On today’s episode of The Confluence:
Judges in ‘Kids-for-Cash’ scandal ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to plaintiffs
(0:00 - 7:26)
After sending hundreds of juvenile offenders to two privately run detention centers in exchange for $2.8 million in kickbacks, former Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan were convicted and sentenced to prison. Now, as a result of a civil suit, the judges have been ordered to pay more than $200 million in damages.
Children as young as eight were sent to juvenile detention facilities for offenses such as jaywalking, truancy or smoking on school grounds. Michael Rubinkam, a reporter with the Associated Press, says the judge who ordered the settlement criticized these judges.
“He says they abandoned their oath,” Rubinkam says. “He called their actions cruel and despicable. He says they really victimized this vulnerable population of young people.”
Following the scandal, the Pennsylvania state Supreme Court threw out 4,000 juvenile convictions.
PennDOT to build facility for practicing traffic incident response and autonomous vehicles
(7:31 - 14:57)
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced it will be developing a facility in Westmoreland County to test autonomous vehicles and other technologies.
Mark Kopko, director of the Office of Transformational Technology, says in addition to testing self-driving cars, the facility will allow for more realistic incident response training for first responders.
“So far, about 54,00 first responders, about 50% approximately, don't have the appropriate level of traffic incident management training, and those who do [have training] tend to have training for tabletop exercises,” says Kopko. “ So, using matchbox cars on a desktop to actually simulate, ‘this is how you stage, this is how you condition.’ So, having the ability to have hands-on training, it's going to be a game changer potentially here for the Commonwealth.”
Kopko says the department aims to begin initial construction next year, and complete the facility in three years.
Some state Republican lawmakers say there’s precedent for Christianity to be a part of politics
(15:04 - 22:30)
A growing number of Republican lawmakers across the country are calling for Christianity to be explicitly intertwined with government affairs.
One went so far as saying there should no longer be a separation of church and state. The trend has caught on with some in Pennsylvania’s GOP.
WESA’s Sam Dunklau reports how a rally at the state Capitol this summer offers the clearest example of that yet.
The Confluence, where the news comes together, is 90.5 WESA’s daily news program. Tune in Monday to Thursday at 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. to hear newsmakers and innovators take an in-depth look at stories important to the Pittsburgh region. Find more episodes of The Confluence here or wherever you get your podcasts.
