Legislature

A complete guide to Pennsylvania’s redistricting court challenges · Spotlight PA

Revamped PA Senate Committee Will Support First Responders | Lower Providence, PA Patch

Stefano to co-chair reestablished Fire & EMS Caucus | Local News | heraldstandard.com

State Senator Proposes ‘Sales Tax Holiday’ – ButlerRadio.com – Butler, PA

Pa. senator pushes summer sales tax holiday (abc27.com)

Sen. Boscola asks Pa. Senate, businesses to disengage from Russian holdings | Lehigh Valley Regional News | wfmz.com

Boscola part of legislative move for Pa. to divest holdings in Russian assets – lehighvalleylive.com

Committee moves fentanyl test strip bill to full Senate | The Bucks County Herald

Black & Diverse Business Forum Brings Out Dozens of Local Entrepreneurs and Business Owners – NewsBreak

Landmark Pa. hearings seek a legal pot roadmap · Spotlight PA

Bipartisan support for plugging Pennsylvania’s abandoned wells, but RGGI still divides | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com

Pennsylvania parks a major source of revenue – for recreation and natural gas | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com

PA talks more funding to expedite gun background checks (broadandliberty.com)

Gov. Wolf brings budget push to Phoenixville (dailylocal.com)

PA lawmakers look to put pressure on Russia after it invades Ukraine (ydr.com)

 

Coronavirus – COVID-19

State’s seven-day COVID-19 average hits lowest point of year | Coronavirus | tribdem.com

Democrats look for offramp from masking in public (abc27.com)

New Biden pandemic plan: Closer to normal for the nation | Coronavirus | tribdem.com

Mask mandates continue at some Erie County spots despite COVID-19 drop (goerie.com)

What post-omicron life will look like: ‘A path towards normalcy’ | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Allegheny County has ‘turned a corner’ in covid pandemic, health official says | TribLIVE.com

 

Business/Jobs

Yelp data shows business openings rebound to pre-pandemic levels – Philadelphia Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

Biden says it’s time to return to the office and downtowns, but will companies follow? – Philadelphia Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

High Industries transfers its $570 million business to charitable foundation | Local Business | lancasteronline.com

Ben Franklin Technology Partners creates/retains 7,356 jobs in 2021 (dailylocal.com)

U.S. job growth more than forecast in February, ADP data show | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 

Education

Letter to the Editor: West Chester Area School District promises policy review after political survey (broadandliberty.com)

Mandatory School Mask Policies Remain Divisive Among DelVal Parents – DV Journal (delawarevalleyjournal.com)

SDoL, last Lancaster County school district with a mask mandate, to move to mask-optional effective Monday | Local News | lancasteronline.com

PV Education Association had authorized a strike date of Feb. 28 (poconorecord.com)

Central York district ‘book ban’ was a myth perpetuated by the media (ydr.com)

Three Pa. state universities are given a new name that surprisingly wasn’t already taken – pennlive.com

Three consolidating state schools to become ‘Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania’ – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

Higher education innovation, statewide investment are the keys to growth in Pa. | Opinion  – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

Amazon, PSU, LCCC partnering on fully-funded schooling for front line employees | Times Leader

 

Elections/Politics

Supreme Court Keeps Mail-In Voting in Place, For Now | PoliticsPA

County party committee members can start collecting signatures, Pa. high court rules – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

Will Trump Endorse a Candidate for the PA Senate Nomination? | PoliticsPA

Endorsements in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race keep stacking up. | City & State PA (cityandstatepa.com)

Dem. Coplen first to officially challenge Scott Perry (abc27.com)

Hoping to Make Inroads with Black Voters, GOP Opens Philly Community Center – DV Journal (delawarevalleyjournal.com)

Guy Ciarrocchi Switches Candidacy From Governor to Congress – DV Journal (delawarevalleyjournal.com)

Poll shows tight race for Pa. GOP Senate nomination; Fetterman leads Lamb in early Democrat response – pennlive.com

Voting snafus in Texas primary show what may be on the way for other states – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

9 Key Senate Races to Watch in the 2022 Midterms (businessinsider.com)

 

Environment

Climate change threatens chemical plants across the U.S. : NPR

Controlling invasive species in Pennsylvania | Smart Talk (witf.org)

