Winners & Losers
This week’s biggest Winners & Losers
Who’s up and who’s down this week?
City & State
Even in the dog days of summer, the commonwealth remains quite politically active. President Joe Biden stopped by the City of Brotherly Love this week – his 13th visit to Philadelphia since taking office in January 2021. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania universities are beginning to take action on tuition rates, and officials continue to work out what’s next for the increasingly tardy state budget.
Keep reading for more of this week’s Winners & Losers!
Ted Kopas -
Former Westmoreland County Commissioner Ted Kopas is returning to his old stomping grounds. Kopas was selected by the county’s court of common pleas judges this week to fill a vacancy that will open when Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher resigns at the end of this month. Looks like we’re in for Ted, the sequel.
Braddock, Pennsylvania -
Braddock, a borough of about 1,700 people in Allegheny County, officially got to drop its status as a depressed municipality this week after spending 35 years in a state-run financial assistance program. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, who lives in the borough, called it a “special day” for his hometown.
Dave McCormick -
If Dave McCormick decides to take another shot at running for U.S. Senate in 2024, he’ll have Americans For Prosperity on his side. The conservative advocacy group endorsed McCormick for the race this week, despite McCormick not officially launching a campaign yet. Given the unpredictability of Pennsylvania’s last Senate race, it can’t hurt to have an endorsement this early on.
Rachel Marie Powell -
Sandy Lake resident Rachel Marie Powell was found guilty on eight felony charges and one misdemeanor charge tied to her involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. According to the FBI, Powell – who wore a pink hat and carried a bullhorn – smashed windows at the Capitol with a large pipe to enter the building. Powell will learn her fate at a sentencing hearing in October.
Turnpike drivers -
It’s that time of year again: Officials at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission voted to raise toll rates by 5% next year – the 16th consecutive year that the commission has increased the cost of using the highway, according to the Pittsburgh Union Progress. Rates for E-ZPass users will increase by $0.10, while the cost for users of the Toll By Plate system will see a $0.30 increase – so hold on to that spare change, even if you can’t use it at the tolls anymore.
Pennsylvania State University -
New reporting from Spotlight PA and the Centre Daily Times found that many of the reforms instituted to root out misconduct at Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal are not adequate. The report found that the university “lacks a unified way to track all cases of reported misconduct” and that the school’s compliance offices “do not all follow a standardized investigative protocol” – not what you want to hear more than a decade after the scandal first made headlines.