school districts in Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware Counties, 52 have raised taxes for the 2019-20 fiscal year, according to an Inquirer analysis.
The average increase is about $100 per household, and continues a trend. Over the last decade, taxes have risen close to 25%. School officials say they are waging a constant battle against rising expenses.
You can search for your school district’s tax changes over the past year, past five years, or past 10 years, and you can see which districts have the highest (or lowest) school taxes.
President Donald Trump and his administration have tried several times to cut the food stamp program. A new rule put into the Federal Register this week would accomplish that while also targeting immigration.
The rule focuses on low-income immigrants that might rely on the federal safety net that includes food stamps.
Even before the administration’s move, low-income immigrants were passing on food-related assistance out of fear of deportation. The director of Hunger Free New Jersey said that immigrant families are also staying away from food pantries because they’re afraid they’ll be detained.
Plácido Domingo had for decades allegedly sought sexual favors from women, pressured them to provide sexual favors by holding out job prospects, and then punished them professionally if they refused, The Associated Press reported yesterday. He was supposed to appear with the Philadelphia Orchestra on Sept. 18, but his invite has since been withdrawn.
“We are committed to providing a safe, supportive, respectful, and appropriate environment for the orchestra and staff, for collaborating artists and composers, and for our audiences and communities,” the Philadelphia Orchestra Association said in a statement.
The 78-year-old Domingo is one of the most powerful and celebrated figures in the opera world and has won multiple Grammy awards.
What you need to know today
Soon after an Inquirer investigation revealed that the Philadelphia Department of Prisons released scores of its inmates without their IDs, cash, or phones, its commissioner extended cashier’s office hours at four of the city’s five jails.
He never said “Nazis.” That is the essence of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s defense for sharing a joke his staffers tell, referring to some former city prosecutors who left or were fired when he took office as “war criminals.”
President Donald Trump was in Western Pennsylvania yesterday speaking to a crowd of workers at a soon-to-be completed Shell complex. Trump used part of his speech to address the 2020 Democratic candidates seeking to unseat him. “I don’t think they give a damn about Western Pennsylvania, do you?” he said.
Gov. Tom Wolf pledged yesterday to change Pennsylvania’s charter school policy with an eye toward increasing accountability.
Another hospital controlled by the same investment group as Hahnemann University Hospital is in the process of closing down.
Although immigration is a hot-button political issue, a new study found that a large majority of Americans say they want safe and clean conditions for those who are seeking asylum at the United States’ southern border.
Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly
Does anyone have any favorite memories involving the iconic tower atop the Tower Theatre in Upper Darby? It’s being taken down due to structural and safety concerns. Thanks for sharing, @chuckseye.
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
Cholly’s back. Charlie Manuel, the manager who led the Phillies to their 2008 World Series title, will return to the club as the team’s full-time hitting coach. The Phillies fired hitting coach John Mallee yesterday.
A Montgomery County man thought he had gotten a job. Instead, he got scammed out of $8,500.
Can a Shore town have it both ways? Residents want to protect foxes and the birds they prey on.
Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes went to check in on Nick Foles down in Jacksonville. His new teammates are already noticing his influence.
Ice cream. Sesame tofu. Condoms. Pizza rolls. Lucky’s, a beloved “Chinese store” in West Philly that sold all of these items, is closing.
It’ll take 19 trucks — 19! — to ship the huge, brand new scoreboard set to debut at Wells Fargo Center this season.
Opinions
“That being said, before we get caught up again in the decades-old debate of ‘people kill people’ vs. ‘guns kill people,’ Philadelphians should recognize that the debate highlights a structural failure of American governance today: barriers that stop the communities most wracked by gun violence from tackling the issue.” — Thomas Koenig, a senior at Princeton University and native of Oreland, writes that Philadelphia can preempt Harrisburg on gun laws.
The members of The Inquirer Editorial Board are big fans of New Jersey blueberries. So they want Garden State farms to work together to improve labor conditions and their environmental impact.
Stephen Klasko, president of Thomas Jefferson University and CEO of Jefferson Health, warns that Hahnemann’s closing is a national warning sign.
What we’re reading
Billy Penn covers Strawberry Mansion residents’ reactions to having Idris Elba in town to film a movie.
Wired looks inside Google and writes about “three years of misery” that included sexual harassment, hate speech, and employee walkouts.
Eric McMillan revolutionized playgrounds in the 1970s, The Guardian writes. But why have playgrounds struggled to move beyond his designs in the years since?
Your Daily Dose of | Tarot Cards and Mental Health
Jessica Dore has a unique practice that other therapists might consider less than orthodox. And 89,000 people are paying attention.