Park Service to Remove William Penn Statue in Philadelphia, in Inclusivity Push

The National Parks Service says it is rehabilitating Philadelphia’s Welcome Park to ensure it is “more welcoming, accurate, and inclusive” for visitors, and part of that plan includes removing a statue of the city’s founder, William Penn.

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White House Bets $7 Billion on Hydrogen Hubs

The Biden administration cut a $7 billion check on Friday to launch its vision for a hydrogen-fueled future.

The money augments $40 billion in private investment to build seven hydrogen hubs across the nation that will decarbonize transportation and industrial manufacturing, slashing 25 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

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Suburban Leaders Blast Philadelphia DA Krasner for Crime Wave

Suburban Philadelphia legislators and law enforcement officials lambasted the city’s crime policies, blaming District Attorney Larry Krasner for not prosecuting criminals.

“My district has seen an increase in crime in our area — a majority of which is not even committed by Bensalem residents but by individuals crossing over the border from Philadelphia,” Rep. Kathleen C. Tomlinson, R-Bensalem, said during a House GOP Policy Committee hearing on crime.

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In Disbarment Trial of Trump’s Former Attorney John Eastman, Retired DoD Analyst Reveals Biden Got Fewer Votes than Hillary in Philadelphia

The disbarment trial of Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar John Eastman entered into its seventh week on Tuesday, with two of Eastman’s witnesses returning to the witness stand for cross-examination. Physicist John Droz discussed the reports he oversaw on election anomalies in the 2020 election, and retired Department of Defense analyst Ray Blehar revealed that despite the huge increases in votes for Joe Biden compared to Hillary Clinton in 2016, Biden got fewer votes than she did in Philadelphia.

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Pennsylvania’s Speed Camera Enforcement Laws Sunsetting Soon

State lawmakers must act soon before a trio of authorizations expire for traffic cameras that capture drivers violating traffic laws.

Provisions will soon kick in that would put an end to speed cameras in active work zones; camera-equipped school buses that ticket drivers who fail to yield to a stop sign; and speed cameras along Philadelphia’s Roosevelt Boulevard — one of the commonwealth’s most dangerous roads.

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Innovation Hyper-Focused in Philly, Pittsburgh, State College

Pennsylvania could become a national leader in innovation — if the support is there and state leaders embrace reform.

“Innovation matters so much to economic performance, yet the state’s innovation drift is resulting in a broader economic drift,” Brookings Metro Senior Fellow Mark Muro told legislators Friday at a Senate Majority Policy Committee hearing on innovation. “We’re really challenging the state to, above all, commit to innovation…the state needs to try harder on this front. We think you could win — if you actually tried harder.”

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Poll: Taxes, Cost of Living Driving Away Young Residents from the Keystone State

A new survey suggests the price residents pay to live in Pennsylvania tempts younger generations to move.

Results from the Commonwealth Foundation poll conducted last month show more than half of respondents between the ages of 18 and 44 have considered moving to another state – or know someone who wants to do the same.

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‘Moms for Liberty’ Activist Talks About Radical Left Hatred and Vitriol in the City of Brotherly Love

Scarlett Johnson says she has never seen anything like it.

The parental rights activist has gotten used to nasty language and overheated rhetoric from the left. But she said the hatred she experienced last week in the City of Brotherly Love was “insane.” 

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Texas’ Operation Lone Star: More Than 500 Buses Sent to Sanctuary Cities

Since Texas’ border security mission Operation Lone Star (OLS) launched more than two years ago, the multi-agency effort has led to the apprehension of nearly 400,000 foreign nationals who entered the U.S. illegally.

Since last April, Texas has sent over 500 buses of foreign nationals to six so-called sanctuary cities.

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As Philadelphia Malpractice Cases Multiply, Group Asks Court to Review Venue Rule

As Philadelphia medical malpractice cases skyrocket, a pro-tort-reform nonprofit is asking a Pennsylvania Supreme Court committee to review new “forum shopping” rules. 

The Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform (PCCJR) sent its second such request in two months to the court’s Civil Procedural Rules Committee Chair Kathleen Bruder. According to PCCJR, new data show that the failure to keep medical malpractice cases in their proper venues is worsening lawsuit abuse that financially batters insurers, threatens medical professionals, and harms consumers. 

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Biden Sets Leftist Tone for 2024 Re-Election Effort at Philadelphia Event

President Joe Biden held his first presidential re-election campaign event on Saturday at the Philadelphia Convention Center, making strong appeals to his left-wing base. 

