News & Brews September 14, 2022
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Profile: Josh Shapiro
PennLive examines Democrat gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro’s political career, beginning with his college run for student body president and continuing to his current bid for governor. While some say Shapiro is “calculating,” and someone you “don’t want to turn your back on,” others believe he simply “knows how to make good strategic decisions.” Read the piece here.
House holds Krasner in contempt
The Pa. House voted yesterday to hold Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner in contempt for refusing to comply with a subpoena. The vote was overwhelming and bipartisan, at 162-38. The Philadelphia Inquirer opines, “The vote represents the latest escalation in a heated impeachment effort being led by Republican legislators in Harrisburg, who have criticized Krasner, a Democrat, for his reform-oriented policies and said they’ve contributed to the city’s gun violence crisis. Krasner has denied that and defended his office.”
Confusion over medical marijuana use and labor law
Spotlight PA investigates the “ambiguity” surrounding medical marijuana in Pa. The story notes, “While state law protects workers from being fired or denied a job just for having a doctor’s permission to use marijuana, those protections become opaque when people actually take the drug….” Employer are faced with a no-win situation: “Either risk a wrongful termination suit, or potentially allow an unsafe work environment.” Of course, this is just medical marijuana. Imagine what would happen on the labor front if recreational marijuana were legalized. Commonwealth Partners Board Member Rob Shearer wrote about this very topic a few years back. Read his piece here.
Spotlight on abortion and same-sex marriage in Senate race
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Republican gubernatorial nominee Mehmet Oz has joined more than 400 Republican leaders in calling on the U.S. Senate to pass legislation that would codify same-sex marriage in federal law. Separately, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette looks at how the winner of the U.S. Senate race in Pa. could determine control of the U.S. Senate, which could determine whether the Senate considers legislation prohibiting abortion after 15 weeks.