Discrimination cases in federal court

• Emily Previti/PA Post
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  Emily is a reporter for WITF who’s been covering voting and elections since July 2019 as part of her former role with statehouse accountability news organization PA Post. She was the senior reporter for statewide public media collaboration Keystone Crossroads. Previously, she covered city hall for PennLive/The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pa.), was a watchdog and city hall reporter at The Press of Atlantic City and reported for the Northwest Herald. She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.
  
  See other articles by Emily Previti for WITF.

 Bastiaan Slabbers / WHYY

Several VisionQuest employees are seen departing in small groups at the North Broad location to join other employees and members of the community at a meeting at the nearby Old York House last week.

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“A crisis situation”

Bastiaan Slabbers / WHYY

Several VisionQuest employees are seen departing in small groups at the North Broad location to join other employees and members of the community at a meeting at the nearby Old York House last week.

• A shelter for teenagers in Philly switched focus earlier this year to serve undocumented children and was then issued a violation notice by the city of Philadelphia. Facility operator VisionQuest tried to argue against having to go through the process of getting another permit, but city officials didn’t want to hear it. Now, they’re in court over the situation, as WHYY’s Laura Benshoff reports in this story.

• Another federal court case has been decided in favor of the city for its refusal to utilize Catholic Social Services due to the agency’s policy against placing foster children with same-sex couples. More herefrom the Associated Press.

• And it hasn’t ended up in court yet, but Eastern Lancaster County School District’s forthcoming bathroom and locker room policy for transgender students prompted a warning shot from the American Civil Liberties Union. The organization “urge[d] Elanco to reverse course,” reports LNP.

Best of the rest

Orlin Wagner / Associated Press

Hali Flickinger of Spring Grove, York County, competes for the U.S. in a semifinal of the women’s 200-meter butterfly at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Flickinger placed seventh in the event’s final heat.

• A handful of states don’t make Olympians pay income taxes on their medals or related bonuses. Pennsylvania would be next, if a new bill gets enough support. More here.

• State Public Utility Commissioner Andrew Place thinks propping up Pa.’s nuclear industry is a bad idea. Place made his position known in a memo issued preemptively before nuclear subsidy legislation had been released, and again in response to requests for comment on specific provisions on the bill introduced in the state Senate earlier this month. StateImpact Pennsylvania’s Marie Cusick has all the details in this story.

• The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission could help its dire financial situation by automating tolls and getting rid of some 500 operators. But at what cost? WESA’s Margaret J. Krauss has some answers.