|
A daily newsletter by  |
|
|
|
| PSERS update, death of a hospital, Section 8 waits, power down, 2020 payouts, and what it's like to make 'Philly's best cheesesteak.' |
|
There's new leadership at Pennsylvania's largest pension fund, but some of the problems that dogged the last administration — culminating in several high-profile resignations — have carried over.
The Inquirer reports the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System is still paying lawyers to deal with the fallout of a scandal touched off by an exaggerated profit report and scrutinized land deals.
More than $6 million has been paid already, and ongoing litigation suggests an internal probe that coincided with investigations by federal authorities left some unanswered questions, reporter Joseph N. DiStefano adds.
The PSERS fund is also offloading $1.4 billion in "directly-owned real estate," some of it priced at a loss, but officials wouldn't say how much of the proceeds would go to the agency or how it might be reinvested.
Read The Inquirer's full paywalled report: New PSERS bosses are selling properties and checking miscalculations from the last regime.
THE CONTEXT: After the $70 billion fund botched a crucial financial calculation in 2020, exaggerating investment returns, the FBI launched an investigation, the fund’s board began its own, and 100,000 public school employees suddenly faced paying more into the system.
By June 2021, board dissidents, including former state Treasurer Joe Torsella, were looking to oust the fund's top command and set a new investment strategy that was less expensive and more profitable.
DiStefano reports that as of last Friday, Torsella had resigned his board seat. Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro — who said he favors low-cost index funds over the kind of high-fee private investments PSERS has come to rely on — is now tasked with finding and naming Torsella's replacement.
Find more PSERS scandal coverage in Spotlight PA's archives. |
|
NOTABLE / QUOTABLE
"This is how I want readers to receive my work one day: What you’re holding between your hands, this is it. This is how I survived."
—Abdelrahman ElGendy started recording the abuses of prison life in Egypt; he's now pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree at Pitt
|
|
| PRIMARY PRIMER: Join us next Thursday, April 13 from 6-7 p.m ET via Zoom for a free panel on Pa.’s Supreme Court candidates and why the 2023 election matters. Register here and submit questions to events@spotlightpa.org. |
|
| Elliott C. shared this photo of a Carolina wren singing in Lancaster. Send us your photos by email, use #PAGems on Instagram, or tag us @spotlightpennsylvania. |
|
 CLOSED CARE: The Inquirer (paywall) reports Berwick, Columbia County is without a hospital of its own for the first time in a century. State officials shut down the local ER in September, hastening a planned closure. It's one of five rural Pennsylvania hospitals that have closed since 2005, and it happened so fast that emergency patients are still showing up at its doors only to find them locked.
 SECTION 8: Critics say Pittsburgh's housing authority is prioritizing redevelopment at the expense of a diminished and largely ignored Section 8 voucher program that leaves thousands on waiting lists, PublicSource reports. A former employee said in a complaint that the negligence was fueling an affordable housing crisis. The Office of State Inspector General said it lacks jurisdiction to investigate.
 RGGI MONEY: When Pennsylvania's largest coal-fired power plant announced this week that it's shutting down for good in June, it cited, among other factors, Pennsylvania's possible entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Weeks ago, Gov. Josh Shapiro revealed a budget plan that included $600 million in future revenue from the program, but his office insists his support for entry isn't a given.
 SETTLEMENT FUNDS: Pittsburgh will pay $275,000 to seven people who were gassed and arrested during a 2020 racial justice protest in East Liberty, TribLIVE reports. Philadelphia is paying $9.25 million to protesters and residents who sued over what they deemed excessive force, reckless behavior, and discriminatory policing during 2020's George Floyd-inspired demonstrations there, per Billy Penn.
 TREE OF LIFE: Attorneys for accused Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers are again asking to have the death penalty thrown out in his case, saying the U.S. Department of Justice is arbitrarily seeking the punishment after failing to do so in other attempted mass shooting cases in which Jewish and Latino people were targeted, TribLIVE reports. The trial is set to begin later this month. |
|
NEW LESSONS: Pennsylvania's Department of Education has launched a pilot program to teach K-12 students about the contributions of those with disabilities, hoping to promote inclusivity, Capital-Star reports.
BREATHING EXERCISE: The halls of Allegheny Health Network's West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh are alive with the sound of harmonicas as respiratory patients build their lung capacity with the instruments, via WESA.
BIG WIN: The Inquirer's readers have named Dalessandro’s the best cheesesteak in the city, with nearly a quarter of the vote. Bon Appétit shows you what it's like to work a shift at the Roxborough shop.
HOTEL FIRE: Five people were taken to a hospital after an early morning fire at Coudersport's historic Hotel Crittenden on Wednesday.
LIFE STORY: A registered behavior technician, in an interview with Refinery 29, described "A Week In Lancaster County On A $25,000 Salary." |
|
Unscramble and send your answer to scrambler@spotlightpa.org. We'll shout out winners here, and one each week will get some Spotlight PA swag. Answers submitted by 6 p.m. on issue date will be counted. M U S D O X A T R B I E
Yesterday's answer: Ambulatory
Congrats to our daily winners: Eric F., Don H., John A., Karen W., Susan D., Tracy S., Tom M., Jon W., Jodi R., Becky C., Dianne K., Craig W., Johnny C., Jane R., Vicki U., Susan N.-Z., Barbara F., Kimberly D., Beth T., Kim C., Richard A., Dennis M., Daniel M., Bill S., James B., Sarah B., Keith W., Elaine C., John P., Vanessa J., Stanley J., Elizabeth B., Ada M., and David W. |
|
|
| |
|
