PA Capital News: Top 10 Stories From Harrisburg Last Week

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Drawing New Voting Districts

-- NextPittsburgh: House Expected To Vote On Proposed PA Congressional Redistricting Map Monday

-- Spotlight PA: See How The Proposed PA Congressional Voting District Map Scores In Every Key Area

-- AP: Lawmakers To Take First Steps Toward New Congressional Voting Districts Map

-- PA Cap-Star: House Republicans Pick Citizen Map Submission As Draft Congressional Plan 

-- Spotlight PA: Proposed Redrawing Of PA’s Congressional Voting District Map Gets Mixed Reviews

-- WHYY:  PA Congressional Map Drafts Are Out; They’re Good News For Republicans, Some Incumbents

-- City & State: What We Know About The House Republican’s Preliminary Congressional Map

-- PA Cap-Star: Sen. Street Says Senate Congressional Redistricting Map Draft Is Fair, Protects Minority Voters; Democrats Say He Sold Out

-- Inquirer: Democrats Are Suddenly Fighting Each Other Over PA Redistricting

-- ABC27: ‘Show Me The Maps!’ Critics Say Of PA Redistricting Process

-- WHYY: Will PA Lawmakers Live Up To Their Redistricting Transparency Promises?  Doubt Is Creeping In 

-- LancasterOnline Editorial: There’s Still Time To Make Sure Pennsylvania Doesn’t Botch Another Redistricting

-- ScrantonT Editorial: Trust In Government?  Don’t Gerrymander

 

-- Governor’s Race

-- City & State: Who Wants To Run For Governor As A Republican In 2022?

-- Inquirer: At PA Society, Republicans View Fluctuating Fields For 2022 Primaries As Promising For The Party

-- ErieT: Republican Sen. Laughlin Not Running For Governor, Set To Endorse Another Candidate  

-- AP: Republican Sen. Scott Martin Announces Run For PA Governor [Actively Worked To Overturn Nov. 2020 Election Results] 

-- LancasterOnline: Lancaster County’s Sen. Martin Joins PA Race For Governor

-- PennLive: Jan. 5 Debate Announced For Republicans Running For Governor

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Personal Freedoms Are Worth Fighting For - Sen. Corman, Republican Candidate For Governor [Worked to overturn Nov. 2020 election results]

-- PennLive Guest Essay: We Don’t Need Leaders Like Sen. Corman Pulling Us Apart During A Time Of Crisis - John Sigle, Fmr Dickinson College Professor

-- WBTimes Guest Essay: Voters Will Reject Government Overreach Again In 2022 - By Lou Barletta, Republican Candidate For Governor [Supported Efforts To Overturn Nov. 2020 Election Results] 

-- AP: Big Republican Donor In PA Supreme Court Race Eyeing Candidates For Governor

 

-- U.S. Senate Race

-- Inquirer: At PA Society, Republicans View Fluctuating Fields For 2022 Primaries As Promising For The Party

-- AP: Philly Lawyer George Bochetto May Join Republican Race For U.S. Senate

-- Inquirer: Dr. Oz Might Be Disappointed To Learn Some News Sites Aren’t Using His Honorific

-- Inquirer - Will Bunch: Oz Campaign For U.S. Senate Is Rock Bottom For Republicans Running On Empty

-- TribLive Column: Dr. Oz Quacks The Code Of Republican Politics - Mona Charen

 

-- Nov. 2 Election

-- MCall: In Lehigh County, School Boards First To Feel Impact From Lawsuit Over Certifying Election Results

-- YorkD: Results Of Central York School District Election 2nd Recount Are In: Winners The Same

-- MCall: Winning Write-In Candidate For Allentown Constable Has Extensive Record Of Criminal Charges, Convictions

 

-- Election Reform/2020 Election Fallout

-- WITF: Senate Republican Election Probe Contract Doesn’t Say If The Public Will See The Results, Among Other Things

-- YorkDR: ‘A Waste Of Taxpayer Money’: Senate Republican Election ‘Investigation’ Heads To [Republican] Commonwealth Court

-- PA Cap-Star: Republicans Say Voter ID Will Increase Trust In Elections, Researchers Say Otherwise

-- AP: Social Media Posts By People Charged With Crimes Related To Assault On U.S. Capitol Influenced Sentences [Including PA Residents]

-- The Guardian: Congressional Panel Obtains PowerPoint That Set Out Plan For Fmr President To Stage Coup

-- LancasterOnline Editorial: White Nationalist Stickers At Millersville U. Offer Disturbing Evidence Of Hatred That Must Be Rebuked

-- WHYY: Philadelphia Commerce Director Resigns Following Reports Of Antisemitic Comments, Verbal Abuse

-- WITF: Carlisle’s Truth And Reconciliation Committee Is Hosting Community Dialogues To Talk About Race

-- LancasterOnline Editorial: Defacing Any Place Of Worship Is Wrong And Disturbing

-- Inquirer: New Central Bucks School Board Met, But Sharp Divisions Persist: ‘This Room Has Been Filled With Hate’

-- Inquirer: Bucks County School Board Can’t Stop Public Comments It Deems Offensive, What Does It Mean For Other Districts?

