This week's biggest Winners & Losers

After a Department of State slip-up restarted the constitutional amendment process looking to provide legal relief to child sex abuse victims, the legislature has taken it into its own hands to oversee the process going forward. The administrative error hindered efforts by the state to create a retroactive window for victims to sue their abusers. Among the actions taken to avoid crucial mistakes in the future is the creation of the Select Committee on the Publication of Constitutional Amendments. State Rep. Natalie Mihalek was appointed chair of the committee this week, giving her authority to oversee the study on advertising amendments.

The summer is looking even brighter for restaurant and bar owners. John Longstreet, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association, saw two developments in Harrisburg that must’ve been to his liking. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would allow establishments to permanently sell mixed drinks to-go. Additionally, the Department of Health dropped legal action against 40 restaurants that defied COVID-19 mitigation orders during the pandemic.

Dr. Paul Ezell, a Delaware County eye doctor, was imprisoned in 2014 for growing marijuana plants in his home in order to reduce his dying wife’s use of prescription opioids. Ezell’s conviction came nearly two years before the state legalized medical cannabis. Because Ezell pleaded guilty to a felony, he was stripped of his license to practice medicine and burdened with a criminal record. But after receiving a pardon from Gov. Tom Wolf this week, Ezell is one step closer to returning to his profession.

U.S. Representative Lloyd Smucker’s wallet took a hit this week after he was fined $5,000 for violating new security protocols at the U.S. Capitol. He became the sixth House member to be fined for failing to complete the security check implemented following the January 6 insurrection. Smucker reportedly ignored security guards’ requests and went to the House floor, before coming back to do the security check after casting his vote. For a congressman who claims to support law-and-order, he found it difficult to listen to “clearly stated” directions from Capitol Police.

Vince Fumo, after spending years in federal prison and paying out millions in restitution, lost a recent court battle over excise taxes owed to the government in an effort to salvage what money he has left. A federal tax court judge ruled that Fumo is responsible for additional taxes owed on top of what he's already paid out to his victims, which include the state Senate and two non-profit charities. Fumo argued that he's already paid his dues, but the judge contended the benefits he received while defrauding the IRS were far too great, and now it wants its cut.

Republican Philadelphia District Attorney candidate Chuck Peruto got a shoutout from HBO’s John Oliver this week, and when that happens, it’s typically not for a good reason. Peruto, who has already made national headlines for a lengthy, bizarre entry on his campaign website explaining why a woman was found dead in his bathtub in 2013, attracted Oliver’s attention after Peruto’s campaign posted 35-minute meandering video in which Peruto says he understands the Black community “just about as well as a Black person,” before slightly walking back his comment and saying: “I'm not gonna say equal, but pretty good.” Oliver got a kick out of the clip and said Peruto gives off “‘No one in my family wants to listen to me anymore so they showed me how to use a webcam’ energy.”