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Pa. residents rely on bottled water due to contamination; U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on gerrymandering | Morning Newsletter

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Elizabeth Smith empties a gallon jug of water into the pot she uses to make pasta for her family of four, talking about the water contamination in her Hartsville, Bucks County.
Elizabeth Smith empties a gallon jug of water into the pot she uses to make pasta for her family of four, talking about the water contamination in her Hartsville, Bucks County.Read moreJOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer

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After harmful chemicals contaminated water for tens of thousands of homes in Bucks and Montgomery Counties, most of the residences were hooked up to clean water sources. Relief, however, has yet to come for others. Three years later, those residents are forced to live off bottled water with no end in sight. In the world of politics, the argument over gerrymandering is poised to stick around for some time. The Supreme Court addressed the matter Thursday, ruling federal courts must stay out of it. Plus, an ACLU lawsuit paints a picture of Pennsylvania state troopers that makes them sound more like immigration enforcement. And finally, Calif. Sen. Kamala Harris confronted former Vice President Joe Biden on race at last night’s debate.

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— Ray Boyd (@RayBoydDigital, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

It’s been three years since some residents in Bucks and Montgomery Counties have dared to take a sip of their home’s water. Tens of thousands of homes in those counties had their drinking water contaminated by harmful PFAS chemicals that, in most cases, flowed off two former military bases.

Even though many of the homes in the region have been hooked up to clean water, the Navy is refusing to take responsibility for contamination in certain homes. The Environmental Protection Agency is still finishing tests to determine a contamination source for those families. Meanwhile, residents have resorted to using bottled water for all tasks outside of bathing and laundry.

Daily routines, home values, and future plans have all fallen victim to the waiting game. Families say elected officials have turned a blind eye to the problem, leaving many families to wonder where they’ll go from here.

As far as the U.S. Supreme Court is concerned, partisan gerrymandering is a political issue outside the purview of the federal courts. Activists argue that gerrymandering — the act of drawing political maps to favor a particular party in elections — is fundamentally anti-democratic and unfair to voters.

The ruling strikes a major blow to opponents of the practice. But the Supreme Court has never overturned a political map due to gerrymandering, and argues that there is no clear standard in place to do so.

Last year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the state’s congressional map as a partisan gerrymander drawn to benefit Republicans. Meanwhile, a surge in activism has made gerrymandering a major political issue nationwide — one that federal courts will not intervene in.

An ACLU lawsuit has accused Pennsylvania State Police troopers of violating the law by stopping and holding people based solely on their Latino appearance. The 10 Latino plaintiffs describe behavior that makes the state police sound more like immigration enforcement.

For Maria Marquez, a routine traffic stop in 2017 turned into a two-hour interrogation over the immigration status of her and her family. It turns out that the trooper who stopped her turned over at least 19 undocumented immigrants to federal officers that year after interrogating and detaining them without warrants.

The lawsuit follows an investigative series in 2018 by The Inquirer and ProPublica which raises questions of racial profiling and unlawful arrests of immigrants by Pennsylvania troopers.

What you need to know today

  1. The second Democratic presidential debate happened last night, and things got a little heated. Calif. Rep. Eric Swalwell was the first to go after former Vice President Joe Biden before Calif. Sen. Kamala Harris confronted him on race. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg was also forced to address police tensions in the city.

  2. Philly’s Hahnemann University Hospital announced that it was closing on Wednesday. On Thursday, the state ordered the owners to halt the closure until a vital step can be taken.

  3. It’s been eight months since Philadelphia issued a disaster declaration for Kensington because of the opioid crisis. Significant progress has been made in that time, but it’s hard to tell — a testament to just how strong the crisis’ hold is on the neighborhood.

  4. Chester County has Pennsylvania’s lowest unemployment rate at a mere 2.6 percent. Job opportunities are abound in many sectors, but it’s agriculture and transportation that are seeing the greatest demand.

  5. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the citizenship question on the 2020 Census was constitutional. However, the court rejected the Trump administration’s argument for it and is blocking the question’s inclusion — for now. President Trump now wants to delay the census.

Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly

What a gorgeous place to reflect. Thanks for sharing, @theresa__cannon.

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

  1. The Phillies harnessed the luck of the bamboo once again on Thursday, this time in the form of a walk-off home run from shortstop Jean Segura to sweep the Mets. They’ll be looking to extend their win streak to five games tonight against the Marlins.

  2. The Barnes Foundation is taking a deep dive into video art this summer by featuring one of the best known and most shown artists working with video today.

  3. You’ll want to get the camera ready for the amazing fireworks displays planned for the 4th of July. Wondering where to watch? Reporters Bethany Ao and Grace Dickinson round up fireworks shows from Philly to the Shore.

  4. If fireworks aren’t your thing, you can spend the holiday binging the new season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. My colleague Ellen Gray caught up with one of the show’s stars to talk about the season. (Don’t worry. She promises no spoilers.)

  5. Disaster literally struck Joe Reilly’s beloved Aston barbershop when a car drove through his storefront. The damage left Reilly without a job and more importantly, without a place to connect with the customers he loves. That was until a nearby beauty salon stepped in.

Opinions

“It’s tougher than you think to say whom the Trump administration is locking in cages at the Mexico-U.S. border. Are they migrants, immigrants or emigrants? Refugees, asylees or nationals? Aliens? Illegals? ... The word you pick says a lot about what you think of them. And it has life-or-death implications for how they’re treated.” — The Angry Grammarian on what your choice of term for people coming to America says about you.

  1. The malicious virus that caused the shutdown of the Philadelphia courts’ servers should be viewed as a warning, the Inquirer Editorial Board writes. In protecting our information, resiliency, rather than invincibility, should be the goal.

  2. Citizens invest a lot of trust in those carrying a badge and gun, writes columnist Stu Bykofsky. That’s why cheating, disrespectful attitudes, and lying should not be tolerated from police officers.

What we’re reading

  1. Today marks one year since the devastating shooting that claimed five lives at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland. Capital Gazette reporter Naomi Harris looks back at that day and sheds light on just how much the tragedy was felt beyond the walls of the paper, touching every corner of the community.

A Daily Dose of | Love

The Inquirer asked two couples who have never met to share their experiences of dating, marriage, and the challenges of being queer or transgender. Our visual journalists present a moving cross-generational conversation about love.