This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

Battered by COVID restrictions over the past year, the Philadelphia tourism industry has had a rough time. But there’s finally some light at the end of the Walt Whitman now that the city’s COVID-19 restrictions are set to be lifted on June 11. And Jeff Guaracino, the president and CEO of Visit Philadelphia, might just be the happiest man alive. Guaracino, who oversees Visit Philadelphia’s efforts to attract people to the city, will likely have a much easier time now that restrictions on restaurants, stores, theaters, casinos, gyms, offices and other businesses will be completely lifted. The city’s mask requirement, however, will remain in place.

State Rep. Ed Gainey’s chances of unseating Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto got a boost this week after he received an endorsement from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Editorial Board. The endorsement praised Gainey for his experience in government and history in Pittsburgh, stating that he will actually show up for neighborhoods in need. The incumbent Peduto may have outraised and outspent his opponent, but Gainey’s endorsements from the Post-Gazette, fellow state representatives, and several unions show he’s gained a lot of traction locally.

The Senate unanimously approved Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman’s bill that would offer parents the option to allow their children to repeat a grade level due to the learning disruptions created by COVID-19. The bill, Senate Bill 664, would also offer those in special education programs to receive an additional year of instruction. Pennsylvania Republicans have been at odds with Gov. Wolf and Democrats in the legislature on most issues during the pandemic, but Corman was able to bring forward legislation that was supported by stakeholders and both parties. A rare sight worth celebrating.

Teachers have had enough to worry about during this pandemic, but thanks to Pennsylvania's Public School Employees' Retirement System, add their pensions to the list. PSERS, and executive director Glen Grell, have been under fire in recent months after they revealed a calculation error inflated the fund’s investment numbers. In March, the FBI announced a probe into the pension fund, and just this week, state Senator Katie Muth tapped a national transparency law expert to investigate the lack of, well, transparency.

State Representative Russ Diamond has been one of the loudest voices urging a fast reopening of Pennsylvania’s economy. But at the same time, Diamond has repeatedly cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of masks and COVID-19 vaccines, going so far as to call the vaccines “poison.” This week, he threatened to vote against legislation that would provide state-funding to Penn State University, due to the faculty senate’s support of a vaccine mandate for employees. If Diamond ends up trying to block the funding, it probably won’t earn him many fans from the Penn State community.

Val Finnell, the Pennsylvania Director for Gun Owners of America, was one of a number of featured speakers at a Harrisburg press conference in support of legislation that seeks to prevent the state from enforcing any new federal gun restrictions, essentially making Pennsylvania a Second Amendment Sanctuary. And while the bill is similar to legislation proposed, and even adopted, in other states, it was how Finnell voiced his support for it that puts him on this week’s losers list. “Any federal law in any way, it's a violation of our God-given rights, just as it was when Edward Prigg tried to force Margaret Morgan back into slavery,” Finnell said. The comparison of gun restrictions to slavery earned quick condemnation from Gov. Tom Wolf’s office, who called the remark “appalling.”