Category: The Northeast

Doctor Who Gave Fetterman a Clean Bill of Health Is Campaign Donor, Democrat Funder

Just the News

A doctor who issued a clean bill-of-health letter for John Fetterman is a donor to the Pennsylvania Democrat Senate nominee’s campaign and a frequent giver to other Democratic politicians, federal records show. 

Speculations have swirled around Fetterman’s health after he experienced a stroke in May. At times he has struggled with speech and has also needed technological assistance during media interviews, such as closed captioning to ensure he comprehends questions to him. Auditory processing issues are common symptoms of strokes.

Read the full story

As Nearby Small Cities Lower Murder Rates, Philadelphia Looks for Solutions

The Center Square

Homicides in Philadelphia have been stubbornly high compared to just a few years ago, and elected officials have started to look for answers in other cities.

While some crime has risen in a number of cities in recent years, few cities have seen a worse rise in murder than Philadelphia. A recent WalletHub comparison of per capita murder rates since 2020 found that Philadelphia ranked seventh of the 50 largest cities in America.

Read the full story

Poll: Oz Draws Even with Fetterman Just Weeks Before Midterms

Admin

Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz are statistically tied in a new survey of Pennsylvania voters, five days before they hold their first and only debate of the Pennsylvania Senate race and less than three weeks before voting begins, per a survey released on Thursday.

Fetterman and Oz gained 46.3% and 45.5%, respectively, of the support of respondents, according to a poll conducted by Insider  for FOX29, Philadelphia’s Fox affiliate. Around 5% of voters remained undecided, according to the poll.

Read the full story

Appalachian Commission Sends $7 Million for Workforce Projects in Pennsylvania

The Center Square

The Appalachian Regional Commission has announced almost $50 million in grants across the 13-state region, and Pennsylvania will receive $7 million to encourage economic growth.

Nine projects in Pennsylvania will receive about $50,000 to $1.5 million for workforce training, manufacturing, child care and feasibility studies for potential development.

Read the full story

Judge Rules Pennsylvania County Does Not Have to Provide In-Person Monitoring of Ballot Boxes

Just the News

A Pennsylvania judge this week ruled that a major state county does not have to provide in-person monitoring of ballot boxes there, declaring that the boxes are secure and that electronic oversight of the locations is sufficient. 

Judge Thomas Capehart in his Tuesday night ruling turned down all four requests made by the plaintiffs, four Lehigh County voters, specifically that the county “provide in-person monitoring” of its ballot boxes, that the county locate its boxes “in buildings,” and that the boxes only be available for deposits during certain hours of the day. 

Read the full story

Connecticut Gubernatorial Race Is a Re-Match of 2018

The Center Square

Four years ago, Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Bob Stefanowski faced off in Connecticut’s gubernatorial race.

The same scenario is playing out this fall with incumbent Lamont, seeking a second term in office, facing off against Stefanowski, the opponent he defeated four years ago. Also throwing his hat into the ring this fall is independent gubernatorial candidate Robert Hotaling.

Read the full story

Republicans Sue to Discard Undated Pennsylvania Absentee Ballots

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania’s Republican Party and its national counterpart filed a lawsuit this week to prevent the state’s Democrat-run executive branch from requiring counties to count undated absentee ballots. 

A lawsuit that originated in 2021 to settle a dispute about whether such ballots should be tallied resulted in the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals answering in the affirmative this June. That ruling decided a race for Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas in favor of Democrat Zachary Cohen over Republican David Ritter. 

Read the full story

End of Benefits, Rising Inflation Contribute to Food Insecurity in Connecticut

The Center Square

As benefits such as the enhanced child tax credit end and inflation increases, more Connecticut residents are facing food insecurity.

As DataHaven reports that 17% of Connecticut adults have been unable to afford food at some point in the past year, Julieth Callejas, who serves as executive director of End Hunger Connecticut, told The Center Square in an exclusive interview that many factors contribute to the trend. The percentage is the highest in the last five years.

Read the full story

Fiscal Policy Report Card Gives Pennsylvania Low Grade

The Center Square

In a recent ranking of America’s governors, Pennsylvania’s Tom Wolf ranked at the bottom of the pack – 44th for his fiscal policies.

An annual fiscal policy report card from the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, graded the nation’s governors “from a limited-government perspective.” In their grading that emphasized lowering taxes and cutting spending, Wolf earned an “F.”

Read the full story

Northeast Pennsylvanians Seeking Solutions to Workforce Growth

The Center Square

In a joint Senate hearing on workforce development in northeast Pennsylvania, witnesses emphasized the importance of apprenticeships and the trades, and population struggles to fill jobs.

The Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee and Senate Labor & Industry Committee met in Luzerne County where concerns went beyond narrow economic concerns. 

Read the full story

State Senator Proposes Repealing Pennsylvania Ballot Date Requirement

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania Democrats remain opposed to discarding undated absentee ballots, despite a Supreme Court decision suggesting that the ballots should not count.

Shortly after Governor Tom Wolf (D) and acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman (D) indicated they will continue to instruct counties to count mail-in ballots that come in envelopes on which voters did not write a date, state Senator Jim Brewster (D) proposed legislation to end the date requirement entirely.

Read the full story

Minnesota’s Hastings Public School Children Have Access to Sexually Graphic and Illustrated ‘Gender Queer’ Book

Admin

Children in the Hastings Public Schools district can easily get their hands on a book titled “Gender Queer” that includes illustrations of sexual acts, a school board member said.

In an interview conducted by Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Dippel, Hastings school board member Carrie Tate confirmed that the controversial graphic novel by Maia Kobabe is available to schoolchildren in the district. The book depicts oral sex and masturbation.

Read the full story

Two Connecticut Police Officers Killed, Another Seriously Injured in Shooting

Admin

Two police officers are dead and another is seriously injured after a shooting in Bristol, Connecticut, police said Thursday.

The suspected gunman waited outside as officers responded to a domestic incident call in a residential area of Bristol on Wednesday evening, Connecticut State Police said. When the officers arrived, the suspect opened fire, killing one officer on site, officials said. The other officer died in the hospital.

Read the full story

Pennsylvania Liberals Acknowledge Fetterman’s ‘Mental and Brain Health’ Problems, Blame Interviewer for Noting Them

Bradley Vasoli

After NBC’s Dasha Burns interviewed Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman this week about his U.S. Senate race against celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz, progressives voiced outrage. Still, they recognized Burns’s reporting underscored that the candidate lost some mental acuity after he had a stroke this spring and has yet to gain it back. 

Her conversation with Fetterman was the first one-to-one, sit-down interview he has given since the stroke. Reporting to anchor Lester Holt, Burns noted the candidate required closed captioning, a tool that his campaign insisted be available to him when he debates Oz in Harrisburg on October 25. 

Read the full story

After Chaotic 2020 Process, Pennsylvania Still Won’t Have Midterm Results on Election Day

Just the News

Pennsylvania during the 2022 midterms will once again fail to produce election results on election day itself, a shortfall the secretary of state’s office is blaming on a recently passed law that fails to permit pre-election counting of mail-in ballots.

Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman said in a briefing on Tuesday that state officials are anticipating “that once again Pennsylvania will not have unofficial results on election night.”

Read the full story

Connecticut Water Systems to Receive Improvements Thanks to Infrastructure Law

The Center Square

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded Connecticut more than $53 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for water infrastructure improvements.

The state plans to use the funding for lead line replacement projects in New London and Waterbury, as well as PFAS treatment projects in New Fairfield and Danbury. Additional projects are slated for later funding.

Read the full story

U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against Counting Undated Pennsylvania Mail-In Ballots

Bradley Vasoli

The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a lower federal court’s decision Tuesday allowing Pennsylvania counties to count undated mail-in ballots. 

The case originated in 2021 after Republican David Ritter and Democrat Zachary Cohen vied for a judgeship on the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas and their race came to a near tie. Cohen eventually netted a five-vote lead when the Philadelphia-based Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals resolved a dispute between the candidates about whether to count 257 absentee ballots. Those sheets were returned in envelopes on which the voter failed to write a date. 

Read the full story

Pennsylvania Progressives Propose Forcing Landlords to Accept Housing Vouchers

Bradley Vasoli

Two liberal Pennsylvania lawmakers on Friday proposed a law to force all landlords to accept housing vouchers.

In a memorandum describing their legislation, state Senators Katie Muth (D-Royersford) and Carolyn Comitta (D-West Chester) insisted that America’s current “public housing crisis” demands such a measure. They cited data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition indicating that a Pennsylvanian earning the state’s minimum wage of $7.25 per hour in 2022 would need to work 94 hours weekly to pay for a one-bedroom rental or 115 hours to afford a two-bedroom apartment. A resident working 40 hours a week would, they asserted, need to earn $20.90 hourly (almost three times the state minimum wage) to pay for a typical two-bedroom apartment. 

Read the full story

Connecticut Child-Care Workers Get $70 Million in Bonuses

The Center Square

Child-care workers in Connecticut will soon be getting bonus payments.

The Lamont administration announced Thursday afternoon that $70 million in Appreciate Bonus Payments will be distributed to child-care providers in the state. Bonuses of $1,000 will go to full-time employees of child-care providers and $400 to part-time workers through the Wage Supports for Early Childhood Educators program.

