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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Williamsport Sun: Vargas Family Shares Their Story Of How Chaos In Immigration Policy Is Affecting Legal Immigrants To US - Work Permits Taken Away, Mother Still In ICE Prison After 4 Months Without Charges  [PDF of Article] 

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- Gov. Shapiro Secures 2 Year Extension Of PJM Price Cap, Collar On Electricity Capacity Auctions [PaEN] 

-- Politico: ‘Pay For Your Own Power:’ Shapiro Digs In On A.I. Data Center Energy Costs

-- Post-Gazette - Laura Legere: PJM Interconnection Agrees To Extend Price Cap That Has Tamped Down Surging Electricity Prices  

-- WESA - Rachel McDevitt: PJM Grid Operator Plans To Cap Electricity Auction Costs For 2 More Years 

-- PA Capital-Star: Grid Operator PJM Agrees To Extension Of Electricity Auction Price Cap

-- Reuters: PJM To Extend Electricity Capacity Auction Price Cap For 2 Years, PA Governor Says

-- PennLive: Shapiro Wants To Move Ahead With Pilot Medicaid Program After President Axes Federal Funds

-- WESA/Spotlight PA: Shapiro Wants PA To Be A ‘National Leader’ On Home Construction

-- Gov. Shapiro: PUC Votes To Update Railroad Safety Regulations For First Time In More Than A Decade And 3 Years After The Norfolk Southern Train Derailment Disaster [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette: Shapiro, Democratic Governors Press White House To Include All Governors At Annual Event

-- Inquirer: Gov. Shapiro Joins President For Meeting With State Governors Friday After Clash Over Democrats’ Attendance

-- Spotlight PA: State Treasury Officials Question Whether Taxpayers Can Legally Pay For Security Upgrades At Shapiro’s Family Home

--Spotlight PA: A Security Fence Has Sparked Dueling Lawsuits Between Gov. Shapiro, Montgomery County Neighbors

-- The Center Square: Shapiro Charged Taxpayers For Luxury Hotels, Critics Question Spending

-- Spotlight PA: Gov. Shapiro Warns President’s ICE Wastewater, Water And Other State Approvals For Proposed Detention Centers May Not Qualify For Needed Permits

-- WNEP: Shapiro: President’s ICE Detention Centers ‘Do Not Belong’ Here

-- Race For Governor

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: Under Josh Shapiro, Our Commonwealth Is Struggling - By Stacy Garrity, Republican Candidate for Governor

-- Budget 2026

-- PennLive: Shapiro Wants To Move Ahead With Pilot Medicaid Program After President Axes Federal Funds

-- WESA/Spotlight PA: Shapiro Wants PA To Be A ‘National Leader’ On Home Construction

-- Independent Fiscal Office Long-Term Budget Outlook: Even With Governor’s ‘Skill’ Games, Spending Policy Changes, Deficits Will Not Clear Up Until After 2029-30

-- PA Gaming Control Board Reports 11.6% Increase In Gambling Revenue In January

-- PA House/Senate

-- Erie Times: PA Lawmakers Eye Stricter Protection From Abuse Order Penalties, Raising Gun Rights Concerns

-- WNEP: Rep. Eddie Pashinski To Retire

-- US Senate/House

-- TribLive: Grand Jury Refuses To Indict PA Cong. Deluzio, Other Lawmakers For President Over Advising Military Personnel Of Right To Refuse Illegal Orders

-- TribLive: PA Cong. Deluzio Says President’s Administration Abused Its Power In Probe Of Video Advising Military Personnel Of Their Right To Challenge Illegal Orders 

-- Morning Call: Who’s Funding Lehigh Valley’s Congressional Races?

-- Inquirer: Democratic Ward Leaders Endorse Sharif Street For Congress

-- Statewide Offices

-- Attorney General Sunday Secures Felony Conviction, $3 Million Asset Payment From Company That Installed Hundreds Of Illegal Video Gambling Machines

-- Special Elections

-- City & State PA: What To Know About PA’s 2026 Special Elections 

-- Post-Gazette: Tuesday House Special Election In Allegheny County Among Keys That Could Shape Power In Harrisburg

-- 2026 Elections

-- Politics PA: Rep. Rabb (D-Philadelphia) Will Not Seek Reelection

-- Elections

-- Inquirer: Chester County Makes Another Election Error In Mail-In Ballot Lists, Reversed First, Last Names

-- PA Capital-Star: Former PA Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, Former Federal Judge Critical Of President’s Proposal To ‘Nationalize’ State Elections

-- Erie Times: Erie Benedictine Sisters Honored For Political Courage After Voter Fraud Claims Debunked

-- Spotlight PA: State Election Officials Warn President-Backed Federal Voting Bill May Be Impossible To Implement By 2026

-- WITF/Votebeat: What If Everyone Had To Prove Their Citizenship To Register To Vote? 

