Category: The Northeast

Police Union Pushes Back over Claims About University of Connecticut Protesters

The Center Square
UConn Division of University Safety

The union representing University of Connecticut police is pushing back on claims officers injured pro-Palestinian protesters when they broke up an encampment last month and arrested more than two dozen people.

The Connecticut Police & Fire Union, which represents UConn police, said the claims about the April 30 encounter made by another union in a letter to school leaders was an “unconscionable attack” on the officers who were just “doing their jobs” by shutting down the “unauthorized” encampment on school grounds.

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Police Disperse Anti-Israel Encampment at University of Pennsylvania Despite Resistance from Faculty, Demonstrators

Tom Pappert
UPenn Protest Arrest

The University of Pennsylvania confirmed on Friday it called the Philadelphia Police Department to disperse the anti-Israel encampment constructed on its campus, declaring it a threat to public safety for students.

Signed by Interim President Larry Jameson, Provost John Jackson, and Senior Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli, the letter highlighted threats posed by the encampment to normal university operations, including commencement for graduating students.

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Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Candidate Dave McCormick Reveals 500 Protesters Still at Penn Anti-Israel Encampment, Urges Admin to ‘Get Control’

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick

Dave McCormick, Pennsylvania’s Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, estimated there are about 500 protesters who remain at at the anti-Israel encampment constructed at the University of Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

McCormick made the remarks following his visit to the Penn campus last week, telling The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show what he witnessed was a “disgrace” and a “travesty.”

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Sen. Bob Casey, Dave McCormick Release Dueling Ads amid Tight Polls in Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Race

Tom Pappert
Pennsylvania Senate Candidates

Both U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick and incumbent Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) released campaign ads on Thursday, with the Republican challenger calling his opponent “dangerous” and Casey highlighting his ties to steel workers.

The campaign advertisements dropped after three recent polls showed McCormick just four points behind Casey, placing the candidates in a statistical tie.

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Two Pennsylvania Polls Show Trump Beating Biden, McCormick Trailing Casey in Statistical Tie

Tom Pappert
Donald Trump Dave McCormick

Two polls of Pennsylvania voters released on Wednesday showed former President Donald Trump defeating President Joe Biden. They also showed a statistical tie in the race between U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and his Republican challenger Dave McCormick.

The Muhlenberg College poll released Wednesday found Trump has the support of 44 percent of Pennsylvania voters, giving him a four-point lead over Biden at 41 percent.

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Pro-Gaza Protesters Declare UPenn ‘Antagonistic and Ableist’ amid Negotiations to End Anti-Israel Encampment

Tom Pappert
Pro-Palestine Protesters

University of Pennsylvania protesters supporting the anti-Israel encampment constructed at the university declared the university’s administration “nefarious” as well as “antagonistic and ableist” on Monday ahead of a third meeting between organizers and the university administrators.

In a social media post directed at the university, issued jointly by Penn student protest groups Up Against the Occupation and Drexel Palestine Coalition, made the claims about the university following an update on the institution’s anti-Israel encampment by Interim President Larry Johnson.

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Republican Party Files to Intervene in Pennsylvania Mail-In Ballot Case over Curing of Votes with No Security Sleeve

Tom Pappert

The Republican National Committee (RNC) and Republican Party of Pennsylvania (PAGOP) have filed to intervene in a Butler County lawsuit brought by two voters who want to enable the curing of mail-in ballots returned to election officials without a security sleeve.

The lawsuit was brought by two Pennsylvania voters who submitted mail-in ballots without the required security sleeve. According to their lawsuit, the voters apparently later sought to cure their ballots, but were instead allowed to cast provisional ballots that were ultimately not counted. They filed suit against the Butler County Board of Elections on April 29.

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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro Used Private Plane for over 100 Trips at Taxpayer Expense in 2023

Tom Pappert
Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro

Governor Josh Shapiro authorized more than 100 flights on the private airplane owned by the State of Pennsylvania in 2023, exceeding the controversial amount of air travel by his predecessor, a Spotlight Pennsylvania report revealed on Tuesday.

The state-owned Beechcraft King Air 350i, which generally sells for between $4.3 million and $6.7 million, was used for 113 separate trips in 2023. According to Spotlight Pennsylvania, the flight time amounted to more than 200 hours and cost the state’s taxpayers $410,000.

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McCormick Senate Campaign Slams Sen. Casey for ‘Continued Silence’ on Campus Antisemitism After Visiting Anti-Israel Encampment at Penn

Tom Pappert
Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA)

The Dave McCormick for U.S. Senate campaign released a Friday statement castigating U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) for his failure to condemn the antisemitic encampment at the University of Pennsylvania, deriding the Democrat for engaging a children’s television character on social media rather than condemn the anti-Israel protests.

