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 Joins Lawsuit Against President For Slashing Billions Of Already Awarded Federal Funding Related To Resilience, Communities Preparing For Natural Disasters 

-- Spotlight PA: Shapiro Says Prison Closures Will Save $100 Million, But Critics Want PA To Explore Alternatives

-- PA Capital-Star: Gov. Shapiro Warns PA Members Of Congress Against Cutting Renewable Energy Funds 

-- Post-Gazette: Shapiro Remains Steadfast On No State Money For New Arenas, Champions PA Sports Scene At Pocono Raceway

-- PennLive: PA Governor’s Residence Gets Nearly $400,000 In Security Upgrades Since April Arson

-- Inquirer: Some Top PA Republicans Want State Treasurer Garrity To Run Against Gov. Shapiro In 2026

-- WHYY: 2026 Republican Primary For Governor Shapes Up In PA As Candidates Seek To Curry Favor With President 

-- Budget 2025

-- Spotlight PA: Fights Over Transit, ‘Skill’ Gambling Games, Overall Spending Mean PA State Budget Will Be Late Again

-- TribLive: PA Lawmakers To Miss Budget Deadline, But Don’t Expect Lengthy Impasse

-- WITF: Waiting For State Budget, PA House Passes Tax Reform Over Republican Opposition

-- Inquirer: How A Ballooning Medicaid Program In PA Is Looming Over State Budget Talks, No Matter What Federal Lawmakers Decide 

-- PA Capital-Star: Shapiro Joins Lawsuit Against President For Slashing Billions Of Already Awarded Federal Funding Related To Resilience, Communities Preparing For Natural Disasters 

-- Inquirer: Proposed Federal Food Stamp Overhaul Could Cost PA $800 Million

-- Spotlight PA: Shapiro Says Prison Closures Will Save $100 Million, But Critics Want PA To Explore Alternatives

-- Post-Gazette: Shapiro Remains Steadfast On No State Money For New Arenas, Champions PA Sports Scene At Pocono Raceway

-- PA House/Senate

-- WITF: Waiting For State Budget, PA House Passes Tax Reform Over Republican Opposition

-- The Center Square: Weekly Wrap In The Pennsylvania Legislature

-- Spotlight PA: PA Republican Leaders Accused Of Pressuring Lobbyists To Drop Gambling ‘Skill Games’ Maker Pace-O-Matic Gaming Client In ‘Ugly’ PA Budget Fight 

-- WITF/LPN: PA House Unanimously Passes Bill To Crack Down On Deepfakes In Political Campaign Ads

-- Post-Gazette: PA Republican Senator Questions Shapiro Administration Use Of Taxpayer-Funded Tickets, Other Perks At US Open Golf Tournament

-- PennLive: PA Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta Reelected A Vice Chair Of Democratic National Committee

-- US Senate/House

-- AP: Democrats Are Trying To Figure Out What To Do About Fetterman; Conor Lamb Has Stepped Up

-- Post-Gazette: Fetterman Continues To Frustrate Democrats As Potential Rivals Focus On Party’s Fight Against President

-- PA Capital-Star: Gov. Shapiro Warns PA Members Of Congress Against Cutting Renewable Energy Funds 

-- Statewide Offices

-- Inquirer: Some Top PA Republicans Want State Treasurer Garrity To Run Against Gov. Shapiro In 2026

-- Spotlight PA: Elder Abuse Agency Faces New Investigation By State Auditor General

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: PA Attorney General Sunday Visits Pittsburgh Region Regularly As He Digs Into Job

-- TribLive Editorial: AG Sunday’s Stance Promises Apolitical Focus On Attorney General’s Job

-- 2026 Elections

-- Inquirer: Some Top PA Republicans Want State Treasurer Garrity To Run Against Gov. Shapiro In 2026

-- WHYY: 2026 Republican Primary For Governor Shapes Up In PA As Candidates Seek To Curry Favor With President 

-- Elections

-- PA Capital-Star: PA County Election Officials Talk 2024, Share Their Reform Wish Lists At Duquesne Forum

-- PA Impacts Of President’s Policies

-- Beaver Times: Federal Medicaid Cuts Could Imperil Five Hospitals In Rural PA, Democrats Say

-- Inquirer: How A Ballooning Medicaid Program In PA Is Looming Over State Budget Talks, No Matter What Federal Lawmakers Decide 

-- Republican Herald Guest Essay: A Conservative Case For Protecting Federal Medicaid

-- Scranton Times: Many Forget The Damage Done By Diseases Like Whooping Cough, Measles And Rubella, Not These Families 

-- TribLive: UPMC To Stop Gender-Affirming Care For Patients 18 And Under By Month’s End

-- WESA: Therapists, Doctors Urge UPMC To ‘Fight Back,’ Reinstate Gender-Affirming Care For Trans Youth

-- PennLive: Trans Child’s Family Weighs Options As Penn State Health Ends Treatment: ‘How Could They?’

