News & Brews August 25, 2025
Get News & Brews in your inbox each day: Subscribe here!
Philly trades unions turn on Dugan
The Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, which backed former Judge Patrick Dugan in his unsuccessful Democrat primary challenge against incumbent District Attorney Larry Krasner, has now turned on Dugan and will support Krasner in the General Election. The reason? Dugan is now running as a Republican against Krasner. “I’m just frankly shocked,” said council leader Ryan Boyer. “If you lose, you lose.” (Truth be told, I’d be shocked if Boyer is actually shocked.) The Inquirer reports, “In an interview this week, Dugan … said he never planned to accept the GOP nod when he was running for district attorney as a Democrat. But he said he changed his mind after realizing how important it was to unseat Krasner, whose policies he says undermine public safety.”
Shapiro’s ‘never-ending attack on Little Sisters’
Josue Sierra of the Pennsylvania Family Institute writes, “A federal district court in Pennsylvania has once again ruled against the Little Sisters of the Poor … siding with Pennsylvania and New Jersey…. [in their] relentless effort to force Catholic nuns to provide contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs in their healthcare plans.” And at the center of the attack against Little Sisters is Gov. Josh Shapiro. “Shapiro’s legacy is not one of tolerance or pluralism, but of weaponized government against conscience,” Sierra writes. “The case was never about ‘medicine for women,’ as Shapiro claimed. It was about coercing nuns into abandoning their sincerely held religious beliefs.” Sierra concludes, “The rest of the country should take note. Because if this governor ascends to higher office, his legacy of active hostility to religious freedom will not stop at the state line.”
Pa.’s lesser-known municipal elections
Ever thought of running for tax collector? How about auditor or controller? These are two of the lesser-known public offices that may appear on your November ballot. Spotlight PA takes a look at the roles, what’s required (and what’s not), as well as which municipalities elect these positions via a public vote.
SEPTA isn’t broke; it’s broken
With the state budget impasse dragging on and the Philadelphia Inquirer crying doomsday over SEPTA’s ‘massive cuts,’ the Commonwealth Foundation’s Guy Ciarrocchi injects a dose of sanity (and truth) into the debate. The mass transit agency “wants us to believe the issue is that they’re broke (and deserve even more taxpayer aid), but the sad reality is the system is broken,” he writes. “SEPTA is pretending to be ‘broke’ to cause crises to get more taxpayer money. They have $400 million in reserves and millions more in designated taxpayer funding…. They want money, not reform.”
Philly teachers’ union reaches tentative contract
As the threat of a strike loomed, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers and the Philadelphia School District have reached a tentative three-year contract agreement. The Inquirer reports, “Terms of the deal were not available, but union leaders were pushing for raises, an end to the controversial ‘3-5-7-9’ policy that imposed penalties on educators for taking their contractually awarded sick time, and parental leave.” Union members must still ratify the agreement.