-- WITF: PA Congressional Republicans Pass US House Bill Restricting Voting, Now Moves To US Senate

-- Inquirer: PA Republican Sen. McCormick Says Chester County’s Voter Roll Problems Proves Need For National Election Rules County Says That Won’t Solve Their Problems

-- National Elections

-- TribLive Editorial: Pennsylvania Is More Than A Political Stand-In

-- Protesting The President

-- York Daily Record: Person Behind The ‘You’re Not Alone Leaving MAGA.org’ Billboards A Mystery

-- Post-Gazette: Shapiro, Democratic Governors Press White House To Include All Governors At Annual Event

-- Inquirer: Gov. Shapiro Joins President For Meeting With State Governors Friday After Clash Over Democrats’ Attendance

-- WNEP: Shapiro: President’s ICE Detention Centers ‘Do Not Belong’ Here

-- TribLive Editorial: First Amendments Gives Us A Voice, But It Expects Us To Hear What Others Say And Use Our Brains To Consider Their Arguments

-- Morning Call: Quakertown H.S. Student Protest Of President’s ICE Ends With Arrests

-- Morning Call: Bucks County DA Investigating Quakertown Police Response To Anti-ICE Student Protest That Ended In Violence, Arrests 

-- PennLive/Inquirer: Quakertown H.S. Students Bloodied, Handcuffed During ICE Protest [Video] 

-- TribLive: Christians Call President’s ICE Tactics ‘Unconscionable,’ Pray For Immigrants At Pittsburgh Ash Wednesday Vigil

-- WITF: 2,700 People Demand Lancaster County Sheriff End Partnership With President’s ICE 

-- The Center Square: Lehigh Valley Protesters Focus On ‘Peaceful’ Demonstrations Against President’s ICE 

-- WHYY: Bucks County Commissioners Unanimously Oppose Use Of Warehouses For President’s ICE Detention Centers

-- Morning Call: Northampton County Executive Calls On Warehouse Owners Not To Sell To President’s ICE For Detention Centers 

-- Inquirer: Montgomery County Officials Condemn President’s ICE ‘Brutality’ After Federal Agents Arrest Man Near Norristown

-- WNEP: More Than 100 Mennonites, Christians Protest At Lancaster Target Story Protesting The Company’s Role In Accommodating ICE Enforcement In Minnesota

-- PennLive: More Than 30 Mount Holly Springs Boro Residents Protest Local Police Cooperation With President’s ICE In Cumberland County

-- TribLive: Member Of Congress Summer Lee Joins Protesters Calling For President’s ICE To Get Out Of Pittsburgh

-- PA Impacts Of President’s Tariffs

-- AP: US Supreme Court Strikes Down President’s Sweeping Tariffs, Upending Central Plank Of His Economic Agenda; Push Expected To Refund $133 Billion Collected 

-- AP: President Imposes 10% Global Tariff By Executive Order

-- AP: President To Raise Global Tariff To 15%, After US Supreme Court Decision

-- Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh-Area Companies Brace For What Comes Next In The President’s Tariff Roller Coaster 

-- WESA - Rachel McDevitt: President’s Tariffs, ICE, Climate Change Raising Prices For Pittsburgh-Area Farms, Restaurants

-- TribLive: Tariff Ruling Bolsters US Supreme Court’s Credibility In Eyes Of Duquesne President Ken Gormley

-- Federal Funding Loss

-- LancasterOnline: Elimination Of Federal Funding To Resettle Refugees Cuts Lancaster County To The Core 

-- PA Impacts Of President’s Policies

-- TribLive: Grand Jury Refuses To Indict PA Cong. Deluzio, Other Lawmakers For President Over Advising Military Personnel Of Right To Refuse Illegal Orders

-- TribLive: PA Cong. Deluzio Says President’s Administration Abused Its Power In Probe Of Video Advising Military Personnel Of Their Right To Challenge Illegal Orders 

-- Post-Gazette: 92,000 Pennsylvanians Drop Health Insurance Due To Cost Spike Caused By Failure Of Congress To Act

-- Inquirer: 85,000 PA Health Insurance Customers Dropped Health Coverage Due To Cost Spike In Plans Caused By Failure Of Congress To Act To Extend Tax Credits

