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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- City & State PA: Pennsylvania 2025 Year In Review

-- Erie Times: A Look At New State Laws Taking Effect In Pennsylvania In 2026

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- AP: Explosions At Bucks County Nursing Home Kill At Least 2, Gov. Shapiro Says; Odor Of Natural Gas At The Site 

-- WashPost Guest Essay: Gov. Shapiro Acted On Hair Discrimination, But Academic Achievement Gap Undermines Children’s Futures - By Rev. Joshua C. Robertson, Rock Church In Harrisburg

-- Inquirer: Gov. Shapiro Schedules Book Tour As He Stands For Reelection, Builds His 2028 Profile

-- Beaver Times: Shapiro Set To Become Nation’s Highest Paid Governor With 2026 Pay Hike 

-- Race For Governor

-- ABC27: Republican Stacy Garrity’s Campaign For Governor Turns To Streaming Video Production In Race Against Shapiro

-- Budget 2026

-- Independent Fiscal Office Projects $5 Billion State Budget Structural Deficit In Current Fiscal Year 

-- Warren Times Editorial: State Fiscal Challenges Alarming

-- TribLive: State Reports Record High Monthly Gambling Revenue, Citing Rise In Sports Wagering Income

-- TribLive: Communities Reap Millions From Pennsylvania Gambling Revenue

-- PA House/Senate

-- TribLive Editorial: Taking Payraises For PA Lawmakers, State Officials Off Autopilot

-- PennLive: Former PA House Speaker Bryan Cutler Will Not Seek Reelection

-- Statewide Offices

-- Attorney General Sunday Announces $6.6 Million Share For Pennsylvania From National Settlement In Mercedes-Benz Vehicle Emissions Fraud Case  [PaEN] 

-- 2025 Elections

-- Spotlight PA: At Least $18.4 Million Poured Into This Year’s Critical PA Supreme Court Retention Races

-- Elections

-- TribLive: PA’s Top Election Official Battles President’s Dept. Of Justice Demand For Personal Voter Data

-- LancasterOnline: PA’s List Of Wacky Political Party Names Signals Strong 3rd Party Impulse

-- Protesting The President

-- TribLive Editorial: Every Day We Get To Choose Whether To Be Naughty Or Nice

-- Post-Gazette: PA Lawmakers Rankled By President’s Order To Oppose State Regulation Of A.I.: ‘We’re Not Stopping’

-- Spotlight PA: Expanding Broadband In Rural PA Complicated By Federal Rule Changes, Uncertainty In 2025

-- TribLive Editorial: Broadband Decisions Must Outlast Politics

-- Inquirer Editorial: As Long As [REDACTED] Has His Thumb On The Scales Of Justice, The Epstein Files Were Always Going To Be [REDACTED]

-- PA Impacts Of President’s Tariffs

-- The Guardian: US Farmers Say President’s $12 Billion Package Not Enough To Undo Damage From His Tariffs

-- PA Impacts Of President’s Policies

-- Post-Gazette: 1,000 Pennsylvanians Now Dropping Health Insurance Daily Due To Spiking Premiums Caused By Failure Of Republican Congress To Take Action

-- Post-Gazette: Skyrocketing Health Insurance Premiums Are Pushing Some To Extreme Measures

-- Morning Call: How One Lehigh Valley Family Impacted By Spiking Health Insurance Costs Caused By Failure Of Republican Congress To Take Action

-- WHYY: With Health Insurance Sicker Shock Due To Failure Of Congressional Republicans To Act, Pennie Insurance Market Specialists Find Themselves On Front Lines Of PA Affordability Crisis

-- The Center Square: Pennsylvania Health Care In 2025 After Massive Policy Swings By Federal Government: Health Insurance Cost Soaring, Vaccines, More 

-- WHYY: New Congressional Republican Food Stamp Requirements May End Your Benefits; Here’s What You Need To Know  

-- WESA: Federal Judge Quashes Subpoena From President’s Justice Department For UPMC’s Young Transgender Patient Records

-- New Federal Administration

-- Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Guest Essay: Every Day Is Festivus At The White House - The Airing Of Grievances Holiday - By Sam Kazman, InsideSources.com 

-- A.I. /Data Centers

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - December 29  [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette: PA Lawmakers Rankled By President’s Order To Oppose State Regulation Of A.I.: ‘We’re Not Stopping’

-- Guest Essay: Lessons From A.I. Data Centers And Shale Gas Fracking Tours - By Scott Cannon, Luzerne County  [PaEN] 

-- PA Energy, Environmental, Citizen Advocates Call On PUC To Protect Ratepayers, Communities From Costs, Impacts Of A.I. Data Centers  [PaEN] 

-- The Center Square: Don’t Count On Lower Electricity Prices In 2026; Driven By A.I. Data Center Demand In PJM

-- The Center Square: 2025 - The ‘First’ Year Of A.I. - Higher Electricity Prices; More Shale Gas Fracking; Community Controversy 

-- WHYY: Philadelphia Electric, Gas Bills Surged In 2025, More Increases Are Coming In 2026, Here’s Why [Spoilers: A.I. Data Center Demand, Natural Gas Increases]

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Competition Creates Better Consumer Deals - Even For Electricity - While Noncompetitive Transmission Facility Costs Have Risen Sharply - By John Hanger, Former PUC Commissioner

-- TribLive Letter: Approve Clean Energy Projects To Bring Down Price Of Electricity - By Mary Zuccaro, Carnegie

