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Pennsylvania Tag

Posted by Leslie Eastman on September 11, 2018 16 Comments
Today marks the 17th anniversary of the 911 attack on this nation, which hit New York's iconic World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a farm field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The heroes of United Airlines flight 93, who brought down the plane before it could return to Washington D.C. and slam into the White House, are being honored with an innovative memorial.
In a field amid the rolling hills of central Pennsylvania stands the "Tower of Voices." Ninety-three-feet tall, it honors the heroes of Flight 93.

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 20, 2018 28 Comments
About six days after a report dropped that detailed the child sexual abuse by more than 300 priests in Pennsylvania, Pope Francis has released a statement tearing apart those involved in the abuse and cover-up. From The Washington Examiner:
"'If one member suffers, all suffer together with it' (1 Cor 12:26)," the pope wrote in his statement. "These words of Saint Paul forcefully echo in my heart as I acknowledge once more the suffering endured by many minors due to sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a significant number of clerics and consecrated persons."

Posted by Mary Chastain on August 16, 2018 9 Comments
The Cook Political Report has moved three House GOP seats to Toss Up from Lean Republican after new polling came out. Another race slipped a little, moving to Lean Republican from Likely Republican. While it may not seem like a big deal, we know the Democrats want the House back and any momentum the Republicans lose, you know the Democrats will jump on the opportunity.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on May 17, 2018 11 Comments
Pennsylvania's newly formed 1st Congressional District is a classic "swing" district, and is rated a toss-up by Cook Political Report. Scott Wallace just won the Democrat nomination, and will run against Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, currently the Rep in the soon-to-be phased out 8th District. Here's the new judicially-ordered congressional map for Pennsylvania:

Posted by Mary Chastain on March 01, 2018 34 Comments
Philadelphia set the bar last year when officials added a 1.5 cents-an-ounce to sweetened beverages. It only brought in $78.8 million...$13 million less than they city hoped. You mean to tell me that when you charge a lot more for pop that people won't buy it? I'm SHOCKED! Not really. I mean, as a loyal Diet Coke consumer, the tax wouldn't have pushed me away. But come on. You shouldn't really rely on a tax on something that people can avoid.

Posted by Jared Samilow on February 22, 2018 9 Comments
A new theater has opened up in the great Pennsylvania Redistricting Battle of 2018, with Republicans filing a federal lawsuit to halt court-ordered redistricting that could cost the GOP four seats in the House this November. On January 22, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court declared that the state's Congressional map, which had been in place since 2011, violated the state constitution. The Republican legislature and Democratic governor were directed to agree on a new map. They failed to do so, and on February 19, the court adopted a new Congressional map devised by Stanford professor Nathaniel Persily.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 21, 2018 19 Comments
On February 19, 2018, the majority Democrat members of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court imposed a new congressional district map that was very Democrat friendly, likely swinging 4-5 seats to Democrats. It could be the difference between Democrats taking control of the U.S. House or not in the 2018 midterms. The map became so Democrat-friendly after a series of decisions as to placement of boundaries that helped Democrats. Nate Cohn at The NY Times described it this way:

Posted by Jared Samilow on February 05, 2018 26 Comments
On January 22, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, on a 5—2 party-line vote, struck down the state's congressional map and ordered the legislature to draw a new one by February 9. See my prior post, Bad news for GOP: Pennsylvania Supreme Court tosses state’s congressional maps. Two members of PA's state legislature—its Speaker of the House and president pro tempore of the Senate—quickly asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and stay the ruling.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on February 01, 2018 33 Comments
Thursday, the Penn Board of Trustees along with the university's president published a letter to the Penn Community announcing their decision to revoke the honorary degree previously awarded to Steve Wynn, a former Penn Trustee and College alumnus. The university will also remove Wynn's name from Wynn Commons as well as a scholarship fund he created. The decision was unanimous. Wynn resigned from his post as RNC Finance Chair after allegations of sexual harassment.

Posted by Jared Samilow on January 25, 2018 13 Comments
Three days ago, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania struck down the state's congressional map, holding that it "clearly, plainly and palpably violates the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania." Offering no rationale for this decision, which upends districts that have been in place for six years, the State Supreme Court further instructed the legislature to propose a new map by February 9, and get Democratic Governor Tom Wolf's approval before February 15. Otherwise, the court itself will decide the new maps that will be used for the 2018 primaries and midterms.
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