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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- The Center Square: Shapiro Ready To Work With New President On Aligned Priorities

-- Budget 2025

-- February 4-- Governor’s Budget Address

-- Inquirer: With Budget Shortfall On The Horizon, Shapiro Will Have His Biggest Challenge Yet

-- ABC27: State Treasurer Warns Of Dwindling State Budget Amid Record Spending

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Pennsylvania’s Running Out Of Money - By Commonwealth Foundation

-- Independent Fiscal Office Hosts Jan. 28 Mid-Year Revenue Update, 1:30.

-- Beaver Times: PA Gambling Revenues Hit Record High In 2024 For One Reason - Online Gambling

-- Sen. Yaw To Introduce Bill To Use Revenue From Taxing Gambling Skill Games To Support Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program  [PaEN] 

-- WESA: PA Legislators Eye Tax On Gambling Skill Games To Make Up For Shortfall In Public Transit

-- PA House/Senate

-- TribLive/AP: Democratic Rep. Matt Gergely Died Sunday Leaving House Deadlocked At 101-101

-- TribLive Editorial: Rep. Gergely House Seat Illustrates Importance Of Respect With Lack Of Majority

-- The Center Square: Special Election To Fill House Seat Set For March 25

-- LancasterOnline: Republicans Choose Commission Josh Parson To Run In State Senate Special Election

-- ABC27: Republican Rep. Torren Ecker Announces Candidacy For Adams County Judge

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Democrats Call On Republican State Senate Leaders To Raise Minimum Wage

-- US Senate/House

-- Broad+Liberty: US Senator McCormick Announces First PA Energy & Innovation Summit 

-- New Castle News: US Senator McCormick Plans PA Energy Summit, Touts President’s Plan For Energy Dominance

-- TribLive: Fetterman Says He’s Not Planning On Switching Parties

-- Statewide Offices

-- WESA/AP: Republicans Hold Attorney General, Auditor General, State Treasurer Offices For First Time

-- Inquirer: State Treasurer Stacy Garrity On Being Impatient; PA’s Unclaimed Property Problem Governor’s Race

-- 2025 Elections

-- LancasterOnline: Republicans Choose Commission Josh Parson To Run In State Senate Special Election

-- 2024 Elections

-- The Center Square: Rejected Mail-In Ballots Decreased In November Election

-- PennLive: Fraudulent Voter Registrations In Lancaster County Handed Over To State Attorney General

-- National Politics

-- TribLive: Many Western Pennsylvanians Put Politics Aside For Moment As New President Sworn In

-- Tribune-Democrat/AP: Beneath A Veneer Of Calm, Inauguration Holds Warning Signs For US Democracy

-- Washington Examiner - Salena Zito: ‘In America, Impossible Is What We Do Best’: How Pennsylvanians Saw The Inauguration

-- PennLive - John Baer: 5 Early Questions For New Administration’s ‘Golden Age Of America’

-- WSJ: New President To Call For ‘Revolution Of Common Sense’ In Inaugural Address  [PDF of Article] 

-- WHYY: How Will Philly’s Suburban Counties Respond To President’s Immigration Policies?

-- Citizens Voice: Hazleton Area Schools Prepare For ICE Visits

-- Scranton Times: Lackawanna County School Districts Readying Protocols If ICE Agents Show Up

-- WHYY: What Are Your Rights As An Immigrant In Philly?  Here’s What To Know

-- PennLive: Biden Pardons Fauci, Members Of US House Committee Investigating Crimes Related To Assault On US Capitol

-- PA’s Role In Assault On US Capitol

-- AP: Sweeping Pardon Of Participants In Assault On US Capitol Includes Those Who Violently Attacked Police

-- Post-Gazette: Western Pennsylvanians Connected To Attack On US Capitol Pardoned By New President

-- WITF: New President Pardons Criminals, Dismisses Pending Cases For Participants In Assault On US Capitol

-- Post-Gazette: Pardon Of Western PA Participants In Assault On US Capitol Draws Divided Reactions: ‘Are We Really A Country Of Law And Order?’

