Legislature
PA Turnpike tolls keep rising, some drivers not paying up (wtae.com)
Fentanyl test strips could be legalized in Pa. sooner than you think (abc27.com)
Fentanyl test strips, currently a crime in Pennsylvania, could soon be legalized | fox43.com
Legislators are urging more financial help for Pennsylvania renters – NewsBreak
Pennsylvania Sen. Argall rips Wolf administration for skipping election reform hearing – The Morning Call (mcall.com)
Sharon Sedlar: An open letter to the Pennsylvania General Assembly (broadandliberty.com)
Gov. Wolf proposes scholarship program for Pa. college students (abc27.com)
Mastriano mute for the moment on Jan. 6 subpoena (abc27.com)
Doug Mastriano subpoena over Jan. 6 spotlights GOP front-runner in Pa. governor’s race (inquirer.com)
CUTLER/BENNINGHOFF/GROVE: A Fair Congressional Map Awaits Final Approval – DV Journal (delawarevalleyjournal.com)
Bipartisan Officials Say This Is What’s Needed For Safe, Secure Elections | PoliticsPA
Ballot access on the docket as courts consider what’s next for Pennsylvania’s maps – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
Revenue estimate discrepancies focus of Pennsylvania House budget hearing | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com
Yudichak delivers $250,000 DCED check to Luzerne County Visitors Bureau | Times Leader
Gov. Wolf renews higher-ed scholarship idea, amid worker shortage | WITF
Lawmaker Wants To Make Sure Each School Has A Full-Time Librarian | WHP 580 (iheart.com)
Gov. Wolf: This 11-person group will manage $100M to improve PA’s broadband access – Technical.ly
Glassport gets more than $500K in grants for projects – The Mon Valley Independent
Coronavirus – COVID-19
The coronavirus in Pennsylvania, by the numbers | City & State PA (cityandstatepa.com)
The Biden administration looks toward COVID’s next phase : NPR
More virus rules fall as CDC hints at better times ahead | TribLIVE.com
An estimated 73% of Americans are now immune to the omicron variant. Is that enough? | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
COVID deaths in Pa. from omicron among highest in U.S. (inquirer.com)
Business/Jobs
Mariner East Pipeline Construction Complete, Company Says – DV Journal (delawarevalleyjournal.com)
Wall Street fears market jolt as inflation pinches low-income Americans (inquirer.com)
Crime/Punishment
Pa. AG issues warning for AirTag misuse, potential for stalking (abc27.com)
Philadelphia mothers who have lost children to gun violence share their experiences with grief (inquirer.com)
Who the Jan. 6 House committee wants to hear from in Pa. and why – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
Education
Navient’s $1.7 Billion Student Loan Settlement Was Too Good to Be True – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Eric Hanushek disputes $4.6 billion spending gap as final GOP witness in Pa. school funding trial (inquirer.com)
How states are doing at supporting kids’ mental health at school : Shots – Health News : NPR
As virus surged, few Pa. schools signed up for free COVID-19 testing · Spotlight PA
Report: School-choice demand shows why Pennsylvania lawmakers should expand programs | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com
Lancaster Co. college seeing record number of applicants (abc27.com)
Clifton Heights Borough and Upper Darby School District Sign Formal Agreement on New Middle School – DV Journal (delawarevalleyjournal.com)
98% of Philly schools tested in a new study had some lead-containing water; district disputes findings (inquirer.com)
Scranton School District to lose state grant if move to payroll tax not made soon | Education | thetimes-tribune.com
Tulpehocken board approves Gay Straight Alliance (readingeagle.com)
Colleges are changing how they handle admissions due to COVID’s impact on high schools. (readingeagle.com)
Penn State “Thon” set for this weekend | Smart Talk (witf.org)
Elections/Politics
Endorsements in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race keep stacking up. | City & State PA (cityandstatepa.com)
Democratic group commits $10M to fight election misinformation | City & State PA (cityandstatepa.com)
Mail-in balloting in Pa. will be struck down March 15, judge rules, ahead of Supreme Court hearing – The Morning Call (mcall.com)
Pennsylvania mail-in voting law dealt another blow in court | ABC27
‘The brand is so toxic’: Democrats fear extinction in rural Pennsylvania and across the country | WITF
Latino Pols Strategize Next Moves After Redistricting | PoliticsPA
Pollster: Dr. Oz holds big lead in Pennsylvania U.S. Senate GOP primary thanks to Hannity | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com
U.S. funds for Canada protests may sway American politics too | TribLIVE.com
John Chura joins race for state representative in the 116th district | Election | standardspeaker.com
Dane Watro joins race for full term as state representative in 116th | Election | standardspeaker.com
Pennsylvania’s GOP race for governor is a hot mess, and it’s starting to bubble | John Baer – pennlive.com
3 poll numbers that should scare Democrats. And 3 that should give some hope | Thursday Coffee – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
Shapiro-Davis team tours Laborers’ training facility on Broad Street | Local News | phillytrib.com
Republican Carla Sands is putting $3 million into her Pa. Senate bid (inquirer.com)
Conor Lamb falls just short of Pa. Democratic Party endorsement in Senate race (inquirer.com)
Environment
Sheetz invests in solar energy to power 70% of its Pennsylvania facilities | ABC27
BP, Chevron and other oil firms aren’t living up to climate pledges, study finds : NPR
Health
