Imported mushrooms killing American farms; post-shutdown delays loom for Immigration Court | Morning Newsletter
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When you read that a purchase is a “Product of the USA,” you’re pretty much assuming it was made here, right? Well, apparently that line gets a little fuzzy when it comes to mushrooms, and it’s putting the squeeze on mushroom growers in our region. My colleague Sam Wood’s report may have you rethinking your shiitake purchases. And yes, the government shutdown is indeed over, for now. But the mess it left behind has yet to be cleaned up. A look at how Immigration Courts will be impacted makes for a startling read this morning.
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— Aubrey Nagle (@aubsn, morningnewsletter@philly.com)
Kennett Square, Pa., is known as the Mushroom Capital of the World. But Oakshire Mushroom Farms and several other mushroom producers in Southeastern Pennsylvania say their business is being clobbered by imports.
Oakshire, for instance, is laboring under more than $10 million in debt and has filed for bankruptcy.
Making matters worse, mushrooms that originate in China are being labeled “Product of the USA” thanks to a regulatory quirk.
The partial government shutdown has ended and the government has reopened (for now, at least). But that doesn’t mean everything goes right back to normal, especially for the Immigration Courts.
During the shutdown, immigration hearings were cancelled at a rate approaching 20,000 per week.
That means some migrants who have already waited two, three, or even four years for hearings may have to wait two or three more.
In the last election, Burlington County Democrats won over the county’s governing body. This month they took control, and they’ve already taken aim at a pipeline project in the Pinelands.
The controversial $180 million Southern Reliability Link pipeline cuts through the federally protected million-acre tract.
Now Democrats want the chairman of the Pinelands Commission to step down and the fight is escalating in the courts.
What you need to know today
Remember when Philadelphia was “missing” $33 million from its books? Well, it turns out it wasn’t actually missing. Now just $528,000 remains unaccounted for.
Bad news for Atlantic City Rail Line users: NJ Transit has acknowledged that it will not resume service this month. Instead it hopes to return between April and June.
Last month a judge ruled that convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal should be allowed to reargue his appeal before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, but on Friday the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office appealed the ruling.
Earlier this month, top Pennsylvania Senate Democrats launched a formal investigation into a sexual assault allegation against State Sen. Daylin Leach, but emails show they knew of the allegation nearly a year ago.
The Haverford School District is planning to close its Brookline School building, frustrating parents who depend on the facility’s child-care program and sending them scrambling.
A win for conservationists: a Chester Springs farmhouse built in 1775 and once owned by art collector Albert C. Barnes will be preserved, along with 137 acres of historic property, thanks to nonprofit Natural Lands.
Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly
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That’s Interesting
Turns out Scottish actor (and star of M. Night Shyamalan’s new movie, Glass) James McAvoy can pull off a pretty great Philly accent. The evidence? An odd Saturday Night Live skit.
At one point, T. J. McConnell said the Sixers' Process was complete but it didn’t look that way Saturday night without Joel Embiid. JJ Redick, at least, is having an All-Star type season.
Actress Helen Mirren played host for the Academy of Music’s 162nd Anniversary Concert over the weekend and she said things like, “hoagie,” “jawn," and “Double Doink.”
Temple students are having a good Monday. For the first time, they can now use their phones to scan into their dorms or get dining access.
Libraries are not lost upon digital natives. Philly millennials hold more library cards than baby boomers and Gen Xers and they rely on their community services.
Opinions
“Yes, we’re so afraid of asking people to move their cars that we’re going to deputize a small army of trash blowers to push rubbish under, around, and possibly over parked cars and into the path of the aforementioned street sweepers.” — Columnist Mike Newall on the city’s loud, odd, and very Philly solution to our filthy streets.
In Philly, mothers who lose children to gun violence often seek justice themselves by investigating and, columnist Helen Ubiñas writes, perhaps they should formalize their efforts.
The government may be open (at least temporarily) but we should end the State of the Union Address for good, writes columnist John Baer.
What we’re reading
Billy Penn’s look at why Philly cops still abandon drivers on the side of the road when they impound their cars is a must-read, complete with a disturbing tale from a Code Blue night.
Celebri-chef Jose Garces nearly lost his restaurant empire last year, but Philadelphia Weekly reports that now he’s even more determined to follow his passion.
Philly certainly isn’t the fashion capital of the world, but the city has its own sense of style and Philadelphia Magazine says it’s getting a leg-up from these trendsetters.
Some people like ballet and some people really like ballet. The Washington Post’s chat with ballet dancers and their über devoted fans is a fascinating look at fandom.
A Daily Dose of | Activism
A Camden school nurse has turned her wish to end gun violence into a grassroots arts campaign, symbolized by empty desks painted by students