PA Capitol Report: Top 10 Stories From Harrisburg Last Week
Here are the Top 10 Stories From Harrisburg last week–
— Drawing New Voting Districts
— NextPittsburgh: House Expected To Vote On Proposed PA Congressional Redistricting Map Monday
— Spotlight PA: See How The Proposed PA Congressional Voting District Map Scores In Every Key Area
— AP: Lawmakers To Take First Steps Toward New Congressional Voting Districts Map
— PA Cap-Star: House Republicans Pick Citizen Map Submission As Draft Congressional Plan
— Spotlight PA: Proposed Redrawing Of PA’s Congressional Voting District Map Gets Mixed Reviews
— WHYY: PA Congressional Map Drafts Are Out; They’re Good News For Republicans, Some Incumbents
— City & State: What We Know About The House Republican’s Preliminary Congressional Map
— PA Cap-Star: Sen. Street Says Senate Congressional Redistricting Map Draft Is Fair, Protects Minority Voters; Democrats Say He Sold Out
— Inquirer: Democrats Are Suddenly Fighting Each Other Over PA Redistricting
— ABC27: ‘Show Me The Maps!’ Critics Say Of PA Redistricting Process
— WHYY: Will PA Lawmakers Live Up To Their Redistricting Transparency Promises? Doubt Is Creeping In
— LancasterOnline Editorial: There’s Still Time To Make Sure Pennsylvania Doesn’t Botch Another Redistricting
— ScrantonT Editorial: Trust In Government? Don’t Gerrymander
— Governor’s Race
— City & State: Who Wants To Run For Governor As A Republican In 2022?
— Inquirer: At PA Society, Republicans View Fluctuating Fields For 2022 Primaries As Promising For The Party
— ErieT: Republican Sen. Laughlin Not Running For Governor, Set To Endorse Another Candidate
— AP: Republican Sen. Scott Martin Announces Run For PA Governor [Actively Worked To Overturn Nov. 2020 Election Results]
— LancasterOnline: Lancaster County’s Sen. Martin Joins PA Race For Governor
— PennLive: Jan. 5 Debate Announced For Republicans Running For Governor
— PennLive Guest Essay: Personal Freedoms Are Worth Fighting For – Sen. Corman, Republican Candidate For Governor [Worked to overturn Nov. 2020 election results]
— PennLive Guest Essay: We Don’t Need Leaders Like Sen. Corman Pulling Us Apart During A Time Of Crisis – John Sigle, Fmr Dickinson College Professor
— WBTimes Guest Essay: Voters Will Reject Government Overreach Again In 2022 – By Lou Barletta, Republican Candidate For Governor [Supported Efforts To Overturn Nov. 2020 Election Results]
— AP: Big Republican Donor In PA Supreme Court Race Eyeing Candidates For Governor
— U.S. Senate Race
— Inquirer: At PA Society, Republicans View Fluctuating Fields For 2022 Primaries As Promising For The Party
— AP: Philly Lawyer George Bochetto May Join Republican Race For U.S. Senate
— Inquirer: Dr. Oz Might Be Disappointed To Learn Some News Sites Aren’t Using His Honorific
— Inquirer – Will Bunch: Oz Campaign For U.S. Senate Is Rock Bottom For Republicans Running On Empty
— TribLive Column: Dr. Oz Quacks The Code Of Republican Politics – Mona Charen
— Nov. 2 Election
— MCall: In Lehigh County, School Boards First To Feel Impact From Lawsuit Over Certifying Election Results
— YorkD: Results Of Central York School District Election 2nd Recount Are In: Winners The Same
— Election Reform/2020 Election Fallout
— PA Cap-Star: Republicans Say Voter ID Will Increase Trust In Elections, Researchers Say Otherwise
— AP: Social Media Posts By People Charged With Crimes Related To Assault On U.S. Capitol Influenced Sentences [Including PA Residents]
— The Guardian: Congressional Panel Obtains PowerPoint That Set Out Plan For Fmr President To Stage Coup
— LancasterOnline Editorial: White Nationalist Stickers At Millersville U. Offer Disturbing Evidence Of Hatred That Must Be Rebuked
— WHYY: Philadelphia Commerce Director Resigns Following Reports Of Antisemitic Comments, Verbal Abuse
— WITF: Carlisle’s Truth And Reconciliation Committee Is Hosting Community Dialogues To Talk About Race
— LancasterOnline Editorial: Defacing Any Place Of Worship Is Wrong And Disturbing
— Inquirer: New Central Bucks School Board Met, But Sharp Divisions Persist: ‘This Room Has Been Filled With Hate’
— Harrisburg Political Potpourri
— PG Editorial: Mourning Bob Dole And His Spirit Of Compromise
— MCall: Bob Dole Lent His Republican Clout To Lehigh Valley Candidates Over Lengthy Career
— TribLive Editorial: The Pennsylvania Society Dinner… In New York City?
