Pennsylvania

For Republicans, victory in Pennsylvania will require focus, unity — and turnout

Published

2 years ago

May 1, 2024

Press Room

For Republicans, victory in Pennsylvania will require focus, unity — and turnout

3-minute read

Guy Ciarrocchi
| Special to the USA TODAY Network

Recently, I attended my grade school reunion in South Philly — St. Monica, Class of …

A classmate, greeting me after decades of not seeing each other, said: “Hey Guy, do me a favor, please. Can you tell the Republicans to focus on winning?” (Nice to see you, too, Sal!)

If Donald Trump wins Pennsylvania, Joe Biden cannot be reelected. If Dave McCormick goes to the Senate, it’s no more Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. If Republicans can pick up just one more statehouse seat, they will recapture the majority in that body.

The threat of tripling taxes on small businesses will go away. Pennsylvania’s energy reserves will be put to the use of lowering prices, creating jobs, and reducing our dependence on foreign adversaries. More parents will get choices about where they can send their children to school.

So, yes, let’s focus on winning. The good news for the GOP is that most voters agree with us on most issues. The bad news: Democrats know how to change the subject, and they know how to play the election game. They’re better at getting their voters out to vote, especially by mail.

Because you asked, Sal, and because this is such a crucial election, here’s a roadmap to winning.

Unity. We must have unity — unity of purpose. We must agree that regardless who your most favorite or least favorite Republican is, and no matter what your number one issue is, Republicans need to focus on unity and growth. Now is not the time to focus on who doesn’t belong or who should be kicked out, taken out or ridiculed.

We must commit to stopping the harm that Democrats have caused, undoing the damage, and putting policies in place to bring down inflation and allow our children to get back to learning, in schools chosen by their parents. All are welcome, and we should reach out to everyone, especially minorities who have been ignored or taken for granted.

Mail-In Voting. Finally, GOP leaders across Pennsylvania — with support from those who helped Gov. Glen Youngkin in Virginia and donors across the nation — are committing to mail-in voting. The mailers are arriving. The ads are starting. Now it’s up to us.

Request your mail-in ballot. Vote by mail. Convince your friends to do the same. Unless we change our habits, we will probably lose. To say it again, if we carry Pennsylvania, the Biden damage to America and our communities ends, and good things can start happening again.

Republicans tried ignoring mail-in voting and complaining about it. The result: lots of L’s.

We should be guided by three principles: easy to vote; hard to cheat; and results we can trust. But we can’t make the necessary changes until we win.

Results We Can Trust. Yes, Republicans in each county should make sure that every county that has “drop boxes” has clear, publicized hours of operation, cameras and watchers on sight, and a written chain of custody for the collection, storage, and counting of ballots. Similarly, as Philadelphia and perhaps other counties open “satellite election offices,” citizens should demand that these de facto polling places have watchers present. And GOP “minority” commissioners must fulfill their duty as not only public servants, but also as watchdogs.

Learn from the Pros. Democrats in Philadelphia and across the state are using all the tools at their disposal — and inventing new ones — to increase turnout. More and more drop boxes. Satellite election offices. Voter registration drives run by the government in targeted communities or with targeted voters. Driving to voters’ homes to help them fix mail-in ballots that need signatures or dating to be lawfully counted.

Republicans have majority control in 54 out the state’s 67 counties. It’s time to learn the voting “game” from the Democrats while following the law. Adapt to the changing tactics. And win.

Drop Boxes. Yes, drop boxes. Many counties in Pennsylvania are large, with limited population spread out across their region. County commissioners ought to consider putting drop boxes in Amish communities, community colleges, the local Grange, farming supply centers, outside of popular churches — and yes, at gun ranges.

Satellite offices. We should have at least one satellite office in any region of a county that is not near the county courthouse.

Voter Registration Drives. Philadelphia plans to use taxpayer money to register voters in an effort to drive up votes for the Democrats. Well, two can play that game. Aside from having forms at the courthouse and library, how about the commissioners hosting a drive at an Amish Farm, at a gun range, outside an ROTC center, or at a local volunteer fire hall?

“Curing” Ballots. If Montgomery County Democratic commissioners follow through on their stated plans and let courthouse staff drive “flawed” mail-in ballots to voters’ homes so that they can fix them, then the 54 GOP-run counties should do the same.

Yes, elections are about winning the hearts and minds of voters. But they’re also about ballots.

Biden and his allies in D.C. and Harrisburg have brought us inflation, expensive gasoline, rising utility bills, increased violent crime in our cities reaching into the suburbs, an open and unsecured border, growing dependency on enemies for energy and weakness, death, and destruction around the world.

