Author

A 3-decade veteran of the news business, John L. Micek is the Pennsylvania Capital-Star's Editor-in-Chief. An award-winning political reporter, Micek’s career has taken him from small town meetings and Chicago City Hall to Congress and the Pennsylvania Capitol. His weekly column on U.S. politics is syndicated to 800 newspapers nationwide by Cagle Syndicate. He also contributes commentary and analysis to broadcast outlets in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Micek’s first novel, “Ordinary Angels,” was released in 2019 by Sunbury Press.
Gov. Wolf’s campaign wants to raise $20k for Democrat in North Carolina congressional race
By: John L. Micek - February 27, 2019
Now that it doesn’t have to worry about raising cash for re-election, Gov. Tom Wolf’s campaign apparatus is looking for other places to flex its fundraising muscles. Mission accomplished? In a Tuesday email blast, Wolf’s campaign asked supporters to help them raise $20,000 by Thursday at midnight so that Democrat Dan McCready’s campaign can meet […]
The U.S. House is going to vote on gun background checks. The pre-game among Pa. lawmakers is going how you’d expect
By: John L. Micek - February 27, 2019
The majority-Democrat is expected to vote Wednesday on the first, major piece of gun-control legislation in two decades: A bill that would require universal background checks on all gun purchases. Writing in The Washington Post earlier this week, former U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello, R-Pa., observed that the bill, as currently written, would “require a background […]
Pa. U.S Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick just passed a key gut-check test. Here’s why | Wednesday Morning Coffee
By: John L. Micek - February 27, 2019
Good Wednesday Morning, Fellow Seekers. Remember these words – they may be the most important words uttered by any sitting member of Congress during this very young session: “This is much bigger than any one issue, and any one President. This is about the Constitution, the separation of powers, and about setting precedents that apply […]
Here’s what Pa’s Congressional delegation has to say about the vote to nullify Trump’s emergency declaration
By: John L. Micek - February 26, 2019
(*This piece has been updated to correctly identify the districts for U.S. Reps. Dwight Evans and Brendan Boyle) Surprising no one, the U.S. House voted 245-182 on partisan lines Tuesday to approve a resolution nullifying President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to build a wall at the United States’ southern border with Mexico. The Washington Post […]
Did Jake Corman just signal a kinder, gentler #PaBudget season? | Tuesday Morning Coffee
By: John L. Micek - February 26, 2019
The top Senate Republican sounds like he's looking for a deal already. Can he get one - and keep the rank-and-file happy?
In Washington Post op-ed, Pa.’s Ryan Costello’s urges Republicans to vote ‘yes’ on gun background checks bill
By: John L. Micek - February 26, 2019
With the U.S. House poised to vote on a major piece of gun-control legislation, a former Republican congressman from suburban Philadelphia is urging his onetime GOP colleagues to get on board and support it. Pending legislation that would require mandatory background checks on all gun sales “is not only consistent with the Second Amendment; it’s […]
State Inspector General charges three Harrisburg residents in food stamps fraud scheme
By: John L. Micek - February 25, 2019
The state Office of Inspector General says it has charged three Harrisburg residents in a $25,000 food stamps trafficking scheme whose proceeds were used to buy inventory for their mini-market. In a statement, Inspector General Bruce R. Beemer’s office said two people, Milciades Mendoza-Jiminez and Marylenny Acosta, allegedly “conspired to buy electronic benefits cards at a […]
A state full of commuters who work in healthcare: This is Pa. today | The Numbers Racket
By: John L. Micek - February 25, 2019
The state's biggest employer may not be who you think it is.
Trump is winning Latinos – that’s a problem for Dems | Monday Morning Coffee
By: John L. Micek - February 25, 2019
As ever, Pennsylvania remains a key battleground.
ACLU asks Pa. Supreme Court to declare the death penalty unconstitutional
By: John L. Micek - February 22, 2019
The Pennsylvania branch of the American Civil Liberties Union has asked the state’s highest court to declare the Keystone State’s death penalty statute unconstitutional, arguing that it violates equal protection provisions because of “the vast disparities across the commonwealth in the quality of representation for capital case defendants who are unable to pay.” Right now, […]
Pa. critics blast Trump’s federal funding ban for clinics that provide abortion, abortion referrals
By: John L. Micek and Stephen Caruso - February 22, 2019
The administration's rule change would affect more than 169,000 Pennsylvania patients, about 38 percent of whom are served by Planned Parenthood
Pa. elections officials accepted gifts, travel from voting machine companies, report
By: John L. Micek - February 22, 2019
Democratic Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Friday that accepting the gifts is wrong, even if officials took no action in return