News & Brews March 21, 2024
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Casey hopes blaming corporations will help him win
In what’s expected to be a ridiculously competitive race for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, incumbent Democrat Sen. Bob Casey is hoping that blaming corporate ‘greed’ for rising costs will be his winning message. The AP reports that Casey’s Republican challenger, Dave McCormick, says Casey’s claims are “nonsense.” Per one pollster, even if voters buy Casey’s line, it may not necessarily translate into support for Democrats.
Shapiro won’t send National Guard to border
After the Pa. state Senate passed a non-binding resolution urging Gov. Josh Shapiro to send National Guard troops to Texas to help Gov. Greg Abbott secure the southern border, Shapiro said no. Instead, his spokesperson blamed Congress and suggested federal lawmakers need to figure it out.
823 Pa. state employees made $200K or more in 2023
PennLive takes its annual look at state government employee salaries in Pa. In 2023, the number of state workers making $200,000 or more rose 119% over the previous year, going from 376 to 823. Topping the list at more than $573,000 was a supervisory physician at Danville State Hospital (within the Department of Human Services). With his earnings of $217,275, Gov. Shapiro had the 239th highest pay last year. (Note: not included in the rankings are employees of Pennsylvania’s state-related universities.)
Op-Ed: ‘Kudos to HBG pastor’ who keeps church doors open all week
Joyce Davis, PennLive’s outreach and opinion editor, praises Harrisburg Pastor Josh Robertson for a “simple” yet transformative idea: “open the doors of the church during the week and let children in.” Robertson’s group, Black Pastors United for Education, was recently awarded a $500,000 prize from the Yass Foundation “for its innovative idea to use … churches to provide havens for students in online learning.” Davis writes, “No doubt the idea has been a godsend to single mothers in Harrisburg and throughout the Black Pastors network where hundreds of kids are enrolled in cyberschools. Many mothers have no option but to leave their children at home to complete classwork on their own…. Some 10-year-old kids have the inner discipline to get their work done, but most don’t. That’s where Rev. Robertson and Black Pastors United come in. They are ready to step in to provide the guidance and nurturing most kids need.”
Op-Ed: 2024 election comes down to 7 states (hint: Pa. is one)
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, political strategist Karl Rove writes that “the 2024 presidential race will be decided by seven states with less than a fifth of the U.S. population.” Those states are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. “Each candidate will concentrate his travel, organization and hundreds of millions of dollars in advertising in those seven states,” and the messaging will be tailored to each state. In Pa., Rove predicts, this message will focus on “natural gas production.”