-- Inquirer: Ex-Philly Proud Boy Leader Released From Prison

-- Miscellaneous State/Harrisburg Politics

-- Post-Gazette: Pennsylvania’s Political Violence Problem Has Local Leaders Amping Up Efforts To Mitigate Tensions

-- PA Energy Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- Senate Environmental Committee Meets Jan. 27 On Establishing An Independent Energy Office, Eliminate Carbon Pollution Reduction Program Covering Power Plants   [PaEN]

-- PA Senate Republicans Reintroduce Bills To Eliminate State Appeals Of Pipeline Permits; Limit Grounds For Appeal Of Any DEP Permits; Punish Communities For Protecting Their Constituents Against Shale Gas Drilling Impacts  [PaEN] 

-- AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.13  Ohio- $3.01   PA- $3.37

-- Financial Times: President Calls On OPEC To Push Down Global Oil Prices

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs Stay At 15 - Same For 6 Weeks (12.13.24)

-- Financial Times: Wall Street Will Stymie President’s US Oil, Gas Surge Plan, Say Shale Bosses; Lower Prices Will Not Make Companies ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’

-- Reuters: US Will Guarantee LNG Gas Supplies For Europe Amid Worries Booming Export Industry Could Boost Prices For US Consumers 

-- New Federal Administration Reverses LNG Gas Export Facility Permit Pause, Extends Comment Period On LNG Impact Study  [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette: New Administration Reverses Pause On New LNG Gas Export Project Permits [Helps Pave Way For Potential LNG Terminal In Philadelphia] 

-- Bloomberg: Exxon: New US LNG Gas Supply Will Take Years To Start [2026-2027]

-- New Federal Administration Issues Executive Order Declaring A National Energy Emergency; Order Repealing Other Energy, Climate Orders; Regulatory Freeze  [PaEN] 

-- The Hill: President Says He Will Use Energy Emergency Declaration To Approve Power Plants For AI Data Centers 

-- Utility Dive: President Plans To Use Emergency Powers To Fast-Track Generation Co-Located With Data Centers [Which He Said Was ‘Largely’ His Idea]

-- AP: President Pumps Coal As Answer To AI Data Center Needs, But Any Boost Could Be Short-Lived

-- Bloomberg: Renewables Leader Next Era Expanding To Gas, Nuclear For AI Boom

-- AP: Big Tech Wants To Plug Data Centers Right Into Power Plants, Utilities Say It’s Not Fair [Talen/Amazon Data Center Deal]

-- AP Video: Big Tech Wants To Plug Data Centers Right Into Power Plants, Utilities Say It’s Not Fair [Talen/Amazon Data Center Deal]

-- Warren Times/AP: President Pivots To Pro-Oil And Gas Policies, But Likes Renewable Geothermal

-- Washington Post Editorial: What ‘Energy Emergency’?  US Is Not Facing An Energy Crisis Today, But President Could Create One  [PDF of Article]

-- Reuters: Boosting Natural Gas Output While Keeping Prices Low A Tough Task For New Administration 

-- Reuters: About 12% Of North Dakota’s Oil Output Shut Down, 11% Of Gas Shut Down By Cold Weather

-- Bloomberg: Rare Snow Imperils Texas LNG Gas Exports, Shuts Louisiana Roads

-- Financial Times: LNG Gas Tankers Change Course To Europe From Asia To Take Advantage Of Rising Regional Prices

-- Financial Times: Oil Majors Brace For Falls In LNG Gas Revenues As Prices Stabilize

-- Financial Times: Why Europe Will Struggle To Buy More US LNG Gas

-- Bloomberg: Asia Looks To Buy More US Fossil Fuels To Make New Administration Happy

-- Reuters: LNG Gas Traders Divert At Least 6 US Cargoes To Europe From Asia Due To Higher Prices

 -- Bloomberg: New Administration To Declare National Energy Emergency, Unleashing Domestic Oil & Gas Production  [PDF of Article] 

-- The Energy Age Blog: US EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook: Solar Power Supplies Most Of The Increase In US Generation In Our Forecast For 2025, 2026 [37 GW Of Solar Added In 2024]

-- Three Mile Island Restart

-- The Hill: President Says He Will Use Energy Emergency Declaration To Approve Power Plants For AI Data Centers 

-- Utility Dive: President Plans To Use Emergency Powers To Fast-Track Generation Co-Located With Data Centers [Which He Said Was ‘Largely’ His Idea]

-- AP: President Pumps Coal As Answer To AI Data Center Needs, But Any Boost Could Be Short-Lived

-- Bloomberg: Renewables Leader Next Era Expanding To Gas, Nuclear For AI Boom

-- AP: Big Tech Wants To Plug Data Centers Right Into Power Plants, Utilities Say It’s Not Fair [Talen/Amazon Data Center Deal]

-- AP Video: Big Tech Wants To Plug Data Centers Right Into Power Plants, Utilities Say It’s Not Fair [Talen/Amazon Data Center Deal]

-- Citizens Voice: Luzerne County Committee To Discuss Proposed Tax Break For Hazle Twp. Data Center Complex

-- Flooding

-- WPXI: Ice Is Piling Up On Pittsburgh’s Major Rivers Creating Dangerous Flood Risk

-- WTAE: Ice Jams On Allegheny River Raise Concerns Of Flooding For First Time In 7 Years

-- Citizens Voice: Luzerne Flood Authority Monitoring Ice On Susquehanna River, But Not Worried About Ice Jam Flooding For Now

-- Scranton Times: Officials: Stay Off River Ice, Stay Warm

-- WHYY - Zoe Read: 3 Years After Hurricane Ida, Study Aims To Prepare Communities Along The Brandywine For Future Storms

-- Inquirer: How Philly-Area Residents Can Financially Prepare For Natural Disasters

-- Train Derailments

-- AP: Residents Ordered To Pay $850,000 Bond To Appeal Norfolk Southern Derailment Settlement Vow Not To Give Up 

-- Education

-- Erie Times: PA Cyber Charter School Would Replace Teachers With AI-Based Lessons

-- Citizens Voice: Hazleton Area Schools Prepare For ICE Visits

-- Scranton Times: Lackawanna County School Districts Readying Protocols If ICE Agents Show Up

-- Spotlight PA: Facing $20 Million Deficit, Albright College Making Cuts, Borrowing From Endowment

-- Post-Gazette: Penn State’s Current Campus Ecosystem Is ‘Not Sustainable,’ Commonwealth Campus Chancellor Says

-- Health Care

-- Attorney General Sunday Announces National Settlement With Purdue Pharma, Sackler Family Will  Bring Up To $212 Million To PA For Substance Abuse Treatment, Recovery

-- Post-Gazette: Critics Of For-Profit Healthcare Deals Bemoan Lack Of Oversight In PA

-- WESA: PA Lawmakers Reintroduce Medical Debt Relief Legislation; Pittsburgh’s Program Stalls

-- Post-Gazette: 450,000 Pennsylvanians Could See Dramatic Spikes In Health Care Costs, Congress Weighing Extending Health Insurance Subsidies

-- Law Enforcement

-- Attorney General Sunday Announces National Settlement With Purdue Pharma, Sackler Family Will  Bring Up To $212 Million To PA For Substance Abuse Treatment, Recovery

-- WHYY: How Will Philly’s Suburban Counties Respond To President’s Immigration Policies?

-- Citizens Voice: Hazleton Area Schools Prepare For ICE Visits

-- Scranton Times: Lackawanna County School Districts Readying Protocols If ICE Agents Show Up

-- WHYY: What Are Your Rights As An Immigrant In Philly?  Here’s What To Know

-- The Economy

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Democrats Call On Republican State Senate Leaders To Raise Minimum Wage

-- Post-Gazette: Steelworkers Make Fresh Plea To President To Save US Steel - Nippon Deal

-- Dept. Of Labor & Industry Reports PA Unemployment In December At 3.6%, Remains Under National Rate

[Posted: January 26, 2025]