-- Inquirer: Proposed Federal Food Stamp Overhaul Could Cost PA $800 Million

-- PA Capital-Star: Gov. Shapiro Warns PA Members Of Congress Against Cutting Renewable Energy Funds 

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Pennsylvania’s Clean Energy Momentum In Crosshairs Of The Congressional Republican One Big Beautiful Bill

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader Guest Essay: PA Tradesmen and Builders Rely On Federal Energy Tax Incentives - By  Robert Blair, PA State Building & Construction Trades Council and  Jon O’Brien, Keystone Contractors Association

-- PennLive: PA Could Lose Over 4,000 Jobs If Federal Solar Tax Credits Are Cut, Industry Group Warns

-- PennLive: PA Lawmakers, Business Groups Urge Congressional Delegation To Protect Federal Nuclear Tax Credits

-- Williamsport Sun: Williamsport-Area Woman Describes Her Immigrant Husband’s Deportation, Efforts To Get Him Back  

-- Williamsport Sun: Details About Number, Sites Of Federal ICE Arrests In Lycoming County Scant 

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Farm Bureau Raises Concerns Over Federal ICE Raids On Farms

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Instead Of Federal ICE Raids On Farmworkers, Overhaul This Visa Program 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Federal NRCS Conservation Efforts Facing $754 Million In Proposed Cuts: ‘Threat To Future Generations’ [Cambria County Conservation District]  [PDF of Article] 

-- Tribune-Democrat: Federal Emergency Management Agency Pulls $400,000 Grant From Johnstown Water Authority North Fork Dam Renovation; Board Fighting To Keep It  [PDF of Article] 

-- Warren Times: Allegheny National Forest Potentially Affected By Proposed National Budget, Allegheny Hardwoods Group Expresses Concerns: Forest Research, Forester Training 

-- New Federal Administration

-- PA Capital-Star: Shapiro Joins Lawsuit Against President For Slashing Billions Of Already Awarded Federal Funding Related To Resilience, Communities Preparing For Natural Disasters 

-- Appalachian Voices: Nonprofits, Tribes, Local Government Sue President For Terminating EPA Grant Programs Helping Communities Vulnerable To Pollution, Disasters  [PaEN]

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Farm Bureau Raises Concerns Over Federal ICE Raids On Farms

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Instead Of Federal ICE Raids On Farmworkers, Overhaul This Visa Program 

-- Post-Gazette: PA Internet Companies Scramble To Rebid Broadband Expansion Work

-- Post-Gazette: Mon Valley, Others Parts Of Allegheny County At Risk Of Losing Needed Federal Funding In Current Federal Budget Battle

-- TribLive/AP: President Gets ‘Golden Share’ Power In US Steel Buyout, US Agencies Will Get It Under Future Presidents

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Nippon Steel Keeps US Steel Management Largely Intact, For Now 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Nippon Steel’s Acquisition Of US Steel Promises Investment, Job Growth In Pittsburgh, $1 Billion Investment In Mon Valley Works

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: US Steel CEO Gets Nearly $109 Million Payout After Sale To Nippon Steel 

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: A Promise From Nippon Steel To Western Pennsylvania - By Takahiro Mori, Executive Vice President, Nippon Steel 

-- Inquirer: Pennsylvania One Of 28 States At Risk Of Losing Birthright Citizenship As A Result Of US Supreme Court Ruling; What Happens Now?

-- Republican Herald Editorial: ‘No Kings’ Protests Were A Success, Yet Democrats Fail To Meet The Moment

-- Miscellaneous State/Harrisburg Politics

-- PennLive: PA Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta Reelected A Vice Chair Of Democratic National Committee

-- Republican Herald Editorial: ‘No Kings’ Protests Were A Success, Yet Democrats Fail To Meet The Moment

-- International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

-- AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $3.19  Ohio- $3.00  PA- $3.38

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs - 18 - Same As Last Week, All Of June

-- Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Prices Post Biggest Weekly Drop In 2 Years

-- Post-Gazette - Brandon McGinley: July 15 PA Energy & Innovation Summit Will Be The Biggest Day For Pittsburgh In Decades

-- PJM Extends Hot Weather Alert To June 26; Extends Maximum Generation Alert To June 25; Calls For Pre-Emergency Load Management Reductions In Demand Response Program  [PaEN]

-- Utility Dive: FERC Chair Calls For More Resources After Electric Grid Operators Came ‘Close To The Edge’ In Heat Wave; PJM Had A Margin Of About 10 GW At Its Peak 

-- Flooding

-- Post-Gazette: Friday Rain Brings More Flash Flooding To Robinson, Other Areas In Allegheny County

-- WTAE: Pittsburgh Diner Owner Wants Answers To Flooding - Only Since Last August That She’s Noticed A Big Problem