Dept. of Health releases Jan. 2022 nursing home inspection report (abc27.com)
Temple Lung Center again ranks first for lung transplants – Philadelphia Business Journal (bizjournals.com)
Pro-life means supporting the environment (buckscountycouriertimes.com)
“Crack pipe” misinformation uproar could stymie efforts to reduce drug deaths, harm reductionists fear (inquirer.com)
Patients advocacy group criticizes LVHN, St. Luke’s over updated hospital price transparency data – The Morning Call (mcall.com)
This Black History Month, let’s put the focus on Black health and wellness | Charles D. Allen – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
State News
Houlahan starts coalition to combat runaway inflation – Daily Local
Toomey: Fed able ‘to fully function’ despite vacancies on its board following GOP boycott of nominating committee | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Dems, allies slam Pa.’s Toomey, Republicans for blocking Biden’s Fed nominees – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
High-ranking oil and gas official resigns from DEP | StateImpact Pennsylvania (npr.org)
Pennsylvania keeps judges on the bench despite mandatory retirement (buckscountycouriertimes.com)
Repairs to Port Authority bridge on South Busway may take up to 12 weeks, cost $2 million | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
National News
U.S. and NATO see no evidence Russia has withdrawn troops : NPR
U.S. official: Russia adds 7K more troops near Ukraine border | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
NewsNation poll: Nearly 70% of voters support path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants (abc27.com)
What race are Middle Eastern, North African people? U.S. government says white : NPR
Tensions mount in Ottawa as police warn truckers to leave : NPR
NFL hires Loretta Lynch as counsel for its racial discrimination lawsuit : NPR
Sha’Carri Richardson sees a double standard in allowing Kamila Valieva to compete | WITF
Thomas Jones: Black culture is rich in strength and endurance (poconorecord.com)
Local News
Great American Creamery Feels the Love at Valentine’s Grand Opening – BCTV
Editorial: New Hope learns an expensive lesson. We hope. (buckscountycouriertimes.com)
Construction of 53-unit townhouse development in Kennett Square begins – Daily Local
Hanover Twp. police chief announces retirement, cites 2020 COVID-19 scare | News | citizensvoice.com
Domenick resigns from Lackawanna County prison board, calling new policies ‘corrupt’ | News | thetimes-tribune.com
Will globetrotting developer bring bling to downtown Harrisburg? – pennlive.com
Trader Joe’s computer glitch creates confusion over Lower Allen Twp. store opening – pennlive.com
Allentown City Council creates stricter requirements for city contractors. – The Morning Call (mcall.com)
‘We have to help ourselves’: Harrisburg town hall focused on gun violence and unsolved homicides in the city | WITF
Smithfield Twp.: Residents speak out against proposed homes, road (poconorecord.com)
Opinion: Northeastern Pa. needs housing to sustain region’s growth (poconorecord.com)
Pennsylvania elections: new York County official already under fire (ydr.com)
City council gets reworked plan for spending Johnstown’s pandemic relief money | News | tribdem.com
Pitt
Allegheny County and state COVID-19 cases decline to November levels | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh City Council members differ on how to make infrastructure plans transparent and equitable | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh pushed modern private transportation, development that hurt public transit, study says | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Repairs to Port Authority bridge on South Busway may take up to 12 weeks, cost $2 million | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Wilkinsburg council members ask for more seats at table of annexation task force | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey scraps shuttle portion of Mon-Oakland Connector project | TribLIVE.com
High crude oil price, rising demand boosting Pittsburgh region gas prices | TribLIVE.com
Pittsburgh activists, officials hope legislation will end ‘systemic racism’ in traffic stops | TribLIVE.com
Philly
Philly ends vax mandate, introduces tiered COVID response system | City & State PA (cityandstatepa.com)
Philadelphia vaccine mandate for indoor dining ends (inquirer.com)
Philadelphia lifts vaccine mandate for indoor dining, others (abc27.com)
Philadelphia Flyers award 5 local small businesses a total of $500,000 in advertising assets – Philadelphia Business Journal (bizjournals.com)
What renters in the Philly region look for in an apartment (inquirer.com)
In Philadelphia, tangled titles are derailing home-buying dreams – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
Philly police department urges citizens to stay patient as 911 wait times increase | Local News | phillytrib.com
‘Eviction by intimidation’: Philly housing activist heads to court with hopes of settling landlord dispute | Local News | phillytrib.com
Residents left without heat for days after Kingsessing water main break are frustrated with city’s outreach | Local News | phillytrib.com
Washington
DOJ Calls Missouri gun rights law unconstitutional : NPR
Vice President Harris will meet leaders in Munich to talk about Russia, Ukraine : NPR
White House seeks additional $30 billion in Covid-19 funding | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Former U.S. Interior Secretary misused his job, investigators say – pennlive.com
Biden meets with county leaders in D.C., promotes Build Back Better plan – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)
