Spare me the ‘outrage’ on Sims’ abortion comments
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
So there it was, the screaming email this morning from someone named Marian Casillas declaring “Bully Brian Sims must RESIGN!”
Sims is a state legislator from Philly who got a little over the top when calling out anti-abortion protestors (they are decidedly not pro-life when they want to cut food stamps, slash health care, and fight against gun safety) they...
Sunday Punch: Shut down Mariner East II, for good
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
Would you allow a five-year-old to run amuck in your neighborhood with a grenade? I’d like to think not, as the odds of it ending well are pretty small.
So, allowing Sunoco/Energy Transfer Partners, a corporation who acts nearly as responsibly as a five-year-old, to continue building a pipeline across Chester County, near homes, schools and retirement communities...
Sunday Punch: Did some local Democrats sell us out on the Pipeline?
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
Minus a gallbladder and feeling moderately human for the first time since before the Super Bowl, in the first Sunday Punch of April, we look at lots of fun stuff: wind turbine cancer, jumping to conclusions, how we all hate social media but can’t quit it and of course, the impressive ability of Democrats to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
We’ll start...
Letter: Add these ‘Stars’ to your list of friends
To the Editor,
When you spend decades in the same community, you realize who your friends are.
Not the friends in your social circle. The friends whose work makes your community work.
There is a group of real ‘Stars’ – in every community – hundreds of them across the County. They’re the elected and appointed officials who guide land use in every Township and Borough, backed up by...
So…who died and made you God?
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
I was reading about President Donald Trump’s latest appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals, 4th Circuit, Allison Jones Rushing, not just a vehement opponent of same-sex marriage, but someone who thinks homosexuality should be illegal again. She’s also wildly inexperienced and completely unqualified for the bench, but whatever.
And while we could get tied...
State Police fees: an idea whose time has come
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
So…so much for putting a stop to writing about stuff.
Despite an ill-advised detour into politics and some mild, annoying and decidedly non-life threatening health issues, not writing was beginning to feel increasingly like not breathing, so here I am again. For now — and obviously everything on this green Earth is really “for now” — I’m going to return...
Why I’m NOT running…
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
So, that went well.
After more than three months of mounting a campaign for a county wide office, I pulled the ripcord Saturday and said, “enough.”
It became clear that I am not cut out for politics, circa 2019. With the infighting, the false narratives and yes, concerns about corrupt conduct, I knew it was going to be bad, but like Maroon5’s Super Bowl halftime...
Op/Ed: Why I’m running
Mike McGann
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
People run for office for a lot of reasons: ambition, fame, passion, lust for power and yes, a desire to do good works.
Put me in the final category.
As someone who has been around elected officials for much of my adult life — either as a media member or someone actively involved in politics — I’ve seen those reasons really drive both how that...
Feeling a bit bluer than usual after Election Day
By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times
So, what to take away from Tuesday’s election results?
While the county’s Congressional races and even State Representative races weren’t a surprise (regular readers will note I felt pretty strongly that Democrats could win all but three state house districts unless the national wave was immense, which it was not, and they did), you have to think that the...
Op/Ed: Trump budget cuts will be devastating to Chester County