-- WPXI: Robinson Twp. Businesses Washed Out By Flooding For 3rd Time In Recent Years

-- Reading Eagle: Powerful Thunderstorm Knocks Out Berks Heat Wave, Causes Localized Destruction

-- Scranton Times: Scranton Firefighters Rescue Motorists From Flooded Streets

-- WTAE: Flash Flooding Traps Driver In Allegheny County

-- WHYY - Sophia Schmidt: How Philly Communities And City Government Are Tackling Climate-Driven Flooding

-- WNEP: Local Farms In NE PA Negatively Impacted By Significant Recent Rain

-- Williamsport Sun: Lycoming County Officials Hear Update On Greater Williamsport Levee Project

-- Susquehanna University Awarded $200,000 NSF Grant To Evaluate The Efficacy Of Beaver Dam Analogs In Improving Health Of Urban Streams Overwhelmed By Stormwater

-- Train Derailments

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: Feeling Abandoned, Community Contaminated By Norfolk Southern Train Derailment Decides: ‘We Only Have Ourselves’ 

-- Three Mile Island Restart/Data Centers

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Constellation Energy Keeps Momentum Rolling On Restart Of Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant

-- WITF/LNP: Inside Look At Restart Of Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Expected In 2027

-- PA Capital-Star: Microsoft Describes Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Restart As A Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity

-- Post-Gazette/Bloomberg: Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Set To Deliver Nuclear Power A Year Early

-- PAcast Video Of Gov. Shapiro At Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Restart Event

-- City & State PA: With Amazon Data Centers Moving In, PA Lawmakers Weigh Innovation vs. Oversight In A.I. Policy

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: Amazon Data Centers Are Not An Investment In Us - By Carrie Santoro, Pennsylvania Stands Up 

-- Education

-- WITF/Spotlight PA: Albright College Is Selling Its Art Collection, But It Might Not Be Worth That Much

-- Williamsport Sun Editorial: Higher Ed May Price Itself Out Of Reach

-- Health Care

-- Beaver Times: Federal Medicaid Cuts Could Imperil Five Hospitals In Rural PA, Democrats Say

-- Inquirer: How A Ballooning Medicaid Program In PA Is Looming Over State Budget Talks, No Matter What Federal Lawmakers Decide 

-- Republican Herald Guest Essay: A Conservative Case For Protecting Federal Medicaid

-- Scranton Times: Many Forget The Damage Done By Diseases Like Whooping Cough, Measles And Rubella, Not These Families 

-- TribLive: UPMC To Stop Gender-Affirming Care For Patients 18 And Under By Month’s End

-- WESA: Therapists, Doctors Urge UPMC To ‘Fight Back,’ Reinstate Gender-Affirming Care For Trans Youth

-- PennLive: Trans Child’s Family Weighs Options As Penn State Health Ends Treatment: ‘How Could They?’

-- TribLive: Severe Heat Sends Numerous Residents To Hospital In Western PA

-- Law Enforcement

-- Spotlight PA: Shapiro Says Prison Closures Will Save $100 Million, But Critics Want PA To Explore Alternatives

-- Spotlight PA: Elder Abuse Agency Faces New Investigation By State Auditor General

-- Williamsport Sun: Lycoming County DA Receives Dog That Can Sniff Out Electronic Storage Devices

-- Williamsport Sun: Williamsport-Area Woman Describes Her Immigrant Husband’s Deportation, Efforts To Get Him Back  

-- Williamsport Sun: Details About Number, Sites Of Federal ICE Arrests In Lycoming County Scant 

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Farm Bureau Raises Concerns Over Federal ICE Raids On Farms

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Instead Of Federal ICE Raids On Farmworkers, Overhaul This Visa Program 

-- The Economy

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Farm Bureau Raises Concerns Over Federal ICE Raids On Farms

-- Republican Herald Editorial: Instead Of Federal ICE Raids On Farmworkers, Overhaul This Visa Program 

-- Post-Gazette: PA Internet Companies Scramble To Rebid Broadband Expansion Work

-- Post-Gazette: Shapiro Remains Steadfast On No State Money For New Arenas, Champions PA Sports Scene At Pocono Raceway

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Cleveland Cliffs To Idle 158-Year-Old Steel Plant In Steelton, World’s Longest Continuously Operating Steel Mill 

-- TribLive/AP: President Gets ‘Golden Share’ Power In US Steel Buyout, US Agencies Will Get It Under Future Presidents

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Nippon Steel Keeps US Steel Management Largely Intact, For Now 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Nippon Steel’s Acquisition Of US Steel Promises Investment, Job Growth In Pittsburgh, $1 Billion Investment In Mon Valley Works

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: US Steel CEO Gets Nearly $109 Million Payout After Sale To Nippon Steel 

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: A Promise From Nippon Steel To Western Pennsylvania - By Takahiro Mori, Executive Vice President, Nippon Steel 

[Posted: June 29, 2025]