Pennsylvania
In swing-state Pennsylvania, Latino-majority city embraces chance to sway 2024 election
Religion and politics frequently overlap in Reading, an old industrial city in one of the most pivotal swing states of this year’s presidential election.
In Pennsylvania, there is early precedent for this kind of thing. The state began as a haven for Quakers and other European religious minorities fleeing persecution. That includes the parents of Daniel Boone, the national folk hero born just miles from Reading, a town where the Latino population is now the majority.
Today, the Catholic mayor is also a migrant — and the first Latino to hold the office in Reading’s 276-year history. Mayor Eddie Moran is keenly aware of the pivotal role Pennsylvania could play in the high-stakes race, when a few thousand votes in communities like his could decide the future of the United States.
“Right now, with the growing Latino population and the influx of Latinos moving into cities such as Reading, it’s definitely an opportunity for the Latino vote to change the outcome of an election,” Moran says. “It’s not a secret anymore.”
A community of spirituality — and Latinos
In Reading, the sky is dotted with crosses atop church steeples, one after the other. Catholic church pews fill up on Sundays and many stand for the services. Elsewhere, often in nondescript buildings, evangelical and Pentecostal congregations gather to sing, pray and sometimes speak in tongues.
Outside, salsa, merengue and reggaeton music (often sung in Spanglish) blast from cars and houses along city streets first mapped out by William Penn’s sons — and that now serve a thriving downtown packed with restaurants proudly owned by Latinos.
This is a place where, when the mayor is told that his town is 65% Latino, he takes pride in saying: “It’s more like 70%.”
They believe in their political sway. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2022 found that eight in 10 Latino registered voters say their vote can affect the country’s direction at least “some.”
On a recent Sunday, Luis Hernandez, 65, born in Puerto Rico, knelt to pray near the altar at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church. Later, walking out after Mass, Hernandez said he’ll vote for Trump — even on the very day of the former president’s criminal convictions related to hush money for a porn star.
“Biden is old,” Hernandez says, and then reflects on how Trump is only a few years younger. “Yes, but you look at Trump and you see the difference. … Biden’s a good man. He’s decent. But he’s too old.”
In the weeks after he spoke, many more Americans would join in calls for Biden to withdraw from the race after his debate debacle, which crystallized growing concerns that, at 81, he’s too old.
Immigration is a key topic
It’s not just about Biden’s age or debate performance. It’s also, Hernandez says, about the border crisis. He says too many immigrants are arriving in the United States, including some he considers criminals. And, he adds, so much has changed since his Dominican-born father arrived in the 1960s — when, he says, it was easier to enter and stay in America.
For some, there are other issues as well.
“It’s the economy, immigration and abortion,” says German Vega, 41, a Dominican American who became a U.S. citizen in 2015. Vega, who describes himself as “pro-life,” voted for Trump in 2020 and plans to do so again in November.
“Biden doesn’t know what he’s saying. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, and we have a country divided,” Vega says. Trump is “a person of character. … He looks confident. He never gives up; he’s always fighting for what he believes.”
Of course, there are some here who just don’t favor taking sides — except if it’s for Jesus. Listen to Pastor Alex Lopez, a Puerto Rican who cuts hair in a barber shop on the first floor of his home on Saturdays, and preaches on the second floor on Sundays.
“We’re neutral,” he says. “We just believe in God.”
A city with deep industrial roots resurges
Reading was once synonymous with iron and steel. Those industries cemented the creation of the Reading Railroad (an early stop on the Monopoly gameboard) that helped fuel the Industrial Revolution and became, in the late 19th century, one of the country’s major corporations.
Today, the city of about 95,000 people, 65 miles northwest of Philadelphia, has a fast-increasing population. However, it is one of the state’s poorest cities, with a median household income of about $44,000, compared to about $72,000 in Pennsylvania.
Reading is 67% Latino, according to U.S. Census figures, and home to high concentrations of people of Dominican and Puerto Rican heritage — as well as Colombians and Mexicans, who own restaurants and other businesses around town.
Political candidates are taking notice of Reading’s political and economic power. The 2020 presidential election in Pennsylvania was decided by about 82,000 votes, and — according to the Pew Research Center — there are more than 600,000 eligible Latino voters in the state.
It’s true that Reading still leans mostly Democratic — Biden crushed Trump in the city by a margin of about 46 percentage points in 2020. However in that election, voting-age turnout in the city (about 35%) was significantly lower than the rest of the state (about 67%).
