Pennsylvania
Putting Pennsylvania in play
As Pennsylvania goes, so goes the nation. It’s been true because the 2016 presidential election, and this rising battleground figures to be decisive once more this November.
With the Senate break up 50-50 and beneath nominal Democratic management because of Vice President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote, the race to interchange retiring two-term Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) may decide the bulk. The governorship can be opening up as Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat with anemic job approval scores, departs after two phrases.
The winners of those contests may have nationwide implications past Congress subsequent 12 months. Every occasion want to be accountable for Pennsylvania when the 2024 presidential election happens. Former President Donald Trump received by 44,292 votes in 2016, an final result essential to his breaching the Electoral School’s blue wall and reaching the White Home. President Joe Biden carried the commonwealth by 80,555 votes two years in the past.
Which means Pennsylvania was determined by a 1.17% margin in 2020 and an excellent slimmer 0.72% 4 years earlier. It is a state that hadn’t voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988, when George H.W. Bush beat Michael Dukakis whereas Ronald Reagan was nonetheless in workplace.
It’s doable we’ll see a rematch of the final presidential election subsequent time round, however Biden and Trump might be preventing a proxy struggle in Pennsylvania lengthy earlier than then. The White Home sees a Democratic pickup alternative within the Senate right here. If it may well hold the higher chamber blue, Biden’s legislative agenda is probably not lifeless but. Equally, retaining this GOP-led seat would enhance the chances of a Republican takeover and at the least put Biden’s hopes of getting extra laws handed on life help for the rest of his time period.
The Democrats know who their candidate is, and Biden professes to be happy. Lt. Gov. John Fetterman simply defeated Rep. Conor Lamb (D-PA), racking up just below 60% of the vote. Republicans don’t but know who their nominee is. As of this writing, Trump’s endorsed candidate, tv star Dr. Mehmet Oz, is barely clinging to a lead over businessman David McCormick by a 0.1% margin, properly throughout the 0.5% threshold to set off an automated recount beneath state regulation. Late-surging conservative Kathy Barnette fell into third place with lower than 25% of the vote. After she gained within the polls, Trump warned in an announcement that she “won’t ever have the ability to win the Normal Election in opposition to the Radical Left Democrats.”
It stays to be seen whether or not Trump will get his want on this main. Biden is already counting his blessings. “As Pennsylvania’s Lieutenant Governor, John Fetterman understands that working-class households in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation have been dealt out far too lengthy,” the president mentioned in an announcement shortly after the race was known as. “It’s time to deal them again in, and electing John to the USA Senate could be a giant step ahead for Pennsylvania’s working folks.”
Working-class voters have been the important thing to the GOP’s fortunes in Pennsylvania, particularly with Trump on the prime of the ticket. Scranton-born Biden has been making an attempt to win them again to the Democratic fold. However Fetterman is a way more left-wing candidate than Lamb or Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA). He additionally suffered a stroke and had a pacemaker implanted shortly earlier than the first. The overall election must be aggressive.
Republicans do know who their gubernatorial nominee is, and he was Trump’s decide. It’s much less clear he can ship a aggressive race in opposition to Democratic Lawyer Normal Josh Shapiro. State Sen. Doug Mastriano is a 2020 election conspiracy theorist. He’s making GOP operatives in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., skeptical of the 2022 race, too — however way more due to electability than alleged fraud.
Mastriano nonetheless trounced former Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA), an erstwhile Trump favourite who had already misplaced a earlier statewide marketing campaign, and three different candidates to win with 44%. The Republican Governors Affiliation issued a scathing assertion about Biden and Shapiro but sounded noncommittal on Mastriano.
“The RGA stays dedicated to participating in aggressive gubernatorial contests the place our help can have an effect in defending our incumbents and increasing our majority this 12 months,” Government Director Dave Rexrode mentioned.
Nonetheless, the underlying political local weather for Democrats is dangerous, and there had been doubts in regards to the statewide electability of each Toomey and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA). Each served two phrases. Mastriano will at the least be within the operating because the Keystone State sees the Biden administration as Keystone Cops.
W. James Antle III is the Washington Examiner’s politics editor.
Sinking ship
Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) does not have the perfect observe report relating to Senate campaigns. In 2017, Brooks introduced he’d run in a particular election after then-Sen. Jeff Classes resigned to tackle the function of lawyer normal. Brooks wound up ending third behind Luther Unusual and Roy Moore regardless of endorsements from high-profile conservatives equivalent to Mark Levin, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham. Quick-forward to the 2022 marketing campaign season and Brooks thought he’d have a greater shot, and the most recent try got here with a coveted Trump endorsement. That proved inconsequential. Because the race heated up, Brooks wound up discovering himself falling behind Katie Britt, Richard Shelby’s former chief of employees, and Michael Durant, the famed Black Hawk helicopter pilot whose plane crashed throughout a raid in Somalia in 1993. The previous president, sensing issues weren’t going all that properly, yanked his endorsement of Brooks after the congressman principally mentioned it was time to maneuver on from the 2020 election. It may simply be a matter of dangerous luck for Brooks. He and Durant seem like splitting the MAGA vote, whereas Britt, who’s the textbook definition of an “institution” candidate, may win the nomination with 35% of the vote. A win within the normal election is just about assured. Would Brooks have prevailed with out Durant within the race? Maybe. However that is not the way it performed out, and as such, the Brooks marketing campaign has practically sunk to the ocean flooring.
Pennsylvania
How the Lehigh Valley helped Pennsylvania’s outdoor recreation economy grow to $19B
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.
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.
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.
Pennsylvania
Small plane makes emergency landing on Pennsylvania highway
Pennsylvania
Former Pennsylvania cop accused of sexually assaulting students while working at high school
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A former police officer and school resource officer in Lackawanna County has been accused of sexually abusing five students.
In a news release, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office said Stephen J. Carroll has been charged with rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, official oppression, institutional sexual assault and other offenses.
Officials said the 49-year-old Carroll was formerly a school resource officer at West Scranton High School and an officer with the Scranton Police Department. The attorney general’s office said the abuse happened over five years at his home and West Scranton High. The alleged sex crimes date back to 2009 and recent interviews and evidence led to the charges last week, authorities said.
“This public servant took an oath to protect his community and was specifically assigned to look out for the well being of students — instead he used his position of authority to groom and sexually assault multiple teenagers,” Attorney General Michelle Henry said in the news release.
The Scranton Times-Tribune reported that Carroll is accused of multiple crimes, including sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old and sending graphic text messages, from 2009 to 2017. The newspaper reported, citing the criminal complaint, that four of the five victims were under 18 years old.
He was last employed by the Scranton Police Department in 2022 and has not been with the high school as a resource officer since 2018, The Times-Tribune reported.
“The safety and well-being of our children and students are our highest priority, and any violation of that trust is both deeply disturbing and unacceptable,” Pennsylvania State Police Captain James Cuttitta said in the news release. “We are committed to ensuring that justice is served.”
Carroll’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 3, 2025.
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