Free Republic

A Pennsylvania school district will keep parents in the dark when it invites children to declare a “gender” that is different from their sex. Greater Johnstown School District in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, created a “gender transition plan” and a “gender support plan” for students. Neither plan requires consent or involvement from parents. The gender transition plan features a section called “Parent/Guardian Involvement.” It asks, “Are guardian(s) of this student aware and supportive of their child’s gender transition?” It goes on to inquire, “If not, what considerations must be accounted for by implementing this plan?” The district also has a “Gender Expansive...

PITTSBURGH -- Darrin Kelly, president of the powerful Allegheny-Fayette County Central Labor Council, says that not one of the Democratic candidates running for president has reached out to him to ask about or listen to what union families in western Pennsylvania are looking for in a nominee to challenge President Donald Trump in November. "Not one," he says abruptly. That omission is obvious in just about every proclamation about the energy sector coming from the mouths of most Democratic candidates, whether it is Sens. Bernie Sanders' and Elizabeth Warren's pledging to ban fracking, or former Vice President Joe Biden's recent...

<p>EBENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A former Pennsylvania pediatrician was sentenced to at least 79 years in prison on Monday for the sexual assault of 31 children, most of them patients, in a case that state medical regulators failed to act on nearly two decades ago.</p>

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told a frenzied crowd of more than 5,000 in Johnstown that polls are swinging in his direction and he's poised to solve a range of problems that he said are ailing Western Pennsylvania and the nation. “We're going to beat the system and we're going to un-rig the system,” Trump said Friday inside Johnstown's Cambria County War Memorial Arena, where most people remained standing, chanting and roaring with applause throughout the 45-minute speech.

Three, three Trump rallies today Fletcher, PA @ noon, Johnstown, PA @ 4 and Newtown, PA @ 7:30pm ET.

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The old newsreel videos of the Johnstown Flood of 1936 are certainly terrifying as residents flee the rising river. The aftermath left a city destroyed with 30,000 homeless. With such carnage apparent, Pennsylvania enacted the Johnstown Flood Tax, a tax on every bottle of alcohol purchased in the state. It was enacted to rebuild the city. “By 1942, they had sufficient funds to rebuild the city,” says State Rep. Jim Marshall, R-Beaver Falls. “And yet the tax continued.” “It continued and it was even expanded,” he says. And that’s the rub. Nearly 70 years after Johnstown was...

Although the late Rep. John Murtha was able to steer tens of millions to build infrastructure and bring military units to the facility, few of the earmarks went into the authority’s operating budget.

JOHNSTOWN — Sadly, for Johnstown Chiefs fans, it’s official. The Chiefs will play in Greenville next season after the ECHL Board of Governors voted unanimously on Wednesday to transfer the home territory of the Chiefs to the South Carolina city. [snip] The news has been heartbreaking to loyal Chiefs fans who have followed the team through 22 ECHL seasons. Johnstown was one of the league’s original five teams and is the only member of that group still playing in the same city. But economic hardships and the declining population in the region contributed to a drop-off in attendance

FBI Investigating Multi-Billion-Dollar Defense Contractor With Tax-Exempt Status In Congressman's HometownCBS News has learned the FBI is investigating a little-known not-for-profit organization called Commonwealth Research Institute. It's located, like a lot of Rep. John Murtha's, D-Penn., pet projects, in his hometown, Johnstown, Penn. Commonwealth gets the same benefits as the Salvation Army or any other charity: It doesn't have to pay taxes. But its line of work may be surprising. It's a defense contractor. "It certainly raises a question," says Dean Zerbe, a former top Senate investigator. He questions Commonwealth's tax exempt status, saying it seems to do business just...

JOHNSTOWN - Television news anchor Chris Matthews is a Boy Scout for life, or rather a Life Boy Scout, and he can prove it. “I was Life, I'll be glad to show you my documentation,” he said, holding up a number of merit badges during the press conference for the 39th Annual Greater Johnstown Partners for Scouting Harry E. Mangle Memorial Dinner. Matthews, widely known as the host of “Hardball with Chris Matthews” on MSNBC, was in Johnstown Thursday as the dinner's keynote speaker. The fundraising event also honored Concurrent Technologies Corp. President and CEO Edward Sheehan Jr. as the...

