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US judge receives 28-year jail term for his role in kids-for-cash kickbacks

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

The Independent - Apr. 30 (News) - An American judge known for his harsh and autocratic courtroom manner was jailed for 28 years for conspiring with private prisons to hand young offenders maximum sentences in return for kickbacks amounting to millions of dollars. Mark Ciavarella Jnr was

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Jeremy Grantham on how to feed the world and why he invests in oil

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Leo Hickman - Apr. 16 (Opinion) - The co-founder of investment group GMO on what books he's reading and why he wants to fund 'avant garde' farming Yesterday, I posted part one of the transcript from my Saturday Guardian interview with Jeremy Grantham, the environmental philanthropist and the legendary fund manager. Here's part two... Jeremy Grantham on what first led him to engage with environmental issues: It started [in the mid-1990s] with a visit to the Amazon and to Borneo with the kids. And without thinking about it you start talking about the logs along the side of the river and the lack of mature forests in Borneo. We were on family trips and happened to do a couple of tropical forests back to back. I'm sure that played a role, but we didn't treat it as an epiphany. I would argue that one of our children got there first. While we were environmentalists, but low key, one of my sons happened to get a job which saw him end up in a dry tropical forest in Paraguay for five years and then off into the forestry ...

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FiveThirtyEight: Which Governors Are Most Vulnerable in 2014?

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By By MICAH COHEN - Apr. 09 (Opinion) - Ten of the 32 governors who are eligible to run for re-election in 2014 have net negative approval ratings. Eight of those 10 are Republicans, including four who rode the 2010 wave to power and now appear to be in some danger.

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Neighbouring towns worlds apart on 'fracking'

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0700

BBC News - Apr. 03 (News Report) - The BBC visited neighbouring towns in New York and Pennsylvania - all rich in natural gas but divided over the wisdom of the extraction process known as 'fracking'.

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Ed Rendell Backs Fracking, Fails to Mention His Industry Ties

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 00:00:00 -0700

Mother Jones - By Justin Elliott, ProPublica - Mar. 30 (Investigative Report) - This story first appeared on the ProPublica website. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell took to the New York Daily News op-ed page Wednesday with a message to local officials: stop worrying and learn to love fracking. As New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo agonizes over whether to allow the controversial natural gas drilling technique, Rendell invoked his own experience as a Democratic governor who presided over a fracking boom. New York state, Rendell argued, has a major part to play in the nation's fracking "revolution" 2014 and it can do so safely. He rejected what he called the "false choice" of "natural gas versus the environment." What Rendell's passionate plea failed to note was this: since stepping down as governor in 2011, he has worked as a paid consultant to a private equity firm with investments in the natural gas industry. The op-ed piece was widely noted in other media outlets, and Cuomo wound up being asked about it during a radio appearance on Wednesday. The New York State ...

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Five Things Your Doctor Should Tell You, But Won't

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Mother Jones - By Kiera Butler - Feb. 11 - As a lifelong hypochondriac, I've always been comforted by the Hippocratic oath. What an excellent idea, having doctors pledge to put patients first. So I was less than thrilled to learn that doctors are under increasing pressure—from state legislatures, industry, and other groups—to break that oath by withholding key pieces of information from their patients. "We are very concerned about special interests attempting to influence our practices," says Valerie Arkoosh, president of the National Physicians Alliance (NPA) . "We've seen state legislatures overreaching a lot with regard to doctor-patient relationship." Here are five things that—depending on where you live—your doctor could be keeping from you: Fracking chemicals might be making you sick. Many of the chemicals that oil and gas companies are pumping into the ground ( and groundwater ) during the hydrofracking process are known carcinogens or neurotoxicants . Pennsylvania recently passed a law requiring ...

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Rig the Vote

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Charles M. Blow - Jan. 26 (Opinion) - Republican lawmakers in some states have a new devilish plan to tilt presidential votes their way.

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Fracking debate draws Yoko, Lennon and Sarandon to rural battlegrounds

Sat, 19 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Adam Gabbatt - Jan. 19 (Special Report) - Artists Against Fracking board bus for magical mystery tour of Pennsylvania as New York and New Jersey decisions draw near Yoko Ono might not seem the most likely bus traveller. Northern Pennsylvania, on a cold, snowy January day, might not seem a likely destination. Yet the threat of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and its impact on the farm she and John Lennon bought in New York spurred Ono and her son, Sean Lennon, into action.

