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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- Inquirer: These Backroom Deals Helped Shapiro Complete PA State Budget  [But It’s Not Done Yet]

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: PA State Workers Ratify AFSCME Contract With Largest Pay Raises In Years

-- WPost Column: PA’s Josh Shapiro Is Showing How To Break The Politics Of Resentment

-- Warren Times Editorial: Gov. Shapiro Gaining Clout In US

-- Budget 2023

-- Inquirer: These Backroom Deals Helped Shapiro Complete PA State Budget  [But It’s Not Done Yet]

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: A Roadmap To A Practical State Budget Deal

-- Scranton Times Editorial: No Recess For General Assembly Until Budget Passes

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Cheap Budget Stunt Carries, High, Rising Price

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: PA Spending Bill Sets Up Stability For State Police, But Bigger Budget Disagreements Still Fester

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Commonwealth Foundation Says Shapiro’s Budget ‘Already In The Red’

-- PA Senate/House

-- ABC27: Taxpayers Face $2.8 Million Legal Bill For Unsuccessful Republican Effort To  Impeach Philly DA

-- TribLive Editorial: Ohio Republicans, PA Democrats Playing Similar Game With Constitutional Amendments

-- U.S. Senate/House

-- PA Capital-Star: Republican US Senate Candidate McCormick To Share Stage With Republican Operative Tied To Fake Elector Scheme

-- Post-Gazette: Republicans Go After Bob Casey On China, But Republican David McCormick Vulnerable Too

-- WESA: Hardline Pro-Israel Political Group Signals 2024 Moves Against PA Member Of Congress Summer Lee

-- National Politics

-- PennLive - John Baer: Troubled By Choices For President?  Start Looking To The States

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Ohio Vote On Republican Proposal To Limit Citizen Ballot Initiatives Sets Tone For 2024 Campaigns - By Mark Singel

-- KDKA: White Supremacist Arrested By Federal Prosecutors For Allegedly Threatening Jury In Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre Trial

-- AP: PA Member Of White Nationalist Hate Group Among Those Suing Seattle Man For Allegedly Leaking Their Identities

-- Train Derailments

-- HealthFirstPA, Partners Host Aug. 8 Webinar On Pollution And Children’s Health - Norfolk Southern Train Derailment And Beyond 9:00 a.m.  [PaEN]

-- Williamsport Sun Editorial: Inaction On Rail Safety Reflects Poorly On Congress [No Action In PA Senate Either]

-- KDKA: Norfolk Southern To Pay $49,000 In Fines Following OSHA Inspection In East Palestine, OH

-- AP: Norfolk Southern Content With Minimum Safety Too Often, Regulators Say After Ohio Train Derailment

-- Post-Gazette: Six Months Later, An Unending Nightmare Continues After Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

-- AP: EPA Weighs Formal Review Of Vinyl Chloride, The Toxic Chemical That Burned In Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

-- PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- AAA Gasoline Prices: Pennsylvania $3.90; National $3.84; Ohio $3.63

-- TribLive: Respite From Gasoline Price Increases May Be Brief With Saudi Oil Production Cut, Hurricane Season

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rig Count Down 3 From Last Week To 19

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Slump As Rising Stockpiles Blunt LNG Strike Fears

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Surges 40% On Australian Strike Fears  

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Ease As Winter Fuel Stockpiles Keep Rising

-- Reuters: Coterra Energy Quarterly Profit Slumps As Natural Gas Prices Tumble

-- PA/Harrisburg Politics Potpourri

-- PennLive: Former PA First Lady Ellen Casey Dies At 91

-- Constitutional Amendments

-- TribLive Editorial: Ohio Republicans, PA Democrats Playing Similar Game With Constitutional Amendments

-- AP: 57% Of Ohio Voters Reject Constitutional Amendment Making It Harder To Get Citizen Initiatives On The Ballot

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

-- PA Capital-Star: Republican US Senate Candidate McCormick To Share Stage With Republican Operative Tied To Fake Elector Scheme

-- PennLive: Cumberland County Attorney, Developed Charged With Assaulting Police With Flagpole During Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: Cumberland County Man Arrested On Criminal Charges Related To Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- Health Care

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: PA Considers Letting Psychologists Prescribe Medicine For Patients

-- WHYY: PA Getting Closer To Psychedelic Reform; Advocates In Philly Are Pushing For Decriminalization

-- WHYY: PA Cuts At Least 137,000 From Medicaid As Some Participants Fight Paperwork Denials

-- Post-Gazette: Western PA’s Biggest Health Insurers Seek Rate Hikes Above Statewide Average

-- TribLive: COVID Cases Rise Slightly But Remain Low Compared To Previous Years In Western PA

-- Education

-- York Dispatch Editorial: Special Interest Groups Are Targeting Our Schools, It’s Time For Rational Parents To Step Up

-- Post-Gazette: Sen. Anthony Williams Wants To End Legacy Admissions At PA Universities After Affirmative Action Ruling

-- Spotlight PA: Penn State Gender Pay Gap Among Worst Compared To Public Big Ten Schools, Federal Data Show

-- AP: Conservative Groups Sue To Block Biden Plan Canceling $39 Billion In Student Loans

-- Law Enforcement

-- PA Capital-Star: Justice Reform Groups Say PA Bill Could Make Probation ‘Hamster Wheel’ Worse

-- AP: Catholic Diocese Of Philadelphia Settles Child Sex Abuse Cases Against Priest For $3.5 Million

[Posted: August 13, 2023]