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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- Post-Gazette: Shapiro Says More School Funding Helps Under-Resources Schools Raise Test Scores, But Skeptics Push Back

-- Gov. Shapiro, DCNR Announce Grand Opening Of Laurel Caverns State Park In Fayette County, Pennsylvania’s First Underground State Park  [PaEN] 

-- Gov. Shapiro, America250PA Announce 5-City Commonwealth Free Concert Series Tour Celebrating Pennsylvania’s Role Through 250 Years Of America

-- PA Capital-Star: President’s ICE Has Appealed DEP Orders Requiring Sewage, Drinking Water Plans For Proposed Warehouse Detention Centers In Berks, Schuylkill County 

-- PA Capital-Star: President’s Dept. Of Homeland Security/ICE Scales Back Plans For Maryland Warehouse Detention Center To 542 Not 1,500 Immigrants - For Now

-- The Hill: Shapiro Teases 2028 Presidential Run: ‘I’ll Be A Part Of That Conversation’

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Here’s How One Man Broke Into The Governor’s Residence, Set Fires And Fled Unchallenged

-- Race For Governor

-- Post-Gazette: Republican Candidate For Governor Stacy Garrity Raises $1 Million In First 3 Months Of 2026; Shapiro Raised $10 Million 

-- TribLive: Shapiro, Garrity Spar Over President’s War On Iran

-- Spotlight PA: Primary Election 2026: Your Guide To Candidate For Governor Josh Shapiro

-- Spotlight PA: Primary Election 2026: Your Guide To Candidate For Governor Stacy Garrity

-- Budget 2026

-- Post-Gazette: Shapiro Says More School Funding Helps Under-Resources Schools Raise Test Scores, But Skeptics Push Back

-- Independent Fiscal Office Projects $6.7 Billion Structural Deficit In FY 2026-27; $3.9 Billion Deficit In FY 2025-26

-- PA House/Senate

-- LancasterOnline: Lancaster Republicans See Statewide Temporary Tax Cuts As Key To Making Life More Affordable [Rather Than Changing The Federal Policies That Are Jacking Up Prices Of Everything]

-- WITF/PA Capital-Star: PA State Senators Weigh Consumer Protections From Cryptocurrency Scams

-- US Senate/House

-- Inquirer: PA Member Of Congress And Air Force Veteran Chrissy Houlahan Says President’s Threat To Eliminate Iran Is ‘The Epitome Of An Illegal Order’ 

-- Post-Gazette: PA Members Of Congress Deluzio, Lee Say President’s Rhetoric On Iran Makes Him Unfit For The Presidency

-- Statewide Offices

-- Observer-Reporter: Equitrans [EQT] Appeals Court Ruling Denying Request To Dismiss State Criminal Charges Involving A 2018 Greene County Methane House Explosion Causing Serious Burns To 3 People, Including a 4-Year Old  [PDF of Article]

-- Special Elections

-- WESA: Special Election For Vacant Butler County PA House Seat Set For Aug. 18

-- 2026 Elections

-- PennLive: Republicans At PA Leadership Conference Voice Concerns About Midterm Elections

-- Spotlight PA: PA Election 2026: A Guide To Vetting Primary Candidates

-- WESA: PA Supreme Court Says Buchtan Can Remain On Republican Ballot In Challenge To Sen. Bartolotta

-- Elections

-- WITF: PA’s Top Election Official Al Schmidt Thinks Fears Of Widespread Voting Fraud Are Overblown 

-- Morning Call: Lehigh County Proposal Would Add Independent Voters To Elections Board

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: President’s Attempt To Hijack States’ Election Authority Is Dangerous

-- President’s War On Iran

-- April 12: PA Average AAA Gasoline Price Drops 1 Cent From Yesterday, Now $1.04/Gallon Higher To $4.15 Since Feb. 27  [Crawford County, PA highest at $4.389]

-- April 6: Neighborhood Sheetz Gasoline Price Jumped 20 Cents More/Gallon In One Day to $4.39

-- April 12: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $4.12 Ohio- $3.86  PA- $4.15

-- Feb. 27: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $2.98  Ohio- $2.79  PA- $3.11