McCormick’s campaign explained their challenge to Casey in response to “Casey’s continued silence on the antisemitic encampments rocking college campuses across Pennsylvania and the country.”

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Pennsylvania State Sen. Mastriano Introduces Bill to Defund Colleges Providing ‘Safe Harbor’ for Antisemitism

Tom Pappert
Pro-Palestine Protest

State Senator Doug Mastriano on Thursday introduced legislation that would strip state funding from Pennsylvania colleges and universities that become a “safe harbor” for antisemitism in the months since the October 7 attack by Hamas against Israel.

Mastriano introduced SB 1185 in response to the “pro-Hamas and anti-Israel protests and encampments” his office noted “recently took root at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh and other Pennsylvania colleges and universities that benefit from tax dollars.”

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Connecticut Wrangles over Spending Controls amid $1 Billion Surplus

The Center Square
Connecticut Capitol

Connecticut will end the fiscal year with a record surplus, according to a new report, which is fueling calls by progressive Democrats to roll back the state’s spending controls.

The consensus revenue forecast, released by the Office of Policy and Management and Office of Fiscal Analysis on Monday, shows the state is likely to close out the fiscal year more than $645 million above initial budget projections. That’s a roughly $1 billion surplus through 2026, according to the report.

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Pennsylvania U.S. Senate Candidate Dave McCormick to ‘Revisit’ Federal Support, Tax Breaks for Colleges with Anti-Israel Encampments If Elected

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick

Following his visit to the anti-Israel encampment constructed at the University of Pennsylvania, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Dave McCormick told The Pennsylvania Daily Star Thursday that he will urge senators to “revisit” federal support and tax breaks afforded to top schools if Pennsylvanians send him to Washington, D.C. in November.

McCormick noted that Pennsylvania taxpayers subsidize many schools that boast anti-Israel encampments, either through federal funding or the “huge benefit” of an “enormous endowments” that remain tax exempt.

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Pennsylvania State Sen. Amanda Cappelletti Claims 80 Abortion Clinics Now Closed in ‘Short Period of Time’

Tom Pappert
Amanda Cappelletti

State Senator Amanda Cappelletti (D-Philadelphia) claimed as part of a Monday push to create a federal law to enshrine abortion access that 80 Pennsylvania abortion clinics have closed “in a relatively short period of time” since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Cappelletti made the remarks to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, and additionally claimed abortion access has fallen in the commonwealth since the landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano Says GOP Needs to ‘Stop Sabotaging’ Each Other, ‘Come Together’ to Elect Donald Trump in November

Kaitlin Housler
Doug Mastriano

Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin County) said that establishment Republicans need to come together during this election cycle to support and elect grassroots candidates and former President Donald Trump to office.

Mastriano, who recently detailed his personal experience of betrayal by establishment Republican organizations during his 2022 gubernatorial campaign, said “it’s going to take a lot of effort, energy, and unity” to elect strong Republicans into office this November—especially in the toss up state of Pennsylvania.

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State Sen. Doug Mastriano Details Alleged Betrayals by GOP, Republican Governors Association in 2022 Election

Tom Pappert
Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano

State Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Gettysburg) detailed a series of alleged betrayals by the Republican Party of Pennsylvania (PAGOP), the Republican Governors Association (RGA) and top Republicans in the Keystone State during his 2022 gubernatorial campaign during a Monday appearance on Outside the Beltway with host John Fredericks.

Mastriano told Fredericks that former Pennsylvania Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler (R-Harrisburg), a former PAGOP chair and former Republican Governors Association chair Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) either withheld support or acted against his gubernatorial campaign.

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Commentary: Voters Aren’t Buying What Shapiro Is Selling

RealClearWire
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro

As inflation persists, Pennsylvania voters are rejecting increased government spending, according to new polling data released by the Commonwealth Foundation.

Inflation and the rising cost of living remain Pennsylvanians’ chief concerns. With more than two-thirds of voters saying that high prices are eating away at their standard of living, it’s no wonder that a plurality reports their family is worse off than two years ago.

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John Fredericks May Launch Campaign for Pennsylvania RNC Delegation Chair amid Swelling Grassroots Support

Tom Pappert
John Fredericks

Pennsylvania-based radio host John Fredericks confirmed he is “strongly considering” a campaign for the Chair of the Pennsylvania delegation to the Republican National Convention (RNC) after a Friday appearance on War Room with Stephen K. Bannon, the former Trump presidential aide who now hosts of the popular War Room program.