-- CourierT: Central Bucks School District Book Ban?  What ‘Woke Bucks County’ Wants In Its Effort To ‘Reclaim Our Schools’ 

-- Harrisburg Political Potpourri

-- PG Editorial: Mourning Bob Dole And His Spirit Of Compromise

-- MCall: Bob Dole Lent His Republican Clout To Lehigh Valley Candidates Over Lengthy Career

-- TribLive Editorial: The Pennsylvania Society Dinner… In New York City?

-- PA Cap-Star Editorial Cartoon: With Pay Raises Hung By The Chimney With Care

-- Guest Essay: Balance Of Power In Government Means More Power For The People [As Defined By The General Assembly And Only The General Assembly] - Sen. Aument (R-Lancaster) + House Speaker Cutler (R-Lancaster)

-- Inquirer: PA Politicians Who Got Union Campaign Money, Even After Johnny Doc’s Conviction, Aren’t Having 2nd Thoughts

-- PA Cap-Star: Republican Sen. Mastriano Pitches Plan To End Automatic Pay Raises
-- ScrantonT Editorial: Donations Don’t Mitigate Automatic Lawmakers Pay Increase Scandal

-- PA Cap-Star: House Republican Lawmaker Proposes Tax Credit For Hiring Santas

-- PG: PA U.S. Senator Toomey Retiring With $1.4 Million In Campaign Money

-- PA Cap-Star: PA Member Of Congress Houlahan Leading Push To Require Women To Sign Up For Draft

-- WHYY: Wolf, Shapiro Speak On How U.S. Supreme Court Decision On Roe Could Affect Abortion-Seekers

-- Commonwealth Foundation: Local Governments, School Districts, State Agencies Spend $42 Million [2007 - 2020] To Lobby State Government, Other Government Entities

-- The Center Square: Local Governments, School Districts, State Agencies Spend $42 Million [2007 - 2020] To Lobby State Government, Other Government Entities

-- ScrantonT Editorial: State Redevelopment Assistance Grant Process Lacks Transparency

-- Inquirer: Fmr DA Bruce Castor Files Lawsuit Arguing That Vaccine Status Is So Politically Divisive It Should Be Considered Free Speech

-- PennLive: State Employees Retirement Board Defeats Effort To Cancel Wolf’s Vaccination Bonus For Some Staff

-- PA Cap-Star: Senate Democratic Panel Takes Up Improving PA Treatment Centers Amid Rising Overdose Deaths

-- MCall - Ford Turner: Parent Tells Lawmakers Some Drug Abuse Treatment Centers Are ‘Predatory’

-- PennLive Guest Essay: PA Probation System Needs Reform, And The Senate Can Do It This Week

-- PG: Turnpike Preparing To College Tolls For PennDOT On 9 State Bridges

-- PA Cap-Star: Efforts To Change PA Fireworks Law Haven’t Fizzled Out

-- ScrantonT Editorial: Modify State Fireworks Law

-- MCall - Bill White: Who’s To Blame For The Decline In Local News Coverage?

 

-- COVID Pandemic Worsens In PA

-- AP: PA Supreme Court Throws Out Mask Mandate For Schools

-- CourierT: What Emails Concerning Bucks County’s School Mask Rules Show

-- YorkDispatch: York School Defy Mask Order

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Harrisburg School Superintendent Warns Of Potential Return To Remote Learning Due To COVID Case Increases

-- ScrantonT: Parents Of Delaware Valley School District Ask County Judge To Issue An Injunction After 2 Children Exposed To COVID From Classmates Who Did Not Wear Masks

-- ScrantonT: Carbondale School District Moving To Online Learning Due To Increase In COVID Cases

-- Inquirer: Fmr DA Bruce Castor Files Lawsuit Arguing That Vaccine Status Is So Politically Divisive It Should Be Considered Free Speech

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Key To Keeping Schools Open This Winter Is Getting Kids Vaccinated Against COVID - Dr. Joyce Davis, Acting Physician General

-- PA Cap-Star: Republican Leaders Call On Wolf To Reconvene Bipartisan COVID Task Force; Wolf Says It Never Stopped

-- PA Cap-Star: Republican Leaders Call On Wolf To Reconvene Bipartisan COVID Task Force; Wolf Says It Never Stopped

-- AP: Geisinger Health Runs Out Of Beds As Largely Unvaccinated COVID Patients Overrun 9 Hospitals