Biden appeared alongside organized-labor activists and mentioned in the first few seconds of his oration that when he thinks of working Americans, he especially values the ones who associate with causes he finds politically congenial.

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Pennsylvania Representatives Blast Biden on Quality-of-Life Issues Ahead of His Philadelphia Visit

One day before Joe Biden heads to a Saturday Philadelphia rally, U.S. Representatives Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA-14) and Dan Meuser (R-PA-9) excoriated him in a press call over quality of life issues. 

Joined by Pennsylvania GOP Chairman Lawrence Tabas, the two lawmakers blasted the president for seeking reelection in 2024, insisting Biden has made life worse for Americans on virtually every facet affected by public policy. They mentioned that inflation rages, real wages slump, energy production languishes, gas prices rise, fentanyl use spreads, reading and math scores tumble and crime swells. 

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Texas Sends First Bus of Illegal Border Crossers to Los Angeles

A bus of foreign nationals who illegally entered Texas and were apprehended and released by the Biden administration were taken to Los Angeles for the first time, Gov. Greg Abbott said. They were dropped off at the Los Angeles Union Station Wednesday evening.

“Texas’ small border towns remain overwhelmed and overrun by the thousands of people illegally crossing into Texas from Mexico because of President Biden’s refusal to secure the border,” Abbott said. “Los Angeles is a major city that migrants seek to go to, particularly now that its city leaders approved its self-declared sanctuary city status. Our border communities are on the frontlines of President Biden’s border crisis, and Texas will continue providing this much-needed relief until he steps up to do his job and secure the border.”

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Philadelphia Voters Worry about Crime, but Wary to Embrace ‘Tough’ Approach

Voters in Philadelphia ranked crime as a top concern heading into the May primary election.

Democrats, who have a strong majority in the city, even chose former City Councilwoman Cherelle Parker, who campaigned on public safety.

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Thousands of Non-Citizens Are Listed on U.S. Voter Rolls, Watchdog Warns

Tens of thousands of non-citizens have tried or made it onto voter rolls across the U.S. over recent years, according to an election watchdog’s analysis of data from several states.

Non-citizen voters have been found on voter rolls in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Maricopa County, Ariz. In Georgia, there were non-citizens who attempted to register to vote but were placed in a pending status because there wasn’t evidence of their citizenship, so they didn’t make it onto the voter rolls.

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University President Apologizes for ‘Liking’ Tweets Criticizing COVID vaccine, Child Gender Surgery

The president of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia recently issued an apology and walked back his apparent affirmation of tweets expressing conservative views.

“I regret my lack of understanding of how ‘liking’ a tweet is an implied endorsement,” President Mark Tykocinski, who is also a molecular immunologist and medical doctor, told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Group Names Chicago, New Orleans as U.S. Murder Capitals

Chicago recorded 697 total homicides in 2022, far more than any other city in the United States, but New Orleans had the highest murder rate per capita, according to a new report from a nonprofit research group. 

Chicago had more total homicides in 2022 than Philadelphia (516), New York City (438), Houston (435) and Los Angeles (382), which rounded out the top five, according to a report from Wirepoints, an Illinois-based research and news organization that surveyed 2022 crime data from 75 of the largest U.S. cities.

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Philadelphia Police Commissioner Laments Police Officers Are Not ‘Martyrs’

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw expressed frustration Thursday about rising violence after a fellow city officer was shot the day before.

“How many times do I have to say enough is enough? It is NOT our job to become martyrs,” she tweeted. “Attacks against our brave officers – and the people we serve – will not be tolerated. Those who seek to do harm can expect that PPD will fervently pursue all appropriate avenues of justice.”

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Pennsylvania Senate Indefinitely Delays Impeachment of Philly DA Krasner

After a state court ruled that Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s time in office did not constitute misbehavior, the Pennsylvania Senate has voted for an indefinite delay of his impeachment trial.

State senators voted 28-20 on Monday to delay impeachment indefinitely while readopting the rules of impeachment. 

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Philadelphia Again Surpasses 500 Murders, Though Down Slightly from 2021

Philadelphia has again failed to stop murders in the city, as it repeats a homicide toll that surpasses 500 deaths. While murders are down compared to a year ago, the level of violence dwarfs recent years, when as few as 277 murders happened in 2016.

As of December 28, 514 people have been victims of homicide in Philadelphia. That number is down 7% from 2021, when a record 562 people died, but higher than the 499 deaths in 2020 and 356 in 2019.

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Biden COVID Czar: ‘No Study in the World That Shows That Masks Work That Well’

White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha acknowledged last week what many doctors and scientists have been saying since the start of the COVID pandemic: that “no study … shows that masks work that well” to stop the spread of virus infection.

