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Recycling isn’t helping Philly, Mike Pence is in town, where will Made In America go? | Morning Newsletter

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A loader moves waste and recyclables at Republic Services.
A loader moves waste and recyclables at Republic Services.Read moreMaggie Loesch

I hope you've recovered, relaxed and recharged yourself for another week, because there are two big meetings happening today that you'll be hearing more from us on. Mayor Kenney is hoping to quell the backlash to the city's sudden decision to pull the Made in America Festival from the Parkway by talking with Jay-Z's entertainment company to figure out the next steps. While this meeting is going on, Vice President Mike Pence will be in town supporting Republican Senate candidate Lou Barletta as he tries to unseat Democrat Bob Casey in a pivotal midterm election season this November. The last time Pence was here, protesters gathered in Rittenhouse Square. We've also dug up some discouraging environmental news: plastics and other scraps meant for recycling are ending up in landfills — at a cost to taxpayers.

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— Tauhid Chappell(@tauhidchappell, morningnewsletter@philly.com)

» READ MORE: Why recycling is now a money loser, not a moneymaker for Philly

We're told recycling is beneficial for our planet. It helps reduce chemicals, greenhouse gasses and overall pollution caused by our waste. It also should save us money, if done correctly.

Except, it's not in Philadelphia. Five years ago, the city was getting paid $65 a ton by contractors for recyclables, our environmental reporter Frank Kummer reports. Now, it's paying out $38 a ton. This change has not gone unnoticed. It was an issue raised to us through Curious Philly, our new question-and-response forum that allows readers to connect with our reporters and submit questions about their community

Our investigation led Frank to figure out what suddenly changed, and how Philadelphians can get back on track to being rewarded for being conscious about our carbon footprint.

Have a question you want answered? Let us know.

» READ MORE: VP Mike Pence to talk tax cuts and more during Philly visit

Vice president Mike Pence is back in Philadelphia today, this time stumping for Republican Lou Barletta.

Pence hopes his presence and endorsement will help Barletta, who's behind in both polls and fund-raising, gain momentum on Senator Bob Casey heading into the midterms. Pence was in the city nearly a month ago for a private fund-raiser to support Scott Wagner, the GOP nominee for Pennysvlania's governor.

His previous trip didn't result in the warmest welcome, as hundreds of protesters gathered outside and called for an end to the Trump administration's controversial immigration policy of separating children from their parents at the southern border.

» READ MORE: Deal in the works? Kenney to meet with Made in America exec, Sixers co-owner 

Mayor Kenney is trying to remedy his office's controversial decision to remove the Made in America festival from the Parkway. When news came out that the festival would need to find a new location after this year, it caught everyone off guard – including Jay-Z and the festival's organizers.

The music mogul wrote an op-ed for The Inquirer lambasting the mayor for taking such direct action without including his entertainment company, Roc Nation, at the table.

Now the mayor is trying to mitigate the damage by meeting with Roc Nation to figure out where the festival should be held next year – assuming it stays in Philadelphia at all. The Associated Press reported that Milwaukee officials sent a letter to Roc Nation last week inviting Jay-Z to bring his festival to their city.

What you need to know today

  1. There's confusion surrounding Fareed Ahmed, a longtime lobbyist with a seemingly cozy relationship with the Philadelphia Parking Authority. Investigative reporter William Bender dove into Ahmed's background to try and figure out what he really did that warranted $3,000 monthly invoices to the PPA for 17 years.

  2. Ruth Briggs was in her late 50s in 2010 when her male supervisor at Temple's computer and information sciences department allegedly told her "in China, they put women out to pasture at your age." She had the last laugh in court after she resigned.

  3. After the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld Mayor Kenney's soda tax last week, the administration's celebration was cut short after a new ruling fined a nonprofit with ties to Kenney for "material misstatements and omissions" during its campaign to pass the tax.

  4. Celtics assistant coach Jerome Allen had a hand in knocking out the 76ers during their impressive playoffs run, but now he's under fire for allegedly taking bribes by a Florida man to help him get his son into UPenn while he was the school's basketball coach.

  5. There's been an increase in the number of reported cases of child abuse in Philadelphia schools. Now, teachers under investigation are placed in "teacher jails," which keep them employed but removes them from the classroom. The rise of teachers in these "jails" has reportedly caused morale to plummet.

  6. The viral arrest video of a black teen at Philadelphia Zoo put the zoo in the national spotlight, merging it with the growing concern in visible cases where white people have called the police on black people. Now, the zoo is taking a look at what it could do better to prevent another controversial incident.

Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly

Thanks for checking out our city, @tonyisvisiting. We love this wonderful shot of Old City.

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. A 16-year-old teen came to her pediatrician complaining of constant fatigue. The doctor was stumped, until she noticed a dark spot on the teen's neck which helped solved this medical mystery.

  2. Direct-to-consumer packages (a product sent to your mailbox) is the new trend, and now a new startup is using the approach to sell prescription drugs to men to help treat an array of health issues. They even come in discreet boxes to help customers "avoid embarrassment."

  3. You won't see Kimberly Guilfoyle, a long-standing FOX News host, on your TV screen anymore. There's been an ongoing debate if her romantic relationship with Donald Trump Jr. influenced her departure from the network.

  4. If you're looking for places to explore, don't sleep on Media, Pa. The Delaware County town has seen major growth in restaurants, new housing and hometown pride.

  5. Your face, your hair and your skin all change as you get older, that's common knowledge. But, did you know your fingernails and toenails peak at 25? They too say goodbye to their youthful features.

Opinions

"Whether from blackmail or ego, the U.S. president is actively aiding Kremlin efforts to undermine U.S. institutions. His war on his own intelligence and law enforcement agencies is a perfect example of how he is advancing Russia's goals."
  1. Fortnite is the hottest video game around, and it has kids glued to their screens. That's made summer challenging for parents trying to get their kids to experience other enjoyments in life, writes Jeffrey S. Dill, a sociologist at Templeton Honors College and father of four boys.

  1. We're living in trying, stressful, times and while it's a scary world out there, we should look to understand how to acknowledge, identify and tame our fears, then turn them into action, writes Dr. Adam Garfinkle, a member of the Board of Advisors of the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia.

What we’re reading

  1. The Philadelphia Citizen is touting 76er's co-owner Michael Rubin as "the most woke billionaire on Earth" for helping rapper Meek Mill in his legal woes and his efforts to improve the criminal justice system.

  2. The opioid crisis isn't going away anytime soon and a Voice of America video series included Philadelphia as a major city in desperate need of help.

  3. BillyPenn is reporting that if Eagles fans step up, Boston residents will have the pleasure of seeing an Eagles Super Bowl billboard up in their city for four lovely weeks. Here's how to pitch in for this great cause.

  4. There's breaking news all day, every day, and the exhaustion is weighing on everyone, especially journalists – as documented by one stressed-out journalist for the Columbia Journalism Review.

Your Daily Dose of | Yum

Our food critic Craig LaBan tried out Harper's Garden and was not disappointed in the restaurant's decor or food.