PA Capitol News: Top 10 Stories From Harrisburg Last Week

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- WESA: PA Legislative Reapportionment Chair Says Process Has Been Transparent, Cites Hearings, Comments

Mark Nordenberg, chair of the legislative reapportionment commission, explains how the group tasked with drawing state House and Senate districts is trying to maintain a transparent process while also operating on a tight deadline

-- WHYY: PA Reformed ‘Prison Gerrymandering’ But It Likely Won’t Matter In Congressional Maps

-- ErieT: Census: Loss Of Population Means Loss Of Clout In Congress For Erie

-- ScrantonT: Abington Heights Student Aims To End Gerrymandering, Wins Statewide Contest For Congressional Voting Districts Map

-- ScrantonT Editorial: Abington Heights H.S. Junior Embarrasses State Politicians By Redrawing Congressional Districts

-- PG - Anya Litvak: Rollerblades, Cheerleaders, Caped Superheroes Bring Gerrymandering To Life At Bakery Square In Pittsburgh

-- TribLive Editorial: Redrawing Voting Districts Demands Compromise

-- PA Cap-Star: Counties Are Caught In Between As Wolf, Republicans Once Again Try To Negotiate Election Reform

Counties want to count mail ballots before election day, but House Republicans need new restrictions to back it — which Wolf opposes

-- AP: Deadline Passes In PA Republican Election ‘Investigation’ Subpoena

-- PG Editorial: Voter Information Must Be Protected

-- Spotlight PA: To Avoid Wolf’s Veto, PA Republicans Propose Giving Voters Final Say On Stricter Voter ID Rules, Other Election Changes

-- AP: Republicans Aim To Make Big Election Changes In Constitution

-- MCall - Ford Turner: PA Republican Lawmakers Advance Bill To Increase Number Of Poll Watchers, Let Them Cross County Lines

-- PennLive Guest Essay: PA Republican Senate Has Lost Its Way On Election Review - Jack McGregor (R) & Franklin Kury (D)

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: ‘Deranged Logic’ Of PA Senate Republican Election ‘Audit’ Puts 9 Million Voters In Jeopardy - Al Schmidt (R), Philadelphia Elections Commissioner & Matthew Weil, Bipartisan Policy Center Elections Project

-- MCall - Paul Muschick: PA’s Republican Election ‘Fraudit’: It’s All About Voter Intimidation

-- LancasterOnline Editorial: In Quest To Undermine Election integrity, Republicans Want To Invade Your Privacy, They Shouldn’t Be Allowed To

-- PA Cap-Star Editorial Cartoon: Republicans Hot On The Trail Of Election ’Fraud’

-- WHYY: Montgomery County Election Officials Say 16,000 Defective Mail-In Ballots Were Mailed Out

-- Inquirer: Delaware County Democrat Trying To Break Political Divide: Listening To Republicans

-- PG: Leniency Probably Not In The Cards For More Than 50 From PA Who Stormed The Capitol Jan. 6

-- Inquirer: Bucks County Woman Who Said She Wanted To Shoot Pelosi ‘In The Friggin’ Brain’ Pleaded Guilty To Charges Related To Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- Inquirer: Bucks County Man First Local To Plead Guilty Of Charges Involved In Assaulting The U.S. Capital, More On The Horizon

-- CourierT: 3 Bucks County Residents Plead Guilty To Roles In Assault On U.S. Capitol, Face Prison Time

-- WLVR: PA’s School Mask Mandate Will End When Children Can Be Vaccinated, Wolf Says

At a press conference on Sept. 30, Gov. Tom Wolf signaled the commonwealth’s school mask mandate will end when children under 12 can be vaccinated against COVID-19.

-- PA Cap-Star: PA Senate Panel Advances Proposal To Allow Opt-Out Of K-12 Mask Mandate

-- AP: Measure On Masking In Youth Sports Clears House Committee

-- MCall: Report: School-Age Children Now Almost Twice As Likely As Adults To Get COVID

-- TribLive: COVID Cases, Deaths Rising Among Younger Allegheny County Residents

-- StateImpactPA: 11-Year-Old Among COVID Patients Admitted To Mount Nittany Medical Center

-- Inquirer: Children’s Hospital Of Philadelphia’s Beds Are Overflowing, But Not Because Of COVID, But Because Of The Pandemic

-- ErieT: PA School Boards Bearing Brunt Of Anti-Mask Parents’ Anger

-- WilliamsportS: ‘Words Have Power’: School Board Members Troubled By Rancor

-- MCall: Schools In Eastern PA Fight To Avoid Being Overwhelmed By COVID Issues

-- PennLive: Nearly Half PA School Principals Surveyed Said They’ve Been Threatened Over Mask Order

-- ReadingE: Police Looking For Man Linked To Online Threat Against Oley Valley School District Over Its Mask Policy

-- CourierT: Central Bucks School District Parents Send In Over 1,100 Yet-To-Be-Approved Mask Exemption Forms

-- PA Cap-Star: House Republicans Split, Votes Down Vouchers For Closed Schools, Mask Requirements

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Political Committee Drops Big Cash For PA School Board Candidates Who Fight For In-Person Instruction

-- WITF: Moms Launch Write-In Bids For School Board In Lancaster County: ‘Loud, Aggressive Parents Didn’t Speak For Me’  [School masks]

-- Inquirer: Judge Denies Tredyffrin/Easttown Parent’s Request To Halt School Mask Mandate, Didn’t Present Adequate Evidence Wearing Masks Violated Religious Beliefs

-- LancasterOnline: Lancaster County School District To Shut Down Campus Due To Rising COVID Cases

-- ReadingE: Reading High Football Game Canceled Due To COVID Concerns

-- Inquirer: What Local Universities Are Doing To Entice, Punish Students Around COVID Protocols

-- AltoonaM: Regional Colleges Report Campus Life Gets Back On Track

-- WITF: As COVID Rages, PA Hospitals Tell Ambulance Crews They Don’t Want People In Crisis

With COVID-19 patients filling up emergency rooms and intensive care units, there’s little room for behavioral health care patients, Harig said. There’s also little interest in them from burned-out health care workers. And many behavioral health volunteers known as “sitters” — often retired nurses — have left their positions at emergency departments.

-- PG: Allegheny County Employees Required To Have COVID Vaccinations By Dec. 1 Or Face Termination

-- WHYY: Montgomery County’s Mobile Health Team Approaches Milestone- 10,000 Vaccinations

-- PA Cap-Star: PA Adds More Than 12,000 COVID Cases Over Weekend

-- AP: Lawmakers Moving To Keep COVID Regulatory Waivers For 6 More Months

-- Gov. Wolf: Dept. Of Health Releases Vaccination Data Dashboard By Legislative Districts

-- TribLive: Gov. Wolf Pushes Lawmakers To Boost Vaccination Rates In Their Districts

-- LancasterOnline: These Legislative Districts In Lancaster County Have Some Of The Most, Least Vaccinated People In PA

-- WESA: State Announces $5 Million Grant Program For Local COVID Vaccine Campaigns

-- PG Editorial: The Unvaccinated Waste Lives, Time And Money

-- WESA: SW PA Businesses Split On Whether To Return To Office Or Require Vaccines

Pittsburgh area businesses are all over the map in deciding if and when to order employees back to the workplace, a new survey finds. And the lack of consensus, the research shows, partly reflects an effort to make workers happy.

-- PG: Restaurant Woes Continue: Customers Are Back, But Workers Are Not

--WSJ: U.S. Frackers Fear Vaccine Mandate Will Worsen Worker Crunch

-- MCall: Lehigh Valley Restaurants Ask Customers For Patience, Understanding As Staff Shortages Persist

-- Inquirer: Nursing Home Workers Aren’t Getting Vaccinated, Prompting Worries About The Elderly, Staffing, Coming Federal Mandate

-- MCall: St. Luke’s Health Network Reaches Vaccine Mandate Deadline, 17,000 employees Complied, 155 Resigned

-- AP: Pennsylvania Recruiting School Bus Drivers Amid Shortage

-- MCall Guest Essay: Why We Should Provide Legal Representation To Anyone Facing Eviction Or Foreclosure

-- Harrisburg Potpourri

-- PennLive - John Baer: Abortion, Privacy, Voting Rights Seem On The Line; Place Your Bets On Which Might Be Diminished

-- AP: Growing Republican Governor’s Field Puts Nomination ‘Up For Grabs’

-- AP: Police Report Says Republican Candidate For Governor Sideswiped In Fatal Crash

