Legislature
How state Sen. Pam Iovino is navigating one of Pennsylvania’s most pivotal senate districts
https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/how-state-sen-pam-iovino-is-navigating-one-of-pennsylvanias-most-pivotal-senate-districts/Content?oid=15480337
Groups go to court to try to keep Pa.’s cash assistance for state’s poorest residents from ending on Aug. 1
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/07/groups-go-to-court-to-try-to-keep-pas-cash-assistance-for-states-poorest-residents-from-ending-on-aug-1.html
Pa. legislation aims to build on low number of roads, bridges named to honor women
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/07/roads-and-bridges-named-to-honor-women-are-hard-to-find-in-pa.html
Lawsuit filed over illegal gambling games
https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/lawsuit-filed-over-illegal-gambling-games-1.2511760
Many clergy abuse victims can’t sue their abusers. Will a new legal strategy change that?
https://www.penncapital-star.com/criminal-justice/many-clergy-abuse-victims-cant-sue-their-abusers-will-a-new-legal-strategy-change-that/
Business
CVS adds time-delay safes in Pa. stores to help prevent opioid robberies
https://www.inquirer.com/business/cvs-pharmacy-time-delay-safe-robberies-opioids-philadelphia-20190723.html
Sheetz seeks liquor license for New Kensington store
https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/sheetz-seeks-liquor-license-for-new-kensington-store/
Harley stock rises most in a year while its York, Pa. plant gets a boost
https://www.inquirer.com/business/harley-davidson-york-motorcycles-tariffs-stock-20190723.html
Family Dollar to open in Gateway Shopping Center
https://www.timesleader.com/news/750654/family-dollar-to-open-in-gateway-shopping-center
Lower Burrell veteran overwhelmed by Taco Bell teen worker’s generous offer
https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/lower-burrell-veteran-shocked-when-taco-bell-teen-employee-offers-to-pay-for-his-meal/
Crime/Punishment
1 killed, officer injured in shooting during undercover drug bust in Ross
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2019/07/23/Police-investigating-crime-scene-shopping-center-Ross-Big-Lots-McKnight-Babcock/stories/201907230094
Pittsburgh man killed, state drug agent wounded in Ross shootout
https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/1-dead-police-officer-wounded-in-ross-shooting/
Lackawanna County Prison art program part of inmate rehabilitation project
https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/lackawanna-county-prison-art-program-part-of-inmate-rehabilitation-project-1.2511951
Man wounded in drive-by shooting in south Reading
https://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/man-wounded-in-drive-by-shooting-in-south-reading
Education
‘It was about shaming people’: Philly businessman rebuffed in efforts to clear Pa. kids’ school-lunch debt
https://www.inquirer.com/news/school-lunch-debt-foster-care-pennsylvania-todd-carmichael-la-colombe-20190723.html
Turning up the heat on ‘lunch shaming’ by threatening child separation? Shame on us. | Editorial
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/editorials/school-lunch-debt-bill-foster-care-pennsylvania-20190724.html
Scranton School District Recovery Plan publicly available Thursday
https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/scranton-school-district-recovery-plan-publicly-available-thursday-1.2511567
Marywood receives grant to train STEM teachers
https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/marywood-receives-grant-to-train-stem-teachers-1.2511940
Elections/Politics
Pennsylvania GOP hires Turzai fundraiser as new executive director
https://www.penncapital-star.com/blog/pennsylvania-gop-hires-turzai-fundraiser-as-new-executive-director/
Local News
Luzerne County Council debates whether council contenders should be allowed to fill vacant seat
https://www.timesleader.com/news/750674/luzerne-county-council-debates-whether-council-contenders-should-be-allowed-to-fill-vacant-seat
Board issues final order supporting former Wilkes-Barre firefighter’s demotion
https://www.timesleader.com/news/750680/board-issues-final-order-supporting-former-wilkes-barre-firefighters-demotion
Plymouth youth seeks to raise money for fire company
https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/plymouth-youth-seeks-to-raise-money-for-fire-company-1.2511840
Activist seeks input on bricks from beehive monument
https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/activist-seeks-input-on-bricks-from-beehive-monument-1.2511865
Agreement to formalize cooperation between flood authority, Forty Fort
https://www.citizensvoice.com/news/agreement-to-formalize-cooperation-between-flood-authority-forty-fort-1.2511838
Weidow pleads guilty to lying about passing Courtright cash
https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/weidow-pleads-guilty-to-lying-about-passing-courtright-cash-1.2511628
Fire destroys historic Belvedere Hotel in Oklahoma Borough
https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/fire-destroys-historic-belvedere-hotel-in-oklahoma-borough/
A proposed trail linking Verona to Boyce Park in Plum gaining traction with residents