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Fracking the Amish

Wed, 16 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0800

Mother Jones - By Elizabeth Royte - Jan. 16 (Special Report) - A bleak December sky hangs low over rural Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. Here, in areas populated by large Amish families, open fields roll toward the horizon uninterrupted by electrical wires and telephone poles. Stepping from a car that seems grossly out of place in this 19th century landscape, Carrie Hahn, a newcomer to the area, takes a deep breath of mud and cow outside an Amish farmhouse. Suddenly, like an apparition, Andy Miller appears on a flagstone path, his face hidden beneath beard and broad-brimmed hat. He quickly ushers us inside a large, unfurnished mudroom to escape the wind. Miller, who is in his late 40s and has nine children, is a leading member of the Old Order Amish, who eschew all modern conveniences. (Like all the Amish names in this story, Miller's has been changed at his request, to respect Amish traditions and preserve his anonymity.) Standing against a western window, a silhouette of felt hat, ...

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Should I Buy a Fake Christmas Tree or a Real One?

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Mother Jones - By Jaeah Lee - Dec. 12 (Comment) - Growing up, I never owned a real Christmas tree. When I was about 14 and living in the Pennsylvania suburbs, my mom bought a fake, pre-lit, easy-to-assemble one from the local department store for our apartment. We've kept it for more than a decade since. Each winter when we'd bring the tree out of the box I'd feel proud that our holiday cheer didn't require chopping down a tree. But a part of me envied the rich pine scent that filled my friends' living rooms. So last week, when one of my roommates proposed that we buy a real Christmas tree for our home of four in San Francisco, I was tempted. But what about the environmental impact? I decided to do some digging to find out. The Christmas tree custom we know today is said to date back to the 1500s, when Lutherans in western Germany would hang wafers on their trees on December 24th to celebrate the religious holiday of Adam and Eve. The idea was to mimic the "paradise tree," a fir hung with apples that represented the Garden of Eden in a ...

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Pennsylvania Could Be a Path Forward for G.O.P.

Sat, 24 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By By NATE SILVER - Nov. 24 (Opinion) - Pennsylvania has been getting closer to the electoral tipping point, and it represents a plausible path forward for Republicans in 2016.

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5 Signs at Pa. Polling Place: "NO PARKING FOR DEMOCRATS"

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Mother Jones - By Brett Brownell - Nov. 07 (News) - Early this afternoon in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, there were five signs in place aimed at stopping Democrats from parking near a polling station, according to Pennsylvania voters Erica Gust and Lori Marks. One read: "NO PARKING FOR DEMOCRATS - WALK THAT WILL BE THE MOST WORK YOU DO ALL DAY." The signs were mounted on barricades—one directly in front of the polling place entrance. According to Gust, who snapped the enclosed photo with her smartphone, when she returned later in the afternoon, the sign directly in front of the entrance had been removed, but the four others remained. The polling place is on Van Vorrhis in Fallowfield Township, in southwest Pennsylvania. According to Marks, several drivers who pulled up to the polling place were following the directive on the signs, driving away and parking across the street at a nearby library instead. It remains unclear who posted the signs. ...

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Almost Three-Quarters Of Americans Believe Extreme Weather Is Tied To Climate Change

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Jeanna Bryner - Oct. 10 (Poll) - The majority of Americans think global warming is not only affecting weather but is also worsening extreme weather events,...

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Voter ID Ruling in Pennsylvania Cited Bigoted 1869 Court Decision

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Dan Froomkin - Sep. 11 (News Analysis) - A Pennsylvania judge's decision to uphold the state's tough new voter-identification law last month was based in part on a 19th century state court decision that at the time disenfranchised many Philadelphia workmen who the court didn't feel were virtuou

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NCAA Fines and Penalties Will Have Lasting Impact on Penn State Football Program

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0700

NewsHour - Jul. 23 (News Analysis) - GWEN IFILL: Penn State was hit with some of the toughest penalties in decades today for its role in the Jerry Sandusky scandal. It's a decision that could affect the university and its storied sports program for years. Ray Suarez has the story. MARK EMME

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Pennsylvania Voter ID Law May Bar 9% From Presidential Election

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Bloomberg - Jul. 05 (News) - Three-quarters of a million Pennsylvanians may be denied a chance to vote in November unless they can come up with an acceptable form of identification, a tally released by the state suggests. In a move lawmakers said would deter fraud at the polls, the

