Legislature
Ranking Democrat on Senate appropriations visits Allentown School District | LehighValleyNews.com
Top Pa. Senate Democrat visits Allentown School District, calls for $3.1 billion in education funding (newsbreak.com)
Pa. Senators to host public hearing at Alvernia University on preventing gun violence | Berks Regional News | wfmz.com
State legislators to hold town hall in Spring Township (readingeagle.com)
Officials urge Philly schools to make building repair plan (audacy.com)
Philly lawmakers call for more state funding to fix schools – WHYY
Leaders stump for funding to address ongoing asbestos problem in Philadelphia public schools (fox29.com)
Elected officials demand action after asbestos shutters Philly schools – Metro Philadelphia
Pennsylvania uses TANF money to fund crisis pregnancy centers | fox43.com
Maternal mortality crisis among top concerns for state lawmakers, Shapiro admin – The Keystone Gazette
Lawmakers Introduce Bill To Modernize Pennsylvania’s Equal Pay Law | Newtown, PA Patch
Commonwealth Court Vacates PUC Approval of Controversial Reliability Station – MyChesCo
Bill would tighten Pennsylvania guardianship laws for seniors and disabled people – CBS Philadelphia (cbsnews.com)
Pennsylvania bill would ban TikTok on several state technology assets (abc27.com)
Heart and Lung benefit, abused by cops in Philadelphia, could expand under FOP-backed legislation in Harrisburg (inquirer.com)
Lawmakers, seeing demand for organic produce, seek to make Pa. Preferred program permanent – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
State House, ‘Trust, but verify’ Norfolk Southern testing results (abc27.com)
How Spotlight PA is combatting Pa. government secrecy · Spotlight PA
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal includes funding to support agriculture industry (dailylocal.com)
PA Gov. Shapiro wants to cut cell phone taxes · Spotlight PA
Shapiro, his budget, and the politics of pragmatic progressivism | Fletcher McClellan – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
Pa. advocates push for new Level Up funds ahead of 2023-24 budget negotiations – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
Why it’s significant that Gov. Shapiro eliminated a 4-year college-degree requirement for state government jobs | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
East Whiteland Township Receives $200,000 for Surveillance Cameras – MyChesCo
Business/Jobs
Silicon Valley Bank: What happened before the collapse : NPR
Lehigh Valley banks reassure customers after SVB, Signature failures (mcall.com)
Community banks are safe from fate of Silicon Valley Bank, local leaders say | News | tribdem.com
Silicon Valley Bank: Philly financial experts react (inquirer.com)
Here’s how Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse differs from our last financial crisis – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
Temple graduate students ratify new pact, end 6-week strike | Local News | phillytrib.com
TUGSA strike ends as union ratifies new deal with Temple – The Temple News (temple-news.com)
Striking Temple Univ. grad students approve new contract; end 6-week strike – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
Von Seldeneck: What Philadelphia must include in a new strategic plan – Philadelphia Business Journal (bizjournals.com)
Vanguard funds lost more than $3B from failures of SVB and Signature Bank, market fallout – Philadelphia Business Journal (bizjournals.com)
Strike averted as Butler Co. employees to vote on tentative agreement – CBS Pittsburgh (cbsnews.com)
With 1 Post-Gazette union member hospitalized, labor leaders demand investigation | WITF
Mercyhurst president Getz touts the power of women in leadership (goerie.com)
Everything you know about the economy is wrong | Will Bunch Newsletter (inquirer.com)
Coffee Inclusive opens in Pittston, employing those with diverse abilities | Times Leader
COVID-19
3 years since Luzerne county’s first COVID case, people remain hospitalized, Paxlovid earns praise | News | standardspeaker.com
Crime/Punishment
Hatboro-Horsham schools closed due to nearby police incident (inquirer.com)
Critics say harsher fentanyl sentences are not the solution to the opiate crisis : NPR
Northampton County task force targets trafficking of minors | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com
FBI Pittsburgh Field Office warns parents of online dangers for children – CBS Pittsburgh (cbsnews.com)
