Pennsylvania in Focus
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The podcast bringing you the most important stories out of Pennsylvania from TheCenterSquare.com. Join us as we dive into the top headlines and provide insightful commentary and analysis.
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(The Center Square) - U.S. Senators John Fetterman and Dave McCormick continue to build upon their reputation of bipartisan congeniality, particularly expressed in shared views about the state of antisemitism in the United States. The pair sent letters to the presidents of five of the commonwealth’s most prestigious universities “expressing concern about the rise of antisemitism on college campuses.” The schools - Penn State, Temple University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Pennsylvania, and Lehigh University - were notable to the senators for having the highest populations of Jewish students in the state.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_85553e1b-02de-40b4-8ed4-2b8afe18b65a.html
(The Center Square) – Ballots returned to county election offices with incorrect or missing dates still count as valid, according to a federal opinion issued Tuesday. A three-panel judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit said Pennsylvania’s mandate that mail-in votes with dating errors must be set aside violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The unanimous decision found that leaning on dates to “back stop” failures with the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors, or SURE, “betrays a misunderstanding of Pennsylvania’s election laws.”Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_881e3b5b-67ee-4e1b-b4f6-b5c251eaae4d.html
(The Center Square) - For Philadelphia leaders, security concerns are top of mind as the city approaches a banner year of sports and cultural events. But even as the world bets big on the city’s ability to host major events like America250 and FIFA World Cup games, frustrated Philadelphians are struggling with the state’s funding choices. The committee heard testimony just days before SEPTA’s major service cuts went into effect, and transit was highlighted as one of the biggest security concerns for planners. As the reality of SEPTA cuts sink in, officials are bracing themselves for what they say will be an even further diminished system by next summer.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_18fb6705-0f14-4609-9baf-576aa7e0a2e6.html
(The Center Square) – She earned the most votes of any statewide Republican candidate in the 2024 election, besting Gov. Josh Shapiro’s record set two years prior. Now, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity hopes that massive popularity will outshine him again in 2026. “And I’m giving you and your family my solemn oath that I will work hard every day to fix the problems that Josh Shapiro has created,” she said in a campaign announcement posted to social media Monday. The decorated military veteran, who served three tours in Iraq and rose to the rank of colonel, pointed to her commitment as a servicemember and the accountability reforms she’s made since taking over as treasurer in 2021 as proof of her devotion to protecting taxpayers.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_4b9a62b2-cea8-4060-a00f-ffc9a653f2d3.html
(The Center Square) – Reinstating work requirements for some welfare recipients found support across the aisle on Wednesday. It’s a notable change after the partisan nature of the debate in recent years: Republicans have long wanted waivers from the mandate, which have been used on and off for the last 20 years, to expire amid fears about prolonged government dependency and fraud. Democrats see the option as economically justified absent a stronger safety net.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_4ab5a515-7f85-4d94-b24a-6d50e66e7fba.html
(The Center Square) – There’s no shortage of frustration when it comes to stalled negotiations over funding for public transit in Pennsylvania. Of the plans proffered – using sales taxes versus dipping into the transit trust fund – neither has bipartisan support. There’s a road not yet taken, however. In the days before both chambers convened to approve their respective solutions, Republican Sen. Gene Yaw, of Williamsport, and Democratic Sen. Anthony Williams, of Philadelphia, suggested solving two problems at once: collect a $500 monthly fee from unregulated skill game terminals and use it to pay for increased public transit support.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_6b5d6d6a-ec77-4053-b9d4-6b8f05717a1d.html
(The Center Square) - Officials have urged the press and community not to speculate about the cause of a deadly explosion at a U.S. Steel plant in Clairton, near Pittsburgh, on Monday. Gov. Josh Shapiro joined county officials, union representatives, and U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt to discuss the incident in Allegheny County Tuesday. County Executive Sara Innamorato expressed gratitude to the dozens of local agencies who responded to the incident. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_620db6bb-bc0f-4e6f-a87c-b298267d32ad.html
(The Center Square) - Pennsylvania is stuck in what seems to be an ever-deepening mental health care crisis, exacerbated by staffing shortages across the industry. To address it, two senators held a meeting of the chamber's Majority Policy Committee in Danville on Tuesday, inviting more than a dozen experts to participate in a roundtable on the subject. Sens. Dave Argall, R-Mahanoy City, and Lynda Schlegel Culver, R-Shamokin Dam, heard testimony from mental health care providers, prison wardens, and even a state Supreme Court Justice advocating for legislative action to support families living with mental illness.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_208ef2a3-6195-4aee-9128-46bb30dbac87.html
(The Center Square) - House Democrats met in front of Abraham Lincoln High School in Northeast Philadelphia to urge Senate Republicans to return to Harrisburg to pass funding for the state’s mass transit systems, a sticking point in the state's budget negotiations. Without dedicated funding, SEPTA is poised to cut services on the Aug. 24, an act that will impact more than 10,000 students who rely on transit to get to and from school every day, which begins the following day. Senate Republicans have argued that the system needs to bear more accountability for its financial shortcomings. Though public transit is used in all 67 counties across the state, its funding has become the backdrop for a perceived opposition between rural roads and bridges and urban commutes, and, more broadly, between red and blue swaths of the state.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_2ac232f5-dc6a-4377-a7b0-0f74e75ee93a.html
