News & Brews October 30, 2025
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Garrity offers SNAP loan, Shapiro say ‘unworkable’
As SNAP benefits are set to run out November 1 due to the federal government shutdown, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity has offered to have the Treasury loan $368 million to the state Department of Human Services to temporarily cover the food stamp program. Shapiro called the offer “unworkable” as the federal government would not repay the missed benefits. Also at play is that accepting the loan would mean Shapiro has to accept help from Garrity, and he would much rather sue Trump and make TikTok videos, so there’s that.
Op-Ed: Vote no on Nov. 4
Commonwealth Partners Board Member Jon DeArment, who is the executive vice president of manufacturing and engineering at CHANNELLOCK®, explains in the Meadville Tribune why he’s voting “no” on retaining Pa. Supreme Court Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty, and David Wecht. “Pennsylvanians deserve justices who will interpret the law as written — not as they wished it were,” he writes. But “[t]hroughout the past decade, [these justices] have issued rulings that demonstrate their willingness to put public safety at risk and ignore what the law says in favor of what they wished it said.”
Updated! ‘Fun with Maps’: Pa. voter registration
PoliticsPA continues to track voter registration changes by county. In the October edition, “the gap between Democrats and Republicans continues to shrink. Among the 8.9 million registered voters in Pennsylvania, 42.8 percent have indicated they are a member of the Democratic party, while 40.9% identify as Republican. That works out to [a difference of] a little more than 170,000 voters. Independents continue to grow, as 12.7% checked the ‘no affiliation’ box.” The story includes an interactive county map showing voter registration changes since January 2024.
Mike Tyson wants Pa. to legalize recreational weed
Boxing legend Mike Tyson, who once admitted to smoking tens of thousands of dollars of marijuana per month, and who now owns a marijuana company, came to the state Capitol to urge lawmakers to legalize recreational marijuana. Tyson credited marijuana with helping him get off of other drugs. But I can’t help but think of those rapidly-stated disclaimers on drug commercials, which basically tell us that the drug in question might lead to heart attack, death, boils all over your body, stroke, or loss of all motor function. But don’t worry, it will take care of your headache.
Another Dem enters race to succeed Rep. Evans
Another Democrat candidate has entered the crowded field hoping to succeed retiring Democrat U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans from Philly. The Inquirer reports that Pablo McConnie-Saad “worked as a policy adviser for the U.S. Treasury Department during Joe Biden’s presidency and formerly worked for Democrats in the Delaware State House.” He joins a field that already includes State Sen. Sharif Street and State Reps. Morgan Cephas and Chris Rabb, as well as two doctors, a real estate agent, and a professor.