🗣️ Swift impact | Morning Newsletter

Happy Friday, Philly. Expect clouds then sun as temps again reach the mid-80s.

Swifties have been rallying for Vice President Kamala Harris even before Taylor Swift’s endorsement. Now their impact is poised to grow — especially in the battleground state where the singer was born.

And people arrested for drug use in Kensington could soon go through a new fast-track court program. But the proposal has advocates worried.

Let’s dig into these stories and more.

— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Standing opposite the young Republicans canvassing for former President Donald Trump are the young women increasingly describing their political views as liberal. Many of them are also Swifties.

🗣️ Speak now: Even before Berks County-born pop superstar Taylor Swift announced her intention to vote for Harris — a post that garnered more than 10 million likes and hundreds of thousands of visits to the federal voter registration website — her fans were organizing for the candidate.

🗣️ In their voting era: The volunteer-run Swifties for Kamala has raised nearly $165,000 for the Harris campaign and sold scores of custom merch. The group is not exclusively young people, but much of its impact involves Gen Z and millennial voters, Fishtown-based campaign manager Annie Wu Henry told The Inquirer.

🗣️ End game: Now, they’re focusing much of their mobilization effort on a certain battleground state. “We are abundantly aware of how important Pennsylvania is in this election cycle,” Henry said.

Politics reporter Aliya Schneider spoke to Swifties about why they’re rallying for Harris and their impact so far.

The Parker administration is developing a plan to speed processing of people arrested for openly using drugs in Kensington.

The “neighborhood wellness court” would give eligible defendants a summary offense and the opportunity to see a judge the same day, instead of the usual wait time of weeks or months. Those arrested could also be connected to addiction services.

Police say the goal of the fast-track program would be to provide accountability and treatment. Yet advocates worry that jails are still not equipped to care for such a medically vulnerable population, and that defendants could be making decisions about their cases or care while going through withdrawal.

The Kensington plans were shared days after a woman arrested in a sweep died in custody, likely due to complications from withdrawal or drug intoxication, her family said authorities told them.

Reporters Ellie Rushing, Samantha Melamed, and Chris Palmer have the story.

Welcome back to Curious Philly Friday. We’ll feature both new and timeless stories from our forum for readers to ask about the city’s quirks.

Yesterday we told you about the Brazilian Eagles fan who went viral for his giant, tinfoil Philadelphia Cream Cheesehead, and a reader wrote in to remind that the dairy brand was founded in New York. Indeed: Despite its name, it has never been a local product.

So today, we’re resurfacing a story on the history of the misleadingly named Philadelphia Cream Cheese, which has been embraced by the city (and its sports fans) nonetheless. Here’s the full explanation.

Have your own burning question about Philadelphia, its local oddities, or how the region works? Submit it here and you might find the answer featured in this space.

Which bank was found by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to have shared false information that tarnished thousands of customers’ credit reports, and must now pay each impacted customer $150?

A) Wells Fargo

B) PFCU

C) TD Bank

D) PNC

Think you know? Check your answer.

🎃 Trying: All the Oktoberfest and fall beers from Philadelphia-area breweries.

📚 Remembering: This week in Philly history, when Girard College quietly admitted its first Black students.

🌆 Considering: What we really want East Market Street to be.

The team that’s just a few games behind our Phillies in the National League standings

WONKY METERS

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Marcia Gallo, who solved Thursday’s anagram: Sarah McBride. The Delaware state senator this week got Democrats’ support toward becoming the first openly transgender U.S. Congress member.

🎈 One last elastic thing: Brian Ward worked for years decorating parties with balloons. Now, he’s making art with them.

You’ll see Paola in your inbox tomorrow and Sunday, and then I’ll be back here Monday. ‘Til then, have a great weekend!

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