Pennsylvania’s primary night lacked surprises as the presidential nominees were already locked in and few problems cropped up at the polls. Democrats cast their ballot for Joe Biden with 93% support and Republicans followed Donald Trump with 83% support according to early results. As the commonwealth prepares for a U.S. Senate race, Democratic incumbent Bob Casey and Republican nominee Dave McCormick prepare for the general election after running unopposed in their primaries. Full story: https:/...
Apr 25, 2024•5 min•Ep. 239
Philadelphia Democratic state Rep. Kevin Boyle remains unaccounted for on Wednesday, according to a statement from his family circulating on social media. Boyle’s brother, U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle – who represents Pennsylvania’s second congressional district – said in a statement shared by multiple media outlets on X that Kevin lives with “a serious mental health condition” that became symptomatic several months ago after two years of recovery. Police issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday for Kevin...
Apr 19, 2024•6 min•Ep. 238
On the heels of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s green energy proposals for a state cap and trade program, House Democrats offered a dozen bills that couple economic growth with environmental protection. The legislative agenda includes 11 proposals focused on energy production, conservation, consumer energy costs, public transit funding, and efficiency standards for appliances, among other topics. Legislators of the 55-member Blue-Green Caucus argued the bills they’re introducing show that stron...
Apr 18, 2024•6 min•Ep. 237
Norfolk Southern reached a $600 million settlement in a class action lawsuit filed after a toxic train derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. The deal, announced Tuesday, resolves all claims within a 20-mile radius of the accident in East Palestine, Ohio, that unfolded in February 2023. It is pending federal court approval. The Center Square reached out to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office for comment but did not receive a response before this publication. Both the governor’s administration and ...
Apr 13, 2024•6 min•Ep. 236
A proposed $100 million settlement in the Northern Tier to offer service upgrades and consumer refunds for low-quality phone and internet service may soon move forward. A panel of administrative judges recommended that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission accept the settlement, avoiding litigation and compelling Frontier to invest in its rural infrastructure. The $100 million settlement should be accepted by the PUC “in its entirety and without modification,” Administrative Law Judges Stev...
Apr 12, 2024•6 min•Ep. 235
As the public awaits more details of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s higher education reform plans, Republican legislators offer some ideas of their own. During a Wednesday press conference, a gaggle of House and Senate leaders pushed for the creation of a grant program that offers scholarships to students who commit to stay in Pennsylvania. They also want to launch a similar deal for out-of-state students to get in-state tuition if they put down roots in the commonwealth. Full story: https://www.thecenters...
Apr 11, 2024•5 min•Ep. 234
Japanese-owned Nippon Steel says that the company’s longtime presence in the United States makes it an ideal partner to help grow the industry domestically. The comment comes after the White House and former President Donald Trump criticized the company’s $14.9 billion plan to acquire U.S. Steel, headquartered in Pittsburgh. President Joe Biden, although opposed, has made no promises to block the potential deal. Trump said he’d do so if elected in November. Full story: https://www.thecentersquar...
Apr 06, 2024•5 min•Ep. 233
Hundreds of inmates die in Pennsylvania’s state prisons and county jails, but oversight is superficial at best. Deaths in custody rose from 171 in 2019 to 239 in 2020 in state prisons, and 56 prisoners died in county jails in 2020, a two-decade high in Pennsylvania. And numbers could be higher — reporting requirements for both institutions are weak. Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_3e3931b8-f112-11ee-b2ea-bf5f94e186c2.html Support this podcast: https://podcasters....
Apr 05, 2024•6 min•Ep. 232
On a cold, windy, wet Wednesday in South Philadelphia, Dave McCormick stopped at Geno’s to grab four “wiz wit” cheesesteaks. The Republican nominee for U.S. Senate met a few dozen supporters and campaign staffers at the well-known cheesesteak spot – walking the last block after his tour bus ran into trouble on 10th Street, the narrow lane and cramped parking making a wide turn tricky. “It was awesome, I ate everything,” McCormick said of the cheesesteak. Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.c...
Apr 04, 2024•5 min•Ep. 231
A new plan set in motion on Monday could shake loose a constitutional amendment to enact universal photograph identification to vote. House Republican leadership said letting the bill languish in committee ignores the popularity of the policy among voters, especially those anxious about election security. “There are stronger rules in place for signing out a Curious George book for kids than there is for voting,” said Rep. Brad Roae, R-Meadville. “That seems really backwards." That’s why Roae and...
