The LuLac Edition #3969, December 30th, 2018

TOP TEN
PENNSYLVANIA STORIES

1. Catholic Church Sex Abuse Scandal: The horrors exhumed by the Pennsylvania grand jury, detailing abuses across six dioceses, sent tremors through the American Catholic church reaching to the Vatican. Perhaps not since the Boston Globe revealed the extent of similar abuses within the Catholic Church in Massachusetts in 2002, has misconduct by priests and efforts to conceal it been outlined in such detail.
While stunning in scope, the Pennsylvania grand jury report landed as a wave of abuse allegations also washed over the Catholic Church in Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Guam and the District of Columbia. The release of that report hit the entire state and hit at the very foundation of the Dioceses in the state. Reports are that funding for many of the Bishop’s annual appeals were way down..
2. Innocents gunned down in Steel City: The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting was a mass shooting that occurred at Tree of Life – Or L'SiInnocents gunned down in Steel Citymcha Congregation in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 27, 2018, while Shabbat morning services were being held. Eleven people were killed and seven were injured. It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the United States.
The sole suspect, 46-year-old Robert Gregory Bowers, was arrested and charged with 29 federal crimes and 36 state crimes. He pleaded not guilty to all 44 crimes laid against him in federal court. Using the online social network Gab, he had earlier posted anti-Semitic comments against the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) in which Dor Hadash and Tree of Life[ was a supporting participant. Referring to Central American migrant caravans and immigrants, he posted on Gab shortly before the attack that "HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I'm going in. Then in a blink of an eye, people died because of the hate of one unhinged killer.
3. Kathleen Kane goes to jail: After her appeals were exhausted, Kathleen Kane started to serve her jail time in 2018. She arrived an hour before her 9 a.m. deadline and reported to jail late this year. She is currently housed in a lockup with about 330 other inmates in the women's wing of the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.
Our friend from WNEP TV, Dave Bohman made the point in his coverage that Kane's term in jail begins six years and three weeks after she was elected Pennsylvania's attorney general. She was sentenced to between 300 and 700 days in the lockup in Montgomery County.
4. Tom Wolf wins second term: Tom Wolf won a second term as governor last month beating brash Republican challenger Scott Wagner and sending the Democrat back for another four years to share power with a GOP-controlled Legislature.
Wolf has said he will continue advancing his first-term priorities, including trying to fix funding inequities in Pennsylvania's public schools and seeking to impose a severance tax on the Marcellus Shale natural gas industry. But he will be up against Republican lawmakers who fought two extended budget battles with him, blocked many of his top priorities and forced him to lower his expectations.
With that stated, the key thing to remember here is that Wolf's re-election will give Democrats a seat at the table for the first time in 30 years when Pennsylvania draws a new map of congressional districts after the 2020 Census.
5. Casey wins re-election for third term: Democrat Sen. Bob Casey has won a third term after defeating Republican challenger. Casey maintained a comfortable lead in the polls over Barletta heading into Election Day. Casey’s victory in Tuesday’s election gives him another six-year term in office and ensures that Trump will have another swing state opponent in the closely divided Senate.
The 58-year-old son of the late former governor has now won six statewide elections, including wins in races for state treasurer and auditor general.
Casey seemed more passionate and energized when faced with the prospect of a Trump Presidency. Lou Barletta, one of Trump’s biggest allies on Capitol Hill and drew two presidential visits to Pennsylvania to help rally support for his candidacy. But Barletta never gained traction against Casey, and was heavily outspent while getting virtually no outside help from GOP groups to overcome Casey’s heavy fundraising advantage and built-in recognition as a household name in Pennsylvania politics
6. Legalized pot now making retail inroads:
A number of national legal industry trends took hold in the Pennsylvania market this year, as firms looked to gain market share by head count growth and acquisitions.
Of course, that included a number of mergers, as law firm combinations become more frequent industry wide. But it wasn't just the local players making strategic moves. Some out-of-state firms looked to strengthen their ties to the local legal scene by recruiting longtime partners from area firms.
7. The Eagles Win the Super bowl: This year saw the Philadelphia Eagles rise to the occasion and win the coveted Super Bowl. After the game Eagles fans celebrated with some issues in the street. But all told, most enjoy the Eagles climb to the top of the Football heap.
8. Bob Brady, Philadelphia congressman retires after two decades: Brady graduated from St. Thomas More High School, found employment as a carpenter and was soon part of the leadership of the Carpenters’ union. He continued to be a member of both the Carpenters’ and the Teachers’ unions.
Congressman Brady was elected Chairman of the Committee on House Administration in May of 2007 and served until the end of the 111th Congress in December 2010. In announcing his election, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi highlighted Brady’s “...experience as a leading member of the House Administration Committee for four years and his in-depth knowledge of the internal functions of the House.” She also highlighted his ability “to promote equality and diversity on Capitol Hill.” Congressman Brady currently serves as the Ranking Member on the Committee. His retirement makes Brady one of the most consequential Congressmen from Pennsylvania to serve in that body/.
9. Incumbent Mike Stack defeated for Lt. Governor’s slot: In a historic win as unconventional as the candidate himself, the work-shirt wearing, small-town mayor John Fetterman defeated Lt. Gov. Michael Stack in the Democratic primary Tuesday, according to unofficial results.
Stack is the state’s first lieutenant governor to lose in a primary election. Despite earning an annual salary of $163,692 and only responsible for filling in for the governor if he no longer can hold office, Stack has spent most of the year putting out public relations fires.
After his staff reported abuse and harassment by the Stack family, Wolf made an unprecedented move of stripping the family’s state police detail and restricted the lieutenant governor’s residence staff.
Shortly after, Stack’s wife received in-patient treatment for a mental health issue. Wolf declined to release a report by the inspector general’s office to protect the Stack family’s privacy due to her mental health treatment. Fetterman rarely campaigned with Wolf but was not a hazard to the ticket on the campaign trail. The Wolf strategy after distancing themselves from Stack was to let the voters decide for themselves in that crowded and now deemed historic race. 
10. Bill Cosby goes to jail.  Once known as "America's Dad," was sentenced Tuesday to three to ten years in a state prison for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home 14 years ago.
Cosby's bail was revoked and he was escorted from the courthouse in handcuffs.
"This was a serious crime," Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Judge Steven O'Neill said. "Mr. Cosby, this has all circled back to you. The day has come, the time has come."
Cosby, convicted in April of aggravated indecent assault, declined to speak to the court prior to the sentence. His attorneys have said they intend to file an appeal.