Jha appeared last week, along with Philadelphia Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole on “The Future of COVID and Public Health,” sponsored by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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Philadelphia District Attorney Krasner Issues Answer to Impeachment Summons

As the holiday weekend nears, Pennsylvania state senators are viewing initial written arguments from Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner (D) contesting his impeachment. 

The then-GOP-controlled state House of Representatives voted last month 107-85 to try the radical prosecutor in the Senate to consider his removal from office. Senate leaders then issued a writ of summons to Krasner outlining seven counts against him. Articles of impeachment concern alleged “dereliction of duty and refusal to enforce the law,” obstruction of a legislative investigation against him, improper conduct in two criminal trials, failure to admit conflict of interest, failure to heed victims’ rights and refusal to prosecute certain crimes. 

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Report: Reliability, Low Fares, Short Trips Key to Transit in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia

As transit agencies across the country struggle to recover from pandemic-induced ridership loss, getting back to the basics of reliability might matter most.

A new report from Moovit, a trip-planning app, analyzed user data in 2022 in 10 major American cities. Transit riders complained of unreliable systems, fare prices, trip time, safety, and cleanliness, among other issues.

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Historic Christopher Columbus Statue in Philadelphia to Be Uncovered for First Time in Two Years

On Friday, a judge ruled that the historic statue of famed European explorer Christopher Columbus will not only remain in its place in Philadelphia’s Marconi Plaza, but that a plywood box used to cover up the statue over the previous two years must be taken down so the statue can be seen once again.

As reported by Fox News, the statue was one of many that had been targeted by far-left domestic terrorists starting in the summer of 2020, in the midst of the Black Lives Matter riots. Statues that were vandalized and even destroyed during this period include monuments to the Founding Fathers, statues of abolitionists, and memorials to Confederate soldiers, among other symbols of American history.

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Philadelphia Man Charged with Impersonating Postal Worker, Mail Theft, also Found with Stolen Ballots

Philadelphia man who was charged with impersonating a postal worker and mail theft was also found to be in possession of over a dozen stolen mail-in ballots, officials says.

While pretending to be a USPS Mail Carrier, Zachkey James, 27, stole undelivered mail from a collection box near the Kingsessing Post Office, in Pennsylvania, in July, the Justice Department said last week.

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Court Orders Philadelphia Columbus Statue be Uncovered

A Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that Philadelphia must uncover a statute of Christopher Columbus that the city has been attempting to remove from a park due to racial injustice demonstrations.

Senior Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt ruled Friday that the City of Philadelphia’s plywood box covering the statue must be removed after the Friends of Marconi Plaza filed a request for the cover to be removed, NBC Philadelphia reported.

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Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Struggle to Fill Open Police Positions

Pennsylvania’s struggles to fully staff police departments extend statewide, from the biggest departments to rural areas losing population.

While Republicans and Democrats on the local and state levels have boosted funding for police departments, as The Center Square previously reported, the bigger issue has been a lack of police recruits. 

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House Democrats from Philadelphia Tout ‘Sanctuary City’ Status as Illegals’ Bus Arrives

Democrats in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ Philadelphia Delegation on Thursday took the arrival of 28 illegal immigrants into their municipality as occasion to celebrate Philadelphia declaring itself a “sanctuary city.” 

State Representative Morgan Cephus (D-Philadelphia), chair of the delegation, also disputed the notion that the migrants bussed in from Texas should be deemed unlawful entrants, despite the fact that they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. He noted that they secured “temporary protective status” by U.S. border agencies. 

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First Migrant Bus to Arrive in Philadelphia on Wednesday from Texas

Texas is sending its first bus of illegal foreign nationals to the so-called sanctuary city of Philadelphia, Gov. Greg Abbott said. It’s scheduled to arrive at William H. Gray III 30th Street Station Wednesday morning.

“Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has long-celebrated and fought for sanctuary city status,” Abbott said in a statement, “making the city an ideal addition to Texas’ list of drop-off locations.”

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Mexican Government Uses Footage of Philadelphia Streets in Anti-Drug PSA

An anti-drug public service announcement in Mexico is deploying footage of homelessness and drug abuse on the streets of Philadelphia in order to illustrate its message.

The video, posted to Twitter by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador spokesman Jesús Ramírez, urges viewers to be aware of the “damage caused to health by the consumption of chemical drugs,” Ramírez wrote on Twitter.

