Free Republic

In October, Mark Garber decided he had had enough. After nearly two years of appeals, he cut a $1,000 check to cover a fine for keeping his brewpub open in late December 2020 in violation of former Gov. Tom Wolf’s emergency orders meant to limit the spread of COVID-19. “We finally bit the bullet even though we didn’t agree with it so we could just move on,” said Garber, co-owner of Big Dog Craft Brewing in Manheim Township. With the citation cleared, Garber said he was able to complete an online renewal for the brewpub’s liquor license, something that had...

Lifetime York County resident and former Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf sold his house in central Pennsylvania and plans to move to Philadelphia with his wife, according to a local report. Wolf and his wife sold their Mount Wolf home and will move into a Philadelphia apartment, according to the York Daily Record. “I spent 75 years in York County, and I love this place. So many wonderful memories,” Wolf told the York Daily Record Thursday. Mount Wolf was named after Wolf’s ancestor, Adam Wolf. The Wolf family ultimately decided to move so they could be closer to their children and...

A Pennsylvania family found shot dead in their backyard last week in what police say appears to be a suicide pact, included a mother and daughter who loved bowling and were devout Christian conservatives, people who knew them said. Morgan Daub, 26, and her parents, James Daub, 62, and Deborah Daub, 59, were found dead on the ground in the backyard of their home in York County, Pennsylvania, on the morning of Jan. 25, after police responded to a request for a welfare check from a neighbor. The West Manchester Township Police Department has since said that notes left inside...

When Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services announced in 2019 that Polk and White Haven Centers, two large state-operated institutions for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, would close by November 2022—claiming that moving residents to “community-based settings” would better honor their “inherent worth and dignity”—it spelled the end of two campuses that had housed the intellectually and developmentally disabled for more than 50 years. It also sparked a political fight between disability-rights activists, who hailed the closures as a step toward full inclusion for people with disabilities, and many residents and their families, who feared losing what they considered their...

A new bill introduced by a Florida congresswoman aims to incentivize states to increase minimum teacher salaries as the country’s education system faces a growing need for educators. The American Teacher Act was introduced last week by Rep. Frederica S. Wilson, chair of the Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee. The bill would work to entice states to increase the minimum K-12 teacher salary to $60,000 through a federal grant program. The bill is an attempt to persuade educators to remain in the profession as a national teacher shortage impacts districts across the country — a problem that has been...

Eleven months after a catastrophic collapse into a Frick Park ravine, a new Fern Hollow Bridge was celebrated Wednesday as a model of unprecedented intergovernmental cooperation and an engineering marvel, completed in the fraction of the time needed for similar projects. Final railing installation work continued as Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and other elected officials gathered in the cold sunshine for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting at the four-lane Forbes Avenue span, which links Regent Square and surrounding neighborhoods to Squirrel Hill. The bridge could be open for traffic as early as Thursday, but the completion date PennDOT...

Line painting and other finishing touches continued Tuesday at the new Fern Hollow Bridge in the city’s East End, with a dedication ceremony planned Wednesday and completion of bridge reconstruction work anticipated Thursday, officials said. A date for reopening the bridge to traffic has not been set, according to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Cowan, but it was anticipated it would be within a week. The busy, 500-foot Forbes Avenue bridge, which connected Squirrel Hill to Point Breeze and Park Place, collapsed onto a popular hiking trail about 100 feet below the road in Frick Park in January. Ten...

Why has Gov. Tom Wolf’s Office of General Counsel paid nearly $400,000 of taxpayer money to several private law firms? It’s a simple question, and there may be a simple and reasonable answer. But the administration’s failure to answer it raises questions about what causes and activities the governor has used state resources to pursue, and why he didn’t use the state’s attorneys to do it. Secrecy always raises suspicions, even if they are entirely unwarranted. In terms of legal bills for complex institutional litigation, $367,500 spread across six firms is a pittance. The Office of General Counsel employs hundreds...

A law signed by Gov. Tom Wolf on Nov. 3 encourages doctors to test pregnant women, and children up to 2 years old, who they believe have been exposed to lead. Act 150 is a smart move, but it doesn’t go far enough. Lead is everywhere — especially in industrial regions with older housing, which means Pittsburgh and vast swaths of Pennsylvania. Sen. Lisa Baker, R.-Luzerne, wanted Act 150 to make testing mandatory, but it was watered down in the amendment process. Now she’s reintroducing a bill to switch “encourage” back to “require,” making lead testing mandatory for all young...

