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’s Office Deleted Emails Relevant To Sexual Misconduct Complaint

-- Spotlight PA: Thousands In Limbo As Shapiro Administration Again Tries To Convince Lawmakers To Fund Home Repair Program

-- PennLive: Gov. Shapiro Warns Federal Education Cuts Could ‘Crush’ PA Schools

-- PennLive: Josh Shapiro For President? What PA’s Governor Told Bill Maher About 2028

-- Budget 2025

-- PennLive: Independent Fiscal Office In Crosshairs Amid Debate Over Accuracy Of Shapiro’s Budget Numbers

-- Spotlight PA: Extra State Funding For 100s Of PA School Districts In Question

-- Spotlight PA: Debt From Childbirth, Other Medical Care Would Be Relieved Under New Bill

-- Spotlight PA: Thousands In Limbo As Shapiro Administration Again Tries To Convince Lawmakers To Fund Home Repair Program

-- Spotlight PA: PA Lottery Pushes Lawmakers To End Profit Rules For Bigger Jackpots

-- PA House/Senate

-- PennLive: Bill To Repeal Death Penalty In PA Gets Bipartisan Support In Legislature

-- City & State PA: Republican Sen. Mastriano Calls On Congress To Support DOGE As He Backs State-Level DOGE Bill

-- US Senate/House

-- PA Capital-Star: Republican PA Cong. Glenn Thompson Talks About Helping US Agriculture Weathering $28 Billion In Retaliatory Tariffs

-- WESA: In Town Hall Gathering, Democrat Cong. Deluzio Warns Of ‘Great Risk’ To Country

-- PA Capital-Star: Democrats Launch National Town Hall Series Targeting Competitive Republican-Held Congressional Districts, Including In PA

-- Erie Times: Republican Con. Mike Kelly Hasn’t Held An In-Person Town Hall In Erie In Years; Citizens Seek Answers To DOGE Cuts

-- Republican Herald Editorial: One-Sided Discussions On Issues Don’t Promote True Progress, EPA Visit Was Not A 'Roundtable Discussion,' But A 'Rally' For Natural Gas In Delaware River Basin  [PaEN] 

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Town Hall Would Be Challenging, Beneficial For Republican Cong. Bresnahan

-- PennLive: Republican Con. Scott Perry Defends Republican Medicaid Cuts, Says Those ‘Legitimately’ Enrolled Won’t Lose Coverage

-- MCall: At Weekly Protest Outside Republican Cong. Mackenzie’s Office Residents Decry Cuts In Federal Funding, Ukraine Aid 

-- Statewide Offices

-- PennLive: Attorney General Dave Sunday Offers Insights To His First Few Weeks In Office

-- Post-Gazette: PA Attorney General Talks To Pittsburgh Police Officers Seeking ‘Areas  Of Collaboration’

-- Attorney General Sunday Joins Coalition In Proposal To End Google’s Search Engine Monopoly

-- 2025 Elections

-- Spotlight PA: Not Enough Candidates Run For Elected Poll Worker Positions In PA

-- Citizens Voice: After Inactive Voter Purge, Republican Registration Advantage Widens In Luzerne County

-- TribLive Editorial: Allegheny, Westmoreland Counties Show Why PA Is A Swing State

-- Elections

-- WITF: Legislators Push For Open Primary Elections

-- Post-Gazette: Pennsylvanians Join The Push To Term Limit Congress

-- Erie Times Guest Essay: Democracy Champions List The Commonsense Election Solutions PA Still Needs - By Ed Rendell, Melissa Hart, Jim Gerlach, Keith McCall

-- Politics PA: US Agency Has Stopped Supporting States On Election Security, Official Confirms

-- Impacts Of President’s Policies

-- WESA: PA Says Hundreds Of Fired Federal Workers Have Applied For State Jobs

-- Post-Gazette: Allegheny County Receives Over 80 Applications In First Week Of Job Portal Aimed At Laid-Off Federal Workers

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: As Washington Unwinds Its Commitments, State And Local Governments Will Have To Step Up

-- Republican Herald Editorial: One-Sided Discussions On Issues Don’t Promote True Progress, EPA Visit Was Not A 'Roundtable Discussion,' But A 'Rally' For Natural Gas In Delaware River Basin  [PaEN] 

-- PennLive: Veterans In Harrisburg Protest Veterans Administration Cuts, Other Moves By President

