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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- Inquirer: Josh Shapiro Is More Popular In PA Than Either Presidential Contender And Even Taylor Swift 

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Republican State Senators Threaten PA Revenue Secretary [A Former Republican State Senator] With Contempt Over Special Tax Zone Information

-- Budget 2025

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: No Silver Bullet To Fund PA’s Transportation Network

-- Statewide Races

-- Spotlight PA: Your Guide To Candidates For State Treasurer

-- Inquirer: PA’s Richest Man Is Spending Millions To Elect The Republican PA Attorney General Candidate In November

-- City & State PA: Forward Party’s Eric Settle Makes The Case For An ‘Independent’ Attorney General

-- PA House/Senate

-- PA Capital-Star: Tuesday Special Elections Allow PA House Democrats To Maintain One Seat Majority

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Mileage Reimbursements Add Up To Big Payouts For Some House Members

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Republican State Senators Threaten PA Revenue Secretary [A Former Republican State Senator] With Contempt Over Special Tax Zone Information

-- AP: Republican State Sen. Mastriano Sues Critics Of His Book About WWI Hero Sgt. York

-- Erie Times: Republican State Sen. Dan Laughlin Drops Claims Of Harmed Sex Life In Defamation Lawsuit Over 2022 Opinion Piece In The Erie Reader Monthly Newspaper

-- WESA: Democratic State Senator Wants To Restore Pittsburgh Rodeo Ban

-- US Senate/House

-- Politics PA: US Senate Ad Watch: $130 Million In Campaign Ads Reserved In PA

-- Inquirer: Casey Has Big Lead In PA US Senate Race

-- Politics PA: F&M Poll: Presidential Race, US Senate Race Narrow

-- November Election

-- TribLive: Young Voters In Western PA Talk Issues, Candidates Ahead Of Presidential Election

-- TribLive: Social Media, Political Burnout Impact Young Voters In Western PA

-- Spotlight PA: Democrats In PA Approach 2024 Election With Slimmest Voter Registration Advantage In Decades

-- AP: PA Supreme Court Takes ‘Naked Ballots’ Case Over PA Mail-In Voting

-- PA Capital-Star: Commonwealth Court Agrees To Revive Mail-In Ballot Dating Lawsuit; Republicans Want PA Supreme Court To Shut It Down

-- TribLive: Republicans Ask PA Supreme Court To Bar Counties From Letting Voters Fix Mail-In Ballot Errors

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Supreme Court Clarifies Sept. 13 Decision - Mail-In Ballots With Missing Or Incorrect Dates Won’t Be Counted

-- AP: PA Supreme Court Rejects Cornel West’s Bid To Get On Ballot, State Certifies Ballot To Counties For Mail-In Voting

-- TribLive: Allegheny County Expects Mail-In Ballots To Start Reaching Voters In 2 Weeks

-- AP: Despite Confusion, Mail-In Voting Has Not Yet Started In Pennsylvania

-- Spotlight PA: How To Serve As A Poll Worker On Nov. 5

-- TribLive Editorial: Election Officials Focused n System Integrity

-- Elections

-- PA Capital-Star: Battleground State Election Officials Lay Out Plans And Concerns Heading Toward Election Day  [PA Included]

-- TribLive Editorial: PA Mail-In Ballot Dating Dilemma Is A Political Groundhog Day

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: PA Supreme Court Wrongly Passed On Chance To Settle Election Procedures

-- AP: Can Noncitizens Vote In Pennsylvania Elections?  [Spoiler - NO]

-- AP: Why Do Election Experts Oppose Hand-Counting Ballots?  [Spoiler - Less Reliable Than Machines]

-- AP: Election Officials Prepare For Threats With Panic Buttons, Bulletproof Glass [PA Included]

-- TribLive: Activists Gain Meeting With Senate Republican Leader Over Bill To Ban Foreign Campaign Money

-- TribLive Editorial: Why Would Pennsylvania Elections Need Foreign Money?

-- National Politics

-- KDKA: Charleroi, Washington County Residents Remain Divided On Impact Of Haitian Immigrant Influx To The Community After Comments By Ex-President About The Town

-- Post-Gazette: Charleroi Thrust Into National Spotlight After Ex-President Makes Baseless Claims About Haitian Population In Washington County

-- WESA: Charleroi Was Adapting To An Influx Of Migrants, Then Ex-President Weighed In

-- TribLive: Ex-President Puts Charleroi’s Haitian Population In Spotlight

-- Inquirer: Charleroi’s Republican State Senator Defending Haitian Immigrants In The Town As Ex-President Continues To Circulate Falsehoods

-- NextPittsburgh: Pittsburgh’s Growing Haitian Population Building A Community

-- WNEP: Local Officials Push Back In Tunkhannock, Wyoming County After Social Media Rumors Spread Claiming  Thousands Of Immigrants Being Dropped Off In Town

-- WHYY: Immigrants Fueling Philadelphia’s Labor Force Growth, According To Pew Charitable Trusts Report

-- PennLive Editorial: It Hurts PA’s Apple Industry To Demonize Immigrants As Rapists, Criminals And Pet Eaters

-- AP: These Evangelicals Are Voting Their Values By Backing Harris

-- TribLive: Western PA Teamsters Endorse Harris Breaking With National Union

-- Post-Gazette: US Senate Committee Probing Butler County Shooting To Release Interim Report This Month

-- Miscellaneous State/Harrisburg Politics

-- Franklin & Marshall Poll Release - September 2024

-- Spotlight PA: Democrats Lead Republicans In New Spotlight PA Poll

-- PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

Will There Be Enough Gas?