HARRISBURG – The General Assembly has sent the governor legislation that will create a new program to encourage the development of technology to convert fracked gas into hydrogen through $141.6 million a year in tax credits. The approval of House Bill 1059 came over the objections of environmental groups and some Democrats who said that the plan will keep Pennsylvania invested in fossil fuel production for decades even as much of the world turns toward renewable energy. “State lawmakers have clearly not learned from example after example of broken promises,” said former Secretary of Environmental Protection Patrick McDonnell, now the...

Here we having Tom Wolf talking about the economy and how things are going currently in Pennsylvania check this out

"[W]e have seen leveraging athletics and extracurriculars as a way to boost you vaccination as an effective tactic across the county.” The federal government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic may already be one of the most infamous chapters in U.S. history. But new evidence keeps coming to light that reveals the "Experts" were every bit as cynical and dishonest as most citizens had figured out years ago. An August 2021 email by the U.S. Department of Education's Anne Hartge, of the Office of Communications and Outreach, following up on a conversation between Eric Hagarty, who is now Pennsylvania’s current Secretary...

A Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate currently employs two convicted murderers on his campaign staff, according to government documents. John Fetterman, the current lieutenant governor of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Democrat candidate vying for the Senate seat that Sen. Pat Toomey (R) will soon vacate, has on his campaign payroll Dennis and Lee Horton, two brothers convicted of murdering Samuel Alamo nearly 30 years ago. In May 1993, the Horton brothers and co-conspirator Robert Leaf committed armed robbery at Filito's Bar in Philadelphia. During the execution of the robbery, three people were shot: Alamo, Luz Archello, and...

HARRISBURG, Pa--Pennsylvanians with minor, nonviolent marijuana criminal convictions could be pardoned beginning Thursday in a period until the end of the month under a joint effort from Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. The so-called "one-time, large-scale pardon effort" will allow anyone who has been convicted of possession of marijuana or small amount of personal use to apply. There is no limit to the age of conviction. The application is free, and entirely online...

More Stimulus Checks? We Asked a Former IMF Offical If This Was a Good Idea or Not: This week, Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Wolf and state legislators from his party reaffirmed their commitment to providing direct stimulus payments to residents across the state to cope with the rising cost of gas, food, and consumer products. In February, Governor Wolf announced the PA Opportunity Program, a scheme worth $500 million that would send $2,000 checks to all residents who earn less than $80,000. The scheme hasn’t won support from Republicans, but Wolf and his Democratic colleagues refuse to back down.

Gov. Tom Wolf is taking the Republican-controlled General Assembly to court over its approval of a proposed constitutional amendment that could lead to erosion of abortion rights in Pennsylvania. In the lawsuit filed on Thursday in the state’s Supreme Court, Wolf maintains that the state constitution explicitly recognizes a personal right to privacy including the right to terminate a pregnancy. He claims the proposed amendment violates that right. The abortion-related amendment was included as part of a package of unrelated proposed amendments identified as Senate Bill 106 that received its first airing in a late-night Senate committee meeting on July...

Watching the uproar over Lia Thomas play out in his backyard didn’t change Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf‘s mind about transgender athletes in women’s sports. In a widely expected move, the Democratic governor vetoed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, which would have barred male-born athletes who identify as female from joining girls’ and women’s scholastic teams. In a statement, Mr. Wolf said the bill’s supporters “should be ashamed of themselves.” “I have been crystal clear during my time in office that hate has no place in Pennsylvania, especially discrimination against already marginalized youth representing less than half of 1 percent...

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has reacted to the United States Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Video above: Wolf vows to protect abortion access ahead of court's decision Here is the governor's full statement: "First and most importantly, it is critical that everyone understands that abortion services are available and unharmed in Pennsylvania by today’s Supreme Court action. Providers may still provide reproductive health care services and patients should continue the health care plan they’ve developed with their physicians. "Nonetheless, I am deeply disappointed in today’s Supreme Court opinion and the impact this decision will...

Gov. Tom Wolf has tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time, according to a post on his social media. “My symptoms are mild,” Wolf wrote. “I’m grateful that I recently got my second vaccine booster.” Wolf said he is isolating at home, according to CDC guidance. In December 2020, Wolf tested positive for the virus but was asymptomatic. He was testing negative in the following days, his office said at the time. It was unclear Monday how Wolf would be handling upcoming engagements.

Doug Mastriano did not mince words when he addressed the gathered crowd at Kirby Park Friday afternoon. "Pennsylvania should be the light of freedom for around the nation and the entire world," he said from under the Martz Pavilion. "So many important things happened in Pennsylvania. I'll say most of the key moments in American history." He queried the audience, "The government derives its consent from whom?" In unison nearly all in attendance responded, "The people." "The consent of the people," Mastriano repeated continuing, "And we clearly did not consent to the overreach over the last few years." He reflected...