Philly police rethink youth arrests | Morning Newsletter
And a hometown presidential library.
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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 Wednesday. We’ll likely see showers today, with high temps in the mid-80s.
In our lead story below, learn about competing efforts to divert kids from the justice system, as Philadelphia’s new police chief upends years of work on a juvenile assessment center.
And yes, it’s early — but as President Joe Biden approaches his final months in office, we look ahead to where his future presidential library might be based. (Philly, perhaps?)
Here’s what you need to know today.
— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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The months-old Juvenile Assessment Center (JAC) aims to bring all kids under arrest in Philly to one centralized, trauma-informed hub of resources, where families can access help and some youth can be diverted out of the justice system into community-based programs. Advocates say it’s been working.
But a new mayoral administration and police leadership means new processes.
Long-held plans: The JAC was in the works for six years before it opened in November in a former police precinct near the Barnes Museum. Since then, more than 1,100 young people have passed through its doors, about 10% of whom were diverted from the court system.
Bethel’s idea: The city’s new police commissioner, Kevin J. Bethel, wants to avoid putting kids stopped for low-level offenses in squad cars in the first place. Instead, his plan is to train beat officers to divert some cases out of the system at the point of arrest. He believes Philadelphia can become a “national model” for youth diversion.
Advocates’ concerns: Under the new proposal, kids who are not deemed eligible for diversion would go back to being processed at police division booking facilities. Supporters of the JAC also doubt that cops could provide the same level of individualized support as the JAC’s social workers.
Most former presidents in recent history have built a library in their name, and usually in a place that’s meaningful to them. Barack Obama’s is under construction in Chicago. George W. Bush’s is in Dallas. Donald Trump doesn’t have one yet, but some speculate he’ll build one in Trump Tower or Florida.
Where would Biden put his?
Somewhere in Delaware, his adopted home state and the birthplace of his political career, would certainly make sense. But his ties to Philadelphia are strong, too.
What you should know today
A 16-year-old boy was killed Tuesday afternoon by several assailants who fired more than 50 shots while chasing the teen in Oxford Circle, police said.
Longtime U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey will resign Aug. 20. His announcement that comes days after most of his Democratic colleagues called on him to step down following a federal bribery conviction.
Four years after she first ran for president, Kamala Harris’ career as a prosecutor went from being a liability to a strength for Philly Democrats. Meanwhile, tying Harris to the perceived misfires of the Biden administration is the primary GOP message now in play in the key swing state.
Who will Harris pick for her VP? You can swipe through The Inquirer’s “Choose or Lose” game to cast your vote, but online gamblers are betting on Josh Shapiro. The Pennsylvania governor is attracting hype for his commanding win in 2022 — albeit against a very weak opponent.
In other election news: Pennsylvania is ahead of all other states in political ad spending this election year, and Black sororities are mobilizing to get out the vote.
Last week’s tech outage left Penn Medicine with 50,000 inoperable computers, forcing delays in care. Penn’s cautious approach contributed to the lag in its operations.
Nearly 200 apartments are planned in a new seven-story building on the Delaware riverfront, near the Waterfront Square towers, while Frankford CDC is planning a mixed-income apartment building next to the El.
The Inquirer’s Olympics coverage continues: When Team USA field hockey last medaled in the summer Games, the team featured several players with local ties — much like this year’s team. One from Berks County is “grateful” to be living her Olympic vision after cancer treatment.
🧠 Trivia time
For the first time in a decade and a half, Republicans just outpaced Democrats in voter registration in which Philadelphia collar county?
A) Bucks County
B) Chester County
C) Delaware County
D) Montgomery County
Think you know? Check your answer.
What we’re...
🎀 Moving into: This pink, retro-inspired Jersey home with a viral Zillow posting.
📺 Wondering: If we’ll see a Trump-Harris debate.
🥇 Watching: The U.S. men’s soccer team take on France this afternoon.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Philly’s largest LGBTQ health agency.
INTERMEZZO CAN
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Cornelia Fitts, who solved Tuesday’s anagram: Northern Liberties. The neighborhood is getting an Amazon-owned supermarket at Sixth and Spring Garden Streets.
Photo of the day
🍾 One last discovered thing: A South Jersey woman is trying to solve the mystery of an old bottle and its message she found down the Shore earlier this month. Could it really be from 1876? If so, it may be the world’s oldest message in a bottle.
Have a great Wednesday. Back at it tomorrow.
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