-- CitizensVoice: Geisinger Medical ER Doc Begs Public To Get Vaccinated 

-- YorkDR: UPMC Doctors Issue New Warnings As Omicron Spreads On PA, What To Know

-- CourierT: PA Medical Centers Report ‘Dramatic, Ongoing’ COVID Surge, Some Hospitals Now Full, Data Shows

-- PennLive: Packed Hospitals In Rural PA Sound Alarm Over Surging COVID Cases

-- PennLive: ERs Packed, Patients Waiting As COVID Fills PA Hospitals

-- WBTimes: COVID Impact On Northeast Hospitals: ‘Waiting For A Jenga Tower To Fall’

-- PA Cap-Star: ‘Surge’ In COVID Cases Contributing To Longer Waits At PA Hospitals

-- Inquirer: COVID Hospitalizations Are At Highest Since January, With Spikes In Central, Western Regions

-- MCall: Lehigh Valley Hospitals Are Filling Up With Unvaccinated COVID Patients

-- PG: Hospitals Are Overflowing With COVID Patients

-- WPSU: Average Number Of Hospitalized COVID Patients ‘Highest It’s Been’ At Mount Nittany Medical

-- PG: Pittsburgh-Area Hospitals Struggling Under COVID Surge

-- TribLive: COVID-Driven Hospital Surge ‘Not A Sustainable Situation’ In Western PA, Expert Says

-- TribLive: Allegheny County Health Director: ‘I Don’t Expect The Situation To Improve Soon’
-- PennLive: Important COVID Barometer Shows Worsening Outlook For PA

-- TribLive: Westmoreland County Passes 1,000 COVID-Related Deaths Since Pandemic Began

-- LancasterOnline: COVID Hospitalizations May Soon Set Pandemic Record In Lancaster County

-- ErieT: Meadville Hospital Scrambles To Deal With Surge In COVID Patients

-- TribLive Editorial: Get Vaccinated To Save Hospital Beds

-- PG: Dept. Of Health Switches To Weekly COVID Updates To Give ‘A Clearer Picture’

-- PennLive: PA COVID Percent Positivity Rate Offers Ray Of Hope

-- ErieT: Here’s Why COVID Vaccinations Have Spiked In Erie County

-- ErieT: High School Teacher Posts That Republicans Should ‘Just Start Shooting’ Vaccine Objectors

-- MCall - Ford Turner: PA Hospital Nurses Head For The Exits Amid Overwork, Pay Disputes As Lawmakers Look For Answers

-- AP: COVID-Era Nursing Home Staff Crunch Hurting Hospitals, Too

-- PennLive: Geisinger Health: Vaccine Mandate Improved Hospital Staffing, Even After 153 Workers Left

-- Inquirer: Vaccine-Tracking Challenges Make It ‘Impossible To Say’ How Many Philadelphians Need Booster Shots

-- Inquirer: PA Hospitals Are Really Busy, They Beg You To Get Your Flu, COVID Shots

-- PennLive: Flu Cases Increase Significantly In PA, Showing Up In Nearly Every County

-- TribLive: Pitt Continues To Sort Through Vaccine Mandate

-- Inquirer: Are Nursing Home Residents Getting Badly Needed COVID Boosters?  Here’s Why It’s Hard To Tell

-- MCall: New Data Shows COVID Deadlier, More Prevalent In PA Long-Term Care Facilities Than Once Thought

-- PennLive: People Over 70 Make Up Well Over Half Of PA’s Latest COVID Deaths

-- PG: Older Pennsylvanians Face Social Isolation And Its Real Health Consequences

-- MCall - Ford Turner: Lehigh Valley Doctor Involved In Ivermectin Case As Lawmakers Consider Bill On Controversial Drug

-- YorkDR: Woman Wins Court Battle Over Treating Her Husband’s COVID With Ivermectin

-- WITF: Data Analysts Proved What Black Pittsburgh Knew About COVID’s Racial Disparities

-- Inquirer: Philly Could Require Proof Of Vaccination For Indoor Dining, Like New York

-- ReadingE: Mental Health Struggles Are Growing For Young People Due To COVID Pandemic

-- TribLive: Car Crash Deaths Have Surged During Pandemic, Here’s Why

 

-- Gun Violence

-- Gov. Wolf: Commission Approves Recommendations On Police-Involved Shootings, Use Of Force, Bias-Based Policing

-- Spotlight PA: Investigations Of PA State Police Troopers Who Injure, Kill Should Be Independent, Panel Says

-- AP: PA Supreme Court To Take Up PA’s Deadly Force Rules For Cops

-- Spotlight PA: State Police Consulted Beaver County DA Before Shooting Man In Standoff By A Sniper

-- Inquirer: At 13 He Saw Both His Parents Shot, Last Year Gunfire Changed His Life Again

