Letter: Healthcare contributions to Pitts are unethical
To The Editor:
Candidates for public office filed their fundraising reports this week and I was shocked by the report submitted by Congressman Joe Pitts.
Mr. Pitts is the Chair of the House Subcommittee on Health. As such, he has oversight and regulatory powers over the health care industry. Yet Mr. Pitts’ filing revealed that he accepted contributions from 29 organizations representing...
State campaign finance Website is a fiasco
‘New and improved’ site less useful that HealthCare.gov
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
And they said HealthCare.gov is bad.
Try spending some quality time searching campaign finance reports on the Pennsylvania Department of State.
I did this past week, as Tuesday was the always dreaded deadline for the Cycle 1 campaign finance report that has to be filed for state legislative candidates,...
Op/Ed: Help us protect Pennsylvania’s kids from sexual predators
By David Heckler, Bucks County District Attorney,
Tom Hogan, Chester County District Attorney
Jack Whelan, Delaware County District Attorney
Risa Vetri Ferman, Montgomery County District Attorney
Seth Williams, Philadelphia District Attorney
As prosecutors, we confront harrowing and heart-wrenching cases nearly every day. It is the child sexual abuse cases that are among the toughest...
Letter: We must work together to protect our community
To The Editor,The current application by Sunoco Pipeline L.P. to exempt itself from local zoning control in its efforts to bring a natural gas pipeline through Chester County should be a serious concern for all Chester County residents.
Sunoco’s proposal involves repurposing the current Mariner East Pipeline to deliver Marcellus Shale liquids from Western PA to the Marcus Hook refinery in...
Democrats step up in legislative races
GOP faces opposition in all but two races in Nov. elections
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
Petition season is over, and unless there are some write-in candidates, we know who will appear on the May primary ballots.
And, although I took the Democrats to task for seeming to have a shortage of candidates, they’ve managed to challenge all but two legislative races in Chester County. Yes, there...
Letter: end gifts to legislators
To The Editor:
In Pennsylvania, giving gifts to legislators is big business. Under current law, only gifts valued over $250 or transportation and lodging over $650 must be disclosed however in Pennsylvania any gifts of any value can legally be given to legislators, as long as it can’t be linked directly to a vote. This is an improper law and practice that is counter to the principles on which...
Do petition numbers really matter?
As campaigns trumpet numbers, do they tell us anything?
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
Well, they’re everywhere. Media announcements about the number of signatures a given candidate has gotten to get on the ballot as if it means something.
For those who don’t know, political candidates must collect signatures from registered voters in their district — they must be of the same political...
Letter: County official thanks Penn Township residents
To The Editor,
It is an honor to have been elected as Clerk of the Courts of Chester County, which I began January 2014. The cost-effective and efficient administration of the court system is a vital component of our local government. The trust placed in me by the voters is a tremendously positive motivating factor as I approach the challenges of this office. Thank you for the vote of confidence!
As...
County conventions leave May questions
Few primary battles were settled at either county convention
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
There was a little high drama at the two county party conventions, and in many ways the status quo was largely maintained.
There were just a handful of endorsement battles at the meetings — and maybe only one vote there changes the landscape for May.
We’ll get to the Democratic endorsements, which...
Letter: Fracking ruling restores power to locals
To The Editor,
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has rejected Tom Corbett’s request to reverse the Act 13 decision, which struck down key provisions in the natural gas drilling laws as unconstitutional.
Locally, Newlin Township, the little township that could, stood up, fought back and won in 2012 when these provisions of Act 13 were first struck down. Now all of Pennsylvania has won because of...
