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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Pennsylvania Is A Commonwealth, Its Leaders Need To Act Like It 

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- Politics PA: Shapiro: Time For Leaders To Make Tough Budget Choices

-- Inquirer: President’s Push To End Mail Voting, Voting Machines Will Have ‘No Bearing’ On PA Elections, Shapiro Says 

-- Post-Gazette: Shapiro Says President’s War On Mail-In Voting, Voting Machines Will Have ‘No Bearing’ In PA

--  Gov. Shapiro Visits Blair County Farm To Highlight Work To Speed Up Permitting, Support Farmers, Rural Communities

-- Post-Gazette: Mt. Lebanon Teen, Who Is Trans, Gets Opportunity To Tell Her Health Care Story To Gov. Shapiro

-- Inquirer: How Gov. Shapiro Quietly Shaped Penn’s Response To Allegations Of Antisemitism On Campus

-- Race For Governor

-- AP: Republican State Treasurer Stacy Garrity Seeks To Challenge Gov. Shapiro’s Reelection Bid

-- The Center Square: Garrity Running To Unseat Shapiro In 2026

-- Post-Gazette: Republican State Treasurer Stacy Garrity Announces Bid For Governor

-- Inquirer: Stacy Garrity Is Officially Running For Governor Of Pennsylvania

-- City & State PA: 8 Things To Know About State Treasurer Stacy Garrity

-- Post-Gazette: Republicans Say Garrity Poised To Run Formidable Campaign In ‘Uphill Battle’ Against Shapiro

-- ABC27: Republican Sen. Mastriano Wants People To Decide Gubernatorial Nominee, Not State Party

-- Budget 2025

-- Politics PA: Shapiro: Time For Leaders To Make Tough Budget Choices

-- WITF: PA Budget Stalls Again: What Will It Take To Break The Cycle Of Delays?

-- WFMZ: State Lawmakers Go Home Until September; PA Senate Republican Leader Defends Budget Action

-- WHYY: Why PA Lawmakers Are In No Hurry To Make A Budget Deal Nearly 2 Months After The Deadline

-- Williamsport Sun Editorial: State Budget Delay Brings Worry, Chaos

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Counties, School Districts Prepare For Service Cuts If A State Budget Isn’t Delivered Soon

-- The Center Square: School Bank Accounts Take A Hit As Budget Impasse Persists

-- Altoona Mirror: Impact Of State Budget Impact Felt In Blair, Bedford Counties

-- Spotlight PA: Belt Tightening Underway For Libraries, Foster Care And More As State Budget Sits Unfinished 

-- PA Gaming Control Board Reports Revenue Increase Of Over 11% In July

-- PA House/Senate

-- WHYY: Why PA Lawmakers Are In No Hurry To Make A Budget Deal Nearly 2 Months After The Deadline

-- The Center Square: Lawmakers Plan To Take School Property Tax Elimination Plan On The Road

-- The Center Square: Bipartisan Lawmaker Effort Launches To Reintroduce Welfare Work Requirements

-- US Senate/House

-- WITF: Military, A.I. Investments To Undergird PA Economy Says State’s Republican Congressional Delegation; Natural Gas Part Of Plan To Support A.I., Industry 

-- PennLive: Journalists Covering Event With Republican US Sen. McCormick, Republican Con. Scott Perry Must Prove Their Citizenship 

-- Observer-Reporter: Protesters Say Republican Con. Reschenthaler Has Been Absent From His District

-- York Dispatch: Republican Con. Scott Perry Revisits Attacks On Mail Voting, 3 Months After Voting That Way

-- Statewide Offices

-- WITF: Attorney General Sunday Weighs New Mental Health Diversion Program For PA Counties

-- TribLive: Office Of Attorney General Recovering From Cyber Incident

-- Elections

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: The Redistricting War Is Coming To PA, Here’s How Josh Shapiro Should Respond - By Patrick Beaty, Fair Districts PA 

-- TribLive Editorial: Power, Money And The Cost Of Scrapping Our Election System

-- Inquirer: President’s Push To End Mail Voting, Voting Machines Will Have ‘No Bearing’ On PA Elections, Shapiro Says 

-- Post-Gazette: Shapiro Says President’s War On Mail-In Voting, Voting Machines Will Have ‘No Bearing’ In PA

-- York Dispatch: Republican Con. Scott Perry Revisits Attacks On Mail Voting, 3 Months After Voting That Way

-- TribLive/AP: President Vows To Do Away With Mail-In Voting, Voting Machines; US Constitution Doesn’t Give Him That Power  

