Winners & Losers
This week’s biggest Winners & Losers
Who’s up and who’s down this week?
City & State
In a gut punch for public health professionals, science and common sense, Pennsylvanians appear to be buying into unsubstantiated claims that child immunizations are linked to autism. A recent Muhlenberg College poll showed that more than a third of state residents believe there is a connection between the two, a scientifically discredited viewpoint promoted by none other than U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Read on for more Winners & Losers!
Keep reading for more winners and losers!
SEPTA -
Public transit will take the wins where they can get them. SEPTA is reporting another significant drop in crime across its transit system, including a 42% decrease on the Market-Frankford Line during the first quarter of 2026. Crime rates and fare evasion went down after last year’s 10-year low – a great sign for the system, which also reported zero murders through the first three months of the year.
Teacher of the Year -
For the second straight year, a Pennsylvania educator has been named National Teacher of the Year. The 2026 honoree is Leon Smith, an AP social studies teacher at Delaware County’s Haverford High School, who was also 2025’s Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year. The longtime freshman boys’ basketball coach and African American Cultural Enrichment Advisor also founded Haverford's chapter of Educators Rising to mentor the next generation of teachers.
Reproductive Rights Advocates -
Reproductive rights advocates across Pennsylvania are celebrating a recent decision from the state’s Commonwealth Court that ruled a state law banning Medicaid coverage for abortions is unconstitutional. In a statement, Gov. Josh Shapiro said: “A woman’s ability to access reproductive care should never be determined by her income.”
Temple University -
Temple University's new president, John Fry, has secured record donations – but he’ll need strategy as well to overcome falling enrollment and retention rates at the Philadelphia school, which has lost more than a quarter of its U.S. enrollment in less than a decade. Freshman retention rates slid from 90% to below 80% during the same timeframe – all of which translates to an average annual revenue loss of $200 million.
Kenneth D. Yochum -
In the latest example of political violence in Pennsylvania, Kenneth Yochum of Hamilton County, Ohio, had a preliminary hearing this month after being charged for a threatening voicemail he left for state Rep. Mark Gillen. According to The Center Square, Yochum left a voicemail for Gillen saying, “blood will roll” if Pennsylvania comes after guns.
Alleged AI attorney -
If an opposing attorney has ever used artificial intelligence, you may be entitled to compensation. Sanctions are being sought against the attorney for a former Montoursville Area High School assistant baseball coach who lost an eye while throwing batting practice. The claim accuses the coach’s attorney of fabricating case citations using AI in the case against baseball screen makers BSN Sports Inc. and Garware Technical Fibres, with the companies saying the reliance on AI is “egregious.”