The Butler Soapbox

12/12/2025

They tried their level best, but Cranberry couldn’t surpass Buffalo to regain the crown of most heavily taxed township in the county.

In fact they have fallen 0.5 mills further behind

CRANBERRY TWP — Township supervisors on Thursday, Dec. 11 approved a 2026 budget of nearly $110 million, with a 2.5-mill real estate tax increase that will launch a new Recreational Investment Fund.…

12/12/2025

Horseshoe crabs are now only 6000 years old

The November memo gives park leaders until Dec. 19 to conduct reviews of their stores to ensure all products fall in line with the order.

12/12/2025

The real problem is state sponsorship of private political party primaries. There is no reason taxpayers should be paying for these primaries and deploying the full slate of state electoral mechanisms for what is ultimately a private selection process.

There are an estimated 1.4 million independent voters in Pa.

12/12/2025

Sounds like maybe there is a little sleight of hand going on here-

“On Thursday, King told WESA that after the hearing, he conferred with everyone in his office and “no one used AI to compile this brief.”

But also…

“A third House Republican, Stephenie Scialabba, is one of four lawyers who was originally listed as an attorney on the case, though she did not sign the brief that Wolf flagged Wednesday. According to her LinkedIn page and an online directory, she now works for another Pittsburgh-area firm.”

So are they accurately (but dishonestly) saying “no one at our firm used AI to develop this brief- because the person who used AI to develop the brief is no longer at our firm”?

The case involves a challenge to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission’s application of anti-discrimination protections to transgender students in public schools.

12/11/2025

Those government regulation premiums must have hit hard when he built that big new house with one of them cement ponds!

12/11/2025

King and Breth got a little dressing down by the Bench for what appeared to be an over reliance on AI to develop their legal briefs resulting in a variety of errors and alleged “AI hallucinations”.

Not a great look for the local legal cottage industry of anti-woke outrage in schools.

Attorneys representing the Knoch School District and other plaintiffs argued in court Wednesday, Dec. 10, that the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission circumvented the state legislature by…

12/11/2025

Hell yeah we do!

The City of Pittsburgh’s financial watchdog is calling on state lawmakers to act on property reassessment. News radio KDKA’s Paul Rasmussen has the story.

12/11/2025

Must still have a thing for Doug

Tuesday morning quarterbacks are asking the obvious question - was this intentional?

12/10/2025

What is $1,500 paying for in our current healthcare environment?

Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy and Idaho Senator Mike Crapo unveiled their health care proposal on Monday.

12/10/2025

HERMITAGE – Scheidemantle Motors in Hermitage said Monday it sold the dealership to Butler-based Mike Kelly Automotive.

12/10/2025

DJT Gas Log, Week 46- The Lowest

The Soapbox apologizes for the late entry this week- s**t happens, right?

This week’s entry sees our lowest reading thus far for our gas survey- $3.17. That is down 12 cents from last week’s report.

The AAA gas survey shows an aversge price for PA of almost $3.17. That is down 5 cents from last week, 7 cents from last month and down almkst 10 cents from last year.

For the Pittsburgh region, AAA reports an average of $3.27. That is down almost 4 cents from last monday, down almost 12 cents from November and down 13 cents from 2024.

This is the first time our benchmark station has aligned more closely with the state average than the regional. Wonder if that is going to hold up long term?