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Philadelphia Home Depot Employees Overwhelmingly Reject Unionization

Philadelphia Home Depot employees voted overwhelmingly to reject joining what would have been the first store-wide union at the hardware store.

Out of the 266 employees in the Pennsylvania store, workers voted Saturday evening 165 to 51 against being members of Home Depot Workers United, according to the local NPR outlet. This means less than 20% of the stores’ employees voted in support of being in the union.

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Mehmet Oz Commentary: My Plan to Fix Crime in Philadelphia and Across the Commonwealth

Much like the inflation crisis created by misguided economic policies, violent crime is running rampant nationwide. Here in Philadelphia, over 400 homicides and 1,000 carjackings have already been reported thus far in 2022 – and those figures are not unique among major cities. Thanks to progressive leaders who refuse to enforce the law, violent criminals are roaming free and American families are left to feel unsafe.

Just last week, Philadelphia’s “Conviction Integrity Unit” earned the praise of John Fetterman. This misguided program, implemented by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, allowed a convicted murderer to be back on the street, and last week he was arrested again for involvement in a second murder. Allowing violent criminals to be let out of prison is a deadly consequence of the soft-on-crime policies that John Fetterman supports.

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Articles of Impeachment Filed Against Philadelphia DA by Republican Officials

Republicans in the Pennsylvania House have introduced articles of impeachment against Philadelphia’s district attorney Larry Krasner. 

The lawmakers introduced the measure Wednesday to impeach Kranser and said they might add days to the legislative session to complete the effort before the two-year legislative term expires next month, according to local TV station ABC6 News. 

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Pennsylvania GOP Prepares to Impeach Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner

Republicans in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives are taking steps towards impeaching Larry Krasner, the far-left District Attorney of Philadelphia, due to his record of soft-on-crime policies that have made the city more dangerous.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, a group of Republicans in the lower house, led by State Representative Martina White (R-Penn.), filed articles of impeachment against Krasner on Wednesday. This comes after a bipartisan majority of the State House gave the House Select Committee on Restoring Law and Order the authority to investigate the causes of the rising crime wave in Philadelphia, and to propose solutions for solving the crisis.

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Philadelphia School to Host Drag Queen Story Hour for First-Grade Children

Philadelphia’s Albert Greenfield School will host Drag Queen Story Hour for first graders in order to provide “an energetic, diverse, and inclusive story hour,” an email to parents reported by Libs of TikTok stated.

“Alarmed parents reached out to Libs of TikTok after receiving an email Saturday, October 22,” Libs of TikTok reported.

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As Nearby Small Cities Lower Murder Rates, Philadelphia Looks for Solutions

Homicides in Philadelphia have been stubbornly high compared to just a few years ago, and elected officials have started to look for answers in other cities.

While some crime has risen in a number of cities in recent years, few cities have seen a worse rise in murder than Philadelphia. A recent WalletHub comparison of per capita murder rates since 2020 found that Philadelphia ranked seventh of the 50 largest cities in America.

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Democrat-Run Sanctuary Cities Brace for Busloads of Migrants from the Southern Border

An elite liberal enclave and several Democrat-run sanctuary cities are scrambling to support illegal migrants, fearing they could be the next destinations for Republican governors’ transports from the southern border.

Nantucket, Massachusetts, Denver and Philadelphia are all making preparations for illegal migrants. However, they don’t have any official confirmation that any illegal migrant transports are bound for them.

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Judge Blocks Philadelphia’s Gun Ban

A local court stopped enforcement Monday of a Philadelphia executive order prohibiting guns in many recreational areas.

The Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas accepted a request from plaintiffs including Gun Owners of America for a permanent injunction against the executive order, which Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney issued Sept. 27. The executive order banned carrying firearms and other deadly weapons into city Parks and Recreation Department-run indoor and outdoor recreational premises, with exceptions for park trails and areas not explicitly meant for active recreation.

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Philadelphia Victims’ Relatives Testify About Krasner’s Work as District Attorney

Pennsylvania’s House Select Committee on Restoring Law and Order heard from mothers of recent Philadelphia murder victims on Thursday morning to gather perspective on District Attorney Larry Krasner’s (D) job performance. 

In a video-recorded interview, Jennifer Meleski, the mother of 24-year-old Chuckie Maude who was murdered in the city’s Kensington neighborhood in 2021, shared her frustration with the city for creating an atmosphere in which gun violence abounds. She blamed Krasner for hamstringing police by pressing charges against officers who “stop and frisk” people on suspicion they are illegally carrying weapons. 

