TexasTowelie
TexasTowelie's JournalJoe Biden to kick off 2020 presidential campaign in Lawrenceville
Democrat Joe Biden will kick off his campaign for president in the Pittsburgh area Monday.
The former vice president announced his candidacy Thursday morning, after months of hints and “will he or won’t he” speculation.
His first campaign event will be at the Teamsters Local 249 banquet hall in Lawrenceville, where he will talk about his “plan to build a middle class where everyone comes along,” according to the candidate’s website.
Doors open 2 p.m. Monday, and attendees are encouraged to come early, since space is limited.
Read more: https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/joe-biden-to-kick-off-presidential-campaign-in-lawrenceville/
Puerto Rico governor slams Trump, seeks swifter storm recovery
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico's governor pledged on Wednesday to lift the U.S. territory from a deep recession by creating more jobs, reversing a migration exodus and implementing a range of incentives as the island struggles to recover from Hurricane Maria.
During a nearly two-hour state of the commonwealth address that followed a brief power outage at the seaside Capitol, Gov. Ricardo Rossello also said he plans to hold a yes-or-no referendum on statehood. He also criticized President Donald Trump's response to Maria, a Category 4 storm that hit September 2017 and caused more than an estimated $100 billion in damage.
"As Americans, Puerto Ricans deserve a swift recovery from Hurricane Maria. It's been over a year after the catastrophic event. We are still waiting for the disbursement of most of the funds already allocated by Congress," Rossello said briefly in English before resuming his address in Spanish.
The governor said his administration has faced several obstacles amid hurricane recovery efforts, including what he called unfair conditions imposed to obtain federal funds and a hostile attitude from some federal officials.
Read more: https://www.philly.com/politics/nation/puerto-rico-ricardo-rosello-hurricane-maria-statehood-donald-trump-20190425.html
Ex-Sheriff Green faces 5 years in prison at sentencing
Former Philadelphia Sheriff John Green pleaded guilty to felony and conspiracy charges Tuesday, less than a week before a scheduled retrial on allegations that he steered contracts worth more than $35 million to a campaign contributor in exchange for $1 million in benefits over the span of nine years.
Just over a year ago, Green was acquitted on three of the five charges. The jury deadlocked on the two other charges.
On Wednesday, Green's lawyer, Peter J. Scuderi, said his client doubted he would be as successful in a retrial, which was scheduled to begin on Monday.
"The odds of that happening once in a federal court are unlikely," Scuderi said. "The odds of it happening again are even more distant."
Read more: https://www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/ex-sheriff-green-faces-years-in-prison-at-sentencing/article_a501a611-95cd-5cbd-bd74-2d99ff300645.html
FBI, IRS agents search Baltimore Mayor's homes, City Hall
BALTIMORE — Federal agents executed search warrants Thursday morning at two homes belonging to Baltimore's embattled mayor and at City Hall.
Dave Fitz, an FBI spokesman out of the agency's Baltimore office, says agents with the FBI and the IRS criminal division in Washington were "executing court-authorized search warrants" at "both residences and City Hall." He said he couldn't immediately release more information because the search warrants are sealed.
Mayor Catherine Pugh's spokesman, James Bentley, said he has no immediate comment. Pugh's defense attorney, Steve Silverman, did not immediately return calls.
Pugh has been facing mounting calls for her to resign over a scandal that involves the sale of her children's books to entities that do business with the city. She was already already facing a criminal investigation by the state prosecutor's office, which began at the request of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, as well as probes by the Baltimore Inspector General, an ethics board at City Hall and a state insurance commission.
Read more: https://www.phillytrib.com/news/fbi-irs-agents-search-baltimore-mayor-s-homes-city-hall/article_91937478-8f56-559e-a753-f68dc0c885a6.html
Focusing on accountability, DePasquale announces surprise audits of Medicaid contractors
State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Wednesday that his office is launching what are, effectively, surprise audits of a half-dozen contractors hired to provide services to seniors and people with intellectual disabilities.
The “targeted” audits are intended to make sure the state is getting the most bang for its Medicaid buck, DePasquale said during a state Capitol news conference Wednesday.
“Taxpayers pay billions of dollars a year for the medical and human services that are provided by vendors hired by the [state] Department of Human Services,” DePasquale said in a statement issued by his office. “I will make sure the services being billed to the state are actually delivered to the patients.”
DePasquale’s news conference came just about a week after Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a fellow Democrat, released the results of a grand jury report recommending ways to reduce fraud in Pennsylvania’s $33 billion Medicaid program.
