Both candidates for the special election in SD37 make their final pitch to voters before tomorrow’s election. Here is the Playbook.

SD37: Iovino and Raja Balance Moderate Message with Turning Out the Base: In this suburban Pittsburgh swing district, the Democrat touts her background in the Navy while the Republican embraces his immigrant story. When it comes to policy, the party line is they key to special election turnout.

March 29th Ups & Downs: The PA Democratic Party endorsed a pair of Superior Court candidates, new polls capture headlines throughout the state, and a new wedge issue presents itself in the Philadelphia Mayoral race. All of that and more are in this week’s Ups and Downs.

F&M Poll: Wolf Holds Solid Approval Rating, Trump Lags Behind: The Governor maintains support from just over half of the state, while the President’s approval rating remains in the mid 30s.

Harrisburg & DC  
KDKA: Raja, Iovino Campaigns Preparing For Final Weekend Before Tuesday’s Special Election
WITF: Pa. House positions overhauled statute of limitations bills for another run
Patriot News: Pa. lawmaker defends her fervent Christian prayer before Muslim woman’s swearing-in, while some call for new rules
AP: Vestige of the past, state House’s ‘lobbyist room’ vanishes
AP: Appeals court upholds vacating some convictions of ex-judge
AP: 2 more casinos seek sports-betting licenses in Pennsylvania
Billy Penn: Poll: 60 percent of PA voters want to give Trump the boot — just like Obama at 2 years in
PA Post: Who is Stephanie Borowicz, the Pa. lawmaker accused of giving a ‘weaponizing prayer’?
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro: The Catholic church is ‘incapable of policing itself,’ as abuse scandal continues
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: ‘I stand by it. I won’t apologize:’ Pennsylvania lawmaker at center of controversial prayer says in Christian radio interview
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Promoting trade jobs is front and center in package of Pa. House bills
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Why does the Pa. Legislature begin sessions with prayer? Experts say it’s more than just tradition.
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: ‘I continue to be optimistic,’ Attorney General Josh Shapiro says as Pa. House kick-starts reforms on child sexual abuse
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Senators decry Trump White House’s ‘lack of urgency’ on PFAS contamination
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: It’s harder than ever to conduct polls. Should we still believe what they say?
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: ‘They are big, very deep, record deepness:’ Trump will fund Great Lakes cleanup after all
StateImpactPA: Forty years later, the prospect of a TMI-related evacuation remains daunting
Inquirer: In N.J. and Pa., two very different responses to clergy abuse
KYW Newsradio: Pennsylvania DOC settles suit over legal mail to inmates
PLSReporter: Did You Get The Memo? Vaccinations, mandatory minimums and vehicle registration stickers  
PLSReporter: Freshman Focus: Rep. Stephanie Borowicz
PLSReporter: Legislators, labor call for funding to fix Philadelphia schools
PLSReporter: Tweets of the Week – March 25, 2019
Post-Gazette: Gov. Wolf nominates Elliot Howsie to fill term of retired Judge McDaniel  
Post-Gazette: How much do highway signs cost? $11.8 million for Southern Beltway   

Philadelphia
Billy Penn: Philadelphia just published its $4 billion checkbook for all to see
Billy Penn: Sure does look like Mayor Kenney is trolling challengers with Google ads
Inquirer: Price tag for fixing all urgent Philly school building problems? $170M, union, lawmakers say
Philadelphia Magazine: Philly White-Collar Union Declines to Endorse Its Own VP for City Council
WHYY Newsworks: Lead-safety bill passes Philly City Council, more ambitious companion measure stalled
Philadelphia Tribune: State Rep. Boyle calls for prayers in Pa. Legislature to respect all religions
KYW Newsradio: Councilman proposes zoning change that could delay safe injection site indefinitely
KYW Newsradio: Loud protest over metal detectors disrupts Philly school board meeting
KYW Newsradio: Growth of Philadelphia’s homeless population slowing, officials say
Philly Voice: Arizona real estate agent fired after sending Islamophobic Facebook message to West Philly state rep

SEPA
Daily Local News: Rep. Houlahan’s bill on equal pay advances
Daily Local News: Living with pipeline construction out back
Daily Local News: West Chester officials enact resolution for democracy
Daily Local News: Chesco lawmaker impressed after visit to bear den
Bucks County Courier Times: New Hope removes license from business tax
Inquirer: Water damage, other building defects addressed in new Pa. bill that aims to regulate construction of new homes

Pittsburgh
KDKA: Raja, Iovino Campaigns Preparing For Final Weekend Before Tuesday’s Special Election
City Paper: South Hills special election could be pivotal in flipping Pennsylvania’s state senate
Post-Gazette: Gov. Wolf nominates Elliot Howsie to fill term of retired Judge McDaniel
Post-Gazette: Union leaders want drivers to skip Port Authority bus competition
WESA: How Would City’s Anti-Discrimination Pregnancy Bill Fare In Court? Some Have Doubts
PLSReporter: Allegheny County considers establishing much-debated children’s fund
Pittsburgh Business Times: Gov. Wolf says career options explored as early as first grade

