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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Butler County Political Rally Shootings

-- PennLive: Gov. Shapiro On Rally Shooting - Violence Is ‘Absolutely Unacceptable’

-- Post-Gazette: Bipartisan Supports Rolls In After Shooting At Butler Rally

-- WITF: PA Elected Officials React To Butler Rally Shootings

-- The Center Square: PA Congressional Leaders React To Shooting

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Officials, Lawmakers Speak Out After Shootings At Butler Rally

-- For Those News Readers Who Forgot: John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, George Wallace, Ford (twice), Reagan

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- PennLive: Gov. Shapiro On Rally Shooting - Violence Is ‘Absolutely Unacceptable’

-- PA Capital-Star: Gov. Shapiro Signs 2024-25 Budget, Calls It A ‘Major Victory’

-- TribLive: Is There Too Much Philly In PA’s New License Plate Design?

-- Budget 2024

-- PA Capital-Star: Gov. Shapiro Signs 2024-25 Budget, Calls It A ‘Major Victory’

-- AP: PA Lawmakers Pass Nearly $48 Billion State Budget, Almost 2 Weeks Late

-- Final State Budget Includes $50 Million For Clean Streams Fund; New SPEED Permit Review Program; Support For DEP Oil & Gas Program  [PaEN] 

-- Spotlight PA: Compromises On Education Spending, Tax Cuts, Transit Headline PA’s $47.6 Billion Budget

-- Spotlight PA: State Budget Deal Would Send $500 Million More To PA’s Poorest Schools, Falling Short Of What Some Say Is Needed

-- PennLive: PA’s New Budget Includes Major Boosts For Schools, Economic Development

-- Post-Gazette: Gov. Shapiro Signs $47.6 Billion Budget With Big Boost In Education Spending

-- PA Capital-Star: Which New Programs In New State Budget Didn’t Make Headlines?  [Solar For Schools, Agriculture Innovation]

-- City & State PA: 9 Takeaways From PA’s 2024-25 State Budget

-- TribLive: State-Owned Universities Hope To Keep Instate Tuition Freeze

-- TribLive: Pitt Raises In-State Tuition On Its Main Campus By 2%

-- TribLive Editorial: Start Planning Path To Next PA Budget Now

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: PA Lawmakers, Gov. Shapiro Believe Budget Deal Is In Sight: ‘We Are Very Close’

-- Tribune-Democrat/CNHI: Negotiations Continue But PA Budget Remains Unsettled

-- Inquirer Editorial: Legislature Blows Its Budget Deadline-- Again-- Leaving Vulnerable Pennsylvanians With The Consequences

-- Spotlight PA - Stephen Caruso: Disagreement About Measuring Student Poverty In School Funding Delaying PA Budget

-- Inquirer: PA Lawmakers A Week Late In Finalizing The State Budget And Creating New School Funding System

-- PennLive Guest Essay: ‘Skill’ Gambling Games Are A Menace To Community Well Being - By Rep. Amen Brown (D-Philadelphia) 

-- PennLive: PA House Keeps Budget Committee Meeting Open Until Wee Hours Of Morning, Took No Action [1:00 a.m.]

-- PA House/Senate

-- TribLive: Pharmacy Benefit Manager Bill Headed To Governor’s Desk

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Here’s What PA Budget Has For Rural Hospitals, Long-Term Care

-- PennLive Guest Essay: ‘Skill’ Gambling Games Are A Menace To Community Well Being - By Rep. Amen Brown (D-Philadelphia) 

-- PennLive: Bomb Threat That Cleared PA Capitol Believed To Be Hoax; No Intruder Or Devices Found

-- Sen. Jarrett Coleman: Senate Committee Issues Subpoena To Revenue Secretary Over Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Information

-- Post-Gazette: Republican State Senator Threatens To Subpoena State Revenue Secretary Over Tax Records Of Lehigh Valley Redevelopment Zone

-- PennLive: After Killing, Dismemberment Of Mercer County Trans Teen, PA House LGBTQ Caucus Urges Hate Crime Bill Passage

-- Post-Gazette: PA House Committee Advances Pittsburgh Tax Break Program Over Objection It Creates ‘Unequal Playing Field’

-- The Center Square: Squatter Bill Heads To Governor After Brief Stumbling Block

-- TribLive: Bill Guarding Pittsburghers From Big Property Tax Hikes Heads To Shapiro

-- Post-Gazette: Sen. Fontana Seeks To Fix PA’s ‘Dysfunctional Property Tax Assessment System’

-- US Senate/House

-- MCall: CNN Reports PA Cong. Susan Wild Among House Democrats Who Want Biden To Drop Out

-- TribLive: Sen. Casey Walks Fine Line Amid Biden Turmoil

-- WHYY: Republican Candidate For US Senate Claims He Created ‘Hundreds Of Jobs’ In PA, Records Suggest Otherwise

-- Primary Election

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Luzerne County Has Yet To Count Some Provisional Ballots In House Primary Election Race

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Republican House Candidate Files PA Supreme Court Appeal Over 2 Provisional Ballots

-- November Election

-- AP: In Swing-State Pennsylvania, Latino-Majority City Reading Embraces A Chance To Sway The 2024 Election

-- TribLive Editorial: Hispanic Population Growth Can Build PA Political Power

-- WHYY: VP Harris Courts Asian, Pacific Islander Voters In Philadelphia

-- Politics PA: Voters Opting To Register As Independents Versus Democrats In PA

-- Post-Gazette: Biden’s Problem Buoy PA Republicans Arriving For Convention

-- TribLive Editorial: Could Presidential Race Swing PA Politics?