Philly VA hospital employee Ralph Johnson sentenced to 6 months in prison for accepting thousands of dollars in kickbacks (inquirer.com)
Solomon Jones leads ‘Demanding Justice’ panel on how to achieve justice in the legal system (inquirer.com)
Why shocking new data shows we can’t stop fighting hate | Wednesday Morning Coffee – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
Education
Anti-LGBTQ policies spreading in PA districts ahead of election (phillyburbs.com)
Downingtown Area School District hosts first Student Entrepreneur Expo – Daily Local
Grandview Elementary students to learn remotely due to COVID-19 related staffing shortage – CBS Pittsburgh (cbsnews.com)
Central Bucks school board president calls for civility, respect in divided community | Southeastern Pennsylvania | wfmz.com
Pa. child care centers eligible for free CO detectors (mcall.com)
Citing vague concerns, Quakertown school board cancels speaker | The Bucks County Herald
University of Pennsylvania accuses a law professor of racist statements. Should she be fired? | Local News | phillytrib.com
Omega men: Historic Black fraternity leaves had impact on central PA (ydr.com)
‘Abbott Elementary’s’ Quinta Brunson and Idina Menzel of ‘Frozen’ fame will speak at Penn commencements (inquirer.com)
St. Joseph’s University cannabis certificate program brings debate from Catholic scholars (inquirer.com)
Elections/Politics
National
Judge to hear arguments in abortion pill case with nationwide implications – pennlive.com
Lawyers to Face Off Before Judge in Closely Watched Abortion Pills Case – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
US Rep. George Santos files paperwork for possible reelection bid in NY – pennlive.com
Statewide
Senator Bob Casey mum on potential 2024 re-election bid (abc27.com)
How Accurate Were Polls On 2022 PA Races? (politicspa.com)
Malcolm Kenyatta makes school audits an early focus of the auditor general race – City & State Pennsylvania (cityandstatepa.com)
GOP fears Mastriano redux as party zeroes in on McCormick in Pennsylvania | KFOR.com Oklahoma City
District/Local
Where Philadelphia mayoral candidates stand on real estate issues – Philadelphia Business Journal (bizjournals.com)
Philadelphians see crime as No. 1 issue for next mayor, Lenfest Institute of Journalism poll says | Mayorsrace | phillytrib.com
Mayoral candidates debate affordable housing and historic preservation (inquirer.com)
Crime and public safety is a top issue for Philadelphia voters ahead of 2023 primary, poll finds (inquirer.com)
Dozens of Philly candidates face legal battles ahead of May primary (inquirer.com)
Philadelphia mayor race: From ‘defund police’ (but not really) to more cops (inquirer.com)
Lehigh County candidate who missed filing deadline won’t be on primary ballot, judge rules (mcall.com)
Environment
In defense of dandelions: Help bees, don’t wage chemical warfare (ydr.com)
EPA to limit toxic ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water (inquirer.com)
EPA proposes new rule to crack down on PFAS, forever chemicals in our water – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
Transportation
Train derailment open house coming to Beaver County | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com
Environmental groups push for EPA — not Norfolk Southern — to lead testing for dioxins | WITF
East Palestine train derailment: Ohio sues Norfolk Southern : NPR
Western Pa. cattle farmer worries about Norfolk Southern chemical leak on agriculture industry – pennlive.com
Ohio sues Norfolk Southern over toxic train derailment | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Local farmers spearhead soil testing after train derailment | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com
The East Palestine disaster could happen anywhere in Pennsylvania | Opinion – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
Gun Safety
Biden has a new executive order to try to boost background checks on gun buyers : NPR
Religious leaders call for stricter gun laws in Pennsylvania | WITF
‘Stop the Bleed’ courses are helping Philadelphians buy valuable time (inquirer.com)
Health
Abortion bans could raise preterm birth rates, doctors say : Shots – Health News : NPR
Proposed class action lawsuit filed over Lehigh Valley Health Network data breach | | standardspeaker.com
