Mold issue remains, SEPTA to open homeless center, Sixers capture city's imagination | Morning Newsletter

There's a morbid secret among cops: Sometimes, it's easier to solve a shooting if the victim dies. Chris Palmer shadows police investigators during a night shift in Southwest Philadelphia to see first hand how police officers react to a shooting, and how they go about solving the crimes.

The school-mold saga continues for another week, as John B. Kelly Elementary School in Germantown will remain closed Monday as the School District of Philadelphia continues to remove mold found in several classrooms. In that vein: Some of the South Jersey schools facing similar moldy issues that shut down last week are slated to reopen this week.

The first wound hurt the most: A 73-year-old Yeadon man's hopeful, 18-year-old grandson was shot in the back and killed. The second is filled with salt: He was not approved for financial assistance to give his grandson a proper burial, because of the alleged nature of the crime. Police said his grandson, who had no criminal record, had been involved in an illegal activity that caused his murder. The incident left our Samantha Melamed to ask: Even in death, do black men still face bias?

Be honest: do you know what a City Controller does? Don't worry, and don't be embarrassed, we're here to help. Since it will become important in a few weeks, here is a primer on the position, and the candidates, so you can make an informed decision when you hit the polls.

If you're an Eagles fan, this news item from Les Bowen really is important: Sidney Jones, the much-heralded but surgery-scarred college prospect the Eagles surprisingly nabbed in the second round of this year's NFL Draft will probably need more time to heal before he can take the field. And as news (and Aaron Rodgers' collarbone) broke last night that the Packer's signal-caller could be done for the season, Ed Barkowitz writes that the Eagles' reign of the NFC intensifies.

In an indicator of New Jersey's changing demographics, voters this year will be able to read the ballot questions Online, not just in English and Spanish, but also Korean and Gujarati (a regional Indian language). Gujarati is the latest to be added, in a nod to the large number of immigrants who speak that language in NJ.

Philly Startup Leaders executive director Yuval Yarden has stepped down following a controversial exchange about diversity at last week's Black & Brown Founders Conference.

The latest New Jersey Supreme Court ruling in the decades-long fight over affordable housing was far from the last word on the issue. Townships like Delran, in Burlington County, are still locked in litigation disputing their "fair share" — how much affordable housing they need to provide, including for the 16 years when the state wasn't enforcing the housing mandates.

Frank Galdo is a Fishtown guy. When he noticed the vacant lot across the street fall into disrepair, the same lot he hung around as a child, he did something about it. He paved a driveway and built a fire pit and tree house. He renamed it the Notorious Galdo Parcel. But now, after all his work, the city wants the land back. Galdo lost the first round in court, but he's trying again, with a new argument: basically, finders-keepers, but mixed with a "possession is 9/10ths of the law" spin.

With new restaurants, pubs and distilleries, Phoenixville is becoming the latest food and drink hot spot in the region. And coming Thursday: Craig LaBan's latest dining guide will feature his picks for the best culinary destinations across the suburbs and South Jersey. Check the Inquirer and Philly.com Thursday for maps, county-by-county guides and best-of lists to cover all your suburban eatery needs.

Following the lead of local business and technology leaders, economists, and newspaper columnists, area college students — including business students at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School — are the latest group to try their hand at swaying Amazon.com Inc. to pick Philadelphia for its new corporate campus.

First, the good news: The facade of the mid-20th century District Health Center No. 1 building at 500 S. Broad St. has been added to the city's Register of Historic Places. The bad news? This could potentially complicate efforts to redevelop the property after it is vacated.

Three suburban Philadelphia towns are pioneering an effort that has been slow to take hold in the state: collaborating on land use planning and development. Seems simple, but in a traditionally balkanized state historically wary of consolidation, these towns may help pave the way for future partnerships across the state, especially after sibling towns see how much money, and land, are saved.

Exercise does a lot to strengthen the heart and lengthen lives, experts say. But heart problems are still common — and sometimes dramatic — in active people. After all, reducing risk isn't the same as eliminating it.

National Political Columnist Will Bunch first looks at Trump's worst week ever (which is saying something) — health care, Iran, Puerto Rico, threatening a free press, etc. — and then he looks at the options available to unseat the president. He counts four, and the fourth he dubs "the Harvey Weinstein plan."

When something bad happens to young people in Philadelphia, the first question asked is a loaded one: "Where are the parents?" But Carmen Pagan's history of dealing drugs and subsequently serving time in prison has motivated her constant presence in her five children's lives. So when her son became an "aspiring" drug dealer, she told the cops to arrest him.

Patti Brett, the owner of Doobies Bar, talks about being featured on the cover of "My Bowie Story," a new book about unique fan encounters with the late rock icon. [Philly Mag]

New Jersey's next governor will face a ticking time bomb: The state's pension crisis. [WNYC]

City Hall is not the true center of Philadelphia. So where is it? [Hidden City Philadelphia]

Philly has its share of spooky sites: Here are 16 of the most haunted places in the city. [Curbed Philadelphia]

Public-school teachers in Philadelphia now have a contract. But the school district is still cash-strapped. [Philadelphia Weekly]

A cardboard cutout of Pope Francis once was lost, but now is found.