PA Capitol Report: Top 10 Stories On Harrisburg/PA Politics Last Week


Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else–

January 17– Inauguration Day For Gov.-Elect Shapiro, Lt. Gov-Elect Davis

— Governor’s Transition

— Post-Gazette: Josh Shapiro Is About To Become PA Governor, This Could Be His First Big Test

— Gov.-Elect Shapiro To Nominate Rich Negrin For DEP, Retain Cindy Dunn At DCNR and Russell Redding At Agriculture [PaEN]

— PA Capital-Star: Shapiro, Redding Discuss Future Of PA Agriculture; Groups Weigh In On New Governor’s Cabinet Picks

— Gov.-Elect Shapiro Names DEP, DCNR, Agriculture Secretaries – Updated List

— StateImpactPA – Rachel McDevitt: Fmr DEP Secretary McDonnell Said DEP’s Underfunding Will Test Its New Leader

— PennLive – Jan Murphy: Shapiro Continues To Fill Out Cabinet With 5 More Nominees – Health, Human Services, Drug & Alcohol, Aging, Insurance

— AP: Shapiro Taps Ex-Lawmakers, University Officials For Positions At Revenue, PennDOT, DCED, Banking & Securities

— PA Capital-Star: Shapiro Taps Pat Browne For Revenue Secretary Among 4 More Cabinet Nominees

— PennLive – Jan Murphy: Shapiro Names 3 More Nominees To Cabinet Positions – Education, Labor & Industry, Administration

— PA Capital-Star: Shapiro Taps Suburban Philly School Superintendent For Education Secretary

— Inquirer: PA Getting New Education Secretary: Lower Merion Superintendent Khalid Mumin

— AP: Shapiro Names Heads Of Corrections, State Police, Retain PEMA, National Guard Officials

— PennLive – John Baer: Can Josh Shapiro Govern In The Great Mess That Is PA Politics?

— The Center Square – Anthony Hennen: Gov.-Elect Shapiro Should Avoid Predecessor’s Pitfalls

— PennLive – Charles Thompson: Shapiro Hits The Farm Show, And The Honeymoon Is On

— Post-Gazette Editorial: Al Schmidt Nomination For Chief State Election Official Another Sign Of A New Harrisburg

— Scranton Times Editorial: Shapiro Tries Bipartisan Diversity

— Gov.-Elect Shapiro’s Announced Appointments As Of Jan. 13

— Gov. Wolf’s Reflections

— York Daily Record: From Pandemic To Partisanship, Gov. Wolf Had A Hard 8 Years In Office, He Loved It All

— PennLive – Charles Thompson: Gov.-Elect Josh Shapiro Talks About His, And His Family’s Next Chapter

— Spotlight PA: Tom Wolf’s Time As Governor Is Almost Over, Here’s What He’ll Be Remembered For

— The Center Square: PA Lawmakers Hopeful In Wake Of Gov. Wolf’s Complex Legacy

— AP: Gov. Wolf Tops State Record Of Pardons Granted

— PA Senate/House Transition

— The Center Square: PA Lawmakers Hopeful In Wake Of Gov. Wolf’s Complex Legacy

— AP: Republican House Member Who Nominated Rozzi For Speaker Calls For His Resignation

— MCall – Ford Turner: Republican House Member Asks New House Speaker Rozzi To Resign

— The Center Square – Anthony Hennen: PA House Speaker May Not Go Independent; Asked To ‘Immediately Resign’

— PA Capital-Star: After A Shot Of Normal, It’s Back To Chaos As Usual In PA House

— AP: New House Speaker Wants ‘Work Group’ On Child Sexual Abuse Constitutional Amendment

— MCall – Ford Turner: Group Will Try To End PA House Logjam As Quest To Help Child Sex Abuse Survivors Continues

— Spotlight PA: House At Standstill As Deadline Nears To Get Relief For Child Sex Abuse Survivors On May Ballot

— Inquirer: Lawmakers Elected A New House Speaker, But There Are Still Questions About How Things Will Work

— WPost: PA House Members Cut A Bipartisan Deal Built On Friendship, Will The Bond Survive?

— PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: An Independent PA House Speaker? Now Let Independents Vote In Primaries – By David Thornburgh

— MCall – Paul Muschick: Shame On PA Senate For Using Child Sex Abuse Victims As Pawns For Political Gain

— Post-Gazette Editorial: Don’t Let Bipartisan Experiment In PA House Unravel

— Scranton Times Editorial: Good Start For PA House, Will It Work?

— TribLive Editorial: Should House Speaker Rozzi Register As An Independent?

— TribLive Editorial: A Legislature That Does Nothing Can Do Damage

— Special Elections

— Spotlight PA: Court Rules Feb. 7 House Special Elections Can Move Forward

— TribLive/AP: Judges Weigh Republican Bid To Delay 2 House Special Elections

— TribLive Editorial: Special House Elections Are Set Now, Right?

— U.S. Senate/House

— TribLive: Western PA Pundits Call Washington Dysfunction In Speaker’s Election ‘A Disaster’

— Election Reform/2020 Election Fallout

— Post-Gazette Editorial: Al Schmidt Nomination For Chief State Election Official Another Sign Of A New Harrisburg

— PennLive: PA Lawmakers Renew Effort To Move Up Presidential Primary Date

— PennLive: Hand Recount Of 2020 Presidential Election Complete In Lycoming County [Yes 2020], But Conservatives Say Issues Remain

— PennLive: Lycoming County Recount Of 2020 Election Results Shows Difference Of 26 Votes Out Of 59,000 Votes Cast

— PA’s Role In Assault On U.S. Capitol

— Inquirer: Proud Boys Trial: Who Is Zach Rehl, The Right-Wing Group’s Philly Leader Charged With Crimes Related To Assault On U.S. Capitol

— UnionProgress.com: Westmoreland County Man Convicted Of Crimes Related To Assault On U.S. Capitol Ordered Into Drug Treatment

— TribLive: Republican PA Cong. Scott Perry Won’t Step Back From U.S. House Probe That Could Involve Allegations Against Him In Potential Conflict Of Interest

— Post-Gazette – Salena Zito: Local PA Republican Groups Paralyzed By MAGA Insurgencies And Infighting

— State Constitutional Amendments

— AP: Senate Passes Proposed Constitutional Amendments; Poses Test To New PA Governor

— PA Capital-Star: Relief For Child Sex Abuse Survivors Passes Senate As Part Of Constitutional Amendment Package

— The Center Square: PA’s ‘Divisive’ Proposed Constitutional Amendments Inch Closer To Ballot Box

— PennLive Guest Essay: Republican Lawmakers Are Jeopardizing Justice For Victims Of Child Sexual Abuse – By Mark Singel

— Scranton Times Editorial: Cynicism Dominates PA Senate Republican Agenda

— PA Capital-Star Editorial Cartoon: Is There A Statute Of Limitations On Bad Ideas?

— Spotlight PA: House At Standstill As Deadline Nears To Get Relief For Child Sex Abuse Survivors On May Ballot

— Spotlight PA: Complete Guide To More Than 70 Proposed Amendments To State Constitution

— PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

— TribLive: Gasoline Prices Continue To Rise, But Increases Could Slow On Weak Demand

— PennLive: Sheetz Cuts Diesel Fuel Price By 50 Cents A Gallon Through January

— AP: PA Senate Bill Aims To Undo 2023 Gasoline Tax Increase

— PJM’s Preliminary Review Of Christmas Storm Electric Generation Failures Shows Natural Gas Units Failed To Provide Power At Over Triple The Rate Of Other Generation  [PaEN]

— PJM Interconnection: PJM Operated Reliably Throughout Winter Storm Challenges, But ‘Generator Forced Outages Were Unacceptable’

— Bloomberg: PJM Electric Grid Operator Had 23% Power Plant Failure In December Storm [Natural Gas Plants Accounted For 70% Of Almost 46 GW Of Outages]

— Utility Dive: PJM Generators Face Up To $2 Billion In Penalties For Failing To Provide Power During Christmas Winter Storm Elliot [Poor Performance By Gas-Fired Generators Could Lead To Political Fallout]

— Reuters: Grid Operator PJM Probes U.S. Power Supply Woes During December Storm [70% Of Units That Didn’t Supply Power Were Fueled By Natural Gas]

— UnionProgress.com – Laura Legere: ‘Unacceptable’ Power Plant Failures During Christmas Storm Could Lead To $2 Billion In Penalties

— Post-Gazette – Anya Litvak: Christmas Holiday Freeze Froze Off Sizable Portion Of Appalachia’s Natural Gas Production Cutting Off Supply To Power Plants When They Needed It Most [Gas Generation Dropped By 22% In PJM]

— MCall: Bethlehem Natural Gas Power Plant Given Emergency Approval To Keep Running During Frigid Christmas Weekend

— Reuters: U.S. Natural Gas Price Plunge Could Limit This Year’s Output Growth

— Bloomberg: Qatar Says Natural Gas Markets Will Remain Volatile For Years

— Reuters: Qatar, UAE Energy Ministers Say Natural Gas Will Be Needed For Long Time

— Bloomberg: European Natural Gas Price Falls As Ample LNG Supply Outweighs Colder Weather

— Financial Times: U.S. Stockpiles Natural Gas As Warm Winter Temperatures Cut Demand

— U.S. EIA: Short-Term Energy Outlook Projects Lower Natural Gas Prices In 2023, Increased Production; Coal-Fired Generation To Fall Again, Offset By Solar, Wind

— Reuters: U.S. Nature Gas Output To Hit Record High In 2023, Demand To Fall

— PA/Harrisburg Politics Potpourri

— The Center Square: PA Lawmakers Hopeful In Wake Of Gov. Wolf’s Complex Legacy

— AP: PA Senate Delays Philly DA’s Impeachment Trial Amid Court Challenge

— AP: Commonwealth Court Splits On Legality Of Move To Impeach Philadelphia DA

— PA Capital-Star: Commonwealth Court Opinions On Philly DA Impeachment ‘Create More Questions Than Answers’

— PennLive: House Republican Effort To Impeach Philly DA Racked Up Nearly $1 Million In Legal Fees Taxpayers Will Have To Pay

— Budget 2023

— Wilkes-Barre Times: Gov. Wolf: PA Ends Year With Strong Revenues, Sets Stage For 2023

— PennLive: House Republican Effort To Impeach Philly DA Racked Up Nearly $1 Million In Legal Fees Taxpayers Will Have To Pay

— COVID Pandemic/Health

— MCall: PA COVID Update: 15,719 New Cases; State Marks 49,000 Deaths; Hospitalizations Up 25% In 2 Weeks

— Centre Daily Times: New COVID Cases, Hospitalizations Decline In PA, Pike County High Spread

— TribLive: New COVID Variant Dubbed ‘Kraken’ Well-Established In Western PA

— TribLive: Pittsburgh Experts Not Surprised By Recent Spike In Allegheny County COVID Numbers

— Gun Violence/Law Enforcement

— AP: Gov. Wolf Tops State Record Of Pardons Granted

— AP: PA Senate Delays Philly DA’s Impeachment Trial Amid Court Challenge

— AP: Commonwealth Court Splits On Legality Of Move To Impeach Philadelphia DA

— PA Capital-Star: Commonwealth Court Opinions On Philly DA Impeachment ‘Create More Questions Than Answers’

— PennLive: House Republican Effort To Impeach Philly DA Racked Up Nearly $1 Million In Legal Fees Taxpayers Will Have To Pay

— PA Economy

— PennLive: 500+ Laid Off After Virus Disables Computers At PA Wood Cabinet Plant

— Post-Gazette: PA Residents Most Susceptible In Country To Having Passwords Stolen, Report Finds

TAP HERE for all articles in January 16 EXPRESS Update