Senator Vogel Notes “Dairy Month” in Pennsylvania

Speaking on the floor of the Senate, Senator Elder Vogel, Chairman of the Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee, today (June 15) discussed Senate Resolution 141, his legislation marking June 2021 as “Dairy Month” in Pennsylvania.

“Nationally, Pennsylvania ranks second in terms of the number of dairy farms in the state and seventh in total milk production. As Pennsylvania’s largest agricultural industry, the Commonwealth’s dairy industry has long been an integral part of our community and our economy,” he said. “As testament to that fact, 99 percent of dairy farms here in Pennsylvania are family-owned and, as a whole, the industry supports 52,000 jobs, and contributes $14.7 billion to the state’s economy.”

(Beaver, Pa.) The Trial for Sheldon Jeter Jr is continuing in Beaver County Court . Testimony from investigators and experts on Tuesday focused on Jeter’s car and his bedroom as they made their case against Jeter in the murder of his friend and roommate Tyric Pugh on May 15, 2020.

An expert testified that the car, that was processed for evidence after the shooting, had gunshot residue inside of it.
The car was seen on video driving near the murder scene around the time of the shooting.

The second area of focus was Jeter’s bedroom where investigators said they found a gun under his mattress matching the same caliber as the shell casings found at the scene.
There were also boxes of ammo with missing bullets, some, not all of which were the same brand found on the scene.
Jeter’s defense on cross-examination did note that no gunshot residue was found on Jeter’s hand when they tested it a day after the shooting.

They’ve also continued raising questions about the chain of custody of Jeter’s vehicle when it was processed by state police.

The trial continues this week in Beaver County Court.

Panel OKs House GOP bill to ban employer vaccine mandates
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A ban on employers mandating vaccines for their workers is inching ahead in the state House Tuesday. The House Labor and Industry Committee on Tuesday voted on party lines, with support from all Republicans and united opposition by Democrats. The committee’s Republican chairman says lawmakers are responding to increasing reports that employers are requiring vaccines, forcing some workers to choose between the vaccine or losing a job. The bill would let workers or prospective workers avoid workplace mandated vaccinations by putting into writing their objections. They include that a doctor has concerns it might harm their health or that they have religious or “strong moral or ethical” convictions against a vaccine.

Republican election bill pushed ahead over Dems’ objections
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A multifaceted proposal to revamp Pennsylvania election law is moving ahead in the state House in the form of a bill that backers say will make needed improvements and standardize procedures. Democrats on the State Government Committee were dead set against it Tuesday. They insist that many of its purported upgrades are unworkable or would, in practice, make voting more difficult. The vote to advance it to the House floor was on party lines. The bill’s prime sponsor sees it as a way to ensure security around elections and rebuild trust, along with modernizing procedures. His proposal would change deadlines, adopt new rules for early voting, alter mail-in ballot procedures and mandate IDs for in-person voters.

Mixed drinks to-go legislation in peril in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf is suggesting that he’ll veto a bill that would allow thousands of retailers with licenses to sell beer and wine to begin selling cans of mixed hard alcohol drinks to-go. Wolf’s office said Tuesday he supports the original intent of the bill: to allow hotels, restaurants and bars to continue making mixed hard alcohol drinks and selling them in to-go containers. Legislation signed by Wolf last year legalized those drinks as a way for hotels, bars and restaurants hit hard by COVID-19 restrictions to make extra money. But Republican lawmakers inserted provisions expanding the sale of mixed drinks in cans that Wolf opposes.