-- Warren Times: Warren County Still Has Highest Gasoline Prices In The State [Home of conventional oil industry]

-- PA Capital-Star: Diesel Prices Continue To Climb, Hitting PA Wallets, Businesses

-- York Daily Record: As Fuel Costs Rise, So Does Uncertainty In Minds Of Manufacturers

-- AP: Largest Monthly Jump In Gasoline Prices In 60 Years Lead To Biggest US Monthly Inflation Spike In 4 Years- 3.3% 

-- PA Extends Low-Income Energy Assistance Program Application Period To May 8; President Calls For Eliminating The Program Next Year  [PaEN] 

-- PennLive: Pennsylvanians Could Lose Millions Used To Help People Pay Heating Bills Under President’s Proposed Budget Cuts  

-- LancasterOnline: Lancaster Republicans See Statewide Temporary Tax Cuts As Key To Making Life More Affordable [Rather Than Changing The Federal Policies That Are Jacking Up Prices Of Everything]

-- EPA. FBI, Other Federal Agencies Issue Cybersecurity Advisory To Water Systems As A Result Of The President’s War On Iran

-- Windfall War Profits Tax: A tax on the oil & gas industry when sudden, external events like wars drive energy prices and profits to unusually high levels.  It targets 'excess' gains not earned through increased productivity to redistribute profits to ease consumer energy costs.  Read more here.

-- Wall Street Journal: US Natural Gas Exporter Venture Global Pulls In Billions During Iran War Energy Shocks

-- Reuters: President Says ‘Massive Numbers’ Of Empty Tankers Heading To US To Load Up With Oil, Gas; US Oil Trading At A Premium To Global Benchmark

-- TribLive/AP: President’s War On Iran Sends Inflation Soaring, Mood Of American Consumers Plunging

-- The Guardian: Oil And Natural Gas Crisis From US President’s War On Iran Worse Than 1973, 1979 And 2022 Together, Says IEA

-- NYT: It Will Take Months To Get Oil And Natural Gas Flowing Again From The Gulf

-- Reuters: World Is Lining Up For Russian Oil, Natural Gas As A Result Iran War Energy Crisis

-- Bloomberg: Oil Rises After Biggest Drop Since 2020 As Hormuz Stays Blocked

-- AP: Ceasefire In The Iran War Teeters In The Face Of Disagreements Over Lebanon And Iran’s Closure Of The Strait Of Hormuz

-- TribLive/AP: President Issues Expletive-Filled Threat Against Iran On Easter Morning  

-- TribLive/NYT: President’s Threats To Destroy Civilian Infrastructure In Iran Constitute War Crimes Under International Law

-- AP: President Warns A ‘Whole Civilization Will Die Tonight’ If 8:00 p.m. Iran Deadline Not Met 

-- Inquirer: PA Member Of Congress And Air Force Veteran Chrissy Houlahan Says President’s Threat To Eliminate Iran Is ‘The Epitome Of An Illegal Order’ 

-- Protesting The President

-- Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh-Based Immigration Rights Group Challenges Crackdown: ‘Is This Who You Want To Be?’

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: President’s Attempt To Hijack States’ Election Authority Is Dangerous

-- Post-Gazette: PA Members Of Congress Deluzio, Lee Say President’s Rhetoric On Iran Makes Him Unfit For The Presidency

-- Post-Gazette Guest Essay: The President Has No Clothes - By Maxwell King, former Editor Philadelphia Inquirer, President, Heinz Endowments

-- Post-Gazette Column: A President Shouldn’t Threaten To Kill Innocent People On Easter - By David Hills, Deputy Editorial Page Editor

-- PA Impacts Of President’s Tariffs

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Businesses, Individuals Who Paid The President’s Illegal Tariffs May Be Able To Start Applying For $166 Billion In Refunds By April 20

-- LancasterOnline: Lancaster Republicans See Statewide Temporary Tax Cuts As Key To Making Life More Affordable [Rather Than Changing The Federal Policies That Are Jacking Up Prices Of Everything]

-- Federal Funding Loss

-- PA Extends Low-Income Energy Assistance Program Application Period To May 8; President Calls For Eliminating The Program Next Year  [PaEN] 

