Porngate Could Stifle Pa. Court Reforms

PA. Supreme Court | Nagel Photography / Shutterstock.com

Good morning, Philadelphia. Here’s what you need to know today.

The Porngate controversy (and other problems)  could short-circuit the effort to extend the careers of Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices.

Justices are currently required to retire at 70. A measure expected to hit the 2016 ballot would extend the retirement age to 75 — but experts now wonder if voters will be in the mood, given recent court shenanigans, of which Porngate looms largest.  “Generally, you would think with the aging of the population, oh, what’s another five years?” said Terry Madonna, Franklin & Marshall College pollster. “Now with this anti-establishment mood, and then you have all the controversy with the Supreme Court and the attorney general.” (NewsWorks)

The state budget impasse has gone on so long, counties are starting to keep money they’re supposed to send to Harrisburg.

Bucks County commissioners “ may keep up to $5 million a month that county offices routinely forward to state coffers in the way of real estate transfer taxes and court fees.” Lancaster County officials are already doing the same. Why? To punish the state for failing to pass a budget — due originally in June, now not expected until after Thanksgiving. Why send the state the cash when the state is so far behind in funding local services? “We need to do something,” one official said. “The budget needs to get passed some how, some way.” (Lancaster Online)

Without the passage state budget, it’s looking more likely the swank Pennsylvania Society gala in New York will be full of no-shows.

There have been some rumblings about this for the last month or so, and those rumblings are getting louder. “Lawmakers don’t want to be spotted partying at swanky hotel receptions while schools and nonprofits struggle to stay afloat without state funding during a budget stalemate that reached its 146th day Monday. The New York City gala culminates with a dinner at the Waldorf Astoria, this year honoring former Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell on Dec. 12,” Brad Bumsted writes. Larry Ceisler, principal of Ceisler Media and Issues Advocacy, thinks a party might not be a bad thing for the warring sides: “If the governor and legislative leaders were away from Harrisburg,” Ceisler said, “they might have a chance of working out a budget.” (TribLive)

Two students with Philadelphia connections have been named Rhodes Scholars.

One is Rivka Hyland, a Philadelphia native who attends Harvard University majoring in Islamic studies. The other: Jennifer Hebert, a University of Pennsylvania senior. She is a varsity oarswoman and national team member. The awards cover all expenses for up to three years of study at Oxford University in England. (CBS3)

Did a kiss from Pope Francis help to heal a Philadelphia girl?

Joe and Kristen Masciantonio say a tumor in the brain of the their 1-year-old daughter, Gianna, has shrunk significantly since she received a blessing from Pope Francis during his Philadelphia visit in September. The encounter took place after the pope’s Independence Hall address; the couple were tipped off to his exit route by a “sympathetic FBI agent.” After the blessing, Joe said, “scans showed that a troublesome tumor … shrank significantly after rounds and rounds of surgeries and chemotherapy, to the point where it’s ‘basically gone.’” “The miracle is all the people who prayed,” Joe Masciantonio said. “The pope is just the messenger that God heard.” (Philly.com)

Other Philly headlines today:

In A City With Strong Ties To Syria, Refugee Crisis Stirs Debate

Eagles Fan Nails $20K Field Goal at Halftime

Philadelphia Orchestra not out of the woods yet

Three changes coming to Penn campus following the AAU sexual assault survey