But the Trump campaign doesn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to turn it around. It recently teamed up with the Republican National Committee and Pennsylvania GOP to open a “Latino Americans for Trump” office in a red-brick building near the Democratic mayor’s downtown office.
Moran has made a plea to Biden and other Democrats to take notice and visit Reading before the election. It’s crucial, he says.
“I think that it’s still predominantly Democratic,” he says. “But the candidates need to come out and really explain that to the community.”
One development, Moran says, is that religious leaders are now less hesitant to get involved in politics.
“Things change, even for churches,” he says. Clergy “realize the importance that they hold as faith-based leaders and religious leaders and they’re making a call of action through their congregations.”
The message: Get out and vote
A few blocks from St. Peter’s, a crowd gathers inside First Baptist Church, which dates to the late 19th century.
In a sign of Reading’s changing demographics, the aging and shrinking congregation of white Protestants donated the building to Iglesia Jesucristo es el Rey (Church Jesus Christ is the King), a thriving Latino congregation of some 100 worshippers who have shared the building with First Baptist for nearly a decade.
Pastors Carol Pagan and her husband Jose, both from Puerto Rico, recently led prayer. At the end of the service, microphone in hand, the pastors encourage parishioners to vote in the election — irrespective of who they choose as the president.
“The right to vote is,” Carol Pagan says before her husband chimes in: “a civic responsibility.”
After the service, the congregation descends to the basement, where they share a traditional meal of chicken with rice and beans.
“I believe the principle of human rights have to do with both parties — or any party running,” Carol Pagan says. “I always think of the elderly, of the health system, of health insurance, and how it shouldn’t be so much about capitalism but more rights for all of us to be well.”
Both of the Pagans make clear that they won’t vote for Trump. They’re waiting, like others, for circumstances that might lead Biden to withdraw, so they can support another Democratic candidate.
“It’s our duty to shield that person with prayer — it doesn’t matter if that person is a Democrat or a Republican,” Carol Pagan says. “We owe them that.”
Junker said members of the executive committee have launched their own matching challenge, donating $100,000 once the same amount has been raised.
The museum bought Highland Farm a year ago from the previous owner who operated it as a Rodgers and Hammerstein–themed bed-and-breakfast. Hammerstein lived in the farmhouse for the last 20 years of his life, a period when he and composer Richard Rodgers created some of the most enduring musicals of American theater, including “The Sound of Music,” “Oklahoma” and “South Pacific.”
“Institutions like this help us to lead lives of purpose and meaning, they enrich our lives and provide opportunities for lifelong learning for folks of all ages,” said state Rep. Tim Brennan, a former board member of the museum. “Investing in this organization is an investment in our future.”
The first RACP grant in 2020 went toward buying the property and doing basic maintenance.
“One of the first things we did was install a security system,” Junker said. “Because we have started to collect some artifacts.”
Pennsylvania
2 Western Pennsylvania men charged in murder-for-hire plot confession to pastor, police say
State police in Western Pennsylvania have charged two men in a murder-for-hire plot after one of the suspects allegedly confessed to his pastor.
NBC News affiliate WJAC reports David Vanatta, 49, and Colton Baird, 32, both of Elk County, were jailed for an alleged plot to kill Vanatta’s ex-wife.
An affidavit obtained by WJAC states Vanetta confessed to a pastor that he paid Baird $2,000 to kill his ex-wife. The pastor then reported the information to police.
Police say the ex-wife was never harmed.
Online court records show Vanatta and Baird are facing several charges, including criminal solicitation – criminal homicide, conspiracy to commit criminal homicide and attempted homicide. Both men are being held in the Elk County Prison without bail.
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Forget elves: Patrick Brogan and his team at ArtsQuest are the reason some of country singer/songwriter Megan Moroney’s fans will awake on Christmas to find tickets waiting for them to her show July 31 in Bethlehem.
Planning the lineup featuring headliners like Moroney at ArtsQuest’s Musikfest each summer, plus other draws like its Levitt Pavilion outdoor concert series, is a year-round activity.
“We put out offers for the following year’s Musikfest before that year’s Musikfest even takes place,” said Brogan, chief programming officer for the nonprofit ArtsQuest. “By the Fourth of July I have offers out for the following year’s Musikfest already and we’re in active conversations.”
