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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- January 3 - Senate, House Begin 2023-24 Legislative Session

-- January 17 - Gov.-elect Shapiro, Lt. Gov-elect Davis Inauguration

-- Governor’s Transition

-- Inquirer: Shapiro Is Aiming For A Reset With PA Republican Legislators As He Prepares To Become Governor

-- PennLive - John Baer: What Does 2023 Hold For Ex-President, Josh Shapiro, PA’s Legislature?

-- PA Capital-Star: Shapiro’s Top Aides Have Close Ties To Governor-Elect

-- Centre Daily Times: Centre County Commission To Be Shapiro’s Deputy Chief Of Staff For Public Safety

-- Spotlight PA: Who Is On PA Gov.-Elect Josh Shapiro’s Transition Team? - Full List

-- Gov. Wolf Reflections

-- AP: Gov. Wolf Ends Term With Strong Ratings After Tumultuous Times

-- PA Capital-Star: Gov. Wolf Reflects On 8 Years Of Successes, Stumbles And Standoffs

-- TribLive Editorial: Did Tom Wolf Understand Politics?

-- PA Senate/House Transition

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: PA Lawmakers’ Swearing-In Day Shaping Up To Be Historic, And Possibly Circus-Like

-- PA Capital-Star: Education, Lobbying Reform, Abortion Among Issues On Lawmakers’ Agendas In New Session

-- PA Capital-Star: Here’s What Election Reforms Could Come In Harrisburg After Power Shift In House

-- Politico: Pennsylvania Politics Are Heated, It Soon Could Be Utter Chaos 

-- PennLive - John Baer: What Does 2023 Hold For Ex-President, Josh Shapiro, PA’s Legislature?

-- TribLive Editorial: The To-Do List For 2023

-- New Voting Districts

-- AP: On A New Legislative Districts Map, PA Elects Most Diverse General Assembly Ever

-- Spotlight PA: PA Legislature Getting Major Infusion Of New Blood This January

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Diversity In House Marks Fair New Territory

-- November Election

-- AP: Pennsylvania Certifies November Election Results After Recount Delay

-- WITF: Top Stories Of 2022: Latino Voting Power And Candidate Viability A Min Focus In 2022

-- Scranton Times Editorial: 2022 Voters Are Pennsylvania’s People Of The Year

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: The Year The Political Temperature Went Down?

-- Election Reform/2020 Election Fallout

-- PA Capital-Star: Here’s What Election Reforms Could Come In Harrisburg After Power Shift In House

-- Spotlight PA: Century-Old Law Lets Voters File Baseless Recount Petitions And Delay PA’s Election Certification

-- LancasterOnline Editorial: Curing Mail-In Ballots Right Thing To Bolster Democracy

-- PennLive: Lycoming County’s Hand Recount Of 2020 [Yes 2020] Presidential Election Expected To Cost County $55,000

-- PA’s Role In Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- The Guardian: Highest-Profile Trial Of Proud Boys On Criminal Charges Related To Assault On U.S. Capitol Begins [Including Philadelphia’s Zachary Rehl]

-- Inquirer: Fmr Philly Politico Told U.S. House Investigators Preparations For Election Challenges Started In Summer 2020

-- Inquirer: U.S. House Committee Investigating Assault On U.S. Capitol Withdraws Its Subpoena To Mastriano, Release Transcript Of His Deposition

-- WESA/WITF: Mastriano ‘Apparently’ Called VP Pence On Day Of U.S. Capitol Attack

-- Warren Times Editorial: Unstable Republican Cong. Marjorie Taylor Greene Tough To Quiet

-- State Constitutional Amendments

-- Spotlight PA: Complete Guide To More Than 70 Proposed Amendments To State Constitution

 

-- PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- TribLive: Pittsburgh-Area Drivers Facing Higher Gasoline Prices Than Other Parts Of State, Nation

-- AAA: Pennsylvania Average Gasoline Price $3.59; National Average $3.10

-- Erie Times: Why PA’s Gasoline Tax Is Increasing In 2023, And Efforts To Halt Future Hikes

-- PA Oil & Gas Industry Has Record Year: Cost, Criminal Convictions Up; $3.1 Million In Penalties Collected; Record Number Of Violations Issued; Major Compliance Issues Uncovered; Evidence Of Health Impacts Mounts [PaEN]

-- DEP Report Finds: Conventional Oil & Gas Drillers Routinely Abandon Wells; Fail To Report How Millions Of Gallons Of Waste Is Disposed; And Non-Compliance Is An ‘Acceptable Norm’  [PaEN]

-- UnionProgress.com - Laura Legere: ‘Rule Rather Than The Exception’: DEP Rips Conventional Oil & Gas Industry For Noncompliance 

-- Observer-Reporter: Explosion, Fire At Energy Transfer’s Revolution Natural Gas Cryogenic Plant Burned For Nearly 11 Hours On Christmas Day In Smith Twp., Washington County  [PaEN]