Obama: Clinton 'can run as long as she wants' TRIBUNE-REVIEW By Salena Zito & David Brown While chatting with reporters in Johnstown today Barack Obama said that Hillary Clinton “can run as long as she wants.” Obama went on to say that Clinton should be able to compete, and her supporters should be able to support her as long as they are willing or able. Obama also said the notion that the party is divided is “somewhat overstated.”

If John Murtha were a businessman, he'd be the biggest employer in this town. The powerful U.S. congressman has used his clout on Capitol Hill to create thousands of jobs and steer billions of dollars in federal spending to help his hometown in western Pennsylvania recover from devastating floods and the flight of its steelmakers. More is on the way. In the massive 2008 military-spending bill now before Congress -- which could go to a House-Senate conference as soon as Thursday -- Mr. Murtha has steered more taxpayer funds to his congressional district than any other member. The Democratic lawmaker...

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. -- The leader of a Muslim center has resigned after telling a newspaper that, in the eyes of the Islamic community, a death sentence was warranted for the best-selling author and critic of radical Islam Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who recently visited the area. Fouad ElBayly said yesterday he had stepped down as imam and president of the Islamic Center of Johnstown. He said the center's board members requested his resignation. The request came in response to Mr. ElBayly's comments about Ms. Hirsi Ali, who spoke April 17 at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown. Mr. ElBayly, a native of Egypt...

  1. Murtha wants to Cut and Run from Iraq. This has already proven deadly for America: Osama bin Laden cites the Cut and Run from Somalia (1993) as the main reason he believed al Qaida could strike the U.S. with impunity. Cut and Run is wrong now in Iraq for the same reasons. read  2. Murtha demoralizes our troops during war with his public statements: read, read  3. Murtha aligns with & accepts awards from radical, anti-military, soldiers-harassing organizations: Code Pink/Murtha photo-op, accepting their award: here MFSO/Murtha photo-op, in Washington, D.C.: here   4. Murtha stonewalls constituents who are...

Today, in Johnstown, BOOT MURTHA!!

Tonight, beginning at 7pm, the welcoming rally was held for the BOOT MURTHA rally in Johnstown Pennsylvania in the Cambria Veterans Memorial on Napolean Street in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

Murtha's GOP foe snubbed By Robert Novak Sunday, September 24, 2006 WASHINGTON The long-shot Republican chance to defeat anti-war Democrat Rep. John Murtha got longer still when Pennsylvania Republican State Chairman Rob Gleason canceled a Monday fundraiser for Murtha's GOP opponent, Washington County Commissioner Diane Irey. Irey's staffers accused Gleason of being too close to Murtha, a fellow resident of Johnstown. They claimed the Republican chairman has been talking down Irey's chances in Republican circles. Irey has reduced Murtha's big lead but still is far behind. "I told her that I spend all my time and effort having fundraisers for...

I attended the annual Conemaugh Valley Friends of the NRA banquet in Johnstown. This fundraiser supports local youth hunting and shooting programs. This year, the event was very interesting. Washington County Commissioner Diana Irey, candidate for Congress, and John Hugya, chief of staff for U.S. Rep. John Murtha, attended. Both Irey and Murtha are longtime Second Amendment advocates. The especialy (sic) interesting part? Attendees cheered every time Irey's name was mentioned and booed every time Murtha's name was mentioned. While I thought it poor taste that Murtha was booed, it begs the question: Why? Why would men and women who...

September 2, 2006 Well, it seems that my briefing have gotten a little behind schedule, and I apologize for that! In self-defense, however, I have to say that things have been hectic. Since the last update, a lot of things have happened, most of which Linda Eddy has already put up on the website. But let me just mention a few things that have happened and are still happening; we are on the MOVE! First, we have confirmed that the Oct. 1st rally will be indoors in a climate-controlled environment—in the Cambria County War Memorial Arena. Next, we have lined...

Fun at FolkFest By RANDY GRIFFITH The Tribune-Democrat The people are the big attraction at Johnstown FolkFest, 12-year-old Tori Karsaba said. “I like giving things out to people, and, like, sharing with them,” Tori said as she presented yet another piece of gob cake at the Community Kitchen booth. As FolkFest music drifted through, Tori and other volunteers were kept busy Saturday evening, feeding the masses in Festival Park. While Tori was enjoying the social aspect, she and her friend Chelsea Meyers, 12, also were helping their church youth group raise money. [What they didn't say was that Diana Irey...