Episode 49: Elections, abortions, booze and more

The House and Senate were both in session last week, resulting in a number of notable developments on issues our newsroom follows closely—from long-awaited election reforms to controversial abortion proposals.
We’ll also bring you the latest on a proposed constitutional amendment being challenged in court, the one-year anniversary of a major shooting in Pittsburgh, and the commonwealth looking to give out money to people who grow craft-brew-friendly crops.
If you have questions or comments about these stories, or any others, shoot us a note through our Listening Post tab. And don’t forget to subscribe to our free daily newsletter, The Context.

Episode 48: More on Marsy’s Law

This week we’re focusing on a topic that has come up a lot lately, and with good reason: Marsy’s Law. If you’re not familiar, Marsy’s law is a proposed amendment to Pennsylvania’s constitution that will be on the ballot for a statewide referendum on November 5th.

Versions of the proposed law have been adopted in a bunch of states. In Pennsylvania’s case, it would basically insert an existing bill of rights for crime victims into the state constitution.

As it stands, that bill of rights already does a lot for victims. It gives them the ability to make impact statements, to almost always be present at trial, and to be notified if a perpetrator gets out of prison. Putting those rights in the constitution is designed to give a victim more recourse if they feel they’ve been mistreated. They would be able to motion a court for a new or extended trial if, say, they weren’t given time to make an impact statement.

But the American Civil Liberties Union is adamantly opposed to Marsy’s Law—saying it’s too broad, too vague, and could set up conflicting rights between victims and the accused. The state chapter of the ACLU is also bringing a lawsuit, arguing Marsy’s should be multiple amendments, and is unconstitutional in its current form.

WITF’s morning show Smart Talk, hosted by Scott Lamar, recently had on several of the people who have been most vocal on Marsy’s. So in the interest of spreading the word on this potential amendment as much as possible, we’re re-broadcasting a particularly informative part of that episode.

Episode 47: Abuse in the church, and other stories

In recent weeks, there’s been a lot of talk in Harrisburg about what the legislature might do to reform statute of limitations laws. It’s a discussion that’s been especially active in the last year, in the wake of a massive report on abuse and cover-ups in the commonwealth’s Roman Catholic dioceses.

We bring you two angles on that this week: a look at some of the people who have used church-provided compensation funds, from WHYY’s Laura Benshoff, and a story explaining why some abuse survivors can’t do that, from WITF’s Brett Sholtis.

We’ll also bring you stories about redistricting, the impact climate change might have on Pennsylvania’s birds, and a new development that affects a contentious proposed constitutional amendment.

Episode 46: Air quality, child abuse, and the Sacklers’ Pa. resort

We take a look at some of our most important stories of the last week.
This week, for your convenience, we have a roundup of the top stories we’ve been following lately.
First, we hear from PA Post reporter Ed Mahon, who traveled to Erie last month to talk to the people who live there about a plant that turns coal into a crucial ingredient for steel manufacturing. It creates a lot of jobs for the area, but also has a long history of air quality violations.
We also looked into an unusual situation that has unfolded in York County, at Roundtop ski mountain. It’s not a big mountain, and it’s known mostly to people in the area. But it’s wrapped in a much bigger story about opioid addiction and some of the people who have profited off it. Brett Sholtis, with WITF’s Transforming Health project, had that story.
Finally, we have a story from Capitol reporter Katie Meyer (the host of this fine podcast) who looked into renewed debate over changing statute of limitations laws to let victims of child sexual abuse sue more easily. The proposed overhaul has a lot of support, but it has always gotten held up in the state Senate—and it’s unclear if that will change.