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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- Post-Gazette: F&M Poll Has Casey Maintaining Lead Over Republican Opponent; Shaprio Has Best Approval Rating Since Ridge’s First Term

-- WSJ: A Pennsylvania Fracking Boom Weighs On Biden’s Re-Election Chances: ‘Now They’re Voting Red’

-- Financial Times: PA Gov. Josh Shapiro Warns Biden Pause In Permits For New LNG Gas Export Facilities Could Hurt Election Hopes [Export Facility Capacity Will Still Double During Pause ]

-- US DOE Releases Revised Rule Allowing Pittsburgh’s Cleveland-Cliffs Butler Works To Keep Producing Critical Electric Grid Components

-- Post-Gazette: US DOE Releases Final Rule That Protects Butler Steel Jobs

-- WHYY: PA Flood Insurance Premium Task Force Meets In Bucks County Amid Severe Rainstorms

-- AP: Some State Seeking To Restrict TikTok, That Doesn’t Mean Their Governors Aren’t Using It

-- Budget 2024

-- City & State PA: PA’s Structural Budget Deficit Could Shape Budget Battle For Years To Come

-- Dept. Of Revenue Reports March Tax Revenue $289.9 Million (4.8%) Above Estimate; Fiscal Year-To-Date $366 Million (1.1%) Above Estimate

-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports March Tax Revenue $298 Million (5%) Above Their Estimates; Fiscal Year-To-Date $284 Million (.9%) Above Their Estimate

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Lawmakers Stew As Shapiro Administration Prolongs Wait For Higher Ed Plan Details

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: New Estimates Finds Legalizing ‘Skill’ Gambling Machines Would Generate $420 Million

-- PA House/Senate

-- PA Capital-Star: Can Democrats Flip The PA Senate For A ‘Trifecta’?

-- PennLive: Balance Of Power In State Senate Could Ride On Crowded 15th Senate District Race

-- PA Capital-Star: These PA House Primaries Will Decide Who Goes To Harrisburg 

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Lawmakers Stew As Shapiro Administration Prolongs Wait For Higher Ed Plan Details

-- US Senate/House

-- Post-Gazette: F&M Poll Has Casey Maintaining Lead Over Republican Opponent; Shaprio Has Best Approval Rating Since Ridge’s First Term

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Republican Candidate For PA Senate Returns To PA Leadership Conference

-- Inquirer: Cong. Summer Lee Is PA’s Most Progressive Member In Congress And The Only Democrat Facing Primary Opposition

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: PA Republican Con. Reschenthaler Raises Bar On Sycophants For Ex-President

-- 2024 Election

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Proliferation Of Misinformation And Lies Are Hurting Election Workers In PA - By Al Schmidt, State’s Top Election Official

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Be An Astute Consumer Of Election Information - By Al Schmidt, State’s Top Election Official

-- WITF: Drop Boxes Added As Dauphin County Starts Sending Out Mail-In Ballots

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Democratic Candidate For Attorney General Has $1 Million Campaign Stash

-- Inquirer: Misinformation Sites Masquerade As Real News, 95 In Pennsylvania Alone

-- Election Reforms

-- PA Capital-Star: Advocates Call For Shapiro To Extend Automatic Voter Registration To Social Service Agencies

-- WHYY: Compensation For Victims Of Voter Intimidation Pushed By PA Legislator

-- National Politics

-- WSJ: A Pennsylvania Fracking Boom Weighs On Biden’s Re-Election Chances: ‘Now They’re Voting Red’

-- Financial Times: PA Gov. Josh Shapiro Warns Biden Pause In Permits For New LNG Gas Export Facilities Could Hurt Election Hopes [Export Facility Capacity Will Still Double During Pause ]

-- MCall: Ex-President To Hold Rally In Lehigh Valley Next Week

-- Miscellaneous State/Harrisburg Politics

-- Franklin & Marshall Poll Release - April 2024

-- Post-Gazette: F&M Poll Has Casey Maintaining Lead Over Republican Opponent; Shaprio Has Best Approval Rating Since Ridge’s First Term

-- Politics PA: New F&M Poll Says Pennsylvania Moving In A More Positive Direction

-- MCall: F&M Poll: Pennsylvanians Want Voting, Election Rule Changes

-- PennLive: F&M Poll: Biden’s 10-Point Lead In New PA Poll Nearly Disappears When Other Candidates Are Included

-- PennLive - John Baer: Media And Politics, Then To Now, Have Changed For The Worse

-- PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- DEP Reports Only 1 Shale Gas Well Permit Under Review Drastically Reducing The Revenue Needed To Run Its Entire Oil & Gas Regulatory Program  [PaEN] 

-- WSJ: A Pennsylvania Fracking Boom Weighs On Biden’s Re-Election Chances: ‘Now They’re Voting Red’

-- Financial Times: PA Gov. Josh Shapiro Warns Biden Pause In Permits For New LNG Gas Export Facilities Could Hurt Election Hopes [Export Facility Capacity Will Still Double During Pause ]

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs Increase 1 Over Last Week To 22

-- PUC To Investigate Proposed  Columbia Gas Rate Increase Of 15.79% For Gas, Including A ‘Mechanism To Stabilize Utility Revenue’ Regardless Of Customer Use

