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 To Consider Legal Action If Federal Education Cuts Affect PA Students

-- TribLive: Shapiro Touts A.I. Program For State Employees During Visit To Carnegie Mellon

-- TribLive/Inquirer: Gov. Shapiro Says Chuck Schumer Should Have Used ‘Leverage’ In Government Shutdown Fight

-- Inquirer: White House Says ‘Gov. Shapiro Is Lying’ About How His Trip To White House Unfroze $2.1 Billion In Federal Funds For Pennsylvania; Shapiro Lawsuit Over Funding Still Pending 

-- Inquirer: Republican Con. Dan Meuser Came To Germantown And Made A Very Philly Pitch For His Likely Run Against Gov. Shapiro

-- WHYY: Republican Con. Dan Meuser Signals Possible Governor Bid During Philly Visit, As Democrats Voice Frustration Over Federal Cuts

-- Budget 2025

-- PA Gaming Control Board Reports February Revenue Was Down 4.38% From February 2024

-- MCall Guest Essay: Gov. Shapiro’s Proposed Budget Features Major Flaws - By Sen. Jarrett Coleman-R

-- PA House/Senate

-- AP: Majority Control Of PA House Hinges On Special Election March 25 In A District Near  Pittsburgh 

-- PennLive: PA Republicans Ask President To Cut Medicaid Program For Poor Families, Children, Homeless 

-- City & State PA: Bipartisan Paid Family Leave Bill Advances In PA House

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Bipartisan Bill To Abolish PA’s Death Penalty Must Be Passed

-- Erie Times: Republican PA Lawmakers Push Push For Display Of Ten Commandments In Public Schools 

-- US Senate/House

-- WITF/WVIA: Demonstrators Outside US Sen. McCormick’s Scranton Office Say No One Answers Constituents’ Calls: ‘Where’s Dave?’

-- PennLive: Republican US Senator McCormick Defends President’s War On DEI

-- Centre Daily Times: Protesters At Republican Cong. GT Thompson’s Bellefonte Office Protest Disapproval Of His Support For President’s Actions

-- York Dispatch: Will Republican Con. Scott Perry, Lloyd Smucker Hold Town Halls This Week?  Seems Unlikely

-- PennLive: Republican Cong. Lloyd Smucker Says In-Person Town Hall Meetings ‘Not Productive’ ‘Because People Are Intent On Disrupting Them’

-- York Dispatch: In Absence Of A Town Hall By Republican Con. Scott Perry, Progressive Group Plans One Of Its Own

-- PennLive: ‘Where Is Scott Perry?’: Progressive Group Holds Town Hall With Focus On Medicaid Health Insurance Cuts

-- MCall: Democrats To Hold Town Hall In Lehigh Valley, Calling On Cong. Mackenzie To Oppose President’s Agenda

-- Post-Gazette: ‘This Game Is Not Over… Our Democracy Is Worth Fighting For’ Is Democratic Cong. Summer Lee’s Rallying Cry

-- Citizens Voice: Republican Cong. Bresnahan Holding Telephone Town Fall On Facebook March 25

-- MCall: Republican Cong. Mackenzie To Hold Telephone Town Hall Today; Same Time As Democrats People’s Town Hall

-- MCall: Medicaid Cuts, Ukraine, DOGE Cuts: Takeaways From Republican Cong. Mackenzie’s First Telephone Town Hall

-- MCall: At People’s Town Hall, Lehigh Valley Residents, Politicians ‘Attack’ Republican Cong. Mackenzie, National Republicans

-- PennLive: Republican Con. Scott Perry Co-Sponsors Bill To Abolish The Federal Reserve

-- Post-Gazette: Fetterman Still At Center Of Democratic Infighting

-- Statewide Offices

-- Inquirer: PA’s New Attorney General Won’t Be Suing The President; Dave Sunday’s Quest To Be A ‘Boring AG’

-- Attorney General Dave Sunday Names Darryl Lawrence To Serve As PA Consumer Advocate For Public Utility Issues  [PaEN] 

-- WESA: AG Sunday’s Pick For PA Consumer Advocate Appeals To Some Who Worried About Office’s Direction