Read the full story

Hillsdale College Academy Scientist: Government’s Handling of COVID Pandemic a ‘Disaster’ That Ruined Public Health and Science

Susan Berry, PhD

Epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff, Ph.D. told attendees at Hillsdale College’s Blake Center for Faith and Freedom in Connecticut Thursday evening that government health agencies that forced lockdowns and mass vaccinations to manage the COVID-19 pandemic have thrown the basic principles of public health “out the window.”

Swedish native Kulldorff, who is on leave from Harvard University and is a founding fellow of Hillsdale’s Academy for Science and Freedom, is also a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, a document published in October 2020 that has since been translated into 44 languages and signed by nearly one million scientists, physicians, and citizens.

Read the full story

Pennsylvania Governor Vetoes Bill to Limit Parole for Violent Offenders

The Center Square

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf last week vetoed a bill approved by the General Assembly that would prohibit premature release of a prisoner that has committed a violent offense while imprisoned.

The bill, known as “Markie’s law” and sponsored by Rep. Aaron Bernstine, R-Ellwood City, passed 41-9 in the Senate and 133-69 in the House. Wolf is term-limited, and headed out at the beginning of January; both chambers are majority Republicans.

Read the full story

Analysts Now Treating Pennsylvania Senate Race as a Toss-Up

Bradley Vasoli

After an uninterrupted stretch of good polling news for Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman (D) in his U.S. Senate race against Republican celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz, major analysts now suggest the race could go either way. 

The Cook Political Report and the data aggregator FiveThirtyEight both came out with assessments of recent survey data leading them to conclude Oz can win. 

Read the full story

Commentary: Pennsylvania Democrats’ Abortion Mirage

RealClearWire

In the final weeks of the 2022 midterm campaign, Pennsylvania Democratic candidates continue to bet big on abortion. It was the dominant theme of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman’s first rally in Philadelphia. And the party’s candidates in swing U.S. House districts, like the 1st in suburban Philadelphia and the 17th in suburban Pittsburgh, are hoping that the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade will entice voters to go blue.

Read the full story

Connecticut GOP U.S. Senate Candidate Leora Levy Challenges Woke Education Industry: ‘What Happened to the Fundamentals?’

Susan Berry, PhD

The Republican candidate who hopes to unseat Connecticut U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D) asserts parents are outraged their children are failing to learn education basics while woke teachers and school boards attempt to indoctrinate them with radical Critical Race Theory and gender ideology.

In an op-ed at Fox News Monday, Leora Levy wrote that pandemic school closures, urged by the teachers’ unions and their political allies, and COVID mask mandates have been “catastrophic” for our children, particularly those from low-income families.

Read the full story

Funds in Connecticut Will Assist Sexual Assault Probes

The Center Square

Helping Connecticut process sexual assault evidence kits in a more timely manner is the focus of new federal funding.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced it will award $1.2 million to Connecticut that will be used at the state’s Forensic Laboratory for adding personnel, supplies, and equipment to aid ongoing efforts in sexual assault investigations, Gov. Ned Lamont said.

Read the full story

Mastriano Proposes Ban on Obscene Materials in Pennsylvania School Settings

Bradley Vasoli

State Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Gettysburg) this week announced he plans to introduce a bill banning the subjection of K-12 students to any “sexually explicit, obscene [or] racist principles.” 

In a memorandum describing his upcoming bill, the senator voiced alarm at parents, students, and school staff, alerting the public to certain materials and themes they feel do not serve educational purposes. He first mentioned “racist concepts,” a reference to Critical Race Theory (CRT), an idea suggesting that history should be taught from a perspective of ethnic politics. 

Read the full story

Judge Blocks Philadelphia’s Gun Ban

Admin

A local court stopped enforcement Monday of a Philadelphia executive order prohibiting guns in many recreational areas.

The Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas accepted a request from plaintiffs including Gun Owners of America for a permanent injunction against the executive order, which Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney issued Sept. 27. The executive order banned carrying firearms and other deadly weapons into city Parks and Recreation Department-run indoor and outdoor recreational premises, with exceptions for park trails and areas not explicitly meant for active recreation.

Read the full story

Reporting, Staff Turnover Contribute to Pennsylvania Audit Troubles

The Center Square

Recent audits show that poor accounting practices can cause Pennsylvania townships to lose out on thousands of dollars, either in interest from a pension fund or from state aid.

A September audit of Dunkard Township in Greene County, for example, found that administrative mistakes caused an overpayment from state aid, among other issues, and required the township to repay nearly $5,000. 