Meet an abortion clinic escort with 30 years on the lines | Pittsburgh City Paper (pghcitypaper.com)
State News
Senator Casey visits Harrisburg International Airport, comments on Fetterman hospitalization (abc27.com)
John Fetterman could remain hospitalized for 2 more weeks as docs try to get meds ‘exactly right’: report (newsbreak.com)
New round of opioid settlements could bring as much $12.9 million to Lancaster County | Local News | lancasteronline.com
Westmoreland to bank another $26 million from second opioid lawsuit settlement | TribLIVE.com
Wildlife caretakers suggest leadless ammunition for hunters after bald eagle death (abc27.com)
Several Pennsylvania history museums get their stolen artifacts back | WITF
Pennsylvania wants to regulate carbon dioxide storage wells, state plans to tell the feds | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Giant supermarket, Keep PA Beautiful grant focuses on food waste prevention (inquirer.com)
The nation’s biggest electric capacity market needs fixing, critics say – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
National News
Nor’easter dumps snow on New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire : NPR
San Francisco to air Black reparations plan, $5M per person | Across America | phillytrib.com
Wisconsin civil rights activist to accept plea in 2020 Bedford shooting, DA says | Local News | tribdem.com
Honduras says it will seek ties with China, spurning Taiwan : NPR
Russian jet hits U.S. military drone over Black Sea, forcing it to come down : NPR
US: Russian fighter jet hits American drone over Black Sea | News | phillytrib.com
Local News
Chester Valley Trail extension spotlights connection to Norristown’s Schuylkill River Trail (dailylocal.com)
Phillipsburg holds emergency workshop to prioritize projects for grants | Regional | wfmz.com
Lancaster County and Workforce Development Board alter governing docs after rocky year | Local News | lancasteronline.com
Local grassroots group hosts town hall to discuss social justice issues and ways to take action | Local News | lancasteronline.com
Lititz Springs Park board approves Lititz Chooses Love Pride festival, gets rental check [update] | Local News | lancasteronline.com
Allentown mayor calls for study of parking authority, including potential for city takeover | Lehigh Valley Regional News | wfmz.com
Hazle Twp. Supervisors hear accessibility concerns for Community Park | News | standardspeaker.com
Luzerne County Council proceeds with Rescue Plan funding process | | standardspeaker.com
Saving Bucks’ historic deeds from the ravages of time | The Bucks County Herald
Gusty winds bringing down power lines in Poconos (poconorecord.com)
Special Erie Community Foundation endowment supports LGBTQ+ people (goerie.com)
Mercy Fitzgerald to end EMS service unless deal reached with Clifton Heights, Folcroft and Lansdowne (delcotimes.com)
Luzerne County Council OKs American Rescue funding plan | Times Leader
WB Housing Authority announces $2M sprinkler project for Lincoln Plaza | Times Leader
NEPA gets $8 million for home repairs | News | thetimes-tribune.com
Pitt
Pittsburgh’s favorite tourist spot poses enduring challenges for disabled community | Pittsburgh City Paper (pghcitypaper.com)
Steelers defensive star headed to Detroit for 3-years, $33 million: reports – pennlive.com
Showstopper: Historic building near Benedum Center latest to be converted to residential in Downtown Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Trial begins for man accused of fatally shooting a Pittsburgh police officer in 2019 | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Residents can track rotten egg smell in Allegheny County | TribLIVE.com
Fire guts Monroeville apartment complex; dozens left homeless | TribLIVE.com
Philly
Tiger Woods brings talents, resources to West Philly’s Cobbs Creek Golf Course | Local News | phillytrib.com
Philadelphia Eagles lose another defensive star from Super Bowl team to free agency: reports – pennlive.com
Philadelphia may reinstate discount for early payment of property taxes | Local News | phillytrib.com
City’s first group of public safety enforcement officers sworn in | Local News | phillytrib.com
Does Philly need the Sixers new arena on East Market? (inquirer.com)
Washington
Biden says Jimmy Carter asked him to give his eulogy : NPR
Biden’s Approval of Willow Project Is A Win for National Security, Too – DV Journal (delawarevalleyjournal.com)
