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: Shapiro Offers A Simple Song Of Freedom In Democratic Convention Address

-- The Center Square: Shapiro Says ‘Real Freedom’ Starts With Public Schools

-- AP: Josh Shapiro Champions Democrats As Part Of Freedom During DNC Speech

-- Newsweek: Ex-President Tears Into ‘Highly Overrated Jewish Governor’ Josh Shapiro

-- PA Capital-Star: Shapiro Says Ex-President ‘Is Obsessed With Me’ In Reply To Snarky Comment From The Ex-President

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Josh Shapiro And Jason Kelco As ‘Odd Couple’ That Wasn’t

-- Gov. Shapiro Adds 7 Counties To Flood Disaster Proclamation: Cambria, Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Elk, Indiana, York; Aid For Flood Survivors  [PaEN] 

-- Budget 2025

-- PA Gaming Control Board Reports July Revenue 7.22% Over July 2023

-- PennLive: PA Casinos’ All-Sources Revenue Soars Past $500 Million In July

-- Statewide Races

-- City & State PA: 3 Takeaways From DePasquale’s PA Press Club Appearance On AG’s Race

-- PA House/Senate

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: ‘Nobody Wants To Pay’ For Road And Bridge Maintenance

-- Post-Gazette: PA House Members Begin State Tour On Transportation Issues, Bridges, Public Transit

-- US Senate/House

-- Post-Gazette: Sen. Casey Slams Corporate Greed And Celebrates Harris At DNC

-- The Center Square: Casey Blames ‘Scheming Corporations’ For Rising Prices

-- York Dispatch: Democrats Pay $3 Million In Ad Buy For Janelle Stelson As Poll Shows Her Moving Ahead Of Republican Con. Scott Perry

-- Post-Gazette: Fetterman Shipping Democratic Convention In Chicago

-- Primary Election

-- PA Capital-Star: Butler County Case Appealed After Judge Ruled Against Residents Whose Mail-In Ballots Were Rejected

-- November Election

-- WESA: Why Democrats And Republicans Believe The Road To The White House Runs Through Western PA

-- The Center Square: Harris, Ex-President In Dead Heat In Pennsylvania

-- Inquirer Column: Down The Ticket, PA Ballots Will Offer Historic Legislative Choices For Female Candidates

-- The Center Square: PA Forward Party Looks Beyond Republicans, Democrats As Election Nears

-- AP: Democrats Succeed In Keeping Socialist, Liberation Party Candidates Off PA Presidential Ballot, At Least For Now, As Another Independent Tries To Get On

-- TribLive/AP: Court: Cornel West Can’t Be On PA’s Presidential Ballot

-- PA Capital-Star: JFK, Jr. Asks PA Court To Take Him Off Ballot

-- AP: RFK Jr. Shows Up Too Late To Testify In Court Against Democrats’ Ballot Challenge In PA

-- Elections

-- WITF: Butler County Mail-In Voting Case Could Standardized County Rules On Correcting Ballots

-- TribLive: PA Residents Face Barrage Of Political Messaging

-- National Politics

-- WHYY: DNC’s Final Night - PA Pols Reflect On The Week

-- TribLive Editorial: Time For Campaigns To Really Speak To Pennsylvanians

-- The Guardian: Group Of Republican Attorneys General Blocking Climate Laws Funded By Oil Firms, Dark Money

-- PA’s Role In Assault On US Capitol

-- AP: Jury Sides With PA Teacher In Suit Against District Over Falsely Suggesting He Took Part In Assault On US Capitol

-- Miscellaneous State/Harrisburg Politics

-- PennLive: Montgomery County Republican Leader’s Home ‘Swatted’ After Saying On CNN He’s Voting For Harris 

-- PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.37   Ohio- $3.27    PA- $3.54

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

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Eureka Resources Plans To Close/Sell 2 Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Plants In Williamsport: Not Enough Wastewater Volume To Keep Plants Open [PaEN]

-- Eureka Resources Shuts Down Standing Stone Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Facility; DEP Wastewater, Waste Violations Continued From Feb. 2023  [PaEN]

-- Eureka Resources Request To Terminate Its Water Quality Permit For A Proposed Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Facility In Dimock, Susquehanna County Approved By DEP  [PaEN] 

-- Former Employees Of Eureka Resources Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Company Ask For Criminal Investigation Of Eureka And An Audit Of DEP Over Alleged Workplace, Environmental Violations  [PaEN]

-- Rocket-Courier: Sayre Man Killed At Eureka Resources Standing Stone Oil & Gas Wastewater Treatment Plant [September, 2022]

-- Times West Virginian: EPA OKs $3.1 Million, More Time To Clean Up Abandoned Fairmont, WV  Oil & Gas Wastewater Plant; Radioactive Materials Confirmed Present  [ EPA Response Webpage  ]

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - August 17 to 23 - Failure Of Casing During Fracking; 46 Day Delay In Water Compliant Notice; Closing 3 Wastewater Treatment Facilities; 40 More Abandoned Conventional Wells [PaEN]

-- Natural Resources Defense Council Blog: PJM’s Spike In Electric Prices Due To Natural Gas Un-Reliability And PJM’s Failure To Connect New Clean Energy Generation - By Claire Lang-Ree, NRDC

