Philly primary voter’s guide; How VisionQuest makes money holding migrant children | 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
The Philadelphia primary election, where residents will select the representatives for their party in races for City Council and mayor, is a month away. But it’s never too early to educate yourself about what’s at stake and who’s running, so this morning we’re launching our latest voter’s guide to help you out. In other news, North Philly residents are pushing back against a for-profit agency’s plans to hold migrant children at a site in Logan. My colleague Jeff Gammage explains how VisionQuest and other agencies like it turn detaining children into big business.
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— Aubrey Nagle (@aubsn, morningnewsletter@philly.com)
Philadelphia’s primary election is May 21 and, in case you haven’t heard, there are a lot of people running for City Council and mayor. To help you wade through it all, we have a brand new voter’s guide to all the candidates in your voting district and political party.
Want to vote in next month’s election? You need to be registered first, and today is the last day to do so. Don’t worry, it only takes a few minutes.
By the way, you can hear from all the primary candidates for Philly City Council face to face tonight at WHYY studios. Tickets are free, though space is limited.
Youth-services provider VisionQuest’s North Philadelphia shelter closed in 2017 after staff members were found to have punched and choked children. Now, VisionQuest will be paid up to $5.3 million by the federal government to house 60 undocumented immigrant boys at the same site.
But that’s only a fraction of the taxpayer dollars — more than $1.5 billion last year alone — spent to house and supervise children who have arrived alone at the nation’s southern border.
VisionQuest’s plan was recently blocked and City Council members, union leaders, immigrant advocates, and North Philly residents have joined the fight to keep it from opening.
Former students of the Sanford Brown Institute in Bucks County borrowed tens of thousands of dollars from the federal government to join its ultrasound program.
Only later did they learn that the for-profit school’s program wasn’t accredited. The school has since closed, but their debt remains.
Now the students are among hundreds of thousands of Americans who attended for-profit schools that closed or agreed to settle government investigations for unaccredited programs, poor instruction, and more.
What you need to know today
The coordinated Easter Sunday bombings that killed at least 290 people in Sri Lanka were carried out by seven suicide bombers from a domestic militant group, a government official said Monday.
More lawsuits are being filed against the city and ex-homicide detective Philip Nordo as he awaits trial on charges that he raped, assaulted, stalked, and intimidated witnesses.
Temple University medical students recently spent 24 hours at Episcopal Hospital in Kensington and chronicled the day in this corner of Philadelphia’s opioid epidemic.
In the basement of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, workers who unpack boxes of supplies say they’re subject to the tyranny of mysterious, and impossible, quotas.
Pennsylvania regulators are investigating whether the state’s largest marijuana-dispensary permit holder misrepresented itself to win medical marijuana permits.
He’s running: Joe Biden is launching his 2020 presidential campaign this week, and he’s planning a stop in Philly.
The Flyers have removed the statue of singer Kate Smith from outside Xfinity Live! after the team looked into racist lyrics she sang.
Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly
Looks like a fun time, @danielle_falance!
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
The mosque Philadelphia’s Muslim cab drivers created at the airport, saved last week from plans to rearrange parking lots there, is not just a place of worship. It’s a testament to the community of the city’s drivers.
The Phillies lost 4-1 to the Colorado Rockies Sunday, the third loss in their four-game series. A costly base running error by Cesar Hernandez didn’t help.
Recovery Idol is music to our ears. The citywide singing competition for people in drug addiction recovery helps contestants rebuild their confidence and heal.
After Jimmy Butler got ejected Saturday for defending Sixers star Joel Embiid (who had a dominant performance in the playoff game) Embiid is paying Butler’s fine for having his back.
A wave of young players helped the Eagles win a Super Bowl. As the team gears up for another NFL draft this week, could the next wave be on its way?
Need to simplify your workout routine? Personal trainer Ashley Blake Greenblatt says all you need are four simple moves and a bench.
Opinions
“She thrilled and inspired millions around the globe as ‘America’s Songbird’ and the signature song, given to Kate Smith by Irving Berlin with the stipulation that all royalties benefit the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, continues to raise millions of dollars for their cause. How do I feel about her demise? I’m disappointed, especially in the heavy-handed way she was dumped.” — Former Flyers vice president Lou Scheinfeld, who started the playing of Kate Smith’s “God Bless America” at Flyers games, on the team’s disavowal of the singer.
In the run up to the May 21 primary, the Inquirer Editorial Board is explaining the functions of offices up for election, and they’re starting with City Commissioners, who register voters and conduct elections in Philly.
Tourists will not save Philadelphia from the challenges facing the city’s historical organizations and they need to team up to take on America’s 250th birthday, writes Michael Barsanti, director of the Library Company of Philadelphia.
What we’re reading
The New York Times’ report on allegations of production problems with Boeing’s Dreamliner planes, following two deadly crashes involving another jet, is damning.
If you’re looking to host a Philly block party this year, you’ll want to read Billy Penn’s check-up on changes to the permit process.
NJ.com’s latest special project is called “Changing Habits” and it’s all about the millennial women choosing to be nuns. It’s a fascinating, in-depth read.
Whatever is hiding under your floorboards (dust bunnies? some loose change?) is likely not nearly as interesting as the 200-year-old plant remains found in a Bartram’s Garden attic, WHYY reports.
You may not realize it, but you see the typeface Helvetica all the time. And people have very strong feelings about its new redesign, NPR reports.
A Daily Dose of | Education
Curtis Institute grad Nozomi Imamura grew up playing music. Now he teaches band at South Philadelphia High School where he’s changing students’ lives in ways performing alone never could.