-- WITF/StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Business, Customers Feeling Pressure From Rising Egg Prices

-- Republican Herald: Schuylkill Aluminum Plant Keenly Watching Tariffs, Imports A Majority Of Its Raw Material From Canada

-- KDKA: Pittsburgh-Area Breweries Brace For Financial Pinch Of Tariffs On Metal Cans

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Steelworkers Back New Metals Tariffs, But Seek Exception For Canada

-- Observer-Reporter: 100+ Labor Council Hosts Rally Opposing Federal Cuts In Downtown Washington, PA

-- Politics PA: US Agency Has Stopped Supporting States On Election Security, Official Confirms

-- MCall: Lehigh Valley Transportation, Climate Projects In Limbo Due To Federal Funding Uncertainty

-- Scranton Times: Northeast PA Health Care Leaders Discuss Impacts Of Potential Cuts to Medicare, Medicaid 

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: Waiting For News Of Republican Medicaid Cuts Is Like ‘Staring Down The Barrel Of A Shotgun’

-- PennLive: Republican Con. Scott Perry Defends Republican Medicaid Cuts, Says Those ‘Legitimately’ Enrolled Won’t Lose Coverage

-- Environmental Council Of The States, Other State Organizations Write Congress About The Importance Of Federal Funding To State Agencies Implementing Federal Programs  [PaEN] 

-- Frederick News-Post: FEMA Cancels In-Person, Most Virtual National Fire Academy Training For First Responders In Emmitsburg, MD, Disrupting Training 

-- York Daily Record: DOGE Closure Of National Fire Academy In Emmitsburg, MD Alarms York County Fire Chiefs 

-- PA Capital-Star: Republican PA Cong. Glenn Thompson Talks About Helping US Agriculture Weathering $28 Billion In Retaliatory Tariffs

-- National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition: USDA Staffing Cuts Hurt Farmers And Rural Communities; Staffing Chaos Has Reigned 

-- Beaver Times: USDA To Cut $36.7 Million From Local Food Purchase Assistance In PA

-- AP: Hundreds Of Federal Offices Could Begin Closing This Summer At DOGE’s Behest, Internal Records Show 

-- PennLive: Federal Cuts Force Shutdown Of Campgrounds, Beaches, Recreation Areas At Popular Raystown Lake (Huntingdon County), Tioga-Hammond, Cowanesque Lakes (Tioga County) [Local  Recreation Economy To Take A Hit] 

-- WITF/WPSU: Raystown Lake Federal Recreation Area Cancels Campground Reservations Amid Federal Job Cuts, Hiring Freeze 

-- PennLive: Gov. Shapiro Warns Federal Education Cuts Could ‘Crush’ PA Schools

-- WNEP: FAFSA Student Financial Aid Site Down After US Education Dept. Mass Layoffs 

-- TribLive: Western PA School Leaders Uncertain How US Education Dept. Cuts Will Affect Them

-- LancasterOnline: Elizabethtown, F&M College Association Petitions Against Cuts To Federal Research Funds

-- Observer-Reporter Guest Essay: Federal Science Cuts Will Harm Pennsylvanians And Next Generation - By American Assn. For The Advancement Of Science

-- PennLive: Some PA Schools Rush To Comply With President’s DEI Ban; Others Take A Wait-And-See Approach

-- TribLive/AP: US Dept. Of Education Lays Off 1,315 Staff, Nearly Half Of Its Workforce 

-- WHYY: How Much Will Philly’s Federal Footprint Shrink Under President?  Here’s What We Know

-- Reading Eagle: ‘Chaos’ In Federal Government Threatening Programs That Help The Homeless In Berks

-- TribLive: University Of Pittsburgh Freezes All Hiring Amid Federal Funding Cutbacks

-- MCall: At Weekly Protest Outside Republican Cong. Mackenzie’s Office Residents Decry Cuts In Federal Funding, Ukraine Aid 

-- WPost: Federal Judge Orders Federal Agencies To Offer Jobs Back To Fired Probationary Workers In Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury, Veterans Affairs 

-- AP: 2 Federal Judges In Mass Firings Cases Order President’s Administration To Rehire Probationary Workers For Now

-- TribLive/AP: Stocks’ Sell-Off Worsen As Wall Street Wonders How Much Pain President Will Accept For The Economy