https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/a-proposed-trail-linking-verona-to-boyce-park-in-plum-gaining-traction-with-residents/
Reading City Council officially approves the three-year exit plan from Act 47
https://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/reading-council-oks-plan-to-exit-act-47
Reading’s affordable housing tenants express high satisfaction in survey
https://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/readings-affordable-housing-tenants-express-high-satisfaction-in-survey&template=ourcityart
Plumstead event to ‘Break the Silence’ surrounding mental health, substance abuse
https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/news/20190723/plumstead-event-to-break-silence-surrounding-mental-health-substance-abuse
Two years later, and Bianca’s family still feels the pain
https://www.dailylocal.com/news/local/two-years-later-and-bianca-s-family-still-feels-the/article_7327a314-ad74-11e9-a84e-b777e25e74cc.html
National News
Immigration operation touted by Trump nets 35 arrests
https://www.inquirer.com/politics/nation/immigration-operation-touted-by-trump-nets-35-arrests-20190723.html
Opioid Crisis
Study: 81 million opioid pills shipped to York County as U.S. epidemic grew
https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/news/2019/07/23/study-81-million-opioid-pills-shipped-york-county-u-s-epidemic-grew/1796151001/
Philly
New play area opens at Fishtown Rec Center — the first completed project tied to Mayor Kenney’s Rebuild initiative
https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/fishtown-recreation-center-philadephia-ribbon-cutting-rebuild-kenney-soda-tax-swimmo-20190723.html
From shooting victim to victor: Former Philly cop Jesse Hartnett is riding the distance.
https://www.inquirer.com/news/hartnett-police-charity-isis-kenney-philly-atlanticcity-20190724.html
81 years ago, 4 inmates were ‘baked’ to death in a Philly jail. This summer, 1,000 are still locked up without AC.
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia-prisons-klondike-bake-oven-air-conditioning-allen-hornblum-20190724.html
Neither ICE nor storms of controversy stops South Philly’s Le Virtù from fighting for immigrants | Will Bunch
https://www.inquirer.com/columnists/attytood/philadelphia-le-virtu-ice-visit-immigration-reform-20190723.html
End of internet dead zone? Northeast Philly Airport hopes to have high-speed internet before 2020.
https://www.inquirer.com/business/northeast-philly-airport-internet-verizon-comcast-20190723.html
Judge rules against Philly’s assessments of high-rise condos with tax abatement
https://www.inquirer.com/news/assessment-land-value-condo-opa-philadelphia-20190723.html
Why 1,400 Philly security guards haven’t gotten a raise, despite a city law requiring it
https://www.inquirer.com/news/prevailing-wage-enforcement-philadelphia-security-guards-penn-temple-20190723.html
Prompted by a spike in summer violence, South Street bars, restaurants closing earlier on weekends
https://www.inquirer.com/business/south-street-business-close-early-jims-steaks-ishkabibble-lorenzo-wawa-philadelphia-20190724.html
Pitt
Do your homework on driverless vehicles, City Council members urged
https://www.post-gazette.com/business/tech-news/2019/07/23/driverless-vehicles-pittsburgh-transportation-city-council-uber-self-driving/stories/201907230088
Pittsburgh City Council hears concerns about driverless vehicles
https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/pittsburgh-city-council-hears-concerns-about-driverless-vehicles/
For ex-news anchor Darieth Chisolm, a personal victory amid a broader war against revenge porn
https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/tv-radio/2019/07/23/Darieth-Chisolm-Jamaica-revenge-porn-court-case-Pittsburgh-WXPI/stories/201907230102
Federal judge in Pittsburgh sends Idi Amin relative to prison in counterfeiting case
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2019/07/23/ryan-gustafson-idi-amin-uganda-counterfeiting-pittsburgh-federal-court-sentenced/stories/201907230101
One Oakland project moves ahead, problems linger with another
https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2019/07/23/Oakland-project-Walnut-Capital-innovation-research-tower-office-building-retail-parking-Wexford-Development/stories/201907230043
Troubling secrecy: Public deserves answers in Hall case
https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/editorials/2019/07/24/Calvin-Hall-case-Pittsburgh-police-shooting-case-transparency/stories/201907240023
Slain Pittsburgh police Officer Calvin Hall remembered as a peacemaker
https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/police-arrive-at-soldiers-and-sailors-for-pittsburgh-officer-calvin-halls-funeral/
State News
Infamous Three Mile Island reactor, shut down since 1979, will be sold and dismantled
https://www.inquirer.com/business/damaged-three-mile-island-nuclear-reactor-sold-decommissioning-energysolutions-20190723.html
TMI nuclear plant can’t go away fast enough, some neighbors and ’79 accident survivors say
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2019/07/three-mile-island-neighbors-79-accident-survivors-call-for-faster-clean-up-of-closing-nuclear-reactor.html
MAP: Who receives food stamp benefits in Pennsylvania?
