The attorney general’s office has charged eight Philadelphia municipal workers, alleging they claimed more than $300,000 in pandemic-related unemployment funds.
Thanks to a referral from Philadelphia’s Office of Inspector General, the eight were found to have received payments from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program while still on city payroll. Each worker received between $20,000 and $60,000 in PUA benefits.
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Republicans very recently used to dominate the locale composing much of Pennsylvania’s Fifth Congressional District. Geographically overlapping with much of the erstwhile Seventh District (nixed four years ago by the state Supreme Court), the Delaware-County-based territory had Republican Pat Meehan as its U.S. representative from 2011 to 2018. Before Meehan’s predecessor Joe Sestak (D) won the seat for two two-year terms, GOP Congressman Curt Weldon held it for two decades.
The district today is, well, different: Republicans’ old stronghold of Delaware County has flipped Democratic (though the GOP still fares well in some municipalities). And anyone waging a general-election campaign against Democratic Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon must also make inroads in south Philadelphia, Lower Merion, Upper Merion, Narberth, Bridgeport and Norristown — all places where “blue” voters have long outnumbered “red” ones.
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Republican members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Monday circulated a memorandum seeking cosponsors for articles of impeachment for Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner (D).
Reps. Josh Kail (R-Monaca), Torren Ecker (R-Abbottstown) and Tim O’Neal (R-Washington) wrote in their message to House colleagues that impeachment is a severe option that they would only initiate in the face of a prosecutor’s clear “dereliction of duty.” They charged Krasner with a “willful refusal to enforce Pennsylvania’s criminal laws” in Philadelphia.
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Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives voted 151-49 Wednesday for legislation allowing state prosecutors to handle some of Philadelphia’s gun-related cases.
The bill would renew the state attorney general’s “concurrent jurisdiction” with the Philadelphia district attorney, letting the commonwealth shoulder part of the effort to prosecute firearm-related offenses in a city where many feel the job isn’t getting done.
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The two largest cities in Pennsylvania have prohibited single-use plastics at businesses after Pittsburgh City Council passed legislation on Tuesday, joining Philadelphia’s ban approved last year.
“This landmark piece of legislation will sharply curtail litter, mitigate stormwater risk, reduce the amount of microplastics in our soil and water, improve the city’s recycling efficacy, and begin to break our dependence on fossil fuel-based products,” Councilwoman Erika Strassburger said in a press release.
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Philadelphia said Monday the city is bringing back its indoor mask mandates for public places, schools and daycares amid an increase in COVID-16 cases and hospitalization.
The mask mandate will officially return on April 18. The city’s previous mask mandate was dropped March 2, roughly just six weeks ago.
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Philly Weekly’s brief, modest shift to the political center has ended and its new editor apologized on Friday for giving non-leftists a voice in its pages.
Josh Kruger, who also wrote for PW in its earlier days as a reflexively progressive tabloid, issued a note to readers lamenting that the Philadelphia, PA-based paper ever strayed from its longstanding party line. He blasted PW’s deviation from that line as “really offensive and, frankly, hurtful.” He recalled he “was sort of devastated” when, in autumn of 2020, the publication announced it would embrace “alt journalism that’s conservative” and sought financial support via Kickstarter.com so it could realize that vision.
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With homicides in Philadelphia, PA reaching a new record high this year, Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has renewed his call for gun control, leaving progressive law-enforcement officials like Philadelphia’s infamously lenient District Attorney Larry Krasner (D) unmentioned.
As of Dec. 29, 557 murders took place in Philadelphia in 2021, a 10.4-percent increase over the 499 murders that occurred during 2020—a year that itself saw 143 more murders than the previous year. (Homicides in Philadelphia have not numbered as many as 500 since 1990.) Gun robberies, vehicle theft and retail theft have all risen significantly.
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Pennsylvania was by far one of the most contentious battleground states in the 2020 election, but new analysis shows even in Philadelphia Democrats are only treading water.
In 2020, both Democrat and anti-Trump groups dumped millions into Philadelphia and surrounding suburbs, with roving food vans that would extract votes out of people in exchange for a meal, or the use of “street money” to incentivize election-day door knockers to push people to the polls.
Despite these borderline-bribery efforts to drag people out to vote against Trump in 2020, Democrats gained less than 20,000 votes in Philly compared to 2016 numbers.
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Legislation passed by the Pennsylvania Senate State Government Committee on Tuesday would allow candidates and political parties to appoint poll watchers from any Pennsylvania county to any election precinct.
