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: Shapiro Will Not Endorse Democratic Nominee For State Treasurer Who Criticized Him During VP Talks

-- Politics PA: Brigadier General John R. Pippy Named Acting Adjutant General; Fmr State Senator, Lobbyist For PA Coal Alliance

-- Budget 2025

-- Dept. Of Revenue Reports September Tax Collections $33.7 Million Less Than Anticipated; Year-To-Date $20.2 Million Above Governor’s Estimates

-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports September Tax Revenues $38 Million More Than IFO Estimates; Year-To-Date $199 Million Over IFO Estimates

-- PA Gaming Control Board Releases 2023-24 Annual Report

-- PennLive: PA Government, School Retirees Want Pension COLA, Saying It’s Long Overdue

-- Independent Fiscal Office Report: iGaming Drives Property Tax Relief To New High

-- Statewide Races

-- Inquirer: PA State Treasurer Race - Here’s What You Need To Know

-- Inquirer: Shapiro Will Not Endorse Democratic Nominee For State Treasurer Who Criticized Him During VP Talks

-- Spotlight PA: Where PA’s Attorney General Candidates Stand On Defending Elections, Voter ID And More

-- Spotlight PA: The Powerful Interests Bankrolling Critical Statewide Row Office Races

-- PA House/Senate

-- Inquirer: PA House Races To Watch In November That Will Determine Who Takes, Keeps Control

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: Battle For Control Of PA House, These Races Stand Out

-- PA Capital-Star: Newly Elected PA House Members Keith Harris, Andre Carroll Sworn In

-- US Senate/House

-- AP: PA Republican US Senate Candidate Backs Using Military To Fight Fentanyl

-- Inside Climate News - Kiley Bense: 7 Debate Questions About Climate Change, Energy For PA US Senate Candidates

-- PennLive - John Baer: Debate Between Congressional Candidates perry, Stelson Could Be Critical To Their Tick-Tight Race

-- November Election

-- AP: Voting Gets Underway In Pennsylvania, As Counties Mail Ballots, Open Satellite Election Offices

-- KDKA: PA Dept. Of State Warns Rainy Weather May Mean Mail-In Ballot Return Envelopes Might Already Be Sealed - Call Your County For Assistance

-- PennLive: Dauphin County Voters Face ‘Sticky’ Situation With Mail-In Ballot Envelopes

-- AP: Luzerne County Manager Sued Over Plans To End Use Of Drop Boxes For Mail-In Ballots

-- Citizens Voice: Luzerne County Will Deploy Ballot Drop Boxes For Nov. Election

-- WNEP: Boulders Used As Security Measure Outside Building Housing Luzerne County Election Bureau

-- WITF/WPSU: Community Members Share Mixed Reactions To Satellite Elections Office On Penn State Main Campus

-- Inquirer: PA House Races To Watch In November That Will Determine Who Takes, Keeps Control

-- Erie Times: Boomerang Bellwether: Erie County Critical To Both Democrats, Republicans

-- NPR: Pennsylvania’s Latinos Could Be Key To Deciding Who Wins The Presidency

-- The Center Square: A Look At The Intersection Of Faith And Voting In Pennsylvania

-- Post-Gazette/NYT: PA Republicans Lag Democrats In Early Mail-In Ballot Requests

-- Elections

-- TribLive: Mail-In Ballots Mean Many Will Have Voted Long Before Election Day

-- Post-Gazette: Ex-Judges, Fmr Gov. Corbett Discuss Election Challenges

-- Tribune-Democrat: Fmr Gov. Tom Corbett: No ‘Grand Conspiracy’ To Sway Elections

-- Spotlight PA: Pennsylvanians Have The Most Trust In Local Election Results, Poll Shows

-- TribLive Editorial: People Are Integral To Election Integrity

-- National Politics

-- PennLive Guest Essay: A Lot Of Good Republicans Are Disappointed In Their Party, Their Candidate For President - By Mark Singel