https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/mc-nws-pa-snap-map-individuals-2019-20190724-ccwclgwtj5er3non6tywm3m5gu-story.html
State report on nursing homes warns of crisis ahead
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/state/2019/07/23/Pennsylvania-nursing-homes-auditor-general-report-eugene-DePasquale-crisis/stories/201907230104
DePasquale: Pennsylvania nursing home oversight improves, but aging population threatens progress
https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/nursing-home-oversight-has-improved-ag-says-but-aging-population-poses-challenge/
DePasquale: PA ill-prepared to serve fast-growing number of older adults
https://www.timesleader.com/news/750663/depasquale-pa-ill-prepared-to-serve-fast-growing-number-of-older-adults
Auditor general warns of dwindling nursing home workers
https://www.timesonline.com/news/20190724/auditor-general-warns-of-dwindling-nursing-home-workers/1
Penn Hills, Plum, O’Hara face costly repairs after floods
https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/penn-hills-plum-and-ohara-faces-costly-repairs-after-floods/
Pa. can shut down detention of migrant children at Berks | Opinion
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/berks-detention-center-children-license-tom-wolf-20190723.html
State seeks to keep $348,000 from traffic stop
https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/state-seeks-to-keep-348000-from-traffic-stop/
Penn State Extension holding industrial hemp workshop for farmers
https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/penn-state-extension-holding-industrial-hemp-workshop-for-farmers/
Scranton’s second medical marijuana dispensary holds open house
https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/scranton-s-second-medical-marijuana-dispensary-holds-open-house-1.2511770
New CDL program at CTC to help business needs in NEPA
https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/business/new-cdl-program-at-ctc-to-help-business-needs-in-nepa-1.2511732
Coal isn’t coming back
https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/opinion/coal-isn-t-coming-back-1.2511737
How Pa. nonprofits are leveraging federal funds to get food stamp recipients into jobs
https://www.penncapital-star.com/working-the-economy/how-pa-nonprofits-are-leveraging-federal-funds-to-get-food-stamp-recipients-into-jobs/
Transportation
PennDOT seeks public input on highway safety through online survey.
https://www.timesleader.com/news/750641/penndot-seeks-public-input-on-highway-safety-through-online-survey
Traffic woes to worsen on I-81 and Central Scranton Expressway
https://www.thetimes-tribune.com/news/traffic-woes-to-worsen-on-i-81-and-central-scranton-expressway-1.2511954
Future of Rt. 22 widening murky after Pa. cuts $380M in Valley transportation funds
https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/2019/07/future-of-rt-22-widening-murky-after-pa-cuts-380m-in-valley-transportation-funds.html
Washington
Support by the dollar: How Philadelphia-area donors are diving into the 2020 presidential race
https://www.inquirer.com/news/campaign-fundraising-donors-presidential-election-donald-trump-joe-biden-cory-booker-2020-pennsylvania-20190724.html
The Trump administration moves to end food stamps for over 3 million people
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/nation/2019/07/23/food-stamps-Trump-administration-rule-3-million-people-cut-benefits-proposal-USDA/stories/201907230150
How ironic to see white people, likely descendants of immigrants, chant ‘send her back’ at women of color | Solomon Jones
https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/send-her-back-trump-immigrants-ilhan-omar-20190724.html
Afghanistan demands clarification of Trump’s comments about destroying the country
https://www.post-gazette.com/news/world/2019/07/23/Trump-Afghanistan-war-Pakistan-Imran-Khan/stories/201907230149
Joe Biden announces criminal justice policy sharply at odds with his ’94 crime law
https://www.inquirer.com/politics/joe-biden-criminal-justice-policy-2020-presidential-race-20190723.html
Scanlon awaiting chance to question Mueller
https://www.delcotimes.com/news/scanlon-awaiting-chance-to-question-mueller/article_ccb96296-ad88-11e9-a606-7f4e26fcd931.html