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Democrats are losing patience with Gov. Wolf, too | Morning Newsletter

And, a Philly park for those experiencing homelessness.

    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. Hope you’re enjoying how spring is warming it up for us in the Philly region.

First: Gov. Tom Wolf is drawing criticism about the vaccine rollout from his fellow Democrats now.

Then: We’re bringing you a special package on how this year has transformed the lives of essential workers, in their own words.

And: This Philly park designed for those experiencing homelessness will be a real first.

— Ashley Hoffman (@_ashleyhoffman, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Gov. Tom Wolf is drawing criticism about the vaccine rollout from his fellow Democrats now.

When Wolf tapped into his emergency powers to put COVID-19 restrictions in place, Democrats stood by him as several Republicans endeavored to check him. But that’s just the story of restrictions. When it comes to the vaccine rollout, a number of Democrats are sharing concerns about inadequate efficiency, Chris Brennan and Andrew Seidman report.

Wolf can’t run for reelection, but as always, it’s political. Administering this vaccine with the urgency, the fairness, and the speed this virus demands may be different from social distancing mandates for the state. Though our struggle to get a hold of something vital to ending the pandemic the way public health experts recommend is not.

Read on for what a number of Democrats are saying.

Since the pandemic began, a new disruptive tension stayed unfailingly high for essential workers on the front lines. COVID-19 transformed their lives into something else entirely, and kept the emotional registry volatile.

If there’s one thing everyone felt, it’s the uncertainty that defined these 12 months. Lately, the vaccines and other factors have offered hope for a kind of deliverance from that uncertainty. Today, we’re revisiting the crushing emotional toll the coronavirus has taken as it arrived in different contours. Now that the pandemic has worn on for a year, we put together a package on how essential workers are coping, in their own words.

Get the stories of people we spoke to last year, from the Fire Department EMT navigating many of the same fears since the beginning to the ICU nurse thinking about how we’ll recover from what we lived through when it’s over.

  1. Where can you get a vaccine in the Philly area if you’re eligible? Use our lookup tool and find out.

  2. Here’s how you can prepare for your COVID-19 vaccine appointment when you get one.

  3. Here are the updated coronavirus case numbers, as COVID-19 spreads in the region.

  4. Can vaccinated people still spread COVID-19? How long does immunity last? Here’s what science knows now.

What you need to know today

  1. Philly will get the first park that doesn’t just welcome those experiencing homelessness. They’ll help design and build it.

  2. This new stimulus bill would presumably send checks to millions of people who were excluded from the first round of payments.

  3. Philly students could attend school in the summer and go with hybrid approach in the fall, the superintendent says.

  4. Chester County is officially changing the confidentiality clause for its employees, but the thorny legal, constitutional issues remain.

  5. Rebecca Rhynhart already has close watchers talking about her potentially getting into the race for Philly mayor.

  6. Drexel University is eyeing a move to Montco for its medical labs.

  7. We’re still missing crucial COVID-19 data on vaccines and cases from Pa. health officials, Spotlight investigates.

Through your eyes | #OurPhilly

This just feels like summer already. Thanks for sharing, @phillyphotoculture.

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

  1. 🏟️ This is the story of a Vietnam vet who claims to have lived in Veterans Stadium. He turned an empty concession stand into an “off-the-wall South Philly version of the Phantom of the Opera” for five years.

  2. 👑 Meghan Markle’s sharing suicidal thoughts is a watershed moment for helping others, Philly-area mental health experts say. Here’s what you need to know.

  3. 💼 Philly’s public defenders are saying they’ll refuse to work on jury trials in-person until attorneys are eligible for COVID-19 vaccines.

Opinions

“It used to be that knowing a homicide victim was a relatively rare thing. Not so anymore,” columnist Jenice Armstrong writes about the former State Rep. Movita Johnson-Harrell-organized vigil and balloon release where mourners called out the names of gun violence victims.

  1. Too many Black women suffer in silence like Meghan Markle. Mental health support shouldn’t be so exclusionary, therapist Iresha Picot writes.

  2. Making opioid use disorder treatment accessible is one thing the federal government actually got right during the pandemic, professor Bridget C.E. Dooling and analyst Laura E. Stanley write.

What we’re reading

Disruptive “coworkers” are everywhere including TV news. Enjoy some bloopers and snafus, on CNN.

A nurse who earned a reputation as a “cat whisperer” lost her own life while she was trying to save a wounded animal. Now her friends want her benevolent memory to live on.