Winners & Losers
This week’s biggest Winners & Losers
Who’s up and who’s down this week?
City & State
Lawmakers may have kicked off conversations over how to fix the state’s public education funding system this week, but it was the hunt for an escaped murderer that captivated the commonwealth. A 4-year-old Belgian Malinois is making headlines for its role in bringing the escapee to justice, while others in the state – like the Philadelphia Board of Ethics – weren’t nearly as fortunate this week.
Keep reading for more of this week’s Winners & Losers!
Yoda -
The force is strong with this one. Yoda, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois belonging to a U.S. Border Patrol tactical unit, was key to capturing escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante this week. After a 14-day manhunt that brought national attention to the Keystone State, Yoda helped subdue Cavalcante in Chester County after he tried to escape from authorities. That’s a good pup!
Sens. Ryan Aument and Marty Flynn -
This bipartisan duo is hoping to alleviate some headaches by cracking down on ticket resellers that sell “fake” seats. The legislation, according to LNP, would force ticket resellers to own tickets before selling them to customers – which will probably come in handy the next time an economy-moving Taylor Swift tour comes to town.
The Department of Environmental Protection -
The Department of Environmental Protection has an extra $100 million coming its way after three chemical companies agreed to pay the state as part of a consent agreement with Monsanto Company, Solutia Inc. and Pharmacia LLC, according to WHYY. The agreement comes in response to claims that the three companies damaged Pennsylvania waterways by producing products with polychlorinated biphenyls – chemicals that were banned by Congress in 1979.
The Philadelphia Ethics Board -
The Philadelphia Board of Ethics was dealt a blow in court this week when a Philadelphia judge dismissed the board’s case against a super PAC that backed Jeff Brown in the city’s May Democratic mayoral primary. Court of Common Pleas Judge Joshua Roberts ruled on Tuesday that Brown did not illegally coordinate with the super PAC known as For a Better Philadelphia, marking a legal win for the former mayoral contender.
Josiah Brown -
It appears the going prison term for carjacking a member of Congress is 7½ years. That was the sentence handed down this week to Josiah Brown, a 21-year-old Wilmington man who stole U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon’s car at gunpoint in December 2021. The sentence came despite an apology from Brown and calls from Scanlon to give Brown a chance for reform, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Brian Fochtman and Irv Kimmel -
The Somerset County Board of Elections made a formal recommendation this week that the Somerset County District Attorney investigate two county commissioner candidates over campaign finance concerns. According to The Tribune-Democrat, two election board members said they had difficulty following the campaign finance reports of Brian Fochtman and Irv Kimmel – two GOP county commissioner candidates – alleging that the two were spending “significantly” more than they raised over the summer.
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