News & Brews March 10, 2025
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So-called ‘grassroots’ Trump resistance is funded by billionaires
The Left likes to portray itself as the little guy against the billionaires. But as a story in The Free Press explains, it’s more like “billionaires against billionaires.” That’s because myriad left-wing groups with front names like Families over Billionaires, Rural Victory Fund, Protect Our Care, Americans for Tax Fairness, and others are all funded by the same Left-wing behemoth: Arabella Advisors, which gets its support from Left-wing billionaires including Bill Gates, George Soros, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, and others. We’ve also followed Arabella’s money to Pa. Groups such as Pa. Fund for Change (which spends to elect Democrats to office), Pennsylvania Health Access Network, and OnePA.
Agreement will keep Crozer Health open for now
After a marathon meeting yesterday with Attorney General Dave Sunday and the Foundation for Delaware County, Crozer Health in Delaware County will remain open for now. News of the health system’s imminent closure had raised concerns that thousands of people would lose jobs and/or access to healthcare. In a statement, Attorney General Sunday said, “I am pleased that the parties focused on how to move forward on behalf of Pennsylvanians, instead of how we got here…. I thank all parties for their good faith negotiations and sacrifices made to make this happen. This work was done on behalf of the thousands of people and families who depend on Crozer Health System for essential services — and the many hardworking professionals who provide that care.”
Jefferson Health floats moving HQ out of Philly
Jefferson Health’s CEO said last week that the nonprofit health system is “exploring options for moving its headquarters out of Philadelphia.” Per the CEO, “Jefferson is probably the largest employer in Center City right now. We have probably $96 million of wage tax that are paid to the city.” But the Inquirer reports that Jefferson Health “has been losing money.” Should the exit occur, it “would be another obstacle to city leaders’ long-standing efforts to revitalize the East Market Street corridor, which was once a famous retail hub but has for decades been plagued by empty store fronts and failed megaprojects.”
DHS ends collective bargaining for TSA officers
In 2023, our friends at Americans for Fair Treatment (AFFT) began probing the issue of the TSA’s public sector union, noting, “The union that represents TSA agents was put into place via a series of administrative actions undertaken by the Obama Administration. This has led some labor experts to wonder if the union representing these tens of thousands of workers was properly instituted.” Fast forward to last week, and the Department of Homeland Security announced it was ending collective bargaining for the TSA’s Transportation Security Officers. Among other reasons, DHS stated, “TSA has more people doing full-time union work than we have performing screening functions at 86% of our airports.” Congratulations to AFFT for their work on this issue!
Antisemitic ballot initiative in Pittsburgh withdrawn
A Pittsburgh ballot initiative that would have prevented the city from contracting with firms that have ties to Israel has been withdrawn. WESA reports, “Lawyers for the Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh and [City Controller Rachael] Heisler challenged the legitimacy of the ballot question itself, as well as the petitions filed to put the question on the ballot for the May 20 primary elections.” This is the second time this antisemitic effort has failed.