News Digest :: November 2, 2023

Legislature 

Bill repealing ban on teachers wearing religious garb in schools clears Pa. General Assembly | News | tribdem.com 

 Bills to combat hate crimes gain Pennsylvania House approval | WITF 

House passes anti-hate crime bill package; majority of GOP lawmakers oppose | PA Power and Policy | lancasteronline.com 

Death penalty repeal bill advances in PA House – City & State Pennsylvania (cityandstatepa.com) 

‘This is only a start’: Shapiro, lawmakers celebrate signing of maternal mortality bill – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com) 

Pa. House panel debates legalizing recreational marijuana – pennlive.com 

Lawmakers still divided over marijuana legalization | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com 

Business/Jobs  

Regional unemployment rates see modest decreases in September (dailylocal.com) 

 Pa. woman awarded $7.1 million in damages after can explodes | WITF 

Toyota recalls more than 1.8 million RAV4 vehicles – pennlive.com 

Disney to buy Comcast’s share of Hulu for $8.6 billion – pennlive.com 

Cedar Fair, owner of Dorney Park, to combine with Six Flags to create company valued at $8 billion | Lehigh Valley Regional News | wfmz.com 

COVID-19 

 Allegheny County residents turn out for new COVID shot amid supply chain issues | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 

Crime/Punishment  

 Adult found needle in candy picked up from the ground: police update – pennlive.com 

Police ID teen killed in Pa. Halloween shooting: reports – pennlive.com 

Men were able to flee Pa. prison because of sleeping guard, broken fence: DA – pennlive.com 

 Ellen Greenberg’s parents appeal suicide ruling in her brutal stabbing to Pa. Supreme Court – pennlive.com 

Cornell student charged with making threats to Jewish students, feds say – pennlive.com 

Politicians love to cite crime data. It’s often wrong – The Morning Call (mcall.com) 

Radnor police urge vigilance after residential burglaries (delcotimes.com) 

Education  

 4 Pennsylvania universities closer to getting millions after House OKs bill on state subsidies (abc27.com) 

Pa. Sen. Judy Schwank to introduce legislation to aid school mergers (mcall.com) 

Schwank announces plans to introduce bills to aid school mergers (berksweekly.com) 

An infrastructure crisis is escalating in Pennsylvania’s public schools. What can be done? – The Morning Call (mcall.com) 

Student loan debt payments hit HBCU graduates especially hard – Delco Times 

Penn State says it ‘cannot support’ House amendment that would freeze tuition next year | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 

Elections/Politics 

 Working the polls cleared up Jay Schneider’s 2020 suspicions. Now he’s taking charge as a judge of elections. | WITF 

Republicans are now encouraging mail voting and hope it will help them in the 2024 presidential election (inquirer.com) 

Republicans Still Lukewarm To Mail Ballots (politicspa.com) 

Three Democrats vying to unseat State Treasurer Stacy Garrity – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com) 

Pennsylvania election returns website to offer first look at unofficial results (abc27.com) 

‘I’m barely getting by’: These voters say the economy will decide 2024 (ydr.com) 

Environment 

PA Commonwealth Court strikes down RGGI  but environmentalists expect an appeal· Spotlight PA 

 Pa. cannot join RGGI, court rules it is an illegal tax | StateImpact Pennsylvania (npr.org) 

Pennsylvania sees benefits of lawn conversion – WHYY 

DEP to take public comment on River Pointe Logistics permits (mcall.com) 

Transportation 

 Private funding for public electric vehicle chargers on the move | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com 

Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission sees 7% funding increase for transportation projects over next two years – Pittsburgh Union Progress 

Truckers ask Pa. Gov. Josh Shapiro to use federal funds for more parking | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 

Gun Safety 

 Gun Control News for Chester County – MyChesCo 

Democratic lieutenant governors, advocates, discuss solutions to prevent gun violence – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com) 

Health 

 As Pennsylvania ages, its nursing homes shrink | Pennsylvania | thecentersquare.com 

Infant deaths have risen for the first time in 20 years | Health | phillytrib.com 

What to know about eyedrop safety amid recalls (inquirer.com) 

State News  

 Shapiro says Pa. refund program for tardy processing of licenses, permits is first in nation – pennlive.com 

Gov. Josh Shapiro launches ‘money-back guarantee’ for most permits, licenses in Pa. (inquirer.com) 

Pennsylvania High Court Will Review Mask Sales Tax Cases (bloombergtax.com) 

Pennsylvania’s low-income home energy assistance program application opens (abc27.com) 

Pennsylvania’s cold weather life jacket requirement now in effect (abc27.com) 

National News  

 Biden launches ‘Investing in Rural America’ push with Cabinet officials – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com) 

President Biden calls for humanitarian ‘pause’ in Israel-Hamas war – pennlive.com 

Oklahoma voters reject recreational marijuana (mcall.com) 

Abortion on the ballot: How an Ohio measure became a battleground (ydr.com) 

Abortion rallies young voters before 2023 Election Day and 2024 races (ydr.com) 

Donald Trump and his children are taking the witness stand in civil trial : NPR 

Local News  

 Dauphin County district to close 2 schools, construct building – pennlive.com 

Fort Indiantown Gap reinforces security with new main access control point – pennlive.com 

‘He’s home.’ Kevin Bacon (the pig) caught after weeks on the run in Pa. – Daily Local 

Delaware County receives 800,000 emergency calls each year (delcotimes.com) 

Pocono Raceway’s NASCAR weekend honored by hospitality association (poconorecord.com) 

2024 city budget: Erie Mayor Schember wants garbage, sewer fee hikes (goerie.com) 

Prominent building to be partially demolished and rebuilt in Reading (readingeagle.com) 

Washington Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge gets tree transplant from George Washington’s Mount Vernon (dailylocal.com) 

Pitt 

 Pittsburgh in ‘extreme embrace’ with fossil fuel lobbyists, research finds | US news | The Guardian 

How a Pittsburgh county election tests Republicans, Democrats before 2024 – The Washington Post 

Election battles brewing in counties outside Allegheny, especially in Washington County – CBS Pittsburgh (cbsnews.com) 

Book Bans have reached Greater Pittsburgh’s boardrooms and ballots | Pittsburgh City Paper (pghcitypaper.com) 

Philly  

 Philadelphia judicial retention elections: How they work (billypenn.com) 

Israeli children, one with local ties, come to Philly-area Jewish school to wait out the war back home | News | standardspeaker.com 

Cherelle Parker hopes to join growing class of Black women elected to higher office | Local News | phillytrib.com 

Philly City Council race: The Middle East and abortion rights have become issues in the final week of a contentious race for two at-large seats (inquirer.com) 

Who cleans up after shootings? Philly hires professionals to handle blood in the streets after years of residents shouldering the work | Local News | phillytrib.com 

Washington 

Every Pennsylvania House Republican voted for an anti-abortion extremist for Speaker – The Keystone (keystonenewsroom.com) 

State and local election workers quitting amid abuse, officials tell U.S. Senate panel – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com) 

White House, Sen. Casey urge Congress to pass emergency anti-opioid funding – Pennsylvania Capital-Star (penncapital-star.com) 

Casey, White House push for funding on border security, stopping fentanyl | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette