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Kapler booed at Phillies home opener, Villanova champs join parade, bike lane debate continues | Morning Newsletter

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Eagles head coach Doug Pederson waves to fans after throwing out the first pitch before the Phillies’ home opener Thursday at Citizens Bank Park.
Eagles head coach Doug Pederson waves to fans after throwing out the first pitch before the Phillies’ home opener Thursday at Citizens Bank Park.Read moreSTEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer

Welcome to Friday. Philly sports fans had a full schedule yesterday, full of cheering and booing thanks to Villanova and the Phillies. The debate over some Center City bike lanes is raging on and a Pennsylvania District Attorney has been indicted, but in good news, teens are helping register their friends to vote at a local high school. All that and more awaits below. Enjoy your weekend, folks.

If you like what you're reading, tell your friends it's free to sign up for this newsletter here.

— Aubrey Nagle (@aubsn, morningnewsletter@philly.com)

» READ MORE: Gabe Kapler booed, Doug Pederson cheered at Phillies home opener

Surely the first public reaction manager Gabe Kapler expected from Philadelphia fans was not the loud boo he got at Thursday's home opener at Citizens Bank Park. Surely he didn't expect to win only one game in their first five of the season, either.

There were plenty of cheers for Maikel Franco, though, who hit a double, triple, and homer on the way to the Phillies' 5-0 win over the Miami Marlins.

And a coach who Philadelphians really love was in the park, too. Eagles coach Doug Pederson threw out the first pitch wearing a Roy Halladay jersey. His popularity, columnist Bob Brookover writes, may be something for Kapler to aspire to. 

» READ MORE: Local teens look to close the ‘registration gap’ for young voters

Students at Conestoga High School aren't waiting until they can vote to get involved in politics. Led by senior Jahnavi Rao, the 2018 New Voters Initiative has helped register more than 100 classmates to vote.

But it's not enough to get their friends registered. They want to close the "registration gap" and get them to the polls, too.

Of course, they're not the only teens taking action. Walkouts at schools across the country in the wake of the Parkland, Fla. shooting has inspired a wave of teen activism.

» READ MORE: Residents divided over Center City bike lane changes

The city's plan to improve bike safety along Spruce and Pine Streets in Center City by moving bike lanes from the right to the left side of the street got a public hearing Thursday. The plan was met with complaints from all sides.

Bike safety advocates argue the change is a half-step and the city should focus on protected bike lanes. Opponents say the changes could endanger drivers.

Bike lanes have been a hot topic in Philly of late; just last month, the city announced it will be adding protected bike lanes to JFK Boulevard and Market Street in Center City this spring.

What you need to know today

  1. It was a cold and windy day for Villanova's victory parade Thursday, but fans still showed up in droves to see coach Jay Wright and the Wildcats. Looking for a souvenir? Find a special section on Villanova's championship run in today's Inquirer, on newsstands (and doorsteps) today.

  2. Bedford County's District Attorney, a graduate of Cardinal Dougherty High School, has been charged after an investigation into claims he traded protection from prosecution for sexual favors. He already had a criminal record, too, for assaulting Packers fans at an Eagles game.

  3. Gov. Tom Wolf has renewed his declaration of a state of emergency for Pennsylvania over the opioid epidemic for three more months, saying the state's made progress and needs to continue its work.

  4. The New Sanctuary Movement, the region's leading advocacy group for undocumented immigrants, is pausing its work following the controversial firing of three immigrant organizers.

  5. New Jersey has rigorous rules for eyewitness testimony in a courtroom, but Pennsylvania? Not so much. And that means accusations of mistaken identity follow.

  6. Columnist Will Bunch has revealed that District Attorney Larry Krasner's office intends to revisit the case of a man on death row who's maintained his innocence for 22 years.

  7. Last year, Pennsylvania gave $239 million in subsidies to the horse racing industry — that's more state money than the Health or Agriculture Departments get.

Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly

We want to see what our community looks like through your eyes. Show us the park that your family walks through every weekend with the dog, the block party in your neighborhood or the historic stretch you see every morning on your commute to work.

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. Camden residents are feuding with Rutgers University over a community park they were supposed to share with students. Now they say they've been locked out.

  2. Immigrants with college degrees come to America searching for a better life. Instead, they often find jobs in the high school labor market. It's called "brain waste."

  3. When he heard about an injured Hatfield woman being denied treatment by her insurance company, columnist Stu Bykofsky picked up the phone. The next day, they reversed course.

  4. Can we add relationships to the list of traditions millennials are done with? Reporter Cassie Owens explains why young people are all about "situationships" (with some memes thrown in for good measure).

  5. Plogging — picking up trash while going for a run — is the new jogging. That's right, the latest Scandinavian clean-living craze has come to Philadelphia.

  6. For people who like good news: there's another Shake Shack opening in Center City.

  7. Natural grocer Sprouts Farmers Market is opening a new location in South Philly in a unique historic locale.

Opinions

"While we know that traumatic experiences like violence and death exist in the lives of many of our black boys, we should not forget that being marginalized within schools is traumatic as well. " Sharif el-Mekki, principal of Mastery Charter-Shoemaker, responds to a study which shows
— black students are punished more than white students in public schools, with seven ways teachers can help black students.
  1. Columnist Christine Flowers writes that women have weaponized the#MeToo movement to do away with due process, and we should all be concerned.

  2. The latest "State of the City" report from the Pew Charitable Trusts shows that, in terms of economic indicators, Philadelphia is faring pretty well. In terms of social indicators, however, it's not all good news.

What we’re reading

  1. Philadelphia Weekly's profile of a brother and sister who want to create a community movie theater in Fishtown to spread their love of film will warm your heart.

  2. Still mad yesterday's Villanova parade was in Philly? Perhaps Billy Penn can convince you to embrace the school as Philadelphian.

  3. Jersey Shore is back, people. Love it or hate it (and what it's done to the Shore), as Esquire explains, we have to give it some credit for changing reality TV. 

  4. Journalist Buzz Bissinger and Penn's Kelly Writers House have teamed up to publish works by young writers, and their first story at the Philadelphia Citizen is about the rise, fall, and recovery of West Philly's Café Renata. 

  5. Did you know 53 percent of gang members in Mississippi are white? The Guardian's exploration of the rise of America's white gangs is a must-read.

Your Daily Dose of | Serendipity

It's been fifteen years since pen pals Brynn, from New Jersey, and Stanzin, from India, wrote their first letters. Then, suddenly, they found out they'd be in the same city.