How Gov. Wolf answered your questions

• Ed Mahon
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  Ed Mahon comes to Spotlight PA from PA Post, where he covered state politics and policy, produced radio stories that were broadcast on public media stations throughout the state and on NPR’s national newscasts, and co-wrote a weekday newsletter. Prior to joining PA Post, Ed worked for six years as an investigative and political reporter for the York Daily Record, part of the USA Today Network. His reporting on failures in Pennsylvania’s system for protecting domestic abuse victims was a finalist in the national 2018 Livingston Awards for Young Journalists in the local reporting category. He was also part of a team whose coverage of the criminal justice system, including the aggressive use of civil asset forfeiture by York County prosecutors, received the 2018 G. Richard Dew Award for Journalistic Service from the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association. Before joining the York Daily Record, Ed covered K-12 education at the Centre Daily Times in State College and worked as a stringer for suburban sections of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He grew up in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

 Joanne Cassaro / WITF

Gov. Tom Wolf listens to a question during an interview at WITF Public Media Center in Dauphin County on June 20, 2019.

The highlights

Joanne Cassaro / WITF

Gov. Tom Wolf listens to a question during an interview at WITF Public Media Center in Dauphin County on June 20, 2019.

• “They are pursuing a pretty smart tactic,” Gov. Tom Wolf said of the Republicans who want to get rid of a program that offers small amounts of cash to certain poor people. In a nearly party-line vote Wednesday, the House passed a bill to eliminate the program. But the same bill included something Wolf wants: Money for Philly hospitals.

• Should teachers and administrators in Pennsylvania schools be allowed to carry guns? No, Wolf said. He suggested it was a different situation for “people who have been trained in gun ownership and firearms, whose job it is to protect the safety of the schools, to carry firearms.” But, he added “they need to be trained. I think the random arming of civilians is not a good idea.”

• Joe Biden, the former vice president who was born in Scranton, received an early endorsement from U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. But Wolf says he won’t be endorsing in the Democratic presidential primary. “I have not made a choice, and I won’t,” Wolf said. “I will come out for the winner, the ultimate winner after the convention, and support him or her to the utmost of my ability.”

Best of the rest

Matt Rourke / AP Photo

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross speaks with members of the media during a news conference in Philadelphia, Wednesday, June 19, 2019.

• In Philly, 72 police officers have been pulled off their regular duties while authorities investigate offensive social media posts, NPR’s Bobby Allyn reports. The action is the latest fallout from a review of thousands of Facebook accounts of officers around the U.S.

• A recent study from Penn State’s Center for Economic and Community Development looks at the employment picture in the state over 10 years. There was job growth in the southeastern and central parts of the state. And there were declines in the West, North and Northeast.

• In a four-episode podcast last year, WHYY’s Kevin McCorry told the story of educator Jovan Weaver, who overcame a traumatic childhood and was trying to create an elementary school good enough for his own children to attend. Weaver is back in the news for, as Kevin puts it, “an awful reason.” The former principal is charged with vehicular homicide and evidence tampering.