John's Blog
I’m not betting the truck either way
The big story tonight is that the Supreme Court, in a 4 – 3 decision, sent the legislative redistricting plan back to the redistricting commission to be redone. They will send more specific instructions, but at the time of this … Read more>
I guess that you can’t believe all of the rumors you hear in this building
Another Senator announced today that he would not seek reelection. John Pippy, a Republican from Allegheny County, said that he wanted to do something else after 16 years in the legislature. Conversely, Mike Turzai, the PA House Majority Leader, said … Read more>
The rumor tonight is that some changes may be in the offing
The oral arguments on the eleven appeals to the new legislative districts were heard today. I didn’t get to see any of the action in person or on television, but the rumor tonight is that some changes may be in … Read more>
This is democracy in action
It’s Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. I left my church early and headed to Tyrone for the Respect Life March at St. Matthews Catholic Church. The group was larger than usual and the weather was better than usual. I was … Read more>
That’s good advice for all of us
It was slim pickins this morning at the Lighthouse, the smallest crowd I ever saw up there. But despite the weather, about 30 or so made it and enjoyed the fellowship. I got a few hours of office work done … Read more>
I hope that the roads aren’t too bad
Winter weather has come in over the past couple of weeks. But, it’s mid-January, and we really have had it pretty nice. I have a fairly busy weekend so, I hope that the roads aren’t too bad. I’m at almost … Read more>
It’s time to pass Voter ID
The results of a new poll were just released and according to Terry Madonna, Pennsylvanians support voter ID by a margin of 87 to 10. I’m not a big believer in the polls taken by Dr. Madonna, although I like … Read more>
There is not much good fiscal news expected in the near future
We had a long caucus for a Wednesday and we, again, voted on a number of bills. This is a more aggressive calendar than I remember this early in the year. There is progress on the Marcellus Shale bills. Nothing … Read more>
We received more information about our new districts today that I thought was pretty interesting
As I suspected, we had a long caucus meeting this afternoon that included updates of current issues and planning for the next 6 months. There are 42 session days scheduled between now and June 30th. There’s speculation about how many … Read more>
Keep an eye on this opportunity-for-bad-things-to-happen as the year progresses
Our offices were closed today for Martin Luther King Day. We’re headed back to Harrisburg tomorrow for a couple of days of session. I suspect that there will be quite a bit of discussion about events of the past month. Three … Read more>
RSS: