Legislature
Pa. lawmakers applaud passing of broadband expansion bill (abc27.com)
Bill establishing statewide broadband development authority is approved by Pa. House | Local News | heraldstandard.com
Lawmakers consider bill to account for cleanup when developing renewable energy projects | StateImpact Pennsylvania (npr.org)
Wolf signs legislation to reduce elderly prescription drug costs expand broadband infrastructure | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com
Karen Shuey: What the preliminary redrawn legislative maps mean for Berks County (yahoo.com)
Pennsylvania redistricting: New state House and Senate maps takeaways (inquirer.com)
Tom Wolf’s New Year’s Eve wish for the General Assembly | City & State PA (cityandstatepa.com)
Redistricting proposal shifts legislative districts across Valley | News | dailyitem.com
New Broadband Authority Established In PA – ButlerRadio.com – Butler, PA
What Pennsylvania’s Broadband Bill Means for One County (govtech.com)
New Berks casino offers economic boost, officials say | Berks Regional News | wfmz.com
AARP Pennsylvania recognizes Governor Wolf for signing HB 2071 and establishing a broadband development agency.state – Pennsylvania News Today
Cargo expansion at PHL wins major federal funding | Local News – Pennsylvania News Today
Pennsylvania’s 25 highest-paid state employees in 2021 – Philadelphia Business Journal (bizjournals.com)
Pa. Senate staffers get a raise – The Morning Call (mcall.com)
See how the proposed Pennsylvania state House map scores in every key area | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Philadelphia legislators react to Gov. Wolf’s request for gun reform legislation | Local News | phillytrib.com
This week’s biggest Winners & Losers | City & State PA (cityandstatepa.com)
Coronavirus – COVID-19
The coronavirus in Pennsylvania, by the numbers | City & State PA (cityandstatepa.com)
People face long lines for COVID tests ahead of the holidays : NPR
Pfizer’s Paxlovid pill set to ship to states this month in limited quantities : Shots – Health News : NPR
US sets shorter COVID-19 isolation rules for health workers (abc27.com)
UK data suggests hospitalization is less likely with omicron (abc27.com)
White House promises to help development of two antiviral pills, defends administration’s efforts (abc27.com)
Omicron is latest blow to pandemic-weary front-line workers | Nation & World Business | lancasteronline.com
New COVID-19 medicines: almost here, but not easy to find | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Business/Jobs
Amazon settles with NLRB to give workers the power to organize : NPR
Amazon builds warehouses in ‘opportunity zones’ that give tax breaks and secrecy (inquirer.com)
Fitness Machine Technicians opens 50th franchise as pandemic powers major growth – Philadelphia Business Journal (bizjournals.com)
Acme Cryogenics of Allentown sold for $295 million to Dover Corp. – The Morning Call (mcall.com)
New Berks casino offers economic boost, officials say | Berks Regional News | wfmz.com
Crime/Punishment
Police in the Philly region are forging partnerships with social workers to better handle mental health crises (inquirer.com)
Education
Op-Ed: The pandemic has increased the need for student tutoring (buckscountycouriertimes.com)
Elections/Politics
Lou Barletta Promises to Bus Illegal Immigrants to Delaware, President Biden’s Home State – DV Journal (delawarevalleyjournal.com)
Hedge fund CEO draws high-level support in GOP Senate race | PA Power and Policy | lancasteronline.com
Unfair or fair game? The economic gains of private election grants | Analysis – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
Republican politicians espouse a truly radical stance on public education | Rob Schofield – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
Environment
Mariner East pipeline is set to be completed in 2022, after years of environmental damage and delays | StateImpact Pennsylvania (npr.org)
Transportation
More than 1,600 Christmas Eve flights canceled globally because of omicron | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
United, Delta airlines cancel nearly 200 flights on Christmas Eve – pennlive.com
Philly air travelers warned about lines, delays — and keeping carry-on presents unwrapped | Local News | phillytrib.com
Leadership of the strike-prone SEPTA union has changed. Don’t expect much difference | Local News | phillytrib.com
Health
$1.6B Penn Pavilion highlights busy year of major health care projects across Philadelphia region – Philadelphia Business Journal (bizjournals.com)
