Weekend Reads: 2020 Election Guides | Five for Your Weekend

Happy weekend, everyone!

PITTSBURGH — According to public salary information for the City of Pittsburgh, Paul Abel Jr., a police officer currently under investigation for potential misconduct for an aggressive arrest he conducted near the Squirrel Hill farmers’ market, made $156,106 in total compensation last year.

That makes him among the most highly-compensated city employees last year. Abel took home $73,601 in base pay  and $47,221 in premium overtime, holiday, and special events pay.

On Sept. 6, Abel was working a special event duty at the Squirrel Hill farmers’ market when a patron asked Abel why he was wearing a mask designed with the Thin Blue Line, the symbol of the Blue Lives Matter movement. The man, Michael Holc, confronted Abel, then Abel told Holc to move, and shortly thereafter, Abel then arrested Holc, eventually charging him with six misdemeanors.

According to the video of the arrest, Holc says, “I didn’t do anything,” as Abel is grabbing him by the shoulder. Then, Abel pulls out his taser, grabs Holc by the collar, and shouts, “Turn around and put your hands behind your back! Now!”

Pennsylvanians will have the chance to vote for state legislators, row officers, members of Congress, and, of course, the President on Nov. 3.

The Capital-Star wants to help. This guide has everything you need to know to find your way to the polls, whether you’re casting your vote in-person or by mail.

If you have a question we didn’t answer here, we invite you to get in touch with us – submit your question using this form.

A note: All of the information below is current as of Monday, Sept. 21. State lawmakers are debating legislation that could change some deadlines for voting by mail, but those proposals aren’t guaranteed to become law. We’ll immediately update this guide if and when the rules change.

Cheyney University, the nation’s oldest Historically Black College and University, was the scene of a demonstration that attempted to disrupt classes on Tuesday.

According to sources, a small group of white protesters entered the campus which sits astride Chester and Delaware counties around 1:30 p.m. The group then began shouting racial slurs and biblically-themed rhetoric at students and anyone else passing through an area of the campus known as The Quad. There were no incidents involving students and the demonstrators left the campus around 4 p.m..

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to be appointed to the nation’s highest court, died Friday, aged 87. The cause was complications from metastatic pancreas cancer, the New York Times reported, citing a statement by the Supreme Court.

In a statement released late Friday, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he plans to move ahead to fill the seat, setting up the potential for a brutal political battle ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

Below are reactions from Pennsylvania politicians to her death.

MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A week before the presidential candidates are set to meet in their first televised debate, President Donald Trump riffed on Vice President Joe Biden’s insistence on wearing a face mask — and Biden’s face itself.

“I wonder in the debate, when him and I get on stage, is he going to walk in with a mask?” Trump joked. “I’ll be honest, he feels good about the mask, and that’s okay, whatever makes you feel good. I mean honestly, what the hell did he spend all that money on the plastic surgery if he’s going to cover it up with a mask?”

Trump’s visit to the Pittsburgh area came the same day the number of reported deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. surpassed 200,000.

University of Washington epidemiologists, whose models have been widely cited since the start of the pandemic, now project the total death count will reach 378,000 by the beginning of January. The same model estimates that if the country universally wore face masks starting now, it would prevent some 100,000 deaths in the same time frame.

And that’s the week. We’ll see you back here Monday.