Top 10 Stories: Harrisburg/PA Politics Reported By Local News Media Last Week

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Governor’s Race

-- Erie Times: Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano Calls Shapiro The ‘Extreme’ Candidate

-- Politico: Republican PA Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano Threatens To Renege On Testifying Before U.S. House Panel Investigating The Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- Inquirer: Republican PA Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano Concerned About Clips Of Testimony Leaking From Appearance Before U.S. House Panel Investigating The Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- Politics PA: It Isn’t Enough For Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano To Take On Shapiro, He’s Also Taking On The Media

-- WHYY: All Of PA’s Republican Congressmen Endorse Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano, Except Fitzpatrick

-- Post-Gazette: Nearly All PA Republican Members Of Congress Endorse Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano

-- CNHI News: 8 PA Republican Members Of Congress, All Opposed To 2020 Election Certification, Endorse Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano

-- Citizens Voice: Luzerne County Jewish Group Condemns Gab Far-Right Social Media Platform Founder And Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano’s Ties To Site

-- Centre Daily Times: State College Jewish, Faith Leaders Blast Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano For Ties To Right-Wing Social Media Site

-- Politico: PA Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano’s Relationship With Republican Leaders Mirrors Ex-President’s Rise

-- PA Capital-Star: What Is Gab?  A Look At The Far-Right Social Media Platform Backing Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano

-- Erie Times: Ads Attacking Shapiro Treat Opioid Deaths Like Campaign Slapstick

-- PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: Here’s What Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano Won’t Be Doing On ‘Day One’ - By Patrick Beaty

-- Inquirer Editorial: Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano Vainly Tries To Dance Back To The Middle

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Shapiro Outspends Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano 10 to 1 In Governor’s Race

-- Inquirer: Shapiro, Mastriano Agree - Both Want Lower Corporate Taxes In PA

-- AP: Third-Party Candidates File To Run For PA Governor, U.S. Senate

-- U.S. Senate Race

-- PennLive - John Baer: Can Fetterman And Shapiro Win PA In A ‘Republican Year’?

-- Inquirer: Fetterman Has A Blue Collar Image, Republicans Say His Comfortable Upbringing Tells A Different Story

-- Post-Gazette: Fetterman Campaign Asks TV Stations To Remove Dr. Oz Ad Saying He Wants To ‘Eliminate Life Sentences For Murderers’

-- PA Capital-Star: Fetterman To Hold First Public Campaign Event Aug. 12 In Erie Since His Stroke

-- Post-Gazette - Julian Routh: Dr. Oz, Fetterman Getting Their Messages Out During Calm Before The Storm

-- PennLive: PA Democrats Want Feds To Investigate Dr. Oz’s Financial Disclosure Report

-- National Review: Dr. Oz Losing Ground Since Winning PA Republican U.S. Senate Primary

-- Erie Times Guest Essay: Dr. Oz Needs To Stop His PA U.S. Senate Run, We Want Him Home In New Jersey - Bill Pascrell, Jr.

-- AP: Third-Party Candidates File To Run For PA Governor, U.S. Senate

-- The Economist Podcast: What Wins U.S. Senate Elections In Pennsylvania?

-- May 2022 Primary Election

-- AP: 4th County [Butler] Added To Lawsuit Over Certification Of Primary Election Results

 

-- November 2022 Election

-- City & State PA: PA State House Races To Watch In November

-- City & State PA: Who’s Running For Congress In PA In 2022?

-- MCall - Ford Turner: PA Libertarian Party Has Most Candidates For Legislature In 28 Years: ‘Sick And Tired Of The Two-Party System’

-- Post-Gazette - Julian Routh: Thousands Of PA Democrats Leaving For Republican Party, Neither Side Agrees Why [8,100 Democrats Switched In Western PA, 2,500 Republicans Became Democrats - 8.7 Million Registered Voters In PA]

-- Election Reform/2020 Election Fallout

-- AP: PA Supreme Court Upholds PA’s Mail-In Voting Law Expansion

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: PA Supreme Court Upholds No-Excuse, Mail-In Voting In PA

-- Spotlight PA: PA Supreme Court Says PA’s Mail-In Voting Law Can Stay In Place

-- TribLive Editorial: Can We Move On From Challenges To Mail-In Voting Law Now?

