Students march down Broad Street for school funding
Thousands of students poured off SEPTA buses and emerged from the Spring Garden stop on the Broad Street Line today to rally at the School District Building in Philadelphia. They were there to protest the ongoing school district budget cuts and to put pressure on both the Philadelphia government and the state government to fund the $300 million funding gap looming...
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Sen. Hughes wants a vote on Medicaid—and the public is with him
Since Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett openly rejected adding 500,000 Pennsylvanians without health insurance to the state’s Medicaid rolls during his 2013 budget address, state Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia) has made reversing that decision a front-and-center issue. And yesterday, he issued what’s called a discharge petition to get his bill regarding...
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Brian Sims Touts Bipartisanship in Anti-Bullying Bill: “No Longer a Wedge Issue”
Rep. Sims speaks in favor of the PASS Act Last week, it was reported that state Rep. Brian Sims (D-Philadelphia), the first openly-gay-elected member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, had been urging his fellow House members to support House Bill 156, anti-bullying legislation known as the Pennsylvania Safe Schools (PASS) Act. “As many of you can...
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Amid Legislative Failure, Corbett to Introduce Liquor Privatization
All the way back in August 2011, a source told Philadelphia Weekly that if the Rep. Mike Turzai’s (R-Allegheny) liquor privatization bill failed, Gov. Corbett would strike at the Legislature and introduce his own legislation. Who would have thought it’d actually come to that? On Wednesday, Gov. Tom Corbett will announce his very own liquor privatization...
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State Sen. Larry Farnese to Introduce Assault Weapon Ban
Image: State Sen. Larry Farnese State Sen. Larry Farnese (D-Philadelphia) recently announced that he’ll be introducing an assault weapons ban during the upcoming legislative session that will begin in January. “Last week’s massacre, and the similarly horrible tragedies that have occurred over the last few years, have been happening more and more frequently...
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Calls for Pennsylvania Gay Marriage Amendments Following Obama Announcement
Pennsylvania politicians and activists had all sorts of reactions to President Obama’s announcement yesterday that he supports gay marriage. Many of those have already been dissected by the media, but in some local instances, advocates have been using the president’s words as fodder to promote not just a political agenda, but enthusiasm for specific legislation. “[Obama]...
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DAILY GRINDER: Islamic Groups Offer Reward for Burqa Thieves
An organization representing dozens of Philadelphia Muslim congregations is offering $20,000 to help catch the burqa-wearing thieves who’ve been terrorizing and robbing Philly-area banks. Some Islamic leaders believe the crimes “could make Muslim women the targets of mistrust or even violence.” While the original details of the crimes appeared on anti-Islamic...
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Top 10 Rep. Babette Josephs Quotes, 2011-2012
Since Gov. Tom Corbett’s election—and especially over the past year—our reporting has repeatedly led us to Capitol issues in Philadelphia. And I’ve spoken with a ton [approximate number] of Philly legislators to figure out what, exactly, the Republicans leadership’s plan for our city was. Of those legislators, State Rep. Babette Josephs (D-182)...
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Pennsylvania Used as Example of Massive Public Job Losses Under Republican Control
'I'm on your side, little ones. I swear' While many panelists at this weekend’s Pennsylvania Leadership Conference complained about the Pennsylvania government being too big, a new study shows Pennsylvania may be the poster-child for a stagnant unemployment rate due to state level cuts under Republican leadership. Bryce Covert and Mike Konczai illustrate...
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Sen. Pat Toomey Defends Capitalism as a Moral Issue
"Teleprompters are to socialism as paper is to freedom." Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey was the first guest speaker at the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Toomey, after being introduced by event organizers Frederick W. Anton III and Lowman Henry, spent his half-hour speech talking up the idea of capitalism as a moral...
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