Relive the Phillies' 07 run. 'Goldbergs' returns. More lead in Fishtown | Morning Newsletter
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We've got so much great stuff today, I couldn't even fit it all in. Start with a devastating look at what it's like to be dying behind bars, and end with the 1933 tale of a South Philly parish that loved a priest so much, they kidnapped him. If you like what you're reading, it's free to sign up here to get it in your inbox every weekday. I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas and feedback, so please respond to this email, tweet me @JS_Parks, or reach our social team on Facebook.
— Jessica Parks
» READ MORE: For dying inmates, ‘compassionate release’ often comes too late
While Frank Rodriguez was serving time at Graterford Prison, he had colon cancer that left him so debilitated he needed help eating, bathing, and turning on his side. After navigating a paper maze of forms and records, obtaining a judge's approval and wearing an electronic monitor on an ankle already too weak to walk, Rodriguez was approved in August for compassionate-release to live out his days in hospice care.
He died a day and a half later.
Compassionate release is a long and consuming process, and more people than ever are dying in prison. Their caregivers are often other inmates.
» READ MORE: Relive the day that launched a Phillies championship era
The year was 2007. The Phillies had come from behind to enter the last day of the season at 88-73 — in a dead tie with the Mets. When the Phils came out of the dugout against Washington that Sunday afternoon, no one knew it would be the beginning of something special.
Sports writers Matt Breen and Matt Gelb take us back to that September day, 10 years ago, when the Phillies started a championship era.
Relive the day through the words of Harry Kalas and players from both teams, video clips, and the front pages that chronicled a run that has galvanized the team and its fans ever since.
» READ MORE: A Main Line financier goes on trial
Charles Hallinan, a Wharton grad and Villanova resident, helped create the multimillion-dollar payday lending industry. You could call him a prominent financier, you could call him a loan shark, and starting today, a federal judge will call him "the defendant" as Hallinan faces trial on racketeering charges.
Over two decades as the government tried to crack down on the industry, which extracts sky-high interest out of the impoverished Americans least able to afford it, Hallinan's various companies were raking in more than $688 million — one low-dollar, high-interest loan at a time. He and his lawyer (who is also charged with racketeering) say it was all perfectly legal.
Reporter Jeremy Roebuck says the trial is expected to last at least a month and could shape future Justice Department efforts to use racketeering laws to prosecute abusive lenders.
What you need to know today
No notice was given and no protections taken, residents say, before heavy machines began demolishing a former lead smelter in Fishtown, sending plumes of likely toxic dust through a tightly packed neighborhood of rowhouses. Residents raised hell and the city shut it down.
In an Alabama Senate primary with national implications, firebrand former Judge Roy Moore (the guy backed by Steve Bannon, Sarah Palin, and other Beltway outsiders) beat the more moderate appointed incumbent, "Big Luther" Strange (the guy backed by President Trump and Sen. Mitch McConnell).
Freezing your credit report after the Equifax breach? It'll cost you more in Pennsylvania than other states.
Last night in East Germantown, a quadruple shooting killed a 16-year-old, and injured an 11-year-old and two others.
Friends and relatives keep asking Jacquie Gormley if she's heard from her son in Puerto Rico. A week after Hurricane Maria slammed into the island, Gormley's still giving the same devastating answer: No.
Columnist Jenice Armstrong questions why the Fraternal Order of Police is holding not just a fundraiser, but a support event for Ryan Pownall, the officer suspended for fatally shooting a man in the back.
Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly
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That’s Interesting
Curb Your Enthusiasm is coming back Sunday and I, for one, refuse to curb mine. Richard Lewis, lovable curmudgeon sidekick, makes the wait a bit more bearable in this hilarious interview about socks and mortality.
And tonight, The Goldbergs returns with everyone's favorite Jenkintown family and most cringe-worthy '80s memories. In an interview (before a Phillies game) with our TV critic Ellen Gray, show creator Adam F. Goldberg promises a break from the usual formula this season.
In Wildwood, at 11 a.m. every summer day since "forever," the boardwalk and time itself stand still when the national anthem plays. Don't expect any anthem protests to be tolerated there.
The FDA has approved a kit for preventing peanut allergies in children. Like vaccines, it protects through measured exposure.
They sizzle when cooked, smell like barbecue, and even develop a char. We call these veggie burgers "a game-changer."
In what seems like an obvious slam dunk, Penn State researchers are turning crab shells into durable containers for takeout food.
Opinions
City officials talk a big game about police reform and beefing up oversight by the Police Advisory Commission. But if PAC's funding level is any indication, Christopher Norris says, it will instead remain "an apathetic afterthought."
Jon Geeting at Philadelphia 3.0 has five suggestions for SEPTA to improve Philly's bus service. (And if this topic interests you, please register for our public forum Monday, "Does Philly have the bus service it deserves?".)
What we’re reading
With students calling for Patrick O'Connor to step down from Temple University's board of trustees, the Temple News delves into the chairman's connections to Bill Cosby.
People in New Jersey are ranked among the happiest. Could that be because of the state's great food? Food & Wine explores.
Deadspin looks at how Pat Tillman, who left behind an NFL career to join the Army, came to be associated with a protest movement 13 years after his death.
Texas Monthly takes a deep dive on the survivors of Hurricane Harvey — and tells the story entirely from their perspective.
Your Daily Dose of | History
"Father Gatt is here and we love him and we will not let him leave … he is our prisoner." That's what a protest spokesperson said after angry members of a South Philadelphia parish took a priest captive to fight a merger with another church in 1933.