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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- Shapiro Administration Provides Update On Norfolk Southern Train Derailment Response 9 Months After Derailment  [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Inside The PA Taxpayer Supported Fund That Paid Out $19 Million In State-Related Settlements

-- Gov. Shapiro: Fitch Upgrades Pennsylvania’s Credit Rating Citing ‘Solid’ Economy, Sound Fiscal Management

-- Budget 2023

-- The Center Square: Pennsylvania’s State Budget Business Unfinished

-- Spotlight PA - Stephen Caruso: Ongoing PA Budget Impasse Hurting Community Colleges, Libraries

-- TribLive: PA Community Colleges Still Waiting For State Funding Using Loans, Reserves To Get By

-- TribLive Editorial: Community Colleges Latest Pawns In Harrisburg Educational Chess Game

-- PA Dept. of Revenue Reports November State Revenues 1.5% ($46.4 Million) Above Their Estimates: Year-to-Date $1.1 Million Below Estimates

-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports November State Revenues 2.6% ($78.9 Million) Above IFO Estimates; Up 0.6% ($97.5 Million) For Fiscal Year

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: PA Considers Divesting Public Funds From China

-- Gov. Shapiro: Fitch Upgrades Pennsylvania’s Credit Rating Citing ‘Solid’ Economy, Sound Fiscal Management

-- PA House/Senate

-- Spotlight PA: PA Senate, House Paid $280,000 To Settle Harassment, Other Claims While Requiring Secrecy In Many Cases

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Inside The PA Taxpayer Supported Fund That Paid Out $19 Million In State-Related Settlements

-- Erie Times: Rep. Harkins (D) Receives $154,687 For Mileage Expenses Over 4 Years: ‘I Would Be Outraged Too’

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: PA Lawmakers Best Compensated Lawmakers In Nation Behind New York, California 

-- PennLive - John Baer: Want Accountability From PA Legislature?  Good Luck

-- PA Capital-Star: Stranded Legislation: PA Lawmakers In Both Chambers Lament Lack Of Consensus On Bipartisan Bills

-- Inquirer: PA House Democrats Plan Bills To Protect Transgender Students; Here’s What It Might Mean To PA Schools

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: 3 PA Lawmakers Cast Their Votes Remotely From Taiwan

-- US Senate/House

-- Inquirer: Why Bob Casey, Dave McCormick Are Talking About China As US Senate Race Heats Up

-- Inquirer: Bob Casey, Dave McCormick Preview Nice-Guy US Senate Race At PA Society Event In New York City

-- Post-Gazette: What Has Bob Casey Done During 3 Terms In US Senate?  We Take A Look

-- Post-Gazette: Casey, Fetterman Back Proposed Nursing Home Staffing Rules As PA Industry Objects

-- TribLive: PA Republican Con. Reschenthaler 1 Of 2 PA Lawmakers To Vote Against Santos Expulsion

-- York Daily Record: Republican Con. Scott Perry Votes Against Expelling George Santos

-- Inquirer: Philadelphia Area Drugmaker Merck Fighting Federal Law Requiring Price Negotiation For Medicare To Lower Costs

-- November 7, 2023 Election

-- Spotlight PA: Federal Court Ruling On Undated Mail-In Ballots Brings Confusion As PA Counties Certify November Election Results

-- TribLive: PA Supreme Court Reverses Ruling On Objectors Paying Plum Borough Council Candidate’s Legal Fees Over Nominating Petitions

-- 2024 Elections

-- WESA: How The Decline Of Unions Turned Western PA From A Democratic Standby To A Republican Stronghold

-- KYW: Delaware County DA Becomes 5th Democrat To Run For PA Attorney General

-- Inquirer: PA Republicans Considering Early Endorsement In Attorney General Race

-- WHYY: Republican Rep. Craig Williams, Who Leads Impeachment Of Philly DA,  Joins Race For Attorney General

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Supreme Court Justices Question Republican Effort To Impeach Philadelphia DA

-- PA Capital-Star: Republican Auditor General DeFoor Announces Reelection Bid

-- PA Capital-Star: Lehigh County Controller Seeks Democratic Nod For PA Auditor General

-- Election Reforms

-- The Guardian: Exodus Of Election Officials In Luzerne County Rings Alarm For US Democracy

-- PA Dept. Of State Introduces Redesigned Mail Ballot Materials To Decrease Number Of Rejected Ballots

-- Erie Times: Are PA Mail Ballots Rejected Because Of Partisanship?  Not Likely, According To New Study

-- TribLive: With Republicans ‘Failing’ To Win Over PA Voters On Mail-In Ballots, Conservative Group Launches Ambitious Plan To Push Mail-In Voting

-- Spotlight PA: Federal Court Ruling On Undated Mail-In Ballots Brings Confusion As PA Counties Certify November Election Results

-- TribLive Editorial: Mail-In Ballot Dating Issue Rises From The Dead

-- PA’s Role In Assault On US Capitol

-- Scranton Times: PA Woman Convicted Of Crimes Related To Assault On US Capitol Violated Terms Of Her Probation By  Repeatedly Using Illegal Drugs

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Unsealed Ruling Details Republican Cong. Scott Perry’s Tireless Work For Ex-President In 2020 Election Challenges 

-- Miscellaneous State/Harrisburg Politics

-- Inquirer: PA Politicians Headed To Manhattan For Pennsylvania Society Dinner

-- PA Capital-Star: Pennsylvania Society Gathering Returns To New York City Thursday

-- City & State PA: Elizabeth Preate Havey Discusses 125th Anniversary Of Pennsylvania Society

-- PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- PA Capital-Star: A Year After Winter Storm Elliot, Natural Gas-Fired, Other Power Plant Problems ‘Still Likely’ In Extreme Weather

