joanna-mcclinton
The clock is ticking for lawmakers to draw Pa.’s legislative maps. Here’s why
They must draw the maps by Jan. 2022, but likely will try to finish early to meet deadlines for next year's election.
Pa. lawmakers have been busy. But did they get anything done? That depends
Despite some major gaps. GOP House leaders defended their record so far during this fall's legislative session.
Pa. redistricting commission to count people in prison at their old home, not in their cell
This will effectively mark a small but meaningful shift in population from Pennsylvania countryside to it’s cities, increasing urban representation while reducing rural representation.
What COVID windfall? States have been slow to spend stimulus cash, report | Thursday Morning Coffee
Good Thursday Morning, Fellow Seekers. A missed opportunity. That’s how Pennsylvania House Minority Leader Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphia, characterized the decision by the Legislature’s Republican majority to bank $5 billion out of $7 billion in federal stimulus funds, instead of spending it on the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians. “It’s always good to prevent tax hikes on working families, and we […]
Philadelphia officials demand more action to reduce gun violence
Sen. Sharif Street choked up discussing his cousin-in-law’s murder. April, Street’s wife, left the news conference at one point, sat beside a nearby statue, and cried.
Wolf vetoes Republican voting bill; GOP pivots to constitutional referendums
Such measures are approved by the Legislature before they go before voters in a referendum. Governors have no say on their ratification.
‘We don’t just stop at Juneteenth’: Civil rights leader, lawmakers call for more action on social justice reform
“It is important that we don’t just stop on Juneteenth. It’s important that we look at all of the systemic issues and racism in legislation and policy and how that has impacted our community,” said Rep. Donna Bullock, D-Philadelphia, the chairperson of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus.
‘I’m not tired of standing up. Are you?’ As deadline looms, progressives push their budget agenda | Thursday Morning Coffee
With less than a week to go before the end of the fiscal year, progressives press the case to spend a $10 billion windfall on those who need it most.
Philly Sen. Hughes says he’s ‘deathly afraid’ GOP will squander $10B in surplus, federal stimulus
Hughes said the state’s revenue surplus combined with the federal pandemic funding was the largest influx of capital into the economy since President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
‘These folks are not Hannibal Lecter’: Push to reform Pa. second-degree murder statute continues
“We finally have to invest in our communities to do everything possible to interrupt a vicious cycle,” House Minority Leader JoannaMcClinton said.
To spend or not to spend, Harrisburg asks this budget season
The question of how to spend $7.3 billion in federal stimulus funds has quickly -- and predictably -- cleaved along party lines.
McClinton calls for safeguards against prison gerrymandering in Pa. legislative maps
(*This story was updated at 9:10 p.m. on Wednesday 5/26/21 to include comment from House Republicans, and to reflect that G. Reynolds Clark no longer works at the University of Pittsburgh and that Robert Byer did not donate to President Donald Trump.) Potentially upsetting decades of precedent that has aided rural, white Pennsylvanians at the […]