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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- Gov. Shapiro: New Interactive Map Highlights Investments Made In Communities During First Year In Office

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Shapiro Meets With US Steel, Nippon Steel Officials On Pending Sale

-- Spotlight PA - Stephen Caruso: Despite Ethics Concerns, Shapiro Will Keep Accepting Tickets From Nonprofit Team PA That Gets State Money

-- CNX Resources Begins Disclosing General Information On Fracking Chemicals, Air Monitoring Results Online At 2 Shale Gas Well Pads  [PaEN]

-- PA Capital-Star: CNX Gas Company Begins Self-Reporting Air Quality Data As Part Of Shapiro Partnership

-- Fox News Guest Essay: Pennsylvania’s Radical Plan To Produce Energy And Protect Our Environment - By Gov. Josh Shapiro & Nick Deiuliis, CEO CNX Resources

-- CNX Ends Coordination On West Virginia Adams Fork Ammonia Energy Project, Anchor Of ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub Application  [PaEN]

-- Budget 2023

-- Spotlight PA - Stephen Caruso: Long Budget Impasse, Partisan Standoffs Dominated PA Legislature In 2023

-- WITF: PA Begins Funding Criminal Defense For Those Who Cannot Afford An Attorney

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Expands Child Care Tax Credit

-- PA Gaming Control Board Reports November Revenue Down 1.7% Over 2022

-- Independent Fiscal Office: Gasoline Consumption In PA Remains Well Below 2019 Levels (Pre-COVID)

-- PA House/Senate

-- City & State PA: State And Local Issues To Watch In 2024

-- Spotlight PA - Stephen Caruso: Long Budget Impasse, Partisan Standoffs Dominated PA Legislature In 2023

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Inside Harrisburg’s Year End Legislative Frenzy

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: PA House Dems Not Voting For Months Due To Leaky Roof, That’s Unacceptable - By Commonwealth Partners Chamber of Entrepreneurs

-- Williamsport Sun Editorial: State Should Expand Statute Of Limitations For Child Abuse

-- WITF: PA Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Legislation Again To Lower Penalties For Marijuana Possession

-- US Senate/House

-- TribLive Editorial: So Fetterman’s Not A Progressive?

-- PennLive: Fetterman Says He Will Use ‘Whatever Tools Are In The Box’ To Stop Japanese Acquisition Of US Steel

-- Politics PA: Is PA On Pace To Lose Another Congressional Seat In 2030?

-- November 7, 2023 Election

-- WITF: PA Republican Party Embraces Election Fraud Conspiracy Theory Around 2023 PA Supreme Court Race

-- 2024 Elections

-- PA Capital-Star: Democratic Committees File Motion To Allow Misdated PA Mail-In Ballots To Be Counted

-- The Derrick: Rep. Oberlander Won’t Seek Reelection To House

-- MCall: New Muhlenberg Poll Has Biden, Ex-President In Dead Heat In 2024 Presidential Race

-- Post-Gazette: Biden Tries To Rebound In PA And Other Key States In 2024

-- Election Reforms

-- Spotlight PA: Administrative Election Errors Rise As PA Counties Struggle To Keep Voting Officials

-- PA Capital-Star: Democratic Committees File Motion To Allow Misdated PA Mail-In Ballots To Be Counted

-- National Politics

-- PennLive - John Baer: The Naughty & Nice Of 2023 Politics: Coal In Lots Of Stockings

-- MCall: New Muhlenberg Poll Has Biden, Ex-President In Dead Heat In 2024 Presidential Race

-- Post-Gazette: Biden Tries To Rebound In PA And Other Key States In 2024

-- PA’s Role In Assault On US Capitol

-- WHYY/AP: Allegheny County Election Officials Have Faced No Legal Consequences After Qualifying Fake Electoral Votes In 2020

-- TribLive/AP: Republican Con. Scott Perry Told To Hand Over Hundreds Of Texts, Emails In 2020 Election Probe

-- Miscellaneous State/Harrisburg Politics

-- City & State PA: State And Local Issues To Watch In 2024

-- PennLive - John Baer: The Naughty & Nice Of 2023 Politics: Coal In Lots Of Stockings

-- PA Capital-Star: Economy, Inflation, Health Care Top Concerns Among Latino Voters In PA

-- The Center Square: Simpler Appeal Process Proposed For State Taxes

-- TribLive Guest Essay: The Veterans Hospital That Stole Christmas - By Stacy Garrity, State Treasurer

-- Spotlight PA: Voters Play Little Role In Choosing Who Fills Vacant Municipal Offices

-- PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- AAA Gasoline Prices: PA- $3.42  National- $3.12   Ohio- $2.89

-- PennLive: PA Motorists May See Savings At Pump As State Oil Franchise Tax Falls

-- Independent Fiscal Office: Gasoline Consumption In PA Remains Well Below 2019 Levels (Pre-COVID)

-- TribLive Letter: More Natural Gas Production, More Consumer Savings - By Marcellus Shale Gas Industry  [Forgot About 2021-22 Price Spikes Already? Tied To LNG Shipments?]