-- Observer-Reporter: Explosion, Fire At ETC Natural Gas Cryogenic Plant Rattles Smith Township In Washington County

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Aerial Photos Of ETC Natural Gas Cryogenic Plant In Washington County Show Cranes Working To Remove Explosion Damaged Equipment

-- KDKA: Fire Ripped Through ETC Revolution Cryogenic Natural Gas/Natural Gas Liquids Processing Plant Monday In Washington County

-- Williamsport Sun Guest Essay: Solving Our Energy Crisis Starts With Smart Policies That Support Natural Gas ,Oil - By American Petroleum Association

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: 5 Ways Natural Gas Will Rise To The Top Of Mind In 2023

-- National Fuel Projects To Lower Natural Gas Costs For PA Customers In Winter Of 2023-24

-- Altoona Mirror: Peoples Natural Gas Rates Set To Decrease Jan. 1 Due To Market Prices Being Down

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Top Stories Of 2022 #9: Better Times For Natural Gas [Price Of Natural Gas Up (94.7%), Stock Up 204%]

-- Financial Times: Oil And Gas Stocks Shine Thanks To Ukraine War Price Increases, Stingier Capital Spending

-- OilPrice.com: Natural Gas Prices Set For A Sustained Rally In 2023

-- Bloomberg: Top U.S. Natural Gas Producer Pittsburgh-Based EQT Saw Output Drops Of 30% During Cold Snap 

-- Bloomberg: Record Output Slump For Top U.S. Natural Gas Basin Worsened Power Chaos; Well Freeze-Offs Sent Production Plunging In Appalachian Basin   

-- Markets Insider: U.S. Natural Gas Production Plunges As Winter Storm Wreaks Havoc 

-- Bloomberg: U.S. Natural Gas Supplies Still Constrained As Extreme Cold Freezes Pipes 

-- Guest Essay: Key To Lower Energy Prices And Energy Freedom Is Diversifying Electricity Generation With Solar, Renewable Energy - By PA Solar Center

-- Guest Essay: Energy Independence Is A National Security Issue - By Lt. General Richard Zilmer, USMC (Ret.), Pennsylvania Native

-- Inside Climate News: 2022 U.S. Became World’s Largest Exporter Of Liquified Natural Gas

-- Reading Eagle: PJM Interconnection Officials Said Warnings To Conserve Energy On Christmas Eve Helped Keep The Lights On

-- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, North American Electric Reliability Corp. To Open Joint Inquiry Into Winter Storm Elliott  [PaEN]

-- Reuters: U.S. Regulators To Probe Power Outages During Historic Winter Storm

-- PA/Harrisburg Politics Potpourri

-- Inquirer: What Happened In PA Politics And What’s Next For 2023

-- PA Capital-Star: Four Political Storylines That Defined 2022

-- Spotlight PA - Stephen Caruso: Partisan Fights Dominated PA Legislature’s Recent Session, Eclipsing Some Major Accomplishments

-- PennLive/TNS: Commonwealth Court: None Of Articles Of Impeachment Against Philly DA Adopted By House Republicans Meet The Required Legal Standard Of ‘Misbehavior In Office’

-- Inquirer: Commonwealth Court Sides With Philly DA In Impeachment Lawsuit 

-- AP: Court Weighs Halting Philadelphia DA’s Impeachment

-- WESA: Fmr Auditor General Eugene DePasquale Ponders Run For Attorney General

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: 23 Pennsylvanians Who Do, Will Or Should Grab Our Attention In 2023

-- Erie Times: State Ethics Commission Fines 4 Lobbying Firms For Not Filing Reports

-- Budget 2023

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Boost In PA Tax Revenues Negated By Inflation

-- Erie Times: Why PA’s Gasoline Tax Is Increasing In 2023, And Efforts To Halt Future Hikes

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Freeze State Gasoline Tax Or Dedicate It

-- COVID Pandemic/Health

-- Post-Gazette: Allegheny County Reports 16% Dip In COVID Cases

-- Erie Times: Erie County Nears Seasonal Record For Flu, Though Cases Decline

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: PA Gets $100 Million For Public Health Infrastructure Improvements, Worker Recruitment

-- Gun Violence/Law Enforcement

-- PennLive/TNS: Commonwealth Court: None Of Articles Of Impeachment Against Philly DA Adopted By House Republicans Meet The Required Legal Standard Of ‘Misbehavior In Office’

-- Inquirer: Commonwealth Court Sides With Philly DA In Impeachment Lawsuit 

-- AP: Court Weighs Halting Philadelphia DA’s Impeachment

-- PA Economy

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Year In Review: PA Reduces Corporate Taxes

-- Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh Area’s Jobless Rate Hit A Record Low In November

[Posted: January 1, 2023]