-- PA’s Role In Assault On US Capitol

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Assault On US Capitol Rears Its Ugly Head Again - By Mark Singel

-- Miscellaneous State/Harrisburg Politics

-- Post-Gazette: Pennsylvania Shatters Campaign Spending Records At Nearly $1 Billion

-- Tribune-Democrat: Commissioner: No Evidence Found To Support Social Media ‘Immigrant Encampment’ Claims In Somerset County

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: Who Needs A Circus When You Can Watch End-Of-Session Lobbying At PA Capitol-- Giant IUD To Pink Milkshakes

-- PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.18   Ohio-  $3.08   PA- $3.32

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Rigs Up 1 To 15 From Last Week [Down 28% Since Aug. 23]

-- Utility Dive: Natural Gas Association Warns Of Colder Winter, Higher Gas Prices On Heels Of North American Electric Reliability Corp Concerns About Sufficient Gas Supplies 

-- Reuters: Natural Gas Producer EQT To Lay Off 15% Of Workforce

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: EQT Natural Gas Driller Announces Plan To Cut 15% Of Its Workforce-- About 250 Employees

-- Bloomberg: LNG Gas Exporter New Fortress Energy Stock Plunges After Delaying Dividend Payment  [Proposing Gas Export Facilities In PA]

-- The Guardian: LNG Gas Has Far Worse Climate Emissions Than Coal, Cornell Study Finds 

-- Bloomberg: LNG Gas Traders Choose To Pay Penalties For Not Shipping Gas To Germany To Chase Higher Profits In Asia

-- Bloomberg: European Industry To Cut Natural Gas Use For Years With Costs Soaring

-- Bloomberg: World Natural Gas Use To Hit Record In 2025 Amid Fight For LNG Gas, IEA Says

-- Reuters: Big US Oil/Gas Companies Reveal ‘Massive’ $42 Billion In Payments To Foreign Governments; US Gets Worst Natural Resource Extraction Deals 

-- Three Mile Island Restart

-- The Center Square - Anthony Hennen: Nuclear Energy Growing, But Power Demand Still A Problem 

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: Nuclear Power At Three Mile Island Plant Is No Climate Solution, Why Would Anyone Tempt Fate?  - By Jane Fonda  [PDF of Article]

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Restart Signals Hope For Jobs, Power Grid And PA’s Future - By Rep. Tom Mehaffie

-- PUC Notice Of Dec. 10 Telephonic Prehearing Conference On PPL Proposal To Construct New Three Mile Island - Chanceford 500kV Transmission Line and Chanceford - Peach Bottom 500kV Transmission and Other Related Transmission Lines

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Reopening Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Is A Huge Boost For PA  

-- Financial Times: Is Nuclear Energy The Zero-Carbon Answer To Powering AI?  [Whose Capital Is Going To Help Underwrite The Risk?]

-- Washington Post: Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Owner Seeks $1.6 Billion In Federal Loan Guarantees To Back Restart Deal With Microsoft AI Project 

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Private Investment - Not Subsidies - Will Empower PA’s Nuclear Energy [TMI Restart With Constellation Energy/Microsoft] - By Commonwealth Foundation  [Actually Constellation is seeking $1.6 billion in federal loan guarantees for the deal] 

-- Scientific American: Power-Thirsty AI Turns To Mothballed Nuclear Power Plants, Is That Safe? [TMI Restart]

-- Nature: Nuclear Power For AI - What It Will Take To Reopen Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Safely 

-- Utility Dive: US DOE, USDA Announce Over $2.8 Billion For 800-MW Palisades Nuclear Power Plant Restart In Michigan To Benefit 2 Electric Cooperatives

-- MCall: Talks Could Bring Amazon Data Center To Lehigh Valley At Site Of Electric Plant And Fmr Portland Generating Station

-- US Energy Information Administration: Data Center Owners Turn To Nuclear As Potential Electricity Source

-- Financial Times: US Climate Change Targets Threatened By Tech Energy Surge From AI

-- Flooding

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Helene Should Be A Siren For Pittsburgh - Get Prepared For More Extreme Weather 

