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

Because In Politics Everything Is Connected To Everything Else--

-- Gov. Shapiro

-- AP: Shapiro Will Pitch First Budget As Governor Tuesday - What To Watch For

-- TribLive: Shapiro Hints At Budget Priorities For Pittsburgh Region In Visit

-- AP: Shapiro To Aim Tax Break At Police Officers, Teachers, Nurses In New Budget

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Lt. Gov. Davis Teases Shapiro’s Spending Priorities [‘Equitable Education’]

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Shapiro Outlines His Vision For Economic Growth

-- Inquirer: We Sat Down With Gov. Shapiro To Talk About His First Month, First Budget, Train Derailment, Here Are Our Takeaways

-- PennLive - John Baer: How Gov. Shapiro Is (So Far) Showing Harrisburg Some Love

-- PA Senate/House

-- AP: McClinton Voted PA Speaker, First Black Woman To Win Post [All Republicans Voted No]

-- Spotlight PA- Stephen Caruso: Joanna McClinton Elected First Female Speaker Of PA House

-- Post-Gazette - Ford Turner: It’s A ‘New Day’ In Harrisburg As Joanna McClinton Becomes First Woman Elected Speaker Of PA House

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: Senate-House Standoff Continues Over Child Sexual Abuse Statute Of Limitations

-- Spotlight PA - Stephen Caruso: PA House To Consider Critical Chamber Rules, Here’s What You Need To Know

-- TribLive Editorial: The Lessons Of Mark Rozzi’s Short-Lived Speakership

-- AP: Lobbyist Names Democratic Rep. Zabel As Lawmaker She Says Sexually Harassed Her

-- PA Capital-Star: Women Accuses Rep. Zabel Of Misconduct As House Adopts New Rules On Sexual Harassment

-- PennLive - Jan Murphy: Rep. Zabel’s Former Campaign Manager Accuses Him Of Sexual Harassment; House Republicans Call For Him To Resign

-- AP: Democratic House Member Won’t Quit Amid Sex Misconduct Claims

-- Post-Gazette Editorial: Democrats Must Call For Rep. Zabel’s Resignation [Related To Allegations Of Sexual Harassment Of Lobbyist]

-- PennLive Guest Essay: Sexual Harassment Threatens Too Many Female Lobbyists In PA’s Capital

-- TribLive Editorial: New Rules Spell Out Obvious Miss In House Ethics [Sexual Harassment]

-- New PA House Democratic Leadership Team

Speaker: Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia)

Leader: Matt Bradford (D-Montgomery)

Whip: Dan Miller (D-Allegheny)

Caucus Chair: Mike Schlossberg (D-Lehigh)

Caucus Secretary: Tina Davis (D-Bucks)

Appropriation Committee Chair: Jordan Harris (D-Philadelphia)

Caucus Administrator: Leanne Krueger (D-Delaware)

Policy Committee Chair: Ryan Bizzarro (D-Erie)

-- PA Senate Republican Caucus Lays Out Priorities & Principles: Protect PA Jobs (Energy Independence & Affordability), Empower PA Families, Defend PA Freedoms

-- PA Capital-Star: Online Access To PA Senate Spending Remains, But A Democrat Proposes Expanded Transparency

-- U.S. Senate/House

-- AP: Fetterman ‘On Path To Recovery,’ Will Be Out For More Weeks

-- WESA/AP: Republican Leaders Signal Support For McCormick In PA’s 2024 U.S. Senate Race

-- PA Capital-Star: Summer Time: Western PA Progressive Cong. Summer Lee Ready To Take On Tough Fights In Congress

-- May Primary Election

-- Inquirer: Winners Of Local Races Will Run PA’s 2024 Election, And Stakes Are High

-- Election Reform/2020 Election Fallout

-- Spotlight PA: See House Your PA County Ranks On Voter Friendliness

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Standardize Voting Access, Make It Easy

