Parents denied video of child’s school injuries | Morning Newsletter
Plus, a neighbor plays Cupid
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The Morning Newsletter
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Rise and shine, Philly. It’s Sunday again, and sunshine is in store with a high near 73.
Looking forward to fall foliage? The next few weeks of weather will be critical for those gorgeous colors to shine. Tony Wood offers this leafy forecast for Philly and beyond.
An incident at a Bristol Township school left a kindergarten student bloodied last spring. Our lead story explores the legal and psychological fallout as the child’s family presses officials to release video footage of what happened.
— Paola Pérez (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
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Steve Callahan is still trying to figure out exactly how his son, Grayson, was hurt in the cafeteria at Keystone Elementary.
In May, Callahan found Grayson at the school with a gash on his forehead and impacted teeth, wearing a different shirt than the one he went to school with. He would later discover Grayson’s actual shirt was covered in blood.
Callahan was told that Grayson was pushed into a table by an older child with special needs who was unattended at the time. “It was an accident,” Callahan remembers hearing staff members say as his son screamed from the nurse’s office.
Staff said they would “have to watch the cameras” to determine what happened. But when he asked to see the video, the Bristol Township School District refused his request due to privacy concerns.
In his own words: “That district is not being transparent with parents,” Callahan said. He said that problems “could be completely avoided if special needs students got the care they deserve, instead of whatever they have available.”
Grayson is now enrolled in virtual school. Callahan says his son is uncomfortable in crowded spaces and has trouble focusing.
K-12 reporter Maddie Hanna has the story on an investigation conducted by the Bucks County Intermediate Unit into the matter, and a potential lawsuit against the district and BCIU.
What you should know today
Opponents of the 76ers’ arena proposed near Philadelphia’s Chinatown endured rains and winds to rally and march against the project Saturday.
Expect road closures around Center City ahead of Tuesday night’s presidential debate at the National Constitution Center.
Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration has reached an agreement with the union that represents thousands of the city’s professional and supervisory staff, ending a monthslong stalemate and extending workers’ existing contract for a year.
Police are searching for a New Jersey man they say shot and killed a bystander during a fight that broke out in Kensington late last month.
A Plymouth Meeting woman has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Lower Merion Township and its police department over an incident last year in which an officer used a Taser on her four times during a traffic stop.
The United States is accusing Russian plotters of meddling with the presidential election again, and Pennsylvania is among the alleged targets.
SEPTA is cutting back on remote work for its administrative workers starting in November.
Collingswood voters will decide on a controversial $44.5 million school bond referendum, the largest in its history, that would close two schools and restructure grades to address racial disparities.
A thief stole $1,200 worth of vintage T-shirts from a South Philly boutique that just opened its doors in June. The owners are not hopeful they’ll find the shirts, but they are trying to see the bright side.
Artist Jesse Krimes created a piece to call attention to the harm inflicted at Riker’s Island, New York City’s largest jail. He walked us through the many hidden details in his work, now on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 15.
Frustrated with the modern dating scene, Dylan Morganstein, 28, came to his Center City neighbor Lisa DePaulo with his head in his hands.
DePaulo, a tough reporter with bylines in New York and Philadelphia magazines, was confounded by the situation. Why can’t her nice, young friend find love?
Then she decided to intervene. Enter: “The Dylan Project.”
DePaulo doesn’t pretend to be in the same league as the pros. And as far as her love life goes, she considers herself to be “terminally single.” But the project has pulled a social media following in support of its mission, and she believes success is just one date away.
Let reporter Rita Giordano fill you in on DePaulo’s quest to find romantic bliss for Morganstein.
❓Pop quiz
Personal finance will soon be a high school graduation requirement in Pennsylvania, so consumer reporter Erin McCarthy created a financial literacy quiz to test our knowledge.
What is NOT in your credit report?
A) Your history of repaying debts
B) Personal references
C) Whether you’ve been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy
D) Personal information like where you work and live
Think you know? Check your answer in the full quiz.
🧩 Unscramble the anagram
Hint: A roaring standing ovation from roughly 42,000 people turned the 2023 season around for this Phillies shortstop.
RETREAT RUN
Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Justin Solonynka who correctly guessed Saturday’s answer: Ricketts Glen. The state park about a 2½-hour drive from Philadelphia is home to one of the most scenic trails in the state with 21 waterfalls.
Photo of the day
🎶 Today’s track goes like this: “Are we already up from the dream? / Or do we need to wake up again?”
Feeling major FOMO for not going to St. Vincent’s Friday night concert at The Met. She had a fun chat with our pop critic Dan DeLuca where she declared: “I love Philly.” Turns out she worked on her latest record All Born Screaming with Philadelphia visual artist Alex Da Corte in Juniata, and even did shots with a fan in Fishtown.
👋🏽 That’s it for now. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Inquirer.