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Free coffee. Fixing Philly's buses. Corporate intrigue at Facebook. | Morning Newsletter

Follow our photographers through the week in photos. Join us for a public dialogue on Philly's bus system. And tell us what you want to ask of Philly's two D.A. candidates.

DN photo/ G.W. Miller III.
DN photo/ G.W. Miller III.Read moreDN photo/ G.W. Miller III.

It's National Coffee Day and Wawa is giving the stuff away for free. But you'll still find me at La Colombe. If you like what you're reading, it's free to sign up to get this newsletter in your inbox every weekday. I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and feedback, so please email me, tweet me @JS_Parks, or reach our social team on Facebook.

— Jessica Parks

» READ MORE: Parades, protests, and dinosaur embryos: The week in photos

» READ MORE: Does Philly have the bus system it deserves?

I think we can all agree the answer is no. But it's worth discussing the reasons why, and the factors that might begin to remedy the problem.

In Philly, more people take buses than any other mode of public transportation. But trains and rail and subways hog much of the attention and funding, and with the advent of ride-sharing apps like Uber, funding cuts, rate hikes, and route consolidations, bus ridership has been declining. That's the type of thing that can snowball into a self-perpetuating cycle of declines begetting cuts begetting more declines.

Jason Laughlin, our award-winning transportation writer, has found that his stories about bus service generate a huge response — the good kind of response, backed by ideas and data and a true desire for dialogue. So we've arranged a public forum for that dialogue, with Laughlin moderating a panel of experts and taking questions from the audience. It'll run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Free Library. It's free to attend, but registration is requested. We hope to see you there.

» READ MORE: A tale of corporate intrigue and fatherly generosity at Facebook

When Mark Zuckerberg stopped for 'steaks at Pat's earlier this week, he said he was in town on business.

What was that business, you ask? A date in Delaware Chancery Court to answer complaints from SEPTA and 10 other Facebook investors that Zuckerberg and his pals on the board were pulling an illegal power grab. The company settled the case before the hearing actually happened, but the story behind the case is fascinating and convoluted.

It all goes back to that charming public letter Zuck and his wife wrote 2 years ago upon the birth of their daughter. They promised they would give away most of their shares to make the world a better place for their little one. But shares are not just money — they also represent control.

What you need to know today

  1. The state Supreme Court on Thursday reinstated a lawsuit challenging the state's school-funding system, a victory for struggling districts long seeking relief from what they say is an unjust structure that relies too heavily on property taxes and doesn't meet schools' needs.

  2. It's an awkward, and some might say impolite, thing to discuss before a playdate: "Are there guns in the house?"

  3. D.J. Creato will be sentenced today for killing his 3-year-old son Brandon. The case riveted South Jersey in 2015 after Brandon when reported missing and found dead in the woods. After a mistrial this spring, Creato pleaded guilty before a second trial was to begin.

  4. Nine years ago, Wayne County property owners banded together to sign an innovative lease with a shale-gas driller. They thought it would generate money to save their families' farms. But a forthcoming ban on fracking has dashed those dreams. And environmentalists? They're not happy about the change either.

  5. Philadelphia has released a three-year plan to make streets safer. "The airline industry and the railroads have zero-tolerance policies," the report states. "Zero tolerance for traffic deaths is next."

  6. Our Philly Clout reporters have the scoop on Pa. gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker getting the (early, informal, potential) backing of Steve Bannon via fist-bump. Could a Bannon bump boost Walker to victory?

» READ MORE: #OurPhilly

We want to see what our community looks like through your eyes. Show us the park that your family walks through every weekend with the dog, the block party in your neighborhood or the historic stretch you see every morning on your commute to work.

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 to build those followers!

That’s Interesting

  1. The owner of PucciManuli in downtown Ardmore says the name was her own invention to sound Italian and high-end. "Whenever I'd say, 'That's so PucciManuli,' I meant it was the best of class." So far, it's working.

  2. On their third date, he told her he loved her. Luckily, this is a wedding column, so I guess it worked out.

  3. Pennsylvania has released some data on mail-order wine consumption by zip code. It's pretty interesting to see which neighborhoods are ordering the most.

  4. Food writer Michael Klein has a Q&A with Michael Schulson, the seriously hot chef whose business instinct is to "cook for the hot chicks."

  5. Steve Van Zandt almost lost his faith in rock and roll. And if not for a flag football game, a dislocated finger, and a stint on the oldies circuit with the Philadelphia vocal group the Dovells, he might never have gotten it back.

  6. Albert Innaurato, a Temple grad and playwright who had a Broadway hit in the 1970s, Gemini, has died at 70.

Opinions

"There he goes again, Mr. Trump, trying to put lipstick on a pig of a proposal that in its present form won't deliver what he promises." — our Editorial Board, calling the president's tax-reform proposal a self-serving rehash of Reagan's trickle-down economics.

  1. The last death-penalty case in Philadelphia before a new D.A. is one that doesn't make much sense, writes Marc Bookman.

  2. Speaking of the D.A.'s race, our editorial boards are meeting with candidates Larry Krasner and Beth Grossman next week. We want to hear from you, what should we ask them?

What we’re reading

  1. Philadelphia Weekly looks at what Independence Blue Cross and other big insurance companies have had to say about the ongoing debate over health care reform.

  2. National Parks are getting too many visitors and face an overcrowding crisis, the New York Times reports. (From these gorgeous photos of Zion National Park in Utah, I can see why.)

  3. Newsworks takes a deep dive into the perils and promise of the Cheltenham School District, a school system that's been "one of the region's great experiments in tolerance" in race and education for 150 years.

  4. New Jersey's prison population is dropping. An NJ.com analysis says declining crime isn't the only cause.

  5. The Economist assesses Ras Baraka's tenure so far as Newark's mayor, saying he's "doing a grand job"

Your Daily Dose of | Danger

Driving in the country is nothing like driving in the city. Out there, the streets are wider, the speeds are higher, sudden curves can give way to unforeseen forests and darting deer. Drivers less often wear seat belts, and are more likely to die in crashes.