When it comes to opening schools, Trump has to either put up or shut up

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Open the schools! Or else. Says President Donald Trump. Okay, there’s almost no one (besides a few kids, maybe) who do not want to see our public schools reopen this fall. My college-age kids are counting the minutes they can return to their campus. As great as our teachers have done over video, there’s no question that kids learn better in the classroom and...

So…how many people are you willing to let die?

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa We’d like it to be over, but it’s not. The news that some 24 Pennsylvania counties will move a more open “yellow” stage next week naturally has folks in Chester County asking when will things open up here? The honest answer: not that soon. June, maybe. The numbers tell the story: new case numbers are not declining, if anything, they’ve been...

We The People are We The Jury when it comes to impeachment

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Today, for just the third time in U.S. history, an impeachment trial of the President of the United States begins. While the pundits will go on endlessly about the 100 U.S. Senators who will decide President Donald J. Trump’s fate, there is a greater truth. We — the American people — are the jury. You have a duty to watch if possible, catch up and stay informed...

Chesco residents demand action on Trump’s detention camps

Protestors gather outside of U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan’s office, Tuesday. By Lisa Longo, Special to The Times Approximately 150 rallied Tuesday at the office of Representative Chrissy Houlahan stating a need for urgent and immediate action and to ask for the support of the Congresswoman to close the Trump detention camps amid reports of deplorable conditions for children and adults. Lack...

Editorial: An electoral shock to the system needed to save GOP

As has been the case since the earliest days of The Times, we had planned to make endorsements in all of the 2018 elections. We expected, again, to endorse a combination of Democratic and Republican candidates — based entirely on who we saw as likely serving as the best possible public servants. While we often did not agree with a candidate’s ideology, we were able to credit work ethic, honesty...

Editorial: Democracy cannot survive without a free press

Today, newspapers — digital and print — around the United States will publish editorials decrying attacks on the free press by President Donald J. Trump and other elected officials. We at The Times join that chorus. We know we are a tiny voice — certainly in comparison with the long-established, giant metro newspapers that helped spark this day of solidarity. We will not begin to argue that...

Moore, Trump put local Republicans at severe risk

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times As we head into the 2018 election season, we see that the two major political parties find themselves at crossroads, with one party seemingly finding its roots after years of wandering and pandering and another so lost, to as be unrecognizable from just a few years ago. For Democrats, heading into 2018 with a wind at their back — and locally, the biggest series...

Ryan Costello’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Donald J. Trump, Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan are trying really, really hard to make sure U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello doesn’t get re-elected in 2018 — although it may be his own history that ultimately proves his undoing. Oh, sure, the President and the Speaker of the House — as fellow Republicans — will swear until the cows come home that they back the two-term...

How is Tropical Storm Harvey like Donald Trump?

By Nathaniel Smith, Columnist, The Times Tropical Storm Harvey and Donald Trump both were foreseeable disasters that have caused a lot of damage and suffering. Republicans knew Trump would be trouble. His campaign was accompanied, but not at all impeded, by a whole litany of negative comments about him by his fellow primary candidates, former candidates and presidents, and other Republican leaders....

Sheriff under fire over ‘like’ of FB post defending KKK, neo-Nazi groups

Updated, 4:00 p.m. With expanded comments from Caln Commissioner Josh Young By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Chester County Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh The Sheriff of Chester County is under fire from county Democrats, local elected officials and social media users after liking a Facebook post that suggested Klan members, Neo-Nazi’s and White Supremacists offer less of threat to...