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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Charlie Kirk Murder

-- TribLive: PA Politicians Denounce Political Violence In Wake Of Charlie Kirk Killing 

-- Post-Gazette: Shapiro, Security Experts Decry ‘Dark’ Social Media, Political Violence After Kirk Assissination

-- Post-Gazette: ‘Zero Place’ For Fatal Attack On Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk, PA Lawmakers Say

-- PennLive - John Baer: Political Extremism May Cause A Shift In Americans’ Priorities

-- TribLive Editorial: What Was Forged On Sept. 11 - ‘It Didn’t Take Long For Us To Revert To A Path Of Enmity’

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Political Violence Will Tear America Apart

-- TribLive Editorial: Politics Should Not Have A Body Count: ‘With every hateful social media post and every “libtard” and “MAGAt,” we are making an active decision to choose enmity over solutions.’ 

-- ABCNews: President Doubles Down On Blaming ‘Radical Left’ After Vow To Go After Political Violence; ‘I Couldn’t Care Less’ About Bringing The Country Together

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- Inquirer: Shapiro Says President’s Policies Are Deterring Tourists From Coming To Philly For 2026 World Cup

--Spotlight PA: Taxpayers Billed $6 Million To Repair PA Governor’s Residence, But Administration Withholds Full Details

-- Race For Governor

-- WITF: Republican Con. Lloyd Smucker Endorses State Treasurer Stacy Garrity For Governor

-- PennLive: Once Staunchly Anti-Abortion, PA Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Garrity Pivots On The Issue

-- Budget 2025

--WESA/WITF: PA Lawmakers Say State Budget Plan Is Imminent, Without Details… Again 

-- Post-Gazette: PA Senate Republican Leader Says PA Budget Deal May Be Close, But Democratic Leader Not So Sure

-- PennLive: Shapiro, Senate Republican Leaders Say Budget Differences Are Narrowing But Give No Completion Date

-- WESA: PA Senate Returns For Scheduled Session, But Budget Deal Not Imminent

-- PennLive: As State Budget Impasse Wears On, Schools, Some Local Agencies Say They Are Already In Crisis

-- Inquirer: Philly Schools Just Had To Borrow $1.5 Billion To Pay Their Bills During State Budget Impasse; It Cost $30 Million

-- Post-Gazette: Westmoreland County Has ‘Major Shortfall’ Due To PA Budget Impasse

-- TribLive: Westmoreland County Halts Spending, Threatens Service Cuts, Layoffs Amid State Budget Impasse

-- TribLive Editorial: State Budget Crisis Is Forcing Westmoreland County’s Hand

-- TribLive: Shapiro Approves $394 Million Funding Shift To Prevent SEPTA Cuts During State Budget Impasse

-- The Center Square: Philadelphia Public Transit Gets A Hand, Still Needs A Plan

-- PA House/Senate

-- The Center Square: Republican Sen. Dawn Keefer Says Non-Citizen Population Drains Resources In Pennsylvania  [Video]

-- Morning Call - Bill White: PA Is Challenging Florida For Title Of Stupidest State In The Nation  [PDF of Article]  [Disfunctional General Assembly]

-- TribLive: Longtime Chief Of Staff To Republican Senate Leader Kim Ward To Take Job With UPMC

-- US Senate/House

-- PennLive: Dauphin County Commissioner Hopes To Be Democrat To Challenge Republican Con. Scott Perry For Congressional Seat

-- Statewide Offices

-- PennLive: Once Staunchly Anti-Abortion, PA Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Garrity Pivots On The Issue

-- 2020 Election

-- WITF: Alleged 2020 Double Voting Case In PA, FL Caught By Scrutinized Data-Sharing Alliance; Criminal Charges Brought

-- 2025 Elections

-- TribLive/Inquirer: PA Supreme Court Justices Ask For 10 More Years Amid Republican Campaign To Oust Them 

-- WITF: PA Supreme Court Justices Defend Impartiality In Forum, As Republicans Seek Their Ouster In November 

-- PennLive: PA Supreme Court Justices Seeking Retention Weigh In On Issues, Nonpartisanship In Forum 

-- WESA: Will A 2018 Congressional District Map Ruling Come Back To Haunt 3 PA Supreme Court Justices? Republicans Hope So

-- PennLive: National Money Starts Flowing Into Critical PA Supreme Court Retention Races 

-- Spotlight PA: Complete Guide To Candidates For Commonwealth, Superior Courts

-- Spotlight PA: Judge Of Elections, Other Key Voting Positions On PA’s November Ballot

-- TribLive: Paper Ballots Now An Election Day Option For Westmoreland Voters

-- Elections

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Will PA Remain A Swing State?  Voter Registrations Are Increasingly Going Republican

-- WITF: Constitutionality Of Mail-In Ballot Date Requirement Raised Before PA Supreme Court [Again]

-- TribLive: Westmoreland County Commission Decline To Consider Ballot Curing For November Election

-- PA Impacts Of President’s Tariffs

-- AP: US Inflation Worsened Last Month - Prices Increased 2.9% As Cost Of Food, Energy Jump

-- PA Impacts Of President’s Policies

-- Post-Gazette: New Federal Rules Could Drop 310,000 Pennsylvanians From Food Aid; County Officials Warn ‘We’re Going To See An Uptick In The Use Of Our Food Banks’

-- Inquirer: Chasing Federal ICE: ‘Rapid-Response’ Activists Follow Agents, Then Stand Up For Immigrants During Arrests 