-- CNBC: Dow Stocks Drop Another 478 Points Tuesday, S&P 500 Posts Back-To-Back Loss Over President’s Tariffs Uncertainty

-- New Federal Administration

-- TribLive/AP: Elon Musk Eyes Social Security, Benefit Programs For Cuts While Claiming Widespread Fraud

-- Inquirer: Temple, Drexel, Swarthmore, Rutgers, Others Among 60 US Colleges Threatened With Sanctions Amid Antisemitism Investigation

-- TribLive/AP: President Doubles Tariffs On Canadian Steel, Aluminum To 50% As Trade War Intensifies

-- AP: Presidents Halts Doubling Of Tariffs On Canadian Metals, After Ontario Suspends Electricity Price Hikes [Still 25%]

-- The Guardian: EU Retaliates Against President’s Tariffs On Metals With $28.3 Billion In ‘Countermeasures’

-- AP: Incoming Canadian PM Says He’ll Keep Tariffs In Place Until US Shows Respect, Commits To Free Trade  

-- Wall Street Journal Editorial: ‘This North American Trade War Is The Dumbest In History, And We Were Being Kind’ [PDF of Article]

-- National Politics

-- PennLive: Josh Shapiro For President? What PA’s Governor Told Bill Maher About 2028

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: What Mister Rogers Would Have Thought Of The President - He Abhorred Bullies More Than Anything- By Maxwell King

-- PA’s Role In Assault On US Capitol

-- PennLive: Warrants For Republican Con. Scott Perry’s Cell Phone Show How He Tried To Help President Cling To Power In 2020

-- WHYY: Neighbors Outraged Over Nazi Flag Flying Outside Montgomery County Home 

-- Miscellaneous State/Harrisburg Politics

-- PennLive - John Baer: City Of Harrisburg’s Getting A Wake-Up Call - Who Will Answer?

-- PA Energy Politics

-- AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.07   Ohio- $2.92  PA- $3.22

-- Baker Hughes: 15 PA Natural Gas Rigs - Same For 13 Weeks

-- US EIA Forecasts Natural Gas Prices Up 11% In 2025, Another 8% In 2026 Over Last Forecasts As LNG Demand Grows 

-- Marcellus Drilling News: NYMEX Natural Gas Price Hits 2-Year High Of $4.491/MMBtu  [PDF of Article] 

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Plunge After Putin Says US Deal May Revive Russian Gas Flows

-- Reuters: Global Oil Supply Growth Is Outstripping Demand, Gunvor CEO Says [Oil Prices Hit 3 Year Low]

-- Financial Times: Would $50 Oil Really Be Good For The US? Industry Analysts Say It Would Throttle The Oil Industry; During Campaign President Said His Goal Is $1.87 Gasoline [$20 A Barrel] 

-- E&E News/Politico: Natural Gas Pitched As Tonic For Power-Hungry A.I. At Oil/Gas Industry Conference As President’s Tariff Policy Rattled Markets

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: America Needs The Energy Pennsylvania Can Supply - By American Petroleum Institute

-- Reuters: US LNG Gas Exporters Seek To Renegotiate Deals To Cover Rising Costs

-- Bloomberg: How Natural Gas Became America’s Most Important Export

-- Reuters: President’s Tariffs On Steel, Aluminum To Raise Costs For US Oil, Gas Firms, Experts Say 

-- Barron’s: Williams Pipeline CEO Not Willing To Move Ahead With PA-NY Constitution Pipeline Even With President’s Blessing As Long As NY, New England Governors Oppose

-- Financial Times: US DOE Secretary Says US Shale Can ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ At Low Oil, Gas Prices; Industry Says No

-- Three Mile Island Restart

-- Utility Dive: Report: Public Faces Significant Risk That Utilities Will Profit From New Data Centers And Shift Costs To Their Captive Ratepayers 

-- E&E News/Politico: Natural Gas Pitched As Tonic For Power-Hungry A.I. At Oil/Gas Industry Conference As President’s Tariff Policy Rattled Markets

-- The Derrick: FrenchCreek Twp., Venango County Commissioner Said They Were Not Aware Of NOVA Cryptocurrency Data Mining Operation Using Natural Gas Well Until It Started [They Did Receive Act 14 Notices]  [PDF of Article]

-- WESA: Next Up For Nuclear Power: Small, Transportable And Made In A Factory Near Pittsburgh 

