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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- PA Capital-Star: Shapiro Says President’s Cut To Food Banks Hurting PA Farmers

-- DCED Invests $64 Million In 11 Projects Through First PA Sites Grants

-- Inquirer: Shapiro: John Fetterman Is Best Judge Of His Own Health, Ability To Do His Job

-- AP: PA Governor’s Residence To Get An ‘Anti-Climb’ Fence

-- TribLive Editorial: Transparency Versus Security Over Arson At Governor’s Residence

-- PennLive - John Baer: Shapiro Faces Short-Term Tests In Possible White House Quest

-- Budget 2025

-- President's Proposed Budget Cuts Will 'Incapacitate’ State Environmental Programs - $120+ Million At Risk In DEP’s Budget; Drinking Water, Wastewater Infrastructure Funding Cut 89%  [PaEN]

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Tell Gov. Shapiro To Hold The Line On Pennsylvania’s Budget - By 7 PA Republican Lawmaker

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Ruinous ‘Skill’ Gambling Games Tax Would Hurt Small Businesses, Help Big Casino Industry

-- PA House/Senate

-- TribLive/Spotlight PA: PA House Democrats Send ‘Dead-On-Arrival’ Marijuana Legalization Bill To Senate

-- WESA: Marijuana Legalization Advances In PA, But Critics Want To Know Who Will Profit

-- Spotlight PA: Recreational Marijuana Would Be Sold At State-Run Stores Under Bill Advanced Out Of Committee By PA House Democrats

-- The Center Square: Wheels Greased For PA Adult Use Marijuana Bill In PA House

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: PA House Committee Quickly Passes Bill To Legalize Recreational Marijuana

-- Inquirer: State, Local Lawmakers Hearing On President’s Anti-Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Policies On Local Campuses, Universities Didn’t Show

-- TribLive Editorial: Transparency Versus Security Over Arson At Governor’s Residence

-- WITF: PA Senate Passes Bill Banning Trans Girls And Women From School Sports

-- Spotlight PA: Hidden Talents Of PA Lawmakers - New Yorker Writer, MMA Fighter, Alligator Rescues

-- US Senate/House

-- TribLive: PA Cong. Deluzio Rips Proposed Cut To Veterans Administration Clinical Trails As ‘Betrayal Of Veterans’

-- AP: Fetterman Raises Alarms With Outburst At Meeting With Union Officials

-- Inquirer: Shapiro: John Fetterman Is Best Judge Of His Own Health, Ability To Do His Job

-- TribLive Editorial: What’s Happening With John Fetterman?

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Republican Con. Scott Perry Refusing To Meet With The People He’s Supposed To Represent - By Janelle Stelson

-- Elections

-- Spotlight PA: Needed Updates To PA’s Election Law Unlikely Despite New Consensus On Voter ID

-- TribLive Editorial: Voter ID Compromise Would Be Ideal, But Only If Parties Let It Be

-- PA Impacts Of President’s Tariffs

-- The Center Square: Pennsylvania Among States Most Vulnerable To Chinese Import Tariffs 

-- PennLive: May 9 Forum To Reveal The Impact Of Washington Upheaval On PA Families 

-- Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh Clothing Retailers Are On Edge Amid Trade War

-- The Citizens Voice: President’s Tariffs Could Hobble Beloved NE PA Train Hobbyists Business 

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: American Steelmakers Hail Tariffs They Say Will Pay Off - Just Not Yet

-- Reuters: Global Shipments Of Energy Products Slowing With Global Economy ‘Stunned’ By President’s Tariffs  

-- TribLive/NYT: Barbie Doll Prices Spike As President’s Tariffs Loom

-- Reuters: President Says 80% Tariff On Chinese Goods ‘Seems Right’

-- AP: US Stocks Sink Again As More Companies Detail Damage They’re Taking Because Of President’s Trade War

-- PA Impacts Of President’s Policies

-- WESA: With DOGE Cuts Looming At Veterans Administration, PA Officials Weigh The Impact On Veterans 

-- TribLive: PA Cong. Deluzio Rips Proposed Cut To Veterans Administration Clinical Trails As ‘Betrayal Of Veterans’

-- MCall: Why Lehigh Valley Is Ground Zero For New Effort To Stop Potential Federal Medicaid, SNAP [Food Stamp] Cuts 