-- Election Reforms

-- WITF/Votebeat: Lawmakers Hope Bill Setting Deadlines For Legal Challenges Will Help PA Avoid November Election Certification Crisis

-- Tribune-Democrat: Penn’s Political Empathy Lab Research Team Visits Johnstown

-- National Politics

-- TribLive Editorial: Could Presidential Race Swing PA Politics?

-- WESA: Pittsburgh-Area Democratic Delegates Want To Stick With Biden, Dismiss Concerns About Age

-- Post-Gazette: Biden Campaign Says The ‘Clearest Pathway’ To Winning The Election Goes Through PA

-- AP: Presidential Battle Could Play Role In Control Of State Capitals In Several Swing States [PA Included]

-- WHYY: VP Harris Courts Asian, Pacific Islander Voters In Philadelphia

-- AP: While Biden Campaigns In PA, Some Democratic Leaders In The US House Say He Should Step Aside

-- MCall: CNN Reports PA Cong. Susan Wild Among House Democrats Who Want Biden To Drop Out

-- Post-Gazette: Debate Didn’t Make Things Easier For Pittsburgh’s Black, Latino Voters

-- Post-Gazette: Borrowers In Pittsburgh Keeping Student Loan Debt Front Of Mind Heading Into Presidential Election

-- PA’s Role In Assault On US Capitol

-- PennLive: Centre County Man Found Guilty Of Crimes Related To Assault On US Capitol

-- Miscellaneous State/Harrisburg Politics

-- LancasterOnline: Sen. Tartaglione Faces Challenges In Wheelchair

-- PennLive - John Baer: Don’t Let All The Political Madness Turn You Away From Democracy

-- City & State PA: Sage Advice - PA’s Senior Politicos Dish On What Their Successors Should And Shouldn’t Do

-- PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Electrification Is Coming, Grid Panic Is Already Here 

-- Centre Daily Times: Climate Watch - What’s The Answer To Heat?  Heat Pumps!

-- TribLive: Pittsburgh Opening 6 Cooling Centers As Temperatures Climb Monday, Tuesday

-- WHYY: Philly Declares Heat Health Emergency With Temperatures Nearing 100 Degrees

-- AAA Gasoline Prices: PA- $3.68  National- $3.52  Ohio- $3.32

-- Investopedia.com: Will Low Gasoline Prices Continue To Drive An Inflation Slowdown?  [Spoiler - Oil Prices Rising]

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs - 21, Same As Last Week

-- Delaware Valley Journal: PA Energy Advocates Ecstatic After Judge Blocks Biden Pause In Permits For New LNG Gas Export Facilities [PA Gas Industry Wants To Send More Gas To China Because It Means Higher Prices For Them And Us]

-- Reuters: US Natural Gas Prices Settle UP Over 2% On Hot-Weather Forecasts

-- Reuters: US Natural Gas Prices Fall 3% Due To Storage, Rising Output Less Gas Flowing To LNG Export Facilities

-- Reuters: US Natural Gas Prices Ease On Rising Production, Drop In Gas Flowing To LNG Gas Export Facilities

-- Bloomberg: US Natural Gas Price Forecasters Say Prices Set To Rise By Over A Third In Second Half Of The Year

-- Reuters: US Natural Gas Output To Decline In 2024, While Demand Rises To Record High, EIA Says

-- Wash Post: 26 Foot, Armored Sea Wall Protects New Louisiana LNG Gas Export Facility Being Built By Venture Global To Try To Protect It From Storms  

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Rise After Global Supply Risks Resurface

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Poised For Biggest Decline Since April

-- Yahoo! Finance: Rising Prices For Natural Gas May Mean Coal Will Replace Natural Gas In European Power Mix This Winter

-- The Guardian: After Hurricane Beryl’s Destruction, Climate Scientists Fear For What’s Next

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Rise As Hurricane Beryl Highlights LNG Supply Chain Risks 

-- Reuters: Texas Energy Industry Braces For Hurricane Beryl As Storm Makes Landfall 

-- Reuters: Oil Price Drops 1% As Gaza Talks Ease Supply Worries, Hurricane Beryl In Focus

-- EnergyConnects.com: Canadian Oil Steadies As Storm, Wildfires Pose Twin Threats To Output 

-- Train Derailments

-- PA Capital-Star: Casey, Deluzio Announced $3.66 Million For Public Water Supply In Beaver County Affected By Norfolk Southern Train Derailment 

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: Ohio Residents Affected By Norfolk Southern Train Derailment Reach Out To Illinois Town After Train Derailment There

-- Flooding

-- WHYY: As Sea Levels Rise, Philly, Camden At Risk Of Being Inundated With Raw Sewage, Study Finds 