Under current law, candidates and parties may assign poll watchers—often party committee members or other volunteers—to election districts only within those poll watchers’ respective counties. The appointed watchers may make good-faith challenges to a voters’ identity, residence or voting eligibility.
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The firing of Matthew Hawn, a high school teacher in Sullivan County, Tennessee, recently made national news and seemed to confirm fears that newly-enacted state bans on critical race theory (CRT) would have a chilling effect on teacher speech. Hawn, a 16-year veteran tenured teacher and baseball coach, had assigned students in his contemporary issues class Ta-Nehisi Coates’s essay, “The First White President,” and a spoken word poem from Kyla Jenée Lacey called “White Privilege.” One headline declared, “A Tennessee teacher taught a Ta-Nehisi Coates essay and a poem about white privilege. He was fired for it.” A Georgetown professor tweeted, “This really seems extreme and a harbinger of what is to come.”
But contrary to news coverage and social media chatter, Hawn wasn’t fired for violating the state’s newly passed CRT ban. Really, he was dismissed for failing to adhere to the Tennessee “Teacher Code of Ethics,” a seldom-invoked but sensible state requirement for teachers to provide students access to varying points of view on controversial topics. Not only did Hawn fail to follow this code when he assigned the contentious poem and Coates’ essay from The Atlantic, which contains claims such as, “With one immediate exception, Trump’s predecessors made their way to high office through the passive power of whiteness,” he also later asserted that “there is no credible source for a differing point of view.” (Hawn recently denied making such a claim, though he declined to explain why the district attributed this statement to him.)
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Many people, including some good friends, believe that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election fair and square.
Many others – and I place myself among them – believe that something is rotten in the state of Denmark, or, to be more specific, in the cities of Milwaukee, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Detroit, not to mention Maricopa County, Arizona. I think what happened was so rotten that I regard the election as illegitimate.
What proof, you might ask, do I have?
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Ten local Black Lives Matter chapters issued a statement Monday accusing the movement’s national arm of providing little to no financial support to its local chapters, which are responsible for carrying out BLM’s mission.
The local chapters, including those of Washington, D.C., Chicago and Philadelphia, said in the statement that Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation has provided no acceptable financial transparency surrounding the “unknown millions of dollars” it has reaped since its founding in 2013.
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Even as members of the mainstream media largely dismiss concerns about possible voter fraud, they are ignoring Philadelphia’s long history of endemic political corruption.
Less than six months ago, for example, a former Philadelphia Judge of Elections pled guilty and was convicted for his role in accepting bribes to cast fraudulent ballots and certify false voting results during the 2014, 2015, and 2016 primary elections.
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A Philadelphia election employee said Friday that “no matter how many times you ask questions” about the mail-in vote counting procedures in the county, the “orange guy still lost.”
Just the News has been contacting counties about a guidance issued by Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar on Oct. 21 about permitting individuals with rejected mail-in ballots to vote via a provisional ballot. When Just the News called the Philadelphia Board of Elections and asked for the director, we were connected to the Philadelphia City Commissioners office and advised to ask for the director there.
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“There’s no excuse for looting,” Joe Biden says, as Philadelphia suffers wanton lawlessness, destruction, and violence at the hands of people who pretend they are “peaceful protesters” standing against “racial injustice.”
Let’s hope that Biden has, at long last, learned that it’s not a good idea to whitewash, condone, or otherwise excuse riots. It’s still a shame that it took internal polling to convince Biden that literally getting down on his knees and bowing is never an appropriate response when people are being robbed, beaten, and killed.
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More than 30 police officers were injured in West Philadelphia overnight amid violent rioting after police shot a black man wielding a knife who refused to disarm. A 56-year old female sergeant reportedly suffered a broken leg after she was struck by a pickup truck driven by protestors. Violent rioters attacked officers with rocks, bricks and other projectiles as mobs looted stores, smashed ATMs and torched police cars.
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The Henrico County police have charged a protestor with misdemeanors related to the September 8 protest at acting ICE Director Tony Pham’s home. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Nancy Nguyen, executive director of VietLead, was arrested and released on her own recognizance last week in Philadelphia.
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Memory sticks that are used to program Philadelphia voting machines have been stolen along with a worker’s laptop, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The outlet reported that assurances have been made that the thefts from a city warehouse will not impair the integrity of the elections.
