Suit claims PA “gerrymandered”/Chronic wasting disease moving in PA?

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What to look for on Smart Talk Monday, June 19, 2017:

Pennsylvania has been called one of the most gerrymandered states in the country meaning Congressional districts were drawn to protect candidates in the majority legislative party.  In Pennsylvania’s case, Republicans have a majority.   Thirteen of the state’s 18 Congressmen are Republicans, even though there are more registered Democrats in Pennsylvania and Republicans got only 49% of the total vote statewide in 2012.  It’s not just a Republican issue either — the state of Maryland, with Democrats in control, has been taken to court and called the most gerrymandered state in the country.

The Pennsylvania League of Women Voters filed a lawsuit last week against the state challenging how the state draws its Congressional districts. 

Redistricting has gotten a lot of attention in recent years in Pennsylvania.  A group known as Fair Districts PA has been holding rallies across the state in an effort to take the responsibility away from the legislature.

On Monday’s Smart Talk, we’re joined by Mimi McKenzie, Legal Director, Public Interest Law Center in Philadelphia, Susan Carty, President, League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, and Bill Marx, an individual petitioner from the 12^th Congressional district.

Also, Chronic Wasting Disease is a condition that leaves holes in the brains of deer, elk and moose.  First found in mule deer in Colorado 50 years ago, CWD has spread in the U.S. and Canada.  Not many cases have been diagnosed in Pennsylvania but a captive deer in Franklin County was found to have the disease earlier this year.  It raises the possibility of CWD moving eastward.

Wayne LaRoche –  director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Bureau of Wildlife Management and Dr. Kevin Brightbill, Assistant Director of the PA Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Services appear on Smart Talk to discuss CWD.

emails

– When Governor Wolf was easily elected, the House Republicans crowed about the fact that they actually picked up seats in the House during that election and claimed a mandate from the voters. Hidden in the numbers was the fact that Democratic candidates got more statewide votes in these House elections than Republicans and still lost seats. That seems to be a statement on the effects of Gerrymandering, not the effects of incumbency.                  – Lee, York