-- PA Capital-Star: Pennsylvania Rebuffs Dept. Of Justice Request For Voters Rolls Containing Personal Data

-- PennLive: PA Responds To 2nd US Justice Dept. Letter Seeking Sensitive Voter Information

-- Post-Gazette: Erie Benedictine Sisters Receive Award For Political Courage For Fighting False Claims Of Voter Fraud

-- PA Impacts Of President’s Policies

-- PA Capital-Star: Union Calls Continued Delay Of Silica Dust Rule A ‘Death Sentence’ For Coal Miners In PA And Beyond

-- Morning Call: Federal ICE Agrees To Forego Masks, Avoid Interference At Lehigh County Courthouse 

-- WITF: Federal ICE Detains Man At Central PA DUI Court, Attorneys Say ICE Targeting Low-Level Crime

-- PA Capital-Star: Feds Direct PA, Other States To Check Immigration Status Of Their Medicaid Enrollees

-- LancasterOnline Editorial: Lancaster County Agencies Training With Federal ICE Must Act With Humanity And Follow Due Process

-- PennLive: Advocates Decry Federal ICE Arrests Of 26 Construction Workers On Their Way To Work At PA Hospital

-- TribLive/AP: Federal Judge Blocks President From Cutting Funding From 34 Cities, Counties Over ‘Sanctuary’ Policies

-- WHYY: A Philadelphia Tourette Syndrome Advocates Had A ‘Dream Job’ As A Federal Disability Advisor, Then Mass Layoffs Began

-- The Guardian: President’s Move To Sanitize US History Gets Little Support With National Park Visitors

-- TribLive: President To Expand Push To Whitewash ‘Woke’ Museum Exhibits On Slavery 

-- Republican Herald Editorial: President’s Smithsonian Order Damaging Assault On Our History  

-- New Federal Administration

-- PennLive - John Baer: Looks Like VP Vance Is Chasing Vice Presidential Vacations Record

-- Post-Gazette: Mt. Lebanon Teen, Who Is Trans, Gets Opportunity To Tell Her Health Care Story To Gov. Shapiro

-- Miscellaneous State/Harrisburg Politics

-- TribLive: PA Supreme Court Rules School Board Member Posts On Social Media Accounts Not Automatically Subject To State Open Records Law

-- International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

-- AAA Gasoline Price Averages: National- $3.14  Ohio- $2.96  PA- $3.28 

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs At 18, Same As Last 4 Weeks

-- In Case You Missed It -- A.I./Data Center Articles & NewClips From Last Week - August 24  [PaEN] 

-- AP: President Blames Renewable Energy For Rising Electricity Prices, Experts Point To A.I. Data Centers, Extreme Weather  

-- Joint State Government Committee Identifies 382 Potential Sites For Geothermal Facilities Using Abandoned Mine Pools; Geothermal Energy Could Reduce A.I. Data Center Energy Demand By 30-40%  [PaEN]  

-- PUC: Pennsylvania Electric Grid Challenged By Record Number Of Outage Events In 2024; So Far In 2025 There Were 38 Outage Events  [PaEN] 

-- Utility Dive: Clean Energy Groups Challenge US DOE Electric Grid Reliability Report

-- Reuters: Drop In Natural Gas Demand Signals 2 Top LNG Gas Exports Facilities May Have Outages

-- Financial Times: US Oilfield Services Group Weatherford International Expands Russian Unit Despite New Sanctions  [Works With PA Shale Gas Industry, Member of Marcellus Shale Coalition] 

-- Flooding

-- Morning Call: 70 Years After Hurricane Diane, Is The Lehigh Valley Better Prepared For Major Floods? 

-- Train Derailments

-- PennLive: Cleanup Underway After Nearly A Dozen Norfolk Southern Rail Cars Derail In City Of Harrisburg

-- TribLive/AP: Railroad Companies Fail To Join Safety Program After Norfolk Southern Train Derailment

-- Post-Gazette/AP: Many Towns Are Unprepared To Handle Train Derailments, Hazmat Spills

-- WESA: Apply Safety Rules To More Trains Carrying Flammable Cargo, Lawmakers Urge, Including PA Cong. Chris Deluzio

-- US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion

-- Post-Gazette: Service Held At Clairton Church In Honor Of Those Killed, Injured In US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion 

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Residents, Advocates Unhappy With Delay In Fenceline Air Monitoring Around US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Benzene Levels At US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Highest Among US Plants, Sparking Calls For Continued Monitoring 

