This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

Business in the front, party in the back – maybe it describes the PA Farm Show itself, but it definitely highlights the hairstyles on display at the Farm Show's second annual mullet contest. With an expanded range of age categories and hundreds of coiffed contestants – including a 15-month-old – there were myriad winners, including 9-year-old "Best in Grow" Grand Prize Winner Romeo Valadez of Ocean City, Maryland, who took home a prize basket of (what else?) gels and mousses.

The commonwealth's largest city is also increasingly creditworthy, thanks to Fitch Ratings' decision this week to upgrade Philadelphia's credit rating from A to A+, with a "stable" long-term outlook. City officials are celebrating Philly’s highest mix of credit ratings in decades, which means it can borrow money at better rates for the ambitious projects underway – which include an upcoming $100 million bond for the Rebuild program’s community infrastructure upgrades.

Fran Visco, a West Philadelphia native and breast cancer survivor who runs the National Breast Cancer Coalition, was awarded a Presidential Citizens Medal by President Joe Biden for her advocacy work and efforts to increase federal funding for breast cancer research, early detection education and access to health care. In an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Visco said she was “incredibly honored for myself and for everyone in the coalition.”

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit this week challenging the City of Hazleton’s method of electing at-large city councilmembers, alleging that the current method gives Hispanic citizens less opportunity than others in the electorate, therefore violating the Voting Rights Act.  To date, no Hispanic candidate has ever been elected to City Council, despite Hazleton being a majority-Hispanic city. 

A Pennsylvania State Police corporal could be in for some, well, corporal punishment. Attorney General Michelle Henry announced that Stephen Kamnik, who was stationed in Schwenksville, Montgomery County, was charged with using his work computer to store pornography. Kamnik allegedly kept thousands of pornographic images – much of which were AI-generated using deepfake software – on a hard drive at his workstation. He’s been charged with unauthorized use of a computer, which is a felony.

Despite facing no disciplinary action or charges, Common Pleas Court Judge Anne Marie Coyle was privately cautioned about her conduct and potential bias after a complaint alleging improper conduct was dismissed by the state’s Judicial Conduct Board. The board summarized the confidential complaint in December, noting that Coyle’s sentences for probation violations were the harshest of any Philadelphia judge. Although no charges against Coyle will be filed with the Court of Judicial Discipline, the board said it will deal with any future misconduct “more severely.”