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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- City And State PA: Tracking Who’s Joining The Shapiro Administration Cabinet

-- Gov. Shapiro: Senate Confirms Nominees For Education, Insurance, Office Of State Fire Commissioner

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: 3 Shapiro Cabinet Nominees To Assume Their Positions Without A Confirmation Vote - Browne (former Senator), Schmidt, Arkoosh

-- Politics PA: Shapiro’s Nominees For State, DHS, Revenue Become Official Without Senate Vote; Health Nominee Withdrawn; Banking & Insurance Nominee Left Agency

-- Senate Overwhelmingly Confirms Richard Negrin As Secretary Of DEP  [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Shapiro Withdraws His Nominee For Secretary Of Health 

-- Inquirer: Shapiro Quietly Recalls Pick For Health Dept. Secretary; Republicans Expressed Concerns About How She Ran Allegheny Health Dept.

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Senate Committee Shapiro’s Pick For Election Chief

-- Erie Times: At Funeral, Gov. Shapiro Praises Fallen State Trooper As A Hero With ‘A Servant’s Heart’

-- Quinnipiac Poll: Presidential Race Toss Up In PA; Shapiro Gets High Marks; Fetterman Not So Much

-- PA Senate/House

-- AP: PA Senate Advances Bill To Overhaul Probation System

-- Inquirer: PA House Approves Bill To Require Nurse Staffing Minimums In Hospitals

-- The Center Square: Forward Party Sets Sights On Pennsylvania

-- TribLive/AP: PA Lawmakers Consider Replacing The State’s Official Song

-- U.S. Senate/House

-- Quinnipiac Poll: Presidential Race Toss Up In PA; Shapiro Gets High Marks; Fetterman Not So Much

-- National Politics

-- PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: Here’s What U.S. Supreme Court’s New Election Law Ruling Means For PA - By Patrick Beaty

-- Quinnipiac Poll: Presidential Race Toss Up In PA; Shapiro Gets High Marks; Fetterman Not So Much

-- City & State PA: As Moms For Liberty Comes To Philly, Tensions Run High

-- Inquirer: Why Moms For Liberty Was Designated An ‘Extremist’ Group By Southern Poverty Law Center

-- Election Reforms

-- AP: PA’s Mail-In Voting Law Upheld Again As Commonwealth Court Rules Against Republican Challenge 

-- WITF: Philadelphia’s Communities Of Color Disproportionately Affected When Mail-In Ballots Are Rejected Over Small Errors

-- Inquirer: Tens Of Thousands Of PA Mail-In Ballots Will Be Thrown Out In 2024 Presidential Election For Defects

-- WITF: In PA, 1.2 Million Registered Voters Can’t Take Part In Primary Elections, Experts Urge House Lawmakers To Change That

-- I-95 Collapse In Philadelphia

-- House/Senate Vote To Extend I-95 State Disaster Proclamation Until Nov. 1, 2023 [Senate Resolution 136]  House passed a resolution extending it one year to June 12, 2024, Republicans opposed.   [House Resolution 154]

Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

-- Dept. Of Agriculture: Results Of Crop Samples Show No Contamination On PA Farms Near Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

-- AP: States Clamp Down On Freight Trains, Fearing Derailments And Federal Gridlock 

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Train Derailments Bode Poorly For Public Health Amid Planned Petrochemical And Hydrogen Hubs - By Sen. Katie Muth (D-Chester), Alison Steele, Environmental Health Project

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: East Palestine, OH Area Residents Demand More Transparency, Chemical Testing Related To Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

-- PennLive/Tribune News Service: Months After Toxic Norfolk Southern Train Derailment, An Ohio Community Is Fracturing

-- WTAE: Norfolk Southern Says It Reaches Milestone In Train Derailment Cleanup

-- Post-Gazette: Norfolk Southern Has Made Strides In Cleanup After Train Derailment, But Still Has Work To Do

-- AP: Safety Concerns Dominate Norfolk Southern Railroad CEO’s Job Since Ohio Derailment

-- PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- AAA Average Gasoline Prices: Pennsylvania- $3.64; National- $3.54

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Rig Count Same As Last Week- 23

-- Wall Street Journal: Cheaper Natural Gas Prices In Store This Summer; Earlier Price Spikes Driven By Europe’s LNG Imports

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices End June With 30% Rise, Increased 8% Just On Friday Nearing Last Summer’s Spikes

-- Bloomberg: Natural Gas Power Plants, Now The Top Source Of Electricity In U.S., Are To Blame For One Of The Grid’s Biggest Vulnerabilities When Weather Gets Rough

-- Vermont State Police: Joint Investigation Into June 1 Natural Gas Tanker Fire Finds Truck Was Destroyed And Damaged U.S. Route 7 In Ferrisburgh Was The Result Of Mechanical Failure

-- Utility Dive: Texas Electric Grid Has Remained Stable Despite 9.6 GW Of Coal, Natural Gas Power Plants Being Offline; Renewables Logged New Records In Generation

-- PA/Harrisburg Politics Potpourri

-- PA Capital-Star: Can PA Finally Pass Real Campaign Finance Reform: These Democrats Think So

