Doug Pederson's Super expectations, ousted Temple dean was school rainmaker | Morning Newsletter
Good morning, Philadelphia. Welcome to the start of another week. If you weren’t one of the many neighbors who joined a replay of the Super Bowl on South Street yesterday, don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of Eagles nostalgia for you this morning. Reporter Zach Berman joined an interview with their fearless leader coach Doug Pederson, who talked all about the high expectations he’s facing this season. It’s a much different world for him than it was one year ago. My colleagues Erin Arvedlund and Susan Snyder have also dug into the past of ousted Temple business dean Moshe Porat and what he meant to the school. He’s left the university following a scandal over national rankings. All this and more ahead — let the work week begin.
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— Aubrey Nagle (@aubsn, morningnewsletter@philly.com)
Eagles coach Doug Pederson enters 2018 NFL season with Super expectations
Doug Pederson’s life is split in two: before Feb. 4, 2018 and after. Leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl hasn’t just made him a local hero, complete with regular autograph lines and speaking engagements galore.
It’s also hoisted him into an elite club. He’s now viewed as one of the NFL’s best coaches. But, just a year ago, a former NFL executive called him the least qualified coach he had ever seen. Understatement of the year: times have changed. Now he’s facing a new season and much higher expectations.
In other (sadder) Eagles news, running back Darren Sproles has announced that the 2018 season will be his last.
Ousted Temple dean Moshe Porat was a rainmaker for the business school
Did Temple University’s business school knowingly use false data about its online M.B.A. program to improve its national rankings? That’s what the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office will be investigating, it announced Friday.
The scandal has rocked the school and the longtime Fox School of Business dean, Moshe Porat, has since been ousted. The news follows U.S. News and World Report dropping the Temple program from its rankings in January due to the false data.
For Fox’s coffers, at least, Porat leaves big shoes to fill. Over the past 22 years, he’s helped raise tens of millions of dollars for its expansion.
N.J. adding $351 million to schools, and ‘moms’ help make it happen
For years, New Jersey parents have been campaigning to change how the state pays for public schools. The state has continually failed to fulfill is formula for distributing money, which also limits how much additional money growing districts can get.
That’s all about to change thanks in no small part to the Fair Funding Action Committee, started by Jen Cavallaro-Fromm, then a board member for the Swedesboro-Woolwich District, in 2009.
Nearly 400 districts will get more money from the state next year, but 172 other districts will lose some — and, for some advocates, that’s exactly what’s needed.
What you need to know today
Ray Emery, a former Flyers goalie who joined the team in 2009, drowned in Ontario Sunday at age 35. “Ray was a great teammate and an even better friend,” Flyers captain Claude Giroux wrote on Twitter.
Local developer Sean Schellenger was killed Thursday night in a stabbing in Rittenhouse Square and a 20-year-old college student and poet has been charged with his murder. Witnesses say it all stemmed from an altercation during traffic which took a deadly turn.
As you’ve probably heard by now if you care to know, France won the World Cup against Croatia Sunday. Sadly for Croatian fans in Philly, who gathered for a watch party at Chickie’s and Pete’s, their team came up short.
A scathing condemnation by lawyers for current and former Pennsylvania clergy named in a pending grand jury report on child abuse has revealed the report names at least 90 allegedly abusive clergy who officials suggest belonged to the Pittsburgh Diocese alone. The report is nearly 900 pages long and chronicles abuses and cover-ups in six of the state’s eight dioceses.
In the 911 call Delicia Cordon made the night she was assaulted, she told the dispatcher she believed the attack had “something to do with my ex-boyfriend,” former Eagle LeSean McCoy.
Years ago, most states green-lighted the use of cameras and recording devices in trial courtrooms, but Pennsylvania is among the last holdouts. Philly judges appear open to letting them in, but not everyone is ready for the cameras to roll.
Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly
A post shared by Charles Lasvigne (@charleslasvigne) on Jul 14, 2018 at 5:10pm PDT
Au revoir, Bastille Day at Eastern State Penitentiary! Glad @charleslasvigne could capture a bit for us.
Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and we’ll pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!
That’s Interesting
It was a newsy weekend for the Phillies’ World Series-winning class of 2008. Chase Utley announced he is retiring, prompting questions of a trip to the Hall of Fame, and Cole Hamels said a trade to the Phillies would be a “blessing.”
A task force in New Jersey has recommended that towns with fewer than 5,000 residents should be required to merge. The residents of one of those towns, Hi-Nella, aren’t sold.
Cigarettes are falling out of favor among Philly teens, but flavored (and just as harmful) cigarillos are only becoming more popular and the Pennsylvania legislature just removed one of the city’s best tools to stop it.
Heading into his rookie season, Sixers newbie Zhaire Smith knows it’ll be hard work transitioning from being a power forward to a shooting guard, but if his past is any indication, he’s used to defying the odds.
Taylor Swift stopped in Philadelphia on her world tour this weekend but it was a fan that stole the show backstage with a surprise proposal.
Philly may love its beer gardens, but residents aren’t too happy with Chestnut Hill Brewing Co. and its late hours. Those who live nearby are suing the owners.
Opinions
“I have much less confidence that any of the conservatives now on the court nor any new appointments – by a president who openly flouts the rule of law and who repeatedly promised to appoint a justice who would overrule Roe – will have the courage to act as Justice Kennedy did.” — Kathryn Kolbert, a public interest attorney who argued Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992, on why she’s terrified the Supreme Court will overrule Roe v. Wade.
After Robert Mueller indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers for meddling in the U.S. election, President Trump proved he’s “the perfect patsy” for Vladimir Putin ahead of their meeting, writes columnist Trudy Rubin.
Given its history, the alteration or elimination of ICE may be justified, but not before its opponents have a clear plan for what should take its place, writes the Inquirer Editorial Board.
What we’re reading
North Philly native Najee Richardson has been wowing crowds on American Ninja Warrior, so Philadelphia Magazine caught up with the phenom to learn all about his workout regimen (plenty of eye-popping videos included).
Donte ‘Cupcakee’ Rumph’s pro football career has had plenty of ups and downs. As Billy Penn reports, the former Philadelphia Soul player now wants a crack at the Eagles. It would certainly make a great underdog story.
The roll-out of the SEPTA Key hasn’t been all smiles for those in need who use free tokens to get around. WHYY’s latest explains how SEPTA is trying to make it right.
Now that some children separated from their parents at the U.S. border have been reunited, they’re telling their stories. The New York Times spoke with children who described not being allowed to touch siblings and how they cleaned the toilets at their detention facilities in disturbing interviews.
The Hollywood Reporter’s tale of a con-woman impersonating Hollywood heavyweights to make money and sparking a global investigation along the way is almost too strange to believe. It might make a good movie, actually.
Your Daily Dose of | Craft Beer
If you want to break into Philly’s beloved and competitive craft beer scene, you have to study up. Luckily, there’s a school for that: the University of Sciences’ brewing science program.