Wildfires and water scarcity: How U.S. kids will have to adapt to a changing climate | Opinion – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

 

Transportation

EMTA has received $26 million in federal aid. How it’s been used (goerie.com)

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission needs a light to be shined on it | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 

Health

Pa. DOH makes changes for hospitals to help patients (abc27.com)

Biden’s mental health plan has potential, experts say, if Congress acts : Shots – Health News : NPR

Pennsylvania grants Delaware County’s first health department final approval | WITF

Pa. counties call for funding Biden’s mental health strategy | Thursday Morning Coffee – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

Reform this federal program to help close the healthcare equity gap | Opinion – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com)

 

State News

Senators Casey & Toomey react to State of the Union (abc27.com)

Pennsylvanians React to President Biden’s State of the Union Speech – DV Journal (delawarevalleyjournal.com)

New F&M poll shows Pennsylvanians are most concerned about their finances since 2010; Biden’s approval drops to new low | PA Power and Policy | lancasteronline.com

Pa. faces bike shortage due to supply chain issues (abc27.com)

Guest column: Pennsylvania can substantively marginalize Putin’s global influence – Daily Local

Pa. state agencies moving to rid their portfolios of investments in Russia – pennlive.com

Pa. white supremacist propaganda rose in 2021, Anti-Defamation League report says (inquirer.com)

 

National News

Ukraine refugee count tops 1 million as Russia besieges ports (abc27.com)

Russian aircraft now banned from U.S. airspace : NPR

Russians and Belarusians banned from Paralympics amid boycott risk (inquirer.com)

Russia-Ukraine war: Putin’s invasion struggles as death toll rises, peace talks to resume (inquirer.com)

Russian police jail kids who took flowers and ‘No to War’ signs to Ukraine’s embassy | WITF

Neutral Finland, Sweden warm to idea of NATO membership : NPR

Jan. 6 panel says it has evidence Trump broke laws in trying to overturn the election : NPR

 

Local News

Flying Ice Blamed for Accident on I-78 in Lower Saucon (sauconsource.com)

Bucks County gets $45 million to aid with opioid prevention, treatment (buckscountycouriertimes.com)

Editorial: Local Ukrainian community leading war aid (dailylocal.com)

Blue Zones in Corry: Erie County Council inches closer to unlocking funds (goerie.com)

This Pa. city is named the top ‘Allergy Capital’ of the U.S. for 2022 – pennlive.com

Allentown’s “responsible contractor” ordinance is irresponsible to taxpayers – The Morning Call (mcall.com)

Council members take ‘eye-opening’ tour of Luzerne County prison | Times Leader

Scranton among best metros for economic development | Business | thetimes-tribune.com

Lackawanna County to pursue first countywide reassessment since 1968 | News | thetimes-tribune.com

 

Pitt

Alliance for Police Accountability joins Mik Pappas in calls against DA’s office | News | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh City Paper (pghcitypaper.com)

Pittsburgh real estate development is becoming more the province of tech in Hazelwood and beyond | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh begins minor repairs on Centre Avenue Bridge, rated in ‘serious’ condition, and pushes Port Authority, Norfolk Southern for more | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Staffing, safety and other issues spur Allegheny County Jail employees union to call for warden’s exit | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy To Begin Flagstaff Hill Restoration Project – CBS Pittsburgh (cbslocal.com)

 

Philly

Philadelphia drops indoor mask mandate effective immediately – Philadelphia Business Journal (bizjournals.com)

Philadelphia drops its indoor mask mandate as COVID-19 cases fall | Health | phillytrib.com

City’s Washington Avenue plan raises concerns from residents, businesses | Local News | phillytrib.com

Philadelphia Police say homicides in pinpoint areas higher this year | Local News | phillytrib.com

Philadelphia police shoot and kill a boy after officers in a car were shot, officials say | WITF

You’re waking up to a 😷-free Philly | Morning Newsletter (inquirer.com)

Philadelphia School District will likely make masks optional March 9 (inquirer.com)

 

Washington

House to vote on bill to help veterans exposed to burn pits : NPR

Justice Dept. Announces Task Force to Go After Russian Oligarchs – The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Rand Paul says he’ll back Emmett Till Antilynching Act of 2022 after holding up previous bill | Across America | phillytrib.com

Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this month, Jerome Powell to tell Congress (inquirer.com)