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The government of Philadelphia is standing by its continued release of a criminal illegal alien — ignoring requests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold the individual — arguing that it’s complying with federal law.
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NASHVILLE — The only thing that makes a charter school different from a traditional school district is the level of autonomy, and that is something the Nashville Classical Charter School puts to good use.
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Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is taking on a new role as the honorary chairman of a nonpartisan group devoted to education about the Constitution, replacing former Vice President Joe Biden. The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia said Tuesday that Gorsuch, named to the high court by President Donald Trump, will serve as a spokesman for civics education and civility in politics. The 51-year-old Gorsuch is the first sitting Supreme Court Justice to be the center’s chairman. Vice President Biden stepped down when he launched his campaign for the presidency in April. Justice Gorsuch said he’s concerned by polls that show most Americans would flunk a citizenship test and many say incivility keeps them away from public affairs. “For a government of and by the people to work, everyone must have some idea how our Constitution works and we must be able to talk to each other about important ideas in an atmosphere of mutual respect,” Gorsuch said in a comment provided by the Supreme Court. Jeffrey Rosen, the National Constitution Center’s president and CEO, said the organization was attracted by Gorsuch’s commitment to civics and civility. “We’re genuinely excited about this partnership because Justice Gorsuch is so passionate…
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by Jon Miltimore Philadelphia’s soda tax is barely two years old, but many local lawmakers are saying they’ve seen enough. The hotly debated tax survived a legal battle last year, but the court of public opinion appears to be another matter. Maria Quiñones-Sánchez, a member of Philadelphia’s city council, introduced a bill last month that would phase out and potentially eliminate the soda tax (which includes other sugary drinks such as almond milk, sports water, and some teas). A separate resolution would authorize the Council to hire a consultant to study the tax’s economic impact. “I would be up for a total repeal of it,” Quiñones-Sánchez told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I’m against a regressive tax. … What the polls are showing is that people aren’t happy with this.” Quiñones-Sánchez is not alone. Her bill enjoys support not just from the Council’s three Republicans but also from three Democrats. All three Democrats, The Inquirer notes, voted in favor of Philadelphia’s soda tax, Mayor Jim Kenney’s signature tax measure. A National Trend? Soda taxes aren’t new. In fact, they’re becoming increasingly popular. More than 40 countries around the world tax sugary drinks. The US has largely bucked this trend. No state…
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by Andrew Kerr One of the suspects charged with assault for allegedly attacking two Marines in Philadelphia in November has ties with Washington D.C.’s radical Antifa leader Joseph “Jose” Alcoff, who’s advocated for violence and for the overthrow of the government. Thomas Keenan, 33, was charged in November with aggravated assault after allegedly partaking in a mob attack against two Marines who were mistaken for being participants in a right-wing rally. Keenan has been called “leader” of the Antifa contingent in Philadelphia area, according to Philadelphia Magazine. In 2011, Keenan and Alcoff were arrested and charged with rioting in New Jersey after a street fight broke out between neo-Nazis and members of the Anti-Racist Action organization. The Marines, Alejandro Godinez and Luis Torres, testified in December that a group of 10 to 12 Antifa members called them “Nazis” and “white supremacists” and attacked them on the street despite their denials that they had no association with the right-wing group demonstrating nearby. During the attack, Godinez said he shouted “I’m Mexican” at the mob, which allegedly led the attackers to call him a “spic” and “wetback.” Alcoff, 36, has made significant efforts to separate his true identity from his fanatical personas, “Chepe” and “Jose Martin,” which…
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by Grace Carr Film producers of “Gosnell,” a movie detailing the crimes of abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, never trusted pro-lifers until they pulled together “brutal” murder evidence for the movie that changed their perspectives on abortion. “I never trusted or liked pro-life activists,” film producer Ann McElhinney told Lifesite. “I thought the shocking images they showed were manipulative. I was sure they had been photoshopped,” McElhinney said, recounting how she’d thought prior to producing, “Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer.” “The universities of the world are teeming with young people just like that young person I once was,” McElhinney continued. “This story was not orchestrated by the pro-life movement. This was a trial: a murder trial.” The film tells the story of abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, who was sentenced to life in prison after authorities discovered he’d been killing live babies after birth. Gosnell aborted babies after the legal limit of 24 weeks gestation in what became known as the “House of Horrors.” He was also responsible for the death of 41-year-old Karnamaya Mongar who died of a drug overdose during her abortion. Gosnell operated the Women’s Medical Society in West Philadelphia starting in 1979, but wasn’t investigated until February 2010 when the FBI and the…