Republicans are winning the battle for hearts and minds. Now, let’s win the battle at the ballot box. Let’s unify — and use every legal tool at our disposal so that no GOP voter fails to vote.

Do it for Sal — and for all those who still believe the American Dream is worth fighting for.

Guy Ciarrocchi is a writer for RealClearPennsylvania and Broad+Liberty. He is also a senior fellow at the Commonwealth Foundation. The views expressed may not necessarily reflect the views of these organizations. Follow Guy at @PaSuburbsGuy.

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Pennsylvania

Giant troll sculptures will lurk in Pa. national forest

Published

7 hours ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

Giant troll sculptures will lurk in Pa. national forest

Danish artist Thomas Dambo will install three giant troll sculptures in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny National Forest in 2027.
The “Trolls in the Forest” sculptures are hand-built entirely from recycled and reclaimed materials like scrap wood.
These art installations are a global phenomenon, drawing tourism and boosting local economies in 20 countries.

A world-class public art experience by a Danish artist is coming to a Pennsylvania national forest in September of 2027, and he’s bringing his giant troll sculptures with him.

Artist Thomas Dambo has created multiple hand-built sculptures known as “Trolls in the Forest.” They generate visitors and revenue in each of the 20 countries where they have been placed.

Here’s more on what to know about these sculptures and what makes them so popular.

What is ‘Trolls in the Forest’?

“Trolls in the Forest” is an ambitious art project that features hand-built troll sculptures that can stretch as high as 40 feet.

These sculptures are made entirely from recycled and reclaimed materials that blend art, nature, sustainability and storytelling. The trolls have proved to drive tourism and aid economic growth and national attention because of their popularity.

The Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau states that these trolls are built on site with the help of communities. This help provides volunteers the opportunity to assemble the bodies and limbs of the trolls which then creates a sense of ownership over the trolls.

A single troll in Wisconsin has already generated more than 62,000 visitors in 30 days with an estimated $4 million in economic impact, according to the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau.

Where will the three troll sculptures be located in PA?

If you make the trip over to the Allegheny National Forest in 2027, the Trolls in the Forest will be featured in three locations spanning from the northern to southern end of McKean County.

The plan is for the trolls to be installed in Kane, Bradford and a central third location.

Who is Thomas Dambo?

Dambo was born in Odense, Denmark in 1979. He grew up indulging in the street arts including hip-hop and graffiti which led him to pursue a Master’s Degree in interaction design at Kolding School of Design in 2012.

After earning his master’s degree, Dambo began experimenting with large-scale installations while using recycled wood materials which eventually became the trolls in 2016.

With more than 170 trolls already installed in 20 countries and 21 states, Dambo’s work has become an international sensation.

In the other areas that host Dambo’s installations, the destinations have reportedly experienced what is known as the “Dambo effect.”

Simply put, these creations have sparked growth across the nation drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors

What recycled materials are trolls built from?

Dambo creates these giant sculptures from recycled and reclaimed wood that often includes pallets, floorboards, fallen trees and other scrap.

Learn more about “Trolls in the Forest” at the Allegheny National Forest website.

Nicholas Sorensen can be contacted at Nsorensen@usatodayco.com.

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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania teenager composes performance for Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Published

19 hours ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

Pennsylvania teenager composes performance for Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

Today thousands of local elementary and middle school students got to witness a unique world premiere performance at Heinz Hall. It was composed by a teenager, but not one from the 1700s or 1800s like Mozart or Schubert. This composer was born in this millennium and lives right here in Pennsylvania. Kristine Sorensen reports On A Positive Note.

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Pennsylvania

Erie experiences, Pa. resiliency prepared Sean Rowe to lead Episcopal Church

Published

1 day ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

Erie experiences, Pa. resiliency prepared Sean Rowe to lead Episcopal Church

The Rev. Sean Rowe was elected presiding bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church at age 49.
Rowe credits his experience leading the smaller congregations in northwestern Pennsylvania for preparing him for the top job.
He expressed regret over part of the process for handling a past sexual abuse allegation, noting it could retraumatize victims.

The Most Rev. Sean Rowe, leader of the U.S. Episcopal Church, learned how to be a bishop in northwestern Pennsylvania.

He was only 32 in 2007 when he was elected bishop of the Erie-based Episcopal Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania after serving as a rector in Franklin. At 49, he was elected as presiding bishop and primate of the 1.4-million member Episcopal Church. After he was chosen to be the presiding bishop in 2024, Rowe told the Erie Times-News that his experience working in the 13-county northwestern Pennsylvania diocese helped him gain the experience he needed for the mainline Protestant denomination’s top job.