-- PennLive: Pennsylvanians Could Lose Millions Used To Help People Pay Heating Bills Under President’s Proposed Budget Cuts  

-- Inside Climate News: US Department Of Agriculture Lost 21% Of Its Workforce In 2025

-- Williamsport Sun: US Forest Service To Shutdown Williamsport Office Involved In Research On Forest Health, Sustainable Management 

-- Inside Climate News: President’s Budget Proposes Massive Cuts For Environmental Programs [Again] 

-- Utility Dive: US Dept. Of Energy Slashing Non-Defense Spending On Energy By Cutting ‘Green New Scam Initiatives’

-- PA Impacts Of President’s Policies

-- WHYY: 120,000 Pennsylvanians Dropped Health Insurance Since Congress Failed To Extend Federal Subsidies 

-- LancasterOnline: Lancaster Republicans See Statewide Temporary Tax Cuts As Key To Making Life More Affordable [Rather Than Changing The Federal Policies That Are Jacking Up Prices Of Everything]

-- AP: Largest Monthly Jump In Gasoline Prices In 60 Years Lead To Biggest US Monthly Inflation Spike In 4 Years- 3.3% 

-- TribLive: As Food Prices Continue To Rise, Western PA Food Banks See Climbing Demand 

-- AP: President Promised To Cut Electric Bills In Half, Bills In Energy-Rich West Virginia Now Top Mortgages  

-- TribLive: President Buys Foreign Steel To Build White House Ballroom 

-- WITF/PA Capital-Star: PA State Senators Weigh Consumer Protections From Cryptocurrency Scams

-- EPA. FBI, Other Federal Agencies Issue Cybersecurity Advisory To Water Systems As A Result Of The President’s War On Iran

-- AP: President’s Education Dept. Terminates Agreements To Protect Transgender Students In Several School Districts [Including Delaware Valley School District] 

-- PennLive: President’s ICE Detains Dauphin County Asylum-Seeker Even After Criminal Charges Are Dropped 

-- WITF: President’s Immigration Policies Keep PA Asylum Seeker With No Criminal History In Detention, Facing Deportation 

-- TribLive: Questions Remain Unanswered After ICE Arrests 13 At PennDOT Office In Armstrong County

-- KDKA: Data Shows Dramatic Increase In Arrests By President’s ICE In Pittsburgh Area

-- TribLive: Pittsburgh Bans Cooperation With President’s ICE: ‘A Moral Imperative’ 

-- WNEP: Hazleton Community Protests ICE Partnership

-- Republican Herald: Frackville Moves Forward With ICE Program

-- PA Capital-Star: President’s ICE Has Appealed DEP Orders Requiring Sewage, Drinking Water Plans For Proposed Warehouse Detention Centers In Berks, Schuylkill County 

-- PA Capital-Star: President’s Dept. Of Homeland Security/ICE Scales Back Plans For Maryland Warehouse Detention Center To 542 Not 1,500 Immigrants - For Now

-- Williamsport Sun Editorial: Keep Politicians From Meddling In Federal Food & Drug Administration [Like The President’s Administration Is]

-- Spotlight PA: PA County Jails Earn Millions Of Dollars Detaining Immigrants For President’s ICE

-- New Federal Administration

-- WHYY: President’s National Park Service Reveals Plans To Replace Slavery Exhibit At President’s House Site In Philadelphia

-- TribLive/AP: President Issues Expletive-Filled Threat Against Iran On Easter Morning  

-- PennLive: President Says He May Run For President Of Venezuela When His Term Ends: ‘Polling Higher Than Anybody’

-- Miscellaneous State/Harrisburg Politics

-- TribLive Editorial: Political Violence Is All Target, No Aim

-- Erie Times/USA Today: Highest-Paid PA State Employees: See Top 25 Salaries

-- Inside Climate News - Kiley Bense: Natural Gas Industry Front Group-- Natural Allies For A Clean Energy Future-- Targets Democrats In Pennsylvania

-- A.I. /Data Centers

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - April 13 [PaEN] 

