After 'The Voice,' reality star crafts a new reality

School district wants transgender students' case dismissed

Here are the stories for this week's Pennsylvania Member Exchange package. If you have any questions, contact the Philadelphia bureau at 215-561-1133. For use anytime: EXCHANGE-EDITORIAL RDP Editorials from around Pennsylvania. For Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016: EX-REALITY SHOW CONTESTANT YORK — DaNica Shirey couldn't shake the nerves. Everything was hazy, and she almost felt drunk. The then-25-year-old singer had auditioned two other times for "The Voice." But she'd never sung for the celebrity coaches. This was her shot. When she saw three coaches' chairs turn around - a sign that she had made it to the next round - she believed for the first time that she could make it as a singer. And when she finished in the top eight a few months later, she believed it even more. But soon, she was headed back to York County and back to reality, which meant months of just trying to get by. Over the next year, Shirey would struggle to find enough work to support herself and her daughter. She'd lose a potentially career-changing opportunity. And she'd almost lose her home. But she never gave up. And she used her disappointment to begin building what she always wanted. Abbey Zelko, York Daily Record. EXCHANGE-BIPOLAR INMATE PITTSBURGH — James Michael Marasco was treated to a shopping spree last month, a week before he died. Deodorant. A hair brush. New socks. Jessica Wolfe paid the cashier at the Munhall RiteAid, five blocks from Marasco's residence. He seemed thankful. She finally felt a real connection, after 19 months of service as his court-appointed guardian. Ever since his 1995 guilty plea to indecent assault and corruption of a minor, Marasco had lived as a pariah, according to his few acquaintances and many court records. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizoaffective disorder, he bumbled for two decades from mental hospitals to homeless shelters, from jail cells to the streets. Finally, at age 48, he had warmed up to the idea of sleeping under the same roof most nights. Unfortunately, the occasion for the RiteAid splurge was his impending return to the Allegheny County Jail. He had to go to a lockup in which, officials have said, around 57 percent of the inmates have mental health problem, and some ricochet endlessly between communities and institutions, costing the public tens of thousands of dollars a year. Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. EXCHANGE-MOHEGAN SUN CASINO UNCASVILLE — A decade after its launch, Mohegan Sun Pocono casino in Plains Twp. provides entertainment and millions of dollars in tax revenue to the region. However, the gambling behemoth hasn't been good for everyone. "There's a brown circle around that place killing everything," said Thom Greco, a businessman in the Wilkes-Barre restaurant and nightclub industry. Along with gambling, the casino boasts several eateries, free live music, a 238-room hotel and lots of deals to get people in the door and keep them there. Establishments in its shadow say they can't compete. "The day it opened up, I lost 30 percent of my business," said Lou Dominick, owner of his family's 70-year-old Dominick's Cafe just down the road from the casino. "Never recovered." If the casino really wanted to help local business owners, Mr. Greco said, it would offer gambling only and let the community provide the other things. Peter Cameron, The (Scranton) Times-Tribune. EXCHANGE-TEEN ATHLETE-CROHN'S DISEASE PITTSBURGH — When she stepped to the starting line, Madeline King did not think she would win. Her coach, who had quietly checked in with her all season to see how she was feeling, was hoping merely for a top-10 finish. Her parents were hopeful, but they knew better than anyone what Madeline had been through just to make it to the starting line. Madeline, an eighth-grader at Colfax Elementary School in Squirrel Hill, was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at age 7, after doctors discovered at her annual checkup that she had stopped growing. "I wanted to show people that even if you have a serious disease, you can still be as strong as everyone else, that you can still win races and compete, that it doesn't hold you back." Chris Togneri, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. 108-YEAR-OLD VETERAN HATBORO — In the kitchen of the little yellow bungalow he built in 1948, 108-year-old Bill Mohr sat with a smile on his face, recalling a time when his house was filled with the commotion of four energetic kids and the love he shared with his wife and soulmate, Josephine. With his children grown and Josephine having died in October, he now holds on to the many memories made in his Hatboro home, which keep him smiling and laughing. Among the oldest living World War II veterans in the nation, Mohr has lived a life dedicated to patriotic duty, hard work and caring for others. Today, Mohr suffers from physical pain and decreasing mobility — the effects of a long life — and must now rely on others to take care of him. Michele Haddon, The (Doylestown) Intelligencer.

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