Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies (CPS) announced that Jessica I. Monahan — a transportation policy expert who has secured federal funding for a range of nonprofits, local governments, Fortune 100 companies, emerging businesses, and government contractors — has joined its Washington D.C.-based lobbying team as a senior principal.
Pennsylvania’s two-decade-old campaign spending record was recently broken by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro’s campaign. It is estimated that, by election day, the attorney general will have spent approximately ten times as much money as his Republican opponent, State Senator Doug Mastriano. The Associated Press has more.
Nearly 200 family, friends, and admirers gatherers at Shadyside Presbyterian Church on Sunday to celebrate the life and legacy of former Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh. Though the former governor had passed away in December 2020, the public memorial service was postponed due to pandemic restrictions. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has more.
This summer, the Biden Administration made history with the passage of its ambitious Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which will invest hundreds of billions of dollars into climate solutions and environmental justice priorities across the country. While this could have potentially huge implications for Pennsylvania, a state still largely tethered to the fossil fuel industry, state-level politics may hinder the extent to which the funding is able to have a measurable impact in the commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Capital-Star has more.
Sixty-four of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties applied for a share of $45 million in state funding to help cover election costs, including staff salaries, ballot printing, and postage. Now, these counties must prove that their workers processed and counted all mail-in ballots they receive — beginning on election day, without stopping — in order to qualify for their share of the grant money. WITF has more.
Despite attempts by Pennsylvania lawmakers to introduce anti-trans legislation to regulate participation in sports and discussion of gender and sexuality in schools, some of the state’s LGBTQ students — like Ollie Wenditz of Landisville Middle School — have encountered much love and support from their communities and are thriving in their identities as a result. WITF has more on Ollie’s story.
While Pennsylvania’s high-profile U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races have taken up a lot of the spotlight in the months leading up to the midterm election in November, there are also two local ballot questions for Philadelphians to consider. The first will determine whether Philadelphia’s airports will get their own cabinet-level department, allowing for airport officials’ input on budget discussions. The second will determine whether graduates of the Philadelphia school district’s Career and Technical Education program should be given preference — similar to veterans and descendants of Philadelphia firefighters and police officers who died in the line of duty — during the city’s hiring process.
Last Thursday, Philadelphia City Council voted to extend its nationally lauded eviction diversion program through June 2024. The program, which was initially created in 2020 as an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic, allows for landlords and tenants to settle disputes outside of court and has reduced the number of evictions in the city by 75 percent. The Philadelphia Tribune has more.
Last week, Wawa announced that it would be closing two more of its Center City stores due to “safety and security concerns.” However, amid a fair amount of concern over the implications of these closures, some city officials — including Mayor Jim Kenney and Center City District President and CEO Paul Levy — are pushing back on the narrative that Center City is becoming unsafe, citing outside trends that may have played a role in Wawa’s decision. The Philadelphia Inquirer has more.
After two weeks of striking, unionized staff members at the Philadelphia Museum of Art have reached a contract agreement with museum management which includes salary and hourly wage increases, longevity pay increases, and improvements to benefits such as parental leave and assistance with health insurance costs. The Philadelphia Inquirer has more.
According to U.S. Census data, Pittsburgh’s housing stock is the nation’s third oldest, with approximately half of all homes having been constructed before 1940. Some attribute the city’s blight and increased crime rates to the state of disrepair that many of these homes are in. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has more.
Longtime Democratic State Representative Tony DeLuca, who passed away last week after a brief battle with lymphoma, is still on the November ballot. This begs the question: What happens if he wins posthumously? The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has more.
In July 2021, Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure announced a two-year pilot program of Move PGH, which aims to improve accessibility of newer modes of transportation, such as e-scooters, car-share services, and mopeds. Now a year in, the Department has released its mid-pilot report, which highlights the program’s positive outcomes thus far. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has more.
As Republicans and Democrats battle it out with just weeks of campaigning left before election day, Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, Patrick Martin, Towner French, and Kaitlyn Martin break down the electoral map and discuss the impact of the last January 6 Committee hearing. Listen to the episode here.
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Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, an affiliate of the international law firm Cozen O’Connor, is a bipartisan government relations practice representing clients before the federal government and in cities and states throughout the country. With offices in Washington D.C., Richmond, Albany, New York City, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Chicago, and Santa Monica, the firm’s public strategies professionals offer a full complement of government affairs services, including legislative and executive branch advocacy, policy analysis, assistance with government procurement and funding programs, and crisis management. Its client base spans multiple industries, including healthcare, transportation, hospitality, education, construction, energy, real estate, entertainment, financial services, and insurance.
Established in 1970, Cozen O’Connor has over 775 attorneys who help clients manage risk and make better business decisions. The firm counsels clients on their most sophisticated legal matters in all areas of the law, including litigation, corporate, and regulatory law. Representing a broad array of leading global corporations and middle-market companies, Cozen O’Connor serves its clients’ needs through 31 offices across two continents.
April 24, 2024
April 24, 2024
April 23, 2024