-- House Energy Committee To Meet April 13 To Consider GeoThermal Energy, Advanced Transmission Line Technology, PA Energy Development Authority Bills; Sets April 14 Hearing On Net Metering  [PaEN] 

-- WHYY - Sophia Schmidt: PA A.I. Data Centers: How State Lawmakers Are Responding, From Electricity  And Water Use To Proposing More Tax Breaks

-- Williamsport Sun: Panelists Compare Coming A.I. Data Centers To What Shale Gas Did To The Region; ‘This Isn’t Something That You Stop’ Said PPL President ‘It’s Something You Are Responsible With’ [PDF of Article] 

-- The Center Square: Non-Disclosure Agreements With Local Officials On A.I. Data Centers Spur Talk Of ‘Secret Deals’ 

-- Utility Dive: Pennsylvania DEP Seeks Potential Fast-Track Energy Storage, Generation Projects In Response To PJM Expedited Interconnection Track

-- Tribune-Democrat: DEP Seeks Proposals For Expedited Energy Projects To Buttress PJM Power Grid

-- Bloomberg: PJM Interconnection Announces Emergency Proposal Seeking 15 Gigawatts Of New Power Supplies To Address Potential Shortages Caused By A.I. Data Center Demand  [PaEN] 

-- Utility Dive: Supply Crunch For Natural Gas Power Plant Turbines Set To Raise Prices 195% By 2027; 5 Year Wait For Large Turbines, Report

-- The Citizens’ Voice: Hunlock Creek 146-MW Natural Gas Power Plant Expresses Interest In Building A.I. Data Center In Hunlock Twp., Luzerne County

-- DEP To Hold May 12 Hearing On Individual Stormwater Permit For The 5.8 Mile HCPP 30-Inch Natural Gas Pipeline Serving The 4.5 GW Homer City A.I. Data Center Power Plant In Indiana County  [PaEN]

-- DEP Invites Comments On Air Quality Plan Approval To Reactivate Engines, Oil-Fired Boilers, Cooling Towers At Three Mile Island Nuclear Data Center Power Plant In Dauphin County  [PaEN] 

-- PUC Sets July 7 Hearings On Greater Hazleton CAN DO Request To Supply 350,000 Gallons Of Recycled Water/Day To A Proposed A.I. Data Center Campus In The Humboldt Industrial Park, Luzerne County  [PaEN]

-- PUC Publishes Proposed Rule Regulating Electric Distributed Energy, Aggregation Resources, Virtual Power Plant Participation In Wholesale Energy Markets  [PaEN]

-- TribLive: Duquesne Light Asks FERC To Lower PJM Price Cap From $325/MW/Day To The Current Floor Of $175/MW/Day To Save Customers $10/Month 

-- WHYY: Gov. Shapiro Calls PECO ‘s Proposed 12.5% Electric, 11.4% Natural Gas Increase ‘Pure Greed’ 

-- PUC Raises Cost, Other Concerns With Proposed 222 Mile Kammer Juniata Electric Transmission Line Project Going Through 10 PA Counties [To Help Feed A.I. Data Center Demands In Eastern PA]  [PaEN] 

-- AP: Largest Monthly Jump In Gasoline Prices In 60 Years Lead To Biggest US Monthly Inflation Spike In 4 Years- 3.3% 

-- The Guardian: Oil And Natural Gas Crisis From US President’s War On Iran Worse Than 1973, 1979 And 2022 Together, Says IEA

-- Reuters: US EIA: Record Electricity Use As A.I. Data Centers Surge; Increase In Renewables, Drop In Natural Gas, Coal Generation; Increasing Price Of Natural Gas 

-- US EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook As Of April 7

-- PA Data Center Hearings & Meetings - Physicians For Social Responsibility PA

-- International/National Impacts On PA Natural Gas

-- April 12: PA Average AAA Gasoline Price Drops 1 Cent From Yesterday, Now $1.04/Gallon Higher To $4.15 Since Feb. 27  [Crawford County, PA highest at $4.389]

-- April 6: Neighborhood Sheetz Gasoline Price Jumped 20 Cents More/Gallon In One Day to $4.39

-- April 12: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $4.12 Ohio- $3.86  PA- $4.15