-- Baker-Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drill Rigs Drop By 1 Last Week To 19

-- Bloomberg: LNG Natural Gas Shipping Rates Slump On Lower Demand Despite Red Sea Chaos

-- Bloomberg: LNG Natural Gas Ships Begin To Reroute Away From Red Sea On Rising War Tension

-- Reuters: BP To Pause All Oil & Gas Tanker Transits Thru The Red Sea

-- CNN: Oil, Natural Gas Prices Surge As BP Stops Red Sea Shipments Following Attacks 

Oil & Gas Health Impacts

-- Oil & Gas Facilities Self-Reported 13,432,713 Tons Of Air Pollution In PA In 2022; 101,741,616 Tons Total Since 2012  [PaEN]

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Oil & Gas Industry Air Pollution In Pennsylvania

-- HEI Energy, Penn State Study Uses 28,500 Water Sample Results To Help Identify Oil & Gas Industry Groundwater Pollution  [PaEN] 

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Oil & Gas Industry Groundwater Pollution

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Dec. 16 to 22 - 46% More Conventional NOVs; More Abandoned Wells; Conventional Well Fire; Venting Gas, Spills, Plugging Mess  [PaEN]

-- Conventional Oil Well Storage Tanks Burn In McKean County, 6 Local Fire Companies Respond  [PaEN] 

-- Gas Explosions

-- PUC Update On Investigation Of Dec. 12 Home Explosion In Sewickley Heights, Allegheny County  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Initial Reports Indicate Columbia Gas Lines Not Involved In Sewickley Heights Home Explosion In Allegheny County

-- TribLive: Home For Holidays Has Different Meaning For Victims Of Natural Gas Explosion In Plum Boro, Allegheny County 

-- AP: 1 Dead After Propane Gas Hotel Explosion In Lancaster County

-- KDKA: Explosion, Fire At AmeriGas Propane Gas Facility In Beaver County, No Injuries

-- WPXI: Major Natural Gas Leak At Ross Twp., Allegheny County Business Forced Road Closures, Evacuations

-- Education

-- PennLive: Student Homelessness Hits Suburban Schools In Central PA As Housing Costs Skyrocket

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Expands Child Care Tax Credit

-- The Center Square: PA Philanthropists Give Millions In Education Innovation Awards

-- The Center Square: PA State Student Loan Interest Deduction Proposal Moves Out Of House Committee

-- Health Care

-- PennLive: Flu Cases Adding Up Fast; COVID Deaths Surging In PA

-- Spotlight PA: Information On Why Patients Qualify For Medical Marijuana Now Publicly Available

-- WITF: PA Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Legislation Again To Lower Penalties For Marijuana Possession

-- TribLive Editorial: Who Actually Learns A Lesson From Nursing Home’s Guilty Verdict?

-- Law Enforcement

-- Williamsport Sun Editorial: State Should Expand Statute Of Limitations For Child Abuse

-- The Center Square: PA Guardianship Laws Strengthened

-- WITF: PA Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Legislation Again To Lower Penalties For Marijuana Possession

-- WITF: PA Begins Funding Criminal Defense For Those Who Cannot Afford An Attorney

-- Post-Gazette: Gun Rights And Gun Safety?  Owner Of Allegheny Arms May Have Found A Solution

-- WHYY: Philly’s Gun Violence Rates Are Dropping, but More Work Is Needed To Strengthen Youth Empowerment, Leaders Say

-- WITF/AP: Fmr PA Death Row Inmate Freed After Prosecutors Drop Charges Before Start Of Retrial

-- Post-Gazette: White Supremacist Sentenced For Threats Against Pittsburgh Synagogue Trial Witnesses

-- The Economy

-- Dept. Of Labor & Industry: PA’s November Unemployment Rate Remains At Record Low 3.4%

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Pennsylvania Shrinks By 10,000 People In 2023

-- KDKA: Japanese Steel Company Purchasing Pittsburgh-based US Steel In Deal Worth Nearly $15 Billion 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Shapiro Meets With US Steel, Nippon Steel Officials On Pending Sale

-- PennLive: Fetterman Says He Will Use ‘Whatever Tools Are In The Box’ To Stop Japanese Acquisition Of US Steel

-- AP: Biden Believes US Steel Sale To Japanese Company Warrants Foreign Investment Review

-- TribLive: US Steel Sale Will Create New Jobs, Spark Investment In Mon Valley, Analyst Says

-- Post-Gazette: Clairton Coke [Coal] Workers Quiet Amid Uncertainty of US Steel Sale

-- WESA: With Potential US Steel Sale, A Reckoning Is Coming For The Way Steel Is Made In Mon Valley 

-- TribLive: Japanese Company To Buy US Steel In $14.9 Billion Deal; Headquarters To Remain In Pittsburgh

-- TribLive: US Steel Workers In Western PA Unsure What Nippon Deal Means For Local Mills, Their Future

-- Post-Gazette: In The Mon Valley, Reaction Is Mixed To Pending Sale Of US Steel

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: United Steelworkers Blast US Steel Sale To Nippon Steel

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: How The US Steel Sale Will Impact Pittsburgh

-- Post-Gazette: PA US Senators Line Up To Oppose Sale Of US Steel To Japanese Firm

-- TribLive Editorial: What Is The Future Of US Steel?

-- Independent Fiscal Office: Gasoline Consumption In PA Remains Well Below 2019 Levels (Pre-COVID)

-- Other

-- WITF/AP: Locked Out Of PA Local Government: Residents Decry Increased Secrecy Among Towns, Counties, School Districts

[Posted: December 24, 2023]