News Digest :: February 1, 2023

Elections/Politics

National

DeSantis pushes ban on diversity programs in state colleges – Daily Local

DeSantis Takes On the Education Establishment, and Builds His Brand – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

GOP leaders in some states want to add abortion ban exceptions | Analysis – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

Statewide

‘Real people making real decisions’: Abortion rights advocates make their case on Capitol Hill – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

Pennsylvania Democrats endorse McCaffery for seat on state’s high court (abc27.com)

District/Local

Lynda Schlegel Culver wins election to represent 27th Pa. Senate District – pennlive.com

Schlegel Culver takes big lead in 27th state Senate District race | Election | standardspeaker.com

Turnout low in special Pa. Senate election | Times Leader

State Senate election in north central Pa. the first of four contests in the next few weeks | WITF

Pa. Dems shake the money tree ahead of Feb. 7 special elections | Wednesday Morning Coffee – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

Berks hires election leaders from within county government (readingeagle.com)

Mayoral contender Helen Gym apologizes for Union League visit | Mayorsrace | phillytrib.com

Allegheny County executive candidates will tap donors big and small. How much will money matter? | Pittsburgh City Paper (pghcitypaper.com)

The 2023 primary elections will test the strength of Pittsburgh-area progressives | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Environment

EPA stops the Pebble Mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay with rarely used power (kdlg.org)

USDA to use outdoors recreation to boost economy around national forests, grasslands – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

Gun Safety

Teen shot in apparent drive-by while walking to West Philly school | Local News | phillytrib.com

Friend: “Mass shootings, part II: cultural degradation, increased killings go hand in hand” (delcotimes.com)

Health

6.8 million Americans will lose Medicaid coverage on April 1 | Opinion (inquirer.com)

‘Fake Is Real’: With money from Big Pharma lawsuit, Northampton County launches awareness program on the dangers of fentanyl – The Morning Call (mcall.com)

Inglis House nursing home in Philadelphia called off its sale to Tryko Parters (inquirer.com)

Obesity training that could help reduce stigma is missing in medical school : Shots – Health News : NPR

$7 million renovation to WellSpan Philhaven is complete (abc27.com)

The book ‘Junk Food Politics’ looks at soda and fast food company marketing : Goats and Soda : NPR

Native Americans hit hard by ‘deaths of despair’ but were left out of the data : Shots – Health News : NPR

Commonwealth Health to consolidate Scranton ER operations at Regional Hospital | News | thetimes-tribune.com

Proton therapy for cancer: Penn opens new centers of costly radiation treatment while evidence is still unclear (inquirer.com)

State News

Pennsylvania revenue estimate revised $1.5 billion upward | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com

Is Pennsylvania in a recession? Independent Fiscal Office is worried (phillyburbs.com)

State takes over PA’s troubled mortgage relief program · Spotlight PA

Pa. takes over troubled mortgage relief program from contractor after complaints, backlogs | WITF

PUC launches investigation into PPL Electric over ‘unusually high bills’ – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

PUC launches investigation into billing issues impacting PPL Electric customers (abc27.com)

PPL customer speaks out, as PUC says it will investigate high electric bills | Lehigh Valley Regional News | wfmz.com

PPL says it has fixed issue that caused billing errors for nearly 800,000 people, and is working with customers. State regulators are investigating – The Morning Call (mcall.com)

PPL apologizes for response to high bills as PUC announces investigation | News | lancasteronline.com

PPL says customers ‘deserve better’, waives late fees, shutoffs following bill complaints – pennlive.com

Editorial: Addressing the complicated volunteer firefighting crisis | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

More gay, bisexual men could soon donate blood. Pittsburgh experts say it’s the right call | WITF

This is Pennsylvania’s most filmed location: study – pennlive.com

Former rail line named Pennsylvania Trail of the Year – pennlive.com

Groundhog Day 2023: Watch Punxsutawney Phil make his prediction (poconorecord.com)

Groundhog Day betting odds: What are the chances that Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow? – pennlive.com

National News

Black History Month: Why we celebrate it in February : NPR

Tyre Nichols funeral will be in Memphis on Wednesday : NPR

White House: Harris will attend Tyre Nichols’ funeral | Across America | phillytrib.com

Damar Hamlin teams up with American Heart Association to promote CPR awareness with the 3 For Heart Challenge – CBS Pittsburgh (cbsnews.com)