-- WHYY: PA Giving Cash To Counties For Elections, Some Say The Strings Attached Might Make Their Jobs Harder

-- MCall - Paul Muschick: Instead Of Trying To Kill PA’s Mail-In Voting Law, It’s Time For Lawmakers To Improve It, Here’s How

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Pennsylvanians Need To Know That The People Elected Were Really Elected - Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-Washington)

-- TribLive Editorial: Fix The Uncertainty Of PA Mail-In Ballot Dating

-- Post-Gazette: Butler County Reviewing 2020 Mail-In Ballots; State Says It’s A ‘Waste Of Time’

-- WITF: Berks County’s May Primary Was A Maelstrom Of Failures

-- WITF: Berks County Election Director Resigns After Scrutiny, Lawsuit Over Election Problems

-- LancasterOnline: Republican Lancaster County Commissioner Accuses Progressive Group Of Threatening Violence; Group Said It’s Just ‘Red-Scare Slander’

-- PA’s Role In Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- Politico: Republican PA Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano Threatens To Renege On Testifying Before U.S. House Panel Investigating The Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- Inquirer: Republican PA Gubernatorial Candidate Mastriano Concerned About Clips Of Testimony Leaking From Appearance Before U.S. House Panel Investigating The Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- Post-Gazette: Two More Men From Allegheny, Mercer Counties Charged With Crimes Related To Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- Courier Times: Bucks County Dems Want Doylestown Republican Committee Woman To resign After Her Sentencing For Crimes Related To Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- LancasterOnline: Federal Judge Dismisses Republican Cong. Smucker’s Lawsuit Challenging Fines Imposed By U.S. House For Not Being Screened For Weapons

-- State Constitutional Amendments

-- PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: The Wolf Administration’s Jaw-Dropping PA Supreme Court Filing Against Republican Constitutional Amendments - A Belief In Natural Law - Benjamin Pontz 

-- Spotlight PA: Complete Guide To More Than 70 Proposed Amendments To State Constitution

 

-- PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- TribLive: More States See Gasoline Prices Fall Below $4; PA Not Among Them

-- WSJ: Lower Gasoline Prices Threatened By Refinery Cutbacks Limiting Supplies

-- TribLive Guest Essay: America’s Oil And Natural Gas Industry Unpatriotic - By Claudine Schneider, Fmr Republican Member Of Congress from Clairton

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Time For Pennsylvania’s Real Energy Freedom - Sharon Pillar, PA Solar Center

-- Wilkes-Barre Times Guest Essay: Key To Lower Energy Prices Is Renewable Energy & Storage - Sharon Pillar, PA Solar Center

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Diversifying Our Energy Mix With More Renewable Energy Only Way PA Will Find True Energy Freedom - PA Solar Center

-- MCall Guest Essay: Follow The Money To Understand Our Energy Policies

-- Dept. Of Human Services Announces Supplemental Payments For LIHEAP Households To Cover Existing Utility, Fuel Bills

-- PUC To Investigate Proposed 32% Natural Gas Rate Increase By Leatherstocking Gas Company

-- PUC Aug. 11 Hearing On Proposed 11.8% Rate Increase For Valley Energy Natural Gas

-- Bloomberg: U.S. Natural Gas Prices Surge With Texas LNG Terminal Set For Fast Restart  [Brace For Even Higher Electricity Costs]

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Shale Gas Industry’s Suppliers - Big And Small - Also Reap Benefits

-- WSJ: Shale Oil, Gas Drillers Warn Of Higher Costs As They Report Record Profits

-- Baker Hughes PA Natural Gas Rig Count Same As Last Week - 25

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Coal Rebounds In A Big Way For Consol Energy

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Nuclear Power Revival Part Of European Energy Solution

-- Harrisburg Politics Potpourri

-- Post-Gazette: Posh SW PA Party Spotlights How Lawmakers And Lobbyists Mingle Out Of Public Eye

-- City & State PA: A Generational Breakdown Of Members In The PA General Assembly

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: PA Liquor Control Board Officials Got Dibs On high-End Bourbon Lottery Leftovers

-- Scranton Times Editorial: State Liquor Control Board Won’t Raise Glass To Ethics

-- WESA: PA Marks 13th Anniversary Of Workers Making $7.25 Minimum Wage

-- PennLive: Racehorse Deaths Drop Sharply In PA Following New Rules To Protect Horses

-- TribLive Editorial: Good Government Needs To Engage The Public

-- Post-Gazette: Toomey Defends His Effort To Remove Aid For Veterans Affected By Burn Pits, Other Toxins From Health Bill, Says It’s A ‘Gimmick’

-- WHYY: Joe Sestak, Christine Todd Whitman Join Forward Party, A New Third Political Party

-- WESA: Republican Leadership Fight In Allegheny County Prompts Legal Action From County Communications Director

-- Budget 2022

-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports July State Revenue Slightly Below July 2021

-- Dept. Of Revenue Reports State Collected $2.7 Billion In General Fund Revenue During July

-- Gov. Wolf, Democratic Lawmakers Reintroduce Program To Provide $2,000 In Direct Payments To Pennsylvanians

-- Centre Daily Times: A Year Later, No Construction On The Nittany Mall Casino

-- Courier Times: Parx Casino May Be Ready To Bring Hotel To Bucks County Complex

-- Scranton Times: PA Turnpike To Hike Tolls 5% In 2023, The 15th Consecutive Annual Increase

-- TribLive Editorial: Stop Raising Turnpike Tolls

-- COVID Pandemic/Health

-- PennLive: With COVID Surging Again, Is PA Headed For Another Deadly Fall Wave?