Mar 29, 2024•5 min•Ep. 230
More than a year beyond the Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical burn that brought national attention to East Palestine, residents on the Ohio and Pennsylvania sides of the border feel abandoned, forgotten and discarded by legislators. “Our Pennsylvania constitutional rights were violated and continue to be violated,” said Sheila Stiegler, an organic farmer in Lawrence County near East Palestine. "We are here with our expectations for our rights to be restored and upheld." Stiegler and...
Mar 28, 2024•6 min•Ep. 229
For the fourth year in a row, legislators think Pennsylvania’s election law needs more updates. And for the fourth year in a row, there’s little consensus about what those reforms should look like. It’s typically a question of convenience versus security, though both camps would argue it’s not that simple. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pennsylvania-in-focus/support...
Mar 23, 2024•8 min•Ep. 228
Gov. Josh Shapiro won’t send the Pennsylvania National Guard to the Mexican border. In response to legislation approved in the state Senate on Tuesday, the administration told The Center Square that congressional immigration reform is the solution to border security concerns. “Governor Shapiro has been clear that our country needs a secure border and Congress needs to pass comprehensive reform to fix our broken immigration system,” said Manuel Bonder, the governor’s spokesman. “This issue requir...
Mar 22, 2024•5 min•Ep. 227
Pennsylvanians worry about pollution and other harms to nature — but their primary concern is keeping energy bills low and ensuring reliable power. And, to deal with climate change, almost 8 in 10 Pennsylvanians aren’t willing to spend $100 or more every year out of pocket. A new survey on Pennsylvanians’ energy thoughts, released by the Commonwealth Foundation on Thursday, shows strong support for maintaining energy independence, but also highlights contradictory thinking on energy policy. Supp...
Mar 21, 2024•6 min•Ep. 226
Pittsburgh’s recent decision to reroute early morning emergency calls comes one year after the mayor planned to triple police presence downtown. The policy change, announced Feb. 22, means calls received between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. for crimes not in progress – including theft, harassment and criminal mischief – will reroute to the Telephone Reporting Unit. The unit is staffed from 7 a.m. until 3 a.m. the following day, so incidents occurring in the four-hour window will be collected for an officer...
Mar 15, 2024•6 min•Ep. 225
Gov. Josh Shapiro introduced a new plan to limit carbon emissions from power plants on Wednesday that echoes the program legislative Republicans abhor so much they sued the administration to thwart it. This time, however, instead of supporting a multi-state auction like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, Shapiro wants to keep the revenue collected from a state-imposed emissions cap and trade program within Pennsylvania itself. And, he added, if lawmakers get behind it, he will back...
Mar 14, 2024•5 min•Ep. 224
The cost of Pennsylvania’s extensive Medicaid waiver pending before the federal government leaves some lawmakers wary as budget talks stretch into their second week. Department of Human Services Secretary Valerie Arkoosh told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that it wants more funding to expand eligibility for safety net programs for five years, as well as bolster the services they already provide. But it’s unclear what the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will approve or...
Mar 08, 2024•5 min•Ep. 223
The Shapiro administration said Monday it supports giving non-citizens driver’s licenses, following a trend across the Mid-Atlantic that posits the policy change as a safety measure. “There are reports of over a dozen states that already allow non-citizens, including illegal immigrants, to obtain driver’s licenses,” Rep. Mike Cabell, R-Dallas, said. “Meanwhile, federal DHS policy stipulates that states could offer those with TPS (Temporary Protected Status) a Real ID.” Eighteen states, including...
Mar 07, 2024•5 min•Ep. 222
Pennsylvania lawmakers rallied at the Capitol on Tuesday to erase outstanding medical debts for thousands of residents. House Bill 78 would create a new program in the Department of Health that would discharge debt for residents living at-or-below 400% of the federal poverty level – or up to $60,240 for a single person and $124,800 for a family of four. Obligations totaling 5% or more of a person's income would also qualify under the program. Get your Audible Membership today! (As an Amazon Asso...
Mar 01, 2024•5 min•Ep. 221
House Republicans support Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's rhetoric to reform the commonwealth’s permitting process, but they’re not satisfied with the pace of his push. “We have a governor that ran on permitting reform,” Rep. Josh Kail, R-Beaver, said. “Unfortunately, there hasn't been progress made the way there should have been in the first year of his administration.” The House GOP Policy Committee met Wednesday in Tamaqua to discuss how to remove obstacles to opportunity, and much of the he...
