News & Brews October 14, 2021
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Democrat counties ‘selectively invited’ to apply for election grants
A deeper investigation into Delaware County’s application for an election grant from the Mark Zuckerberg-funded Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) unearthed concerning emails “showing that CTCL, through its partners, spent weeks only inviting counties that had voted Democratic in the 2016 election to apply for grants.” The emails, secured via Right-to Know request by Broad + Liberty investigative reporter Todd Shepherd, also show extreme coordination between CTCL and Democrat County Councilwoman Christine Reuther in making sure the grant agreement was approved by the county council. Read the story here.
What happens if anti-pipeline activists succeed?
Amid calls to shut down the Mariner East 2 pipeline, the Delaware Valley Journal looks at what would happen if anti-pipeline activists have their way. For starters, it would leave manufacturers struggling to get raw materials for things like “plastic, rubber, paint, glaze, sealant, adhesive, and solvent, all consumer products people handle and use every day,” says Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association President and CEO David Taylor.
Profile: Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward
City & State PA profiles Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, who made history by becoming the first woman in PA history to hold this role. The story tracks Ward’s path into politics, noting her original career path wasn’t in lawmaking at all but rather was as a respiratory therapist. The piece also recounts Ward’s breast cancer diagnosis and how she’s turned that trial into an opportunity to be an advocate for early detection. (Note: the story says Ward is the House majority leader, but in reality she serves in this position in the Senate.)
Op-Ed: A Democrat’s election system audit found this
Business owner Rob Shearer, who is also a member of our Board of Trustees here at Commonwealth Partners, has an op-ed in Broad + Liberty noting that the need for election system reform predates the 2020 election. Indeed, a 2019 audit by our former Democrat auditor general uncovered “tens of thousands of potential duplicate and inaccurate voter records” and “potential areas of improvement related to computer security.” Read more here!
More than 90,000 Pennsylvanians still waiting on unemployment claims
On August 30, Labor & Industry Secretary Jennifer Berrier had said her department had made “significant progress” in the backlog of unresolved unemployment cases, bringing the number from about 325,000 several months ago to 190,000 cases. Yesterday, Berrier said the backlog is now 91,826 cases. Her comment came during testimony at a House Labor and Industry Committee hearing.