-- TribLive: Allegheny, Westmoreland Counties Move To High COVID Spread Level

-- Scranton Times: New COVID Cases Still Rising Statewide, But NE PA Sees A Dip

-- PennLive: COVID At Its Worst Killed 1 In 5 It Hospitalized In PA, State Says

-- Centre Daily Times: PA Has 161 Cases Of Monkeypox, Here’s What To Know About The Disease

-- WHYY: Bucks, Montgomery, Chester Counties Confirm First Cases Of Monkeypox In Suburbs

-- The Guardian: California Declares State Of Emergency Over Monkeypox

-- AP: U.S. Declares Public Health Emergency Over Monkeypox Outbreak

-- Post-Gazette: PA’s Health Insurers Seek Average 7.1% Premium Hike For 2023

-- TribLive: Inflation Is Hitting Health Insurance Plans In PA

-- MCall: Change In Way State Pays Home Care Workers Causes Delayed Paychecks For Some

-- AP: Man Who Threatened Dr. Fauci, Dr. Levine, Gets 3 Years In Prison

-- COVID - Schools

-- Erie Times: School Districts, Parents Spar Over Anti-Mask Lawsuits At Hearing Before Erie Judge

 

-- Opioid Epidemic

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: PA Courts Must Drop Bans On Opioid Addiction Treatment Medications

-- School Districts/Higher Education

-- Gov. Wolf Announces $384 Million In Grants For Early Childhood Education

-- Gov. Wolf Announces $190 Million Available For Schools to Promote Healthier, Safer Environments

-- WITF: PA’s School Districts Lay Out Their Plans For Millions In New Funding

-- Warren Times: Annual Active Shooter Drill, Training Set For Saturday In Warren County School District

-- PA Capital-Star: U.S. Dept. Of Justice Ends Probe Of PA School Employees Pension Fund Over Property Purchases

-- Spotlight PA: Penn State Won’t Answer Key Questions About Handling Student-Athlete Sexual Extorion Case

-- TribLive Editorial: Penn State Should Realize Keeping Secrets Doesn’t Work

-- WPSU: Penn State Institutes Hiring Freeze Until At Least Summer 2023

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Time For State-Owned Universities To Deliver

-- TribLive Editorial: State-Related Universities Need To Stop Tuition Increases

 

-- Gun Violence/Law Enforcement

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Cash, School Tuition And Cemetery Plots May Be Part Of Harrisburg Diocese’s Final Settlement In Clergy Child Sexual Abuse Case

-- WHYY: Philly Major Says The City Will ‘Plug Along’ On Prevention As Shootings Spike

-- WHYY: As Shootings Persist, Philly Officials Weigh Stop-And-Frisk

-- Inquirer: Community Groups Issue Collective Call For Help From Philly’s Men To Address The Gun Violence Crisis: ‘We Got A Crisis Of Black Manhood’

-- Erie Times: Erie Police Seek Suspects In Series Of Shootouts That Littered City With 100 Shell Casings

-- Post-Gazette: Western PA Advocates Optimistic About Impact Of New Funding For Gun Violence Prevention

-- WITF/AP: Findings On PA Police Killing Of 8-Year-Old In Delaware County Withheld

-- Warren Times: Annual Active Shooter Drill, Training Set For Saturday In Warren County School District

-- LancasterOnline: Thousands May Have Been Improperly Charged Fees On Civil Warrants In Lancaster County Over 6 Years

-- MCall: Northampton County DA Seized More Than $245,000 In Ill-Gotten Gains From Drug Dealers Over Past Year

-- MCall: Constable In Lehigh County Pleads Guilty To Firearms Charges In NJ; DA Trying To Remove Him As Constable

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: The Most Important Job In America - ATF Director

-- PA Economy

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: New Baby Formula Factory Breaks Up A Consolidated Industry

-- WESA: PA Marks 13th Anniversary Of Workers Making $7.25 Minimum Wage

-- Centre Daily Times: A Year Later, No Construction On The Nittany Mall Casino

-- Courier Times: Parx Casino May Be Ready To Bring Hotel To Bucks County Complex

-- Gov. Wolf: Recipients Of Property Tax & Rent Rebate Funds Will Receive One-Time Bonus

-- Inquirer: Property Assessments Are Systemically Inaccurate In Black, Low-Income Philadelphia Neighborhoods

-- Inquirer Editorial: $20 Million Settlement Against Racist Mortgage Lender Should Just Be The Start

[Posted: August 7, 2022]