The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania • A4

THE MORNING CALL NEWS 4 THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2016 Trump tops one poll, Clinton another PENNSYLVANIA POLLS Results indicate Pa. again likely to be a swing state. By Dale Shoemaker and Laura Olson Of The Morning Call If Pennsylvania is considered a swing state in presidential elections, two polls on Wednesday suggest the state is living up to its reputation. On Wednesday morning, a new Quinnipiac University poll placed Republican Donald Trump ahead of Hillary Clinton by two percentage points. The poll was Trump's first lead over the Democratic candidate in Pennsylvania since the end of the primaries.

Yet by Wednesday afternoon, an NBCWSJMarist poll put Clinton ahead of Trump by nine points, a lead that had shrunk a bit since the group's April poll but still commanding. The 11-point spread between the Quinnipiac and NBCWSJMarist poll left some pollsters and voters scratching their heads over stark contrast. "I can't believe the polls are that close. I can't believe Trump would ever be president," voter Charles Dalui-sio, 70, of Bethlehem said as he stood on a sidewalk in downtown Allentown on Wednesday. In the Quinnipiac poll, Trump led Clinton 43 to 41 percent.

Clinton led Trump 45 to 36 percent in the NBSWSJMarist poll. For the latter poll, though, Clinton's lead had shrunk. It had placed her ahead of Trump by IS points in April. Quinnipiac surveyed 982 self-identified registered voters from June 30 to July 11, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The NBCWSJ Marist poll surveyed 829 registered voters between July 5 and 10, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

The new poll results come a day after Clinton's primary rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, stood with her to offer his endorsement Some of Sanders' convention delegates and other supporters in the Lehigh Valley said they're ready to back the party's nominee, while others detailed concerns that have left them considering a third-party candidate. The two polls captured voters as FBI Director James Comey said Clinton was "extremely careless" in her use of private email servers while she served as secretary of state, but did not recommend the Justice Department criminally charge According to Quinnipiac's numbers, 49 percent of Pennsylvanians thought Trump was more honest and trustworthy compared with 34 percent for Clinton. Respondents in Pennsylvania also thought Trump would be a stronger leader compared with Clinton by a margin of 50 to 42 percent. In the NBCWSJMarist poll, voters said Trump was more trustworthy than Clinton by a margin of 40 to 35 percent But the trustworthy issue couldn't account for the difference in the poll results.

Borick suggested differences in poll methodology could account for the variability. One explanation for the difference in the two polls could be the percentage of Republicans and Democrats each surveyed. About 35 percent of each poll's sample were Democrats, but Quinnipiac's sample included 34 percent Republicans while NBCWSJ Marist's sample included 30 percent Republicans. About 25 percent of Quinnipiac's sample identified as independent, compared with 35 percent of NBCWSJMarist's sample. For state-level general election polls, groups like Quinnipiac and Marist typically aim to survey around 1,000 people because that sample size allows for quick turnaround and provides enough data for pollsters to flesh out various parts of the electorate.

Both polls used random phone calls to collect their samples and then weighted them against census data Doug Schwartz, Quinnipiac's executive director, said that method is the industry standard and the one his group has used for the last 20 years. In Quinnipiac's poll, voters said Clinton is more intelligent, more prepared, has higher moral standards, and would be better on immigration or handling an international crisis, while Trump would be a stronger leader, would be better against ISIS and would create more jobs. If Trump were to win Pennsylvania, it would be the first time since 1988 that a Republican presidential candidate would do so. Still, it's among roughly 17 states where the Trump campaign intends to focus its efforts. Democrats appear to have been organizing aggressively, touting over 100 staffers on the ground as of June and coordination efforts between Clinton's campaign and local officials.

Clinton's campaign is hosting a series of events across Pennsylvania focused on unifying Clinton and Sand ers supporters. An event was planned in Emmaus on Wednesday night Some county GOP officials say they've heard little so far from the Trump campaign, leaving them without signs or stickers or information for those seeking to volunteer for Trump. They suggest broader get-out-the-vote efforts may be coming after the party convention next week in Cleveland. Trump's state director did not return messages. Pennsylvania GOP Chairman Rob Gleason says the state party will be handling much of the logistical efforts, emphasizing he's talked with Trump about the importance of visiting Pennsylvania and that "he agreed." For other voters in the Lehigh Valley, the FBI report last week solidified the partisan divide.

Those who already favored Clinton weren't swayed and those who favored Trump became more sure they would never vote for the Democratic candidate. "Hillary dug herself in with these scams," said Joe Opielski, a 56-year-old Trump supporter from Allentown. "She's a bona fide criminal as far as I'm concerned. Trump would be a refreshing change to this republic." Quinnipiac 42 41 June 8-19 June 8-19 41 43 June30-July11 June30-July11 NBCWSJMarist 54 39 April 18-20 April 18-20 45 36 July 5-9 July 5-9 her. Several pollsters cited Co-mey's July 5 critique of Clinton as a central reason for her losing ground this month.

