🦷 Dental care for all | Morning Newsletter

It’s a new week, Philly, but a less exciting one, after our Eagles fell to the 49ers and out of Super Bowl contention. At least the tailgate sounded fun.

Kids get free dental care at a North Philadelphia K-8. Officials say it’s a model that could be replicated in schools with empty space.

And the Defender Association of Philadelphia has launched a new immigration unit amid growing federal arrests and deportations.

— Julie Zeglen (morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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Brushing up

For students whose families can’t afford regular visits to a dentist, the Dental Clinic at North Philadelphia’s William D. Kelley School is a lifeline.

🦷 The clinic, operated by Temple University’s Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry and now in its third year, pairs dentistry students with any Philly children who need care. The service is free regardless of where they attend school and whether they have insurance. Some parents can get treated, too.

🦷 The underlying concept is simple: Removing barriers to dental care means healthier kids who do better in school. “If your tooth hurts, if you’re not feeling well, you’re not going to learn,” Eileen Barfuss, the Temple professor who leads the clinic, told The Inquirer.

🦷 School district officials also point to it as a model of what might happen in other district buildings with available space as the school system considers its facilities planning process this year.

Education reporter Kristen A. Graham has the story.

‘This is necessary right now’

As President Donald Trump’s administration presses for more arrests and deportations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Philly’s public defender is expanding its services for immigrant clients.

The nonprofit Defender Association’s Immigration Law Practice will focus partly on those in detention despite having no criminal charges or who have committed minor offenses.

Agency leaders also expect to handle more cases that challenge White House efforts around mandatory detention, a policy that has seen pushback from federal judges in Philadelphia.

Reporter Jeff Gammage has more details.

In other immigration news: A 46-year-old Cambodian immigrant held at the Federal Detention Center in Center City died in a hospital on Friday after being treated for drug withdrawal, according to ICE officials. And in the wake of the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis, anti-ICE protests spread across Philly’s suburbs on Sunday.

What you should know today

• Two people were stabbed at 40th Street Station on Saturday, including a man left in critical condition, SEPTA said.
• The Trump administration is targeting ultra-processed foods. A University of Pennsylvania researcher explains why that might be complicated.
• Former New Jersey acting governor and longtime State Sen. Richard Codey has died at 79, his family announced.
• Robert Listenbee, the first assistant to District Attorney Larry Krasner, is retiring after eight years in the job. He has some advice for his boss.
• After two months of closure, the trolley tunnel connecting Center City and West Philadelphia was scheduled to reopen Monday at 5 a.m., SEPTA said Friday.
• Authorities in New Jersey and Delaware are investigating the deaths of two whales found in the past week.
• South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito was named Sunday to the United States’ 2026 Winter Olympic Team headed to Milan.

Quote of the day

The giant old stone house is full with three best friends, one spouse, two kids, and a dog. The adults now share a bank account, backyard, and Google calendar — and they consider it a “paradise that we’ve made ourselves.”

Plus: After a breakup, a homeowner left Graduate Hospital for a giant backyard in Port Richmond. Learn what he did with it in the latest installment of our How I Bought This House series.

🧠 Trivia time

A Philadelphia woman attracted attention in the city and Chester County for posting fliers asking for help after a breakup. What did the fliers say?

A) “Date My Ex: Why He Deserves Better”

B) “Missing: The Love of My Life”

C) “Help! My Ex Stole the Cat”

D) “Seeking: Experienced Witch to Curse My Ex”

Think you know? Check your answer.

What we’re…

📺 A big fan of: Donna Kelce’s devious turn on The Traitors.

👒 Eager to see: Suffs, the hit musical centered on South Jersey suffragist Alice Paul.

👟 Answering: “Do I risk my stress-free run club for a relationship that might not work out?”

🏈 Watching: Boys to Fame, a film about Ray Didinger’s Tommy and Me play.

🩺 Considering: Why pediatricians are grieving changes to the childhood vaccine schedule.

🧩 Unscramble the anagram

Hint: Annual Harrisburg event, the Pennsylvania _ _

FORM WASH

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here.

Cheers to Rick Brasch, the only reader who solved Sunday’s anagram: Adam Cesare. The acclaimed local author described his perfect Philly day, including visits to The Book Trader and PhilaMOCA.

Photo of the day

📬 Your ‘only in Philly’ story

Think back to the night that changed your life that could only happen in Philly, a true example of the Philly spirit, the time you finally felt like you belonged in Philly if you’re not a lifer, something that made you fall in love with Philly all over again — or proud to be from here if you are. Then email it to us for a chance to be featured in the Monday edition of this newsletter.

This “only in Philly” story comes from reader Nancy Brown, who describes a tentative first taste of a local classic:

In 1998, my husband and I were transferred from Michigan to Philly and were super excited to be moving east. We stayed in a Center City hotel for a week while house hunting. On our first morning in the hotel restaurant, we ordered breakfast, and asked the waitress about something on the menu called “scrapple.” We Midwesterners had no idea what that was; had never even heard the word.

Our waitress, in her uniquely Philly accent, insisted we would love it. She described scrapple and then added that she didn’t really know everything that’s in it, which made us feel not so sure we actually would love it. But we ordered it anyway, eager to acclimate to our new hometown.

We were apprehensive after our first bite, but kept eating, and with a little more salt and pepper and maybe some ketchup, determined it wasn’t so bad. We’ve decided restaurant scrapple, especially diner scrapple, is often the best, and for that you need to be in Philly.

Thanks for starting your week with The Inquirer. Back at it tomorrow.

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