Rowe said the Erie region’s smaller congregations represent the broader base of the New York City-based Episcopal Church, which is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Rowe also served as bishop provisional of the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York for five years when it shared a bishop and staff with the Pennsylvania diocese.

“One thing I’ve learned in northwestern Pennsylvania is resilience,” Rowe said in 2024.

More recently, he responded to questions from the Erie Times-News related to challenges and issues he faces today and how his experiences in Erie have shaped his approach to his work leading the Christian denomination.

Q&A with The Most Rev. Sean Rowe

Question: How did your experiences leading the Episcopal Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania prepare you to lead the Episcopal Church?

Answer: We are resilient people here in northwestern Pennsylvania, and we already have decades of experience with institutional decline and the need to be more resourceful and innovative with less. Much of our church is facing that reality now for the first time. I learned from the people of the Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania how to have the direct and authentic conversations required to navigate through these kinds of hard times, and how to persevere even when it is tempting to give up. I will always admire the people of this diocese for taking on the challenges of ministry with such grit and love for our neighbors. Their example continues to guide and inspire me every day.

In Erie, you dealt with claims of sexual abuse against a former bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania. If you received a similar claim about a leader in the Episcopal Church, how would you respond? Would you do anything differently?

I would respond to any allegation of sexual abuse by taking immediate action, just as I did back in 2010. I do have one regret from that experience, and it has changed the way I listen to and work with victims of clergy abuse: In my first formal meeting with the courageous young woman who brought the horrific abuse perpetrated by one of my predecessors to light, we complied with the intent of our church’s disciplinary structures and canon laws by having lawyers, psychologists and me, a bishop, all present to hear her tell the story of her abuse. She was brave and persevered. I learned that meetings like this run a high risk of retraumatizing victims and should not be part of our investigative process. I will always regret that, working within a faulty structure, I learned this lesson at the expense of a woman to whom the church had already done its worst.

Thoughts on immigration

Erie and the Episcopal Church both have experience welcoming immigrants yet the Episcopal Migration Ministries no longer resettles white Afrikaners from South Africa whom the U.S. government has classified as refugees. What are your thoughts on the current state of immigration in the United States, within the Episcopal Church and in Erie?

I think that immigration has become a wedge issue in the United States, and I think that is also true to some extent in our church and in our city. The divide at this point is so pronounced that people with different political views sometimes seem to be inhabiting two separate realities.

As the leader of the Episcopal Church, I want to ask Christians to think about immigration not in the divisive terms that politics and social media use to box us in, but based on the scriptural commands to welcome the stranger and care for the vulnerable. If enough of us took that seriously, I think our country would have a sane immigration policy and humane enforcement that would protect human dignity and respect the rule of law.

In our church, we believe that the people at the so-called margins of society are actually at the center of God’s story, and we don’t believe we can truly be the church unless all of us — immigrants and citizens — have safe access to worship and a fair chance at a life of dignity and freedom. That’s why, even before we declined to resettle white Afrikaners from South Africa, we became litigants in a lawsuit challenging the executive order that rolled back protections from immigration enforcement in sensitive locations like houses of worship, schools and hospitals.

Erie proud

How often do you get back to Erie County and what do you think of the direction it is heading?

My family and I actually still live in Erie, and while I travel a great deal in my new job, I still shop locally, check books out from Blasco (Library), and look forward to opening day at Waldameer (Park & Water World). I’m proud of our city and the progress we’ve made, especially in stabilizing our public schools and diversifying the local economy, and I’m looking forward to seeing the results of the Bayfront Parkway project. I miss being deeply involved in the life of the city, but I am grateful it is still my home.

Value of religious life

As you look at your own Episcopal Church and the mainline Christian churches in general, it appears that attendance continues to decline. What should the larger church do to demonstrate the value of religious life and church affiliation?

No matter where I travel across the Episcopal Church, the people I meet are hungry to be part of a community that rejects the loneliness and social fragmentation plaguing our world today. Being part of a religious tradition and a local congregation helps us live in a different way — as people who are always looking for signs of God’s redeeming love at work in the world and participating in them.

The forces that corrode our relationships with one another, with creation and with ourselves are strong, and some days they seem to have the upper hand. When we gather together for worship, prayer, study and service, we can instead shape our lives by being in communion with God, each other and the world. At its best, our church offers a meaning-starved world the feast for which it is longing, and I hope that everyone who is hungry for that experience will join us.

Dana Massing can be reached at dmassing@gannett.com.

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