The stop-and-frisk debate returns | Morning Newsletter
And the five best concerts this weekend
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 Friday. The weekend is so close and I’m ready.
Crime and public safety is the No. 1 issue in the mayor’s race. Voters are expecting the city’s future top executive to lead the city out of the gun violence crisis.
Mayoral candidate Cherelle Parker has positioned herself as the candidate most likely to deploy stop-and-frisk.
Our lead story explores why she gives the policing tactic another chance.
If you see this 🔑 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.
— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Since last year, Cherelle Parker has been floating the idea that the policing tactic known as stop-and-frisk should be revisited.
The strategy typically encourages officers to stop people on the streets if the officer has “reasonable suspicion” the person’s behavior could be connected to a crime.
Reminders:
Three years ago when Parker was a City Council member, she asked voters to eliminate the practice of unconstitutional stop and frisk, issuing a news release that said there was “no correlation between the elimination of stop-and-frisks and an increase in violent crime.”
Also, the ACLU sued the city in 2010 over the practice because police were overwhelmingly stopping people of color, often without legal justification.
Parker has avoided giving specifics about what her approach looks like but framed it as just one part of her public safety plan.
Opponents call the practice racially biased and ineffective.
Continue reading to learn more about the city’s past stop-and-frisk approach. 🔑
What you should know today
The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corp., a major business leadership group, formally announced its opposition to a Sixers arena in the neighborhood.
Jeff Brown’s rivals slam him for an ethics investigation into his campaign finance activities as the Philadelphia mayor’s race heats up.
Black students in Lower Merion received racist emails and one mother says the school’s response hasn’t been enough.
Docking a salaried employee’s allotted paid time off for failing to meet a productivity standard is legal under federal labor law, according to the court opinion in the Bayada Home Health Care case.
Any size business will soon be able to offer SEPTA passes for their workers.
Boutique hotels have popped up in Philadelphia’s Fishtown section, betting on overnight tourists who don’t want to stay in Center City. 🔑
Our pop music critic Dan DeLuca shared his live music picks in the region.
The choices spotlight women of various genres ranging from R&B to country pop.
Kelsea Ballerini will provide your country pop fix by performing her six-song EP, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, in Atlantic City Friday night.
Neo-soul singer Ari Lennox — my personal favorite — is headlining at the Fillmore on Saturday for her Age/Sex/Location tour.
Liz Wright will bring her mix of blues, jazz, and gospel to City Winery in Philadelphia Friday night.
Read more for the other two concert picks (and five more bonus choices).
🧠 Trivia time 🧠
North Broad Street takes the title of the worst road for traffic in Philly.
But which section of the road?
A) Germantown Avenue to Ridge Avenue (southbound)
B) Germantown Avenue to Oak Lane (northbound)
C) Ridge Avenue to Germantown Avenue (northbound)
D) None of the above
Find out if you know the answer.
What we’re...
📰Reading: An account of Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton’s first few weeks as the first woman and only the second Black person to have the role.
🌲Watching: This video demonstrating how Pennsylvania’s black bear program tags bear cubs in the wild.
🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩
Hint: A popular place in the city for walkers, runners, and cyclists.
We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if you’d like. Cheers to Will Carr, who correctly guessed Thursday’s answer: Spectrum. Email us if you know the answer.
Photo of the day
Make the day count and enjoy your weekend. Ashley will be back to give you the latest news on Sunday.