-- Reuters Commentary: Renewables With Batteries Produce Cheaper Energy Than Natural Gas; LNG Gas Exports Glut Turning Into A Sinkhole

-- International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

-- AAA Average Gasoline Prices:  National- $2.84  Ohio- $2.78  PA- $3.07

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs-- 18-- Same For 5 Weeks

-- Guest Essay: Lessons From A.I. Data Centers And Shale Gas Fracking Tours - By Scott Cannon, Luzerne County  [PaEN] 

-- PA Energy, Environmental, Citizen Advocates Call On PUC To Protect Ratepayers, Communities From Costs, Impacts Of A.I. Data Centers  [PaEN] 

-- The Center Square: Don’t Count On Lower Electricity Prices In 2026; Driven By A.I. Data Center Demand In PJM

-- The Center Square: 2025 - The ‘First’ Year Of A.I. - Higher Electricity Prices; More Shale Gas Fracking; Community Controversy 

-- WHYY: Philadelphia Electric, Gas Bills Surged In 2025, More Increases Are Coming In 2026, Here’s Why [Spoilers: A.I. Data Center Demand, Natural Gas Increases]

-- TribLive Letter: Approve Clean Energy Projects To Bring Down Price Of Electricity - By Mary Zuccaro, Carnegie

-- Reuters Commentary: Renewables With Batteries Produce Cheaper Energy Than Natural Gas; LNG Gas Exports Glut Turning Into A Sinkhole

-- Appalachian Voices: FERC Approves Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate Natural Gas Pipeline Expansion For VA, PA To North Carolina Over Objections, No Environmental Impact Statement 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: FERC Approves Major Changes To Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate Route And Capacity

-- Financial Times: EU Spent Less On US Energy After $750 Billion Trade Deal With President

-- Flooding

-- Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh Region Continues To Be Haunted By 2025’s Extreme Weather Events 

-- Shapiro Administration Highlights Increases In Disaster Assistance Funding In Current Budget To Keep PA Communities, Residents Safe 

-- Tribune-Democrat: PEMA Director Visits Somerset County To Highlight Increase In State Disaster Response Funds

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal: Federal Judge Blocks FEMA From Ending Disaster Mitigation Funding Program; Nearly $1 Billion Slated To Support Projects In Chesapeake Bay Watershed States 

-- Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion

-- TribLive: Federal Chemical Safety Board Makes 2 Interim Safety Recommendations Related To US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion That Killed 2 Workers, Injured 11 Others

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Federal Investigators Flag Safety Concerns During Ongoing Investigation Of US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion 

-- Gas Explosions

-- AP: Explosions At Bucks County Nursing Home Kill At Least 2, Gov. Shapiro Says; Odor Of Natural Gas At The Site 

-- Inquirer: Bucks County Explosion: 2 Dead, 20 Hurt In Nursing Home Blast; Shapiro Says There Are ‘A Lot Of Unanswered Questions’

-- AP: Rescuers Rushed Into Flames To Save Nursing Home Residents In Bucks County After Deadly Explosion

-- Education

-- WashPost Guest Essay: Gov. Shapiro Acted On Hair Discrimination, But Academic Achievement Gap Undermines Children’s Futures - By Rev. Joshua C. Robertson, Rock Church In Harrisburg

-- The Citizens Voice: Renewed Concerns Over School District Bathroom Policies Grip Northwest Area

-- Spotlight PA: Penn State Trustees Lost Access To Board’s File-Sharing Service After Spotlight PA Records Request

-- TribLive: More Than 100 Academic Offerings On PennWest’s Chopping Block

-- Health Care

-- Post-Gazette: Allegheny County Lawmakers Question State Contractor Delay In Delivering 3 Million Pieces Of Mail From State Agencies

-- Post-Gazette: 1,000 Pennsylvanians Now Dropping Health Insurance Daily Due To Spiking Premiums Caused By Failure Of Republican Congress To Take Action

-- Post-Gazette: Skyrocketing Health Insurance Premiums Are Pushing Some To Extreme Measures

-- Morning Call: How One Lehigh Valley Family Impacted By Spiking Health Insurance Costs Caused By Failure Of Republican Congress To Take Action

-- WHYY: With Health Insurance Sicker Shock Due To Failure Of Congressional Republicans To Act, Pennie Insurance Market Specialists Find Themselves On Front Lines Of PA Affordability Crisis

-- The Center Square: Pennsylvania Health Care In 2025 After Massive Policy Swings By Federal Government: Health Insurance Cost Soaring, Vaccines, More 

-- AP: Allegheny County Implementing Involuntary Outpatient Mental Health Care Services

-- WESA: Federal Judge Quashes Subpoena From President’s Justice Department For UPMC’s Young Transgender Patient Records

-- Law Enforcement

-- Altoona Mirror Editorial: Time For Cameras In PA Courts

-- The Economy

-- TribLive: State Reports Record High Monthly Gambling Revenue, Citing Rise In Sports Wagering Income

-- TribLive: Communities Reap Millions From Pennsylvania Gambling Revenue

-- Spotlight PA: Expanding Broadband In Rural PA Complicated By Federal Rule Changes, Uncertainty In 2025

-- TribLive Editorial: Broadband Decisions Must Outlast Politics

-- WESA: US Supreme Court Hands Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Temporary Victory In Reporter Strike Case

[Posted: December 28, 2025]