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 instead...

Lawrence, Hennessey choosing extreme politics over Chester County women’s lives

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa In the middle of the night, Pennsylvania’s legislators pushed through an amendment to the state Constitution removing any protection for abortion and women’s health services — along with a number of anti-democratic measures that could make it harder for minorities to vote. There are massive issues with morality and democracy here, but the fact of...

Op/Ed: The new PA State redistricting is the fairest it’s ever been

By Matt Han, Special to The Times Even in today’s polarized and tense political climate, almost all Americans regardless of political party/orientation agree that fair maps and the elimination of gerrymandering are vital in creating a fair and democratic country. While most issues require opposing viewpoints and often cannot be resolved, the issue of fair representation is one that is not impossible...

Mastriano’s ‘fraudit’ attempt is nothing more than an expensive embarrassment

By Mike McGann, Editor, the Times @mikemcgannpa State Sen. Doug Mastriano is a lot of things. An honest elected official trying to protect the vote is not one of them, however. As proven by his stunt this week to “audit” three counties, Tioga, York and Philadelphia Mastriano is trying to claim there was some sort of voter fraud in 2020 that caused Joe Biden to win Pennsylvania in the presidential...

Extreme Pa. GOP mapping its own demise

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa You’ve probably heard about the old story about the dog who finally caught the car — and didn’t know what to do with it. In Pennsylvania, of late, assume legislative Republicans are the dog grabbing the rear bumper, but one who doesn’t see the reverse lights suddenly turn on. They’ve already moved to take emergency declaration power away from...

GOP members in Pa. legislature — again — want to throw out your vote

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa It’s been a month since Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump for the presidency — as it turns out by some seven million votes and more than 70 electoral votes, the biggest win by a challenger for the presidency since Franklin Roosevelt defeated Herbert Hoover in 1932. And yet, too many seem convinced that somehow state legislatures, the U.S. Supreme Court...

Even with overwhelming Biden win in Chesco, Democrats have concerns down ballot in coming elections

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa To be blunt: what the @#$% was that? Looking over the Chester County election results there were a couple of head scratchers — and races that defied the polling and conventional wisdom (especially mine). While Joe Biden winning Chester County by a remarkable 17 points was a bit of a surprise, he had virtually no coattails. Typically, such a blow out...

Lies, damn lies and our legislative Republicans

By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times @mikemcgannpa If you or I left work early for vacation with a ton of work undone, we’d probably be in trouble — me with readers and advertisers, you with your boss. Yet, our beloved state House of Representatives bailed on their work in Harrisburg, with a stack of work undone, so they can go home and campaign for to keep the job so many of them seem unwilling to...

Wolf calls out Trump, GOP, saying they continue to be ‘irresponsible’ on COVID

Gov. Tom Wolf In the wake of a ruling by a federal judge declaring some of his emergency orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Tom Wolf issued a scathing statement Tuesday, calling out President Donald Trump and Republicans in the legislature (and some of the toady business groups egging them on locally). In a lengthy, fiery statement, Wolf called out Republicans over distorting the truth, celebrating...

Dinniman pushes for dog protection bills

Sen. Andy Dinniman with bipartisan lawmakers and animal advocates at a rally in Harrisburg to pass legislation to end puppy mills and prohibit leaving dogs in hot cars. The dog days of summer may be behind us but a group of rescue dogs, animal advocates and bipartisan lawmakers joined state Senator Andy Dinniman in Harrisburg this week to rally for two important bills to better protect our pet animals. “Every...