Shore still stung by Sandy, opioid health emergency, prosecutor admits fault | Morning Newsletter

Oct. 27--Good morning, good people! Halloween weekend is upon us, and for those looking for last-minute costumes, or ways to celebrate Halloween in Philly beyond trick or treating, we have you covered. But before you bring out the fun-size candy bars, let's look over the news of the day.

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 @tommyrowan, or reach our social team on Facebook.

-- Tommy Rowan

Hurricane Sandy, five years later: People living in cars and other realities of a slow-moving recovery

Huge amounts of disaster relief money came to New Jersey after Sandy. But where did it go? It was the storm that memorably cancelled Halloween in New Jersey and thrust thousands of homeowners into an agonizing blizzard of repetitive paper work, confounding state bureaucracy and stress. Five years out, we seek answers to some lingering questions: Who was helped? Is there anything to learn from the maddening maze of federal disaster funds shoehorned into the sleepy Community Development Block Grants machine? Could anyone have done better than New Jersey under Gov. Christie? What's left undone? Lessons learned?

Maurice Corkery's second home in Ocean City was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy, literally a watershed moment in New Jersey history. Amy Rosenberg and Frank Kummer told his story, and that of three other Sandy survivors, in a series of vignettes.

In Philly region, Trump's opioid statement prompts hope, skepticism

President Trump declared Thursday afternoon that the opioid crisis -- which is killing more than 100 people each day -- is a public health emergency. By doing so, the federal government will waive some regulations, give states more flexibility in how they use federal funds and expand the use of telemedicine treatment. But the president stopped short of another recommendation that his commission on the crisis recommended: Declaring a more sweeping national state of emergency that would have given states access to funding from the federal Disaster Relief Fund, just as they would be following a tornado or hurricane.

Mari A. Schaefer rounded up local reaction to Trump's declaration. Consensus: He didn't give enough detail to really know what he's suggesting. But everyone agrees what's needed is treatment beds, the very thing that would be lost by killing Obamacare.

A prosecutor meets the juvenile lifer he locked up for 40 years -- and apologizes

Gerald Dugan, the prosecutor who put away Kevin Brinkley for 40 years for a murder Kevin's brother Ronnie confessed to, now says he locked up the wrong man.

Kevin Brinkley was not exonerated, though; he's home under a Supreme Court ruling that juveniles can't be sentenced to life without parole automatically. He got home from prison a week ago, and Dugan met with him Thursday.

Dugan said: "You never drove a car. You never fell in love with somebody. You never had any of the things that all of us take for granted. And I want you to know I am responsible for that -- because I told the jury what they should do, and they did it."

What you need to know today

(ASTERISK) The U.S. House voted to advance a budget that would erase the federal deduction for state and local taxes. That deduction saves many in the Philadelphia area thousands of dollars. Its passage means that Republicans hoping to save the tax break missed one of their best chances to force GOP leaders to change course.

(ASTERISK) A popular South Jersey restaurant and bar is under fire from civil rights groups for allegedly posting a photograph on its Facebook page of a man with a noose around his neck at a Halloween costume party at the establishment.

(ASTERISK) The Pennsylvania legislature has finally finished a revenue package to balance the budget: with more casinos and borrowing, mostly, and with taxes on fireworks and online purchases. What will Gov. Wolf do? What will be the effects of expanded gambling?

(ASTERISK) The Amazon bake-off revealed the lengths that cities will go to attract jobs and residents. In Philadelphia, we have a long history of giving away the store. Despite our underfunded schools and struggling infrastructure, we still remain one of the few cities with an across-the-board property tax abatement. With the opening of 500 Walnut, which features an $18 million penthouse, we need to talk about updating the abatement for current conditions. Inga Saffron answers the big question: How to prevent Philly's property-tax abatement from becoming a subsidy for the rich.

(ASTERISK) A grieving girlfriend hopes that a Kensington shooting victim won't be forgotten. But no arrests have been made in the Oct. 11 shooting death of Angel Bermudez, 36, at D and Westmoreland Streets.

(ASTERISK) The city pension board has voted to divest itself of private prison stock. The for-profit companies have come under fire for health and safety issues, which David Gambacorta detailed in an August story.

(ASTERISK) Horsham-based developer Toll Bros. has resumed its efforts to build a residential tower on Jewelers Row in Center City.

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 to build those followers!

That's Interesting

(ASTERISK) A Cherry Hill couple, short on funds for their wedding, is opening it up to sponsors. They're thinking logos on every table, a sponsored first dance and a "title sponsor" for the whole event -- whatever it takes to pay for their dream wedding next June.

(ASTERISK) This week's Clout column: John Fetterman, the populist mayor of Braddock, in Allegheny County, is preparing to challenge Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Stack in the May 2018 primary election.

(ASTERISK) Penn Museum is getting its biggest makeover in 118 years: The renovation project will transform the galleries and allow the display of some objects for the first time. Air conditioning is coming, too.

(ASTERISK) Mike Peinovich is the son of a retired University of Pennsylvania professor and a successful software engineer who grew up in New Jersey. He's also a well-known white nationalist shock jock.

(ASTERISK) Philly is getting "Strange Mode" Lyft rides, based on Stranger Things. Stephanie Farr suggest how they really should be done.

(ASTERISK) Wills Eye Hospital has moved to raze two vacant townhouses at the corner of Ninth and Locust Streets, where it has said it wants to build new research and medical-care facility just south of its main Walnut Street building.

(ASTERISK) The Phillies, according to two reports, have trimmed their managerial search to two candidates just 27 days after they removed Pete Mackanin from the dugout. Dusty Wathan, the manager at triple-A Lehigh Valley, is one. The other is Gabe Kapler, the director of player development for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Opinions

"Trump's victory in Pennsylvania scrambled what had been the state's traditional electoral patterns and raised significant and important political questions about future state elections." -- Writes Berwood A. Yost, who asks what Trump's historic win meant for Pennsylvania politics one year later.

(ASTERISK) The next time we have a recession, Pennsylvanians will have to endure much larger spending cuts and tax increases than the average American. Dan White, director of economic research at Moody's Analytics, crunches the numbers on states least prepared to handle a recession.

(ASTERISK) Is #Metoo a modern version of the Salem witch trials? Columnist Christine Flowers writes that just because there are hundreds and perhaps thousands of women coming out to say they were abused, this is not proof that an epidemic exists.

What we're reading

(ASTERISK) The Boomtown That Shouldn't Exist: Cape Coral, Florida, was built on lies. One big storm could wipe it off the map. It's also the fastest-growing city in the United States. [Politico Magazine]

(ASTERISK) Four Quitters Walk Into a Bar... A conversation with former government employees who left their posts after Trump's election. [Huffington Post Highline]

(ASTERISK) Did We Adopt a Jihadist? The Syrian refugee said his name was Paul, and that he was 16 years old. The truth was much more complicated. [GQ]

(ASTERISK) Bill Nye doesn't have an opinion. He has science. The icon talks climate change, Tucker Carlson, "the Deep State," and why American faith in science collapsed with the Soviet Union. [Esquire]

(ASTERISK) Cashing in on the donated dead: The Body Trade. In the U.S. market for human bodies, almost anyone can dissect and sell the dead. [Reuters]

Daily Dose Of -- Heidi Hamels

High-motor Heidi Hamels of Newtown Square is a survivor of "Survivor: The Amazon," wife of pitcher Cole Hamels (2008 World Champion Phillies' MVP), co-founder of The Hamels Foundation, a mother of four, and now a newbie country music songwriter. She's teaming with Delaware County singer Sara Spicer on Heidi's fledgling HH Entertainment label.

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