Latest news with #MichaelPollack
News18
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Miley Cyrus Surprises Fans By Singing The Climb In A Private Concert
Last Updated: Miley performed at the private concert with her band, consisting of drummer Maxx Morando, pianist Michael Pollack, and guitarist Jonathan Rado. To celebrate the release of her new album, Something Beautiful, Miley Cyrus hosted an intimate private concert in collaboration with TikTok at the iconic Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. The pop star surprised the 100 handpicked fans in attendance by performing one of her most beloved tracks, The Climb, from her 2009 film Hannah Montana: The Movie. The 32-year-old Grammy winner playfully teased the crowd, saying, 'I'm not singing The Climb—but I could," just before pianist Michael Pollack struck the familiar opening chords. The room instantly erupted with excitement as fans sang along, word for word. After the emotional performance, Miley shared a sweet moment, joking that her drummer boyfriend had been waiting for her to sing The Climb since middle school. It marked the first time in years she had performed the nostalgic anthem live. Fans expressed excitement as Miley chose to sing The Climb. One fan wrote on Reddit, 'This song will never not hit." Another fan commented, 'She's had her accolades, sure, but I feel that she's still such an underrated talent." Someone else wrote, 'Still inspirational tbh." Miley also performed some of her greatest hits, including End of the World, Flowers, and Easy Lover, among others. As per Billboard reports, Miley performed at the private concert with her band, consisting of drummer Maxx Morando, pianist Michael Pollack, and guitarist Jonathan Rado. Alongside performing her most popular songs, Miley was seen talking about her new album, Something Beautiful, which she described as 'reflective of my life and everything I'm experiencing." This album marks Miley's 9th studio album and was released on May 30. Miley's previous album, Endless Summer Vacation, won her a Grammy Award, and hence, fans were eagerly waiting for Something Beautiful to drop. The Party in the USA singer attained worldwide popularity after her appearance on Disney's Hannah Montana. Last year, while accepting the Disney Legend honour, the singer reflected on her years playing the fan-favourite character. Miley went on to explain that since her days of playing the character, multiple things have changed, while some have remained still. 'I stand here still proud to have been Hannah Montana," she noted. First Published:
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Emails between Pennsylvania lawmakers and lobbyists will remain hidden from the public after court ruling
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Emails and other communications between Pennsylvania lawmakers and the lobbyists who try to influence them will remain hidden from the public, an appellate court has ruled. The decision last month by a panel of Commonwealth Court judges means the state legislature can continue to shield from public view written interactions they have with the lobbying industry, which spends tens of millions of dollars annually to shape public policy. Spotlight PA, a statewide nonprofit newsroom that seeks to hold powerful people and institutions accountable, brought the lawsuit. It will not appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court. Good-government advocates called the ruling a missed opportunity to create more transparency around the inner workings of the state legislature, which has exempted itself from having to disclose many records — including emails — that the executive branch routinely makes public. 'It's a huge missed opportunity because to pull back the curtain on emails between lobbyists and lawmakers would be like pulling back the curtain in The Wizard of Oz,' said Michael Pollack, executive director of March on Harrisburg, which advocates for gift bans and other reforms to make government more accountable. 'The public would see how laws are truly made, and how the system is truly operated,' said Pollack, adding: 'The cozy relationship between lobbyists and lawmakers is assumed by the public, but once you see the details of those relationships, it can be shocking.' In Pennsylvania, lobbying is a multimillion-dollar business. Lobbyists spent $147.1 million on lobbying in 2023, according to the latest available annual report. That total includes money for gifts, hospitality, transportation, and lodging for state officials or employees, as well as members of their immediate families. Health care policy topped the list of issues that lobbyists spent that money on, but millions of dollars were also targeted toward influencing energy, education, tax, and transportation policy. Despite the scale of their spending, lobbyists in Pennsylvania are only required to disclose basic information about their work. They don't, for instance, have to reveal which public officials they lobbied, or how much money they spent lobbying them. They also don't have to reveal which issues they lobbied those public officials for. The March court ruling caps a long-running public records dispute that began in July 2023, when Spotlight PA requested from the state Senate communications between senators or their staff and lobbyists for a small Pennsylvania municipality that was seeking state grants. The news organization requested the information as part of an investigation into political corruption allegations in the city of DuBois. State Senate officials swiftly denied Spotlight PA's request, asserting those emails and other communications do not fall under the definition of a legislative record under Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law. Spotlight PA ultimately appealed the denial to the state's Commonwealth Court. During oral arguments late last year before a panel of appellate judges, attorneys for the news organization argued that a clause in Pennsylvania's public records law allows public access to communications between lawmakers and lobbyists. That clause falls under a section of the law that lists records that are exempt from disclosure, including, 'Correspondence between a person and a member of the General Assembly and records accompanying the correspondence which would identify a person that requests assistance or constituent services. This paragraph shall not apply to correspondence between a member of the General Assembly and a principal or lobbyist under 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 13A (relating to lobbying disclosure).' Spotlight PA argued that when writing that law, legislators wanted to shield communications between lawmakers and their constituents — but not communications between legislators and lobbyists. Jim Davy, founder of All Rise Trial & Appellate and one of two lawyers who represented Spotlight PA, cited a floor speech then-state Sen. Jim Ferlo (D., Allegheny) made in 2008 when the legislature passed sweeping upgrades to Pennsylvania's public records law. At the time, Ferlo said the upgrades would 'make correspondence between legislators and lobbyists public documents.' (Ferlo died in 2022). 'I think,' Ferlo told fellow senators during his floor speech, 'this is certainly a cornerstone piece of legislation in regard to the … organizations that have professional paid lobbyists, the significant role they play in the drafting, formulation, and passage of pieces of legislation in lobbying both Houses of the Capitol.' Karl S. Myers, a lawyer with Stevens & Lee hired by the state Senate, disagreed. He argued that Pennsylvania's public records law lists 19 specific categories that constitute a legislative record subject to disclosure. Those categories include financial records and legislative journals, among other documents. If the legislature intended to include emails and other communications between lawmakers and lobbyists within the definition of a legislative record, it would have expressly done so. Writing for the majority, Commonwealth Court Judge Stacy Wallace said 'the Senate is required to provide access to 'legislative records' … and 'communications' do not fall within the definition of 'legislative records.'' In a concurring opinion, Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia A. McCullough said she believed the state Senate should have directed Spotlight PA to seek those same records from other government agencies — in this case, the city of DuBois — which may have had access to some of those emails. In a statement, Spotlight PA CEO and President Chris Baxter said the ruling 'represents a significant setback for government transparency in Pennsylvania, allowing powerful special interests to continue operating in the shadows while spending millions to influence our laws.' 'At Spotlight PA, we're fighting for all 13 million Pennsylvanians who pay for the legislature and who have a right to know who has the ear of their lawmakers, who's actually writing the laws, and what campaign contributions really buy,' he said. 'We'll continue our investigative work to hold power accountable regardless of these barriers to transparency.' Legislatures across the country have a mixed record when it comes to providing access to emails of its elected members, according to a 2016 analysis by the Associated Press. Several, like Pennsylvania, do not require the legislature to release written communications — although some legislatures nevertheless made certain emails public, despite not being legally required to. That same discretion exists under Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law. It says an agency may 'exercise its discretion to make any otherwise exempt record accessible for inspection' under certain circumstances, including when an 'agency head determines that the public interest favoring access outweighs any individual, agency or public interest that may favor restriction of access.' If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