-- 2025 Elections

-- AP: What To Expect In PA’s State Legislative Special Elections Next Week

-- Post-Gazette: Control Of PA House Up For Grabs On Tuesday As Mon Valley Voters Pick A Lawmaker

-- AP: Majority Control Of PA House Hinges On Special Election March 25 In A District Near  Pittsburgh 

-- TribLive: 3 Candidates Vie For State House In Mon Valley Special Election Race

-- LancasterOnline: Elon Musk Sounds Alarm Over Republican State Senate Candidates Chances In Tuesday’s Special Election

-- Elections

-- PA Capital-Star: ACLU: ‘Notice And Cure’ County Policies Helped  9,000 Pennsylvanians Have Their Votes Counted

-- WITF: Path Forward For Voter ID In PA, As Long As It ‘Doesn’t Disenfranchise’

-- Spotlight PA: Ballot Secrecy Could Be Jeopardized By Recent PA Court Rulings, Officials Say

-- PA Capital-Star: Federal Cuts To Election Security Programs Make Elections Less Secure, PA’s Head Election Official Warns

-- Impacts Of President’s Policies

-- Post-Gazette/NYT: President Says A Recession Might Be Worth The Cost Because Economy Needs A ‘Detox Period’, Economists Disagree 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Lenders Say Millions In Small Business Funding, Tax Credits Are At Risk Because Of President’s Actions 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times Editorial: Uncertainty Around Federal Funding Having Big Impact  ‘Instability, Uncertainty And Indiscriminate Direction Are The Antithesis Of Best Practices’]   [PDF of Article] 

-- PA Capital-Star: President’s  Cuts To Federal Workers Have Taken Their Toll On PA, More Are Coming

-- WPXI: Pentagon Cutting Up To 60,000 Civilian Jobs; About A Third Took Voluntary Resignations  [OPM Says 22,734 Civilian Jobs In PA]

-- Inquirer: DOGE Moves To End 1 In 10 Federal Leases In Philly Area Worth $108 Million, Here’s Where The Cuts Hit

-- MCall: Lehigh Valley Trucking Leaders Meet With Republican Cong. Mackenzie, Tariffs, Regulations Big Concerns

-- WTAE: DOGE Targets Shutdown Of Federal Offices In Western PA, Including 3 Mine Safety & Health Administration Offices 

-- PennLive: 100+ Protesters Target Cumberland County Tesla Dealership

-- The Derrick: Opposition To Musk, DOGE Voice Concerns In Oil City, Franklin

-- Republican Herald: Schuylkill School Officials Sound Off On Potential Impact Of Federal Education Cuts; Could Deliver Devastating Blow To Students 

-- Post-Gazette: President To Gut Federal Dept. Of Education, Raising Questions Over Federal Funding For PA Teachers, Programs

-- Tribune-Democrat: Impact Of US Education Dept.’s Ordered Closure Unclear In PA

-- PA Capital-Star: Federal Cuts To Election Security Programs Make Elections Less Secure, PA’s Head Election Official Warns

-- Post-Gazette: Concern Rises As Nursing Homes, Seniors Wait For Decisions On Potential Medicaid Cuts 

-- Post-Gazette: PA Advocates Warn Of Devastating Impacts As Federal Medicaid Health Insurance Coverage Cuts Loom

-- WNEP/AP: Social Security Administration To Require In-Person Identity Checks For New And Existing Recipients; Instead Of Helping Recipients Over The Phone

-- PennLive:  President’s Sec. Of Commerce Said Only A ‘Fraudster’ Would Care If They Miss A Social Security Check 

-- Reading Eagle: Federal Funding Uncertainties Affecting Farming Community In Berks 

-- Inquirer: PA Mushroom Industry Faces Urgent Labor Shortage; New Restrictive Immigration Policies Will Make It Worse 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Federal Fallout: Lessons Learned During Pandemic  Could Frame Local Response To Expected Funding Cuts  [PDF of Article]

-- Altoona Mirror: Part Of Raystown Lake Federal Recreation Area Camps To Close Due To Staff Cuts  

-- TribLive: Pittsburgh Leaders Push Back As Possible Federal HUD Field Office Closure Threatens Low-Income Housing

-- Republican Herald: Bracing For Impact Of Federal Cuts On Schuylkill County Help For Homeless

-- Inquirer: MAGA, Musk Are After The Game Commission For Taking Away Deer Domesticated By PA Woman As Government Overreach

-- TribLive Letter: Unfreeze The Energy, Climate Benefits Of Federal Inflation Reduction Act - By Bruce Cooper, Slippery Rock Chapter Of Citizens’ Climate Lobby 

-- Inquirer: $175 Million In Federal Funding For University Of Pennsylvania Paused For Allowing Transgender Athlete To Compete

-- Post-Gazette: Pitt Girds For Federal Funding Cuts, Are University Researchers Ready?

