Brad Bumsted is a state Capitol reporter for the Trib.
Brad Bumsted can be reached via e-mail or at 717-787-1405
Bumsted News Reporting
- Agency: Charters ignore most records requests
- Liquor proposal ripped in hearing
- Charter schools flout open records law, state official tells Senate panel
- Costa forms a wish list for state Supreme Court nominee
- State Supreme Court upholds legislative reapportionment plan
- Poll: Jobs, economy more important to Pa. residents than privatizing state liquor stores
- Senate committee passes $2.5 billion bill for roads, bridges and transit
- Pennsylvania lawmakers consider saving boar preserves
- Metcalfe, others push for bill to make gun bans in state unenforceable
- State FOP chief: Crime would spike without state control of liquor sales
- Scarnati: Senate shaky on privatization; time not on legislation’s side
The Melvin sentence: Judges protecting judges
By Brad BumstedHARRISBURG Inmate number KN1888 at the state correctional institution at Retreat must be slamming weights around in anger at the prison gym where he is said to have a “job.” That inmate would be Howard William DeWeese, otherwise known as …
Lots of holes in Senate liquor hearing arguments
By Brad BumstedHARRISBURG The first Senate hearing on liquor privatization last week was a farce. It was stacked mostly with witnesses who testified that crime will soar …
Break the ‘Groundhog Day’ auditing loop
By Brad BumstedHARRISBURG The annual meeting of the Legislative Audit Advisory Commission reminds me of the time warp that served as a theme of the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day.” Each year, this obscure commission gets together to accept the “independent” annual audit …
A peek inside the Pa. Turnpike Commission
By Brad BumstedHARRISBURG He was a “bully” and the Pennsylvania Turnpike was his “playground.” Those words come directly from a grand jury report last month regarding Raymond …
Playing games with pay to play
By Brad BumstedHARRISBURG With little fanfare, the state House last week unanimously approved a bill that attempts to end the “revolving door” in state contracting. And thanks …
Expect turnpike plea deals
By Brad BumstedThe Turnpike Commission has long been the home of scandals, but nothing in recent history compares to the high-octane corruption case pending against agency officials, …
Attacking Pennsylvania’s culture of corruption
By Brad BumstedHARRISBURG Where else but the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission would there be a requirement that if you see a crime you must report it? It’s like …
What will Corbett have to give up in liquor talks?
By Brad BumstedHARRSBURG If there is a compromise on liquor privatization, it likely will emerge from House-Senate negotiations in June as a “hybrid” plan. A plan creating more private opportunities while maintaining some semblance of the state store system (the hybrid) might …
‘Senator No. 6’ was the real turnpike boss
By Brad BumstedHARRISBURG Senator No. 6 must be laughing wildly in his federal prison cell in Kentucky. A state grand jury report recommended criminal charges against eight …
The best way to rein in the Pa. Legislature: Follow the Constitution
By Brad BumstedHARRISBURG There’s no warrant in the Pennsylvania Constitution allowing state legislators to have taxpayer-paid vehicles. Neither does it say they can receive health or life insurance or $160 per diems when they show up for work. The state charter also …
Happy talk ‘oversight’
By Brad BumstedHARRISBURG After running a TV-oriented campaign and refusing to take questions after a major decision she announced on the state lottery two weeks ago, no …
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