Moreover, [Budget Director Charles] Zogby lauded the governor’s compliance with a no-tax pledge made long ago to a Washington lobbyist while ignoring the fact that the administration’s failure to properly fund public education caused 75 percent of the state’s 500 local school districts to significantly raise local property taxes…
As Pa. pols gather, Democrats talk of taking on Toomey
So far, [former Congressman Joe] Sestak is the only potential challenger to show real interest – cheering those who praise his fight, but worrying some Democrats who chafe at the hard-charging ex-admiral, and who would prefer an alternative but have found none…
Ukraine: Truce Results in 1st Casualty-Free Day
ABC / AP: Ukraine’s president said Friday that a fragile truce between his government’s troops and Russian-backed separatists in east Ukraine had resulted in the first day free of deaths or injuries for his soldiers since the conflict erupted months ago. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, wrapping up a three-day visit to Australia, said the lull […]
The Vanishing Male Worker: How America Fell Behind
NEW YORK TIMES: …Many men, in particular, have decided that low-wage work will not improve their lives, in part because deep changes in American society have made it easier for them to live without working. These changes include the availability of federal disability benefits; the decline of marriage, which means fewer men provide for children; […]
Dogs in Heaven? Pope Leaves Pearly Gate Open
NEW YORK TIMES: Pope Francis has given hope to gays, unmarried couples and advocates of the Big Bang theory. Now, he has endeared himself to dog lovers, animal-rights activists and vegans. Trying to console a distraught little boy whose dog had died, Francis told him in a recent public appearance on St. Peter’s Square that […]
US oil price below $60 a barrel
FINANCIAL TIMES: …Ian Taylor, chief executive of Vitol, the world’s largest independent oil trading house, said on Thursday that official estimates on consumption had been overshooting actual demand and suggested the cheapest oil since 2009 could linger “Over the last few months it’s become increasingly clear that demand predictions have been and continue to be […]
What happened at Rolling Stone was not Jackie’s fault
COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVUE: …But the question remains: Why should [reporter Sabrina Rubin] Erdely have tried to speak with the alleged rapists? After all, as several people wrote me, it’s not as if the men would have actually talked to her. The obvious reply is that one of them might have been stupid enough to try […]
Tax baseline set for Lancaster CRIZ program
LNP: …Known as the CRIZ for short, the City Revitalization & Improvement Zone program will allow Lancaster to redirect some state and local tax money toward redevelopment within the zone’s boundaries… Just under half did so: 366, to be exact, according to the state Department of Revenue… [Randy Patterson, the city’s director of economic development] […]
Why 2015 could be the year for medical marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania
Full legalization is probably farther off in the distance. No state has approved recreational legalization except via a ballot measure, and Pennsylvania doesn’t have a mechanism to easily put those types of issues on the ballot.
Jackie’s Friends Dispute Her Rape Story
More recently, Jackie gave a second, different name of her attacker to different friends who gave it to the Post. When the Post gave that name to the three friends mentioned in theRolling Stone article, they said they had never heard it.
Gruber survives Senate committee interrogation
POLITICO: … [Jonathan] Gruber, an economist and health care adviser, apologized for his infamous “stupid voters” riff about Obamacare, got scolded by one committee member after another, said he wasn’t really the “architect” of Obamacare and even came away facing a subpoena threat…
Kane adds chief of staff, realigns Pa. attorney general executive office
Kane is hiring Blake Rutherford as chief of staff at $141,301. A former chief of staff for an Arkansas attorney general, Rutherford has private-sector public relations experience. He holds a law degree from the University of Arkansas Law School…
Russian Who Bought James Watson’s Nobel Prize Says He’ll Give it Back
NEWSMAX: The man who bought DNA pioneer James Watson’s Nobel Prize in an auction has given it back to the famous scientist. Watson was selling his medal to generate some income, and it was purchased for $4.7 million in a Christie’s auction by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, whose fortune is worth $15.8 billion, according to […]
Government: Gas to average $2.60 next year
USA TODAY: The Energy Department again slashed its prediction for next year’s average price of gasoline across the U.S., this time to $2.60 a gallon. That would be 23% below this year’s projected average and the lowest full-year average since 2009. If that comes to pass, the price drop will save U.S. drivers $100 billion […]