Read more: https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/focusing-on-accountability-depasquale-announces-surprise-audits-of-medicaid-contractors/
Former Reading Mayor Vaughn Spencer sentenced to 8 years in federal prison for pay-to-play scheme
PHILADELPHIA, PA — Vaughn D. Spencer will spend the next eight years in federal prison.
Chief U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sanchez sentenced the former Reading mayor on Wednesday to 96 months in prison followed by three years of probation during a hearing in Philadelphia. Spencer, 71, was also ordered to pay a $35,000 fine.
A jury in August convicted Spencer on 11 counts — nine of bribery and one each of conspiracy and wire fraud — following a two-week federal bribery trial. Earlier Wednesday, before issuing the prison sentence, Sanchez issued a ruling dismissing two of the counts.
Over the objection of federal prosecutors, who wanted Spencer taken into custody immediately, Sanchez gave Spencer 45 days to turn himself in to begin serving his sentence.
Read more: https://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/former-reading-mayor-vaughn-spencer-sentenced-to-8-years-in-federal-prison-for-pay-to-play-scheme
Feds charge Harrisburg businessman with scamming Pa.'s university faculty union out of $1.5M
Federal prosecutors Wednesday charged the head of a Harrisburg-based actuarial and consulting firm with conning the state’s university faculty union out of nearly $1.5 million.
Michael T. Buchanan, vice president, secretary and treasurer of Actuaries, Consultants and Administrators Inc., already has a tentative deal to plead guilty to charges that he deliberately overbilled the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties while administering its members’ dental and vision benefits.
That agreement won’t be final unless it is approved by U.S. Middle District Judge Sylvia H. Rambo.
In filings by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Buchanan is accused of directing ACA employees to overstate billings while administering the insurance for APSCUF’s Faculty Health and Welfare Fund.
Read more: https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/04/feds-charge-harrisburg-businessman-with-scamming-pas-university-faculty-union-out-of-15m.html
State yanks $10.9 million in federal money from Harrisburg School District over audit dispute
The state Department of Education has suspended $10.9 million in federal grants to Harrisburg School District, saying the suspension would be lifted when the district complies with the requests of a firm that’s conducting an audit of the district.
Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney and Business Manager Bilal Hasan met with Department of Education officials Wednesday to discuss the audit, after school district officials refused to give auditors access to the district’s eFinance system.
The school board last week voted not to cooperate with auditor’s request to access the system. Hasan argued that he has provided auditors with the data they have requested, but he insists that the district is not required to provide access to its financial database.
The district issued a news release shortly before 5 p.m. Wednesday saying that when they met with education department officials at 2 p.m. Wednesday, they received a list of 14 unanswered information requests, which they said were out of 300 that the district had received and answered.
Read more: https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/04/state-yanks-109-million-in-federal-money-from-harrisburg-school-district-over-audit-dispute.html
Earlier thread:
Harrisburg School District refuses to provide financial information to state auditors, education department says
https://www.democraticunderground.com/107411790
Bob Casey lobbies for presidential primary debate in Pennsylvania
Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is lobbying for a presidential primary debate to be held in his home state, which is projected as a battleground in the 2020 presidential election.
Casey's letter Monday to Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez says holding a primary debate in Pennsylvania would benefit the party in a state that holds great electoral importance to Democrats.
Casey says Democrats can't afford to lose Pennsylvania if they hope to beat President Donald Trump, after Trump in 2016 became the first Republican to win Pennsylvania since 1988.
Casey calls Trump's victory a “wake-up call” and says a debate in the politically divided state would help Democrats.
Read more: https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/mc-nws-pa-2020-president-debate-casey-20190422-hujz75syvfa5rgf6kmu5dhx7pq-story.html
Law ends state license suspensions for non-driving offenses
A new Pennsylvania state law is now in effect, ending the practice of suspending driver's licenses for those convicted of certain non-highway safety violations, including drug offenses.
Gov. Tom Wolf signed the legislation in October and it took effect Monday. In a statement, Wolf says the change removes a roadblock for someone who needs a valid driver's license to find and keep a job, especially where public transportation isn't readily accessible.
Wolf's administration says the law means the state will no longer automatically suspend some 20,000 licenses annually.
The new law also applies to carrying a false identification and some offenses
https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/mc-nws-pa-license-suspension-20190423-x7x63a5lmjatdj6w4iyijofqhu-story.html
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