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

-- Erie Times: Crawford County Man Sentenced To 30 Months In Prison For Crimes Related To Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- Budget 2023

-- AP: PA To Begin New Fiscal Year Without Budget Plan In Place

-- The Center Square: PA Senate OKs $45.5 Billion State Budget Without House Agreement; Adjourns To Sept. 18

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: House, Senate Standoff Over Budget Bills Delays Deal; Senate Adjourns Until Sept. 18

-- Spotlight PA: Legislature At Budget Impasse As House Democrats Vow To Oppose $100 Million For Private School Vouchers

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: PA Will Start New Fiscal Year Without A Budget As Harrisburg’s Private School Voucher Divide Persists

-- TribLive/AP: PA Budget Agreement Is Elusive As Fiscal-Year Deadline Nears

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Senate School Voucher Bill Tied To State Budget Destined To Fail, House Democrats Say

-- Spotlight PA: Debate Over Publicly Funded Private School Vouchers Could Push PA Budget Past June 30 Deadline

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: PA Senate Passes School Voucher Plan But A Top Democrat Says The House Will Not Approve It

-- The Center Square: $100 Million School Choice Program Woven Into Key State Budget Bill

-- Gov. Shapiro Statement On Ongoing State Budget Negotiations

-- AP: What To Watch: PA Budget Talks Near Deadline, And Get Contentious 

-- WITF: PA State Budget Talks Continue Amid Partisan Tensions

-- PennLive - John Baer: Hey, PA Lawmakers, Opportunity’s Knocking In Land Of Low Expectations

-- PennLive: PA Senate Panel Clears Phone Tax Cut, Housing Rebate Expansion Bills As House Tees Up Corporate Tax Bills

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: PA House Fails To Muster Enough Votes To Pass Bills To Fund University of Pittsburgh, Temple

-- PA Unions Urge Lawmakers To Oppose Legalizing ‘Skill Games’ Gambling

-- Spotlight PA: How Pennsylvania State & Local Government Have (And Haven’t) Spent Billions Of COVID Stimulus Dollars

-- Health Care

-- Inquirer: PA House Approves Bill To Require Nurse Staffing Minimums In Hospitals

-- WESA: 90,000 Pennsylvanians Lost Medicaid Coverage Since End Of Pandemic Rule

-- Education

-- TribLive/AP: PA Budget Agreement Is Elusive As Fiscal-Year Deadline Nears

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Senate School Voucher Bill Tied To State Budget Destined To Fail, House Democrats Say

-- Spotlight PA: Debate Over Publicly Funded Private School Vouchers Could Push PA Budget Past June 30 Deadline

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: PA Senate Passes School Voucher Plan But A Top Democrat Says The House Will Not Approve It

-- The Center Square: $100 Million School Choice Program Woven Into Key State Budget Bill

-- Gov. Shapiro Statement On Ongoing State Budget Negotiations

-- Spotlight PA: Penn State, Pitt And Other Colleges Get Hundreds Of Millions In Taxpayer Funds, Tracking It Is A Challenge

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: PA House Fails To Muster Enough Votes To Pass Bills To Fund University of Pittsburgh, Temple

-- TribLive Editorial: Competing For College Students Amid Declining Enrollments

-- TribLive: Student Fees To Rise At Pitt’s Greensburg, Johnstown Campuses

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: PA Democrats Decry US Supreme Court Ruling On Affirmative Action

-- TribLive: Western PA College Campuses Say Diversity Will Remain A Priority Following High Court Ruling

-- TribLive: Student Borrowers Disappointed With US Supreme Court Ruling Striking Down Loan Relief

-- Law Enforcement

-- AP: PA Senate Advances Bill To Overhaul Probation System

-- AP: US Supreme Court Just Issued Its Biggest Rulings Of The Year, Here’s What You Need To Know

-- The Economy

-- Spotlight PA: How Pennsylvania State & Local Government Have (And Haven’t) Spent Billions Of COVID Stimulus Dollars

-- AP: U.S. Supreme Court Solidifies Protections For Workers Who Ask For Religious Accommodations [PA Case]

-- Spotlight PA: Advocates Fear Some Could Lose Their Homes Waiting On Backlogged Mortgage Relief Program

-- PA Capital-Star: Meet The PA Business Owners Pushing For A Minimum Wage Hike

-- Gov. Shapiro: PA To Receive $1.6 Billion In Federal Funding To Expand Affordable, High-Speed Internet Access

-- Dept. Of Labor & Industry Issues Status Report On Unemployment Compensation System, Support Services For Workers And Employers

-- PA Unions Urge Lawmakers To Oppose Legalizing ‘Skill Games’ Gambling

-- PA Capital-Star: Report: Shell Petrochemical Plant Hasn’t Delivered Economically For Beaver County 

-- Ohio River Valley Institute: A Cautionary Tale Of Petrochemicals From Beaver County, PA - Still Failing To Spur Economic Growth

-- Erie Times: Young Voters Consider Moving Out Of PA, Wanting Lower Taxes, Poll Says

[Posted July 2, 2023]