In this 1869 illustration, whalers are seen in action, bringing to mind the novel "Moby-Dick," published 18 years earlier. Herman Melville's Captain Ahab obsessively pursued the white whale, just as some politicians try repeatedly to reform Pennsylvania’s use of property taxes to fund schools.
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In this 1869 illustration, whalers are seen in action, bringing to mind the novel "Moby-Dick," published 18 years earlier. Herman Melville's Captain Ahab obsessively pursued the white whale, just as some politicians try repeatedly to reform Pennsylvania’s use of property taxes to fund schools.
iStock
In this 1869 illustration, whalers are seen in action, bringing to mind the novel “Moby-Dick,” published 18 years earlier. Herman Melville’s Captain Ahab obsessively pursued the white whale, just as some politicians try repeatedly to reform Pennsylvania’s use of property taxes to fund schools.
A poll of Pennsylvania voters in August showed the unpopularity of the school property tax: Three-in-five voters said local school property taxes should be reduced and replaced with state taxes.
Still, the tax is really hard to kill. State of the State host Katie Meyer takes a deep look at the never-ending quest in her latest podcast episode.
State Rep. Frank Ryan is pushing a solution that includes a new, nearly 5 percent tax on retirement income (exempting Social Security). In his conversation with Katie, the Lebanon County Republican argued that if lawmakers don’t tax at least some of senior citizens’ income, then a lot of younger people are going to be so fed up with the tax burden that they’ll leave Pennsylvania altogether.
“If we do any of these other bills that get rid of property taxes, and don’t … tax retirement income, the influx of seniors from out of state will choke us,” Ryan said. “And we won’t be able to take care of the seniors we do have.” Pennsylvania, as the Independent Fiscal Office has noted, already has trouble convincing millennials with at least an associate’s degree to remain in the state.
This map from Morning Call reporter Eugene Tauber gives great context to the debate. It shows a relatively high tax burden in some regions: Philadelphia, outside Pittsburgh, parts of the Lehigh Valley, Berks County and York County all jump out.
Andrew Harnik / AP Photo
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders walks out to Pebble Beach on the North Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, May 8, 2019, in Washington.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the former White House press secretary for President Donald Trump, will be the featured speaker at a banquet in Hershey on Sept. 27. The event is hosted by the Pennsylvania Family Institute, a religious liberty group that, among other things, helped challenge a school district’s practice of allowing transgender students to use locker rooms and restrooms that match their gender identities. The challenge was unsuccessful.
Pennsylvania plans to close another state prison, Marc Levy reports for The Associated Press. After closing a prison in Pittsburgh in 2017, the state now pans to close one near Wilkes-Barre, Democratic state Sen. John Yudichak told the AP. The governor’s office wasn’t commenting, but Yudichak and two other state senators are already making their opposition clear.
Several Pennsylvania police departments have partnered with the doorbell-camera company Ring to gain access to video captured by its devices, The Washington Post reports in a story that explores the privacy questions raised by increased surveillance. An interactive map accompanying the story includes departments in Allegheny, York and Montgomery counties.
