How two-time trash pickup is going | Morning Newsletter
And Dugan’s quest to be Philly’s DA
The Morning Newsletter
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Rise and shine, Philly. It’s a chilly Thursday morning, but the sun should help us warm up to a high near 55.
The city started picking up trash twice a week in Center City and South Philly as part of a pilot program. We talked to residents to see if it has improved their blocks four months in.
And former judge Patrick Dugan wants to be Philadelphia’s next district attorney. Further down, read The Inquirer’s profile on the candidate branded “tough-on-crime.”
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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When sanitation workers started stopping by twice a week in Bella Vista, Mike Tieff said there were issues at first, but that the pickups are now consistent.
Meanwhile, Christy in Pennsport said she never knows when the second pickups are going to happen. She said some weeks they come late or not at all, and that their eventual arrival doesn’t offer much relief.
Across the city, residents are offering mixed reviews about the initiative, which aims to improve residents’ quality-of-life and make Philadelphia a cleaner city. At best, some say its impact is marginal. At worst, others say the garbage problem has only compounded.
People have complained about the inconsistency of a second collection. There are missed days, which can lead to more spilled trash.
In their own words: “It’s almost messier the day after they come,” said Christy.
The city wants to expand the program into North and West Philly in the fall. Reporter Nate File spotlights different residents’ experiences, and what officials are saying about the program.
🎤 I’m passing the mic to City Hall reporter Anna Orso and criminal justice reporter Ellie Rushing for this article, the first in a two-part series profiling candidates for Philadelphia district attorney.
Patrick Dugan was an out-of-shape 43-year-old who’d recently had surgery to remove a cancerous growth on his leg. He wasn’t exactly the ideal candidate to ship off to Iraq in 2003 in the aftermath of 9/11.
But Dugan, a paratrooper who had left the Army 15 years earlier and was working as a lawyer for Philadelphia City Council, watched from his couch as other infantrymen deployed to the Middle East. He felt like he’d abandoned his people.
So he said he sweet-talked a military doctor to pass his physical exam, and reenlisted.
It was one of many times in Dugan’s life that he was perhaps not the most obvious candidate for a job, but he jumped into the fray anyway.
Today, he’s a former judge who’s never been a prosecutor running to be Philadelphia district attorney. He’s the lone challenger taking on two-term incumbent Larry Krasner, a face of the national progressive prosecutor movement and a criminal justice reformer who’s enjoyed years of publicity. — Anna Orso and Ellie Rushing
Keep reading to jump into Dugan’s history.
What you should know today
A Philadelphia officer shot during a struggle with a man last week outside a Crescentville hospital was hit by friendly fire from his partner, police said Wednesday.
Police are looking for a 17-year-old they say shot and killed another teen on a SEPTA bus Saturday in West Philadelphia.
At a Wednesday hearing on Capitol Hill, lawmakers were able to ask questions about a controversial group chat on Signal, where sensitive information about airstrikes was mistakenly mentioned in front of a journalist. Two of three Pennsylvania lawmakers avoided it.
Democrats claimed victory in a Lancaster County state Senate district where President Donald Trump won by 15 percentage points in November and where no Democrat has won since the south central district was created in the 1980s.
After two incidents of vandalism, The Portal will be moved from LOVE Park in a couple of weeks, but will be turned back on Friday morning, project organizers say.
Two men accused of leading a violent Frankford drug gang that committed a string of shootings and homicides — including the fatal shooting of Philadelphia SWAT Cpl. James O’Connor IV in 2020 — were found guilty by a jury Tuesday of crimes including racketeering and murder.
The faculty and staff union at Community College of Philadelphia averted a strike and reached a tentative agreement for three new contracts for its members.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s budget will not include money to continue the experimental Zero Fare program that gives free SEPTA passes to about 25,000 Philadelphia residents living in poverty, helping them reach jobs, medical appointments and other destinations.
The Philadelphia Parking Authority is rolling out a new enforcement tool to prevent delivery trucks from spending too much time on some of the most congested roads in the city.
At a moment when few ambitious new real estate projects are being announced, a nearly formed company is planning to bring close to 200 high-end apartments to 21st and Ludlow in Center City.
A distressed red-tailed hawk that drew a small crowd at City Hall on Tuesday is now being treated at a wildlife clinic for his injuries.
John Kruk recently signed a new deal with NBC Sports Philadelphia that will keep him in the booth for Phillies games through the 2028 season.
🧠 Trivia time
Which of the following Philly-area towns did not land among the best places to live in America in a new national ranking?
A) Penn Wynne
B) Chesterbrook
C) Ardmore
D) Havertown
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
👀 Reading: Excerpts of the Signal chat where senior national security officials discussed airstrikes.
🏃 Prepping for: Philadelphia’s popular springtime half marathon this Sunday.
🍾 Popping: Bottles at the best BYOBs on the Main Line.
🤧 Learning: Why pollen is so hard to predict and track, especially now that pollen season is underway.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: The Phillies’ “Showman”
BREACH PERRY
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.
Cheers to Jim Diamond, who solved Wednesday’s anagram: Majdal Bakery. At the pastry shop in Queen Village, Kenan Rabah combines childhood memories of baked goods in the Golan Heights with techniques and inspirations learned in Philadelphia. (And thanks to Jim, and Judy Pidgeon, for pointing out the scramble was missing a letter. Sorry about that!)
Will Smith returned to his West Philly neighborhood where a street was renamed in his honor. He left with a key to the city and some swag.
👋🏽 Thanks for starting your morning with The Inquirer.
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