News & Brews December 15, 2023
Get News & Brews in your inbox each day: Subscribe here!
State rep’s bill could benefit non-profit he founded, raising questions…
Filed under, “Things that make you go hmmm.” Broad + Liberty reports that legislation sponsored by Democrat state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski (Luzerne County) “appears to be poised to benefit a nonprofit he helps run, a nonprofit which also shares the address of his district offices.” This “raises ethical questions.” The story also notes, “A 2009 ethics memo from the Pennsylvania House Committee on Ethics specifically states that a member may not ‘use governmental facilities, such as governmental telephones, postage, equipment, research materials, or other property to conduct the private business of the non-profit.’”
With resignation, Pa. House at 101-101
Democrat state Rep. John Galloway (Bucks County) officially resigned yesterday, returning the Pa. House to a 101-101 partisan split. Galloway was elected as a district judge in November. House Speaker Joanna McClinton has scheduled a special election for February 13, 2024. House Democrats have come under fire for planning an extended vacation (until mid-March) that roughly coincides with the vacancy.
Pa. Dem Party poised to vote against helping kids
In a vote that can only be described as the worst kind of education discrimination, the Pa. Democrat State Committee is reportedly set to vote this weekend for a resolution against school vouchers. Mind you, many Democrats have the means to send their children to private schools—even highly elite private schools that cost tens of thousands of dollars per year. But many of these same Democrats think children from families without these same means should be blocked from having that same opportunity.
Justice Brobson recuses from Krasner case
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Kevin Brobson has recused himself from the case seeking the impeachment of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. The Inquirer reports that the recusal is because “a lawyer representing Krasner’s opponents had previously worked as the justice’s personal lawyer and on his campaign.” This marks the second recusal in the case, as “Justice Kevin Dougherty … had previously withdrawn because he authored an opinion in 2022 criticizing Krasner’s office over its handling of a murder case.” It’s unclear what, if any, impact the recusals will have on the case.
Former Gov. Wolf moving to Philly
Former Gov. Tom Wolf and his wife are moving from their Mount Wolf home to a Philadelphia apartment to be closer to family. The York Daily Record reports, “It was a tough decision to make, Wolf said. But they needed to downsize − it’s hard to keep up with the house − and their children do not live locally. One of their daughters lives in Philadelphia. The other resides in New York.”