Winners & Losers
This week’s biggest Winners & Losers
Who’s up and who’s down this week?
City & State
Summer is officially here, and it’s off to a sizzling start in the commonwealth. Godshall Quality Meats now holds the Guinness World Record for the longest piece of turkey bacon, creating a slice that came to 17 feet, ¾ inches long by 23 inches wide at its plant in Lebanon. Don’t get us wrong, earning a world record is nothing to squeal at. But based on the location of the plant alone, this could have been a big break for bologna.
Keep reading for more of this week’s Winners & Losers!
Josh Shapiro -
The month of June was expected to be Gov. Josh Shapiro’s first big test amid budget negotiations. But thus far, it’s been a hot start to the season. A proposed tax credit to recruit new teachers, nurses and police officers – a priority in Shapiro’s first budget proposal – passed through the state House with bipartisan support. On top of that, the sooner-than-expected reopening of I-95 has Shapiro and the project all over the national media.
Elder Vogel -
State Sen. Elder Vogel’s bill to modernize the state’s Dog Law received overwhelming approval from the state Senate, bringing the GOP senator one step closer to getting the bill to the governor’s desk. Vogel and officials at the Department of Agriculture have long championed increasing dog licensing fees to adequately fund the state’s Dog Law enforcement bureau.
Jason Dawkins & Patty Kim -
As sponsors of legislation to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026, Democratic state Reps. Jason Dawkins and Patty Kim scored a major legislative victory when the House passed House Bill 1500 on June 21. Following the 103-100 vote, proponents of the bill celebrated on the steps of the Capitol rotunda.
Rich Fitzgerald -
It can’t feel good to have a bill vetoed, but it has to feel even worse to have your veto overridden. After vetoing a bill to raise the minimum wage for all hourly Allegheny County employees, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald’s veto was overridden by Allegheny County Council, which voted 10-5 to do so, per WESA. As a result of the override, the new ordinance will go into effect next January.
Luzerne County Election Board -
A probe into Luzerne County and how it ran out of paper ballots on Election Day last year found no evidence of criminal activity or purposeful efforts to prevent people from voting. The investigation did, however, blame inexperienced election supervisors for the issues. Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said that only one election bureau supervisor had more than a month of experience before last November’s election and that inadequate training was provided by the county’s election operators.
SIG Sauer -
A gun manufacturer is under fire in a lawsuit that could be a long shot for gun owners. James Hall, a retired lieutenant of the Philadelphia Police Department, is among several people who have sued SIG Sauer due to alleged malfunctions of one of their pistols. Hall was reportedly injured in Sept. 2022 when his pistol fell on the floor and discharged, hitting him in his upper arm and shoulder and shattering his shoulder and humerus.