-- Feb. 27: Average AAA Gasoline Prices: National- $2.98  Ohio- $2.79  PA- $3.11

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drilling Rigs - 18 - Same As Last 2 Weeks

-- Warren Times: Warren County Still Has Highest Gasoline Prices In The State [Home of conventional oil industry]

-- PA Capital-Star: Diesel Prices Continue To Climb, Hitting PA Wallets, Businesses

-- PATownHall.com Guest Essay: PA Manufacturers’ Association Opposes Caps On Price Of Electricity, Energy - Because The Competitive Market Works  [PDF of Article]

-- Erie Times Guest Essay: PA Helped Build US Energy Future Once, We Need To Do It Again With More Natural Gas Power Plants - By former State Senator John Peterson [Leaving Us Vulnerable To Price Spikes, With 1,000s Of Abandoned Wells]

-- Commonwealth Foundation Guest Essay: Pennsylvania LNG Natural Gas Key To American Energy Independence [Making Pennsylvanians Compete For Their Own Gas With High-Priced Overseas Markets] 

-- WHYY: Gov. Shapiro Calls PECO ‘s Proposed 12.5% Electric, 11.4% Natural Gas Increase ‘Pure Greed’

-- TribLive: Duquesne Light Asks FERC To Lower PJM Price Cap From $325/MW/Day To The Current Floor Of $175/MW/Day To Save Customers $10/Month 

-- AP: President Promised To Cut Electric Bills In Half, Bills In Energy-Rich West Virginia Now Top Mortgages 

-- AP: Largest Monthly Jump In Gasoline Prices In 60 Years Lead To Biggest US Monthly Inflation Spike In 4 Years- 3.3% 

-- The Guardian: Oil And Natural Gas Crisis From US President’s War On Iran Worse Than 1973, 1979 And 2022 Together, Says IEA

-- In Case You Missed It: A.I./Data Center Articles - NewClips From Last Week - April 13 [PaEN] 

-- Windfall War Profits Tax: A tax on the oil & gas industry when sudden, external events like wars drive energy prices and profits to unusually high levels.  It targets 'excess' gains not earned through increased productivity to redistribute profits to ease consumer energy costs.  Read more here.

-- Wall Street Journal: US Natural Gas Exporter Venture Global Pulls In Billions During Iran War Energy Shocks

-- Reuters: President Says ‘Massive Numbers’ Of Empty Tankers Heading To US To Load Up With Oil, Gas; US Oil Trading At A Premium To Global Benchmark

-- Williamsport Sun: Panelists Compare Coming A.I. Data Centers To What Shale Gas Did To The Region; ‘This Isn’t Something That You Stop’ Said PPL President ‘It’s Something You Are Responsible With’ [PDF of Article] 

-- Utility Dive: Pennsylvania DEP Seeks Potential Fast-Track Energy Storage, Generation Projects In Response To PJM Expedited Interconnection Track

-- Tribune-Democrat: DEP Seeks Proposals For Expedited Energy Projects To Buttress PJM Power Grid

-- Bloomberg: PJM Interconnection Announces Emergency Proposal Seeking 15 Gigawatts Of New Power Supplies To Address Potential Shortages Caused By A.I. Data Center Demand  [PaEN]

-- Utility Dive: Supply Crunch For Natural Gas Power Plant Turbines Set To Raise Prices 195% By 2027; 5 Year Wait For Large Turbines, Report

-- Ohio Capital Journal: More Natural Gas Generation Coming To Ohio To Feed A.I. Data Centers [But Will Not Increase Generation Diversity To Avoid Price Spikes For ‘Ordinary People’]

-- Reuters: US EIA: Record Electricity Use As A.I. Data Centers Surge; Increase In Renewables, Drop In Natural Gas, Coal Generation; Increasing Price Of Natural Gas 

-- US EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook As Of April 7

-- Bloomberg: Electricity Prices Went Deeply Negative In France, Germany Over Easter Weekend Due To A Surge In Renewable Energy Output Colliding With Reduced Demand