-- Beaver Times: Federal Officials Have Put Some PA Colleges On Notice Amid Focus On Antisemitism, DEI

-- TribLive: Carnegie Mellon, Reed Smith Law Firm Subjects Of Federal DEI Crackdown  

-- TribLive: ACLU Demands University Of Pittsburgh Lift Suspension Of Student Group Supporting Palestine

-- PennLive: Federal ICE Detains Bhutanese Immigrants In Central PA Who Have Legal Status

-- PennLive Editorial: Federal ICE’s Gestapo Tactics With PA’s Bhutanese Community Mark A Shameful Era In American History  

-- WITF: Federal ICE Agents Arrest 6 Bhutanese Legal Permanent Residents In Dauphin, Cumberland Counties, No One Knows Why

-- MCall: Lehigh Valley Faith Leaders Confront Possibility Of Immigration Raids In Houses Of Worship

-- The Legal Intelligencer: President’s Nominee For Eastern District US Attorney Is Not Admitted To PA Bar, Does That Matter? 

-- Observer-Reporter Guest Essay: Our Ukrainian Friends Need And Deserve Our Support - By Parker Burroughs, Retired Editor Observer-Reporter  

-- National Politics

-- TribLive/Inquirer: Gov. Shapiro Says Chuck Schumer Should Have Used ‘Leverage’ In Government Shutdown Fight

-- PennLive - John Baer: Time For Another 5 Questions About President’s ‘Golden Age Of America’

-- York Dispatch Editorial: The Politics Of Hate Has No Place In Our Schools; Nor Does The Far-Right PA Economic Growth PAC

-- TribLive Editorial: Political Attacks Are Shameful Slides To Gateway Violence

-- Wall Street Journal Editorial: President Campaigned On Deporting Gang Members, But He Can’t Defy Federal Court Orders

-- PA Energy Politics

-- AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.12   Ohio- $3.07  PA- $3.22

-- Baker Hughes: 15 PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs - Same For 14 Weeks

-- TribLive: Schedule Set For Demolition Of Fmr Homer City Coal-Fired Power Plant Stacks, Towers [Power Plant Is Converting To Gas] 

-- Utility Dive: PJM’s Capacity Price Floor, Price Ceiling Proposal Sparks Market Confidence Concerns 

-- Reuters: US Natural Gas Prices Hold Near 3-Week Low On Record Output, Mild Weather

-- Reuters: US Natural Gas Prices Drop 6% To 2-Week Low On Surprise Storage Build, Lower Demand

-- Reuters: US Natural Gas Prices Jump 5% To One-Week High On Record LNG Gas Flows, Daily Output Drop

-- Reuters: US Natural Gas Prices Slide 2% To 2-Week Low On Record Output

-- Reuters: US LNG Gas Exporters Stick With Methane Reduction Measures Despite EPA Rollbacks To Meet Standards Of Overseas Import Markets 

-- Reuters: US DOE Approves Venture Global LNG Gas Export Facility Construction In Louisiana

-- Bloomberg: China Halts US LNG Gas Imports As Trade War Reroutes Deliveries

-- Reuters: US EIA Reports US Natural Gas Pipeline Completions Boosted LNG Gas Takeaway Capacity For 2 Years In A Row 

-- Bloomberg: Biden Draft LNG Gas Export Study Shelved After Pollution Impacts Deemed Minor 

-- Bloomberg: ‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Mantra Set To Make US LNG Gas Exports Less Competitive 

-- Wall Street Journal: Frackers, Once Jubilant, Are Unnerved By President’s First Weeks In Office [Federal Job Cuts, Tariffs, Push For Lower Energy Prices Creating More Uncertainty]    [PDF of Article] 