-- Inquirer: More And More PA Police Agencies Are Partnering With Federal ICE

-- Post-Gazette: Americans Turn Against President’s Treatment Of Immigrants And Democratic Cities: Poll

-- TribLive/AP: President’s Administration Cuts Grants For Minority-Serving Colleges, Declaring Them Unconstitutional

-- Inquirer: Shapiro Says President’s Policies Are Deterring Tourists From Coming To Philly For 2026 World Cup

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: In PA And Across The Nation Small Towns Need Federal Help To Address Catastrophic Flooding - By Paige Cognetti, Mayor Of Scranton 

-- AP: Major Disaster Declarations Taking Longer Under President’s Administration

-- New Federal Administration

-- WITF: Lancaster Mennonites Among Those Arrested In Peaceful US Capitol Protest Against US Role In Gaza War 

-- Miscellaneous State/Harrisburg Politics

-- PennLive: Poll Shows Support For President Tumbling In Battleground Bucks County

-- PennLive: PA Steps In To Help LGBTQ+ Youth After President’s Administration Cancels Crisis Line  

-- International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

-- US Energy Information Administration Expects Nearly 48% Increase In Natural Gas Prices Into Next Year Due To Flat Gas Production, Increased LNG Gas Exports

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: EQT CEO Urges Rapid Energy Development To Fuel A.I. Race Against China

-- PUC Electric Power Outlook: Risks To Adequate Electricity Supplies May Emerge In PJM By 2033; Extreme Cold Constraints On Natural Gas Availability Could Risk Outages As Early As 2026  [PaEN] 

-- AP: US Electric Grids Under Pressure From Energy-Hungry A.I. Data Centers Are Changing Strategy - Bumping Data Centers Off Grids During Power Emergencies  [PJM Included] 

-- Bloomberg: Natural Gas Markets Brace For Glut With No Sign Of China Demand Rebound

-- Inquirer: Electric Bills Hit Record Highs This Summer; Prices Increase 11% In SE PA Over Last Year

-- TribLive/CQ-RollCall: Democrats Seek To Capitalize On Climbing Energy Bills 

-- Financial Times: Big Oil, Gas Slashes Jobs And Investments As Low Crude Prices Bite

-- Reuters Guest Essay: Europe Succumbs To US ‘Energy Dominance’ At Its Own Risk

-- Bloomberg: How A New Russia-China Natural Gas Pipeline Could Reshape Global LNG Gas Trade; Could Replace Half Of China’s LNG Gas Imports

-- Flooding

-- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader: Susquehanna River Hit Record Flood Crest 14 Years Ago In Luzerne County

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: In PA And Across The Nation Small Towns Need Federal Help To Address Catastrophic Flooding - By Paige Cognetti, Mayor Of Scranton 

-- AP: Major Disaster Declarations Taking Longer Under President’s Administration

-- A.I. /Data Centers

-- In Case You Missed It -- A.I./Data Center Articles & NewClips From Last Week -  September 15  [PaEN]

-- Education

-- Inquirer: Philly Schools Just Had To Borrow $1.5 Billion To Pay Their Bills During State Budget Impasse; It Cost $30 Million

-- Post-Gazette: PA Education Experts Raise Concerns, Express Hope Following National Test Score Decline

-- Post-Gazette: Warren County Teen Charged With Threatening To Carry Out Shooting At High School

-- Altoona Mirror: Threat Made Against Hollidaysburg High School

-- TribLive: Western PA College Campuses Grapple With Fear, Security After Charlie Kirk’s Killing

-- TribLive: Penn State President Gets 47% Pay Raise In Wake Of Campus Closure, WPSU Closure Decisions

-- Inquirer: Penn State Board Committee Approves Raising President’s Compensation By $1 Million

-- WHYY: Penn State University Plans To Shut Down WPSU Public Radio/TV  Station After Rejecting Proposal To Transfer Ownership To WHYY  

-- TribLive/AP: President’s Administration Cuts Grants For Minority-Serving Colleges, Declaring Them Unconstitutional

-- Health Care

-- Spotlight PA: Pharmacies In PA Can Now Give COVID Shots, That Doesn’t Mean Widespread Access Will Follow

-- Post-Gazette: Estimated 600 Pharmacies Closed In PA In Past 2 Years, A ‘Horrible’ Situation For Consumers

-- Post-Gazette: New Federal Rules Could Drop 310,000 Pennsylvanians From Food Aid; County Officials Warn ‘We’re Going To See An Uptick In The Use Of Our Food Banks’

-- TribLive Editorial: Florida Is Promoting Dangerous Policy To Please Anti-Vaxxeers

-- Law Enforcement

-- TribLive Editorial: How Can An Accused Killer Spend 10 Years In Jail With No Trial?

-- Inquirer: More And More PA Police Agencies Are Partnering With Federal ICE

-- Inquirer: Chasing Federal ICE: ‘Rapid-Response’ Activists Follow Agents, Then Stand Up For Immigrants During Arrests 

-- Morning Call: ‘Through The HurriKane:’ Convicted Former AG Kathleen Kane To Host Podcast 

-- The Economy

-- Post-Gazette: PA’s Plan To Bring Internet Connectivity To Rural Areas: ‘Bonkers’ 

-- Inquirer: Shapiro Says President’s Policies Are Deterring Tourists From Coming To Philly For 2026 World Cup

-- AP: US Inflation Worsened Last Month - Prices Increased 2.9% As Cost Of Food, Energy Jump

[Posted: September 14, 2025]