Government & Politics
-
Pennsylvania Made Strong Progress in Employing Workers with Disabilities in 2016
While Pennsylvania still lags in the rate of employment of workers with disabilities, through a concentrated effort it made the largest step forward in this important area nationwide last year, writes Grace Donnelly for Fortune. Advocacy group for Americans with disabilities RespectAbility released the 2016 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium in time for the 2017 National…
-
Local Towns, Boroughs Fill the Federal and State Void of LGBT Protection Laws
With the absence of a federal- or state-level ban on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, local municipalities are taking the matter of protecting the LGBT population into their own hands, writes Michaelle Bond for the Philadelphia Inquirer. A nondiscrimination bill that would amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to include…
-
Horsham Township Equips Police Vehicles with Life-Saving Drug
Horsham Township will join the growing number of communities supplying their police force with the life-saving Narcan Nasal Spray. Announced at a recent township council meeting, all Horsham Police Department patrol vehicles will carry the heroin-overdose antidote. “We hope to have the program rolled out by mid-March,” said Horsham Chief of Police William Daly. “We…
-
Villanova University Gets Green Light for Controversial Crucifix-framed Foot Bridge
Villanova University has been granted the green light by Radnor Township’s Board of Commissioners for the construction of a controversial pedestrian bridge that will connect the campus with its planned expansion, writes Susan Snyder for Philly.com. However it has raised some eyebrows, as the design includes two five-foot metal crosses mounted on top of pillars…
-
Fair Districts PA Takes on Gerrymandering
Over 600 people turned out for a meeting organized by the Fair Districts PA in Montgomery County last week, to discuss the effects and possible ways of combating gerrymandering in the state, writes Dave Davies for NewsWorks. The Fair Districts PA is a coalition of groups that includes the League of Women Voters, Common Cause,…
-
Debate on State Police Budget Increases Puts Two Local Townships in Spotlight
Skippack Township in Montgomery County and West Bradford in Chester County have found themselves at the heart of the debate on who should be footing the bill for Governor Wolf’s proposed state police budget increases, writes Colin Deppen for PennLive. The proposed fee on residents of municipalities using only state troopers focuses on the nearly…
-
The Law Behind Resignation of Trump’s National Security Adviser Has Roots in Philadelphia
By Michael F. Merlie The Trump administration has been a wellspring of legal issues from its inception. The resignation of President Donald Trump’s national security advisor, retired Lt. General Michael T. Flynn last week, brings an arcane criminal statute known as the Logan Act into national focus. Interestingly, the Logan Act is the result of…
-
Interactive Wikimap Aims to Increase Cycling in Ambler
With the benefits of cycling ranging from better health to helping preserve the environment, the Montgomery County Planning Commission is working on getting people of all ages outside on their bikes, writes Ryan Genova for The Ambler Gazette. To help achieve this, the commission has started the Bike MontCo initiative. Its interactive Wikimap allows users…
-
Abington’s Bethany Christian Services of Greater Delaware Valley Helping Refugees Adapt to the Area
Abington’s Bethany Christian Services of Greater Delaware Valley is helping refuges resettle and adapt to their new environment, writes Dutch Godshalk for Times Chronicle. The refuges are referred to resettlement agencies such as BCS after going through an arduous two-year vetting process. During those two years, they are screened by National Counterterrorism Center, the FBI’s…
-
Lower Merion High Boys Basketball Team Takes Stand on Human Rights
The boys basketball team at Lower Merion High took a stand on human rights when they showed up for their Central League championship game wearing t-shirts that supported area Muslims, immigrants, and refugees, writes Cam Smith for USA Today High School Sports. In an open protest of the administration’s controversial travel ban, the boys wore…
-
How Might Immigration Policy Reform Impact Pennsylvania, Neighboring States
With the immigration-policy reform already underway by the new administration, WalletHub has conducted an in-depth analysis of 2017’s Economic Impact of Immigration by State to determine which parts of the country will feel the worst impacts of the changes. WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 18 key metrics in…
-
Looming Trade War with Mexico Could Hurt Philadelphia Region
The debate over who will pay for Trump’s much vaunted wall along the border with Mexican might soon turn into a full-fledged trade war to the detriment of both Greater Philadelphia region consumers, and businesses that export their products south of the border, writes Fabiola Cineas for Philadelphia Magazine. Trump has already floated the idea…
-
Anti-Trump Passion Rallies Newbies to Politics
Competing with the passion that brought Donald Trump to power is a new energy that’s fueling an unprecedented interest in politics for Democrats. “Nothing approaches it — certainly in the time I’ve been in public office, and I can’t remember [anything like it] even before that,” U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said in a Philly.com report…
-
Wharton Experts Warn That Immigration Ban Could Harm Economy
Trump’s immigration ban could have far reaching consequences for the country’s economy by undermining the reputation of the U.S. as a reliable place to do business, explains Mike Useem and Robert Meyer for Knowledge@Wharton podcast. In the podcast for Knowledge@Wharton, Useem, who is Wharton’s management professor and director of the Center for Leadership and Change…
-
Push for More Fairness in Political Redistricting Starts to Gain Momentum
For decades, politicians have redrawn district lines to benefit their party, and that practice — known as gerrymandering — has only gotten worse with the help of technology. Last week, the Fair Districts PA coalition rallied supporters to the cause of returning fairness to the redistricting process, especially in light of the threat of losing…
-
Ken Lawrence Jr. Becomes Montgomery County’s New Commissioner
Montgomery County has gotten its first ever African American commissioner in Ken Lawrence Jr., who was unanimously picked by the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas to fill the vacancy on the county’s three-member board of commissioners, writes Dan Stamm for Philadelphia Business Journal. Ken Lawrence was endorsed by the Democrats and will be replacing…
-
Bloomberg: Trump’s Immigration Policies Could Adversely Affect Pennsylvania’s Economy
Despite his promise of economic prosperity, Donald Trump and his much-vaunted tightening of immigration policies could mean there are fewer residents in Pennsylvania over the next decade, and that would have an adverse effect on the state’s economy, writes Conor Sen for Bloomberg. While the decline in manufacturing has been blamed for many of the…
-
Census Bureau: Pennsylvania Population Decline Spells Less Political Influence
According to the latest estimates of the U.S. Census Bureau, Pennsylvania is on course to lose at least one Congressional seat by 2020, writes Angela Couloumbis for the Philadelphia Inquirer. The region’s steady decline in population will be a significant factor by 2020, when the number of Congressional seats per state is redrawn based on…
Founding Partners
Advertisement
Affiliate Partners
Community Partners
