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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- KYW: Shapiro Talks Veepstakes Process, Supporting Harris-Walz And More

-- TribLive/Inquirer: Gov. Shapiro Joins ‘The View’ To Discuss Gun Violence, Antisemitism, Fracking

-- Budget 2025

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Locals Feel Ignored As PennDOT Pushes For More State Money

-- Dept. Of Revenue Reports August Tax Collections $53.9 Million, 1.9% Above Estimates; Fiscal Year-To-Date $53.9 Million, 0.9% Above Estimates

-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports August State Revenue $141 Million Over IFO’s Estimate, Fiscal Year-To-Date Up $160 Million Over IFO Estimate

-- Statewide Races

-- Spotlight PA: Complete Guide To Candidates For PA Attorney General

-- WHYY: Race To Watch: PA’s Race For Attorney General 

-- PA House/Senate

-- City & State PA: Q&A With Senate Republican Leader Joe Pittman [Gambling ‘Skill’ Games]

-- Spotlight PA - Stephen Caruso/Kate Huangpu: Action Unlikely To Grant Legal Relief For Child Abuse Victims, Other Proposed Constitutional Amendments Before Deadline

-- The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: How Are Pennsylvania’s Lawmakers Doing When It Comes To The Environment?

-- US Senate/House

-- Inquirer: How Casey Became ‘Greedflation’ Messenger, Among Biggest Issues Ahead Of November

-- Inquirer: Lehigh Valley Congressional Race Is Overshadowed By Presidential Election, But Could Determine Who Controls US House

-- PennLive: Shapiro Campaigns For Janelle Stelson Against Republican Scott Perry

-- 2020 Election

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Fulton County, Attorney Ordered To Pay More Than $1 Million In Legal Costs, Attorneys’ Fees In Case Over Illegal Access To Voting Machines 

-- Primary Election

-- TribLive: Republicans Appeal Date Ruling On Mail-In Ballots To PA Supreme Court

-- Observer-Reporter: Washington County Spent $75,185 On Legal Fees Defending Mail-In Ballot Lawsuit

-- November Election

-- PennLive: In A Post-Pandemic World, Gen Z Voters Are Fired Up To Vote

-- Inquirer: Why PA Voters Without College Degrees Are Souring On Democrats

-- PA Capital-Star: In Majority Latino Allentown, 2nd Gentleman Doug Emhoff Courts Voters For Harris-Walz Ticket

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Republicans Must Vote For Kamala Harris As Republicans - By Fmr Cong. Jim Greenwood & Ann Womble, Fmr Lancaster County Republican Chair

-- MCall: Republicans Making Gains In PA Party Registration, Has Harris Changed The Trend?

-- Inquirer: It Took Days For 2020 Election To Be Called In PA Because Of Slow Mail Ballot Counting, It Could Happen Again

-- TribLive: Fmr Republican US Senator Pat Toomey Claims He Will Not Vote For Ex-President

-- AP: Republican Network Props Up Liberal Third-Party Candidates In Key States Hoping To Siphon Off Harris Votes  [PA included]

-- WESA: The Socialist Workers Party Has No Shot At Winning, But It Also Has Some Surprising Stances

-- Elections

-- PA Capital-Star: Commonwealth Court Rules Provisional Votes Must Be Counted In ‘Naked Ballots’ Case

-- Post-Gazette -Ford Turner: PA Election Observers See Reasons For Optimism, Concern On Vote Counting In November Election

-- Post-Gazette: Ex-PA Lawmakers Promote Election Security With Bipartisan Democracy Defense Project

-- TribLive: While Elections Aren’t Error-Free, Widespread Fraud Is A Fantasy, Westmoreland County Commissioner Says

-- WITF: Interfaith Leaders Call For Peaceful Elections

-- The Center Square: Faith Leaders Ask For Peace Amid Heated Election Rhetoric

-- TribLive Editorial: Trust The Math With Election Integrity

-- Citizens Voice: State Funding Supports Election Administration Costs In Local Counties

-- National Politics

-- PennLive - John Baer: Here’s How The Presidential Debate Could Sound With Open Mics 

-- Post-Gazette: Presidential Campaign Ad War Intensifies In PA With Massive Spending Surge

-- Inquirer: Counterfeit Political Ads Claim Harris Is The Official Candidate Of The Eagles, Team Quickly Disavowed Any Responsibility

-- TribLive: Harris Disapproves Of US Steel Sale To Nippon During Pittsburgh Event

-- PA’s Role In Assault On US Capitol

-- Observer-Reporter: Washington County Man Expected To Plead Guilty To Crimes Related To Assault On US Capitol 

-- Post-Gazette: Fundraiser For Individuals Charged With Crimes Related To Assault On US Capitol Postponed At Ex-President’s Golf Club

-- Miscellaneous State/Harrisburg Politics

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Politicians’ Long History Of Insignificance

-- Spotlight PA: Cases Await Decisions From PA Supreme Court

-- PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- AAA Gasoline Prices:  National- $3.29   Ohio- $3.13    PA- $3.44 

- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs Dropped 2 More Last Week To 16; Nearly 25% Drop In 2 Weeks 

-- DEP’s Oil & Gas Workload Report shows during the week ending August 30, DEP received Zero new permit applications for conventional wells and Three new permit applications for shale gas wells. 

