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** 1. Falls supervisors fail to report thousands in IBEW campaign cash ([link removed])
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By Bradley Vasoli

For years, thousands of dollars have flowed from a federal union PAC to two Falls Township supervisors, massive amounts of which they apparently failed to report.

Pennsylvania breaks the campaign year into cycles and requires political committees to report their receipts, expenditures or liabilities if any of those exceed $250 in one cycle. But Falls Supervisor Jeff Dence (D) received $18,500 from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Political Action Committee since 2022 and recorded no such donations on his “Friends of Jeffry Dence” reports.

And Dence’s fellow Democratic Supervisor Jeff Boraski has yet to file publicly accessible “Friends of Jeff Boraski” reports reflecting any of $38,850 in IBEW PAC contributions. As Broad + Libertyreported ([link removed]) last September, Boraski merely filed a report covering a 35-day period in November and December 2019 that showed none of IBEW’s largesse.

Why It Matters. Special-interest influence, Philadelphia-based Republican election lawyer Matt Wolfe told Broad + Liberty, is a major reason why financial openness is a key responsibility campaigns bear. Failure to report data, especially when candidates conceal contributions from powerful entities, hinders citizens’ ability to understand the pull those groups may enjoy with their beneficiaries.

"That’s exactly why the legislature has deemed it important to report these contributions,” he said. “So that the public has an opportunity to judge what interests the candidate might have….”

Continue Reading ([link removed])


** 2. The fight for girls’ rights continues with Title IX stalemate ([link removed])
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By Beth Ann Rosica

A federal court ruling last month prevents the US Department of Education from enforcing the new Title IX rules in many schools across the region and state, which is expected to impact almost every school district in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Moms for Liberty ([link removed]) joined two other national organizations and four states in filing the lawsuit against the US Department of Education challenging the Biden administration’s rewrite of the Title IX regulations. The groups were successful in prohibiting the Department from enforcing the changes in the four states and at the schools attended by the children of Moms for Liberty members.

For now, the ruling is a huge victory for Moms for Liberty, which describes itself as “an organization dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government.”

Why It Matters. Why is this such a big deal? As Iexplained ([link removed]) earlier this summer, the new Title IX regulations basically strip rights away from girls and women. For example, if a biological boy decides he identifies as a girl on a certain day, he can use the girl’s bathroom. The school is not required to notify the boy’s parents of his change in gender or that he is using the girl’s bathroom. If a girl complains about seeing a penis in the girl’s bathroom, she can be investigated for “sex-based harassment.” Additionally, students and teachers may also be subject to investigations for either intentionally or unintentionally referring to someone by the wrong pronoun.

The injunction now prevents the US Department of Education from enforcing these new regulations in schools where parents are members of Moms for Liberty.

Despite the injunction, or perhaps in spite of it, Pennsylvania’s Attorney General isvowing ([link removed]) to” ensure the new regulations under Title IX go into effect as intended.”

Continue Reading ([link removed])


** 3. Lightning Round
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* Thom Nickels: Mayor Parker is right to call city workers back to the office ([link removed])
* Michael Thomas Leibrandt: Madam Mayor, keep the flexibility. ([link removed])
* Guy Ciarrocchi: Democracy is dying in the media’s darkness ([link removed])
* Rep. Seth Grove: Deficits have consequences ([link removed])
* Frank Ryan: Tim Walz’s conduct unbecoming ([link removed])
* Christine Flowers: Dodging the truth ([link removed])
* Guy Ciarrocchi: Fracking bans are dangerous and harmful ([link removed])


** 4. What we're reading
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Josh Shapiro had an impressive victory in a swing state and an appeal to moderates along several axes. Tim Walz had a progressive record, a riot torn city, and a meme. How did he come out on top in the 2024 veepstakes? Salena Zito looked at the contest in an article for the Free Press this week ([link removed]) .

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With gratitude,

— The Editors at Broad + Liberty
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