Republican freshman state Sen. Jarrett Coleman, whose district includes parts of Lehigh and Bucks counties, called Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro “a snake” for reneging on a handshake agreement with Senate Republicans to include a school voucher scholarship program in the 2023-24 budget.

The budget signing is now at an impasse with both houses of the General Assembly on summer break. Appearing on a Lehigh Valley radio interview program, Coleman lambasted Shapiro for his flip-flop, saying, “How do you negotiate with that person in the future, and when that is your governor, someone you should be able to trust? Their word should matter. I don’t care what their politics are. I don’t care what you believe in, but it comes down to morals and ‘Pennsylvania values.’ This is now a huge, huge issue.”

Shapiro supports school vouchers and originally agreed with Republicans to include it in the budget, but fellow Democrats balked forcing Shapiro to retreat.

Shapiro said he didn’t want to delay the budget process, adding that he would save the voucher fight for another time.

Improving internet access

Back in the spring, U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., convened a roundtable of White House and U.S. Treasury officials and local leaders from Weatherly to underscore the need for reliable, affordable high-speed broadband internet in locales such as the northern Carbon County borough where reception is spotty.

Wild reported last week that $1.6 billion has been approved for Pennsylvania to improve and expand broadband internet access, and she pointed to the bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress last year as having made it possible.

“An estimated 15% of Pennsylvania lacks high-speed internet, including communities in our district,” Wild said. The 7th District she represents includes Carbon, Northampton, Lehigh and several West End municipalities in Monroe. Wild said she has heard from constituents in rural communities in the district about how detrimental it is to have slow, spotty or nonexistent internet connections because it causes a major impact on them and their businesses.

Pa. cities moving up the list

Little did I suspect that we Pennsylvania retirees are living in Paradise, but this was confirmed when U.S. News and World Reports issued its list of the 10 best cities in the United States to retire to. Five of the 10 cities are located in the Keystone State, including top-rated Lancaster and runner-up Harrisburg. The other three are: York (5th), Allentown (9th) and Reading (10th). In the past, Florida dominated the rankings with eight of the Top 10 spots. Florida still places nine of the Top 25 places.

Researchers evaluated the top 150 metro areas, assigning them scores based on a weighted average of points earned across the following six categories: Housing affordability (24%), resident happiness (22%), health care quality (16%), retiree tax rates (16%), desirability (13%) and job opportunities (9%).

31 days as chief executive

This year is the sesquicentennial of the birth of the 9th President of the United States, William Henry Harrison, whose dubious distinction is having served the shortest tenure of any of our 45 chief executives - a mere 31 days. Born in 1773, Harrison died on April 4, 1841, in our nation’s capital. Back then presidents were inaugurated on March 4 instead of today’s Jan. 20. He was the paternal grandfather of Benjamin Harrison, our 23rd President.

You may remember the campaign slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too.” “Tippecanoe” is a reference to the elder Harrison leading U.S. forces to victory over the Tecumsah Confederacy in 1811 at Tippecanoe, Indiana, while “Tyler” refers to Harrison’s Vice President John Tyler, who became president upon Harrison’s death. Harrison visited Easton as a Whig party candidate on Oct. 1, 1836, stayed overnight at White’s Hotel, then went to Bethlehem where he stayed at the Eagle Hotel, site of present day Hotel Bethlehem.

Harrison also made brief campaign stops in Pottsville and Allentown. Harrison lost the 1836 election to Martin Van Buren but succeeded four years later.

Eye-opening story

I admit to being flabbergasted after reading a story last week about a Shamokin area family that performs in drag at area events most every weekend. According to The Associated Press report, members of the Daniels family are hosting sold-out bingo fundraisers at the Nescopeck Township Volunteer Fire Co.’s social hall. Instead of protests, which would have been going on in many other areas, the report said that the venues are “packed with people of all ages howling with laughter and singing along, or they’re lighting up local blue-collar bars and restaurants with Mimosas & Heels Drag Brunches for bridal parties, members of the military, families and friends.”

Then came this observation: “In a string of towns running along a coal seam, the sparkle of small-town drag queens and kings colors a way of life rooted in soot, family and a conservative understanding of the world.” Having grown up in the coal regions, I had trouble believing this. Maybe things have changed since I was a kid growing up a long time ago in Summit Hill, but if someone showed up in drag, he or she would have been called names I can’t repeat in a family newspaper, and there likely would have been some physical consequences, too.

By BRUCE FRASSINELLI| tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.