-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports 2nd Quarter PA Natural Gas Production Dropped To Lowest Level Since 2020; Number Of PA Drilling Rigs Drop By Nearly 25% In 2 Weeks As A Result Of Drillers Trying To Raise The Price Of Gas  [PaEN] 

-- Utility Dive: Ratepayer Advocates Urge PJM To Include Power Plants With ‘Reliability-Must-Run’ Contracts In Next Electricity Auction; Would Have Lowered Overall Cost Of Last Auction By $5 Billion 

-- Utility Dive: Reregulation?  How Utilities And States Are Responding To PJM’s Record Electricity Capacity Prices [Part 1 of 3] 

-- Utility Dive: PJM Considers Fast-Track Review For Shovel-Ready Electric Generation Projects [Part 2 of 3] 

-- Utility Dive: Increasing Capacity Of Existing Generation, Batteries, Demand Response May Offer Near-Term Responses To Record PJM Electricity Auction Prices [Part 3 of 3] 

-- Bloomberg: High Natural Gas, Other Fossil Fuel Use Highlights US Challenge To Clean Energy Transition

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Approach Oversold Zone After 3-Day Sell-Off 

-- Reuters: US LNG Gas Export Dominance Tested As Europe’s Demand Wilts

-- Reuters: US Regulators OK First Step To Start New Louisiana LNG Gas Export Facility

-- Bloomberg: DOE Approves New Fortress Energy LNG Gas Export Facility In Mexico 

-- US EIA: North America’s LNG Gas Export Capacity On Track To More Than Double By 2028 

-- The Guardian: How An LNG As Export Facility Project Along The Gulf Coast Is Upending Residents’ Lives

-- Flooding

-- Williamsport Sun: Lycoming Commissioners To Meet With Congressional Reps About Flood-Damaged Areas

-- Williamsport Sun: Federal Disaster Dollars Sought For Hardest Hit Flood Communities In Lycoming, Potter, Tioga, Union Counties

-- PennLive: PennDOT Praised For Quickly Reopening Flood-Damaged Highway In Lycoming County

-- PEMA Completes Deployment To Tioga County Helping Recovery Efforts In Aftermath Of Tropical Storm Debby

-- PUC: Number Of Storm-Related Electric Outages Increasing Due To A Jump In Number Of Severe Storms With Extremely High Winds  [PaEN] 

-- Financial Times: Insurers Face $151 Billion In Yearly Losses From Natural Disasters, Report Forecasts

-- Education

-- Courier Times: 4 Takeaways From Latest PA Youth Survey On Safety, Mental Health, Drugs

-- Post-Gazette: Fmr Penn State Students May Receive Slice Of $17 Million Settlement Over COVID Restrictions

-- The Center Square: Free Speech Challenges Ranked At 14 PA Universities

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Yet More Senseless Gun Violence - By Fmr Cong. Jim Greenwood

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Another School Shooting, Will It Be Any Different Now?

-- Health Care

-- Courier Times: 4 Takeaways From Latest PA Youth Survey On Safety, Mental Health, Drugs

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Somerset County Loses Opioid Trust Appeal In First Test Of Many

-- Law Enforcement

-- Inquirer: Police Misconduct Lawsuits Have Cost Philly Taxpayers $60 Million Over Past 18 Months

-- PA Capital-Star: Report Describes Inhumane Conditions In Pennsylvania’s Largest Immigration Detention Center In Clearfield County 

-- Spotlight PA - Stephen Caruso/Kate Huangpu: Action Unlikely To Grant Legal Relief For Child Abuse Victims, Other Proposed Constitutional Amendments Before Deadline

-- Scranton Times: Diocese Of Scranton Removes Priest After ‘Credible’ Allegation Of Child Molestation Decades Ago

-- Post-Gazette: With PA Child Mistreatment Reports On The Rise, Advocates Call For Community Action, Policy Reform

-- Post-Gazette: Thousands Call For Separate County Grand Jury Investigation Into Butler County Shootings

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Yet More Senseless Gun Violence - By Fmr Cong. Jim Greenwood

-- TribLive Editorial: Gun Crimes Can Be Lightning Fast Or Take Years To Claim A Life

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Another School Shooting, Will It Be Any Different Now?

-- The Economy

-- Clean Air Advocates File Lawsuit Against EPA To Reduce Hazardous Air Pollutants From Steel Industry Coke [Coal] Oven Plants  [PaEN]

-- The Allegheny Front: Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over Coke [Coal] Oven Battery Rules

-- TribLive: Harris Disapproves Of US Steel Sale To Nippon During Pittsburgh Event

-- Financial Times: Biden Set To Block Nippon Steel’s Takeover Of US Steel, Transaction Poses A National Security Risk

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: US Steel CEO Warns Company Would Close Mon Valley Works, Clairton Coke [Coal] Works, Thomson Works, Irvin Plant, Pittsburgh HQ If Nippon Steel Deal Falls Through

-- The Center Square: Without Nippon Deal, US Steel Will Leave Pittsburgh

-- Post-Gazette - Brandon McGinley: Politicians Trying To Kill US Steel-Nippon Deal Think Pittsburghers Are Stupid

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: For PA Steelworkers, The Nippon-US Steel Deal Must Go Through - By Sen. Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland), Senate President Pro Tempore

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Opponents Of Nippon Steel Deal Don’t Represent Pittsburgh’s Interests

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Potential Exists For Pittsburgh To Become ‘Modern Silicon Valley’

-- AP: New Jersey Floats $400 Million In Tax Breaks To Lure Philadelphia 76ers

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Sports Stadiums’ Economic Impacts Laid Bare - By Allegheny Institute for Public Policy

-- Courier Times: Most PA Counties Seeing Shrinking Workforce Since 2017, See How Your County Ranks

-- Erie Times Guest Essay: What PA Workers Have To Celebrate This Labor Day - By Angela Ferritto, PA AFL-CIO

-- MCall Guest Essay: Stop Complaining About Food Inflation! By Mark Lichtenwalner, Lehigh Valley Farmer

[Posted: September 8, 2024]   PA Environment Digest