Fredericks confirmed to The Pennsylvania Daily Star, “I’m only considering a run for Delegation Chairman due to the outpouring of support I’ve gotten and the number of people that have asked me to run.” He added, “I am going to the convention for one purpose, and that is to make sure that President Trump’s agenda is executed to precision.”

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Attorney General Candidate Solomon Praises Philadelphia Mayor Parker, Lambasts District Attorney Krasner

The Center Square
Jared Solomon Larry Krasner Cherelle Parker

Local issues loom large in the attorney general race as candidate Jared Solomon praised Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker and lambasted Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and the dysfunction within the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office.

Pennsylvania voters will decide competitive primaries for attorney general. Five Democrats are running. The Republican race is two.

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Connecticut Committee Advances Bill Proposing Increased Threshold for Felony Unemployment Insurance Fraud

The Center Square

Connecticut House Bill 2570, which proposes increasing the threshold for felony unemployment insurance fraud from $500 to $2000, advanced from the Joint Judiciary Committee on Apr. 5 by a vote of 24-13. The Joint Labor and Public Employees Committee approved the bill with a vote of 8-4 on Mar. 7. The bill is now pending consideration before the full Connecticut House.

Under current law, a fraudulent payment, benefit, or contribution is a class A misdemeanor if it amounts to $500 or less or a class D felony if it amounts to more than $500. The bill increases these thresholds to $2,000 or less for a class A misdemeanor and more than $2,000 for a class D felony.

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Connecticut Lawmakers Approve 2.5 Percent Raises for State Workers

The Center Square
Worker at Desk

Tens of thousands of Connecticut state workers could be getting a bump in their paychecks with lawmakers advancing a proposal to give them a 2.5% across-the-board pay raise.

A proposal approved by the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee on Friday would authorize a 2.5% wage increase for an estimated 46,000 state employees that was hammered out in negotiations earlier this year by Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration and the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition, which represents unionized workers.

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New Plan Offers College Aid in Exchange for Pennsylvania Residency

The Center Square
Scott Martin

As the public awaits more details of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s higher education reform plans, Republican legislators offer some ideas of their own.

During a Wednesday press conference, a gaggle of House and Senate leaders pushed for the creation of a grant program that offers scholarships to students who commit to stay in Pennsylvania. They also want to launch a similar deal for out-of-state students to get in-state tuition if they put down roots in the commonwealth.

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Connecticut Lawmakers Moving to Restrict ‘Faithless’ Electors

The Center Square
Matt Blumenthal

Connecticut has never had a “faithless” elector who refused to certify the results of a presidential election, but some state lawmakers argue there needs to be a law preventing it.

A legislative proposal, which recently cleared a key committee, would nullify the electoral vote of a so-called “faithless” presidential elector in Connecticut who fails to cast their ballot for the candidates that the elector ran on the official ballot.

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Legal Documents Say Pennsylvania Union Funneled $1.8 Million into Lost Trust Fund

The Center Square
Correctional Officer

New legal documents filed recently in an ongoing union corruption case in Pennsylvania say officials funneled $1.8 million into a trust fund that’s yet to be recovered and then destroyed evidence of its existence.

The lawsuit, filed in 2020 by The Fairness Center on behalf of three workers at a state prison in Huntingdon, accused the treasurer of the local chapter of the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association of misappropriating $20,000 between 2009 and 2018.

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Connecticut and 11 Other States Warn Gunmaker to Retain Decades of Files

The Center Square
Glock Gun

An Illinois lawsuit has led Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and attorneys general from 11 other states and the District of Columbia to notify gunmaker Glock to preserve 37 years of documentation regarding its handguns.

Earlier this month, the city of Chicago filed a lawsuit against Glock alleging the company failed to change the design of a pistol. Chicago claims Glock knew a do-it-yourself “switch” could make the handguns a “machine gun” and resulted in a “proliferation of illegal machine guns.”

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Feds Send $90 Million for Largest Pennsylvania Solar Project Yet

The Center Square
Solar Panels

The federal government is goosing Pennsylvania’s solar energy footprint, sending $90 million to create the largest solar project in the state on reclaimed mine land.

The project, in Clearfield County, will be almost twice as big as the large solar project in operation, estimated to produce more than 400 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 70,000 homes.

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Connecticut Elections Chief Calls for Reforms After Ballot Stuffing Scandal

The Center Square
Stephanie Thomas

Connecticut’s top election official is calling for reforms in the wake of a ballot stuffing scandal in Bridgeport’s mayoral race, where some people were allegedly paid cash to fill out mail ballots.

Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas said her office had referred allegations about election “malfeasance” in the February redo of the mayoral race to the State Elections Enforcement Commission to investigate, including reports from voters who received absentee ballots despite not requesting them.  

