Ignore the anti maskers — masks are the best way to keep kids safe in school

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa All around the county local school boards have had to wrestle with the topic of requiring masks for students and staff. Honestly, with the Delta variant of COVID-19, it really shouldn’t have been a tough decision. Enter willfully misinformed (or just flat out lying) residents making any number of false claims about masks: they cut oxygen (they don’t...

Op/Ed: Gerrymandering cheats voters

By Mike Hays, Special to The Times Mike Hays One of the most abhorrent and undemocratic things about gerrymandering is how it stifles competition. As a new teacher in Pennsylvania, I have been thinking about how I might explain gerrymandering to my 8th grade class. Full disclosure: I am not an innocent bystander, having run for the PA House 26th District in 2012 as an underfunded, yet determined,...

The lies that kill

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa The lies are killing people. Thankfully, the open deception about COVID-19 has been of limited impact here in Chester County, save the odd spittle-flecked angry email or comment claiming the virus is fake, masking is a plot against freedom, the election was rigged and that Donald Trump would be reinstated on Aug. 13. None of that is true, of course,...

As the Big Lie unravels, the PA GOP looks pretty bad

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa We might just be at a tipping point when it comes to The Big Lie. Never mind the facts that Donald Trump lost the national race by somewhere around seven million votes and lost a solid margin in the Electoral College. And forget for a second, that Trump lost Pennsylvania to Joe Biden by about 80,000 votes in an election that has had multiple checks...

Letter: RGGI- It’s not too late

To The Editor, Climate change is one of the greatest threats we face.  We‘re already seeing the effects here in Pennsylvania, like stronger storms and more flooding.  I personally have seen severe flooding in the Upper East Branch Brandywine Creek last year, when fifty refrigerator-size Styrofoam blocks floated down the creek from a go-kart track, and again last month when the blocks had to...

Mastriano’s ‘fraudit’ attempt is nothing more than an expensive embarrassment

By Mike McGann, Editor, the Times @mikemcgannpa State Sen. Doug Mastriano is a lot of things. An honest elected official trying to protect the vote is not one of them, however. As proven by his stunt this week to “audit” three counties, Tioga, York and Philadelphia Mastriano is trying to claim there was some sort of voter fraud in 2020 that caused Joe Biden to win Pennsylvania in the presidential...

Op/Ed: Defunding public schools is the goal

By Lisa Longo, Special To The Times Lisa Longo I’ve been following the hysteria being created by right-wing media over “Critical Race Theory” and how it has now devolved into the Republican Party calling for an army of the uninformed, or misinformed, to show up at school board meetings to protest a curriculum that doesn’t exist. Now they have told people that “CRT,” as it is being called,...

Op/Ed: More progress needed From a Delaware Valley neighbor powering our lives

By Danielle Friel Otten, Special To The Times State Rep. Danielle Friel Otten When summer heat waves hit, you want to know that the power for your air conditioning will be there when you need it. The folks in charge of making that happen — for us in Chester County and for households as far away as Illinois and North Carolina — work right nearby at PJM Interconnection, headquartered...

3 Chesco legislators embarrass themselves — and us — on anti-abortion bill vote

By Mike McGann, Editor, the Times @mikemcgannpa Just when you think our “great” legislature can’t get worse, it has a “here, hold my beer” moment. Such as with HB 118, one of the most ignorant, hateful and useless pieces of legislation ever passed by any political body in history. Yes, it will be vetoed and purged by Gov. Tom Wolf.  But it should never have been introduced. It should...

Letter: Race for Peace seeks to bridge gap between police and the community

To The Editor, Race for Peace Committee has made connections in Chester County including Chester County Commissioners, Tredyffrin Township Police Department along with Board of Supervisors. The Race for Peace Committee is a 501 (c)(3) Nonprofit Organization. Formed in 2016 to enrich the lives of residents in all communities through programs, resources and activities for the family, to reach an...