-- Inquirer: How Federal Food Stamp Cuts Are Taking A Toll On Thousands Of Pennsylvanians Losing Benefits: ‘I Fell Into A Downward Spiral’

-- PennLive: President’s ICE Lost Medical Records For Man Who Died In Clearfield County Detention Center; Information Could Have Saved His Life 

-- Spotlight PA: Gov. Shapiro Warns President’s ICE Wastewater, Water And Other State Approvals For Proposed Detention Centers May Not Qualify For Needed Permits

-- Spotlight PA: President’s ICE Memo Reveals Timeline, Scale Of Warehouse Plans To House Detainees In Berks, Schuylkill Counties  

-- AP: President’s ICE Quietly Buying Warehouses For Detention Centers And Leaving Local Officials Out Of The Loop [Includes PA Cases]

-- TribLive: President’s ICE Detention Center In Clearfield County Steeped In Secrecy, Drives Local Economy

-- PA Capital- Star: Communities In PA And Other States Fight President’s ICE Detention Centers, But Have Few Tools To Stop Them

-- Morning Call: Lehigh Valley Officials Debate Options For Blocking Plans For Immigrant Detention Centers In Warehouses By President’s ICE

-- WESA: Fear Of President’s ICE Surges Grips Pittsburgh Public Schools Classrooms

-- TribLive: Springdale Police Hand Over Resident To President’s ICE After Traffic Stop, Family Says 

-- LancasterOnline Editorial: County Law Enforcement Agencies Should Follow Quarryville Police In Exiting Agreements With President’s ICE

-- AP: Pennsylvania Man Cleared After 43 Years In Prison For Murder Denied Bail During Deportation Fight With President’s ICE

-- Inquirer: How Philadelphia Churches, Neighborhood Groups Are Preparing To Confront President’s ICE  

-- KYW: More Than 86% Of Arrests By President’s ICE Involved Individuals With NO Violent Criminal Records, Documents Show

-- AP: President’s Climate Health Rollback Likely To Hit Poor, Minority Areas Hardest, Experts Say 

-- Bloomberg: President Says Climate Repeal Saves $1.3 Trillion; EPA Says It Might Cost Over $1.4 Trillion 

-- Miscellaneous State/Harrisburg Politics

-- York Daily Record: Person Behind The ‘You’re Not Alone Leaving MAGA.org’ Billboards A Mystery

-- TribLive Editorial: First Amendments Gives Us A Voice, But It Expects Us To Hear What Others Say And Use Our Brains To Consider Their Arguments

-- TribLive Guest Essay: Is PA Gaming Control Board Playing Loose With The Rules - By Jason Lias

-- A.I. /Data Centers

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last 2 Weeks - February 16 & 23   [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: PA Doesn’t Need To ‘Bend Over Backward’ To Lure A.I. Data Centers With Giveaways; Strict Standards Needed To Protect Communities, The Environment To Outlast Boom; ‘Unless A.I. Kills Us All’  [PaEN] 

-- Gov. Shapiro Secures 2 Year Extension Of PJM Price Cap, Collar On Electricity Capacity Auctions [PaEN] 

-- Spotlight PA: PA Tax Credit For Data Centers Will Cost Taxpayers $2 Billion A Year By Mid-2031 

-- Ohio River Valley Institute: A.I. Data Centers Employ An Average Of 27 On-Site Workers - About The Same As An Average Olive Garden Restaurant

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Winter Storm Brings Cash For Natural Gas Drillers; But Natural Gas Prices Reach Historic Highs For Consumers

-- Bloomberg: EQT Natural Gas Driller Expects $1 Billion Windfall On Winter Storm-Driven Gas Price Rally 

-- US EIA Increases Natural Gas Price Projection For 2026 By 40% Due To Large Withdrawals From Gas Storage [PaEN] 

-- PUC To Investigate Proposed 8.7% Rate Increase Requested By UGI Gas Division  

-- PUC To Investigate Proposed 5.9% Rate Increase, 35.7% Increase In Customer Charge Requested By National Fuel Gas  

-- Utility Dive: American Council For An Energy-Efficient Economy Says Energy Efficiency, Demand Flexibility Can Meet Growing Data Center Loads - And Do It Cheaper Than Gas Which Is 2 to 5 Times More Expensive 

-- International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

-- AAA Average Gasoline Prices: National- $2.93  Ohio- $2.86  PA- $3.12 [Much Higher In Many Areas]