-- WNEP: Luzerne County Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant Found To Have ‘Low To Moderate’ Safety Issue In Annual Performance Review

-- Flooding

-- York Dispatch: DOGE Lists York County USGS Water Science Center Among Lease Cancellations

-- TribLive: Flood Control Project Proposed For Northmont Neighborhood Of Greensburg In  Westmoreland County

-- AP: Study Shows Rain-Soaking Atmospheric Rivers Are Getting Bigger, Wetter, More Frequent

-- Education

-- Spotlight PA: Extra State Funding For 100s Of PA School Districts In Question

-- Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh Public’s Community Partnerships Help Students Find A Path To College

-- WITF: PA Board Of Education Rejects Christian Schools’ Association As Accreditor

-- Reading Eagle: Berks Area Schools Bracing For Possibility Of ICE Raids

-- PennLive: Some PA Schools Rush To Comply With President’s DEI Ban; Others Take A Wait-And-See Approach

-- Beaver Times: PA LGBTQ Protections Challenged In Court; Why Schools, Parents, Politicians Are Suing

-- Inquirer: Temple, Drexel, Swarthmore, Rutgers, Others Among 60 US Colleges Threatened With Sanctions Amid Antisemitism Investigation

-- LancasterOnline: Elizabethtown, F&M College Association Petitions Against Cuts To Federal Research Funds

-- TribLive: University Of Pittsburgh Freezes All Hiring Amid Federal Funding Cutbacks

-- TribLive Editorial: What If Penn State Sold Naming Rights To Branch Campuses?

-- TribLive/AP: US Dept. Of Education Lays Off 1,315 Staff, Nearly Half Of Its Workforce 

-- PennLive: Gov. Shapiro Warns Federal Education Cuts Could ‘Crush’ PA Schools

-- WNEP: FAFSA Student Financial Aid Site Down After US Education Dept. Mass Layoffs 

-- TribLive: Western PA School Leaders Uncertain How US Education Dept. Cuts Will Affect Them

-- Health Care

-- Scranton Times: Northeast PA Health Care Leaders Discuss Impacts Of Potential Cuts to Medicare, Medicaid 

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: Waiting For News Of Republican Medicaid Cuts Is Like ‘Staring Down The Barrel Of A Shotgun’

-- PennLive: Republican Con. Scott Perry Defends Republican Medicaid Cuts, Says Those ‘Legitimately’ Enrolled Won’t Lose Coverage

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Health Insurers Deny Too Many Claims, The State Should Step In

-- Spotlight PA: Debt From Childbirth, Other Medical Care Would Be Relieved Under New Bill

-- Citizens Voice: Geisinger Nurses Authorize 2nd Strike ‘If Needed’

-- WHYY: Philly Health Officials Confirm City’s First Measles Case Of 2025, Warn Of Possible Exposures At CHOP, South Philly Health Center

-- City & State PA: COVID 5 Years Later, How The Pandemic Changed The Way PA Does Business

-- TribLive: From Remote Work To Cashless Venues, COVID’s Effects On Business 5 Years Later

-- TribLive Editorial: 5 Years After COVID, Scars Linger

-- Law Enforcement

-- PennLive: Bill To Repeal Death Penalty In PA Gets Bipartisan Support In Legislature

-- Inquirer Editorial: Harrisburg Must Reverse Its Persistent Failure To Protect Children And Older Adults In PA

-- PennLive: Attorney General Dave Sunday Offers Insights To His First Few Weeks In Office

-- Post-Gazette: PA Attorney General Talks To Pittsburgh Police Officers Seeking ‘Areas  Of Collaboration’

-- Attorney General Sunday Joins Coalition In Proposal To End Google’s Search Engine Monopoly

-- The Economy

-- WESA: PA Says Hundreds Of Fired Federal Workers Have Applied For State Jobs

-- Post-Gazette: Allegheny County Receives Over 80 Applications In First Week Of Job Portal Aimed At Laid-Off Federal Workers

-- Dept. Of Labor & Industry Reports January Unemployment at 3.8%, Up 0.1% From December

-- Post-Gazette: After Years Of Decline, Wave Of New Immigrants Boosts Allegheny County’s Population

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: After Mediocre Population News, A Program For Revival: Immigration, Better Governance And A Growth Czar

-- Other

-- Inquirer: Phyllis W. Beck, First Female Judge On PA Superior Court, Dies At 97

[Posted: March 16, 2025]