— PA Cap-Star Editorial Cartoon: With Pay Raises Hung By The Chimney With Care
— Guest Essay: Balance Of Power In Government Means More Power For The People [As Defined By The General Assembly And Only The General Assembly] – Sen. Aument (R-Lancaster) + House Speaker Cutler (R-Lancaster)
— Inquirer: PA Politicians Who Got Union Campaign Money, Even After Johnny Doc’s Conviction, Aren’t Having 2nd Thoughts
— PA Cap-Star: Republican Sen. Mastriano Pitches Plan To End Automatic Pay Raises
— ScrantonT Editorial: Donations Don’t Mitigate Automatic Lawmakers Pay Increase Scandal
— PA Cap-Star: House Republican Lawmaker Proposes Tax Credit For Hiring Santas
— PG: PA U.S. Senator Toomey Retiring With $1.4 Million In Campaign Money
— PA Cap-Star: PA Member Of Congress Houlahan Leading Push To Require Women To Sign Up For Draft
— WHYY: Wolf, Shapiro Speak On How U.S. Supreme Court Decision On Roe Could Affect Abortion-Seekers
— Commonwealth Foundation: Local Governments, School Districts, State Agencies Spend $42 Million [2007 – 2020] To Lobby State Government, Other Government Entities
— The Center Square: Local Governments, School Districts, State Agencies Spend $42 Million [2007 – 2020] To Lobby State Government, Other Government Entities
— ScrantonT Editorial: State Redevelopment Assistance Grant Process Lacks Transparency
— PennLive: State Employees Retirement Board Defeats Effort To Cancel Wolf’s Vaccination Bonus For Some Staff
— PA Cap-Star: Senate Democratic Panel Takes Up Improving PA Treatment Centers Amid Rising Overdose Deaths
— MCall – Ford Turner: Parent Tells Lawmakers Some Drug Abuse Treatment Centers Are ‘Predatory’
— PennLive Guest Essay: PA Probation System Needs Reform, And The Senate Can Do It This Week
— PG: Turnpike Preparing To College Tolls For PennDOT On 9 State Bridges
— PA Cap-Star: Efforts To Change PA Fireworks Law Haven’t Fizzled Out
— ScrantonT Editorial: Modify State Fireworks Law
— MCall – Bill White: Who’s To Blame For The Decline In Local News Coverage?
— COVID Pandemic Worsens In PA
— AP: PA Supreme Court Throws Out Mask Mandate For Schools
— CourierT: What Emails Concerning Bucks County’s School Mask Rules Show
— YorkDispatch: York School Defy Mask Order
— PennLive – Charles Thompson: Harrisburg School Superintendent Warns Of Potential Return To Remote Learning Due To COVID Case Increases
— ScrantonT: Carbondale School District Moving To Online Learning Due To Increase In COVID Cases
— PennLive Guest Essay: Key To Keeping Schools Open This Winter Is Getting Kids Vaccinated Against COVID – Dr. Joyce Davis, Acting Physician General
— PA Cap-Star: Republican Leaders Call On Wolf To Reconvene Bipartisan COVID Task Force; Wolf Says It Never Stopped
— PA Cap-Star: Republican Leaders Call On Wolf To Reconvene Bipartisan COVID Task Force; Wolf Says It Never Stopped
— AP: Geisinger Health Runs Out Of Beds As Largely Unvaccinated COVID Patients Overrun 9 Hospitals
— CitizensVoice: Geisinger Medical ER Doc Begs Public To Get Vaccinated
— YorkDR: UPMC Doctors Issue New Warnings As Omicron Spreads On PA, What To Know
— CourierT: PA Medical Centers Report ‘Dramatic, Ongoing’ COVID Surge, Some Hospitals Now Full, Data Shows
— PennLive: Packed Hospitals In Rural PA Sound Alarm Over Surging COVID Cases
— PennLive: ERs Packed, Patients Waiting As COVID Fills PA Hospitals
— WBTimes: COVID Impact On Northeast Hospitals: ‘Waiting For A Jenga Tower To Fall’
— PA Cap-Star: ‘Surge’ In COVID Cases Contributing To Longer Waits At PA Hospitals
— Inquirer: COVID Hospitalizations Are At Highest Since January, With Spikes In Central, Western Regions
