Legislature

Pa.’s political mapmakers finally have new census data. Now the hard work begins. (inquirer.com)

U.S. Census data drop puts Pa. lawmakers closer to drawing the state’s new political boundaries | WITF

Advocates testify in favor of bill to allow driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants | WITF

House bill aims to protect intellectually disabled from false confessions | Thursday Morning Coffee | Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

GOP-Led General Assembly Doesn’t Plan To Extend Governor Tom Wolf’s Opioid Crisis Emergency Declaration | 90.5 WESA

2020 census shows slow growth and increased diversity as redistricting frenzy begins | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pennsylvania Senate plans first step to enhance public access to expense information | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pennsylvania beauty salon controversy? Lawmaker seeks changes on renting of chairs – The Morning Call (mcall.com)

Legislators tour Ashville winery, discuss regulations, climate with Cambria County farmers | News | tribdem.com

New Census data show population shifts in Pa., will drive redistricting battles | News | tribdem.com

Coronavirus – COVID-19

Should colleges mandate COVID vaccines for the fall semester? | Pro/Con (inquirer.com)

Schools, airports, venues, and prisons are using rapid antigen tests to screen for the coronavirus. Time will tell if it works. (inquirer.com)

Pa. nursing homes will need 80% of staff vaccinated to avoid testing requirement — but it’s not a mandate (inquirer.com)

How do we mentally cope with the delta variant after a new Philadelphia mask mandate? (inquirer.com)

FDA to approve coronavirus booster shots for immunocompromised people (inquirer.com)

FDA authorizes third COVID-19 dose for people with weakened immunity | WITF

Fauci says COVID-19 booster shots are needed for those who are immunocompromised | WITF

With $370M in COVID relief to spend, Wolf looking at vaccine incentives | Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

Should the unvaccinated be denied health care? | Trish Zornio | Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

In our mad, polarized, COVID surge summer, the only way out is through | John L. Micek | Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

Red-state Republican leaders approaching the mask debate ‘very politically,’ but some wonder about the risk – pennlive.com

Health and Human Services joins national vaccine trend, orders shots for its workers – pennlive.com

With only 60% vaccinated, Pa. ‘encourages’ nursing home staff vaccination, but isn’t mandating it – pennlive.com

Pediatricians Say Lack Of School Mask Mandates Could Lead To More COVID-19 Deaths In Kids | 90.5 WESA

Out-of-state covid hot spots ‘desperate’ to transfer patients to Western Pa. hospitals | TribLIVE.com

Pennsylvania’s weekly covid cases at highest point in nearly 3 months | TribLIVE.com

Americans are sneaking extra coronavirus shots as officials weigh who should get them | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Bucks County prison inmate COVID cases rise, officials consider mandatory vaccines for staff (buckscountycouriertimes.com)

27 people aboard Carnival cruise test positive for COVID-19 | Business | dailylocal.com

Aqua Pennsylvania: Drinking water remains safe from COVID-19 | Business | mainlinemedianews.com

COVID-19 pandemic contributed Pennsylvania business owner’s suicide – The Morning Call (mcall.com)

Berks County adds 57 COVID cases; Pa. passes 2,000 for the second time in the delta surge | Local News | readingeagle.com

Business/Jobs

U.S. unemployment claims dropped last week to almost a pandemic low (inquirer.com)

What’s a high-cube warehouse? Eastern Pa. residents will find out soon – pennlive.com

New $120 million Hollywood Casino York opens its doors – pennlive.com

Wolf Trumpets Investments In Aliquippa As The Former Steel Town Braces For Cracker Plant Opening | 90.5 WESA

500,000 unemployed Pennsylvanians will soon lose extra federal aid | TribLIVE.com

Who’s responsible for keeping the gas line at your home safe? | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Amazon reverts back to mask mandate at Hazleton and other warehouses; others weigh options | News | standardspeaker.com

Crime/Punishment

Jamie Spears agrees to step down from Britney Spears conservatorship – WHYY

York County Prison has no more ICE detainees – WHYY

PSERS staff urged Pa. pension fund to invest with indicted Trump official (inquirer.com)

More than 9,000 anti-Asian incidents since coronavirus pandemic began (inquirer.com)

31 indicted in multistate drug ring focused on Johnstown; drug deal also made at Monroeville Mall | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Luzerne County DA’s office aiming to supply law enforcement required at airport | Times Leader

Education

‘Perfect storm’ for bus driver shortage as school year nears – WHYY

Pennsylvania’s state colleges say they can’t require vaccines. Some faculty think politics are at play (inquirer.com)

Community College of Philadelphia to require vaccines, the first public college in the region to do so (inquirer.com)

