The story begins with a cat and a stove. Our Maine Coon, Finian, used to camp in front of the stove at night. It took me a while to realize he was on sentry duty. It was a particularly winter behavior. Although I never actively look for signs of a mouse resident, it finally occurred to me that ...
How did the first Tuesday of November become the traditional Election Day? According to a Campaign Legal Center online article from 2021, Congress in 1845 selected the most convenient day to hold a vote for the greatest number of voters at the time -- farmers. Saturdays and Sundays were religious days and Wednesdays were market days. Since farmers may have needed Monday to travel to a polling location, the first Tuesday after the fall harvest proved to be the most convenient day for most voters. Now, in many states across the nation, early voting is offered. It allows those ...
We’ve beaten this topic like a drum in recent weeks, but we don’t feel bad for state legislators whose hail mary attempt to keep skill games operating throughout the state was batted down by the state Supreme Court. State lawmakers had more than enough time to drive skill game legislation into the end zone before today’s court-imposed deadline to come up with regulations that comply with a June decision declaring the skill games as casino gaming that should be regulated and taxed by the state. Not only could the legislature not get on the same page to get the regulations ...
The Pennsylvania General Assembly, too often slow to react and slow to act, is again living up to that dubious, unflattering reputation, this time regarding e-bikes and e-scooters. Rather than already having properly addressed those topics with the best interests of the Keystone State and its residents in mind, the General Assembly continues to stumble along as the injury, death and damage totals tied to the bikes and scooters escalate. But, hey, as a CapitolWire article noted recently, the legislature has delivered the message that it is racing to update the commonwealth's e-bike ...
After nearly a year of debate and litigation, all issues about voting are settled for Pennsylvania, and there have been no changes. Tuesday, Nov. 3 is time for us all to vote. Here are reminders of important deadlines and resources for all Pennsylvania voters. You can learn about voting in Pennsylvania at https://www.pa.gov/agencies/vote. You can link from there to register to vote, to change your registration (for example, address change), to check your registration if you are unsure about whether you’re registered, to request a mail-in ballot, to find your polling place, and ...
The debate over 231-237 Pennsylvania Avenue West should ultimately come down to one question: What gives Warren the best opportunity to put this property back into productive use for the next several decades? There is understandable support for preserving the existing building. Historic buildings contribute to Warren’s character, and preservation should always be seriously considered. But preservation also has to make economic sense. This building dates to 1920, has been vacant, lacks functioning utilities, needs significant work, and has been described by the city engineer as ...