An injection to help prevent spread of HIV was approved by the FDA : NPR
Don’t forget the flu. It’s still on the rise. (inquirer.com)
State News
Lack of emergency order or regulation doomed mask mandate | WITF
Here’s what doomed Pennsylvania’s school mask mandate, state Supreme Court says – The Morning Call (mcall.com)
There’s $350 million to help struggling Pennsylvania homeowners — but they can’t apply for it yet | WITF
The Literacy Council of Southwestern Pa. is transforming lives | Helping the Helpers – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
National News
Daunte Wright Case: Kim Potter is Convicted on Two Charges of Manslaughter – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Kim Potter guilty of manslaughter in Daunte Wright death | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
COVID-19 Spike Worsens Severe Poverty And Hunger In Africa : NPR
UK Queen’s Christmas speech set to be particularly personal | World News | lancasteronline.com
U.S. reunites 100 children taken from parents under Trump | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
NYC’s Eric Adams, America’s expanding police state signal an end to George Floyd-inspired reforms | Will Bunch (inquirer.com)
Andrew Cuomo won’t be charged for touching a female trooper : NPR
In major settlement, N.J. agrees to pay $52.9M to families over COVID-19 deaths in veterans homes – pennlive.com
Fox cancels NYE special broadcast due to omicron variant – pennlive.com
Local News
New area code to be introduced in areas of Lancaster County in 2023; here’s who’s affected | Local News | lancasteronline.com
Pequea approves township budget with no tax hike | Community News | lancasteronline.com
A look back at 2021 through readers’ photos – Daily Local
Plastic bags and straws banned in West Goshen – Daily Local
Families displaced by Hurricane Ida hosted for the holidays at Hammock Inn in Chester County (inquirer.com)
Kingston PD, volunteers team up to bring cheer to area families | Times Leader
Authority assisting City of Hazleton in illegal property conversion crackdown | News | standardspeaker.com
Nazareth sewer authority sells land for $53.1 million – The Morning Call (mcall.com)
Preparing to cross the Delaware | The Bucks County Herald
CareLink delivers Christmas to clients (mainlinemedianews.com)
Cambria commissioners approve budget with tax cut for 2022 | News | tribdem.com
Pitt
Peduto looking into discipline for officers who leaked report on Jim Rogers | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Wilkinsburg council severs ties with community-development nonprofit over annexation dispute | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh mayor’s office says 15% of city employees did not comply with vaccine mandate, face disciplinary action | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh argues that Italian-American group has no right to challenge Columbus statue removal | TribLIVE.com
Peduto promotes longtime bodyguard to assistant chief of Pittsburgh police | TribLIVE.com
Lawsuit accuses Pitt of failing to pay for food service during pandemic | TribLIVE.com
City of Pittsburgh begins disciplining unvaccinated employees | TribLIVE.com
Philly
5 teenagers charged in armed carjacking of US Rep. Scanlon | National News | lancasteronline.com
Josiah Brown, 19, arrested in U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon’s carjacking (inquirer.com)
Scanlon’s Carjacking ‘Poetic Justice’ For Anti-Cop Dem, Critics Say – DV Journal (delawarevalleyjournal.com)
FLOWERS: Scanlon Gets A Street Level View of Her Soft-On-Crime Politics – DV Journal (delawarevalleyjournal.com)
Upcoming Philly Vax Mandate Boon or Bane for City’s Eateries? – DV Journal (delawarevalleyjournal.com)
City should consider restaurant owners concerns on vax mandate | Editorials | phillytrib.com
Philadelphia landlords filed fewer than half the usual number of evictions after the federal moratorium ended (inquirer.com)
Philly AKAs celebrate 95 years of serving the city of brotherly love and sisterly affection | Lifestyle | phillytrib.com
Unfair and unpaid: A property tax money machine crushes families | News | phillytrib.com
Washington
Biden signs bills on forced labor in China, ALS research | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
White House says no agreement on new Biden-Putin talks | Reuters
President Joe Biden Signs Bipartisan Law Punishing China Over Uyghur Treatment – Bloomberg