-- WHYY: Philadelphians Missing Out On Flood Insurance Discounts, The City Could Cash In Next Year

-- Scranton Times: Scranton Nears $2.7 Million In FEMA Funds To Buy Out 21 Flood-Prone Properties

-- WNEP: Scranton To Demolish Flooded Homes

-- WNEP: $500,000 Federal Grant To Help Repair Luzerne County Fairgrounds After Flooding

-- Reading Eagle: Antietam Schools’ Post-Flood Project To Build Temporary Classrooms On Schedule, Officials Say

-- Courier Times: Bucks County Fatal Flash Flood: Sudden Loss Of Parents Still Raw For Son A Year Later

-- Courier Times: Bucks County Community To Hold Memorial Service For Victims Lost To 2023 Flood

-- FEMA Finalizes Rule To Increase Resilience Against Flooding To Protect Future Taxpayer-Funded Projects

-- The Guardian: After Hurricane Beryl’s Destruction, Climate Scientists Fear For What’s Next

-- Education

-- Spotlight PA: State Budget Deal Would Send $500 Million More To PA’s Poorest Schools, Falling Short Of What Some Say Is Needed

-- PennLive: PA’s New Budget Includes Major Boosts For Schools, Economic Development

-- Post-Gazette: Gov. Shapiro Signs $47.6 Billion Budget With Big Boost In Education Spending

-- TribLive: State-Owned Universities Hope To Keep Instate Tuition Freeze

-- TribLive: Pitt Raises In-State Tuition On Its Main Campus By 2%

-- Inquirer: Public Education Advocates: PA Budget Deal Has To Include School Funding Plan Or We’ll Go Back To Court

-- Spotlight PA - Stephen Caruso: Disagreement About Measuring Student Poverty In School Funding Delaying PA Budget

-- Inquirer: PA Lawmakers A Week Late In Finalizing The State Budget And Creating New School Funding System

-- NYT: Chester County Middle School Students Impersonate Teachers With Fake TikTok Accounts, Post Vulgar Content

-- WHYY: After TikTok Scandal, Chester County Teachers Pushing For Digital Citizenship Curriculum

-- WHYY: Chester County Teachers Become Target Of Viral Attacks

-- TribLive: Under Mounting Pressures, Small Private Colleges Across PA Close Their Doors

-- Post-Gazette: Borrowers In Pittsburgh Keeping Student Loan Debt Front Of Mind Heading Into Presidential Election

-- TribLive: Chatham University Students Fear Closure Of Eden Hall Campus Dorm Could Affect Access To Classes This Fall

-- Inquirer: One Of Korea’s Richest Men Just Became Haverford College’s New Board Chair

-- Health Care

-- TribLive: Pharmacy Benefit Manager Bill Headed To Governor’s Desk

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Here’s What PA Budget Has For Rural Hospitals, Long-Term Care

-- Post-Gazette: Geisinger Health System Commits $1.8 Billion To Upgrades As Health Care Competition Stiffens In Central PA

-- PennLive: COVID Cases Rising In PA But Hospitalizations, Deaths Remain Low

--  TribLive: As COVID Cases Surge, Here’s What Local Doctors Advise

-- Post-Gazette: Whooping Cough Cases Spike In Allegheny County After A Period Of Near Dormancy

-- Law Enforcement

-- PennLive: Mercer County Community In Shock Over Killing, Dismembering Of Transgender Girl

-- PennLive: After Killing, Dismemberment Of Mercer County Trans Teen, PA House LGBTQ Caucus Urges Hate Crime Bill Passage

-- Post-Gazette: Evidence Lacking For Hate Crime Charges In Death, Dismemberment Of Transgender Teen, Investigators Say

-- Spotlight PA: What You Need To Know About PA’s Slow Elder Abuse Investigations

-- WHYY: Philly DA Vows To Prosecute Criminals Regardless Of Immigration Status Of The Victim

-- Spotlight PA: Secret Bank Accounts, $1 Million Deficit Plague DuBois As Official’s Corruption Case Is Repeatedly Delayed

-- The Economy

-- TribLive: Western PA Is Experiencing A Cultural, Economic Change, Latino Economy Saw 18% Growth

-- AP: Sale Of US Steel Kicks Up Political Storm, But Pittsburgh Isn’t Steeltown USA Anymore

-- TribLive: Bill Guarding Pittsburghers From Big Property Tax Hikes Heads To Shapiro

-- Post-Gazette: Sen. Fontana Seeks To Fix PA’s ‘Dysfunctional Property Tax Assessment System’

-- The Center Square: Squatter Bill Heads To Governor After Brief Stumbling Block

-- Inquirer: PA Liquor Control Board Must Refund ‘Tens Of Millions Of Dollars’ It Charged For Shipping Fees, Court Says

-- PennLive Guest Essay: ‘Skill’ Gambling Games Are A Menace To Community Well Being - By Rep. Amen Brown (D-Philadelphia) 

-- Other

-- Spotlight PA: Local Governments Could Save Millions If Public Notice Requirements Change; Newspapers Oppose The Move

[Posted: July 14, 2024]