Nationally, festivals, sporting events and concerts are a big business, contributing $21.8 billion in 2023 toward an outdoor recreation economy that rose 9% to $639.5 billion compared to 2022, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Venues like Musikfest helped push ArtsQuest’s contribution to the regional economy to $132.7 million in 2023, based on Americans for the Arts funding formulas. And those summer nights shows are part of Pennsylvania’s outdoor recreation industry that contributed nearly $19 billion to the state’s economy in 2023, up 10% from 2022.
The Keystone State boasts the eighth-largest outdoor recreation economy in the country.
The value of outdoor recreation added made up 2.3% of the gross domestic product for the United States in 2023, in current dollars, and 1.9% of Pennsylvania’s GDP. It generates employment totaling 168,322 jobs in Pennsylvania in 2023, or 2.7% of the statewide workforce, and compensation totaling $8.7 billion, for 1.7% of payroll. Across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, outdoor recreation employment increased in 49 states and the District of Columbia in 2023, topped by 7.5% growth in Alaska; only Indiana saw a drop in outdoor recreation employment, of 4.8%, the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis says.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, puts out its outdoor recreation economy report each fall. Nationally, the outdoor economy is outpacing other economic growth, the statistics show: Adjusted for inflation, the GDP for the outdoor recreation economy increased 3.6% in 2023, compared with a 2.9% increase for the overall U.S. economy.
What goes into the outdoor recreation economy?
It encompasses core outdoor recreation activities like bicycling; boating and recreation; climbing, hiking and tent camping; equestrian; hunting, shooting and trapping; motorcycling and ATVing; recreational flying; RVing; skiing, snowboarding and other snow activities (including snowmobiling); and apparel and accessories. Also included are outdoor recreation industries like amusement parks and water parks; festivals, sporting events and concerts; field sports; game areas (includes golfing and tennis); guided tours and travel; and productive activities such as gardening, plus support for outdoor recreation under headings that include construction; local trips and travel; food and beverages; lodging; shopping and souvenirs; transportation and government spending.
In the Lehigh Valley, outdoor recreation helps to drive the regional, state and national economy 12 months a year.
“Tickets make great gifts,” ArtsQuest’s Brogan said, with the Musikfest 2025 headliners announced before Christmas 2024 that also include Riley Green, The Avett Brothers, Darius Rucker, Nelly and Jordan Davis.
Patrick Brogan, chief programming officer for Bethlehem-based ArtsQuest, says planning shows and booking acts for summer concerts like those at Musikfest is a year-round activity.Courtesy ArtsQuest
Regionally, it contributes to a GDP that grew to a record $55.7 billion in 2023, led by manufacturing, according to a December report from the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp.
Blue Mountain Resort outside Palmerton, for example, employs around 1,200 people during its peak season in winter when it offers 40 ski trails, five terrain parks, 16 lifts and up to 46 tubing lanes on the north face of the Kittatinny Ridge boasting the highest vertical drop — 1,082 feet — of any Pennsylvania ski area. In the warmer months, Blue Mountain has diversified to offer camping, a bike park and adventure park, along with dining options like the Slopeside Pub & Grill that is open year-round and sports panoramic views of the Pocono Mountains.
Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in South Whitehall Township is part of an amusement and water parks industry worth $515 million in Pennsylvania and over $19 billion nationally. It’s closed to the public for the winter, but not dormant. Management in December announced winter maintenance season was in full swing, with ride inspections for Dorney Park signature attractions like Iron Menace, Steel Force and more; facility upgrades that include refreshing guest services, dining areas, pathways and restrooms; and other enhancements, such as the removal of two aging slide structures and the reimagining of several guest areas at Wildwater Kingdom.
Musik Express at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in South Whitehall Township is stripped for inspections and cleaning during fall 2024 as part of off-season maintenance.Courtesy Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
The growth in Pennsylvania’s outdoor recreation economy comes as the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is launching its Elevate campaign. Announced during an event in October in Easton, the idea is to work with the businesses that make up Pennsylvania’s outdoor recreation industry to help them grow even more.
“My administration is committed to supporting and growing the outdoor recreation industry, which strengthens local economies, creates jobs, and enhances the quality of life for Pennsylvanians and visitors alike,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a news release on the federal economic data released in November. “By investing in outdoor recreation, we’re not just creating economic opportunity but also celebrating the natural beauty that makes Pennsylvania so unique. We will continue working to make the Commonwealth a national leader, where millions of visitors and residents can go to spend time outside with the people they love.”
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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
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