-- ScrantonT Editorial: Gun Rights And Responsibilities

-- LancasterOnline Editorial: End Theatrics And Work Toward Meaningful Solutions To Gun Violence

-- ErieT: CeaseFirePA Slams Sen. Laughlin’s Support For Expanding Concealed Carry Gun Law

-- WHYY: Philly DA: City Doesn’t Have A ‘Crisis Of Lawlessness,’ It Has A Crisis Of Gun Violence

-- Inquirer: Philly DA Says Tourists Should Feel Safe Despite Record Number Of Killings

-- Inquirer: Republicans Pounce On Philly DA’s Philly Doesn’t Have A ‘Crisis Of Crime’ Statement

-- WHYY: Philly Police Say They’re Improving Community Policing As Homicides Soar

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: Harrisburg Area Community College Announces Initiative To Bring Diversity To Police, EMS Ranks

-- ScrantonT: Scranton Police Put Motto On Cars In 5 Languages To Recognize Diverse Population

-- PG: Woodland Hills Hosts Gun Buyback To Help Make Streets Safer

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: Threats Put Central PA School Districts On Alert, Disrupt Classes

-- Inquirer: Shooting Threats And Rumors Have Schools Under Pressure, Parents And Students On Edge

-- CourierT: New Gun Violence Threat Prompts Bristol Borough To Send Students Home In Bucks County

-- Inquirer: Bucks County School Closed After Student Threatened A School Shooting

-- LancasterOnline: Rumors Of Threat On Social Media Caused Lancaster School District To Switch To Remote Learning

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: Caller Threatened Shooting At Central PA Kellogg’s Plant

 

-- Spending Federal Aid

-- WESA: Feds Approve PA Plan To Distribute $1 Billion In American Rescue Plan Funds For Medicaid Services 

-- ScrantonT: Dozens Of Local Health Care Providers Benefit From $7.7 Million In Federal Pandemic Relief Funding

-- PennLive - John Baer: Taxpayers Subsidizing Local News?  A Scam, A Way To Kill Free Press Or A Lifeline?

 

-- Higher Education

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Penn State University Chooses New President From Louisville - Dr. Neeli Bendapudi

-- AP: Penn State Hires First Woman, Person Of Color As President

-- Triblive - Deb Erdley: Penn State Names First Woman University President

-- PennLive Guest Essay: PA Needs To Double Pell Grants To Help More Students Stay Out Of Debt - Lebanon Valley College President

-- PG Editorial: PA State University System Must Clarify A Muddled Mission

 

-- PA Economy

-- TribLive: ‘Business As Usual’ After $1.8 Billion Transaction Involving Westmoreland Casino

-- PennLive: 2 PA Casinos Purchased As Part Of $1.8 Billion Deal

-- WHYY: From Glass Bottles To Botanicals, PA Distillers Spell Out Supply Chain Struggles

-- MCall: Coca-Cola Workers In Lehigh Valley On Strike Over Health Care, Pension Issues

-- MCall - Ford Turner: PA Hospital Nurses Head For The Exits Amid Overwork, Pay Disputes As Lawmakers Look For Answers

-- CourierT: Staff Shortages At Bucks, Montgomery County Nursing Homes, Rehabs Delaying Hospital Discharges, Causing Longer ER Waits

-- AP: COVID-Era Nursing Home Staff Crunch Hurting Hospitals, Too

-- MCall Guest Essay: Hospital Workers Are Tired, Burned Out And Suffering Mentally - Emmaus Nurse

-- AP: Without A Buyer, 2 Hospitals In SE PA To Close

-- WHYY: Child Care Staffing Shortages Across PA Persist, But Solutions Taking Shape

-- WHYY: Philly Fed Analysis Shows Pandemic Economic Blows Fell Unevenly Across Race And Gender Lines

-- Inquirer Column: Fmr State Procurement Officer Building Website To Let Government Agencies Review Services They Get From Private Industry

-- ScrantonT: Scranton Police Put Motto On Cars In 5 Languages To Recognize Diverse Population

-- Inquirer: Work-From-Home Could Change Philadelphia’s Economic Outlook: Millennials Hold The Key

-- TribLive Editorial: The Changing Pennsylvania Workforce

-- PG: Rising Cyber Ransom Attacks Costing PA Victims Millions

-- WITF: Bipartisan Federal Infrastructure Act To Help PA Communities With Poor Internet Access

--Spotlight PA: Renters In Parts Of PA Shut Out Of Rent Relief As Counties Elsewhere Sit On Millions In Unused Aid

-- WHYY: Philly’s Eviction Diversion Program Takes Step To Outlast The Pandemic

-- ReadingE: Berks County Expected To Run Out Of Rental Relief Money

[Posted: December 12, 2021]