— MCall: Lehigh Valley Hospitals Are Filling Up With Unvaccinated COVID Patients
— PG: Hospitals Are Overflowing With COVID Patients
— WPSU: Average Number Of Hospitalized COVID Patients ‘Highest It’s Been’ At Mount Nittany Medical
— PG: Pittsburgh-Area Hospitals Struggling Under COVID Surge
— TribLive: COVID-Driven Hospital Surge ‘Not A Sustainable Situation’ In Western PA, Expert Says
— TribLive: Allegheny County Health Director: ‘I Don’t Expect The Situation To Improve Soon’
— PennLive: Important COVID Barometer Shows Worsening Outlook For PA
— TribLive: Westmoreland County Passes 1,000 COVID-Related Deaths Since Pandemic Began
— LancasterOnline: COVID Hospitalizations May Soon Set Pandemic Record In Lancaster County
— ErieT: Meadville Hospital Scrambles To Deal With Surge In COVID Patients
— TribLive Editorial: Get Vaccinated To Save Hospital Beds
— PG: Dept. Of Health Switches To Weekly COVID Updates To Give ‘A Clearer Picture’
— PennLive: PA COVID Percent Positivity Rate Offers Ray Of Hope
— ErieT: Here’s Why COVID Vaccinations Have Spiked In Erie County
— ErieT: High School Teacher Posts That Republicans Should ‘Just Start Shooting’ Vaccine Objectors
— MCall – Ford Turner: PA Hospital Nurses Head For The Exits Amid Overwork, Pay Disputes As Lawmakers Look For Answers
— AP: COVID-Era Nursing Home Staff Crunch Hurting Hospitals, Too
— PennLive: Geisinger Health: Vaccine Mandate Improved Hospital Staffing, Even After 153 Workers Left
— Inquirer: Vaccine-Tracking Challenges Make It ‘Impossible To Say’ How Many Philadelphians Need Booster Shots
— Inquirer: PA Hospitals Are Really Busy, They Beg You To Get Your Flu, COVID Shots
— PennLive: Flu Cases Increase Significantly In PA, Showing Up In Nearly Every County
— TribLive: Pitt Continues To Sort Through Vaccine Mandate
— Inquirer: Are Nursing Home Residents Getting Badly Needed COVID Boosters? Here’s Why It’s Hard To Tell
— MCall: New Data Shows COVID Deadlier, More Prevalent In PA Long-Term Care Facilities Than Once Thought
— PennLive: People Over 70 Make Up Well Over Half Of PA’s Latest COVID Deaths
— PG: Older Pennsylvanians Face Social Isolation And Its Real Health Consequences
— MCall – Ford Turner: Lehigh Valley Doctor Involved In Ivermectin Case As Lawmakers Consider Bill On Controversial Drug
— YorkDR: Woman Wins Court Battle Over Treating Her Husband’s COVID With Ivermectin
— WITF: Data Analysts Proved What Black Pittsburgh Knew About COVID’s Racial Disparities
— Inquirer: Philly Could Require Proof Of Vaccination For Indoor Dining, Like New York
— ReadingE: Mental Health Struggles Are Growing For Young People Due To COVID Pandemic
— TribLive: Car Crash Deaths Have Surged During Pandemic, Here’s Why
— Gun Violence
— Gov. Wolf: Commission Approves Recommendations On Police-Involved Shootings, Use Of Force, Bias-Based Policing
— Spotlight PA: Investigations Of PA State Police Troopers Who Injure, Kill Should Be Independent, Panel Says
— AP: PA Supreme Court To Take Up PA’s Deadly Force Rules For Cops
— Spotlight PA: State Police Consulted Beaver County DA Before Shooting Man In Standoff By A Sniper
— Inquirer: At 13 He Saw Both His Parents Shot, Last Year Gunfire Changed His Life Again
— ScrantonT Editorial: Gun Rights And Responsibilities
— LancasterOnline Editorial: End Theatrics And Work Toward Meaningful Solutions To Gun Violence
— ErieT: CeaseFirePA Slams Sen. Laughlin’s Support For Expanding Concealed Carry Gun Law
— WHYY: Philly DA: City Doesn’t Have A ‘Crisis Of Lawlessness,’ It Has A Crisis Of Gun Violence