Read the full story

NYC Abandons De Blasio-Era Admissions Policies as Families Flee Public Schools

Admin

New York City is changing its admission policies implemented by former Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio, now basing admissions to selective high schools and middle schools on test scores amidst the city’s enrollment drop, according to a press release by New York City Schools Chancellor David C. Banks.

In an effort to admit “top-performing applicants,” the top 15% of students with a grade point average (GPA) of 90 or above, will be vetted first for the selective schools, according to a press release by Banks. The previous admissions policy was a random lottery that allowed underperforming students to receive admission to the screened schools, introduced during the pandemic.

Read the full story

Pennsylvania State Senator Wants to Force Gun Owners to Carry Liability Insurance

Bradley Vasoli

State Senator Amanda Cappelletti (D-PA-Norristown) on Friday proposed legislation that would force Pennsylvania gun owners to carry liability insurance. 

In a memorandum describing her upcoming bill, Cappelletti wrote that gun-related injuries and deaths cost Pennsylvanians an estimated $12 million each year through lost wages, physical and mental healthcare payments, first-responder services and other expenses. She reasoned that some of these burdens should fall on firearm owners via insurance premiums. She added that insurers could then vary the size of those premiums according to whether policyholders take what she considers appropriate precautions. 

Read the full story

Commentary: A Fetterman Victory in November Would Be Bad News for Pennsylvanians

Admin

From banning fracking to destroying small businesses, Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate John Fetterman’s economic policies would be a disaster for the Keystone State.

Fetterman previously pledged to ban Pennsylvania fracking and nationally ban new fossil fuel leasing. Now that he won his primary, Fetterman is trying to backpedal and said he now opposes such a ban if there were enough taxes in place. But the truth is, Fetterman said he and socialist Senator Bernie Sanders “agree on virtually every issue,” and Sanders introduced a bill with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to ban fracking.

Read the full story

No Chance of Winning’: Four Female Athletes Challenge Connecticut High School Transgender Policy

The Center Square

Four female athletes are locked in a legal battle over transgender athletes that could set major precedent for the same fight playing out in schools around the country.

The four female athletes appealed to a federal court over a Connecticut policy allowing high school males identifying as females to compete against girls. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit heard Soule v. Connecticut Association of Schools this week, where the girls’ legal team argued the policy is unfair to girls and hands female sports victories over to transgender athletes.

Read the full story

Pittsburgh Public Schools Board Adopts ‘Culturally Relevant’ Sex Ed Policy Based on National Standards

Susan Berry, PhD

The Pittsburgh Public Schools Board unanimously adopted changes to the district’s sex education policy that is aligned with national standards, shifting the focus away from abstaining from sex and including “culturally relevant” information related to gender identity.

Rather than emphasize “sexual abstinence as the expected norm,” the new policy “stresses that abstinence from sexual activity is the only completely reliable means of preventing sexually transmitted infections and HIV when transmitted sexually,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Thursday.

Read the full story

Philadelphia Victims’ Relatives Testify About Krasner’s Work as District Attorney

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania’s House Select Committee on Restoring Law and Order heard from mothers of recent Philadelphia murder victims on Thursday morning to gather perspective on District Attorney Larry Krasner’s (D) job performance. 

In a video-recorded interview, Jennifer Meleski, the mother of 24-year-old Chuckie Maude who was murdered in the city’s Kensington neighborhood in 2021, shared her frustration with the city for creating an atmosphere in which gun violence abounds. She blamed Krasner for hamstringing police by pressing charges against officers who “stop and frisk” people on suspicion they are illegally carrying weapons. 

Read the full story

Economic Growth in Northeast Pennsylvania Comes with Coal Mine Cleanup

The Center Square

A rush of federal money will boost Pennsylvania’s ability to address abandoned mining land, but the commonwealth will not be able to rely on federal dollars for most of the funding.

The Senate Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee met on Tuesday to discuss the impact of the anthracite coal industry in northeastern Pennsylvania – both its environmental costs and its economic potential.

Read the full story

New England Governors Push for Home Heating Assistance

The Center Square

New England governors are pressing the federal government for a supplement aid package supporting home heating assistance to residents this winter.

Led by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, the governors penned a letter to congressional leaders expressing their desire to see approval of President Joe Biden’s request for the emergency supplemental funding package that would assist residents with home heating assistance.

Read the full story

Allowing Fentanyl Test Strips Advances in Pennsylvania Senate

The Center Square

Republican legislators in the General Assembly have embraced a harm-reduction approach to deal with drug overdose deaths.

The Senate Judiciary Committee last week advanced a House bill to legalize fentanyl test strips by removing them from the definition of “drug paraphernalia.” The strips can detect fentanyl in other drugs such as heroin, which can help users avoid accidental overdoses.

Read the full story