December 1, 2023
We begin this week by marking the passing of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the SCOTUS. She passed away today at 93, and if there were a “trailblazer” hall of fame, she would be a first ballot shoe-in.
Inducted right alongside her would no doubt have been Rosa Parks, who on this day in 1955 told a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus what she was NOT going to be doing that day, and that was relinquish her seat to his arrogant ass. Pour one out for Ms. Parks today.
Pour one out for Uncle Joe Biden as well, as the latest GDP number came in at a robust 5.2%, blowing past expectations. Fun fact: Joe Biden was driving that Alabama bus back in 1955.
Long Island Congressman George Santos was mercifully expelled from Congress today, becoming only the fifth person since the Civil War to be expelled before being convicted of a crime. Granted, it looks like he broke plenty of laws, so Congress grew tired of his wounded animal act and shoved him out the door. The good news is that Santos is still the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots.
The annual Pennsylvania Society weekend kicked off this week, marking the 125th gathering of Pennsylvania politicos. For the uninformed, Society Weekend is where you go to see the same people you see in Harrisburg the other 363 days a year, but the bar bills are roughly triple.
The courts weighed in on the endless confusion about ballot curing, ruling that mail-in ballots with the wrong date should be counted. Aside from whether this decision is correct or runs afoul of the law, isn’t the postmark on the ballot sufficient evidence? If you accidentally dated your last ballot October 12, 2024, it would be fair to assume you were not time traveling, right?
The U.S. EPA published new carbon emission rules, sparking the annual “reliability vs. sustainability” debate. Ya know, being in the compromise business leads us to believe that maybe, JUST MAYBE, this debate doesn’t need to be an either/or proposition. Not everything in life needs to be a zero-sum game.
Some electricity and natural gas prices are falling in December, which is welcome news to consumers as the temperatures drop. If your utility is raising its prices, get your butt online and SHOP, people. The PUC should probably ask utilities to put their prices on Amazon, at this point, since that is the only place where Americans seem to still shop.
And if your available scratch is a bit tight this winter, our good pals at PECO (shameless client plug!) are urging you to apply for the state’s low-income heating assistance program.
An increasing number of Americans do not have any faith in our criminal justice system (or Congress, or the courts, or the president, or school boards, or science), with 58% saying they believe we are too soft on crime. While we are certainly not qualified to judge the American people’s fee-fees (although privately we do it all the time), numbers like this make it increasingly difficult for true and necessary reforms to move forward.
Our good friends at City & State PA (more on those amazing souls later) have put together a comprehensive piece examining the state of cannabis reform in Pennsylvania. To be fair, people can read the Cliff Notes version if they so choose, which would be titled, “The State of Cannabis in PA: Ain’t Happenin’, Captain.”
Community colleges and libraries across the state are starting to grow weary of the Ballad of the Unfinished Fiscal Code, which has been the top song on Spotify for far too long. One session week left, y’all. Can these folks finally get their taste of that government cheese, or nah?
Pittsburgh, like most major cities, is in the midst of a homeless crisis. We learned this week that one solution, Single Room Occupancy units, may not be the solution everyone thought, especially when the owner of the SRO is a Florida business and has no real skin in the western PA game. With SRO evictions on the rise, incoming Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato has another problem to deal with.
However, Innamorato has announced her transition team, and it is a true all-star collection of talent from academia to business to non-profit. Godspeed to all the magnificent yinzers tasked with creating the next Allegheny County.
We at Team Triad were thrilled to participate in Giving Day, and we decided to spread the love around this year. In all, we chipped in to help the puppies and kitties (Castaway Critters and Homeward Bound), the homeless (Habitat for Humanity), the wee ones (Penn State Children’s Hospital) and the hungry (the Central PA Food Bank). And hey, it is not too late for you to chip in, so go to our socials and learn more!
Back to our friends at City & State PA, who named our own Mike Acker as one of their esteemed “50 over 50” recipients. Congrats, Ack! You earned it!
In our We Can’t Make This Up segment, we take you to the Solomon Islands, where scientists have finally caught a glimpse of a giant rat the size of a baby. Said rat can also chew through a coconut shell, so imagine what that rodent can do to your drywall. Or your cat, for that matter. All those in favor of permanently quarantining the Solomon Islands, say aye.
That’s what passes for news around here as the calendar flips to Mariah Carey. Come back next week for more rodent news and anything else we find lying around. From all of us at Team Triad, have a great weekend!