-- WTAE: National Weather Service Lowers Height Of Flood Stage Level On Ohio River At Pittsburgh To Provide Earlier Warning Of Flooding

-- Pottsville Republican Herald Guest Essay: Riparian Buffers Necessary In Age Of Stronger Storms - By Alliance for The Chesapeake Bay, Chesapeake Bay Foundation 

-- KDKA: ‘I Don’t Know That Anybody Could Be Fully Prepared For The Amount Of Flooding’ From Hurricane Helene In North Carolina: FEMA  [Warning To One Of The Most Flood-Prone States In US - Pennsylvania]

-- WHYY: East Falls, Manayunk, Publish Flood Mitigation Study 3 Years After Hurricane Ida

-- The Guardian: ‘Nowhere Is Safe:’ Shattered Asheville, NC, Touted As A Climate ‘Haven’ Shows Stunning Reach Of Climate Crisis 

-- Bloomberg: Hurricane Helene’s Fatal Floods Show Hurricane Risks Are Moving Far Inland

-- AP: Shock Of Deadly Floods Is A Reminder Of Appalachia’s Risk From Violent Storms In A Warming Climate

-- Inside Climate News: How Climate Change Intensified Helene And The Appalachian Floods 

-- Bloomberg: American Dams Weren’t Built For Today’s Climate-Charged Rain, Floods 

-- Train Derailments

-- AP: Court Appeal Delays $600 Million Class Action Settlement Payments In Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

-- Education

-- PennLive: Growing Number Of Violent Threats Puts PA School Districts On Edge

-- TribLive: Westmoreland County School District Agrees To Plan After Allowing Racially Hostile Environment, Federal Civil Rights Office Says

-- TribLive: Microschools Growing As Option As More Families Seek School Choice

-- TribLive Editorial: Prioritizing Mental Health Is Essential For Safeguarding Our Schools

-- Independent Fiscal Office Report: iGaming Drives Property Tax Relief To New High

-- PennLive: PA Government, School Retirees Want Pension COLA, Saying It’s Long Overdue

-- PennLive/Bloomberg: Report Finds Harrisburg University Built Its Finances On Visa-Seeking Foreign Students 

-- TribLive: Enrollment Dropped By 600 Students At Western PA State-Owned Universities

-- AG Henry: 2 Former Penn State University Students Sentenced For Roles In 2017 Fraternity Hazing Death; 2 to 4 Months In Prison With Work Release Eligibility

-- AP: University Of Pennsylvania Imposes 1-Year Suspension On Professor Over Comments On Race

-- MCall: Muhlenberg College Settles Federal Investigation Into Alleged Antisemitism

-- Health Care

-- Post-Gazette: New Pitt Study Shows COVID Peaks Every 6 Months

-- Law Enforcement

-- PA Capital-Star: Exonerees Ask Lawmakers To Pass Bill To Provide State Compensation For Wrongfully Convicted

-- AP: Appeals Stretch 43 Years For A Prison Convicted Of Murder On Little Police Evidence

-- TribLive: Electronic Monitoring Of Potentially Dangerous People Under Protection From Abuse Orders - Why Aren’t They Doing It Now?

-- The Economy

-- Reuters: Natural Gas Producer EQT To Lay Off 15% Of Workforce

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: EQT Natural Gas Driller Announces Plan To Cut 15% Of Its Workforce-- About 250 Employees 

-- TribLive: Amazon, UPS Each Want 2,000 Seasonal Workers In Western PA

-- PA Gaming Control Board Releases Annual Diversity Report On Casino Industry

-- Warren Times - Josh Cotton: Grassroots Effort - Informational Meeting Held For New Refugee Resettlement Nonprofit

-- Inquirer: Horse Deaths At Parx Casino, A Racing Association’s Alleged Financial Misconduct Have Industry Alarmed

-- The Center Square: Details Of New $1.3 Billion 76ers Basketball Arena Proposal Announced In Philadelphia

[Posted: October 6, 2024]