Ice storm warning issued across the U.S. South, from Texas to Tennessee : NPR

Boeing delivers its last 747, an aviation milestone : NPR

Boeing bids farewell to an icon, delivers last 747 jumbo jet – Daily Local

Donald Trump sues Bob Woodward over interview audio recordings : NPR

Before a crowd of 1 million, Pope urges Congolese to forgive | News | tribdem.com

Radioactive capsule lost by Rio Tinto found in Australia : NPR

Researchers find new pro-Russia influence campaign targeting Africa : NPR

Tom Brady retires again, insisting this time it’s for good (inquirer.com)

Beyoncé Announces ‘Renaissance’ 2023 World Tour – Rolling Stone

Local News

Chester bankruptcy case judge says city government ‘dysfunctional’ (inquirer.com)

Pa. judge grants Chester city receiver permission to strip elected city officials of administrative powers | WITF

Jamila H. Winder Appointed to Montgomery County Board of Commissioners – DV Journal (delawarevalleyjournal.com)

Harrisburg considers fence under Mulberry Street bridge at former tent city as rat trapping begins – pennlive.com

Franklin Borough officially exits Act 47 after 35 years, eager to ‘move forward,’ leaders say | Local News | tribdem.com

Land use board reviews application for Phillipsburg Mall property to be redeveloped into warehouse | Regional | wfmz.com

Chiefs headed to Super Bowl after Lititz native Julie Frymyer planned, executed Patrick Mahomes’ rehab | NFL | lancasteronline.com

Reading’s Clean City program offers a lot for small monthly fee, coordinator says (readingeagle.com)

Cumberland County borough fires manager after discovering ‘serious’ financial discrepancies – pennlive.com

Speed limit reduction planned for part of Newtown-Yardley Road | The Bucks County Herald

Yorktowne Hotel reopens after 6-year restoration (ydr.com)

Springdale Township leaders seek solid business plan, service assurance from struggling Lower Valley Ambulance Service | TribLIVE.com

Sixteen Luzerne County municipalities increasing taxes | Times Leader

Pitt

Pittsburgh region’s unemployment rate flat at 4% | TribLIVE.com

Pittsburgh Foundation announces pledge to invest $50 million to advance racial equity – CBS Pittsburgh (cbsnews.com)

Judge rules Tree of Life death penalty sentencing would occur in 2 phases | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County child welfare algorithm faces Justice Department scrutiny | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

WalletHub ranks Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania on Valentine’s Day lists – CBS Pittsburgh (cbsnews.com)

Into the wasteland: Meet the defenders of Allegheny County’s waterways – City & State Pennsylvania (cityandstatepa.com)

Protesters march on the North Side to call for local police reform – Pittsburgh Union Progress

House money: URA kicks off $6 million bid to convert Downtown office buildings to residential | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh nixes plan for youth curfew enforcement, focuses on creating youth resource centers | TribLIVE.com

Philly

The Philadelphia School District asks the city to increase its annual budget by $318 million within four years (inquirer.com)

Philadelphia tourism groups plan pandemic recovery by 2024 (inquirer.com)

Center City sees boost in foot traffic to start 2023 – Philadelphia Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

Higher heating bills for a frigid December leave some Philadelphians aghast (inquirer.com)

More rental assistance coming to Philadelphia tenants and landlords to prevent evictions (inquirer.com)

Philly homeowners appeal 2023 property assessments, but lower-value homes are underrepresented (inquirer.com)Center City sees boost in foot traffic to start 2023 – Philadelphia Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

Visit Philladelphia, PHLCVB launch $6.5M joint marketing campaign – Philadelphia Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

A trailblazing Black, female composer’s work is revived by Opera Philadelphia | The Arts | phillytrib.com

Eagles fight song, ‘Fly, Eagles Fly,’ history, explained (inquirer.com)

Former City Controller Alan Butkovitz says he was carjacked outside his Northeast Philly home (inquirer.com)

CHOP’s Medical Financial Partnership program offers free tax preparation and financial counseling services to families (inquirer.com)

Volunteers fan the city to find and tabulate young Philadelphians living homeless (inquirer.com)

Washington

Biden and McCarthy to meet about the debt ceiling : NPR

George Santos tells colleagues he won’t serve on two House committees (inquirer.com)

U.S. House Oversight chair’s agenda: Hunter Biden, COVID origins, classified documents – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

Republican-led panel targets COVID relief dollars for review | Coronavirus | tribdem.com

House Republicans hold hearings to investigate Biden, Democrats : NPR

Biden demands details on budget cuts from McCarthy | News | standardspeaker.com

What Congress can – and can’t – do about fixing local policing | Opinion – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

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