April 20: Opening Up

🌿  Thursday 4/20. Fill in your own punchline.

PA Weather
Washington | Sunny, 82
Shippensburg | Sunny, 84
Berwick | Mostly Sunny, 79

PA Sports
Pirates (12-7) | Colorado 14-3 | Th-Sun vs. Cincinnati
Phillies (8-11) | White Sox 5-2 | Th-Sun vs. Colorado
76ers (2-0) | Th vs. Brooklyn

What’s Happening
(S/H) Independent Regulatory Review Committee, 10a
(H) Children & Youth Committee, 10a

What We’re Hearing
“Sara Innamorato and Heather Boyd will have a unique opportunity to lead on the issues that matter to Pennsylvanians and ensure that Pennsylvania remains a haven for reproductive freedom and civil rights for many years to come.” – Laphonza Butler

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Top Story

1. ‘So Grateful’: Inside Fetterman’s Hopeful First Week Back In The Senate

John Fetterman

John Fetterman had been here before — but not really.

There were no billowy pink blooms on the cherry blossoms the first time around. The Washington Monument didn’t seem to pop quite as boldly against the sky in January. When people approached to congratulate him, or ask for a picture, he felt numb, instead of flattered, like he does now.

Fetterman says his return to the Capitol this week after six weeks of hospitalization for treatment for clinical depression was his first time experiencing the Senate as himself.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Related

John Fetterman Is Ready To Talk About His Mental Health. “For years Fetterman handled depression like many people do — that is to say he didn’t pay it much attention, accepting as a young man that feeling low was an insoluble element of his personality. “I always treated my depression like I did with losing my hair,” he says. “It’s just kind of like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s just part of my makeup.'”” (People)

Fitzpatrick, Thompson, Cartwright Raise $500K+ In Q1. “The half-million dollar fundraising club has three members in the first quarter of 2023, as two Republican and one Democratic members of Congress reported new numbers to the Federal Election Commission.” (PoliticsPA)

Republicans Are Alarmed About A Mastriano For Senate Bid. Even Trump. “MAGA firebrand Doug Mastriano is inducing panic among GOP officials as he inches closer toward a 2024 bid for the Senate after a disastrous showing in his Pennsylvania governor run in 2022. Among the concerned is none other than Donald Trump.” (POLITICO)

House Prepares Vote On Barring Transgender Athletes From Sports. “House Republicans were set to vote Thursday on a bill to bar transgender women and girls from playing on athletic teams that correspond with their gender identity, a key campaign promise that Democrats denounced as cruel and discriminatory.” (Roll Call)

A Super PAC Targets Greene, Gaetz, Goebert, Perry And Others On Far Right. “A bipartisan group of political operatives — spanning the ideological spectrum from former members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus to a Democrat who challenged Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia — has started a political action committee aimed at “stopping MAGA” and eradicating what the operatives call an authoritarian streak among some Republican lawmakers.” (New York Times)

 

State

2. PA Supreme Court Angrily Sanctions Fulton County For Violating Order On Dominion Voting Machines

PA Judicial Center

“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday said Fulton County had blatantly defied the court when it allowed a third-party company to access its 2020 voting machines.

The county had first given a firm access to its Dominion voting machines in the weeks after the 2020 election, prompting the Pennsylvania Department of State, which oversees elections, to decertify the machines and ask the court to block the county from giving any further access. The court agreed, ordering the machines be kept secure.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Related

Fulton County Sanctioned Over Copying 2020 Voting Machine Data. “A Pennsylvania Republican-majority county government where two commissioners secretly allowed a third party to copy voting-machine data last year to help former President Donald Trump overturn his 2020 reelection defeat received contempt sanctions Wednesday from the state’s highest court.” (AP)

PA-12: Hayes Announces Candidacy For Congress. “James Hayes, a business executive with multiple degrees in economics and business, announced plans to challenge Rep. Summer Lee in next year’s congressional elections.” (PoliticsPA)

Black Republican Launches Campaign Against Squad-Backed Summer Lee In PA: ‘We’re Falling Apart.” “A Pennsylvania Republican is looking to clean up the streets of Pittsburgh and restore law and order by launching a campaign to represent one of the state’s more progressive districts in the U.S. House.” (Fox News)

 

Around The Commonwealth

3. EMILY’s List Endorses Innamorato, Boyd In Key PA Races

“EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed Sara Innamorato for election as Allegheny County executive and Heather Boyd for election to Pennsylvania’s 163rd House District.” (PoliticsPA)

Related

Two PA House 108th Candidates Debate The Issues. “Two of the three candidates in the upcoming special election for the Pa. House 108th District seat — Democrat Trevor Finn and Libertarian Elijah Scretching — answered questions ranging from gun laws, to Encina, abortion, and parental educational rights in a lively 60 minute debate.” (Daily Item)

  • Three Vying For 108th Legislative District. (Daily Item)

 

Fitzgerald Endorses Doven For County Council, Calling Hallam ‘A Damage To Democracy.’Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald endorsed Joanna Doven on Wednesday in her campaign to oust incumbent Bethany Hallam from an at-large seat on County Council.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Philly Mayoral Candidates Talk Affordable Housing And Development. “Inside a packed sanctuary in Center City, the four mayoral candidates in attendance took turns answering questions about one of Philadelphia’s most pressing problems: its affordable housing crisis.” (WHYY)

Bud Shuster, Former PA Congressman, Dies At 91. “Former U.S. Rep. Bud Shuster, an influential Republican lawmaker who strongly backed transportation projects but ran afoul of ethics guidelines, has died. He was 91.” (AP)

PA Republican Proposes FAFSA Requirement For High School Seniors. “Completing the application to determine eligibility for school financial aid would be mandatory under a new proposal from a Pennsylvania Senate Republican.” (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

State Official Warns Of Potential Failures Without Overhaul Of PA’s Program For Distressed Municipalities. “Distressed municipalities successfully exiting Pennsylvania’s fiscal recovery program risk sliding back towards financial collapse when they lose the authority to assess taxes above the legal limit, an official with the state Department of Community and Economic Development told House members Wednesday.” (CNHI News)

 

Editorial

4. What They’re Saying

A glance around the Keystone State at editorials and opinions.

Editorial

 

Opinion

 

1 Thing

5. What A Downer

What are the health benefits and risks of cannabis?

“Philly may have decriminalized marijuana but it ranks No. 32 among America’s “Best Weed Cities,” according to a new study.

Recreational pot remains illegal in Pennsylvania but we’re nearly surrounded by states where you can buy it, including Maryland, where sales are expected to begin in July.

We pay $355 on average for an ounce of high-quality weed in Philly, per the report, more than the national average ($316). In Portland, Oregon — the No. 1 Best Weed City — you’d only pay $210. (Axios Philadelphia)

 

 

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  • Will tonight's U.S. Senate debate affect your decision?


    • No. I've already decided on how to cast my vote. (81%)
    • Yes. Anxious to hear from both candidates (19%)

    Total Voters: 27

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