Defying the code of silence | Morning Newsletter

Welcome to a new week, Philly.

Today, we have the story of how one brave 18-year-old helped solve four murders and convict a West Philly gang, despite ongoing threats to his own safety. And across Pennsylvania, the fight for private school vouchers is back — with new strategies from both sides.

Let’s get into it on this hot, mostly sunny Monday.

— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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In summer 2021, the city’s most violent year on record, four teens died at the hands of a prolifically dangerous West Philadelphia gang. Most were unrelated to the gang’s feuds — a case of mistaken identity, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A then-18-year-old who had overheard details about the four killings was arrested that September for an unrelated crime. He offered information to police in exchange for an expunged record, and an eased conscience. His testimony ended up helping law enforcement officials solve the homicides and put the killers behind bars.

It’s extremely dangerous for witnesses to gang violence to come forward. But because he did, the families of the young victims got justice.

The risk he took is not lost on the slain teens’ mothers: “He was a hero to me,” one told The Inquirer.

Read gun violence reporter Ellie Rushing’s harrowing report about how prosecutors built their case against the gang members, the toll the case has taken on the anonymous witness’ life, and why he felt it was worth the risks. Then, read about four of the gang’s youngest victims killed in 2021, as remembered by their families: Nasir Marks, 18; Kanye Pittman, 15; Kaylin Jahad “K.J.” Johnson, 16; and Tommie Frazier, 18.

As Pennsylvania lawmakers head into the annual June wrangling to adopt next year’s budget, school vouchers are once again on the table.

Catch up quick: Voucher programs divert education tax dollars to families who want to send their children to private or religious schools, subsidizing their tuition. In Pennsylvania, they tend to be favored by Republicans and rejected by Democrats, who say they’d rather see public dollars go to improving public schools.

Last year’s fight: A $100 million voucher program to send some students in low-performing districts to private schools made it into Gov. Josh Shapiro’s inaugural budget before dying in the Democrat-controlled House.

Where Shapiro fits: The governor is a Democrat, but pledged to be a bipartisan leader in the purple state. He’s made school vouchers a key part of his agenda.

This time around: Before the next budget is approved and set to take effect July 1, both sides are drumming up support. School-choice advocates are backed by the likes of Jeffrey Yass, a Trump ally and Pennsylvania’s richest man, while detractors include School District of Philadelphia’s employee union and several City Council members.

State government reporter Gillian McGoldrick explains the latest in the voucher feud.

The famed singer Marian Anderson was born in South Philly, but spent her later years in another place that now honors her with murals, portraits in municipal buildings, and a costume collection at its eponymous museum. Where is it?

A) Manchester, England

B) Washington, D.C.

C) Danbury, Connecticut

D) New York City

Think you know? Check your answer.

🚲 Studying: Our new guide on bike safety laws and riders’ rights.

🧀 Training for: Next year’s cheese-rolling competition.

6️⃣2️⃣ Learning: 62 facts about the Eagles’ former #62 in honor of Jason Kelce Day (one day late).

This town in New Jersey’s Camden County hosts a free, weekly ballroom dancing class for the blind and visually impaired.

FIDO HANDLED

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Rick Eisenberg, who solved Sunday’s anagram: Wild with Happy. West Philly-raised actor, director, and playwright Colman Domingo is adapting his dark comedy into an audio play.

📬 Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if you’re not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again — or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.

This “only in Philly” story comes from Inquirer digital producer Tommy Rowan, who proves that sometimes you *can* meet your heroes:

On the afternoon of Super Bowl Sundee, Feb. 4, 2018, the football gods sent a sign. Hours before kickoff, waiting for my take-out pizza, I met my hero.

Gary Smith is a Delaware native and a LaSalle University graduate who covered the Eagles for the Philly Daily News before ascending to superstar status at Sports Illustrated. The Tom Brady of magazine writers. His work was deeply reported, surprisingly insightful, and carefully crafted. He borrowed tools of novelists, psychologists, philosophers, theologians. Sports was just a lens.

And there he was, twirling his wife in front of a Frank Sinatra cosplayer covering the hits.

I rushed over. “You’re Gary Smith!” He was taken aback. “How did you recognize me?” I didn’t have enough time to explain my endless list of quirks since my square pizza was ready and I was late for my family’s party. So I quickly added that this fortuitous meeting could be a great sign, and then regretfully slapped him on the back.

Only in Philly can you meet your hero in a bar called Stogie Joe’s, and hours before the city received its validation.

Thanks for starting your week with The Inquirer. See you again tomorrow morning!

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