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Mitt Romney's poor judgment is undermining his candidacy

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Michael Cohen - Apr. 15 - Finally, Obama's opponent has been confirmed, but can the Republican nominee mount an effective challenge? I doubt you will ever find a politician more desperate to believe Nietzsche's aphorism that whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger than Mitt Romney. With former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum announcing that he is suspending his presidential campaign, it ensures what many political observers have assumed for quite some time – that Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee for president this autumn. Only 26 other men have achieved this goal, so congratulations to Romney are in order. But a larger view of Romney's political situation takes some of the bloom off this particular rose. Have the past 12 months of campaigning – while certainly not killing him – really made Romney stronger? So far the evidence is not very good. Only 34% of Americans have a positive view of Romney, which makes him at this point in the presidential campaign one of the least popular presumptive ...

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Public-Private Partnerships In California Tackles Obesity, Hunger Epidemics

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Think Progress - By Guest Blogger - Feb. 14 (Opinion) - At all levels of government there has been a serious push for increasing access to food among low income households and fostering more nutritious eating habits in communities and schools. Last July, First Lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Hea

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In the Land of the Salamanders, the Newt is King

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By By NATE SILVER - Nov. 23 (Opinion) - Presidential primary fields of dubious quality often receive derisive nicknames. The seven Democratic candidates of 1988, for instance, in part because some of them were of short stature and in part because none of them seemed like formidable challengers

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'Kids for cash' judge sentenced to 28 years for racketeering scheme

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Christian Science Monitor - By Warren Richey - Aug. 12 (News Report) - A former juvenile court judge in Pennsylvania was sentenced to 28 years in prison on Thursday for his part in an alleged “kids for cash” scam considered one of the worst judicial scandals in US history. Mark Ciavarella Jr., 61, a former judge in Luzerne County, was also ordered to pay $1.17 million in restitution. Mr. Ciavarella was convicted in federal court in Scranton, Pa., in February on charges that he and a second judge, Michael Conahan, ran the local court system as a racketeering enterprise.

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Former judge sentenced to prison for "kids for cash" scheme

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Reuters - By Dave Warner - Aug. 11 (News Report) - A former Pennsylvania juvenile court judge was sentenced on Thursday to 28 years in prison for accepting payment to send juveniles to a for-profit detention facility in a scandal dubbed "kids for cash,". Former Luzerne County Juvenile Court Judge Mark Ciavarella, 61, accepted nearly $1 million from a developer who built the detention facility, prosecutors said.

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In Pennsylvania, Suspicious Erasing on State Exams at 89 Schools

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Michael Winerip - Aug. 02 (News Analysis) - In April, Dale Mezzacappa attended a panel discussion on cheating sponsored by the Education Writers Association. At the time, she was one of three staff reporters for The Notebook, a community newspaper and Web site that covers the Philadelphia public schools.

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The DeVos Family: Meet the Super-Wealthy Right-Wingers Working With the Religious Right to Kill Public Education

Tue, 10 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Rachel Tabachnick - May. 10 (Investigative Report) - By now you've surely heard of the Kochs. Meanwhile, the powerful, wealthy DeVos family has remained largely under the radar, while leading a stealth assault on America's schools.

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Pennsylvania: 'ground zero' of the US boom

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Suzanne Goldenberg - Apr. 21 (News Report) - Last June, Tony Zaffuto arrived at his fieldstone cabin in the forested hills of Pennsylvania's SB Elliott state park, to find a notice pinned on the front door: "Danger. Do not occupy dwelling." A blow-out at a gas well in another popular camping spot, in the woods of the Punxsutawney hunt club, also in Clearfield County, had shot a 75-foot combustible gusher of tas and toxic waste water into the air. It took the gas company, EOG, 16 hours to control the well, and authorities had to carry out an evacuation. It was not Zaffuto's first encounter with the dangers of natural gas drilling. In 2009, the spring that was the cabin's only source of water was contaminated by toxic waste from a pond serving the gas wells.

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Carcinogens injected into gas wells, report says

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - Apr. 17 (News Report) - Millions of gallons of potentially hazardous chemicals and known carcinogens were injected into wells by leading oil and gas service companies from 2005 to 2009, a report by three House Democrats said Saturday. The report said 29 of the chemicals injected were known or suspected human carcinogens. They either were regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act as risks to human health or listed as hazardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act.

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