-- PA Capital-Star: Shapiro Says President’s Cut To Food Banks Hurting PA Farmers

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Americans Are Buying Milk With Borrowed Money

-- Grist: President’s Budget Calls Low-Income Energy Assistance Program ‘Unnecessary’

-- Inquirer: Philly Lost $10.2 Million In Latest Round Of DOGE Funding Cuts To AmeriCorps

-- Tribune-Democrat: AmeriCorps Future, Backpack Project In Jeopardy After ‘Abrupt And Unforeseen’ Cuts In Cambria County

-- Republican Herald Editorial: President Ignores Value Of Public Media To Bolster Own Views

-- MCall Guest Essay: Diversity, Equity And Inclusion Efforts Important To Our Society - By Lloyd Steffen, Chaplin, Lehigh University

-- TribLive: Somerset Office Used For Flight 93, 9/11 Education Terminated By DOGE

-- Beaver Times: These National Park Sites In PA Could Be Affected By President’s $1.2 Billion Cuts To National Park Service 

-- TribLive/AP: Federal Judge Pauses Much Of President’s Massive Downsizing Of Federal Agencies

-- New Federal Administration

-- Republican Herald Editorial: RFK Jr. Must Stop His Anti-Vaccine Actions

-- AP: 15 States Sue Over President’s Move To Fast-Track Oil & Gas Projects Based On A Nonexistent Energy Emergency  [Not PA]

-- TribLive/AP: Federal Judge Pauses Much Of President’s Massive Downsizing Of Federal Agencies

-- International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

-- AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.14  Ohio- $3.02  PA- $3.30

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs At 18, Same For 3 Weeks

-- PA Senate Committees To Hold May 12 Hearing On PJM Grid Reliability Initiative, Electric Generation Markets Update  [PaEN] 

-- PJM Releases List Of 51 Fast Tracked Power Projects To Provide 9.3 GW Of Power-- 7 In PA With Power Potential Of 1.2 GW  [PaEN]

-- PJM Interconnection Forecasts Adequate Electric Generation For Typical Summer Demands; Preparing Demand Response Resources To Reduce Power Use In Extreme Scenarios  [PaEN]

-- PPL Residential Electric Price To Compare To Increase To 12.491 Cents/kWh On June 1, Up From 10.771 Cents-- 15.9%   [PaEN] 

-- WHYY: Philadelphia Gas Works Customers Tell Regulators To Reject Potential Rate Hike, Plan Better For Climate Impacts

-- Washington & Jefferson Center For Energy Policy & Management: Report: PJM Grid Operator At Inflection Point, Reform Needed To Reduce Energy Costs, Increase Clean Energy Resources 

-- Utility Dive: PJM Fast-Tracks 11.8 GW, Mainly Gas Power Projects To Bolster Grid Supplies

-- Utility Dive: PJM, Others Urge FERC To Dismiss Ratepayer Advocates’ Capacity Auction Complaint

-- Reuters: Coterra Energy Reports Higher Profits, To Reduce Capital Spending By $100 Million Due To Macroeconomic Uncertainty 

-- Financial Times: Sunoco Strikes $9 Billion Deal To Buy Canadian Rival Parkland To Form North American Fuel Distributor Giant

-- Reuters: US Energy Companies Seek Exemption From President’s Plan To Move LNG Gas On US-Built Ships 

-- Reuters: Global Shipments Of Energy Products Slowing With Global Economy ‘Stunned’ By President’s Tariffs  

-- Reuters: Exclusive: US, Russia Explore Ways To Restore Russian Natural Gas Flows To Europe, Sources Say 

-- Financial Times: US Oil Output Has Peaked Amid Price Fall, Top Shale Producer Warns

-- Gas Explosions

-- York Daily Record: Major Natural Gas Leak In Downtown Hanover Under Control, After Evacuations

-- Flooding

-- Scranton Times: Flash Flooding Slams Honesdale Area

-- WNEP: Aftermath Of Tuesday’s Severe Weather In Honesdale

-- WNEP: Flooding Shuts Down Route 507 In Pike County

-- WNEP: Delaware River Closed Due To Rising Water Levels In Monroe County 

-- Watershed Alliance Of York Issues Invitation To Bid On Codorus Creek Floodplain Restoration Project; May 8 Site Meeting  [PaEN]

