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🗳️The wave of women in Harrisburg | Morning Newsletter

And Jalen Hurts’ unrelenting work ethic

State Sen. Amanda Cappelletti poses in the hallway outside her office in the Capitol Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. She is expecting her first child in March, becoming the state’s first sitting senator to give birth while in office.Pennsylvania’s legislature now ranks 26th in the nation in terms of female representation, the highest ever for the state.
State Sen. Amanda Cappelletti poses in the hallway outside her office in the Capitol Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023. She is expecting her first child in March, becoming the state’s first sitting senator to give birth while in office.Pennsylvania’s legislature now ranks 26th in the nation in terms of female representation, the highest ever for the state.Read moreTom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    The Morning Newsletter

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

Temps will reach the high 40s. Pack an extra jacket and good luck dodging the expected rain today. ☂️

Eighty women are serving in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, making up almost a third of the legislature.

Still, the statehouse is far from gender parity. Our lead story discusses the barriers women still face.

If you see this 🔑 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.

— Taylor Allen (@TayImanAllen, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

State Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, elected in 2020, is expecting her first child in March.

She’s the first sitting senator to give birth while in office and part of the growing group of women in the legislature. Pennsylvania’s legislature currently ranks 26th in the nation in terms of female representation, the highest ever for the state.

Reminder: Pennsylvania was ranked in the bottom 12 states through 2018, a Democratic wave year that brought the single largest year-over-year increase in women in the state legislature since at least 1975.

Barriers: Studies indicate that women often have a harder time fund-raising and have to work harder to overcome gendered biases about whether they can raise money or win elections. While women are just as likely to be elected, fewer jump in the ring to run in the first place.

Continue reading to learn the gender split by party. 🔑

Jalen Hurts respects hard work.

Tony Santiago, the Eagles’ locker room custodian, has worked 12 hours a day, six days a week — seven during training camp — for the last 19 years at the NovaCare Complex.

A quick recap: Hurts name-checked him two weeks ago following the season finale. He mentioned Santiago by his first name when he was asked what it will take for the Eagles to win the Super Bowl.

When Santiago clocks in at 6:30 a.m., Hurts often isn’t far behind. When he clocks out half a day later, the quarterback is sometimes still hours away from heading home. Santiago said he can’t help but notice how the quarterback conducts himself.

The story is in line with endless tales about Hurts’ work ethic.

Keep reading for a full exploration of Hurts’ desire to be the best. 🔑

What you should know today

  1. According to department officials, Lower Merion police “didn’t use sound tactics” when they tased a Black women after a traffic stop.

  2. The man shot by a security officer near Philly’s federal courthouse is charged with attempted murder.

  3. Flyers’ Ivan Provorov was the only player to sit out the team’s LGBTQ+ Pride Night warmup skate Tuesday night, citing his Russian Orthodox faith. The NHL told The Inquirer that players are free to decide which initiative to support. Our columnist Marcus Hayes argued Provorov should have been benched.

  4. Campbell Soup. Co will spend $50 million to expand and upgrade its Camden headquarters and add 330 jobs.

  5. South Jersey figure skater Isabeau Levito is in the running to become the next U.S. champion next week.

  6. Local coronavirus numbers: Here’s your daily look at the latest COVID-19 data.

Consider this an “in case you missed it” story (mostly because I did over the weekend). I think it’s fascinating so here you go.

There’s an underground network of “trip sitters” that has sprung up to support people taking psychedelics.

Despite their federal status, a host of clinical research suggests they have potential to treat major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other psychiatric issues.

Current classification: Psychedelic drugs — including psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms; MDMA, also known as ecstasy; and LSD — are all “Schedule 1,” meaning officially they have no currently accepted medical use.

In Philadelphia, the facilitators are a motley collective, ranging from laypeople with practical knowledge to clinical social workers to people who have apprenticed in shamanic healing traditions.

They guide people through a process that may one day soon be legal.

Continue reading to discover how some of these sessions work. 🔑

🧠 Philly Trivia Time 🧠

Ahead of Saturday’s playoff game against the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Museum of Art installed giant cutouts of four Eagles players on its famous steps.

Which of these players are not among the four?

A. DeVonta Smith

B. Fletcher Cox

C. Jalen Hurts

D. Darius Slay

Find out if you know the answer.

What we’re...

🍩 Congratulating: High Fidelity Bakery for graduating to a brick-and-mortar space in South Philly.

🏈 Reviewing (and wincing at): Some of the main injuries that shaped the Eagles’ road to this weekend’s playoff game. 🔑

🧩 Unscramble the Anagram 🧩

Hint: The oldest Philly bridge

ADORNE KEVANRUFF

We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if you’d like. Cheers to Paula Ninerell, who correctly guessed Wednesday’s answer: Martha. Email us if you know the answer.

Photo of the Day

And that’s all you need to start your Thursday. I’m starting mine with a hot chocolate ☕. I’ll be back here tomorrow.