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Conservative Publication Launches $1 Million Lawsuit Against Celebrity Pennsylvania Climate Scientist

Just the News
Michael Mann

The National Review is suing Penn State climate celebrity scientist Michael Mann for $1 million. “We cannot recover the time and effort that Mann has wasted, but we can recover more than a million of the dollars that we have lost defending our unalienable right to free speech,” the Review’s editors wrote Wednesday.

Mann won a defamation suit against two conservative writers who had criticized his “hockey stick” graph, which other climate scientists have questioned. Mann and his colleagues say the research demonstrates a sharp rise in unprecedented temperatures in the past few decades.

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Connecticut Democrats Rip Biden’s Proposed Cuts to Sub Production

The Center Square
Submarine

Members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation are criticizing President Joe Biden’s preliminary budget proposal that would cut spending for nuclear submarine production, saying the move would cost jobs and impact the state’s economy.

The Pentagon announced on Monday that it plans to cut a Virginia class submarine built by Groton, Connecticut-based Electric Boat from its proposed fiscal 2025 defense budget.

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Connecticut Lawmakers Urged to Shine Sunlight on Local Campaign Finances

The Center Square
CT Capitol Money

Political contributions to municipal elected officials in Connecticut would be more accessible to the public under a proposal being considered by state lawmakers.

The legislation, which is pending before the Legislature’s Committee on Government Administration and Elections, would require candidates running for local elected office to file their required campaign disclosures with the state’s Electronic Campaign Reporting Information System, known as eCRIS, which supporters say will increase transparency in local elections.

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Pennsylvania’s Health Care Access ‘Still in the Dark Ages’

The Center Square
Doctor Patient

For an aging state that’s seen depopulation in the majority of its counties, Pennsylvania’s health care system struggles to meet the needs of its residents.

“Access to care is a crisis here in the commonwealth,” said Rep. Bridget Kosierowski, D-Scranton during a joint meeting of the Health and Professional Licensure Committees on Thursday. “We have lots of need and not enough providers.”

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PennDOT Supports Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants

The Center Square
Mike Carroll

The Shapiro administration said Monday it supports giving non-citizens driver’s licenses, following a trend across the Mid-Atlantic that posits the policy change as a safety measure.

“There are reports of over a dozen states that already allow non-citizens, including illegal immigrants, to obtain driver’s licenses,” Rep. Mike Cabell, R-Dallas, said. “Meanwhile, federal DHS policy stipulates that states could offer those with TPS (Temporary Protected Status) a Real ID.”

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Connecticut GOP Unveils Plan to Reduce Energy Costs

The Center Square
Stephen Harding

Connecticut Republicans have unveiled a slate of proposals aimed at addressing rising electricity costs in the state, which they say are putting the squeeze on energy consumers.

The package of proposed policy changes, calls for setting limits on Power Purchase Agreements by utilities so that no contract can be for more than 100% over the wholesale electric market price while providing relief to ratepayers by tapping into $190 million in unspent pandemic-related federal funds to pay down rate increases.

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Hunters Up, Harvest Down for Pennsylvania Black Bears

The Center Square
Black Bears

The black bear harvest declined to a 10-year low, according to state data, despite a dramatic spike in interest among hunters during that same time.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission announced that 2,920 bears were killed in the 2023 seasons, an 8% drop from the 3,171 bears taken in 2022. The recent high came in 2019 when 4,650 bears were killed by hunters, but most of the last decade has seen 3,100-3,700 bears taken every year.

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Yale University Reinstitutes Standardized Testing in Admissions

Admin
Yale University

Another elite university in the U.S. has backtracked on its decision to eliminate standardized testing in admissions after years of following the practice.

Yale University announced Thursday that it would be instituting a “flexible testing policy,” which allows students to submit several different test scores for admissions, including ACT, SAT, International Baccalaureate, and Advanced Placement scores, according to a Yale website. The university said that after performing extensive research, they found that “test scores are the single greatest predictor of a student’s future.”

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New Report on Connecticut’s Social Studies Standards Details Troubling Effect on Students

Kaitlin Housler

The National Association of Scholars’ Civics Alliance coalition released a comprehensive report critiquing Connecticut’s social studies standards, which is the state’s guide for teachers detailing what students should be learning from Pre-K through 12th grade.

The 34-page report, titled “Disowned Yankees: How Connecticut’s Social Studies Standards Shortchange Students,” details how the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) produced the curriculum, the result of implementing the curriculum, as well as “recommendations for how to fix the adoption process and the substance of Connecticut’s social studies instruction, by substantive revision of the Standards.”

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