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What We’re Hearing
“There’s really significant repercussions nationally in terms of access to reproductive care if Pennsylvania were to limit it.” – J.J. Abbott

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Top Story

1. The Next Big Abortion Battleground: Pennsylvania

Less than a month after their double-digit victory on abortion rights in Ohio, Democrats are preparing to pour millions of dollars into the next big battlefront over the hot-button policy.

Across the border in Pennsylvania, a seat on the state Supreme Court is up for grabs this November, and a Democrat who has vowed to protect “women’s reproductive rights” is running against a Republican who’s promised to defend “all life under the law.”

The major showdown over a state Supreme Court seat signals that these once little-noticed elections have become expensive, high-stakes affairs after the fall of Roe v. Wade last year.” (POLITICO)

Related

Biden Is ‘Old,’ Trump Is ‘Corrupt’: AP-NORC Poll Has Ominous Signs For Both In Possible 2024 Rematch. “Unflattering portraits of both emerge clearly in a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which asked an open-ended question about what comes to mind when people think of them.” (AP)

Democrats Stress Need To Appeal To Black Voters: ‘We Have To Be Very Clear About The Barrier’ “While President Biden has since touted major improvements for the Black community specifically, a divided Capitol Hill has put critical legislation at a standstill. And strategists now say Democrats need to show those same voters what the administration has done for them or risk low turnout numbers in November.” (The Hill)

State

2. PA Senate May Hold First August Floor Vote In 7 Years In Attempt To Wrap Up Budget

“The state Senate is scheduled to convene for an unusual late-August session on Wednesday — possibly taking its first August floor vote in seven years — in hopes of plugging in the pieces missing from the fiscal 2024 budget.

Some of those include $100 million in Level Up program funding for financially strapped school districts; $10 million for a new student teacher stipend program; $50 million for hospital and health system emergency relief; and $50 million for the Whole-Home Repairs program.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Related

In-State Tuition Discount Still In Limbo After Month-Long Impasse. “Every summer, a familiar tradition takes place in Harrisburg, Pa. Before a new fiscal year begins every July 1, lawmakers meet in the commonwealth’s capitol to sign next fiscal year’s budget into law. For more than 50 years, this process has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to Pitt, money that is almost entirely used to provide a discounted tuition rate to in-state students.” (The Pitt News)

Gov. Josh Shapiro Refuses To Intervene On PA Police Officer Data Disclosure. “Pennsylvania will not release a state-maintained database of certified police officers, even after a national coalition of newsrooms asked Gov. Josh Shapiro to intervene.” (Spotlight PA)

Pennsylvania’s Health Care Costs Are Set To Change. A Look At Proposed Rates. “Pennsylvanians insured individually and through small-group markets can expect rates to increase by an average of 4.2 and 4.1%, respectively, in 2024.” (Erie Times-News)

All PA Public School Students Will Get Free Breakfast, But Some Districts Struggle With Low Participation. “A continuation of a federal pandemic program, universal free breakfast was a budget priority for Gov. Josh Shapiro. It is kicking off as students return to school.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Free Breakfast For All In PA Public Schools Makes Stigma Disappear. “Pennsylvania’s universal free breakfast program isn’t new: During the COVID-19 emergency, the federal government authorized schools to make free breakfast available to everyone, regardless of financial need.” (PennLive)

PA Republicans Are Slowly Learning To Embrace Mail-In Ballots. “Sam DeMarco, chairman of the Allegheny County Republican Committee, says he’s had to knock down countless “wackadoodle” conspiracy theories over the past few elections.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Union Leaders Defend Historic And Controversial PA State Employee Contracts. “Leaders of both unions see the 22.1 % pay increases when compounded over the life of the contracts – the most in at least 20 years – as not only beneficial to tens of thousands of employees but for the commonwealth in making state government work more attractive.” (PennLive)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Appellate Court Candidates Discuss Campaigns

“Eight candidates — five women and three men — for Pennsylvania appellate courts in the November election brought their campaigns to Crawford County on Friday.

The eight addressed members of the Crawford County Bar Association at a forum at The Country Club. Most of the candidates went to the Crawford County Fair to meet potential voters following the forum.” (Meadville Tribune)

Related

A Year After Kenyatta Johnson Stood Trial For Bribery, He’s Vying For City Council President. “Johnson’s high-profile legal troubles could have made him politically radioactive. But in some ways, he is more secure than ever.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Court Ruling On PA Education Funding Puts School Infrastructure In Spotlight. “As residents of Hempfield recently learned, the cost associated with school building projects can easily climb above $100 million. For decades, school administrators could turn to what was known as PlanCon to pursue state funding to help ease the local burden.” (Tribune-Review)

PA Turnpike Begins Designing Long-Awaited Interchange Between Irwin And Monroeville. “The interchange is expected to be where the turnpike crosses Route 130, around milepost 63 and near Pleasant Valley Road, but the exact location hasn’t been determined yet. The agency announced last week that design work has begun and should last about two years.” (Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Wilkinsburg Moves A Step Closer to Home Rule. What’s Next? “A charter could go in many different directions, potentially altering the borough’s government structure from its current form, which includes a powerful borough council, a mayor with limited powers and a professional, appointed borough manager. ” (Public Source)

Elk Creek Township Wants Court’s Help To Deal With Thousands Of Dollars In Overpaid Taxes. “Elk Creek Township learned in 2018 that its newly resigned tax collector had taken in too much revenue. The problem has been figuring out who is owed what.” (Erie-Times-News)

Editorial

4. What They’re Saying

• My First Six Months As Speaker of the House. (Rep. Joanna McClinton)
• Journalism Fails Miserably At Explaining What Is Really Happening to America. (Will Bunch)
• Legal Scholars Say The 14th Amendment Bars Trump From Office. Here’s What History Says. (Joshua Zeitz)
• Do Values Matter To Lancaster County Republicans Anymore? How Are Conservative Values Defined In The Party Of Trump? (LNP)
• Everyone’s Tired of Politics. (Salena Zito)
• Right, Left, Populist, Progressive: They Need To Grow Up. (Keith C. Burris)
• The State Government Can Protect Children From Pornography. (Rep. Jim Gregory)
• PA Legislators Are Cutting The Heart and Soul Out of Education. (Jill Sunday Bartoli)
• Controversy Over Tennis Coach Should Compel PA Legislators To Protect LGBTQ+ People. (PennLive)
• Teaching Civility In Schools Will Re-Install An Attitude of Respect. (Lloyd E. Sheaffer)
• Rail Safety Legislation Derailed. (Pottsville Republican & Herald)

1 Thing

5. ‘I Have A Dream’ At 60

Today is the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s celebrated “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered on Aug. 28, 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. 

“Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

So even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”

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