Social media is fueling gang shootings | Morning Newsletter
And, Pa. relaxes restaurant restrictions.
The Morning Newsletter
Start your day with the Philly news you need and the stories you want all in one easy-to-read newsletter
Good morning from The Inquirer newsroom.
First: Recent arrests provide a window into how gang-motivated conflicts can play out on social media before they do in the real world.
Then: Pa. is relaxing restrictions for restaurants and other venues starting April 4.
And: Just in time for March Madness, we make it quick and easy for you to fill out your NCAA Tournament bracket with the inside scoop.
— Ashley Hoffman (@_ashleyhoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)
Surging gun violence in Philly has only gotten worse in 2021, and several new arrests offer a window into how gang-associated conflicts can escalate on social media, particularly Instagram.
In one case in West Philly, police say, two best friends since childhood — a Jefferson health technician who mentored troubled teens and a cancer survivor and small-business owner — were killed by neighborhood teens in a botched attempt to retaliate against members of a rival group.
Read on for the latest installment in our Under Fire series from reporters Dylan Purcell, Mike Newall, and Chris Palmer for the story on links between real-world violence and online conflicts.
Yesterday. Gov. Tom Wolf announced the most lenient rules for restaurants in a year.
As of April 4, Easter Sunday, restaurants can seat 75% of their capacity indoors, serve alcohol without food, seat people at the bar with socially distant seating, and move last call to after 11 p.m. Gyms and entertainment venues such as theaters, casinos and malls will also be able to expand their capacity to 75%. (Mandatory mask wearing and strict cleaning procedures, among other health measures, are still in place.) These scaled-back restrictions come as vaccinations ramp up and people across the region have started to feel hopeful about the future.
Read on for Erin McCarthy and Michael Klein’s story on the new rules for Pa.
Quickly find out when you’ll receive your $1,400 stimulus check with this tracking tool.
What’s in the stimulus bill? Here’s how you can benefit, from checks to health care to tax credits and more.
Where can I get a COVID-19 vaccine in the Philly area? Use our lookup tool.
Track the spread of coronavirus in the region.
What you need to know today
The Bidens are descending. President Joe Biden is expected to come to Delaware County today to tout his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. And Jill Biden toured an elementary school in South Jersey yesterday.
A State College man has been charged with assaulting Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick with bear spray during the Jan. 6 riot, but federal authorities stopped short of accusing him of causing the officer’s death.
Philly suburbs can’t possibly inoculate everyone in group 1A by that May 1 date unless they get a lot more vaccine doses, officials say.
Pa. lawmakers received $726,877 in travel and meal reimbursement expenses — since the beginning of the pandemic, Spotlight PA found.
Partisan Pa. websites that look just like the local news pose a threat to the public’s trust in journalism, a new report found.
The windy conditions in the region are prime for wildfires.
Water bills in Philadelphia could be almost 17.6% higher over two years. Here’s how to make your voice heard on that proposed increase.
Through your eyes | #OurPhilly
This is the view you want. Thanks for sharing, @cheesesteakbluetelescope.
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
🏀 Think you have the winning March Madness ticket? We can make it quick and easy for you to get the inside scoop from scouting reports as you fill out your NCAA Tournament bracket with our handy interactive.
🏘️ Some of the New York City residents who got a clue and flocked to Philly are also moving to co-living spaces.
🎞️ If you’re still processing the Oscar nominations, let’s run down the notable nods.
🧀+ 🥩+🥖 The Philly cheesesteak is on a roll in D.C.
🛍️ This program is designed to help small businesses on Lancaster Avenue thrive.
Opinions
“Recreation centers are supposed to be safe havens. Youngsters are supposed to be able to take refuge in them. It’s not even spring yet but some of these playgrounds have turned into shooting galleries,” — columnist Jenice Armstrong writes that youngsters should be able to partake in the rite of passage that is basketball at Philly’s recreation centers without fear of being shot.
For years, Pa. had plans to distribute vaccines for counties. The state administration didn’t use them, and it has cost us vital time, columnist Maria Panaritis writes.
This is how to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and misinformation about vaccines with better messaging, assistant professor David Scales and president and Critica cofounder Jack Gorman write.
What we’re reading
WHYY has analyzed data on how hard the pandemic has hit Black business owners.
Steven Yeun’s Oscar nomination made history, the L.A. Times reports.
This mesmerizing Reuters video about the longtime popular tourist destination — the Purple Islands of South Korea where everything is purple — is a feast for the eyes.
Here’s a stargazing guide for the week, courtesy of Forbes.
Meet the woman who dresses up as an angel as she works hard at keeping the Camden County Vaccination Center at Camden County College safely sanitized. In the process, her glittery costume wings put smiles on people’s faces after they get their COVID-19 vaccines.