Letter: In support of Rongaus for Court of Common Pleas
To The Editor,
On November 7, 2023, Chester County voters will elect five judges to serve on the Court of Common Pleas, the county’s trial court that hears criminal prosecutions and civil cases — that include contract disputes, personal injury claims, divorce, custody, and local government appeals.
Such a critical position demands, not only a keen knowledge of the law, but also judicial...
Escape shows being cheap can be very expensive
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa
Like me, you’re probably a bit tired of hearing about Danelo Cavalcante. I certainly am.
I live about 500 yards from Chester County Prison, so you can probably imagine I have pretty strong feelings about this issue and what caused it.
You will see a lot of back and forth in the next few weeks leading up to the election, who was to blame and such,...
Time for a calm, measured look at what happened at Chester County Prison
By Rich Heiland, Columnist, The Times
DANELO CAVALCANTE is in custody. In Chester County, our 14-days of living with some level of fear, being couch potato voyeurs has ended. Mega congratulations are due for all the law enforcement personnel and others who worked tirelessly to track him down including Yoda, the police dog that locked onto him.
But what now? I would hope a calm and professional...
Letter: Better security needed at Chester County Prison
To The Editor,
Danelo Cavalcante escaping Chester County Prison in West Chester was a scary experience. Families throughout Chester County had to be on super strict guard. If a person does a horrific crime such as committing a murder then in that case justice was served fairly as far as the sentencing.
The Chester County Prison Acting Warden Howard Holland, Deputy Warden of Security Ocie...
After 40 years, somehow, I’m still doing this
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa
On Sept. 13, 1983, I walked into the newsroom of Suburban Trends in Butler, N.J. — a twice-weekly newspaper — for my first shift as a sports assistant.
Forty years later, how different things are now seems difficult to absorb.
I was a college sophomore at William Paterson College and had been pestering the editors of The Trends for work since...
Are we letting a few jerks spoil everything?
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa
Unless you’ve drunk so much Kool-Aid that you’ve wet your pants, you know Donald J. Trump is a jerk. Based on polling, a few of you might even see that a plus, but most of us do not.
He’s mean-spirited, cruel, self-obsessed and not particularly bright.
And aside from the fact that this person was President and leads one of our two political...
Can an imprisoned Trump still be president?
By Rich Heiland, Columnist, The Times
CAN DONALD TRUMP be convicted, sentence to prison, actually go to jail and still serve as president of the United States. Well, yes, he can.
The U.S. Constitution, the ultimate arbiter, is silent on the criminality of a president.
A lot of people are assuming that if Trump is tried and convicted prior to the November 2024 general elections on all the charges...
Free speech has limits…even for Trump
By Rich Heiland, Columnist, The Times
GIVEN THAT EVERYONE a keyboard has weighed in on some aspect of the most recent Trump indictment, why not an old guy in West Chester? Not that I know as much as the national pundits and not that a whole lot of folks sit waiting for my latest posting. But, after a life in journalism, sitting down and letting thoughts flow is kind of how I kill time.
There is,...
Letter: IRS pilot program could be conflict of interest
To the Editor:
The Internal Revenue Service recently announced that it will move forward with a pilot program in 2024 that would allow it to file tax returns for individual taxpayers. This means that, in addition to collecting and auditing taxes, the IRS could also soon be in the business of preparing taxes, too.
This presents a conflict of interests. Tax preparation requires a certain degree of...
Letter: Our legislators need to get back to work:
To The Editor:
On behalf of our membership, the Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry (CCCBI) is calling for the General Assembly and Governor Shapiro to avoid a prolonged state budget impasse, which is now entering its fourth week.
Before an impact is felt by the residents and employers of the Commonwealth, legislative leaders and the Governor should meet jointly and collaboratively...