"She didn't have a great week during this poll, and Trump was more on message and more off prompter," Quinnipiac analyst Tim Malloy said. Chris Borick, a pollster and political science professor at Muhlenberg College, said the FBI's report suggested that Clinton wasn't as capable of making decisions as she had claimed and undermined a key pillar of her campaign. That report could explain why she was down in the Quinnipiac poll, he said. Woman in protest photo is from Coal Region "I'll catch her once in a while in the mornings," Luciano said. "She'll say and I'll say Thaf pretty much it" Friends and strangers alike praised Evans on Facebook and Twitter for her courage.

Some called her actions a "Tiananmen Square moment," a reference to the unidentified man who stood in front of a column of tanks after the Chinese military suppressed the protests in Beijing in 1989. Others compared her unflmching stand to Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat at the front of a segregated bus. Evans was released by the Baton Rouge police Sunday after being held overnight According to Reuters, the East Baton Rouge sheriffs office's records show she was booked on a charge of simple obstruction of a highway. She was one of 102 people arrested during the protests. Evans responded to friends' concerns about her well-being in a Facebook post late Sunday.

"I just need you people to know. I appreciate the well wishes and love, but this is die work of God. I am a vessel! Glory to the most high!" she posted. "I'm glad I'm alive and safe. And that there were no casualties that I have witnessed firsthand." The Morning Call contributed to this report.

By David Singleton Of the (Scranton) Times Tribune DUNMORE The young woman whose arrest at a Black Lives Matter protest in Baton Rouge, La, was captured in a now iconic photograph lives on a quiet street in the Lackawanna County borough. leshia Evans, 27, stood alone in a sleeveless long dress in the middle of a Baton Rouge street Saturday, staring straight ahead with her arms folded, when a photographer for the Reuters news service snapped her photo just as two heavily armored police officers moved forward to detain her. The striking image went viral, taming Evans into the face of the protests that erupted nationwide in the wake of police shootings of black men in Baton Rouge and Falcon Heights, Minn. On Tuesday, local, national and international media converged outside Evans' home on Terrace Street, hoping to speak with her. No one answered the door at her apartment, one of three units in an unassuming two-story house with gray siding.

Letters and at least one parcel protruded from her mailbox on the front porch. A vehicle neighbors identified as belonging to Evans was parked out front However, her whereabouts remained a urn MAX BECHERERAP A protester later identified as Lackawanna County resident leshia Evans is grabbed by police officers in riot gear Saturday after she refused to leave the road in front of the Baton Rouge, police headquarters. A photo taken from a different angle by a Reuters photographer went viral after the protest. mystery, much like the woman herself Multiple news reports said she is the mother of a 5 -year-old son, and she identified herself on her Facebook page as a licensed practical nurse, although it was unclear where she works. Her neighbors described her as friendly but knew little about her background, saying they mostly see her in passing.

Jamie Luciano, who has an apartment directly across the street, said Evans has lived on Terrace Street for at least three years. SANDS PENNSYLVANIA'S UNDERAGE GAMBLING PROBLEM The state has now fined every casino in the state for serving people under 21 Number Cumulative of fines fine amount Casino web page. The page at already links to a gaming board site that include the photos of 130 youths, mixed in with photos of another 400 offenders. While the gaming control board pushed voting on the Sands decree back until August, it did approve a consent decree that includes a $10,000 fine against Valley Forge Casino for allowing an 18-year-old woman onto the casino floor, where she was served nine drinks over 2V2 hours. It's not for a lack of trying to stop it, Sands Casino CEO Mark Juliano said.

Sands, which was last fined in January, has upgraded the hand-held machines guards use to read ID cards, adopted a policy that everyone who looks younger than 30 be carded, and installed a plan of training, discipline and termination for guards who let people under 21 slip through. Most recently, Sands replaced the old rope-style barriers that funnel people into an entrance chute at the casino floor with hard fencing that is more difficult to jump and impossible to climb under. "Nobody wants underage gamblers on their floor. It's not good for anybody," Juliano said. "We're aggressive in working toward 100 percent elimination, but when humans are involved there's always going to be a few that get past" Merely trying to get past the guard is not a crime and Sands turns away thousands of people every year.