-- PennLive: PUC Investigating Proposed 15.9% By Columbia Gas

-- WGAL: UGI Gas Utilities Checking Gas Lines As Precaution After East Coast Earthquake: If You Smell Gas, Evacuate Immediately 

-- AAA Gasoline Prices:  PA- $3.63   National- $3.58   Ohio- $3.53  

-- Yahoo!Finance/OilPrice.com: US Natural Gas Producers Ready To Pounce When Prices Rebound; Signing Contracts To Export More LNG Gas 

-- Reuters: Chesapeake Energy, Southwestern Gas Producers Delay Merger Closing After FTC Seeks More Information

-- Reuters: US March LNG Gas Exports Flat As Texas LNG Plant Woes Continue

-- Creators.com - Salena Zito: Biden’s LNG Gas Export Embargo Hurts Farmers Too  [There Is No Embargo, Biden Paused Permits For NEW Export Facilities, Export Capacity Will Double During The Pause]

-- CNBC: Global Gas Glut Could Reach Multi-Decade Highs In Coming Years, Morgan Stanley Says

-- Reuters: Canada ‘Not Interested’ In Subsidizing Future LNG Gas Export Facilities, Energy Minister Says

-- Reuters: China Power Firm GCL Revives LNG Gas Import, Trading Ambitions  [Will PA Gas Aid China Like Pittsburgh-based EQT Wants? ]

-- Reuters: US Oil & Gas Production Severely Hit By Winter Storm For 10 Days In January  

-- Bloomberg: OPEC+ Turns The Screws On Production As Oil Market Tightens   

-- Train Derailments

-- TribLive Editorial: Federal Railway Safety Act Shouldn’t Be Derailed

-- TribLive Editorial: Lance: Questionable Choice By Allegheny County Dept. Of Emergency Services In Plum Boro’s Natural Gas Home Explosion

-- AP: EPA Did Not Declare A Public Health Emergency After Fiery Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

-- AP: Freight Railroads Must Keep 2-Person Crews, According To New Federal Rule

-- Flooding

-- Spotlight PA: Some PA Municipalities Turning To Fees To Cover Stormwater Management Costs, But Pushback, A Lawsuit Threaten That Revenue 

-- WHYY: PA Flood Insurance Premium Task Force Meets In Bucks County Amid Severe Rainstorms

-- TribLive: Pittsburgh Rivers Reach Highest Levels In Nearly 20 Years

-- TribLive: Conemaugh River Lake Crest Gates Opened For 1st Time Since 2010 In Westmoreland

-- TribLive: Westmoreland Flood Damage May Not Be Bad Enough For Disaster Declaration

-- Warren Times: Officials Predict Substantial Water Rise In Allegheny Reservoir

-- WPXI: Flood Waters, Landslides Damage Communities In Washington, Greene Counties  

-- Observer-Reporter: Muddy Mess: Damage Assessment Begins In Wake Of Record Rainfall

-- Triblive: Too Familiar: Residents Near Creeks, Streams Begin Flood Cleanup 

-- WTAE: Roads Closed Due To Flooding, Landslides After Heavy Rain In Western PA

-- Tribune-Review: Mucky, Orangish Abandoned Mine Water Flows Out Of Hillside Into Johnstown Due To Heavy Rains 

-- TribLive: Westmoreland Authority Says Rains Pump 2 Billion Gallons Into Beaver Run Reservoir

-- TribLive: High Waters Cast Doubt On Trout Season Opener Saturday

-- TribLive: Widespread Flooding In Westmoreland, Homes Flooded, Roads Closed

-- Post-Gazette: Days Of Heavy Rain Leads To Major Flooding Around Western PA

-- WTAE: Etna Borough Benefiting From Millions Invested To Control Flooding

-- Altoona Mirror: Floodwaters Swamp Blair County Region

-- Williamsport Sun: Muncy Boro Officials Considering Federal Buyouts For Flood-Prone Properties

-- TribLive: Widespread Flooding Causing Issues In Southwest PA Counties

-- Penn State Extension - Special Flooding Resources Watershed Winds Newsletter 

-- Penn State Extension Webinar: April 19 Uses And Benefits Of Rain Barrels, 7:00 p.m. 

-- Penn State Extension: May 4 Rain Barrel Discovery Workshop, Lancaster; Registration Fee Includes Rain Barrel  

-- Education

-- TribLive Editorial: 10 Years After Franklin Regional School Attack, School Violence Still Needs Treatment

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Lawmakers Stew As Shapiro Administration Prolongs Wait For Higher Ed Plan Details

-- Post-Gazette: University Of Pittsburgh Reports Record-Breaking Number Of First-Year Applications

-- TribLive Editorial: Can Dual Enrollment Solve College Cost Problem?

-- Law Enforcement

-- MCall Guest Essay: Pennsylvania’s Gun Laws Fail Our Children - By Rep. Joshua Siegel

-- TribLive Editorial: 10 Years After Franklin Regional School Attack, School Violence Still Needs Treatment

-- The Economy

-- Spotlight PA - Stephen Caruso: Why PA’s Efforts To Regulate Social Media Companies Have Failed So Far

-- Post-Gazette: Small Businesses In 8 PA Counties Eligible For Federal SBA Low-Interest Loans Following Baltimore Bridge Collapse 

-- TribLive/Inquirer: PA’s Minimum Wage Battle Being Led By Philly, Its Suburbs, With Officials Fighting For $15/Hour

[Posted: April 7, 2024]