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Spring arts guide; Hershey School’s law firm makes stunning move | Morning Newsletter

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Upcoming arts events on the spring calendar.
Upcoming arts events on the spring calendar.Read moreHandout (custom credit)
    by Aubrey Nagle
    Published 

    The Morning Newsletter

    Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter

Despite the deep freeze we experienced last week, spring isn’t too far away. Even Punxsutawney Phil says so. One thing that’ll help us get through the rest of the cold season? Filling in the calendar with help from our spring arts guide, carefully compiled by my colleagues. It truly has everything you need to know about all the fun happening in our region. Oh, and apparently some New England team won a football game yesterday.

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

Spring is coming! Make the most of it with our arts guide

Eventually the weather will be nice enough that you’ll want to get off the couch and start exploring the city again. It just so happens that spring is the perfect time to get out and about — the Philly region is about to explode with festivals, musicals, concerts, comedy shows, and much more.

  1. Get your kids out of the house (finally) with these springtime activities

  2. Spring festivals and festivities: The Flower Show, Walt Whitman Bicentennial, Broad Street Run, and more

  3. Must-see theater: Rent, August Wilson, Bridges of Madison County, Indecent, Legally Blonde

  4. Big shows in Philly museums: Mermaids, Marvel superheroes, Civil War, a peek at Mutter expansion

  5. Seth Meyers, Dane Cook and Delco’s Aunt Mary Pat make for a very funny spring

  6. The biggest concerts coming to Philadelphia, with Ariana Grande, the Rolling Stones, Cher, Meek Mill, Mott the Hoople, and more

  7. Blockbuster art: Impressionists, Gainsborough portraits, the Confederate truce flag, moon-gazing

  8. Midseason TV 2019: Games of Thrones, Big Bang Theory, Killing Eve, and plenty of new shows to take you through the spring

Hershey School’s law firm is arguing two cases before a federal judge — and then hires his son

The Blue Bell-based firm Elliot Greenleaf is defending the Milton Hershey School from two federal lawsuits.

One involves a young man who says the school tried to change his sexual orientation. The other was filed by the family of a student who took her life after the school failed to treat her depression and banned her from campus, her family’s suit contends.

The school has spent millions defending the lawsuits. Meanwhile Elliot Greenleaf hired the son of the judge presiding over the cases.

What you need to know today

  1. Well, they did it again. Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the rest of the Patriots pulled off another Super Bowl victory Sunday. Sigh. 

  2. Gov. Tom Wolf is delivering his budget address Tuesday. He’s expected to call for more money for public schools, a higher minimum wage for Pennsylvania, and a new tax on natural gas drillers.

  3. Victims of armed robberies in Philly learn a startling statistic the hard way: arrests were made in less than 25 percent of all armed robberies over the last five years.

  4. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker has officially announced a run for president. There are ways he could win, but there are reasons he might not.

  5. Great news for local students: area schools are experimenting with pushing back school start times and the extra sleep is paying off.

  6. The Flyers are on a roll. If they keep winning, they have the chance to make NHL history with a playoff run. 

Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly

Lovely winter poetry, @ashleigh_erin.

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. Now that football season is officially over, Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has taken a look back at the challenging year and is responding to recent criticisms. 

  2. Teammates spend a lot of time together, but two of Temple’s women’s basketball players are particularly close. They’re a rarity for the sport: twins on the same college team.

  3. Fans of 97.5 Fanatic have something fresh to be, well, fanatic about. Two former hosts are launching a brand new show.

  4. Planning on visiting the Philadelphia Auto Show? Reporter Scott Sturgis knows which cars you need to see.

  5. Applying for financial aid before heading to college is tough, but two start-ups with Philly ties are trying to make it easier. 

Opinions

“SEPTA is not only ignoring First Amendment principles, it is engaging in unconstitutional censorship. Our story is based on solid facts and an unbiased analysis — not advocacy. These facts are tied to a deep history of racial bias in this country.” — Aaron Glantz and Emmanuel Martinez, reporters for Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, on their efforts to spread the word about home loan discrimination in Philly.

  1. Pennsylvania needs paper ballots to secure our elections from cyber attacks, writes former U.S. House Representative for Pennsylvania Charlie Dent. 

  2. In an opinion piece, the Mayor’s Office has denied that the idea for Philadelphia’s soda tax originated with Local 98 or John Dougherty. 

What we’re reading

  1. The Courier Post has published a lovely portrait of the Bitar family and the culinary mark they’ve left on our region through their restaurants. Warning: you may get a strong craving for pita.  

  2. Speaking of cravings, your Haagen Dazs fix might just be a little greener soon. A Trenton company is trying to reshape how we shop and reduce waste along the way, and it starts with reusable ice cream containers. Pretty creative, if you ask me.

  3. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be a professional gamer, it’s your lucky day: Technical.ly Philly talked with a local 18-year-old esports champ about the gig. It is mostly fun and games.

  4. Those little CAPTCHA games you have to play online to prove you’re a human are getting harder. The Verge explains why, with a bit of a philosophical twist.

  5. You might love cashmere, but do you know where it comes from? Science Magazine has published a startling report on how demand for the soft wool is destroying Mongolia’s grasslands.

A Daily Dose of | Religion

The Please Touch Museum has marked a milestone by opening its first exhibit comprehensively exploring a religion with “America to Zanzibar: Muslim Cultures Near and Far.”