-- PUC Again Reminds Consumers Of Dec. 1 Price Changes: Natural Gas (+149% to -64.2%); Electric (+18.8% to -25.7%)  [PaEN]

-- PA Capital-Star: Natural Gas, Electricity Price Changes Coming On Dec. 1, PUC Reports

-- WTAJ: Peoples Natural Gas, Penelec Customers May Have Higher Gas, Electric Bills Starting Dec. 1

-- Inquirer: Your PECO Electric Bill Could Get Cheaper On Dec. 1

-- WHYY: Most PECO Electric Customers To See Bills Drop Starting Dec. 1

-- Altoona Mirror: Penelec Announces 8.3% Electric Rate Increase

-- AAA Gasoline Prices: PA- $3.56  National- $3.24  Ohio- $2.90

-- TribLive: Gasoline Prices Drop For 10th Week, But Could Rise If OPEC Cuts Oil Production, Analyst Says

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Shale Gas Production Down Slightly In PA In 2022; Trending That Way In 2023

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: 2022 PA Natural Gas Produce Falls Slightly For First Time Since The Fracking Boom

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: EQT CEO Plans Unleash LNG 2.0 Plan For Next Year

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs Up One From Last Week To 21

-- Bloomberg: Just One Stranded Natural Gas LNG Tanker In Australia Could Cause Rise In Global LNG Prices

-- Bloomberg: UK-Led Group To Deploy Ships To Baltic Sea After Natural Gas Pipeline Sabotage Damage

-- Financial Times: How One Ship By One Natural Gas Producer Is Supply 60% Of Israel’s Demand For Gas Guarded By 2 Israeli Warships 

-- Bloomberg: Greek Shipping Giant Warns Panama Canal Chaos May Hit Suez Delaying Natural Gas LNG Shipments

-- Bloomberg: Oil’s Wild Price Ride - Algorithmic Money Managers Have Seized Control Of World Oil Market

-- The Guardian: US Oil & Gas Production Set To Break Record In 2023 Despite UN Climate Goals

-- Financial Times: Saudi Arabia Wins Provisional Backing For OPEC+ Oil Production Cuts

-- Post-Gazette/Bloomberg: How Shell, Chevron Are Delaying US Efforts To Refill Its Emergency Oil Reserve

-- PA Capital-Star: Reliability v. Sustainability: Inside The Debate Over EPA’s Proposed Carbon Pollution Rules

-- Utility Dive: California City Lays Groundwork For Natural Gas System Decommissioning As Decarbonization Tool

-- Village Of Reno Water Supply Contamination

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Nov. 25 to Dec. 1 - 13 More Abandoned Conventional Well NOVs; Failure To Report Water Supply Impact In July  [PaEN]

-- Train Derailments

-- Shapiro Administration Provides Update On Norfolk Southern Train Derailment Response 9 Months After Derailment  [PaEN] 

-- Education

-- The Center Square: Report: PA Student Test Scores Still Lag After Pandemic

-- The Center Square: PA Regulations Strangling Career Tech Schools; Adding To Staffing Woes In Many Industries

-- Inquirer: PA House Democrats Plan Bills To Protect Transgender Students; Here’s What It Might Mean To PA Schools

-- MCall Guest Essay: Efforts To Help Historically Disadvantaged Communities Actually Hurt Minority Students - By Jocelynn Cordes, conservative author, essayist

-- TribLive: Nationwide Youth Gun-Violence Epidemic Hitting Teens, Families In Pittsburgh Region

-- TribLive: Pittsburgh Police Arrest 2, Seize 4 Guns After Threat Against School

-- PennLive: Many Who Injured 14 During 2001 Machete Attack At York County Elementary School Dies In Prison

-- TribLive Editorial: Community Colleges Latest Pawns In Harrisburg Educational Chess Game

-- Health Care

-- Post-Gazette: An Increasing Number Of PA Kids Went Without Health Insurance In 2022, Report Shows

-- TribLive: Fmr Western PA Nursing Home Employee Testifies She Was Told To Falsify Records

-- Spotlight PA: Opioid Settlement Money Is Supposed To Expand Syringe Services, But PA Drug Laws Stand In The Way

-- Law Enforcement

-- AP: Republican Impeachment Effort Against Philadelphia DA Lands Before Democratic-Majority PA Supreme Court

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Supreme Court Justices Question Republican Effort To Impeach Philadelphia DA

-- KYW: Delaware County DA Becomes 5th Democrat To Run For PA Attorney General

-- WHYY: Wrongfully Convicted Philadelphia Man Released From Prison After 27 Years

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Inside The PA Taxpayer Supported Fund That Paid Out $19 Million In State-Related Settlements

-- TribLive: Nationwide Youth Gun-Violence Epidemic Hitting Teens, Families In Pittsburgh Region

-- TribLive: Pittsburgh Police Arrest 2, Seize 4 Guns After Threat Against School

-- PennLive: Many Who Injured 14 During 2001 Machete Attack At York County Elementary School Dies In Prison

-- The Economy

-- TribLive: Southwestern PA Jobless Rate Remains At Record Low

-- PennLive: ‘Skill’ Gambling Games Score Biggest Win Yet In PA Court

-- PA Capital-Star: State Court Rules ‘Skill’ Gambling Games Are Not Slot Machines

-- PA Capital-Star: PennDOT May Pursue Disqualification Of G.O. Hawbaker As Contractor In Wage Theft Case, PA Supreme Court Rules

-- Other

-- Observer-Reporter Guest Essay: How Spotlight PA’s Nonpartisan Journalism Cuts The Noise And Gets Results - By Spotlight PA

[Posted: December 3, 2023]