--  Forbes: Shale Oil, Gas Producers Face Uncertain Future Despite The New Federal Administration’s Agenda  

-- S&P Global: President Meets With US Oil, Gas Executives Advocate For Deregulation; Permit Reform; Push Against Tariffs Say Market Forces Could Limit President’s Production Goals [Meaning Prices Need To Be Higher]

-- Bloomberg Opinion: Cheaper Power Is Too ‘Woke’ For Texas Republicans; State Debating Bills To Boost Natural Gas, Restrain Renewables

-- DailyMail: President Moves To ‘Immediately’ Open ‘Hundreds’ Of Coal-Fired Power Plants Across The US To Counter China  

-- Bloomberg: President Vows To Authorize Coal-Fired Power Plants To Counter China 

-- Bloomberg: President’s Love For Coal Is Crashing Into Market’s Economic Reality

-- AP: Last Decade Was Earth’s Hottest As Carbon Dioxide Levels Reach An 800,000 Year High, Says UN Report

-- Three Mile Island Restart

-- LancasterOnline - Rachel McDevitt: Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Begins Evaluating Environmental Impacts Of Restart  [PDF of Article] 

-- PA Capital-Star: Nuclear Regulators Hear Concerns About Plan To Restart Three Mile Island Reactor

-- LancasterOnline: Volunteers Needed For Lancaster County Dept. Of Public Safety’s Nuclear Power Plant Disaster Training Exercise 

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Westinghouse Mulls Beaver County For Major Microreactor Factory

-- Washington & Jefferson College To Host April 9 Webinar On Energy, Economy And A.I. - Data Centers And Pennsylvania's Future  [PaEN] 

-- LancasterOnline: Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant Owner Will Hold Virtual Public Meeting Thursday To Discuss Environmental Impact Of Plant Restart, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.

-- Flooding

-- PEMA: PA’s Silver Jackets Team Recognized Nationally For Collaborative flood Risk Reduction Efforts

-- Senate Environmental Committee Meets March 24 On Stream ‘Cleaning,’ Solar Energy Facility Decommissioning, Lake Erie Groin Fee Bills [PaEN]

-- Train Derailments

-- Post-Gazette: Train Derails In Fayette County, Shutting Down Street, Knocking Out Power

-- Education

-- Inquirer: Shapiro To Consider Legal Action If Federal Education Cuts Affect PA Students

-- Republican Herald: Schuylkill School Officials Sound Off On Potential Impact Of Federal Education Cuts; Could Deliver Devastating Blow To Students 

-- Post-Gazette: President To Gut Federal Dept. Of Education, Raising Questions Over Federal Funding For PA Teachers, Programs

-- York Dispatch: York Republican Rep. Wendy Fink Says Eastern York School District Will Lose Federal Funding If They Don’t Adopt Anti-LGBTQ+ Policies Because It Would Go Against The President’s Executive Order 

-- Erie Times: Republican PA Lawmakers Push Push For Display Of Ten Commandments In Public Schools 

-- Post-Gazette: PA Lawmakers From Both Parties Seek To Ban Food Dyes From Schools

-- NextPittsburgh: Prototype Pittsburgh’s New Job Training Program Creates Pathway To Growing Clean Manufacturing Sector 

-- York Dispatch: Dover School District Policies Set Stage For Bullying And Abuse, Civil Rights Advocates Say

-- York Dispatch Editorial: The Politics Of Hate Has No Place In Our Schools; Nor Does The Far-Right PA Economic Growth PAC

-- Spotlight PA: Penn State Made Deep Cuts To Engineering, Graduate School Amid Budget Woes

-- Inquirer: $175 Million In Federal Funding For University Of Pennsylvania Paused For Allowing Transgender Athlete To Compete

-- Post-Gazette: Pitt Girds For Federal Funding Cuts, Are University Researchers Ready?

