Lewis, Truitt unite to help Safe Harbor

Nick Deminski, Rep. Harry Lewis Jr. (R-74), Mary Robins, Eric Ciarrocchi and Rep. Dan Truitt (R-156) gathered after dropping off crates full of drinks to Safe Harbor in West Chester Borough. WEST CHESTER — On Friday morning, Reps. Harry Lewis Jr. (R-74) and Dan Truitt (R-156) participated in a food rescue with Fiorenza’s Food for Friends (F4) for the benefit of local homeless shelters.  “Through...

Numbers, both in polls and finance reports tell a story

While Corbett’s numbers suggest a Democratic opportunity, can they raise enough $$ to take advantage? By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Not to beat a dead horse, but there are even more bad poll numbers this week to make even the stoutest of Republicans more than a tad worried about not just the fate of Gov. Tom Corbett, but whether an electoral tsunami could hurt down-ballot candidates, but...

Democrats step up in legislative races

GOP faces opposition in all but two races in Nov. elections By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Petition season is over, and unless there are some write-in candidates, we know who will appear on the May primary ballots. And, although I took the Democrats to task for seeming to have a shortage of candidates, they’ve managed to challenge all but two legislative races in Chester County. Yes, there shouldn’t...

Do petition numbers really matter?

As campaigns trumpet numbers, do they tell us anything? By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times Well, they’re everywhere. Media announcements about the number of signatures a given candidate has gotten to get on the ballot as if it means something. For those who don’t know, political candidates must collect signatures from registered voters in their district — they must be of the same political...

Ellison is out and so is the Tea Party

One — the former Democratic power-broker — knows he’s done, the other is oblivious By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times As we head into the holiday season — and hopefully, a couple of weeks of relative quiet — a few notes and thoughts on local political stuff and other news items. Maybe the topline item this morning is that James Ellison is out at Rhoads & Sinon — meaning he will no...

Political news and notes: 2014 legislative races kicking off

Final write-in results show poor turnout, participation in 2013 By Mike McGann, Editor, The Times The political news cycle never seems to end these days, on the heels of the final write-in election results being posted Friday, we have a batch of new candidate announcements or pending announcements in 2014 state legislative races — and even, it seems — an early hint about a 2016 race. First to the...

Stars align to spotlight preserve’s latest addition

Lenfest Center opens in Newlin Township with praise, gratitude for its benefactors By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times Marquerite (from left) and Gerry Lenfest take a few moments to sit on Saturday evening with Penny Watkins, a Natural Lands Trust board member. NEWLIN — Stars of all sizes and persuasions – celestial to earthbound – shone Saturday night at the dedication gala...