-- KDKA: Gasoline Prices In Pittsburgh Area Are Spiking; Here’s Why

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs- 20 - Up 2 From 2 Weeks Ago

-- Spotlight PA: PA Tax Credit For Data Centers Will Cost Taxpayers $2 Billion A Year By Mid-2031 

-- Ohio River Valley Institute: A.I. Data Centers Employ An Average Of 27 On-Site Workers - About The Same As An Average Olive Garden Restaurant

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: PA Doesn’t Need To ‘Bend Over Backward’ To Lure A.I. Data Centers With Giveaways; Strict Standards Needed To Protect Communities, The Environment To Outlast Boom; ‘Unless A.I. Kills Us All’  [PaEN] 

-- TribLive Editorial: State Making Fiscal Commitments In The Dark On Tax Exemption For Data Center Equipment 

-- Pittsburgh Business Times Editorial: Pittsburgh Region Should Make Way For More Data Centers [Even Though They Have Few Employees, Use Huge Amounts Of Energy, Are Increasing Energy Prices, Are Hot And Noisy] 

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - February 16 & 23   [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: Winter Storm Brings Cash For Natural Gas Drillers; But Natural Gas Prices Reach Historic Highs For Consumers

-- Bloomberg: EQT Natural Gas Driller Expects $1 Billion Windfall On Winter Storm-Driven Gas Price Rally 

-- US EIA Increases Natural Gas Price Projection For 2026 By 40% Due To Large Withdrawals From Gas Storage [PaEN] 

-- PUC To Investigate Proposed 8.7% Rate Increase Requested By UGI Gas Division  

-- PUC To Investigate Proposed 5.9% Rate Increase, 35.7% Increase In Customer Charge Requested By National Fuel Gas  

-- WESA - Rachel McDevitt: Here’s Why Electric Bills Are Getting More Expensive In PA

-- Gov. Shapiro Secures 2 Year Extension Of PJM Price Cap, Collar On Electricity Capacity Auctions [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette - Laura Legere: PJM Interconnection Agrees To Extend Price Cap That Has Tamped Down Surging Electricity Prices  

-- WESA - Rachel McDevitt: PJM Grid Operator Plans To Cap Electricity Auction Costs For 2 More Years 

-- PA Capital-Star: Grid Operator PJM Agrees To Extension Of Electricity Auction Price Cap

-- Reuters: PJM To Extend Electricity Capacity Auction Price Cap For 2 Years, PA Governor Says

-- Gov. Shapiro: Gov. Shapiro Appears On CNBC Describing His Efforts to Lower PA’s Electricity Prices, Pressing PJM Leadership To Protect Consumers   

-- The Center Square: Shapiro’s Power Plans Draw Mixed Reactions

-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: Why Gov. Shapiro Wants To Scrutinize Electric, Gas Utility Profits 

-- Politico: ‘Pay For Your Own Power:’ Shapiro Digs In On A.I. Data Center Energy Costs

-- Bloomberg Opinion: Onsite Generators A.I. ‘Bring Your Own Generation’ Electricity Stopgap Needs A Big Caveat

-- Marcellus Drilling News: Philadelphia Penn LNG Gas Export Facility Appears To Be Dead [PDF of Article]

-- WJAC: Activists Challenge Air Permit For Homer City 4.5 GW Natural Gas Power Plant For Data Center - Part II  

-- Bloomberg: President’s $33 Billion Ohio Natural Gas Power Plant Project Short On Details, Hasn’t Secured Binding Commitments, Needs A Lock On Equipment Suppliers, A Complete Surprise To State Regulators, PJM Grid Operator

-- Bloomberg: Proposed Ohio Natural Gas Power Plant Backed By President Could Become Biggest US Power Plant Polluter

-- Bloomberg: Expand Energy Shale Gas Driller Surges As Traders Eye Proposed Ohio Natural Gas Power Plant Proposal

-- Utility Dive: New Jersey Board Of Public Utilities Launches Virtual Power Plant Initiative With Distributed Energy Resources 

-- E&ENews/Politico: US Natural Gas Exporters Brace For Global Glut

-- Flooding

-- PennLive: List Of PA Counties Under Flood Watch Due To Potential For Ice Jams

-- WTAE: Flood Watch Issued In Western PA Due To Dangerous Ice Jams

-- TribLive: Ice Jams Cause Flooding Risks Along Allegheny River 

-- The Derrick: Evacuation Possible In Emlenton, Venango County Due To Record Rise Of Allegheny River  [PDF of Article] 

