The shame of silence

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Sunday night people in West Chester, Kennett Square and numerous other locations around Chester County came together to do what our president could not bring himself to do: condemn the terrorism of White Nationalists, including the attack on demonstrators in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday. Instead, President Donald Trump has a new ad out attacking the media as...

Don’t forget there are important races in 2017, too

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Tanned, rested and ready — amazing what the blue waters of the Caribbean and lots of odd beverages with paper umbrellas will do for the soul — and ready to jump into the burning dumpster fire that is politics, 2017. While Republicans in the U.S. Senate debates various health bills that will likely cost them both their Senate majority and the U.S. House —...

Is a ‘cross-fire hurricane’ bearing down on the 6th District?

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times “I was born in a cross-fire hurricane And I howled at the morning driving rain But it’s all right now, in fact, it’s a gas But it’s all right. I’m Jumpin’ Jack Flash It’s a gas, gas, gas” — The Rolling Stones, Jumpin’ Jack Flash. It’s pretty clear that politics over the next 18 or so months will be anything but calm,...

Costello, Meehan, Casey rip Trump decision on Paris Agreement

Three of Chester County’s federal elected officials, U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello (R-6), U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan (R-7) and U.S. Senator Bob Casey Jr. (D) took strong issue with President Donald Trump’s decision Thursday to withdraw from the Paris Agreement to limit carbon emissions. The county’s other two elected officials — U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-16) and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey appear...

Comey firing raises the stakes for 2018 elections

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Just when the healthcare mess seemed ready to drown our local Congressvictims in a Jonestown Flood like deluge, President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James B. Comey, Tuesday, swooped in and saved them by changing the subject. And by saving them, I mean sparing them from a looming electoral firing squad by hitting them with a flaming asteroid. While Pennsylvania’s...

Chester Co.: Where men are men and the congressmen are nervous

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times That loud sigh of relief you might be hearing is coming from our three local members of Congress — Ryan Costello (R-6), Pat Meehan (R-7) and Lloyd Smucker (R-16) — when it became clearer that the White House wouldn’t force a vote on the revised replacement for the Affordable Care Act this coming week. While the text of the revised legislation isn’t out,...

Op/Ed: Block grant cuts will be devastating

By Kathi Cozzone, Chester County Commissioner Kathi Cozzone President Trump has presented his first budget proposal, a document containing many surprises, and quite a few points that have alarmed various groups of people from housing advocates to environmentalists to diplomats. Count me among the alarmed. In Pennsylvania, Counties are on the front lines of spending on human services. We leverage...

March on, Sister!

By Kelly Hockenberry, Columnist, The Times As I type, women (and men and children) are marching in cities all over this country. I was not able to get there physically…so, this article will be my contribution to the cause. I have read a lot of criticism on social media questioning the purpose of participating in such an event. How can it really change anything? I guess the answer leads to...

Social media mayhem: can we learn to agree to disagree?

By Kelly Hockenberry, Columnist, The Times The inauguration is only a few days away and the chatter on social media is beginning to escalate. I guess it’s no wonder considering the President-Elect is “somewhat” of a Twitter fan. If history is our guide, we should be prepared to be inundated with a flood of online opinions come Friday. I’ll admit, I was shocked by the back and forth on Facebook...

The big GOP loss no one is talking about

Could 2016 become a textbook example of win the battle, lose the war? By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Across America, Democrats wail in anguish while Republicans rejoice in total control of the federal government. Confident of the outcome of the election, Democrats were quite sure that Hillary Clinton would defeat Donald Trump and they would regain control of the U.S. Senate. It didn’t quite...