-- Utility Dive: North American Electric Reliability Corp Sounds Alarm Over Maintaining Sufficient Winter Natural Gas Supplies To Address Extreme Winter Conditions; PA Gas Producers Cutting Production, Pulling Drill Rigs  [PaEN] 

-- Utility Dive: North American Electric Reliability Corp Sounds Alarm Over Whether There Will Be Sufficient Winter Natural Gas Supplies To Address Extreme Weather Conditions This Winter  [Click Here for NERC statement] 

-- Utility Dive: PJM Is Blocking Battery Storage Interconnection Pathway That Could Unlock ‘Tens Of Thousands Of Megawatts’ Of Additional Capacity For The Grid

-- AAA Gasoline Prices:  National- $3.22   Ohio-  $3.11   PA- $3.35 

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Peoples Natural Gas Customers To See 12% Rate Increase This Month, With More Increases On The Way 

-- The Energy Age Blog: Peoples Natural Gas Customers Will See 12% Rate Increase This Month - More Increases On The Way!

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs At 14, Same As Last Week - Down 33% Since Aug. 23 [Industry Efforts To Increase Natural Gas Prices Continue] 

-- Bloomberg: AI Boom Is Driving A Surprise Resurgence Of US Gas-Fired Power Plants [Not In PA]

-- Reuters: EQT CEO Sees Natural Gas Prices Remaining Below $3/mmBtu; EQT Cut Gas Production By 1 Billion Cubic Feet Per Day To Try To Raise Prices

-- New York Times: Big Energy Issue In Pennsylvania Is Low Natural Gas Prices, Not Fracking; PA Has Gas Glut; Drillers Throttling Production  [PDF of Article] 

-- Reuters: Low Natural Gas Prices, LNG Gas Export Demand In Spotlight At GasTech Conference In Texas

-- Reuters: 400 Additional LNG Gas Shipping Vessels Need To Meet US Export Facility Expansions

-- Flooding

-- PEMA: Survivors Of Flooding From Tropical Storm Debby Encouraged To Apply For Federal Aid In Lycoming, Potter, Tioga, Union Counties  

-- Williamsport Sun: Tropical Storm Debby Flood Victims In Lycoming, Potter, Tioga, Union Counties Can Apply For FEMA Assistance

-- WNEP: Disaster Recovery Center Opens In Lycoming County

-- KDKA: Fayette, Greene County Residents Cleaning Up After Severe Storms

-- Observer-Report: Path Of Storm Destruction

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Cong. Cartwright To Introduce National Flood Insurance Premium Transparency Act

-- Scranton Times: Wilkes-Barre Officials Move To Rehab, Replace Wells Protecting Integrity Of Wyoming Valley Flood Levee

-- PA Dept. Of Health Seeks Participants In Oct. 16 Online Focus Group Sessions On How Private Water Well Owners Prepare, Respond To Emergencies Impacting Their Wells  [PaEN]

-- VistaToday: Hankin Group Begins Floodplain Restoration Project With Expansion Of Keva Flats In Exton, Chester County

-- Lancaster Clean Water Partners Host Oct. 21 MS4 Stormwater Forum In Manheim  [PaEN]

-- WTAE: 20 Years After Hurricane Ivan - Flooding Struck Pittsburgh-Area Communities

-- Train Derailments

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: Hazards Unleashed By Norfolk Southern Train Derailment Are ‘The Worst I’ve Ever Seen,’ Toxicologist Says

-- AP: Railroads, Regulators Must Address The Dangers Of Long Trains, Report Says

-- Education

-- The Center Square: Report: Tax Credits For Private School Tuition Pays Off

-- Republican Herald: 2 Students Removed From North Schuylkill School Over Threats

-- TribLive: Penn State Removes Student Newspapers, Sparking Free Speech Debate

-- TribLive Editorial: Penn State Stages Another Strike At Student Journalism

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: PA Cong. Thompson Advances Legislation To Prevent College Hazing

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: PA State Police At Penn State Games Aim For ‘Money Shot’ With Coach Franklin To Attract Police Recruits

-- Health Care

-- Spotlight PA: Hospital Mergers Are Giving Rise To Opaque ‘Facility Fees’ That Add Costs To Medical Bills

-- Inquirer: Medical Malpractice Filings Are Spiking As Lawyers Target Philly Juries As A ‘Slot Machine’

-- Law Enforcement

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: PA Cong. Thompson Advances Legislation To Prevent College Hazing

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: PA State Police At Penn State Games Aim For ‘Money Shot’ With Coach Franklin To Attract Police Recruits

-- The Economy

-- Dept. Of Labor & Industry: PA Unemployment Remains At 3.4% In August 

-- TribLive: Pittsburgh Politicians Rip Mayor’s Pledge To Spend $1 Million On 2026 NFL Draft

-- TribLive Editorial: A Better Way For Pittsburgh To Find $1 Million For NFL Draft Event

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Can Pittsburgh Fulfill Mayor’s Secret Promises To NFL On Draft Event?

-- PA Capital-Star: Charleroi Workers Rally To Try To Save Glass Manufacturing Plant

-- Post-Gazette/Bloomberg: Nippon Steel To Get Extension On US Steel Buyout, Pushing Decision Past US Election

-- Other

-- TribLive: Labor Board Rules Against Post-Gazette In Nearly 2-Year Employee Strike

[Posted: September 22, 2024]  PA Environment Digest