News & Brews May 1, 2025
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Checking in on Pa. budget negotiations
We’re just under two months until the traditional June 30 state budget deadline. And CNHI reports that “two proposed revenue streams vital to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s plan for the new fiscal year are unresolved: legal recreational marijuana and regulated skill games.” By the way, “vital” in this context means Shapiro has proposed massive spending increases based on revenue that doesn’t exist. Yeah, and I’m going to buy a yacht tomorrow as I predict I’ll win the lottery later and use that money to pay for it. But I digress. The story continues, “The topics command a lot of talk and little legislative action. There have been no votes in committee, let alone on the House or Senate floors, to advance legislation for either initiative.” But, “Senate Republican Majority Leader Joe Pittman said the two issues are on different tracks. He said he sees a ‘path forward’ on skill games but cast doubt that legalizing marijuana has a future course of its own.”
Judge dismisses lawmaker’s 2024 election lawsuit
Remember last year’s Republican state House primary in Luzerne County between incumbent Rep. Mike Cabell and GOP challenger Jamie Walsh? The primary was decided in Walsh’s favor by four votes—but not until months later. Walsh went on to run unopposed in the General Election. But PennLive reports that he had filed a lawsuit in which he both “accused the county … of failing or refusing to process approximately 2,500 voter registration applications submitted prior to the Oct. 21, 2024, deadline” and “claimed the defendants … did not timely process several thousand mail-in vote requests.” A federal judge has now dismissed Walsh’s suit, ruling that “Walsh’s claims about Luzerne County election procedures, if true, could not possibly have caused him any injury as an unopposed and successful candidate.”
SWEPTA?
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review reports that Pa. Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa “is pitching the idea of a regional, multi-county public transit authority as Pittsburgh Regional Transit braces for a fare increase and drastic service cuts.” Think of it as SouthWEstern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority … SWEPTA, anyone? “In a memo, Costa said he plans to introduce legislation ‘in the near future’ to create such a transit agency.” Let’s see if SWEPTA can be more fiscally responsible than SEPTA.
Philly Working Families Party organizer charged with murder
An organizer with the left-wing Philadelphia Working Families Party has been charged with murder in connection to the death of a 30-year-old woman in Philadelphia last year. Sergio Hyland had previously served more than 20 years in prison for a different murder. The Working Families Party said it was “shocked and troubled to learn about the arrest.” The Philadelphia Inquirer reports, “Just eight days before his arrest, the Working Families Party issued a joint news release from Hyland and District Attorney Larry Krasner, announcing its endorsement of Krasner in his campaign for a third term as top prosecutor.” Hyland is no longer with WFP, but a spokesperson declined to say when he was fired.
Pa. prosecutors counter Mangione’s accusation
Months after Luigi Mangione was arrested in Altoona in December after allegedly killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and then fleeing through Pennsylvania in a case and manhunt that drew national focus, Pa. prosecutors “are fighting back” against Mangione’s accusation that he was improperly detained. The Hill reports, “Mangione’s defense team filed a lengthy legal document saying law enforcement approached him, prevented him from leaving, and created something of a wall where the shooting suspect couldn’t get out.” Prosecutors counter, however, “that when asked for ID, Mangione allegedly willingly handed them forged identification, and in doing so, created probable cause to arrest.”