Pennsylvania
Pa. attorney general candidates rebuild campaign coffers after pricey primaries
![Pa. attorney general candidates rebuild campaign coffers after pricey primaries](https://whyy.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/pa-ag-office-2024-05-29.jpeg)
This story originally appeared on Spotlight PA.
The Democratic and Republican candidates competing to be Pennsylvania’s next attorney general first had to survive contested primaries that drained their campaign coffers.
With more than five months until the November election, they’re rebuilding those cash reserves, thanks to very different backers.
The campaigns of Democrat Eugene DePasquale and Republican Dave Sunday have each spent more than $300,000 since the beginning of 2024, new campaign finance filings show. That left both with roughly $30,000 to spend as of May 13.
DePasquale, the state’s former auditor general, leveraged his statewide name recognition and cruised to victory in a crowded Democratic field that saw no party endorsement. Sunday, the district attorney in York County, handily beat state Rep. Craig Williams (R., Delaware) with the help of an endorsement from the state Republican Party.
Sunday raised nearly $20,000 between April 9 to May 13. His biggest donors included a candidate committee associated with Heather Heidelbaugh ($2,000), who unsuccessfully challenged former Attorney General Josh Shapiro in 2020, and a PAC associated with central Pennsylvania-based Shipley Energy ($2,500).
His latest campaign finance filing also shows significant support from the Commonwealth Leaders Fund, a PAC that supports alternatives to public education and is overwhelmingly funded by billionaire Jeff Yass. That group spent $108,000 ahead of the primary on mailers.
“We are excited for any help from individuals who want to bring accountability and redemption to the criminal justice system,” Sunday campaign spokesperson Ben Wren said of the in-kind contribution.
Sunday also received considerable outside support. Keystone Prosperity PAC, which is associated with the Republican Attorneys General Association, spent more than $100,000 on text messages to back Sunday through the independent expenditure process — meaning it was not allowed to coordinate with the campaign.
The attorney general serves as Pennsylvania’s legal representative and defends the commonwealth’s laws in court. In recent years, this position has attracted national attention, particularly as the office defended the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The role has been a launching pad for politicians aspiring to higher office. Two of the state’s last three governors previously held the position of attorney general.
DePasquale raised just over $58,000 between April 9 to May 13. That includes a $10,000 post-primary donation from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 5.
“We spent all of our resources on the primary leaving nothing to chance, but we’ve already seen that turn around pretty quickly,” Carver Murphy, campaign manager for DePasqaule, told Spotlight PA. “We don’t have Jeff Yass writing us an endless check, but we’re seeing good support from institutional partners, labor, grassroots donors.”
He added that since May 13, the DePasquale campaign has raised over six figures, with major donations from a carpenter’s union and a firefighter’s union in Pittsburgh.
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Pennsylvania
Pa. woman who drowned after being swept over waterfall in Glacier National Park is ID’d
![Pa. woman who drowned after being swept over waterfall in Glacier National Park is ID’d](https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/resizer/v2/ENNPVT7HEBAILPOJTGZWNTBSLM.jpg?auth=ae6ee71154605f3d0d14626ee27547b52589449aff7199c62704aa067d22f7ab&width=1280&quality=90)
A 26-year-old Pennsylvania woman drowned after being swept over a waterfall on the east side of Glacier National Park in Montana, park officials said.
National Park Service officials on Tuesday identified the victim as Gillian Tones from North Apollo in western Pennsylvania’s Armstrong County. She was remembered as caring and kind, triblive.com reported.
Tones fell into the water above St. Mary Falls at around 5:20 p.m. Sunday. She was washed over the 35-foot (11-meter) tall waterfall and trapped under water for several minutes, the park said in a statement.
Bystanders pulled Tones from the water and administered CPR until emergency responders arrived. She was declared dead at 7 p.m., park officials said.
The death is under investigation, and an autopsy was planned.
Her name was initially withheld until family members could be notified.
Drowning is one of the leading causes of death in Glacier National Park, according to the National Park Service.
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Pennsylvania
Conestoga Road Closing Weekdays For 2 Months In Radnor: PennDOT
![Conestoga Road Closing Weekdays For 2 Months In Radnor: PennDOT](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/22896833/20240625/103022/styles/patch_image/public/roadclosed___25103005562.jpg)
RADNOR TOWNSHIP, PA — Conestoga Road in Radnor Township will have a weekday closure due to Aqua Pennsylvania work for about two months, PennDOT said.
According to PennDOT, a weekday closure is scheduled on Conestoga Road between Lowrys Lane and Glenbrook Avenue in Radnor.
The closure will be in place weekdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Monday, July 1 to Friday, Aug. 30,
During the closure, drivers will be detoured, using Sproul Road/Route 320, Lancaster Avenue/U.S. 30, and County Line Road.
Local access will be maintained up to the work zone.
Drivers are advised to allow extra time when traveling through or near the work area because backups and delays will occur.
All scheduled activities are weather dependent.
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania State Police introduce autism ID cards
![Pennsylvania State Police introduce autism ID cards](https://fox56.com/resources/media/d4a3d773-14e6-408b-afad-7587e3f28a15-large16x9_Screenshot20240624201321.png)
Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne Co. — After meeting with advocates, the Pennsylvania State Police has unveiled informational cards for people with autism to present to officers during any interactions like traffic stops to better help with communication.
The PSP has officially started to distribute an informational card that should be carried by people with autism and presented during any encounter with police.
The colorful and distinctive cards say “I Have Autism” and directs officers to be patient, use a calm and direct voice. The card also alerted the officers that they may be non-verbal, hypersensitive to noise and or touch.
Lindsay Dragon, the Executive Director of a local support group Parenting Autism United has a ten year old son who is greatly affected by autism.
She says that these cards being given out to people with autism will ease the mind of parents with children who have autism.
“As a parent our biggest fears as our boys get older are the risks of being misunderstood and possibly not following direction which could lead to arrests or potential death,” Dragon said.
As of last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 36 children in the United States have autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is about 75 million people.
Dragon says that this is a great step towards the overall acceptance and inclusion of both children and adults with autism.
She believes that these ID cards will be especially beneficial for adults with autism as well who may not be aware of the harm they are or can cause in an interaction with police officers.
“If first responders are not in the know these types of cards would be extremely helpful in preventing a lot of unnecessary things,” Dragon added.
Individuals may print the card from the website and carry it in a wallet, or they can choose to save it on their phone. Troopers will distribute the cards at public community events.
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