COVID mobile clinics are filling health-care gaps | Morning Newsletter
And a lawsuit over who has rights to the Coltrane house
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The Morning Newsletter
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Expect more clouds today with a high of 83. If you have a lot of errands, maybe do them today. The rest of the week isn’t looking any cooler.
In today’s newsletter:
🎷 A legal saga: The ownership of jazz legend John Coltrane’s house is up in the air.
🩺 COVID mobile clinics: The clinic-in-a-box model is helping overcome barriers to health-care access.
🏀 Wasted time: What six years of Ben Simmons (hopefully) taught us.
If you see this 🔑 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Mobile clinics gained importance during the pandemic by bringing COVID-19 vaccines to underserved neighborhoods. But as vaccination rates stagnated, the clinics have also begun working as general health checks.
“There are a lot of folks out there who are afraid to see their doctors,” said Cornelius Pitts, head of Temple University Medical School’s Center for Urban Bioethics. “We wanted to create an access point for people who had that fear.”
Interest in mobile clinics are on the rise. Demand is so high that some vans ordered during the depths of the pandemic haven’t delivered yet.
According to Harvard’s Mobile Health Map, there are about a dozen mobile service operators in Philadelphia and surrounding Pennsylvania and New Jersey counties.
Mobile clinics allow people to avoid transportation, scheduling, and administrative hurdles. They also help overcome racial barriers to health-care access.
Reporter Jason Laughlin has more on how these clinics are empowering health care.
What you should know today
The federal government is sending only a fraction of the monkeypox vaccine supply Philadelphia was expecting.
Allan Domb left a vacancy on Philadelphia’s City Council and more could be coming as the mayor’s race heats up. Here’s a breakdown of what happens next.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed an order to discourage conversion therapy in the state.
Kelly Corrigan reflected on her experience speaking at the summer retreat where Salman Rushdie was stabbed.
After last year’s controversial restructuring of its selective admissions process, the Philadelphia School District will no require writing samples but will once again consider PSSA standardized testing results.
Columnist Mike Sielski argues the Sixers and Ben Simmons wasted six years together and it could have been avoided. 🔑
PGW wants to cap its weather normalization charge to prevent excessively high bills.
Local coronavirus numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.
The two sons of acclaimed jazz saxophonist John Coltrane filed a lawsuit saying they are the rightful owners of their father’s house in Strawberry Mansion, across from Fairmount Park.
Necessary context:
Community activists, historic preservationists, and jazz enthusiasts want to preserve the historic but deteriorating house Coltrane bought in 1952. He bought it for himself, his mother, aunt, and cousin and lived there from 1952 to 1958.
Norman Gadson, a jazz lover who worked in real estate, bought the house from Coltrane’s cousin Mary L. Alexander in 2004. Gadson died in 2007 before he could turn it into a jazz venue. His daughters, Aminta and Hathor, are the surviving members of the Gadson family tied to the house.
In present day, Coltrane’s sons, Ravi and Oran, allege that Gadson “paid a third party for a sham deed to the Coltrane house” and Mary Alexander did not have the right to sell the property because she only had the legal right to live in the house until her death.
At the same time, the Strawberry Mansion Community Development Corp. wants to create a John Coltrane Museum and Cultural Center at the site. The house is a National Historic Landmark but needs to be rehabbed, and a state preservation organization listed it as “at risk.”
Keep reading as reporter Valerie Russ unfolds the drama of the ongoing legal dispute between the two feuding families.
🧠 Philly Trivia Time 🧠
Who is the North Philly star who is the leading scorer for the Chicago Sky team?
A. Kahleah Cooper
B. Dana Evans
C. Julie Allemand
D. Candace Parker
Find out if you know the answer.
What we’re,...
🍺 Drinking: Pretzels in beer. If you try the new Oktoberfest-style lager — called Is Butter a Carb? — please email us your thoughts.
🎉 Rooting for: The Philly Roller Derby’s Liberty Belles are back.
🎥 Reading: This guide to the best cinemas in the region.
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
A new Girl Scout cookie
ARR BLEARSPRYLY
Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shoutout to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shoutout goes to Lou Smith of Mayfair, who correctly guessed Bam Margera as Tuesday’s answer.
Photo of the day
And that’s a wrap. I’m off to start my day with coffee ☕. Thank you for starting yours with The Inquirer.