Winners & Losers

This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

By City & State

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Another week in Pennsylvania presents another slate of winners and losers. Take the four Pennsylvanians who were indicted this week for their alleged participation in a $10 million Medicaid fraud operation, for instance. Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office this week charged Jason Alexandre, Earlson Satine, Natasha Hudson, and Rex Barr for allegedly overbilling Medicaid for services that weren’t provided. If the allegations hold true, that’s a one-way ticket to loser-land. Fortunately, others in the state are looking to help those in need of extra assistance by passing legislation designed to protect the elderly community, but we’ll get into that below.


Scroll down for more of this week’s winners and losers!

 

WINNERS:

Rev. John McIntyre -

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ruled in favor of Catholic Social Services, stating that Philadelphia cannot bar them for refusing to work with same-sex couples in foster placements. Rev. John McIntyre, president of CSS, will be happy to hear the outcome, which is yet another example of religious freedom prevailing in the nation's highest court. Philadelphia said CSS was violating the city’s nondiscrimination rules, but Chief Justice John Robert argued that the agency is only serving children in a manner consistent with its beliefs and is not forcing those beliefs on others.

Catherine Hicks -

Hicks has been the only name linked to the campaign for Philadelphia NAACP President. The chapter’s current leader, Rodney Muhammed, won’t seek another term after backlash he faced last year for posting an anti-Semitic meme on social media. Hicks has already received support from Jeff Brown, the ShopRite supermarket mogul, who commended her experience. If elected, she would become the first female president of the local branch.

Carrie Lewis DelRosso -

State Rep. Carrie Lewis DelRosso ended the week with a significant achievement in her young legislative career, as the House passed legislation sponsored by DelRosso that would extend protections of the state’s institutional sexual assault law to elderly individuals and other care-dependent people who need additional assistance. The legislation, if signed into law, would charge caretakers with a third-degree felony if they engage in sexual acts with a care-dependent person. The bill received bipartisan support and now heads to the Senate for consideration.

LOSERS:

Scott Perry -

U.S. Rep. Scott Perry was among 21 Republicans who voted against awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to all police officers who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots. He said the vote was “all politics,” but he received immediate criticism from opponents and constituents. Perry has been at the forefront of former President Donald Trump’s debunked claims that the election was rigged in Pennsylvania. Perry’s fed the conspiracy theories that led to pro-Trump rioters storming the Captiol, and was even protected by officers once the rioters broke in. For someone who has stressed the need to “back the blue,” honoring his protectors for their bravery was apparently too much for him.

Ronald Knapp -

Speaking of disputing election results, here comes Ronald Knapp. A candidate for Luzerne County Council, Knapp had his request for a hand recount of the May primary denied by the county this week. He came in sixth in a race for five council spots, by a mere 57 votes. Knapp then requested a recount to ensure accuracy, but the county argued his request did not meet legal requirements, including failing to post a bond or cash based on the number of machines involved in the recount. He should have known, after this past year, that just because you don’t like an election’s results doesn’t mean they’re not accurate.

Cherelle Parker -

Cherelle Parker, Philadelphia City Council’s Majority Leader, experienced a setback this week after she was forced to abandon efforts to cut Philadelphia’s parking tax after receiving opposition from progressive groups and urbanist advocates. The legislation would have slashed the city’s parking tax from 25% to 17%, and, according to WHYY, would have cost the city roughly $90 million in lost revenue. We’re not quite sure if there’s a lesson to be learned here. Don’t piss off the urbanists, maybe?

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