(The Center Square) – Pittsburgh’s “AI Strike Force” is aiming high to define and become a global leader in physical AI, the space in which artificial intelligence meets material goods in the form of robotics, defense systems, transportation, and more. In Harrisburg on Monday, the Strike Force's executive director Joanna Doven spoke to the urgency of the moment, echoing state leaders including Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. Dave McCormick’s aspirations to make Pennsylvania a leader in a new era of technology. For its part, Pittsburgh has made a strong start of it, not just pivoting its industrial reputation but capitalizing on the manufacturing demands of new technologies to maintain the relevance of its foundation in steel.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_5f6e5a80-d16b-47d6-8c79-e95473a4084c.html
(The Center Square) – The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency announced upgrades to its flood warning and observation system on Wednesday. The Pennsylvania Integrated Flood Warning and Observation System is known as IFLOWS 2.0 and will include the installation of 30 new weather stations across the state. Most of these will be placed on school properties where K-12 students will incorporate the data into their weather curricula.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_156441fb-3556-41aa-9b8e-f065873854b2.html
(The Center Square) - The congressional budget resolution passed early this month struck a blow, many say, to the renewable energy industry by phasing out tax credits for wind and solar energy. Clean energy advocates, however, say that even in the face of energy costs projected to rise as much as 74% over the next 10 years, that there’s reason to be optimistic. While Harry Godfrey of Advanced Energy United admitted that the rollbacks will cost jobs in manufacturing and on specific energy projects, he noted there are still opportunities for renewable energy to get off the ground. Specifically, planned wind and solar projects that have begun construction within a year of the act’s passage are still eligible for credit.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_ef734e25-8e4c-401d-8519-1dc52b2af077.html
(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania’s full-time legislature wastes taxpayer money and diminishes public participation, according to a new proposal from state Rep. Stephanie Borowicz. Pennsylvania’s 253 elected officials – 203 in the House and 50 in the Senate – make over $106,000 annually, second only to New York and California. It’s also just one of 10 states that maintain a full-time legislature. Before 1968, the commonwealth was part-time. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_c46b4431-490a-4910-9777-653137670c9d.html
(The Center Square) - As the state still struggles to find agreement with its own budget, some legislators are urging action to protect residents of the commonwealth from the expected fallout of the Congressional budget resolution bill that passed earlier this month. One such measure is a bipartisan bill establishing requirements for hospital financial assistance which passed the House in May. It currently awaits consideration in the Senate. The bill would ensure patients have a better understanding of their financial situation and options when engaging with the healthcare system by requiring hospitals to provide standardized financial aid information. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_0e1dbac2-374a-44b7-a05a-46396696be16.html
(The Center Square) - Two weeks late, the Pennsylvania House has taken a major step forward in passing a new state budget. House Bill 1330 passed the House with a vote of 105-97, with three Republicans voting alongside Democrats and one member on leave. Republican Appropriations chair Jim Struzzi of Indiana called the bill a necessary step forward given the delays in the legislature, but he urged his caucus to vote against the bill.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_452135d2-05a5-42b6-88a8-de696c8234fd.html
(The Center Square) – Artificial intelligence infrastructure coming to Pennsylvania includes $90 billion from tech giants, energy companies and investment firms betting on the state’s rich power supply. And it’s got the seal of approval from top federal officials, including U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., and President Donald Trump. In recent years, Pennsylvania’s reputation as an energy exporter and its easy access to power plants have risen its profile within investment circles hoping to capitalize on the “AI revolution.”Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_26e6635c-d61b-480d-8592-0af638333150.html
(The Center Square) - Responding to concerns that President Donald Trump could use the Insurrection Act to deploy troops domestically, Congressman Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., introduced a bill to limit presidential power on Tuesday. The bill entitled the Insurrection Act of 2025 would update the original 1807 legislation to clarify and narrow the circumstances in which it could be used. Updates would state explicitly that it’s a measure of last resort. Invoking the act would require prior consultation with Congress and limit its use to a seven-day period.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_f8179dcd-1b05-4575-872b-016984dc3a24.html
(The Center Square) - On Monday, the House passed a resolution designating September as International Underground Railroad Month. It received near-unanimous support from the chamber, 199-4. The no votes stood out. The Underground Railroad is an integral part of U.S. history, particularly important to the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which served as an abolitionist state and is home to more than 60 sites on the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom list. Passing the resolution would seem noncontroversial, aligning each representative with the resolve and demonstration of character of those who resisted the enslavement of Africans in the Americas through the Underground Railroad. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_edb01a25-ba80-405f-ad42-ed7f6f45953c.html
(The Center Square) – A Coca-Cola driver in Houston, Pa., says leaders of his local Teamsters union threatened to fire him if he didn’t join the organization and pay dues. And now, he’s taking them to federal court. Hammaker says Teamsters Local 585 violated his constitutional right to opt out of membership and avoid paying dues that can support political activities. However, the union contract stipulated that joining was mandatory.Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_7d8eae23-bb36-407e-b7f7-e7688f81baec.html
(The Center Square) - At long last, it looks like Pennsylvania’s prohibition of Sunday hunting will end. The passage of House Bill 1431 in concurrence with the Senate signals a new era of game in the commonwealth. Proponents of the prohibition maintain that a traditional day off should still be observed, while opponents maintain that the majority of hunters work throughout the week, limiting their opportunities to engage with the sport. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxxFull story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/pennsylvania/article_c6de2795-da85-42e5-b6d9-df6bb22f8fd8.html
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