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Democrats Pivot on Law and Order as Soft-on-Crime Liberals Assaulted, Burglarized

Democrats’ virtual 180 on the issue of crime — a journey from supporting the “defund the police” movement to espousing tougher law enforcement — has been accentuated by a striking pattern in recent months: prominent liberals being mugged, sometimes quite literally, by the harsh reality of rising crime as victims themselves.

The latest liberal to embody this shift is Bill Walton, the 69-year-old basketball legend-turned-garrulous broadcaster, who has a history of stirring controversy and advocating a range of progressive causes over the years.

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Pennsylvania House Votes Overwhelmingly to Hold Krasner in Contempt

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted 162 to 38 on Tuesday to hold Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner (D) in contempt for failing to comply with a committee subpoena. 

The vote came just hours after Pennsylvania’s House Select Committee on Restoring Law and Order voted to recommend holding Krasner in contempt. Panel members have asked the prosecutor’s office to provide them with various documents including grand-jury records concerning the upcoming homicide trial of former police officer Ryan Pownall who shot and killed 30-year-old illegal-firearm carrier David Jones during a foot chase in 2018. Krasner balked at the committee’s request and is suing in Commonwealth Court to nullify it. 

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‘Full Monty Mussolini’: Biden’s Primetime Speech Mocked, Slammed on Social Media

President Joe Biden’s Thursday evening speech targeting supporters of former President Donald Trump was mocked on social media, with many users poking fun at the stage.

The speech, held in Philadelphia, marked continued attacks on supporters of Trump, reiterating earlier attacks in which he claimed Republicans embraced “semi-fascism” at an Aug. 25 fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee in Maryland, and also attacked “MAGA Republicans” during a Tuesday speech in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Biden called “MAGA Republicans” a threat to democracy and doubled down on his rhetoric calling supporters of former President Donald trump “extremists.”

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Progressive Philly DA Krasner Calls State House Subpoena ‘Anti-Democratic’

A national trend of criticism aimed at district attorneys in major cities has sparked a feud in Philadelphia between the DA and state Republicans.

In August, a House committee investigating Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner issued a subpoena to his office. Krasner told the Philadelphia Inquirer that he will not comply and called the investigation “illegal” and “anti-democratic.”

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Pennsylvania House Forms Bipartisan Committee to Investigate Philadelphia Progressive Prosecutor

The Pennsylvania State House has created a bipartisan committee to investigate a crime spree in Philadelphia, the state’s largest city.

Part of the effort includes allowing the committee to subpoena witnesses and documents from the office of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a frontline figure in the national progressive prosecutor movement, according to the Epoch Times.

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Philadelphia’s Jim Kenney: ‘I’ll Be Happy When I’m Not Mayor’

A moment of frustration for Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has led to two city councilmen to call for his resignation.

Kenney’s comments came after a shooting incident where two police officers were injured during the city’s Fourth of July celebration on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. During a post-midnight press conference, he spoke about the stress and concern brought by large events in the city.

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Democratic Officials Want Philadelphia Mayor Kenney to Resign

Jim Kenney wishes he wasn’t Philadelphia’s mayor. City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart and Councilman Derek Green — like Kenny, both Democrats — now wish the same.

Kenney drew their reproaches after confessing to reporters on Monday, July 4, that city violence has made his job a displeasure that he looks forward to concluding.

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Philadelphia Voters Want Lower Property Taxes, but Higher Taxes on the Rich

Philadelphia has one of the worst city tax burdens in America, and voters aren’t pleased. It will also be a struggle for city leaders to find a politically popular solution.

A poll from the Pew Charitable Trusts found that Philadelphians have become more opposed to taxes, but an anti-tax revolt isn’t brewing in the city either.

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Crime Victims’ Loved Ones Condemn Philadelphia District Attorney Krasner

John Toomey, flanked by other relatives of slain Philadelphians as well as state lawmakers at the Pennsylvania Capitol Building in Harrisburg on Tuesday, tearfully discussed the fate that befell his 15-year-old son Sean. Many who gathered near him showed similar anguish as they listened.

Toomey and dozens of his fellow bereaved Philadelphians convened at the legislative building’s front lobby to condemn the performance of District Attorney Larry Krasner (D) since he became the city’s top prosecutor in 2018.

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Eight Philadelphia City Workers Charged in $300,000 Unemployment Scheme

The attorney general’s office has charged eight Philadelphia municipal workers, alleging they claimed more than $300,000 in pandemic-related unemployment funds.

Thanks to a referral from Philadelphia’s Office of Inspector General, the eight were found to have received payments from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program while still on city payroll. Each worker received between $20,000 and $60,000 in PUA benefits.

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