-- LancasterOnline: 13,750 Trees Planted Near Octoraro Reservoir In Southern Lancaster County By Chester Water Authority, Alliance For The Chesapeake Bay 

-- Storm Damage/Power Outages

-- PUC Launches Post-Storm Review Of Utility Response, System Resilience Following Major Southwestern PA Storm  [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh Officials Say More Proactive Approach Needed For Weather Disasters; Mayor Signs Order To Establish Mitigation Plan

-- Post-Gazette: Residents Struggle With No Power, Spoiled Food, Growing Frustration A Week After Deadly Storm

-- TribLive: City Of Pittsburgh’s Top Emergency Official Did Not Alert City Leaders To Absence During Storms

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: While Pittsburgh Cleaned Up After The Storm, City’s Emergency Management Chief Was At A Conference In Myrtle Beach, SC

-- Pennsylvania Power Outages: 4,737 As Of May 7 At 8:20 a.m.

-- TribLive: A Week After Severe Storm, Nearly All Have Power Restored

-- TribLive: Pittsburgh Locations To Have Power Restored By Late Tuesday, Other Areas Sooner

-- KDKA: Rep. Steele Wants House Hearing On Impact Of Storm Power Outages, How To Prevent Problems In The Future

-- Three Mile Island Restart/Data Centers

-- Fox45: PA Republican Sen. Phillips-Hill Slams Maryland, Virginia For Draining Power From Pennsylvania Amid Data Center Boom 

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Critics Slam Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant For Not Reporting Fire In Damaged Unit 2 Reactor Building Feb. 11

-- PublicSource.org: $10 Billion Natural Gas Power Plant Would Transform Homer City, Indiana County, But Into What?

-- TribLive: Site Of Former Springdale Coal-Fired Power Plant To Be Sold To Data Center Developer 

-- Reuters: Constellation Energy Refocusing On Grid-Connected A.I. Data Centers, Moving Away From Data Centers Connected Directly To Power Plants

-- The Center Square: More Tech, More Problems For Regional Power Grid Stability

-- Utility Dive: PJM, Utilities Urge FERC To Dismiss Call For Settlement Talks On Issues Around Colocation Of Energy Generation With Data Centers 

-- Education

-- TribLive: Pitt To Pay Millions To Settle Pandemic Learning Lawsuit; Each Student Will Get Hundreds

-- Spotlight PA: How Penn State Trustees Plan To Vote On Campus Closures Could Run Afoul Of Transparency Law

-- Inquirer: State, Local Lawmakers Hearing On President’s Anti-Diversity, Equity, Inclusion Policies On Local Campuses, Universities Didn’t Show

-- MCall Guest Essay: Diversity, Equity And Inclusion Efforts Important To Our Society - By Lloyd Steffen, Chaplin, Lehigh University

-- TribLive/AP: Republican Congressional Lawmakers Berate PA Haverford College President For Not Discussing Discipline For Antisemitism

-- TribLive: Western PA Universities Work To Address Antisemitism On Campuses As Incidents Soar Nationally 

-- Health Care

-- Republican Herald Editorial: RFK Jr. Must Stop His Anti-Vaccine Actions

-- Law Enforcement

-- TribLive/Spotlight PA: PA House Democrats Send ‘Dead-On-Arrival’ Marijuana Legalization Bill To Senate

-- WESA: Marijuana Legalization Advances In PA, But Critics Want To Know Who Will Profit

-- Spotlight PA: Recreational Marijuana Would Be Sold At State-Run Stores Under Bill Advanced Out Of Committee By PA House Democrats

-- The Center Square: Wheels Greased For PA Adult Use Marijuana Bill In PA House

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: PA House Committee Quickly Passes Bill To Legalize Recreational Marijuana

-- The Economy

-- DCED Invests $64 Million In 11 Projects Through First PA Sites Grants

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Americans Are Buying Milk With Borrowed Money

-- The Center Square: Pennsylvania Among States Most Vulnerable To Chinese Import Tariffs 

-- Beaver Times: Charleroi, Washington County Immigrants, Natives Face Uncertainty Of Deportations, Closed Factory

[Posted: May 11, 2025]