Winners & Losers
This week’s biggest Winners & Losers
Who’s up and who’s down this week?
City & State
Animal rights advocates want you to have your Groundhog Day cake – vegan, of course – and eat it, too. PETA reportedly sends a letter annually to Punxsutawney Groundhog Club President Tom Dunkel suggesting the group creates a weather-prediction cake – akin to a gender-reveal party – rather than using the state’s most famous groundhog, Phil, as the prognosticator. The rationale is that Phil is not a fan of being taken out of his burrow for the time-honored tradition that PETA gratuitously derides as “a tired old gimmick.” This year’s Groundhog Day festivities are set to take place on Sunday, Feb. 2 at Gobbler’s Knob — including Phil’s early-morning weather prediction.
Keep reading for more winners and losers!
J6ers -
The January Sixers are the only numeral-named group in the area currently getting consequential wins. Thanks to the pardons from President Donald Trump, Zach Rehl, the former leader of the Philadelphia Proud Boys chapter, is now walking free. Rehl, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, is out from behind bars alongside nearly all of the 1,500 people charged with participating in the insurrection at the United States Capitol four years ago.
Amos Miller -
Lancaster County farmer Amos Miller scored a temporary win when an appeals court ruled he could sell raw milk to out-of-state customers while a lawsuit from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is considered. The department sued Miller last January to stop him from selling raw milk without a permit, and though sales may continue for the time being, it’s still probably a good idea to avoid raw milk and the myriad risks it poses to one’s health.
The row officers -
January was a landmark month for Pennsylvania’s treasurer, auditor general and attorney general, all of whom were sworn in for four-year terms on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Treasurer Stacy Garrity and Auditor General Timothy DeFoor took the oath of office for their second terms, while Attorney General Dave Sunday began his first term in the AG’s office. The ceremonies even included an appearance from Gov. Josh Shapiro, who spoke at all three events.
Cherelle Parker -
Unfortunately for Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, recent run-ins with the city’s sports teams have put her in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. The city continues reacting to the 76ers backpedaling on the Center City arena – a last-minute deal with Comcast that shocked many in City Hall. On top of that, while boasting about the Eagles’ playoff run, Parker mistakenly misspelled E-A-G-L-E-S, becoming the butt of the joke on sports socials.
Sanctuary city pols -
Local officials in sanctuary-designated jurisdictions – including Pennsylvania’s 10 counties and three cities that have pledged not to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – were threatened on Wednesday with prosecution by President Donald Trump's Justice Department if they defy federal immigration directives. Hours later, Philadelphia’s chief of immigrant affairs, Amy Eusebio, resigned from her post overseeing the sanctuary city’s services for the foreign-born, which include roughly 50,000 undocumented residents.
Pittsburgh City Council -
The Steel City’s chief governing body had a chaotic week. While local activists renewed thus-far-futile efforts to promote a ballot initiative prohibiting city dealings with Israel, councilmembers parried with their own ballot measures to block those and future nuisance efforts by enshrining Pittsburgh’s non-discrimination code into its home rule charter and ban ballot initiatives that “add duties or obligations beyond the lawful scope of the city’s authority.”