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✈️ From Philly to Paris | Morning Newsletter

And remember the soda tax?

Philly native Jeannine A. Cook sets up for her pop-up bookshop and symposium on Josephine Baker at the American University of Paris on Oct. 3, 2023. Cook owns Harriett's Bookshop in Fishtown and Ida’s Bookshop in Collingswood, NJ. Josephine’s Bookshop at American University is the second time this year that Cook opened a Paris pop-up of her Philadelphia book store.
Philly native Jeannine A. Cook sets up for her pop-up bookshop and symposium on Josephine Baker at the American University of Paris on Oct. 3, 2023. Cook owns Harriett's Bookshop in Fishtown and Ida’s Bookshop in Collingswood, NJ. Josephine’s Bookshop at American University is the second time this year that Cook opened a Paris pop-up of her Philadelphia book store.Read moreHeather Khalifa / Staff Photographer
    by Taylor Allen
    Published 

    The Morning Newsletter

    Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

Happy Tuesday. The sun will be out, but it won’t be warm. The high will reach the mid-40s.

Our lead story follows bookseller Jeannine A. Cook as she builds an international reputation for turning bookselling into an art form, starting in Paris.

— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Following the ancestors to France

Jeannine A. Cook, owner of Harriett’s Bookshop in Fishtown, traveled to France to lead the American University of Paris’ first symposium honoring Josephine Baker, the footloose and fancy-free cabaret dancer, civil rights leader, and World War II spy.

The symposium also celebrated the university’s debut of Josephine’s Bookshop, Cook’s latest traveling literary salon.

Some context: Cook opened Harriett’s Bookshop — named for the emancipator, abolitionist, and Civil War spy Harriet Tubman — in February of 2020 and became known as Philadelphia’s most influential bookseller. She’s an advocate of Black people turning to literacy as a form of self-care and sees books about the Black American experience as tools communities can use to rise up against racism.

Read more to follow Cook as she builds her international reputation and finds parallels with strong Black figures in history.

When you’re done there, have a closer look at Black culture in Paris and read the stories of expats from Philly in the City of Light.

A look back at Mayor Kenney’s soda tax

Mayor Kenney’s soda tax was controversial once upon a time.

Nowadays, not so much.

The 1.5 cents-per-ounce levy took effect in 2017, made Philly the first big U.S. city to tax soda, and has become a key component of Mayor Jim Kenney’s legacy.

Reminder: The tax caused a political uproar that flooded City Hall with millions of dollars in lobbying, prompted a legal battle in the state Supreme Court, and helped spawn three unsuccessful campaigns in 2019 to deny Kenney a second term.

The tax ended up raising about $480 million that Kenney used to support universal pre-K, community schools, and ongoing effort to update the city’s parks, libraries, and recreation centers.

Continue reading for a better understanding on how the soda tax impacted Kenney’s legacy.

What you should know today

  1. J. Larry Jameson, the University of Pennsylvania’s medical dean, emerged as a leading candidate to become interim president of the university.

  2. The Philadelphia Board of Ethics dropped its case against the super PAC that backed mayoral candidate and grocer Jeff Brown.

  3. Former New Jersey Senate president Steve Sweeney launched his 2025 gubernatorial bid on Monday.

  4. A federal jury on Monday awarded more than $15 million to former Rothman Orthopaedic Institute surgeon John Abraham after jurors found Thomas Jefferson University conducted a gender-biased investigation into rape allegations against him and interfered with his contract with Rothman.

  5. The struggling Philadelphia mall owner PREIT declared bankruptcy for the second time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

  6. Two Philly-area workers reflect on a proposed labor rule change.

  7. The Geminids, the most prolific meteor showers of the year, are about to star over Philly and peak late on Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

🧠 Trivia time

Which one of these has nine 2024 Golden Globe nominations?

A) Barbie

B) Oppenheimer

C) Abbott Elementary

D) The Bear

Think you know? Check your answer.

What we’re...

👀 Watching: If Penn’s leadership upheaval will set a precedent for college presidencies and university operations nationally.

🎧 Reading: A music journalist’s reflections of 50 years of hip-hop.

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: Adonis Creed

BALD CRIME JONAH

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Jan Dalina, who correctly guessed Monday’s answer: Devil’s Pocket.

Photo of the day

Thanks for hanging out this morning. I’ll catch you tomorrow, bright and early. ☀️