-- Spotlight PA: PA State Court Judges Offer Conflicting Opinions On Whether Voter Fraud Evidence Needed For Vote Recount Requests

-- York Daily Record: After Midterm Losses, PA Republicans Warm Up To ‘Ballot Harvesting,’ Mail-In Voting

-- Williamsport Sun: State Treasurer Garrity Calls For Fellow Republicans To Embrace Mail-In Ballots

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

-- UnionProgress.com: Allegheny County Man Sentenced To 32 Months In Federal Prison For Crimes Related To Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- UnionProgress.com: Butler County Man Set To Admit Crimes Related To Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- PennLive: Lebanon County Man Charged With Crimes Related To Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- WITF: Unsealed Court Records Show Republican PA Cong. Perry’s Fight To Keep His Phone Messages From U.S. DOJ

-- York Dispatch: PA Republican Cong. Perry Ordered To Hand Over 2,000 Records To Federal Investigators Related To Assault On U.S. Capitol

-- State Constitutional Amendments

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

-- Ohio/PA Train Derailment

-- Pennsylvania State Actions On Ohio/PA Train Derailment - Week Of Feb. 27  [PaEN]

-- PA Politics Of Russian Invasion

-- TribLive: Gasoline Prices Resume Fall On Worrisome Inflation Figures, Analyst Says

-- Scranton Times: UGI Natural Gas Adds New ‘Weather Normalization Adjustment’ Distribution Charge To Bills

-- PUC To Investigation Proposed 8.9% UGI Electric Rate Increase

-- Inquirer: Philly Natural Gas Customers To See Lower Cost For Gas Starting Wednesday, But PGW Asked For Base Rate Increase

-- Inquirer: As Utility Costs Rise, Small Business Owners Must Get Creative: Electricity Costs Up 75% Since Jan. 2021 [Primarily Due To Natural Gas Prices Spikes]

-- Reading Eagle: PECO Program Assists Small Business Customers With Past Due Natural Gas Bills

-- Altoona Mirror: Penelec Customers To See Slight Drop In Electricity Costs [After Natural Gas Price Spikes Ease]

-- Williamsport Sun: PPL Electric Encourages Customers To Shop For Competing Electricity Suppliers

-- Citizens Voice: PUC: Electric, Natural Gas Customers Can Often Save Money With Competitive Suppliers

-- MCall: A Winter Surprise: UGI Cutting Natural Gas Prices 8%, First Time Since December 2020  [After Natural Gas Price Spikes Due To International Markets]

-- Utility Dive: In A Mild Winter, High Natural Gas Prices Plunge, But The Cost Of Electricity That Include The Cost Of Gas Could Fall More Slowly  

-- Senate Hearing On Electric Grid Reliability: Natural Gas Continues To Have Reliability Problems; Renewables Aren’t Coming Online Fast Enough; Energy Office To Be Proposed  [PaEN]

-- Sen. Yaw Proposes Independent Energy Office To Promote Development Of PA’s Diverse Energy Portfolio - Natural Gas, Nuclear Power, Coal [PaEN]

-- Post-Gazette: Smoke Stacks From Closed Hatfield’s Ferry Coal-Fired Power Plant Demolished, Closing Chapter In PA Industrial History In Greene County: ‘I’m Ecstatic. It Was The Dirtiest, Dirtiest Place Ever.  It Put A Blight On Our Community’ 

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Lawmakers Hear Challenges To Electric Grid Reliability; Experts Call For Clear Policy

-- Republican Herald Guest Essay: Living On The Electric Grid Could Mean Living On The Edge - By Gregory Maresca, Freelance Writer From Northumberland County

-- PJM Interconnection Study Shows Renewable Energy Sources Not Coming Online Fast Enough To Replace Fossil Fuel Plants; Critical Path Analysis Started To Avoid Grid Reliability Risks  [PaEN] 

-- Latest PJM Interconnection Electricity Capacity Auction Shows Price Decrease, But Mixed Results In PA [PaEN] 

-- Utility Dive: PJM Launches Fast-Track Capacity Market Reform Process In Face Of Shrinking Generation Reserve Margins

-- The Philadelphia Citizen Guest Essay: The Unchecked Threat Of LNG Natural Gas At The Port Of Philadelphia - By Clean Air Council

-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: PA Members Of Congress Urge Biden To Permanently Ban Rail Shipments Of LNG Natural Gas Warning Of Risk Of Explosion, Catastrophe

-- EnergyWire: Is Shipping LNG Natural Gas By Rail Safe?

