News & Brews April 15, 2026
Get News & Brews in your inbox each day: Subscribe here!
Dem. lawmaker wants to eliminate school choice program
Yesterday at a Pa. House Education Committee hearing, Democrat state Rep. Tarah Probst (Monroe and Pike counties) admitted what many in her party secretly feel: She wants to get rid of educational opportunity in Pennsylvania. Speaking of the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program, Probst said, “It’s gross,” adding, “I want EITC to go away and go away for good.” She mocked the program, which, of course, has been a lifeline for tens of thousands of children in Pennsylvania who otherwise would be stuck in terrible government schools. Several GOP lawmakers responded, emphasizing that they prioritize children’s education rather than bureaucracies.
Op-Ed: Why do Dem leaders attack school choice?
And in an extremely timely op-ed given Rep. Probst’s comments, Commonwealth Foundation Senior Fellow Guy Ciarrocchi highlights in Broad + Liberty that “over 70 percent of voters support school choice — perhaps as high as 80 percent. Contrary to what many would suggest, even a majority of Democratic voters support school choice. Support among African American and Hispanic voters reaches as high as 83 percent. It’s also extraordinarily popular in Pennsylvania.” Still, Democrat leaders oppose it. And the hypocrisy is stark. Gov. Shapiro sends his children to Jewish Day School. Democrat House Education Chair Peter Schweyer went to Catholic school. Yet instead of prioritizing children, Democrats are “listening to the teachers’ union — which hates losing captive customers.”
The Democrat donors behind the ‘new’ Post-Gazette
Yesterday, news broke that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, destined for demise come May, will continue publishing after being purchased by the non-profit Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism. I did some researching (really what reporters should be doing, but … sigh…). It’s named after the late Ted Venetoulis (d. 2021), a longtime player in Maryland politics, former Baltimore County executive, and Democrat donor. Among the candidates he supported are Hillary Clinton, Steny Hoyer, Nancy Pelosi, and Jon Ossoff. The founder and chairman of the institute, Stewart Bainum, is also a stalwart Democrat donor who gave nearly $1 million to Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign and more than $2.6 million to Joe Biden’s campaign. We imagine the Left-wing newspaper guild is thrilled by the new ownership.
Pa. House passes Shapiro’s massive spending plan
The Center Square reports, “The opening gambit in 2026-27 budget bill-passing happened Tuesday when the Democratic-controlled state House approved a measure conveying Gov. Josh Shapiro’s $53.3 billion proposal – one that caused Republicans who control the Senate to express ‘profound concerns.’” PennLive added, “The vote is largely pro-forma, but gets the ball rolling on the procedural aspects of the budget ahead of the June 30 fiscal-year-end deadline.” Shapiro’s budget relies heavily on revenue that doesn’t exist, and the stage is set for a battle over the spending plan. As Republican Rep. Tim Bonner (Mercer County) said, “If last year’s budget process was a fiscal crisis, this year’s budget process has the potential to be a fiscal nightmare.”
Pa. House committee advances pre-canvassing bill
Yesterday, the state House Government Committee voted 15-11 to advance Democrat-sponsored legislation that “would allow county boards of elections to meet up to seven days before an election to pre-canvass ballots.” The vote was along party lines save for newly sworn in GOP Rep. Catherine Wallen (Adams and Cumberland counties), who joined Democrats in supporting the bill. Separately, the committee also voted 16-10 to advance legislation that “would mandate [that] candidates … file their disclosures of campaign donations and spending electronically.” All Democrats on the committee along with Wallen and GOP Rep. Russ Diamond (Lebanon County) backed the bill.