Commentary

Wolf’s budget plan will move Pa. forward – here’s how | Both Sides Now

BY: - February 12, 2019

The Legislature's Republican majority to recognize the practical and moral necessities of governing and enact this budget.

Here’s what your uHaul rental tells us about Pa.’s importance in 2020 | Monday Morning Coffee

BY: - February 11, 2019

It's a very different kind of immigration debate.

Wolf, lawmakers need to boost Medicaid rates for long-term care homes | Opinion

BY: - February 11, 2019

For the fifth year in a row, the governor proposed flat funding for Medicaid rates in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes.

School shooters usually show these signs of distress long before they open fire | Opinion

BY: - February 10, 2019

By Jillian Peterson James Densley Two years before he lined his schoolmates up against a classroom wall and executed them one by one, the student, who would become the gunman, tried to show his English teacher something important. He had quietly slid up his sleeves to reveal the cut marks running down his arms. The […]

Let’s cut through the smoke and look at the facts on marijuana legalization | Opinion

BY: - February 9, 2019

As Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor embarks on a listening tour to hear voters' views on legalized marijuana, it's important to consider the whole picture

Pa. can’t be a role model on criminal justice reform if we undermine peoples’ rights | Opinion

BY: - February 9, 2019

By Andy Hoover Elected officials and corrections administrators in Pennsylvania have been doing a bit of a victory lap after the recent announcement that our state prison population dropped by 1,000 people in 2018. On the heels of the passage of the Clean Slate Act — a new law to automatically seal some people’s criminal records […]

Wait? What? Pennsylvania has clout on Capitol Hill now? | Friday Morning Coffee

BY: - February 8, 2019

Good Friday Morning, Fellow Seekers. There’s no nice way to say this, so we’re just going to come out and say it. It’s been a lonnnnggggg time since Pennsylvania had any clout on Capitol Hill. How long? We’re talking ‘Single Bullet Theory” long. We’re talking “Not Proven, Scottish Law” long. Not since dinosaurs … err … the late U.S. Sen. […]

Here’s how to avoid the next government shutdown | Madeleine Dean

BY: - February 8, 2019

President Trump didn't mention the shutdown once during his State of the Union address on Tuesday. We can't let another one happen.

Payday lenders just scored a win in Washington — will they try again in Pennsylvania? | John L. Micek

BY: - February 8, 2019

And, as ever, it’s those who are cheering the loudest for him that will end up suffering the most. Let's hope Pa. lawmakers have more sense.

Math is hard. Budget math is harder | Thursday Morning Coffee

BY: - February 7, 2019

When he rode into office four years ago, Gov. Tom Wolf was pretty clear about one thing: The way Harrisburg was balancing its books wasn’t working. Simply moving pots of money around, and relying on one-time fixes to make ends meet had to change. We’ve since come to refer to this as “The Pizza Law of Budgeting,” […]

People don’t trust blockchain systems – is regulation a way to help? | Opinion

BY: - February 7, 2019

Blockchain technology was supposed to make trust unnecessary – but that turns out not to be true. Most people will want laws and regulations to help make blockchain-based systems trustworthy.

State of the Union 2019: Investigating doesn’t rule out legislating | Opinion

BY: - February 7, 2019

The U.S. government has been able to legislate just fine during past presidential investigations.