Feb 29, 2024•5 min•Ep. 220
As fentanyl-connected overdoses kill thousands of Pennsylvanians every year, the opioid shows up in traffic-crash data, too. A study from Jerry, a car insurance app, found that 6% of Philadelphia’s fatal crashes involved drugs from 2018-2021. The data, from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, showed that 2% of all traffic fatalities in the city were connected to fentanyl. That’s the highest rate of all cities in the commonwealth; 32% of all drug-related traffic fatalities were co...
Feb 24, 2024•6 min•Ep. 219
As Pennsylvania lawmakers kick off annual budget hearings on Tuesday, the Independent Fiscal Office fielded questions about revenue projections, the minimum wage and what could cause problems for the general fund. In his budget presentation to the Senate Appropriations Committee, IFO Director Matthew Knittel noted that his office was less rosy that the governor's administration on the state’s tax-and-spending balance. IFO projections expect a $4.2 billion budget deficit in 2024-25 with current p...
Feb 23, 2024•7 min•Ep. 218
A sense of frustration spread through the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday as legislators struggled to get the specifics of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s higher education reform plan. Chancellor Dan Greenstein, head of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, wasn’t privy to the details either, but reiterated his appeal for more funding to deliver another tuition freeze for PASSHE students. The system wants a $38 million, 6.5% increase to its appropriation, which would total ...
Feb 22, 2024•6 min•Ep. 217
After legalizing fentanyl test strips last session, the Pennsylvania House wants to expand its harm reduction approach by allowing syringe services. Though it has some bipartisan support, many House Republicans caution against such a move, concerned about safety in already-suffering neighborhoods. A House Judiciary Committee meeting on Wednesday voted 15-10 to advance a bill that would allow syringe services programs statewide. Get your Audible Membership today! (As an Amazon Associate, we earn ...
Feb 17, 2024•5 min•Ep. 216
Amid debate over legalizing adult-use marijuana, lawmakers say Pennsylvania’s medical program needs some improvements – and call on the governor to lead the way. The medical program grinds against federal law: every cardholder faces the loss of their Second Amendment rights. That tradeoff was made clear in January when Warren County District Attorney Rob Greene announced that he obtained a medical marijuana card — and the law required the county sheriff to confiscate his license to carry a firea...
Feb 16, 2024•5 min•Ep. 215
A Microsoft policy executive said to Pennsylvania lawmakers this week he’s "unaware" of the possibility that generative artificial intelligence could develop sentiency and become exploitive – even dangerous. “This is not new to Microsoft,” said Tyler Clark, Microsoft’s director of state and local government affairs. “Humans need to guide this technology and that’s what we are committed to doing safely and responsibly.” Clark’s response comes after lawmakers on the House Majority Policy Committee...
Feb 15, 2024•5 min•Ep. 214
Pennsylvania’s energy future isn’t only a question of renewables versus fossil fuels — it’s a question of whether the state can reliably provide enough energy to meet growing demand. One problem is that power plants retiring is happening quicker than new, cleaner ones get built. The shuttering has been driven by state and federal rules to mitigate pollution, but getting projects approved and built takes years and years. Meanwhile, the demand for electricity is growing every year. Get your Audibl...
Feb 09, 2024•7 min•Ep. 213
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s second budget address again touted major spending for education, a statewide economic investment plan and significant funding for public transit. All of this, he argued, could be done with a balanced budget and no new taxes, along with a minimum wage increase, a new gun violence office and the legalization of recreational marijuana. And, perhaps most importantly, could undermine Ohio’s economic prowess just a little bit. Join Skillshare: skillshare.eqcm.net/ATN S...
Feb 08, 2024•5 min•Ep. 212
A recent state Supreme Court ruling side-stepped the question of constitutional abortion access in Pennsylvania, reviving discussion over a would-be ballot referendum mired in legislative gridlock. Five justices said Monday the Commonwealth Court erred when it dismissed a 2019 case brought by seven abortion providers challenging Medicaid coverage restrictions first established in 1982 and upheld in 1985. The 1982 law said abortions sought for reasons other than rape, incest, and life-threatening...
Feb 02, 2024•6 min•Ep. 211
As the one-year anniversary approaches of the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, President Joe Biden says he will soon visit the area to meet with locals and assess the recovery efforts. The White House has not confirmed when, but said that a trip to the site near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border would be made in February. The derailment of the Norfolk Southern train, just east of the town center, led to a conflagration when officials decided to burn off vinyl chloride, exposing residents and...
Feb 01, 2024•8 min•Ep. 210