How Native students fought back against abuse, assimilation at Carlisle boarding school | Opinion | Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

Harrisburg schools to require masks, offer vaccine clinics – pennlive.com

Face masks to be mandatory for students, staff at New Kensington-Arnold | TribLIVE.com

Nazi salute, jeering directed at Fox Chapel school board members after approving mask mandate | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

At least 4 of Pa.’s state universities now will require masks in classrooms this fall | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Lower Merion school officials hope to be back to more normal school year | Mainlinesuburbanlife | mainlinemedianews.com

School to start with full masking for K-8 at Greater Nanticoke Area | Times Leader

Elections/Politics

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney won’t run in Pa. 2022 governor or U.S. Senate races (inquirer.com)

Ahead of tough 2022, progressive PAC pitches infrastructure, Biden budget to Pa. | Friday Coffee | Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

A new third party by the name of SAM is looking to breakthrough in PA | City & State PA (cityandstatepa.com)

Candidate for Senate Conor Lamb visits Chester County | Local-news | dailylocal.com

Our View: Infrastructure bill will do much for Pa.; Toomey was wrong to oppose it | Times Leader

Environment

Time is running out, Pa. must act to save the Chesapeake Bay (buckscountycouriertimes.com)

Heavy Pa. rains, flash floods signal climate change (buckscountycouriertimes.com)

Health

Philly urges residents to watch for signs of heatstroke, exhaustion – WHYY

Going wig-less — learning to live with alopecia — WHYY

When the world treats you differently after weight loss — WHYY

For some people living with food insecurity, a meal is the first step toward getting help | Transforming Health

State News

How many people in Pa. use cannabis as treatment for opioid use disorder? Wolf administration won’t say. (inquirer.com)

Guards union warns Wolf of legal action over vaccine mandate – WHYY

The Pa. counties that lost and gained the most population in the last 10 years, ranked | WITF

Prison guards union warns Wolf of legal action over vaccine or test policy | WITF

Pennsylvania is America’s 5th-biggest state and other first-day takeaways from a weird U.S. Census – pennlive.com

44 Pa. counties lost people in the past decade. See which counties gained the most – pennlive.com

Reading now the 4th largest city in Pennsylvania, according to census data [Maps, chart] | Local News | readingeagle.com

National News

LGBTQ adults are facing hunger at almost twice the rate as others, new data shows – WHYY

U.S.keeping distance as Afghan forces face Taliban rampage (inquirer.com)

Census shows U.S. is diversifying, white population shrinking (inquirer.com)

What the new census data shows about race depends on how you look at it | WITF

The U.S. became more urban, and 4 other national takeaways from the 2020 census data: AP explainer – pennlive.com

Local News

A new state-funded community garden to sprout in Norristown – WHYY

Extreme, dangerous heat continues for third day in central Pa. – pennlive.com

Flooding in Lower Bucks: What’s next for Bensalem residents one month later? (buckscountycouriertimes.com)

Upper Makefield’s Dwight Ely to lead America’s meat processors (buckscountycouriertimes.com)

Officials break ground on $20 million library | Local-news | dailylocal.com

City Avenue Special Services District Announces Completion of $10 Million Improvement Project | Mainlinetimes | mainlinemedianews.com

Delco moves forward with new 911 communications system | News | delcotimes.com

Delaware County to spend more than $1.6M for I.T. technology | News | delcotimes.com

Lehigh County third fasted growing county in Pennsylvania, census data shows – The Morning Call (mcall.com)

Editorial: It’s great to see music, tradition endure at Berks Jazz Fest | Editorials | readingeagle.com

Pitt

Allegheny County Grows In Population, And Complexity | 90.5 WESA

Longtime North Side Community Development Director To Depart | 90.5 WESA

Severe storms trigger flash flood warning, knock out power around Western Pa. | TribLIVE.com

Pittsburgh police to monitor accidents involving city’s new scooter fleet | TribLIVE.com

Philly

Kensington neighbors make Shakespeare their own – WHYY

Anthony Wright Sr., wrongfully convicted, publishes memoir – WHYY

2020 Census results show Philadelphia’s population has grown to more than 1.6 million (inquirer.com)

Philadelphia restaurants, bars, grocery stores welcome city’s new mask-or-vax mandate (inquirer.com)

Philadelphia restaurants that require proof of vaccination (inquirer.com)

Washington

Sen. Rand Paul, critic of mask mandates and restrictions, discloses wife owns stock in company making COVID-19 treatment (inquirer.com)

Supreme Court gets first chance to act on vaccine mandate and decides to pass on it – pennlive.com

U.S. sending 3K troops for partial Afghan embassy evacuation | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette