News & Brews December 2, 2025
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‘Funding cuts hit Pa. cyber charter schools’
Well, well, well. Now that the state budget is passed, the narrative of cyber charter “reform” that will “save” traditional public schools money is finally being reported as what it is: a “funding cut” for Pennsylvania’s public cyber charter schools. Spotlight PA reports that per cyber charter leaders, the cuts will be “devastating” and will force some of these public schools to close. It’s worth repeating that for every student who leaves a traditional public school for a public cyber charter, the school district sends only a portion of that student’s funding to the cyber charter, keeping the rest for itself even though the student no longer attends there.
Poll: Fetterman still struggling among Dems
A new poll shows that U.S. Sen. John Fetterman “remains more popular with Pennsylvania Republicans than fellow Democrats,” PennLive reports. According to the RealClear Pennsylvania / Emerson College poll of 2,000 Pennsylvanians, “Fetterman has a 31% job approval rating from Democrats compared to 57% from Republicans and 30% from independents…. This comes on the heels of a report that Fetterman’s fundraising has precipitously dropped, amid weakening support from Democrats.” Meanwhile, as I shared a few weeks ago, progressives angry with Fetterman are aiming to recruit a primary challenger to him.
Here’s what Pa. needs to lure data centers
Commonwealth Foundation Senior Fellow Gordon Tomb writes in Broad + Liberty that regulatory obstacles threaten to kill data center development in Pennsylvania. Although these regulations are being “presented as consumer protections, many are more likely to be economy killers.” Instead of targeting data centers for overregulation, Tomb writes, lawmakers should seek to enact “broad permitting reform.”
Johnny Doc again tries to use wife’s health to get out of jail
Former Philly union boss John “Johnny Doc” Dougherty is again trying to use his wife’s failing health as an excuse to get out of jail early. The Inquirer reports that Johnny Doc “is again asking a federal judge to cut short his six-year prison term, this time because he says the recent death of his father-in-law has left his gravely ill wife without a caregiver.” Prosecutors have previously said “that they were sympathetic to the plight of Dougherty’s wife but that his absence from her life ‘does not distinguish this case from that of countless defendants whose loved ones suffer as a result of their crimes.’”
Allegheny Dem party chair to step down
Allegheny Democrat Party Chair Sam Hens-Greco announced he “will step down from his leadership role early next month, several months short of the end of his four-year term,” WESA reports. His resignation sets up a June election for the role, which “historically … has swung, pendulum-like, between a progressive faction and one that aligns with an older-school base that tends to be more moderate.”