Skip to main content
Support

Journalism that gets results for Pennsylvania

Main content

Pa. moves to formalize LGBTQ protections

Plus, SCOTUS will consider a case that could dramatically reshape the election landscape.

Support Spotlight PA's investigative journalism for Pennsylvania and for a limited time, your gift will be DOUBLED.

The logo of PA Post, a free daily newsletter delivering the top news from across Pennsylvania every day.

A daily newsletter by The logo of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom producing investigative journalism for Pennsylvania.


Your Postmaster: Colin Deppen
December 7, 2022
LGBTQ protections, election case, recount results, broadband map, Penn State protest, labor allegations, and a marathon comeback story. It's Tuesday.
REGULATORY RECOURSE

Gov. Tom Wolf is backing a regulatory change that would formalize nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people while circumventing the legislature.

Under guidance released in 2018, a student, tenant, or worker at most businesses can file a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission against their school, landlord, or boss if they think they’ve been discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

A little-noted proposal supported by Wolf, which is up for final approval before a state regulatory board Thursday, would formally adopt that guidance.

Read the full report: Wolf backs regulatory change that would formalize discrimination protections for LGBTQ Pennsylvanians.

THE CONTEXT: In 2018, the state’s Human Relations Commission said it would adopt an expanded definition of sex based on federal court rulings to encompass sexual orientation and gender identity.

The new proposal would formally adopt a definition of sex based upon the 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, in which the court found 6-3 that existing federal law protected an employee from being fired just for being gay or transgender.

Even if the regulation is adopted, LGBTQ advocates are still urging state lawmakers to pass a bill to formally provide nondiscrimination protections to people based on sexual orientation and identity. 

Pennsylvania is the only state in the northeast without such protections on the books.

» This is crunch time. We're in the final weeks of our most important fundraising campaign of the year to keep Spotlight PA going in 2023. Now is the time to show your support by making a tax-deductible gift now. As a special bonus, all contributions will be DOUBLED.

NOTABLE / QUOTABLE

"So, I’m fairly familiar with how uncomfortable it can be."

—Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter saying he stands by the contested stop and frisk police tactic, despite being stopped multiple times himself
 
A LOT AT STAKE
Support Spotlight PA's investigative journalism for Pennsylvania and for a limited time, your gift will be DOUBLED.
We've made huge progress toward our end-of-year goal of raising $125,000 and unlocking a $125,000 matching gift. More than 1,000 people across Pennsylvania have made a gift since Nov. 1.

What are you waiting for? Make a tax-deductible contribution now.

You won't find vital investigative and public-service journalism like that produced by Spotlight PA. But that work cannot continue without you.

We need your support more than ever to track our tax dollars, keep our elected officials honest, and drive positive change in Pennsylvania. And as a special bonus, if you give right now your contribution will be DOUBLED.

Make a gift today to lock in your dollar-for-dollar match.
 
GIVE NOW, GET THE MATCH
📷 POST IT

A placid pond in Caledonia State Park, via Don N. Send us your photos by email, use #PAGems on Instagram, or tag us @spotlightpennsylvania

DAILY RUNDOWN
Today's top news story in Pennsylvania.ELECTION THEORY: Oral argument is set for today in a U.S. Supreme Court case that could dramatically reshape the election landscape in states like Pennsylvania. The case, brought by Republicans upset with state courts weighing in on redistricting, could hand unchecked power over election law and maps to partisan lawmakers. Spotlight PA explains the fringe legal theory central to the case and why it matters.

Today's second top news story in Pennsylvania.RECOUNT RESULTS: A court-ordered recount of in-person and mail ballots from four Westmoreland County precincts was completed on Monday and revealed a three-vote change from unofficial results released last month, TribLIVE reports. The recount comes amid an unprecedented wave of recount petitions that are exploiting an obscure section of state law and bogging down election works.

Today's third top news story in Pennsylvania.WEB MAP: Pennsylvania's Broadband Authority wants you to look at this map. It shows all broadband-eligible locations across the U.S. where high-speed internet is or could be. Capital-Star reports the authority, which oversees millions of federal dollars for broadband expansion here, makes allotments based on the accuracy of the maps and wants you to quickly vet the info listed for your home address

Today's fourth top news story in Pennsylvania.PSU PROTEST: A Penn State senior from Allentown is facing criminal charges and possible expulsion days before graduation in connection with October's protests against a Proud Boys event on campus. Bram Woolley was the only student charged. Protesters gathered outside (and inside) Old Main on Monday to decry the arrest and any potential discipline that might be handed down by the school.

Today's fifth top news story in Pennsylvania.LABOR ALLEGATIONS: The federal Department of Labor has accused more than a dozen McDonald’s locations in the Pittsburgh area of allowing teens to work illegal hours, The Washington Post reports. Franchisee Santonastasso Enterprises has been fined $57,000.
Support Spotlight PA's investigative journalism for Pennsylvania and for a limited time, your gift will be DOUBLED.
IN OTHER NEWS

COMEBACK STORY: Decades after an assault derailed her New York City Marathon dreams, 68-year-old Passle Helminski of Erie conquered the race in just over eight hours last month. SI has a profile written before the run.

RESORT REDUX: Shuttered since 2014, Potter County's super steep Denton Hill ski spot is eyeing a comeback, per The Inquirer (paywall). The state owns the property and has an "Adventure Center" in mind.

RIVER RUNS: Voting is open for Pennsylvania's 2023 River of the Year. We wrote about the last winner, French Creek, and its starring role in one of the world's great athletic competitions for our PA Local newsletter.

CLICK CLACK: Amtrak says 30th Street Station's iconic flipboard — or clickety-clack display to technical jargonists — will grace the Philadelphia hub once again, but still only as a decoration, Billy Penn reports. 

DUBLY SOUND: In memory of Fleetwood Mac legend Christine McVie, TribLIVE recounts the wild story of a Pittsburgh concert promoter who booked the band in 1974 but got "Fakewood Mac" instead.

THE SCRAMBLER
Unscramble and send your answer to scrambler@spotlightpa.org. We'll shout out winners here, and one each week will get some Spotlight PA swag. Answers submitted by 6 p.m. on issue date will be counted.
 
U L E V C R Y T O I P D

Yesterday's answer: Colloquial

Congrats to our daily winners: Wendy A., Starr B., Irene R., John P., Hugh M., David S., Vicki U., Becky C., Joel S., btfoos, Mike B., Patricia M., Jon W., Judy M., Mark O., Susan D., Elvino M., Don H., Carolyn R., Michelle T., Ted W., Chuck M., Judith D., Beth T., Jane R., Kimberly D., Bruce H., Jodi R., Stanley J., Ted W., Susan R., Elaine C., Ronnee G., Tracy P., George S., Nancy S., Susan N.-Z., Ginny P., James B., David Woods, Mark C., Sandy S., Dianne K., Bill S., John B., Kevin M., Frederick H., Kim C., Laura H., and Nancy T.
Like PA Post? Share it with a friend.

Love PA Post? Support it & your gift will be TRIPLED.

Forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here.
GIVE NOW, GET THE MATCH
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and WITF Public Media.

Copyright © Spotlight PA / The Philadelphia Inquirer, All rights reserved.

Spotlight PA
228 Walnut St., #11728
Harrisburg, PA 17108-1728

newsletters@spotlightpa.org

You're receiving this email because you subscribed to PA Post, a daily newsletter by Spotlight PA.


This email was sent to: <<Email Address>>

You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.