News & Brews June 24, 2026
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Philly public schools get ‘alarmingly bad’ marks
A new Suffolk University/Philadelphia Inquirer poll found some optimism among city residents when it comes to safety and cleanliness in Philadelphia. But one aspect of city living wasn’t so great. In fact, it was “alarmingly bad.” And that’s the public school system. The Inky notes that 45% of respondents say the schools are “poor” quality. And “more than half of the poll’s respondents said that schools play an important role in whether they stay in the city or move out.” Well, duh. When you have schools that pass kids who can’t do the work, deprive children of restrooms, spew hatred, and more, it’s little wonder families aren’t thrilled. I bet if Philly kids had universal access to school choice, more families would be willing to stay in the city.
Fake Facebook pages hide left-wing strategy
Broad + Liberty reports that Facebook pages with innocuous sounding names like “Pennsylvania Moms” and “Black PA”, which boast a combined tens of thousands of followers, are actually the tip of a “four-layer dark money chain” that builds communities around “non-ideological content” and then “leverages those audiences” for partisan gain. An outfit called “Real Voices Media sits at the center of the operation — building and maintaining the pages, cultivating the followings, and providing the community identity that makes political messaging credible to followers who don’t know the pages are politically operated.” You’ll want to read this one.
PSERS outsourcing billions in investments
The state’s Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS) has voted “to outsource investments worth $20 billion to BNY Investments Mellon, replacing work now done by members of PSERS investment staff,” the Inquirer reports. Per PSERS chief investment officer, the teachers’ state pension plan is “trying to be more efficient.” The change will not affect PSERS staffing numbers, however, as those who previously handled buying and selling will reportedly be reassigned to other work.
Rally at Capitol calls for halt to data centers
The Center Square reports, “A large throng of residents from across the state who are fed up with the data center frenzy filled the Capitol Rotunda on Tuesday.” Tellingly, “None of the speakers had kind words for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, whom they accused of siding with wealthy tech companies and being absent from conversations with people concerned about data centers.” Meanwhile, the event centered on support for legislation, introduced by Democrat state Sen. Katie Muth (Berks, Chester, and Montgomery counties), calling for a three-year moratorium on data center development.
Fetterman only Dem ‘no’ vote on Iran measure
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted 50-48 in favor of a largely symbolic measure blocking U.S. military action in Iran. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to oppose the measure. Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick was absent for the vote as he was in Pennsylvania with President Trump. Four Republicans—Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, Maine’s Susan Collins, Kentucky’s Rand Paul, and Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy—voted yes.
Op-Ed: What does U.S. Declaration mean at 250?
Open Discourse Coalition cofounder and CEO Charles Mitchell has a joint op-ed with Bucknell University chaplain and professor Rev. Paul Siewers in the Philadelphia Inquirer positing that “there’s no better way to honor America’s 250th birthday than by arguing vigorously.” And they write that beyond today’s “banal” arguments, “This should be a time to argue over the meaning and importance of America’s principles, as enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. Are the founding ideals really self-evident? Where did they come from, what do they mean, and how do we fall short 250 years later?”