This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

With this new legislation, we hope there’s no flu over any cuckoo’s nests. State Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver’s Senate Bill 979, legislation that seeks to raise disease awareness for those with hobby flocks, passed through the Democrat-controlled state House and is set to go to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk. If signed, the Department of Agriculture could require the posting of dangerous transmittable disease information at locations where animals and feed are offered for public sale.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright hit the fundraising jackpot during the first quarter of 2024, raising more than any other member of the state’s U.S. House delegation. The northeastern Pennsylvania Democrat reported raising $1.38 million in contributions, according to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, bringing his war chest to approximately $3.15 million as he heads into the second quarter. 

President Joe Biden’s administration recently revealed it will be providing $7.4 billion in student loan debt relief for 277,000 borrowers – a move that will have a direct impact on Pennsylvanians with student loan debt. More than 10,800 Pennsylvania borrowers will see relief as a result of Biden’s actions, which come as the president is seeking reelection.

SCOTUS isn’t letting some House Republicans’ slip past security slide. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the $5,000 fines levied against Congressmember Lloyd Smucker and two other House Republicans for bypassing extra security installed outside the U.S. House floor after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Smucker now must pay up for “disregarding clearly stated verbal directions” given by officers to go through metal detectors. 

Three Philadelphia-area plants, including the AdvanSix chemical plant located in the city’s Bridesburg neighborhood, will now have to comply with stricter EPA rules related to hazardous air pollution. The EPA finalized rules in April to target plants emitting potentially cancerous chemicals such as polymers and resins, regulating polluting processes and equipment, removing exemptions during plant start-ups and shutdowns and requiring more monitoring – a win for environmental justice advocates and nearby communities experiencing pollution. 

Norma Galagarza, a former director of medical staff at Doylestown Hospital, has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $600,000 from a hospital charity account, according to 6abc. The charges include felony counts of theft by unlawful taking, theft deception, forgery, access device fraud and computer trespassing; Galagarza was ultimately sentenced to five years’ probation.