-- MCall: Lehigh University Students Rally Support For DEI

-- TribLive: Carnegie Mellon, Reed Smith Law Firm Subjects Of Federal DEI Crackdown  

-- TribLive: ACLU Demands University Of Pittsburgh Lift Suspension Of Student Group Supporting Palestine

-- TribLive Editorial: Universities, Students Struggle With Uncertain Higher Ed Landscape

-- Health Care

-- PennLive: PA Republicans Ask President To Cut Medicaid Program For Poor Families, Children, Homeless 

-- Post-Gazette: PA Advocates Warn Of Devastating Impacts As Federal Medicaid Health Insurance Coverage Cuts Loom

-- Post-Gazette: Concern Rises As Nursing Homes, Seniors Wait For Decisions On Potential Medicaid Cuts 

-- MCall Guest Essay: Protecting Medicaid Vital To Americans’ Well-Being - By Dr. Tom Whalen, Lehigh Valley Health Network

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: This Year, Harrisburg Must Lock In Recent Improvements To System Of Disability Care  

-- Spotlight PA: Medical Cannabis Companies Are Spending Big To Have A Say In PA’s Legal Weed Future

-- Post-Gazette: Concern Rises As Nursing Homes, Seniors Wait For Decisions On Potential Medicaid Cuts 

-- City & State PA: 5 Years After COVID, PA Health Care Is Still Absorbing Impact

-- Law Enforcement

-- Inquirer: Delaware County Poised To Be First Philadelphia Suburb To Ban Ghost Guns, Rapid Fire Devices

-- PA Capital-Star: More Local Governments Move To Ban Ghost Guns As PA Supreme Court Weighs Whether Its Legal

-- WHYY: Gun Owners Rarely Use Firearms For Self-Defense, Rutgers Report Shows

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Bipartisan Bill To Abolish PA’s Death Penalty Must Be Passed

-- Spotlight PA: 25 Years Of State Board Of Pardons Votes Now Available To The Public

-- TribLive: Aspinwall Police Seek Suspect Accused Of Harassing Homes That Display President’s Flag In Allegheny County 

-- PennLive: Lebanon County DA Reports Being Target Of Harassment In Dispute Over Handling Of Rape Report

-- WITF: Families Visit Harrisburg Bhutanese Refugees In Federal ICE Custody, Fear Deportation

-- PennLive: Federal ICE Detains Bhutanese Immigrants In Central PA Who Have Legal Status

-- WITF: Federal ICE Agents Arrest 6 Bhutanese Legal Permanent Residents In Dauphin, Cumberland Counties, No One Knows Why

-- The Legal Intelligencer: President’s Nominee For Eastern District US Attorney Is Not Admitted To PA Bar, Does That Matter? 

-- The Economy

-- Post-Gazette/NYT: President Says A Recession Might Be Worth The Cost Because Economy Needs A ‘Detox Period’, Economists Disagree

-- Post-Gazette/WPost: President Prep New Tariffs On Imports Worth Trillions For ‘Liberation Day’ 

-- Wall Street Journal: The Fed Projections See An Economy Dramatically Reset By President’s Election; Tariffs Will Send Prices Up While Sapping Investment, Sentiment And Growth 

-- BBC: The Fed Cuts US Growth Forecast As Tariff Fears Increase

-- PennLive: Republican Con. Scott Perry Co-Sponsors Bill To Abolish The Federal Reserve

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Lenders Say Millions In Small Business Funding, Tax Credits Are At Risk Because Of President’s Actions 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times Editorial: Uncertainty Around Federal Funding Having Big Impact  ‘Instability, Uncertainty And Indiscriminate Direction Are The Antithesis Of Best Practices’]   [PDF of Article] 

-- WPXI: Pentagon Cutting Up To 60,000 Civilian Jobs; About A Third Took Voluntary Resignations  [OPM Says 22,734 Civilian Jobs In PA]

-- NextPittsburgh: Prototype Pittsburgh’s New Job Training Program Creates Pathway To Growing Clean Manufacturing Sector 

-- MCall Guest Essay: Big Tech’s A.I. Pitch Seeks License To Steal - By Tribune Publishing

-- Other

-- Inquirer: PA Supreme Court Expands Legal Definition Of Parenthood, Seen As Win For LGBTQ Community

-- PennLive: Union County Computer Network Breached, Personal Information Accessed

-- Lehigh Valley-Based Crayola Celebrating International Colour Day March 21 By Bringing Back 8 Iconic Retired Crayola Colors  

[Posted: March 23, 2025]