This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

Philadelphia Congressman Brendan Boyle was named Pennsylvania’s most effective congressional Democrat by the Center for Effective Lawmaking at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, which ranks lawmakers based on their ability to move agenda items through Congress. Boyle said in a statement that he was proud to receive the honor and that he will “keep working every day to deliver for the people of Pennsylvania.”

Scarlet Zeigler, a 16-year-old Dover Township native, set out to beat the world record for miles covered on a bike in 24 hours. Zeigler, known for her biking endurance from a young age, made the trip to Seneca, Maryland from York County, 294.3 miles in total, beating the previous record of 282.6 miles. With the help of Hannah Montana in her headphones, Zeigler, who celebrated with a slushy and Chinese food, is now a world record holder. 

According to data from Realtor.com, Pittsburgh may be the last redoubt of the American homeownership dream: Of the 50 largest U.S. cities, it’s the only one where buying a home is, on average, more affordable than renting. With a median home list price of $255,000 – unchanged from last year – and a typical monthly mortgage of just $1,362 (versus $1,473 for renters, still a bargain in our book), the Steel City is officially among America’s most affordable places to live.

You know what’s really frightening at Field of Screams, the Lancaster County haunted attraction? It’s not the scarifying bloody limbs and spectral skulls – it’s the multiple reports from teen volunteers of sexual abuse, workplace injuries and coerced child labor that truly elicit horror. Spotlight PA cataloged 14 such claims, but says it has received no response from either the attraction or Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration – and details lax state practices around both permitting for volunteer labor and penalties for attractions accused of violations (the teens claim that abuses are ongoing at Field of Screams, where, as volunteers, they lack standard labor protections).

A proposed ordinance in Highspire Borough wants to crack down on fun in the Dauphin County municipality. The ordinance, which is set to be discussed at the Borough Council’s August 19 meeting, would ban ballplaying – which the ordinance describes as “throwing, kicking or knocking of any ball,” including snowballs – on borough streets, sidewalks or alleys. The ordinance, if approved by local officials, would also ban playing games on sidewalks and public streets. We can neither confirm nor deny that the borough is considering adopting “Highspire: You won’t have a ball here” as its official motto.

New hazing charges were filed against two members of a suspended Penn State fraternity. Leaders from the Lambda Lambda chapter of Phi Beta Sigma were charged on Thursday by Ferguson Township police with one count of conspiracy to commit organizational hazing, which comes after a student said new members were hit with wooden paddles and punched in the chest. The charge is a misdemeanor under the state’s Timothy J. Piazza Anti-Hazing Law, which was enacted in 2018.