Philadelphia City Council passed three bills Thursday to bolster protections for transgender and gender non-conforming citizens. 
 
Councilmember Helen Gym (D-At Large) introduced the legislation in September, which includes plans for new gender-neutral bathrooms in city buildings, new policies for dealing with youth, and new definitions of gender identity and sexual orientation for discrimination purposes. These protections come as federal regulations are being weakened.

Nine candidates, including Rep. Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon) and Lebanon County District Attorney Dave Arnold, are confirmed to be seeking the GOP nomination for the central Pennsylvania Senate seat vacated by the resignation of former Sen. Mike Folmer last month.

Diamond announced his candidacy Wednesday morning and an additional four candidates have been confirmed as of this morning, Lebanon County Republican Party Chair Casey Arnold said. 

The Senate Judiciary Committee convened Wednesday the first hearing in years to examine the state’s statute of limitations to allow victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue the institutions which shielded their abusers, although it is unclear whether the meeting signals a sea change within the chamber.

The hearing comes as new Senate Judiciary chair Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Monroe) says she is exploring action on the matter. Victim advocates praised the fact that multiple panels of sexual abuse survivors were featured but it remains to be seen whether their advocacy will push the Senate to take action after the House passed a two-bill package in the spring.

Former presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein traveled to Philadelphia Wednesday to appear before a federal judge, seeking enforcement of the 2018 settlement that would supposedly change the way votes were counted in Pennsylvania and otherwise.
 
Stein was lead plaintiff in the 2016 Stein v Cortes case, seeking remedy and recount over the 2016 presidential election. The settlement two years later created new guidelines for machines, notably that they must be verifiable, auditable, and have paper ballots. 

Could marijuana be coming to a liquor store near you?

In what would be a nationwide first, Pennsylvania lawmakers on Wednesday unveiled legislation to legalize marijuana for sale through the state liquor store system, an effort that supporters say will pad the state’s General Fund with an influx of new revenue.