-- The Derrick: ‘Soft Evacuation’ Takes Place In Oil City; Ice Jam Releases To Open Channel, End Emergency [PDF of Article]

-- WPXI: Beaver County Officials Closely Monitoring Connoquenessing Creek Levels As Ice Jams Cause Flood Risk

-- The Citizens Voice: Luzerne County EMA: Susquehanna River Is Iced Over, But Not A Flood Threat At This Time

-- DEP Linkedin: Dam Safety Division Achieves Major Inspection Milestones In 2025 While Strengthening Public Protection [PDF of Article] 

-- Post-Gazette: Decades After Betrayal, Displacement, Seneca Nation Seeks A Voice In The Future Of Kinzua Dam 

-- Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Explosion

-- The Allegheny Front: After Deadly Explosion, Safety, Environmental Lapses At US Steel’s Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Now Rest With Nippon 

-- TribLive: Lawsuit Claims Nippon/US Steel Failed To Avert Fatal Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Blast 

-- Post-Gazette: Lawsuit Alleges Wrongful Death, Negligence In Nippon/US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Fatal Explosion

-- TribLive: US Steel Fined $118,000 By OSHA For Safety Lapses In Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Fatal Explosion 

-- WESA/AP: OSHA Flags Safety Shortcomings That ‘Exposed’ Workers To Explosion At US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works

-- AP: After Fatal Explosion At US Steel Clairton Coke [Coal] Works Plant Near Pittsburgh, Community Wonders If They Can Hope For Sustained Departure From Decades Of Disinvestment and Persistent Pollution 

-- Train Derailments

-- Gov. Shapiro: PUC Votes To Update Railroad Safety Regulations For First Time In More Than A Decade And 3 Years After The Norfolk Southern Train Derailment Disaster [PaEN] 

-- Post-Gazette: As East Palestine Grapples With Norfolk Southern Train Derailment’s Toxic Aftermath, A US House Bill Threatens To Gut Some Protections 

-- Altoona Mirror Editorial: Open Talks With Railroads On Safety Important

-- Education

-- Post-Gazette: Mt. Pleasant School District Cuts Ties With Lifetouch School Photo Company After Connection To Epstein Files

-- WESA: Fear Of President’s ICE Surges Grips Pittsburgh Public Schools Classrooms

-- Morning Call: Quakertown H.S. Student Protest Of President’s ICE Ends With Arrests

-- Morning Call: Bucks County DA Investigating Quakertown Police Response To Anti-ICE Student Protest That Ended In Violence, Arrests 

-- PennLive/Inquirer: Quakertown H.S. Students Bloodied, Handcuffed During ICE Protest [Video] 

-- Health Care

-- PennLive: Shapiro Wants To Move Ahead With Pilot Medicaid Program After President Axes Federal Funds

-- Post-Gazette: 92,000 Pennsylvanians Drop Health Insurance Due To Cost Spike Caused By Failure Of Congress To Act

-- Inquirer: 85,000 PA Health Insurance Customers Dropped Health Coverage Due To Cost Spike In Plans Caused By Failure Of Congress To Act To Extend Tax Credits

-- Post-Gazette: Struggling McKean County Hospital Prepares To Close

-- Post-Gazette: Why A $193 Million Injection For Rural Health Care In PA Isn’t Easing Closure Worries

-- Law Enforcement

-- Erie Times: PA Lawmakers Eye Stricter Protection From Abuse Order Penalties, Raising Gun Rights Concerns

-- PennLive: President’s ICE Lost Medical Records For Man Who Died In Clearfield County Detention Center; Information Could Have Saved His Life 

-- KYW: More Than 86% Of Arrests By President’s ICE Involved Individuals With NO Violent Criminal Records, Documents Show

-- The Economy

-- The Allegheny Front/WESA: PA Agriculture Officials Try To Stem Spike In Bird Flu Cases; 7 Million Birds Died In Recent Weeks 

-- WESA: Nearly 1 Million Pennsylvanians Will Qualify For New Earned Income Tax Credit In 2026 

-- PennLive: Girardville, Schuylkill County Struggles To Conquer The Curse Of Coal As It Literally Crumbles Away  [Part I] 

-- PennLive: Girardville, Schuylkill County Coal Town A ‘Blank Slate’ For Spanish Speaking  Newcomers From Mexico, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Can They Spur A Rebirth? [Part II] 

-- Other

-- The Derrick: Regional News To Continue: Derrick Publishing Company, Oil Region Alliance Of Business Collaborate On Online Platform  [PDF of Article]

[Posted: February 22, 2026]