joe-scarnati
Pa. Senate GOP advances ‘first pass’ at election fixes. Wolf says talks are ongoing
With barely two months left until the Nov. 3 general election, Pennsylvania lawmakers are “actively negotiating” changes to the state’s election code as they try to resolve crucial questions of election security in the Legislature rather than in the courts, Gov. Tom Wolf said Tuesday. But there’s not yet consensus among Democrats and Republicans on […]
Our declaration of independence: Pa. wants redistricting reform. Lawmakers have failed to listen | Opinion
We have attempted every lawful avenue of request, petitioning our legislators in every way we know, All have been met with silence.
The latest push to expand gambling in Pennsylvania, explained
GOP leaders in the state Senate have spent much of the last week in trying to drum up support for a bill authorizing video gambling in bars and taverns.
With state board’s green light, Erie County to become home of Pa.’s 15th community college
The board voted 9-6 in favor of the application during a virtual session on Thursday. The vote came after the regulatory panel spent two days taking testimony on the application.
In showdown with lawmakers, Wolf vetoes reopening bills; then allows real estate agencies to reopen
Enraging Republicans, Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a trio of bills Tuesday aimed at shielding swaths of the economy from statewide shutdown orders.
State Board of Ed. adds Erie community college discussion to agenda; Supporters ask for more
Erie County Council President Andre Horton said that a vote is more important now as “COVID-19 has illuminated the lack of equity, particularly in technology in the Erie School District.”
Crunching the numbers behind Erie’s competing higher education plans | Fact Check
ERIE, Pa. — When one of the state’s most powerful Republican state lawmakers voiced his concerns regarding the numbers in Erie County’s community college plan, the Capital-Star did an analysis and discovered several typographical errors. One error was found in projected student enrollment numbers of the original community college plan presented to the state in […]
‘The whole … premise is flawed’: Scarnati questions the math on Erie’s community college plan
ERIE, Pa. — One of the Pennsylvania Legislature’s most powerful Republican lawmakers has questioned the math behind a long-sought proposal to build a community college in Erie. And he says the money could be better spent on providing scholarships for Erie County residents to attend the already established Northern Pennsylvania Regional College (NPRC). “The whole […]
Waiting Game: With state Board of Ed meeting looming, Erie County’s community college debate may soon be over
The Pa. State Board of Education meets March 18 in Erie -- and win or lose, Erie County officials may finally have a long-awaited answer.
I covered Pa. Senate Prez Joe Scarnati for 20 years. Here’s what I learned | Opinion
Journalists can have up-and-down relationships with politicians. We need each other. At times, our jobs conflict, and we tend to dislike each other. At other times, our goals synchronize and we like each other — for a while.
Turzai, Scarnati step down on top facing uncertain political waters
House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, both announced they would retire this year, when the odds of either chamber flipping are so-so.
‘Anytime Joe would speak, members listened.’ After two decades in Harrisburg, Scarnati leaves a complicated legacy
Scarnati, whose Jefferson County-based district covers wide swaths of northern Pennsylvania, announced Wednesday night that he would retire at the end of the year to spend more time with his family.