Pennsylvania’s top election official announced her resignation after the agency made a mistake that will delay a statewide vote on whether survivors of decades-old sexual abuse should be able to sue the perpetrators and institutions that covered up the crimes.

Secretary Kathy Boockvar resigned Friday, , Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday. Her resignation came after officials discovered the Department of State did not advertise, as required, the amendment to the state constitution that would open a two-year window for litigation by survivors of child sexual abuse who have aged out of the statute of limitations.

That means Pennsylvanians would not be able to vote on the change until spring 2023 at the earliest. The goal originally was to place the question on this spring’s primary ballot.

‘Silence of the Lambs’ house sells

The Fayette County home made famous in the movie “The Silence of the Lambs” sold for $290,000, according to Zillow data.

The Perryopolis home, located at 8 Circle St., sold last week, just days before the 30th anniversary of the release of “The Silence of the Lambs” on Feb. 14, 1991. In the film, the three-story house was home to serial killer Buffalo Bill.

The new owners have not been identified.

Scott and Barbara Lloyd purchased the five-bedroom home in 1976, owning it until 2016 when they sold it to former FBI agent David Villarreal for $195,000. Villarreal put the house on the market for $298,500 in the fall.

Educational emergency

A Pittsburgh councilman moved forward with an effort to address what he terms “a state of educational emergency” in the public school system.

The legislation was introduced by Councilman Ricky Burgess because of the covid pandemic and systemic racism. The resolution calls for the school district to reinstitute in-person instruction, starting with elementary students, as soon as possible.

The school board last week voted to delay a return to in-person learning until April 6 because of coronavirus concerns, but Burgess has cited studies that show students have fallen behind in their studies while learning remotely. The district, for the most part, has stayed with remote learning for most of the school year.

In response to the legislation, school board President Sylvia Wilson said Pittsburgh Public Schools is not the only district facing the emergency wrought by the coronavirus pandemic.

Covid-19 vaccines

Walmart and Sam’s Club will begin offering covid-19 vaccines at select pharmacies beginning next week.

Five local Sam’s Club stores — located in the Pittsburgh Mills shopping are in Frazer, Hempfield, Monroeville, Trinity Point and West Mifflin — are among participating locations.

Sam’s Club will follow state eligibility requirements. With its limited vaccine supply, Pennsylvania is currently prioritizing people 65 and older and others with certain health conditions, along with health care workers and residents in long-term care facilities.

Iron City Beer

The Latrobe brewery once home to Rolling Rock beer in its classic green bottles is poised to lose another iconic local brew: Iron City Beer.

Pittsburgh Brewing Co. announced plans to make its popular lager at a former glass plant in East Deer, meaning the company will move production from the City Brewing Co. plant in Latrobe to its own facility to be built at the shuttered PPG glass plant along the Allegheny River sometime next year.

The company’s six flagship beers — Iron City, IC Light, IC Light Mango, Old German Premium Lager, American and American Light, and Block House Brewing Summer Break — now made in Latrobe will be produced at the new facility, Pittsburgh Brewing spokeswoman Anna Angotti said.

Wisconsin-based City Brewing has been producing Iron City beer since 2009, when Pittsburgh Brewing Co. closed its brewery in Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood after 148 years.

Wolf’s proposed budget

Gov. Tom Wolf proposed a budget to the General Assembly that includes a $1.3 billion investment in public schools that would come from shifting school funding away from its reliance on local property taxes and instead pull from adjusted income tax levels.

Wolf proposed using the “fair funding formula” created in 2016 by a bipartisan commission to determine more basic education funding. Though enacted five years ago, the formula has been used for only 11% of state school funding, meaning that both rural and urban districts aren’t funded enough to meet the needs of their students, Wolf said.

The formula will determine how to distribute $6.2 billion (compared to $700 million last year), as well as a $200 million increase this year. In total, Wolf’s plan directs $6.4 billion in state funding to schools through the formula, and an additional $1.15 billion will be dedicated to ensuring “no school loses a single dollar in state resources from using the formula.”

The increased funding relies on an increased income tax of 4.49% – but only for Pennsylvania’s wealthiest 33%, Wolf said. He said 27% of residents would see no changes in income taxes, and 40% would see a decrease.

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