-- Reuters: U.S. LNG Natural Gas Exports Flat Despite Partial Restart Of Freeport, TX LNG Plant  

-- WSJ: U.S. LNG Exports: How Natural Gas From Texas Becomes Cooking Fuel In France 

-- Scranton Times Editorial: Well At Least The Ohio/PA Train Derailment Wasn’t LNG Natural Gas

-- Baker Hughes: PA Natural Gas Drill Rigs Same As Last Week - 25

-- WSJ: U.S. Oil & Gas Producers Raked In Profits Last Year, Funneled Most Of Their Cash To Shareholders, Have Low Reinvestment Rates; Now Outlook For 2023 Looks Murky  

-- Reuters: Equitrans Mountain Valley Natural Gas Pipeline Gets Key Approval To Restart Construction 

-- Bloomberg: Oil Investors Get $128 Billion Payout As Doubts Grow About Fossil Fuels; Long-Term Projects Like Refineries, Natural Gas Power Plants Could Become Stranded Assets

-- PA/Harrisburg Politics Potpourri

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: State Loses Bid To Force Repayment From Republican Ex-House Speaker Perzel For Computergate Crimes

-- National Politics

-- Inquirer Guest Essay: Reflections And Regrets 20 Years After I Opened Federal Dept. Of Homeland Security - By Gov. Tom Ridge

-- AP: Fmr PA U.S. Senator Santorum Joins North Carolina House Republicans To Push For U.S. Constitutional Convention

-- Post-Gazette - Salena Zito: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s Blue-Collar Roots In Aliquippa, Beaver County

-- Budget 2023

-- AP: Shapiro Will Pitch First Budget As Governor Tuesday - What To Watch For

-- TribLive: Shapiro Hints At Budget Priorities For Pittsburgh Region In Visit

-- Inquirer: We Sat Down With Gov. Shapiro To Talk About His First Month, First Budget, Train Derailment, Here Are Our Takeaways

-- AP: Shapiro To Aim Tax Break At Police Officers, Teachers, Nurses In New Budget

-- PA Capital-Star: PA Lt. Gov. Davis Teases Shapiro’s Spending Priorities [‘Equitable Education’]

-- AP: With State Court Win, PA Schools Want Plan, Down Payment On Public School Funding Reform

-- Wilkes-Barre Times: Resurrecting The Natural Gas Severance Tax Debate

-- Dept. Of Revenue Reports February State Revenues $351.8 Million Above Estimates, $649.3 Million Over For Fiscal Year 

-- Independent Fiscal Office Reports February State Revenues $407 Million Above IFO’s Estimates; Up $1.6 Billion For Fiscal Year 

-- CitizensVoice: Monroe County Judge Rules Electronic Skill Gambling Game Machines Are Legal

-- COVID Pandemic/Health

-- Erie Times: Erie County Residents Still Dying From COVID Despite Drop In Cases, Hospitalizations

-- Spotlight PA: Rollbacks To Food And Health Benefits Loom In PA, Experts Say

-- Reading Eagle: Admiral Rachel Levine Discusses National Opioid Epidemic At Kutztown University

-- School Districts/Higher Education

-- AP: With State Court Win, PA Schools Want Plan, Down Payment On Public School Funding Reform

-- PA Economy

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Shapiro Outlines His Vision For Economic Growth

[Posted: March 5, 2023]