-- Inquirer: The Nasty Turn In PA’s Republican U.S. Senate Primary Leaves Questions For Jeff Bartos, Sean Parnell

-- WHYY: These PA 2022 Candidates For U.S. Senate Could Change The Balance of Power In U.S. Senate

-- AP: Anti-Trump Republican Drops Bid For PA U.S. Senate Seat

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Conor Lamb And PA’s Political ‘Moderates’

-- PG: PA Midterms May Be More A Referendum On Trump Than Biden

-- ErieT: Sen. Doug Mastriano: What We Know About His Fight With Fellow Republicans

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: Should PA Stop Electing Judges?

-- WITF: Latino Political Power, Health, Future Examined At Statewide Convention

-- PA Cap-Star: Wolf Calls On Rep. Boyle (D) To Resign After He’s Charged With Violating Protection From Abuse Order

-- Inquirer: Officials Investigating Alleged Assault On Rep. Boyle In Philly Jail

-- WESA: Paying For PA’s Bridge Repairs With New Tolls Remains Divisive

-- TribLive: Why PA Turnpike Tolls Will Continue Rising For Next 30 Years

-- Spotlight PA: SEC’s Probe Of PA School Pension Fund Examines Staff Gifts, Trips From Wall Street Firms

-- PA Cap-Star: Anti-Abortion Advocates Flood Harrisburg For First PA March For Life

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: Thousands Rally To Opppose Abortion At PA’s First March For Life

-- PA Cap-Star: ‘Let Our Kids Play’: Advocates Rally For Transgender Youth At PA Capitol

-- PA Cap-Star: PA House Panel Approves Bill To Post School Curriculums Online, Jumping Into Debate Over What Students Are Taught About Race And History

-- PA Cap-Star Guest Essay: Why Charter Schools In PA Aren’t As Public As They Claim They Are

-- WESA: PA Lawmakers Know A Dementia Care Crisis Is Coming, Will They Agree On A Response?

-- WPSU: New Immigrant Detention Center To Open In Clearfield County Prison

-- WITF: Chambersburg Mayor Vetoes Local Nondiscrimination Ordinance Approved By Borough Council

-- Dept. Of Revenue: Reports September State Revenues $495.9 Million More Than Anticipated; Year-To-Date Up $628.3 Million  --  IFO Sept. Revenue Report

The Department of Revenue collected $4.0 billion in General Fund revenue in September, which was $495.9 million, or 14.1 percent, more than anticipated. Fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $9.3 billion, which is $628.3 million, or 7.3 percent, above estimate.

-- Spotlight PA: The Cost Of PA’s Failure To Clarify Rules Around Addiction Treatment and Marijuana

The failure by Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration to clarify federal rules around addiction treatment funding and medical marijuana caused even greater confusion and serious consequences than previously disclosed.

-- PG: 2 Allegheny County Lawmakers Trying To Turn The Tide To Legalize Weed In PA

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: Medical Marijuana Patients Risk Arrest For DUI In PA

-- WNEP: More Than 300 People Expected To Tell Their Stories At Luzerne County ‘Kids For Cash’ Court Scandal Trial in Federal Court

For the next two weeks, the federal courthouse in Wilkes-Barre will be seeing more than 300 people come through its doors to tell their story about how former Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan wrongfully sent them to private juvenile detention centers for kickbacks in what is known as the infamous "Kids for Cash Scandal."

-- WBTimes Editorial: Kids For Cash Kids, Now Grown, Affected By Corrupt Judges Need To Be Heard

-- Inquirer: COVID Isn’t The Most Serious Threat Facing Some Philadelphians, Consider Gun Violence

For the overall population, COVID-19 remains a greater killer throughout Philadelphia than guns. But depending on who you are and where you live, it may not be the only danger, and the relative risk can vary dramatically. 

-- PA Cap-Star: Philadelphia Mayor, Cops Talk Gun Violence In PA’s Biggest City

-- Inquirer: Philadelphia Set To Run Out Of Rental Relief Money In 2 Weeks

-- MCall: U.S. Mail Delivery Could Slow Down Starting Today; How It Will Affect The Lehigh Valley

If you think mail delivery is already moving at a snail’s pace, it could get even slower.

[Posted: October 3, 2021]  PA Environment Digest