SWPA  
Beaver County Times: Gov. Wolf touts flood-mitigation plan during Hopewell visit
Beaver County Times: State senator wants to eliminate religious, philosophical exemptions for student vaccinations
Beaver County Times: State Rep. Gaydos holding REAL ID seminars
Altoona Mirror: Topper to hold chairman position
Altoona Mirror: Gregory authors ‘window of justice’ bill  
Altoona Mirror: Gojmerac seeks commissioner seat
Altoona Mirror: Poll shows Pennsylvania voters back climate action
Observer-Reporter: Court okays ‘tag team’ approach to circulating nominating petitions
Observer-Reporter: Officials bullish on Washington County’s economy
Observer-Reporter: State grants awarded for road projects in Greene, Allegheny
Observer-Reporter: Kail to hold several breakfast discussions
Johnstown Tribune-Democrat: Attorney General Josh Shapiro | Pulling back predator’s cloak to obtain justice
Johnstown Tribune-Democrat: Courts, employers wrestle with changes from medical marijuana
Johnstown Tribune-Democrat: Shapiro addresses Pennsylvania child sex abuse case with feds, U.S. AG Barr

NEPA
Citizens Voice: Glitch in county voting system makes hundreds older than they are
Citizens Voice: County’s true oldest voters stress importance of getting to the polls
Times-Tribune: Jessup activists push legislation on power plant host agreements  
The Times Leader: Appeals court ruling could affect Ciavarella’s sentence
The Times Leader: Wolf Administration encourages residents to prepare for spring, summer flooding
The Times Leader: Capitol Roundup: Toomey renews fight for bipartisan gun safety legislation
The Times Leader: County government facing its own stormwater requirements in addition to new fee
The Times Leader: Councilman Vough presents story of drug recovery
The Times Leader: Luzerne County DA weighs in on first-time offender program expansion

South Central  
York Dispatch: Public hearings slated for nuclear subsidy bill
York Dispatch: Former York County sheriff’s deputy challenging his old boss
Patriot News: After the Civil War, African-Americans made a sleepy Pa. borough home; can its rich history be saved?
Patriot News: Volunteers place flags around Capitol for Child Abuse Prevention Month
LNP | LancasterOnline: POLL: Should spike bucks be legal game for all hunters in Pennsylvania?

Lehigh Valley   
Reading Eagle: DEP secretary talks landfill, power plant and water quality in Berks County
Express Times: Warren County approves smallest budget in 15 years, taxpayers will see a cut, officials say
Express Times: Easton grant requests open window on efforts to help people in the city
Express Times: 16.8 percent rate hike proposed for Lehigh Valley natural gas: How to weigh in
Morning Call: Allentown may create small business advisory board
Morning Call: Proposal to decrease Easton City Council salaries fails to move forward
Morning Call: Decaying Lehigh Valley Dairy has agreement of sale, Whitehall mayor says

North by Northwest
Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Casey: Subsidies must support struggling parents
Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Congressional candidates talk education, health care
Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Councilman: Litigation likely to go to judge
Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Candidates answer voter questions
Centre Daily Times: There’s a new hotel tax in Centre County. What does it mean for Airbnb properties?
Erie Times-News: Roll Call: How local legislators voted on key issues last week  
Erie Times-News: Erie-area women unite to run for office  
Erie Times-News: Government meetings in Erie County, week of April 1  
Erie Times-News: Ex-real estate agent takes Erie County Land Bank’s reins  
Erie Times-News: Erie County, city to launch Complete Count census committee

Opinion  
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Can you hear them?: Bob Casey and Pat Toomey, your constituents are talking
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Sugar is killing us: Study links sweet drinks to disease
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Treatment and support: Suicides highlight residual trauma of mass shootings
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Voices from the ‘pipeline’: Shuman students tell their stories through art
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Big Pharma’s reckoning: Oklahoma opioids settlement should be just a start
LNP Editorial Board: District Attorney Stedman’s political survival strategy seems to involve silencing critics and blaming others
LNP Editorial Board: So long, snow days? Bill proposing cyber days won’t help schools whose students lack access to technology   
Inquirer Editorial Board: Office of Register of Wills should be eliminated
Melissa Shusterman: Making animals perform in public is inhumane and outdated. It’s time to fold up the circus tents for good
John L. Micek: Biden leads the Pa. primary pack in new Emerson College poll | Friday Morning Coffee
Ruth Ann Dailey: Forgive her, for she knows not …
Ray Murphy: It’s not enough to update voting machines. Pa. needs to update its election law, too
Will Bunch: Emboldened Trump hopes a cruel border crisis will get him reelected in 2020
Keith C. Burris: To serve, protect and take care
Laura Perna and Jeremy Wright-Kim: Net price calculators were supposed to make it easier to understand the cost of college. It’s not working
Tony Norman: Sign of the times
Abraham Gutman: The War on Drugs is over. Long live the War on Drugs
Robert Rector: Encouraging work lifts people out of poverty. The Green New Deal won’t do that.
Maria Panaritis: Anger, Insults and Offense: Trump has turned even a Collegeville, Pa., bookstore into a battlefield
Brian O’Neill: Taking small bites out of Pittsburgh’s carbon footprint
Marty Irby: Penn National, Pa.’s congressional delegation need to get behind this horseracing industry reform
Shauna M. MacDonald: Women’s history should not be limited to ‘personal’ histories
Trudy Rubin: NATO celebrates 70th birthday, ponders uncertain future
Signe Wilkinson: Detecting school metal detectors
David M. Shribman: From Hawaii to New Hampshire
Tim Hartman: Cut cash assistance for the needy? What’s the worst that could happen? | Editorial Cartoon
Signe Wilkinson: Political cartoon: Dr. Trump will see you now