News & Brews March 19, 2026
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Montco officials went on African safari on taxpayer dime
Well, if “saving taxpayer money” actually means “spending taxpayer money to go on an African safari,” then the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit gets an A+. But guess what. It doesn’t. The Inquirer reports that “expense reports obtained by … a Right-to-Know request show that, since 2023, the Montco IU’s executive director, Regina Speaker, and its assistant executive director, Sandra Edling, have used public funds to book about $40,000 worth of professional-development travel to three continents. That includes a 14-day African safari that cost about $18,000.” That’s not all. There was an 11-day trip to South Korea and Singapore and another voyage to Central Europe. Let me guess, you didn’t get a souvenir?
The ‘especially damning passage’ in Shapiro’s book
Amid all the reviews of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s new book, there’s one tidbit that hasn’t gotten attention – until now. Reporter Nicholas Field details “an especially damning passage” in which Shapiro claims his speech announcing the Harris-Walz ticket was improvised. “I had no prepared remarks,” he says. “I hadn’t even thought about the fact that I had to go out there and address the crowd…. I took my time getting to the podium…both to buy a little more time to come up with what I would say and to soak in the magnitude of that moment.” Only, this isn’t true. Field writes that “you can watch the video and see teleprompters set up, and Shapiro opening up a set of written remarks at the podium. You can also search online and find that his speech was even officially announced on his schedule the day before. One can’t help but ask why Shapiro feels the need to lie about something so small and so easy to debunk.” Why, indeed?
Senate committee advances tax cut /exemption bills
The progressive Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports that the state Senate Finance Committee unanimously advanced two tax-related bills recently. “One would allow living organ donors to deduct costs related to their donation.” And the other “would allow Pennsylvanians to exempt the first $100,000 that would be subject to the state’s inheritance tax.” On the organ donor front, “the average living organ donor faces roughly $5,000 in expenses, which includes things like travel, lost wages and child care during recovery.” And, “While employers across the state are allowed to claim tax deductions for time off offered to living organ donors, donors themselves receive no such benefits.”
One candidate exits crowded Dem primary field
The Philadelphia Tribune reports that “Dr. David Oxman, one of the nine candidates in the 3rd Congressional District primary race announced Wednesday morning that he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Dr. Ala Stanford in the race.” The Democrat primary to succeed U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans in Philadelphia has been a crowded one, drawing political insiders and outsiders alike, including state Sen. Sharif Street, state Rep. Morgan Cephas and state Rep. Chris Rabb. The district has been ranked the most Democrat the country, so whoever wins the Democrat primary is pretty much the assumed winner in November.
Senators want to ban AI in campaign ads
Fox43 reports that Democrat state Sen. Lindsey Williams (Allegheny County) “is proposing a bill that would require disclosure for any political ads that use AI, saying voters deserve to know whether what they’re seeing in political discussions and arguments is real.” Joining Williams in backing the bill is Republican state Sen. Rosemary Brown (Monroe County), who said, “Transparency is fundamental in public service. As technology evolves, it is important that voters know exactly what they are seeing and hearing in political advertisements.” The story notes that last year, the state House passed legislation banning AI deepfakes in political ads, but the legislation did not come up for consideration before the Senate.