-- Bloomberg: Oil Rises After Biggest Drop Since 2020 As Hormuz Stays Blocked

-- AP: Ceasefire In The Iran War Teeters In The Face Of Disagreements Over Lebanon And Iran’s Closure Of The Strait Of Hormuz

-- Bloomberg: Oil And Natural Gas Prices Plunge After US And Iran Agree To Ceasefire 

-- NYT: It Will Take Months To Get Oil And Natural Gas Flowing Again From The Gulf

-- Reuters: World Is Lining Up For Russian Oil, Natural Gas As A Result Iran War Energy Crisis

-- Flooding

-- Scranton Times: Scranton Plans 2 More Stormwater Projects In Flood-Prone Keyser Valley Using COVID Recovery Funds

-- Education

-- Post-Gazette: Shapiro Says More School Funding Helps Under-Resources Schools Raise Test Scores, But Skeptics Push Back

-- Spotlight PA: Student-Led Documentary Preserves Stories Of Latinos Who Settled In Reading Decades Ago

-- AP: President’s Education Dept. Terminates Agreements To Protect Transgender Students In Several School Districts [Including Delaware Valley School District] 

-- PennLive: Harrisburg Area Community College Will Restructure Or End 15 Academic Programs

-- PennLive: Harrisburg Area Community College To Cut Programs, Shrink Campuses Amid Declining Enrollment

-- TribLive:  Given Upcoming Enrollment Cliff Colleges Trying To Attract Nontraditional Students

-- Spotlight PA: PA Supreme Court Rejects Penn State’s Bid To Keep Trustee Records Hidden From Public

-- Health Care

-- WHYY: 120,000 Pennsylvanians Dropped Health Insurance Since Congress Failed To Extend Federal Subsidies 

-- Inquirer: PA Ordered To Restart Bidding For Medicaid Long-Term Care Contracts After Appeals Court Finds Process Was ‘Arbitrary’ 

-- Williamsport Sun Editorial: Keep Politicians From Meddling In Federal Food & Drug Administration [Like The President’s Administration Is]

-- Law Enforcement

-- AP: PA Supreme Court Ends Mandatory Use Of Life-Without-Parole For 2nd Degree Murder; But Did Not Address Whether It Overturns The Sentences Of 1,000 Inmates Already Serving The Now Illegal Jail Sentence  

-- Bucks Courier Times: 1,000 On PA Sex Offender Registry Listed As Non-Compliant

-- Spotlight PA: PA County Jails Earn Millions Of Dollars Detaining Immigrants For President’s ICE

-- PennLive: President’s ICE Detains Dauphin County Asylum-Seeker Even After Criminal Charges Are Dropped 

-- WITF: President’s Immigration Policies Keep PA Asylum Seeker With No Criminal History In Detention, Facing Deportation 

-- TribLive: Questions Remain Unanswered After ICE Arrests 13 At PennDOT Office In Armstrong County

-- KDKA: Data Shows Dramatic Increase In Arrests By President’s ICE In Pittsburgh Area

-- TribLive: Pittsburgh Bans Cooperation With President’s ICE: ‘A Moral Imperative’ 

-- WNEP: Hazleton Community Protests ICE Partnership

-- Republican Herald: Frackville Moves Forward With ICE Program

-- PA Capital-Star: President’s ICE Has Appealed DEP Orders Requiring Sewage, Drinking Water Plans For Proposed Warehouse Detention Centers In Berks, Schuylkill County 

-- PA Capital-Star: President’s Dept. Of Homeland Security/ICE Scales Back Plans For Maryland Warehouse Detention Center To 542 Not 1,500 Immigrants - For Now

-- The Economy

-- AP: Largest Monthly Jump In Gasoline Prices In 60 Years Lead To Biggest US Monthly Inflation Spike In 4 Years- 3.3% 

-- TribLive: As Food Prices Continue To Rise, Western PA Food Banks See Climbing Demand 

-- York Daily Record: As Fuel Costs Rise, So Does Uncertainty In Minds Of Manufacturers

-- TribLive/AP: President’s War On Iran Sends Inflation Soaring, Mood Of American Consumers Plunging

-- TribLive: President Buys Foreign Steel To Build White House Ballroom 

[Posted: April 12, 2026]