-- DelawareValleyJournal: PJM Pays 700% More To Buy Electricity, Warns Price Hikes Will Follow  

-- TribLive Letter:  Restrictive Natural Gas Regulatory Policies Hurt Pennsylvania [EQT, PA Shale Gas Says We Have A ‘Duty’ To Sell More Gas To China Our Economic, Military Competitor]

-- WSJ: A Natural Gas Glut Is Forcing Drillers To Dial Back - Again; Oversupply Persists Despite Hot Weather 

-- Bloomberg Podcast: Rising Tide Of LNG Gas Exports May Become Glut; Role Of China, US In How LNG Moves Around The Globe

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Swings As Futures Remain Near Overbought Levels 

-- Reuters: NextDecade Withdraws Carbon Capture Project Application At FERC Related To Texas LNG Gas Export Facility

-- Flooding

-- Gov. Shapiro Adds 7 Counties To Flood Disaster Proclamation: Cambria, Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Elk, Indiana, York; Aid For Flood Survivors  [PaEN] 

-- Insurance Dept. Urges Insurance Companies To Use Flexibility In Premium Due Dates, Extend Grace Periods And Waive Late Fees And Penalties  [PaEN] 

-- Williamsport Sun: Water Testing Begins In Lewis Township As Part Of Flood Response

-- Scranton Times: Areas Of Susquehanna, Lackawanna Counties Hit Hard By Rainstorm

-- WNEP: Clean Up Continues In Lackawanna County After Flash Flooding

-- PennLive: PennDOT Secretary Promises Quick Fix For Flood-Damaged Northcentral PA Highway

-- Tribune-Democrat: Repairs Begin On Ghost Town Trail Sections Damaged By Hurricane Debbie

-- MCall: Storms Bring Torrential Rain, Flash Flooding To Lehigh Valley

-- WNEP: Sunday Storms Lead To High Water, Flooding Across The Region

-- Attorney General Henry Reminds Homeowners Of Predatory Scammers During Hurricane Season

-- Williamsport Sun Guest Essay: A New Age Of Flooding - By Tim Palmer, Author Of Seek Higher Ground, The Natural Solution To Our Urgent Flooding Crisis

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Brookside Levee Project Set To Begin Tuesday

-- WESA: Allegheny County Health Gets $930,000 Grant To Grow Climate Resilience

-- Gas Explosions

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: 2nd Person Dies As A Result Of Propane Explosion At Lackawanna County Home

-- ABC6: 1 Killed, Another Injured After Possible Natural Gas Explosion Levels Home In Lackawanna County 

-- Train Derailments

-- WESA: Federal Judge Denies Motion To Extend Norfolk Southern Train Derailment Settlement Deadline 

-- Post-Gazette: Ohio Residents Want More Time, Information Before Accepting $600 Million Norfolk Southern Train Derailment Settlement

-- Education

-- Erie Times: PA Budget $600 Million In Tax Credits For Private School Aid; State Law Prevents Oversight 

-- Erie Times: Trained Security Is Now Required In PA Schools, Will Guards Carry Guns?

-- TribLive: Outgoing Chancellor Of State-Owned Universities Reflects On Achievements, Challenges

-- WITF/WVIA: Jury Awards Former Bloomsburg University Dean $3.9 Million Verdict In Whistleblower Termination Case

-- PennLive: Bucknell U. Willing To Settle For $1.15 Million Class Action Suit Over Remote Instruction During COVID

-- Health Care

-- WESA: COVID Cases Up In Pittsburgh, But Experts Suggest Most Should Hold Out For Updated Vaccines

-- Inquirer: CDC And Local Experts Anticipate New Fall COVID Vaccines In September

-- TribLive: Western PA COVID Cases On The Rise Ahead Of School Season

-- The Hill: Biden Administration Will Restart Free At-Home COVID Test Program Next Month

-- Inquirer: COVID Is Now Endemic, The CDC Says; What It Means For Philly

-- WITF: PA Opens Public Feedback On Rate Increases To 2025 Health Insurance Plans

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Pennsylvania’s Gambling Habit Costs More Than Just Money

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: PA Opioid Trust Gears Up For County Funding Appeals

-- PA Capital-Star: Advocates Laud Medicare’s Negotiated Drug Prices: ‘Real Money Going Back Into Patients’ Pockets’

-- Law Enforcement

-- Inquirer: City Of Philadelphia Held In Contempt Over Jail Conditions; Must Pay $25 Million, Quickly Boost Staffing Judge Orders

-- The Economy

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: SBA Approved Millions Of Loans During COVID; It Now Sits At The Center Of A Bankruptcy Wave 

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Pittsburgh Struggling To Regain Economic Footing After Pandemic

-- PennLive: Harley-Davidson ‘Saddened By Negativity,’ Decides To Drop Diversity Efforts

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Warning Issued About State Wage Rules And Broadband Expansion Costs

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Pennsylvania’s Gambling Habit Costs More Than Just Money

-- Inquirer: Redlining, Gentrification, Subjective Data Have Made Property Assessments Spike In Philly’s Black, Latino Neighborhoods

-- Spotlight PA: How Nintendo Nostalgia Is Driving A New Wave Of Video Game Production In PA

[Posted: August 25, 2024]  PA Environment Digest