Harbach noted that in some cases, it's an honest mistake. While Pennsylvania allows people 18 or older to buy lottery tickets and bet on horse races, the legal age to gamble in casinos is 2L Those under 21 who make it to the casino floor can be charged if they're caught ordering a drink or gambling. A few sneak around the barriers and some have fake IDs so good they beat even the newest card-readers. But the most common way around the guard is one sibling or friend passing their ID to someone who resembles them "The board recognizes that it can be difficult to stop," said Richard McGarvey, a Gaming Control Board spokesman. "But we also expect the casino to work hard to stop it.

It's a serious problem that no one takes lightly." The good news about the new campaign is that it is not funded by taxpayers, Harbach said. The entire $250,000 price tag comes from money confiscated from the ill-gotten winnings of people arrested on the casino floor. The bad news is that there is a question whether this campaign is finding its way to the young wannabe gamblers that are its target Its Twitter account, opened in April, has just 19 followers. $370,000 $341,000 $282,000 $261,000 $190,500 $156,500 $150,000 $117,500 $95,000 $90,000 $62,000 $7,500 Mount Airy, 4 Monroe County Sands, Bethlehem 6 Mohegan Sun, 8 Wilkes-Barrearea Rivers, Pittsburgh 5 Harrah's, Chester 8 Hollywood, Grantville 7 Parx, Bensalem 8 Valley Forge 5 Meadows, 4 near Pittsburgh SugarHouse, 2 Philadelphia Presque Isle, Erie 2 Nemacolin, Farmington 1 Continued from NEWS 1 separate incidents this year. So, if the gaming board approves the consent decree next month, Sands will pay a fine its seventh for the same maddening problem.

It has already paid $341,000 in previous fines, but it's far from alone in its frustration. Pennsylvania has doled out $2.2 million in underage fines, hitting every casino at least once. "The board has seen this flourish year after year," said Doug Harbach, a Gaming Control Board spokesman. "It's given board members enough concern to launch a campaign designed to let these young people know exactly what they'll be facing if they do it" The $250,000 What's Really at Stake campaign is primarily a web page explaining to under-21 gamblers the consequences, and an updated set of rules to back it up. Included in those rules is a criminal record for underage gambling, fines and a ban from all Pennsylvania casinos that the offender won't be able to request be lifted until after their 22nd birthday.

Perhaps the biggest deterrent will be their mug shots and arrest details placed on the Source: Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Does not include pending fine scheduled for approval in August CRAIG LARIMERTHE MORNING CALL "It's become very clear to me that while this revenue package is not the best, it is the best Harrisburg can do, at least today. And the alternative, not to do our job, is unacceptable to me." State Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Montgomery said. "Wolf boxed them in, put them against the ropes." The tax package revolves around a $l-per-pack tax increase on cigarettes, to $2.60 per pack. It would extend the state's 6 percent sales tax to digital downloads of music, videos, games, books and apps, and make Pennsylvania the last state to impose a tax on smokeless tobacco.

Gambling plays a big role in the package, including $100 million from pending legislation that would make Pennsylvania the fourth state to legalize casino-style gambling on the internet, most of the money coming from lucrative one-time license fees. That bill has stalled amid disagreements between the House and Senate, but is expected to come up again in the fall. The grab bag of tax legislation also would include higher taxes on banks and an extension of wholesale taxes to roll-your-own tobacco and electronic cigarettes, including vapor devices and liquid unacceptable to me." The House also made the final votes to direct hundreds of millions of dollars to Pittsburgh, Perm State, Temple, Lincoln and the University of Pennsylvania's veterinary school. The midsummer scramble came after Wolf allowed a $31 billion spending bill to become law at midnight Monday for the 2016-17 fiscal year that started July He did so despite closed-door tax negotiations that had yet to bear fruit and lackluster tax collections that were projected to leave the budget bill out of balance by hundreds of millions of dollars. That raised questions about its legality and drew a swift warning by credit ratings agency Standard Poor's that Pennsylvania's already battered bond rating could suffer.

The tax vote came after a fight over Wolf's first budget resulted in a record-long stalemate. Wolf bowed to a Republican-penned budget that rejected every cent of a $4.5 billion tax increase that Wolf had BUDGET Continued from NEWS 1 ring revenue that makes significant progress toward reducing our structural deficit," Wolf said in a statement. The tax bill passed the House, 116-75, and the Senate, 28-22, in bipartisan votes amid protests by conservative lawmakers. It passed within a few hours of the final provisions becoming public. Some Democrats were unenthusiastic about a package that leaves the state facing another big deficit next year and puts the Wolf administration under the gun to pinch pennies from prisons and Medicaid programs.

"It's become very clear to me that while this revenue package is not the best, it is the best Harrisburg can do, at least today," said Rep. Madeleine Dean, -Montgomery. "And the alternative, not to do our job, is sought, including a tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas production. Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, a leader among House conservatives, said Republicans had had Wolf "in the corner." "The leadership in the Senate and the House let Wolf out of the corner," Metcalfe.