đ Voting with their wallets | Morning Newsletter
And Kensington teens bloom.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Morning, Philly. With another sunny week, itâs official: The region has matched a record for dryness that dates to the dawn of official weather recordkeeping in the United States.
In battleground Pennsylvania and beyond, some supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump make spending decisions based on their politics. Our lead story today explores how shoppers navigate when business and politics collide.
And a Kensington garden project is cultivating community by keeping teens busy and cleaning vacant lots. Read on for these stories and more.
â Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
P.S. This is your reminder that tomorrow at 5 p.m. is the deadline to apply for mail-in voting, and Election Day, Nov. 5, at 8 p.m. is the deadline to correct or return a mail-in ballot.
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A Main Line deli where a pro-Trump ad was filmed. An ice cream maker that advocates for âprogressive social change.â A home improvement retailer cofounded by a billionaire Republican donor. Depending on a voterâs political leanings, one may be more or less likely to patronize these businesses.
đ Consumers on both sides of the political aisle have participated in boycotts of companies that donât align with their principles. Countering such actions are those who join âbuycottsâ â supporting a company because of its values, whether those values are perceived or explicitly stated.
đ âGiving them $100 a week and propping up something I donât believe in, it just feels wrong,â one former customer of Hymieâs Deli told The Inquirer. Meanwhile, another customer plans to visit more since the controversial Republican Jewish Coalition ad aired: âI want to go there soon and get a corned beef sandwich before the election.â
đ Yet some consumers choose to enact consumer politics selectively. The Trump supporter at Hymieâs says she can still love Bruce Springsteen, the Jersey-born music superstar who recently endorsed Harris. (Alongside former President Barack Obama, the longtime Democrat is hosting a hybrid concert-rally at the Liacouras Center today.)
In other election news:
Harris stopped at churches and small businesses in predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods during a daylong visit to Philly Sunday. It came as the vice presidentâs campaign is bringing big star power to the city in an effort to boost turnout among critical voters.
Trump will be in Drexel Hill Tuesday for a roundtable event on senior citizens issues. Plus, five Pennsylvania Republicans who signed on to the former presidentâs 2020 slate of alternate electors are back this year â and some say theyâre prepared to do it again.
In Kensington, teens are getting paid $18 an hour to transform empty lots into public gardens.
The work comes by way of Klean Kensington, founded to keep young people occupied and neighborhood spaces trash-free. Theyâve rehabbed six parcels so far, with as many as 50 kids participating.
Itâs a small fix in an area where an open-air drug market thrives. But participants say itâs made a hugely positive difference in their lives, and in their perception of their community.
What you should know today
Twenty-nine-year-old candidate Joe Picozzi could become Philadelphiaâs only GOP state senator. But the cityâs party isnât standing behind him.
The union representing SEPTAâs bus, trolley and subway operators approved a strike, but hasnât planned one yet.
A popular wedding and event venue at Bartramâs Garden was heavily damaged in a blaze early Sunday morning.
The legislation Councilmember Mark Squilla introduced Thursday to allow the 76ers to move forward with a basketball arena on East Market Street included a bill to create special zoning rules for neighboring Chinatown.
Amid health-care market shifts, 138-year-old nonprofit Visiting Nurse Association of Greater Philadelphia is shutting down today.
Stanley C. Middleman is the Philliesâ newest owner. The sole owner of Freedom Mortgage made his fortune from home loans.
A South Jersey educator known as the âMeat Teacherâ turned his passion for barbecue into a teaching mission.
đ§ Trivia time
Which is not a rule related to displaying political lawn signs in Pennsylvania?
A) Lawn signs are protected by the First Amendment
B) Homeowners associations are allowed to restrict political signage
C) Itâs a crime to steal or deface a lawn sign
D) Campaign signs must be removed one week post-election
Think you know? Check your answer.
What weâre...
đ Protecting: Trick-or-treaters from cannabis edibles, allergens, and more this Halloween.
đ Volunteering to be: An extra in Deliver Me From Nowhereâs Asbury Park-filmed scenes.
đž Saluting: This historic South Philly churchâs ministers of rock nâ roll.
𧩠Unscramble the anagram
The Chester County borough thatâs home to an eponymous university
CHEW STREETS
Email us if you know the answer. Weâll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Arlethia Perry-Johnson, who solved Sundayâs anagram: Wells Fargo Center. Chefs at the South Philly arena â which will eventually be renamed â brought new eats to the concession stands this year. Hereâs whatâs on the menu.
Photo of the day
Your âonly in Phillyâ story
đŹ Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if youâre not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again â or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.
This âonly in Phillyâ story comes from reader Chayim Stern, who describes an unforgettable hit at Veterans Stadium:
In the late 1970s and early â80s, I worked as a vendor at Veterans Stadium for concessions company Nilon Brothers. On one particular shift, I was working the third base side on the lower level at the Vet and had just walked past the foul pole. I had just one cup of soda left in my tray with an ice cream vendor right behind me when I noticed the fans in my section beginning to stand up. Suddenly, I realized that a home run ball (hit by Phillies center fielder Garry Maddox) was heading right toward me.
I instinctively raised my hand to try to catch the ball, but in doing so lost my grip on the tray. The ball hit my bare hand and bounced behind me, where the ice cream vendor scooped it up. To my horror, a kid was standing there with a bloodied forehead due to my tray hitting him. I pulled out a folded-up paper towel and applied pressure to stop the bleeding. Amazingly, the kid was calm, but his father went ballistic and I knew this was not the end of the story. I turned to the ice cream vendor and said weâd better give the kid the ball, so I handed him a $5 bill and thatâs exactly what we did.
It was one of the best decisions I ever made, because an inning later, I was called into the Nilon Brothers offices at the stadium to speak with one of their executives. The first question she anxiously asked me was, âDid you give the kid the ball?â When I said we had, she breathed a sigh of relief and said everything would be OK. She told me that there were some pending lawsuits, but none where the injured party got the ball, bat, or whatever. I still had to describe in detail what happened so she could file a report, but she assured me again that I would not get in trouble, and she was right.
The following week on a popular TV show at the time called âThis Week In Baseball,â there was a short clip of Maddoxâs home run with the narrator, Mel Allen, saying that the game was so popular that âeven the vendors are getting into it!â
đ I hope your week gets off to a great start. See you back here tomorrow.
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