Former Pa. lawmaker won’t face charges

• Ed Mahon
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  Ed Mahon comes to Spotlight PA from PA Post, where he covered state politics and policy, produced radio stories that were broadcast on public media stations throughout the state and on NPR’s national newscasts, and co-wrote a weekday newsletter. Prior to joining PA Post, Ed worked for six years as an investigative and political reporter for the York Daily Record, part of the USA Today Network. His reporting on failures in Pennsylvania’s system for protecting domestic abuse victims was a finalist in the national 2018 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists in the local reporting category. He was also part of a team whose coverage of the criminal justice system, including the aggressive use of civil asset forfeiture by York County prosecutors, received the 2018 G. Richard Dew Award for Journalistic Service from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. Before joining the York Daily Record, Ed covered K-12 education at the Centre Daily Times in State College and worked as a stringer for suburban sections of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He grew up in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

 Matt Rourke / AP Photo

The dome of the Pennsylvania Capitol is visible in Harrisburg.

Reforms urged for addressing workplace harassment

Matt Rourke / AP Photo

The dome of the Pennsylvania Capitol is visible in Harrisburg.

• Dauphin County’s district attorney agrees with a grand jury’s recommendation that no criminal charges be filed against a former legislator accused of sexually assaulting a woman four years ago. The AP’s Mark Scolforo has more on the decision regarding Brian Ellis, a former Republican state representative from Butler County.

• The grand jury did recommend changes for the General Assembly, including the creation of an independent office that could investigate claims of misconduct by a lawmaker or employee of the legislature if the claims are connected to official duties, Angela Couloumbis of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Brad Bumsted of The Caucus report.

• The grand jury said the legislature’s system for addressing sexual misconduct and harassment is “inadequate” and lacks accountability.

• The House GOP Caucus leaders, meanwhile, disputed some of the grand jury’s conclusions, insisting that the caucus “has not wavered in its zero-tolerance policy toward any instance of sexual abuse or harassment.”

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Kriston Jae Bethel for WHYY

Bishop T.K. Grant, III delivers a sermon during the Taking the Gospel 2 Da Streets event in Nicetown-Tioga on Saturday, August 24, 2019.

• “We are not going to be scared because of one man’s action,” Pastor Troy K. Grant said during a Saturday sermon, held a few blocks from a shooting that left six Philadelphia police officers injured.  WHYY’s Emily Scott has more about how the community is trying to heal.

• The Lower Dauphin School District turned to a collection agency to go after more than $15,000 that families owed for unpaid meals at school, PennLive’s Jan Murphy reports. Districts that turn to collection agencies insist that the families are the ones who should be able to pay. District first let families know how to apply for free- and reduced-price lunches, Jan reports.

• The Morning Call of Allentown compared median salaries for full-time classroom teachers with full-time workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher living in the same district. Reporter Eugene Tauber found that in 8 percent of districts, teachers earn less than a typical worker with a bachelor’s degree. You can see the comparison in your district using this interactive map created by the Morning Call.

• Federal proseuctors are seeking the death penalty against the man accused of fatally shooting 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue last year.