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Meet the new school board, Phillies home opener, DA Krasner under fire | Morning Newsletter

All the local news you need to know to start your day, delivered straight to your email.

Debra Barcus (center), Lee Ann Riley (to her left) and Linda Riley (to her right) all were members of The Cadets color guard in the 1980s. All three women say they were sexually abused by George Hopkins, the corps longtime director. Photo courtesy of Debra Barcus
Debra Barcus (center), Lee Ann Riley (to her left) and Linda Riley (to her right) all were members of The Cadets color guard in the 1980s. All three women say they were sexually abused by George Hopkins, the corps longtime director. Photo courtesy of Debra BarcusRead morePhoto courtesy of Debra Barcus

Happy Thursday, friends. Today the Phillies open their season at home and the Villanova Wildcats will celebrate their NCAA championship with a parade. All in all, a nice day for local sports fans. But you know there's more news where that came from. We've got your updates on upcoming winter weather (I'm really, really sorry) and the Bill Cosby retrial, plus a special report on a legendary Allentown drum corps.

If you like what you're reading, tell your friends it's free to sign up for this newsletter here.

— Aubrey Nagle (@aubsn, morningnewsletter@philly.com)

» READ MORE: Nine women accuse director of Allentown drum corps of sexual abuse and harassment

The Cadets, an elite traveling drum and bugle corps based in Allentown, has won 10 ten world championships with a record of showstopping performances. Their dazzling marching band numbers have attracted thousands to join their ranks.

The corps has been led by director George Hopkins since 1982, himself a drum corps legend. Now nine women have told the Inquirer and Daily News that Hopkins has sexually harassed or abused them in stories that span four decades.

In a special report by reporter Tricia L. Nadolny, the women break their long silence.

» READ MORE: It’s official: meet Philly’s 9 new school board members

Drumroll, please. After the School Reform Commission voted to dissolve itself, a nominating panel was constructed, that panel identified 27 candidates, Mayor Jim Kenney asked for 18 more, and he whittled it all down amid lots of speculation … Philly has a new school board. 

The final grouping is heavy on educators and social service experts, and includes two former SRC members. Most had never met each other before Wednesday, but by July 1 they'll run a $3.2 billion organization together.

Kenney called the board, "nine great Philadelphians." The rest of the city will get to see for themselves as the board embarks on a series of community listening sessions later this month.

» READ MORE: DA Krasner’s changes to the way his office prosecutes accused killers rankles victims’ families

District Attorney Larry Krasner is significantly changing how the city prosecutes homicide cases by questioning the state mandate that most convicted killers should be in prison for life.

Not everyone's pleased with the changes, and victims' families have begun to push back. One victim's family only learned about his killer's resentencing from an Inquirer and Daily News reporter —  not from the DA's office as required.

The changes are just part of Krasner's recent effort to reduce Pennsylvania's prison population, which includes asking prosecutors to explain how much it will cost taxpayers to keep a person behind bars.

What you need to know today

  1. It's time to celebrate: here's everything you need to know about today's Villanova championship parade.

  2. And today is the Phillies home opener! They play the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park, which has a handful of new food and entertainment options. (The Phils may need those cheering fans after yesterday's loss to the Mets on a terrible Facebook livestream.)

  3. And now the bad news: our never-ending winter continues to never end. Philadelphia may get more snow this weekend. 

  4. The jury for Bill Cosby's retrial on sexual assault charges has been selected. The seven men and five women will be sequestered for the whole trial, alongside six alternates lawyers will start looking for Thursday.

  5. The White House says it's planning "a rapid end" to the U.S. military mission in Syria as President Trump insists on returning American troops home, though his top advisers are warning against a quick withdrawal.

  6. The District Attorney's office has opposed a request (with a strongly worded response) to move the case of the alleged killer of Spring Garden activist Gerard Grandzol to juvenile court.

  7. The Mazzoni Center, Philadelphia's largest LGBT health-care provider, is facing criticism for hiring a straight Latina from Florida as its new CEO.

Through Your Eyes | #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!

That’s Interesting

  1. Jimmy Fallon and Philadelphia-bred band The Roots are going to surprise a lucky Philly family with a dinner party this month. For a chance to host, all you have to do is shoot them an email.

  2. Filmmaker (and two-time mayoral candidate) Sam Katz is working on a sweeping documentary about the history of Philadelphia's Jewish community. 

  3. NFL draft pundits are already looking into their crystal balls and predicting who the Eagles will pick up. Meanwhile, Eagles season ticket prices are going up. The price you pay for winning the Super Bowl?

  4. The 76ers just drafted players for its digital team playing the NBA 2K18 video game in the NBA's first professional esports league. Yes, that is a real thing that is actually happening. The future is now.

  5. Have $2.3 million and love indoor miniature villages? You're in luck: you can buy "the world's greatest" village, a longtime Berks County attraction, for just that sum.

  6. Once spring and summer finally do arrive (fingers crossed) you'll want to see what Philly's outdoor restaurants and beer gardens have planned for the season.

  7. Could Amazon be bringing its express delivery service to Philly? A new job listing suggests it's on the way.

  8. You won't believe how many tickets the Kimmel Center already sold to Hamilton in Philly. Just kidding, you'll definitely believe it.

Opinions

"Now that I have a loved one in prison, I fully realize that people can and do change – and that we need to leave room for that possibility at the time of sentencing." Lorraine Haw, member of the
— Coalition for a Just DA, on why she wants her brother’s killer, who was sentenced to death, to live.

  1. One San Francisco company recently donated $29 million to educational crowdfunding. Could Philly find its own benefactor business? Donna Frisby-Greenwood, director of the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia thinks so.

  2. David Spigelmyer, president of the Pittsburgh-based Marcellus Shale Coalition, writes it's time for Gov. Tom Wolf's policies to back up his rhetoric on natural gas manufacturing, so all of Pennsylvania can benefit.

What we’re reading

  1. Philly councilmembers are already stockpiling cash for their reelections … and spending the funds on DVDs and parking tickets, as City & State Pennsylvania and Philadelphia Weekly report.

  2. City Council President Darrell Clarke sat down with PlanPhilly to talk about Temple University's proposed North Philly football stadium and the conversation quickly turned to whether or not he'll join the opposition.

  3. Sara Ganim, the Patriot-News reporter who broke the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, has told PennLive why she joined forces with HBO for the new docu-drama Paterno and what it gets right.

  4. Vulture put together a list of how 50 iconic female film characters were introduced in their screenplays — complete with a quiz — and it's an irresistible read.

  5. Hot takes have been flying since the release of Wes Anderson's new family film Isle Of Dogs, but this BuzzFeed essay on its relationship with Orientalism gives finely detailed context to the conversation.

Your Daily Dose of | The Bard

Two scholars say they've found a previously unknown source for many of Shakespeare's plays. Unconvinced? Compare them for yourself.