Drexel financial woes sow doubt | Morning Newsletter
✉️ And ballot-harvesting disinformation.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/KBPXRXRNF5BSJFXZEBA7S6K5QE.jpg)
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Welcome to a mostly sunny Thursday, Philly.
The president of Salus University, which is in the midst of merging with Drexel, said he was surprised to learn of its partner’s recently revealed financial woes: “I think the outcome would have been different.”
And it’s a busy time at the center of the political universe. Read on for the latest on Philly’s role in the presidential election, including baseless accusations of ballot harvesting at a Center City social services org, and much more.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.
Drexel University is in a big moment of change, as the Philly institution navigates a structural deficit and the impending departure of longtime president John A. Fry. Recent revelations about Drexel’s finances have led some at Salus University to doubt the decision to merge with the school.
Catch up quick: The health sciences-focused, Elkins Park-based Salus and University City’s Drexel announced their intention to combine assets in summer 2023. Final federal approvals are expected to arrive in June.
Financial woes: Earlier this fall, Drexel announced it would be cutting staff and benefits as it faces a $63 million operating loss and 15% fewer first-year students.
New tensions: Salus president Michael H. Mittelman made statements in a private meeting implying that the outcome of the merger would have been different had leaders known about the extent of Drexel’s challenges. A group of Salus faculty members also say they’re concerned about what the merger could mean for their school’s future.
Education reporter Susan Snyder has the latest.
In other higher ed news: After months of uncertainty following the University of the Arts’ abrupt closure in June, the Pig Iron School has partnered with Rowan University to resume its master of fine arts program.
This close to Election Day in a swing state, 24 hours can yield headline-grabbing new developments. Here’s the latest presidential election news out of Philadelphia and beyond:
🔵 Vice President Kamala Harris met Democratic politicos at Famous 4th Street Deli yesterday. The stop came hours before her CNN town hall in Delaware County, where Harris, in her most recent attempt to appeal to Republican and undecided voters outside of Philadelphia, said she thinks former President Donald Trump is a fascist.
🔴 A Republican organization with ties to Elon Musk has produced an apparently fake manifesto meant to look like Harris’ version of the conservative policy initiative Project 2025.
✉️ Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein, a Republican, also called out Musk for spreading disinformation by retweeting a false claim that Center City nonprofit Broad Street Love was involved in widespread ballot harvesting.
💰 And Philly’s Democrats are asking Harris’ campaign for $1.2 million to fund the local party’s election expenses — but they’re not counting on it.
See more from a busy day at the center of the political universe.
What you should know today
An 18-year-old man wanted for the shooting of three women on a SEPTA bus in West Philadelphia earlier this month was apprehended in Delaware on Wednesday, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
A 50-year-old man with diabetes died in a Philadelphia jail last fall after staff didn’t provide him with insulin for days, a new federal lawsuit says.
A historic synagogue near Old City was the target of arson and vandalism Tuesday.
A New Jersey watchdog agency has asked a state judge to order the Delaware River Port Authority to comply with subpoenas for documents and testimony related to the authority’s procurement policies, contracts, and leases.
The group redeveloping the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery site said it reached a $10 million community benefits agreement for South and Southwest Philly.
Amid the City Avenue redevelopment boom, some Bala Cynwyd residents are alarmed at the prospect of a multilane traffic-calming roundabout at a key intersection.
New courts are rising after a yearslong wait at what was once the center of North Philadelphia’s playground basketball world.
West Philly native Colman Domingo is making his directorial debut with the 1950s-set film Scandalous.
The NBA is likely to investigate the Sixers’ decision to sit center Joel Embiid for last night’s season opener — a move that is another example of the team’s “unique brand of ridiculousness,” as columnist David Murphy put it.
🧠 Trivia time
A new romance bookshop opened this October in Collingswood. What is its punny name?
A) Book Lovers
B) Under the Cover
C) Kiss & Tale
D) A Novel Romance
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
⚽ Swiping to choose: Which Union players should stay or go after a lackluster season.
🍣 Visiting: These 21 new restaurants opening in the Philly suburbs this fall.
🏗️ Considering: Urban design principles to make a Center City Sixers arena a civic asset, if it moves forward.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
The oldest continuously inhabited residential street in the United States
FREESTYLE HALL
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Stuart Jay, who solved Wednesday’s anagram: Kenny Gamble. The Philly Sound, a documentary about the music this songwriter-producer made along with Leon Huff and other legends of the Philadelphia soul genre, is screening at the Philadelphia Film Festival this week.
Photo of the day
📹 One last civic thing: Politics reporter Aliya Schneider rounded up the most searched questions about the 2024 election in Pennsylvania. Watch her answer them here.
Thanks, as always, for starting your day with The Inquirer. See you back here tomorrow.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.