— Inquirer: Philly DA Says Tourists Should Feel Safe Despite Record Number Of Killings
— Inquirer: Republicans Pounce On Philly DA’s Philly Doesn’t Have A ‘Crisis Of Crime’ Statement
— WHYY: Philly Police Say They’re Improving Community Policing As Homicides Soar
— PennLive – Jan Murphy: Harrisburg Area Community College Announces Initiative To Bring Diversity To Police, EMS Ranks
— ScrantonT: Scranton Police Put Motto On Cars In 5 Languages To Recognize Diverse Population
— PG: Woodland Hills Hosts Gun Buyback To Help Make Streets Safer
— PennLive – Jan Murphy: Threats Put Central PA School Districts On Alert, Disrupt Classes
— Inquirer: Shooting Threats And Rumors Have Schools Under Pressure, Parents And Students On Edge
— CourierT: New Gun Violence Threat Prompts Bristol Borough To Send Students Home In Bucks County
— Inquirer: Bucks County School Closed After Student Threatened A School Shooting
— LancasterOnline: Rumors Of Threat On Social Media Caused Lancaster School District To Switch To Remote Learning
— PennLive – Jan Murphy: Caller Threatened Shooting At Central PA Kellogg’s Plant
— Spending Federal Aid
— WESA: Feds Approve PA Plan To Distribute $1 Billion In American Rescue Plan Funds For Medicaid Services
— ScrantonT: Dozens Of Local Health Care Providers Benefit From $7.7 Million In Federal Pandemic Relief Funding
— PennLive – John Baer: Taxpayers Subsidizing Local News? A Scam, A Way To Kill Free Press Or A Lifeline?
— Higher Education
— PennLive – Charles Thompson: Penn State University Chooses New President From Louisville – Dr. Neeli Bendapudi
— AP: Penn State Hires First Woman, Person Of Color As President
— Triblive – Deb Erdley: Penn State Names First Woman University President
— PennLive Guest Essay: PA Needs To Double Pell Grants To Help More Students Stay Out Of Debt – Lebanon Valley College President
— PG Editorial: PA State University System Must Clarify A Muddled Mission
— PA Economy
— TribLive: ‘Business As Usual’ After $1.8 Billion Transaction Involving Westmoreland Casino
— PennLive: 2 PA Casinos Purchased As Part Of $1.8 Billion Deal
— WHYY: From Glass Bottles To Botanicals, PA Distillers Spell Out Supply Chain Struggles
— MCall: Coca-Cola Workers In Lehigh Valley On Strike Over Health Care, Pension Issues
— MCall – Ford Turner: PA Hospital Nurses Head For The Exits Amid Overwork, Pay Disputes As Lawmakers Look For Answers
— AP: COVID-Era Nursing Home Staff Crunch Hurting Hospitals, Too
— MCall Guest Essay: Hospital Workers Are Tired, Burned Out And Suffering Mentally – Emmaus Nurse
— AP: Without A Buyer, 2 Hospitals In SE PA To Close
— WHYY: Child Care Staffing Shortages Across PA Persist, But Solutions Taking Shape
— WHYY: Philly Fed Analysis Shows Pandemic Economic Blows Fell Unevenly Across Race And Gender Lines
— Inquirer Column: Fmr State Procurement Officer Building Website To Let Government Agencies Review Services They Get From Private Industry
— ScrantonT: Scranton Police Put Motto On Cars In 5 Languages To Recognize Diverse Population
— Inquirer: Work-From-Home Could Change Philadelphia’s Economic Outlook: Millennials Hold The Key
— TribLive Editorial: The Changing Pennsylvania Workforce
— PG: Rising Cyber Ransom Attacks Costing PA Victims Millions
— WITF: Bipartisan Federal Infrastructure Act To Help PA Communities With Poor Internet Access
–Spotlight PA: Renters In Parts Of PA Shut Out Of Rent Relief As Counties Elsewhere Sit On Millions In Unused Aid
— WHYY: Philly’s Eviction Diversion Program Takes Step To Outlast The Pandemic
— ReadingE: Berks County Expected To Run Out Of Rental Relief Money