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by George Rasley When Muslim terrorist Edward Archer shot Philadelphia Police Officer Jesse Hartnett, and Democratic Mayor James Kenny said the attack had “nothing to do with being a Muslim or following the Islamic faith” we wrote in our article Jim Kenny: Having A Mayor Like This Could Get You Killed that we had originally intended to title the article “Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenny is an Idiot,” but that that was all too obvious from Kinney’s news conference. But Kinney’s policy of making Philadelphia an illegal and extra-constitutional “sanctuary city” and his subsequent behavior has now given us an opportunity to resurrect the title. When the Trump administration tried to crack down on sanctuary cities Philadelphia and other cities sued. Federal Judge Michael Baylson of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania subsequently ruled that President Donald Trump cannot cut off grants to Philadelphia over the way they handle illegal immigrants. Baylson, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote that Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ “public statements… asserting that immigrants commit more crimes than native-born citizens, are inaccurate as applied to Philadelphia, and do not justify the imposition of these… conditions.” A member of Mayor Kenney’s staff taped the Democrat dancing with his…
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Earlier this month thousands viewed Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s “happy dance” over solidifying the city’s status as a sanctuary protecting criminal illegal aliens. Two years ago, Kenney took the lead to help the Philly Eid Coalition achieve its goal of adding two Muslim holidays to the school district calendar relying on “cultural inclusion” to justify his support even though his rationale collided with the First Amendment’s establishment of religion clause: Our city was built on the idea that … the city welcomes all to worship and practice the faiths of our culture or our choosing[.] … We have to take into account how society sometimes ostracizes and eliminates people from the mainstream[.] At the same time Kenney announced the creation of the Mayor’s Task Force on Cultural Inclusion: The task force will study and produce recommendations regarding the expansion of religious observance days, the education of city management and employees to the religious sensitivities of their coworkers, how the courts and judicial system can better acknowledge religious days, and ways best disseminate information on religious holidays to the public including local businesses and employers. Joining the Mayor and Philly School Superintendent when the Muslim holidays school calendar change was made were representatives…
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With Pennsylvania shaping up as a key battleground state in 2018 and 2020, as well, financial disarray and the significant potential for fraud and abuse in one of it’s major cities could give Republicans something to target in the Fall. Philadelphia’s government has the worst accounting practices among the nation’s 10 largest cities, with $924 million in bookkeeping errors alone last year, according to an audit released Tuesday by City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart. That’s on top of the now-infamous missing $33 million, the discrepancy between what the city’s records say it has and what is in the bank — the result of a failure to reconcile the city’s cash account over several years, Rhynhart said at a news conference. In total, the controller’s auditors found two “material weaknesses” and eight “significant deficiencies” in the fiscal 2017 books. The accounting terms refer to serious issues with the city’s internal financial controls. “This is a major problem and needs to be treated that way by the mayor and the finance director on down,” Rhynhart told the Inquirer and Daily News. “If the City of Philadelphia is talking about tax increases, let’s get our house in order.” By comparison, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago,…
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Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA), who is running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania blasted both the mayor of Philadelphia and his own opponent, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), over a viral video of the mayor dancing as Philadelphia joined the ranks of sanctuary cities which give safe harbor to illegal immigrants, including those with criminal records, thanks to a decision handed down by a federal district judge. Needless to say, I think @janeslusser and @PhillyMayor are pretty excited about today’s ruling affirming Philadelphia as a Sanctuary City. pic.twitter.com/gdnnjZT9ps — Steve Preston (@StevePrest) June 6, 2018 “That’s really a sad video to watch,” Barletta told Stuart Varney on Fox Business Network, “Especially for me.” “I don’t think the families of the victims in Philadelphia who were victims of illegal immigrants… I don’t think they’re dancing,” Barletta said. Barletta went on to cite the family of a child allegedly raped by an illegal immigrant in Philadelphia, saying he “is challenging Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) in November, and that he and Casey — the son of a former Pennsylvania governor — are “on opposite ends” of the sanctuary city and illegal immigration issue.” “That’s going to be a big issue in this election,” Barletta said.…
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The mayor of Philadelphia inserted himself into national politics Wednesday, calling President Donald Trump a “bully” for ending an immigration program for Haitian refugees. Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney was speaking to a group of immigration advocates when he went after Trump in his speech, according to the local NBC affiliate. “There is no compassion whatsoever in…
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