-- The Allegheny Front - Reid Frazier: President’s Rollbacks Keep New Clean Air Rules Out Of Pittsburgh’s Mon Valley

-- KDKA: Gas Valve That Failed Ahead Of US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Plant Explosion Was ‘Significantly Overpressurized’ By Workers, Union VP Says  

-- WESA: Steelworkers Rally In Downtown Pittsburgh To Call For Better Worker Safety

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Protecting Our Workers And Communities After US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion - By Matt Shorraw, Physicians for Social Responsibility PA, Former Mayor Of Monessen 

-- TribLive Editorial: US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion Investigation Demands Federal Safety Board Continue To Exist 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: What’s Next For US Steel After Deadly Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion? 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Federal Chemical Safety Board Faces Shutdown Amid US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion Probe

-- A.I. /Data Centers

-- In Case You Missed It -- A.I./Data Center Articles & NewClips From Last Week - August 24  [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette: Allegheny County Develops A.I. Use Policy

-- Education

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Counties, School Districts Prepare For Service Cuts If A State Budget Isn’t Delivered Soon

-- The Center Square: School Bank Accounts Take A Hit As Budget Impasse Persists

-- TribLive: Western PA Schools Battle Rising Costs, Strained Finances To Renovate Aging Facilities

-- The Center Square: Lawmakers Plan To Take School Property Tax Elimination Plan On The Road

-- WITF: Student Vaping Habits Pose Concerns For Educators; Central PA Schools Look To Reduce Use

-- TribLive: PA Supreme Court Rules School Board Member Posts On Social Media Accounts Not Automatically Subject To State Open Records Law

-- AP: Villanova University Says Report Of A Campus Shooter Was A ‘Cruel Hoax’

-- Tribune-Democrat: Regional Colleges, Universities Report Increases In Enrollment As Students Head Back To Campus

-- TribLive: Conservative College Student Organizations More Empowered To Share Views

-- Inquirer: How Gov. Shapiro Quietly Shaped Penn’s Response To Allegations Of Antisemitism On Campus

-- Health Care

-- Spotlight PA: Belt Tightening Underway For Libraries, Foster Care And More As State Budget Sits Unfinished 

-- WHYY: Pennsylvanians Face Higher Health Insurance Costs Due To Expiring Federal Tax Credits

-- Post-Gazette: Rural Pennsylvania Drugstore Chain Challenges Big Pharmacy Benefits Manager In Court  

-- Spotlight PA: The Big Impact Of PA Pharmacy Closures Explained In 3 Maps 

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Pharmacies, And Patients Continue To Be Squeezed By Profiteering Middlemen  

-- Law Enforcement

-- WITF: Attorney General Sunday Weighs New Mental Health Diversion Program For PA Counties

-- Spotlight PA: People Seeking To Clear Their Record Of A Criminal Convention Can Now Do So Online In PA

-- Morning Call: Federal ICE Agrees To Forego Masks, Avoid Interference At Lehigh County Courthouse 

-- WITF: Federal ICE Detains Man At Central PA DUI Court, Attorneys Say ICE Targeting Low-Level Crime

-- PennLive: Advocates Decry Federal ICE Arrests Of 26 Construction Workers On Their Way To Work At PA Hospital

-- PA Capital-Star: Feds Direct PA, Other States To Check Immigration Status Of Their Medicaid Enrollees

-- LancasterOnline Editorial: Lancaster County Agencies Training With Federal ICE Must Act With Humanity And Follow Due Process

-- TribLive/AP: Federal Judge Blocks President From Cutting Funding From 34 Cities, Counties Over ‘Sanctuary’ Policies

-- The Economy

-- Post-Gazette/Inside Climate News: Pennsylvania Lured The Shell Petrochemical Plant To The State With A $1.65 Billion Tax Break, Now The Company Wants To Sell The Plant 

-- PA Capital-Star/Inside Climate News: Pennsylvania Lured The Shell Petrochemical Plant To The State With A $1.65 Billion Tax Break, Now The Company Wants To Sell The Plant

-- The Allegheny Front/Inside Climate News: Pennsylvania Lured The Shell Petrochemical Plant To The State With A $1.65 Billion Tax Break, Now The Company Wants To Sell The Plant

-- Dept. Of Labor & Industry Reports July Unemployment 4%, 27th Consecutive Month Equal To Or Below National Average

-- Other

-- Inquirer: Herr’s Chip Bag At Center Of New York City Bribery Scandal

[Posted: August 24, 2025]