News & Brews February 12, 2025
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Marc Fogel released from Russian prison
Pennsylvania teacher Marc Fogel was released from a Russian prison yesterday, three-and-a-half years after he was detained and arrested for possessing medical marijuana. He had been sentenced to 14 years, and late last year, the U.S. government designated him as wrongfully detained. The New York Times reports that Fogel’s release was negotiated by Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Middle East envoy. In a statement, Fogel’s family said, “We are beyond grateful, relieved and overwhelmed that after more than three years of detention, our father, husband and son, Marc Fogel, is finally coming home.” Gov. Shapiro also welcomed Marc home, posting, “After more than 3 years in Russian captivity, I join his family, our federal partners, and all of his fellow Pennsylvanians in welcoming Marc Fogel home — exactly where he belongs. Thank you to those at the @WhiteHouse who made his release possible, and to his wife Jane, mom, siblings, and kids here in Pennsylvania who never, ever gave up.”
Pa. deficit projection: Code Red
We knew Gov. Shapiro’s proposed budget was ridiculous, as he wants to spend $3.9 billion MORE than the current year despite a $3.6 billion deficit. But there’s some new info from the Pa. Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) underscoring just how ridiculous it is. Yesterday the IFO posted its updated baseline deficit projections. For FY 2024-2025: $3.5 billion; FY 2025-2026: $6 billion; FY 2026-2027: $6.9 billion. Oh, and about that surplus money that Shapiro and the Democrats like to tout? The IFO predicts the General Fund surplus will be gone in 2025-2026 and the Rainy Day Fund will be empty in 2026-2027.
Obscure Pa. facility gets DOGE attention
The Federal Department of Government Efficiency posted something interesting yesterday. Despite the highly technical age in which we live, “Federal employee retirements are processed using paper, by hand, in an old limestone mine in Pennsylvania. 700+ mine workers operate 230 feet underground to process ~10,000 applications per month, which are stored in manila envelopes and cardboard boxes. The retirement process takes multiple months.” Curious about this, I looked it up, and indeed multiple stories have been written on it over the years. (See, for example, here, here, here, and here.) Here’s a look at the Boyers, Pa. facility. Even left-leaning Mediaite seemed a bit surprised.
Ward: Shapiro is more ‘political animal’ than GSD governor
In an interview with the Delaware Valley Journal, Pa. Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward took issue with Shapiro’s claim that he ‘gets stuff done.’ “I would say that he is much more of a political animal than he is actually a ‘get-stuff-done’ governor,” Ward said. She added that unlike former Gov. Wolf, Shapiro doesn’t actually take the lead on anything. “When I worked with Gov. Wolf, they would say, ‘Here is our priority,’ and they would send over something that they worked on legislatively. Then we would all go to work on the governor’s priority. But we don’t have that from Gov. Shapiro. He talked about marijuana legalization and skill games last year. We never received a bill. He just kind of says, ‘Here’s what I want to do. Let the legislature handle it, and I’ll sign it.’” Listen to the interview here, or click here for the story.
Senate to consider Trump’s anti-worker labor pick
As the U.S. Senate prepares to consider the nomination of Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Secretary of Labor, workers’ rights advocates are raising alarm. The Commonwealth Foundation’s David Osborne writes in Reason that Chavez-DeRemer’s “record shows a troubling pattern of undermining workplace freedom and expanding federal control over state labor policies.” And she “has backed legislation that would disproportionately benefit labor unions at the expense of the workers they purportedly represent.”