Pennsylvania
Pa. House Dems propose new expulsion rules after Rep. Kevin Boyle voted remotely while facing a warrant
A Philadelphia Police spokesperson, Officer Tanya Little, said Thursday afternoon that Boyle is not in custody.
Boyle lost his committee chairmanship and Capitol access privileges in February after a videotaped episode at a Montgomery County bar where he was aggressively rude to the staff and appeared intoxicated.
Boyle’s status carries significant implications for the power balance in the 203-member House, currently with a 102—100 Democratic majority and a special election next week for the one vacant seat in a Republican-leaning district in the Pocono Mountains.
Republican leaders have decried Boyle’s ability to vote remotely, telling reporters Wednesday that House Democrats should have simply put Boyle on leave and accusing their Democratic counterparts of allowing Boyle to vote remotely to preserve their thin majority.
Minority Leader Bryan Cutler, a Lancaster County Republican, called Bradford’s proposal a complicated answer to a simple problem. He asked Democrats to “join with us” to stop Boyle from voting “until this issue is finally resolved.”
“Pennsylvania House Democrats continue to use this tragedy to further the tyranny of their majority and that is shameful,” Cutler said in a statement. The House returns to session April 29.
A Republican from Fayette County, Rep. Charity Grimm Krupa, announced on Wednesday she was working on a proposal to change House rules to prevent anyone from voting remotely if they are incarcerated or facing an active arrest warrant. And the only Republican in the House from Philadelphia, Rep. Martina White, said her office has been fielding calls from Boyle’s constituents because his nearby district office hasn’t been responding.
Bradford press secretary Beth Rementer said going on leave or changing a remote voting setup is each representative’s prerogative.
“To assert otherwise would allow the majority of the chamber to interfere with the will of the voters,” Rementer said in an email.
Boyle, 44, is currently facing a primary opponent as he seeks an eighth term in the House. His brother is U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Democrat from a Philadelphia district.
Pennsylvania
Man Killed on Pennsylvania Avenue Boulevard Wednesday
A man died on the boulevard in the center of the 1300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE Wednesday, shot in the middle of the wide avenue in the middle of the day.
Police were called to the scene around 12:24 p.m. May 1 after getting reports of gunshots.
The victim was pronounced dead on the scene.
Bystanders reported seeing a man chase the victim on the 1300 block of Pennsylvania Ave. SE, the block where Mangialardo’s is located.
They say as the shooter caught up to the victim, shots were fired at nearly point blank range. “He was shot just like a dog,” one bystander said, sorrowfully shaking his head. An employee working nearby said police told her the victim had been shot at least 5 times. Police were seen recovering casings from a wide range around the scene.
Childcare group Storytime kids is located on the corner as is tutoring nonprofit For the Love of Children (FLOC). A spokesperson for FLOC said all after school programming had been cancelled.
The suspect was last seen towards the 1300 block of G Street SE.
Roads were blocked between 1300 and 1400 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. And on 13th Street south of Pennsylvania Avenue. Yellow crime tape also surrounded the front patio the Potomac Mini Mart on the northeast corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and 13th.
Police issued a lookout for a Black male about 6 feet tall and 190lbs., with a medium complexion. He was wearing a black baseball cap, black jacket and blue jeans and was last seen headed Eastbound in the 1200 block of G Street SE.
Anyone who can identify this vehicle or has any information about this incident should take no action but call police at (202) 727-9099 or text anonymous photos, video or tips to the Department’s Text Tip Line at 50411. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) currently offers a reward of up to $10,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a violent crime committed in the District of Columbia.
This story is updating
With gratitude to colleagues at DC News Now
Pennsylvania
For Republicans, victory in Pennsylvania will require focus, unity — and turnout
3-minute read
Kelly urges Republicans to get off the sidelines, vote
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th Dist., spoke to a group of GOP voters at a general election campaign kickoff event in Erie on April 24.
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.
Pennsylvania
Bull attacks, kills man on Pennsylvania farm
JACKSON CENTER, Pennsylvania — A 51-year-old man was killed when he was attacked by a bull in a pasture on his farm in western Pennsylvania, reports say.
Mercer County Coroner John Libonati tells the Sharon Herald the death of Richard “Rick” Joy on April 23 “really is just a tragic incident.”
“He would have been working on his farm just like any other day when somehow the bull got angry and attacked him,” Libonati tells the Herald.
WKBN Channel 27 reports the coroner ruled that Joy died of blunt force trauma. He reportedly died moments after emergency workers arrived at his farm.
The Herald reports Joy was a forklift operator and also was a U.S. Army veteran who served during the Gulf War.
Jackson Center is about 100 miles southeast of Cleveland.
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