News & Brews September 24, 2026
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Federal lawsuit alleges ‘wrongdoing’ by Shapiro administration
A longtime government employee who most recently worked for the state Department of General Services has filed a whistleblower lawsuit in federal court that “accuses Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration of bypassing procurement requirements meant to safeguard the use of taxpayer dollars, including during renovations to the governor’s mansion.” The lawsuit, filed by Nicole Moyer, also alleges that after she expressed concerns over “waste and wrongdoing,” she was fired.
Among the lawsuit’s claims are that the Shapiro “administration waived competitive bid requirements after purchases were made, split transactions to bypass the threshold requiring bidding process, and kept paying a security contractor who no longer provided service.” The Inquirer reports, “Moyer was terminated in March after repeatedly reporting concerns, including on whether the department could legally make purchases for private residences, the suit says.”
More trouble for Sen. James Malone?
Shortly after news broke that Democrat state Sen. James Malone (Lancaster County) authored lesbian fan fiction set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons, another news story now exposes old posts from Malone revealing “contempt for religious believers,” Broad + Liberty reports. This is notable as Malone is seeking re-election in a county that “is home to one of the largest Amish communities in the world, a substantial Old Order Mennonite population, and a dense concentration of evangelical Protestant churches.”
In the old posts, which Malone did not comment on when asked about them, the senator said he’s seen “first hand the true nature of the ‘average’ american person who would rather wrap their ‘faith’ around them and callously watch every child not their own suffer and die because ‘it just wasn’t meant to be’ while praying and trusting ‘God will take care of things.’”
GOP cash meets $5-gas election
POLITICO surmises that “Republican polling has so deteriorated this month that the only uncertainty remaining ahead of the midterms is the depth of the party’s losses” And “that question will mainly be determined by which money matters more: the massive cash infusion from GOP groups into every competitive race or the price of gasoline soaring toward $5 a gallon.”
The story dives into how Republicans running for election are reacting, with one incumbent lawmaker in a “blood-red” district where Trump is now “underwater” in polling telling POLITICO, “The bottom’s beginning to fall out. We have money that we’ve never had before, but [Democrats] have every strategic advantage in their direction, and the president’s made it worse — nobody in my district cares about the Kennedy Center, arches or the Reflecting Pool, all this nonsense.”
Audit: Pa. aging department puts older adults at risk
Spotlight PA reports that an audit released yesterday by state Auditor General Tim DeFoor found that the “Pennsylvania Department of Aging’s oversight of local agencies charged with preventing elder abuse is riddled with weaknesses and deficiencies that could leave vulnerable older adults at further risk of harm.” The findings echo extensive reporting by Spotlight PA on this issue over the past several years.
What’s particularly disturbing is that the aging department “delayed the audit by roughly six months, largely because it slow-walked turning over data and providing access to key employees.” Indeed, “the aging department’s response, attached to the audit, reveals it took a combative stance, disputing most of the findings and accusing auditors of being unprofessional — rare behavior among government agencies that have been the subject of past audits.” The department accused DeFoor of playing politics by releasing the audit six weeks before the election, ignoring that it could have been released six months ago if the department had cooperated.
Could Pittsburgh face SEC investigation?
The federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might have cause to investigate the City of Pittsburgh, the Post-Gazette reports. Current county District Attorney Stephen Zappala, Jr. is alleging that under the administration of former Mayor Ed Gainey, city “officials rigged the bidding process to give public money to political allies and then hid the true state of the city’s finances. The DA’s affidavit and the current mayoral administration … assert that the Gainey administration was overestimating revenue projections and underestimating expenses. Those projections were then presented to potential investors when the city issued bonds, a process regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.”
The P-G explains “For SEC investigators, the dollar amount would have to be meaningful enough to either impact the city’s operations or its ability to balance the budget…. Although SEC investigations tend to take years, the cash-strapped city of Pittsburgh or any individuals found at fault could be on the hook for paying any fines. In some cases, the SEC conducts parallel investigations with the U.S. Department of Justice that result in prison sentences.”
