Don’t blame Trump for all of this chaos
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
I remember taking my mother to the hospital in December of 1992. X-rays showed a mass in her lung. By June, 1993, she was gone.
We blamed the cancer. But in truth, it was all those years of smoking Pall Mall Gold 100s — as a kid, she used send me down to the local deli to pick up a couple of packs, which she smoked every day until about five years before she...
Meehan resigns, will repay costs of employee settlement
U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-7)
U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-7) announced Friday that he would immediately resign from office and repay costs from a severance agreement to a former staffer of his who claimed that Meehan had attempted to initiate a romantic relationship with her, and then, when rebuffed, mistreated her.
Meehan — who was facing a House Ethics Committee investigation over the incident...
Sometimes real life means more than politics
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
PORT ARANSAS, Texas — Hello from the Coastal Bend of Southeast Texas — which hopefully will be the home of the new Times’ Texas bureau — where folks are bit more concerned about real life and less about politics and the political silliness that comes from places such as Washington or Harrisburg or Austin.
Here, folks are about one thing: recovery. When...
Meehan won’t seek reelection in the 7th
U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-7)
Amidst a scandal involving alleged sexual harassment of a staffer and a public payout of funds to settle, U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-7) announced Thursday that he would not seek reelection for his seat in Congress from the 7th District.
Meehan came under increasing pressure this week after a New York Times story detailed an alleged harassment incident with a now...
PA Supreme Court throws out Congressional district maps
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court
If you felt a certain fondness for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has bad news for you: after a 4-3 ruling by the court Monday, it’s gone — and will be replaced by a newly shaped district by mid-February.
A majority of the justices ruled that the 2011 redistricting “clearly, plainly...
Meehan faces sexual harassment charge; booted from House Ethics Committee
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-7)
U.S Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-7) is alleged to have sexually harassed a junior staffer and paid a settlement to her out of tax money, according to a detailed report in The New York Times, published Saturday.
Speaker of the U.S. House Paul Ryan moved late Saturday to remove Meehan from the House Ethics Committee and said through a spokesman...
GOP Congressman laud tax bill, Democrats decry ‘gift’ for wealthy, donors
The U.S. Senate last night passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — a sweeping revision of U.S. Tax code, that depending on who is talking is either a spark for job and wage growth or a massive, deficit busting giveaway to the rich, political donors and corporate America.
The House voted Tuesday to approve the package, but will have to revote Wednesday because of three provisions in the original bill...
Tuesday’s election results were not all about Trump
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
Not to mince words, but Tuesday was a bit of a stunner.
With the county’s Democrats sweeping the county row office races and making pickups in virtually every category from township supervisor to District Justice, it is clear that Chester County is no longer a one-party county.
And yes, to be sure, it was a bit of a referendum on President Donald Trump, as we...
Federal, county officials celebrate preservation of Dilworth Farm
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
1st Delaware Infantry Regiment fires musket volley in honor of those who fought on both sides during the Battle of the Brandywine, prior to a ceremony announcing the preservation of the Dilworth Farm, Friday.
BIRMINGHAM — More than two centuries ago, the Continental Army fought and lost a major battle here to the British, leaving it — and the Revolutionary...
Costello, Meehan back measure to help students with loan problems
WASHINGTON, D.C, — U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello (R-6), Patrick Meehan (R-7), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), and Seth Moulton (D-MA) have introduced the SIMPLE Act, legislation to reduce administrative burdens on struggling student loan borrowers.
The legislation allows vulnerable borrowers to automatically enroll in affordable income-driven loan repayment plans, and it removes burdensome paperwork requirements...
