Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-Montgomery) and Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Delaware) make a surprise visit to tour the Berks County Detention Center. Here is the Playbook.
July 19th Ups & Downs: The State Supreme Court rules in favor of a Pittsburgh paid leave law, a Congressman garners national headlines while defending President Trump in a House vote, and the Pennsylvania news industry takes a hit. All of that and more are in this week’s Ups and Downs.
Harrisburg & DC
WITF: Two Pa. Democrats make surprise visit to Berks immigrant detention facility
KDKA: Sen. Bob Casey Joins Senate Delegation Visiting Border Facilities
Post-Gazette: Democratic senators tour immigrant holding facilities
AP: Mayor reverses course, will allow LGBTQ rainbow flag to fly
AP: Ruling keeps alive Abu-Jamal’s lawsuit over hepatitis drugs
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Dean, Scanlon make unannounced tour of Berks Detention Center, call for more humane treatment of migrants
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Pennsylvania has a ‘patchwork’ of local policies for storing rape kits and collecting anonymous evidence. A new law could change that
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Pa. Rep. Mike Doyle wants 2020 Dems to talk about more than Trump
PLSReporter: House Republicans eye homeschooling exemption for newly altered compulsory school age
PLSReporter: Right 2 Know Episode 15: Sit down with Rep. Todd Stephens
PLSReporter: Did You Get The Memo? A heartbeat abortion ban, criminal records and lemonade stands
PLSReporter: Tweets of the Week – July 15, 2019
StateImpactPA: Report: Without bold climate action, deadly heat waves in store for Pennsylvania
StateImpactPA: Risk plan for Philly refinery shows a hydrogen fluoride release could have been disastrous. Some say the toxic chemical is too dangerous to keep using
StateImpactPA: Extreme weather causes fumes to escape fire-stricken PES refinery
Altoona Mirror: Trump falters in state but keeps electoral edge
LNP | LancasterOnline: Legislators in State Capitol spend $10 million for communications, ‘news’ broadcasts
Patriot News: Could Pa. be the next state to raise the age to buy tobacco products to 21?
Patriot News: Opioid pills flowed into Pa. by the billions as deaths rose — which communities received the most?
Patriot News: Gov. Tom Wolf orders flags lowered in tribute to retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
Philadelphia
WHYY Newsworks: Philly vows to fight commercial property owners over $48 million reassessment ruling
Inquirer: For Drexel, Hahnemann closure was ‘a crisis thrown on our doorstep’
Inquirer: Philly city employees: Paycheck problems still abound amid search for solutions
Inquirer: Philly Puerto Ricans rally to demand Gov. Ricardo Rosselló’s resignation after leaked derogatory messages, corruption scandals
Inquirer: On a sweltering National Ice Cream Day, Philadelphians weigh in on the city’s new anti-sugar education campaign
Philadelphia Magazine: Philly’s Heat Warning System Saved 45 Lives Last Year
Philadelphia Magazine: City Says Not to Be Concerned About the Weather-Related “Odor” at PES Refinery
KYW Newsradio: Philly’s free summer sleep-away camp for kids gets funding from controversial labor leader
KYW Newsradio: City extends helping hand to small businesses that might otherwise get overlooked
KYW Newsradio: Judge orders Philly to repay millions for incorrectly taxing commercial properties
KYW Newsradio: Grant from Pennsylvania attorney general to educate women on dangers of illegal guns
Philadelphia Business Journal: Newspaper merger would impact Phila. market
Philadelphia Business Journal: Career fair to aid displaced Hahnemann workers set for next week
Billy Penn: Heat wave response: Philly’s quadrupling homeless outreach for Code Red
SEPA
Pottstown Mercury: Democratic reps make surprise visit to Berks County Residential Center
Daily Local News: Val DiGiorgio now out at law firm
Daily Local News: Houlahan leads 50 members of Congress in urging better breast cancer screening
Daily Local News: Houlahan votes to pass Tax Repeal Act
Daily Local News: Parkesburg police to roll out body-worn cameras this fall
Daily Local News: Confrontations between motorists and cyclists on the rise in Chester County
Inquirer: For more than 30 years, an elephant walked in a Delco parade. Then animal rights activists took notice.
Inquirer: After a bombshell corruption scandal, Lower Southampton grapples with restoring faith in government
Philadelphia Business Journal: With plastic bag ban vote, Chesco borough challenges state legislation
Bucks County Courier Times: Dean, Scanlon make surprise visit to Berks County ICE detention center
Bucks Local News: Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate holding steady at 3.8 percent; lowest since 1976
Pittsburgh
WESA: County Republicans Pick DeMarco As New Chair
Post-Gazette: Allegheny County GOP elects county Councilman Sam DeMarco as chairman
Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh VA ‘all-hands-on-deck’ effort tries to end hospital supply shortages
Post-Gazette: Diocese says finances, attendance down in wake of abuse crisis
Post-Gazette: Port Authority construction will disrupt thousands of bus, light rail commuters for a month
Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh, agencies to study future of Downtown streets
Tribune Review: DirecTV drops KDKA due to contract stalemate with CBS
KDKA: Republican Committee Of Allegheny County Elects New Chairman
City Paper: What’s the status of Pittsburgh’s Bus Rapid Transit line?
Inquirer: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to cut print edition to 3 days
Pittsburgh Business Times: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cutting two additional circulation days, transitioning to digital only
SWPA
Altoona Mirror: Joyce, Thompson vote no to raise
Altoona Mirror: Rules leave sour taste
Altoona Mirror: District may arm trained civilians
Altoona Mirror: After complaint, city outlines code process
Altoona Mirror: Session offers scam protection tips
Altoona Mirror: Water Authority takes step toward digester plan
Beaver County Times: Report: Closing nuke plants will cost lives, money
Beaver County Times: More than 40 million prescription opioid pills distributed in Beaver County
Observer-Reporter: State System freezes tuition at Cal U, other public universities
Johnstown Tribune-Democrat: Law change bars schools from arming teachers, Wolf says
Johnstown Tribune-Democrat: WATCH VIDEO | Sidman neighbors blast rehabilitation center plans
Johnstown Tribune-Democrat: Wolf: Change bars schools from arming teachers
NEPA
Times-Tribune: Rise and fall of Courtright surprises friends, colleagues
Citizens Voice: Moving methane: What route will liquefied natural gas take in NEPA?
Citizens Voice: In opioid epidemic’s early days, county pharmacies were flooded with pain pills
Citizens Voice: Keystone games expected to boost area’s economy
The Times Leader: Luzerne County Council to weigh in on Geisinger’s borrowing plan
The Times Leader: Luzerne County pension fund on a roll
The Times Leader: Latest Luzerne County hirings released
The Times Leader: Leaders statewide join Wolf to call for statewide broadband access
The Times Leader: Wilkes-Barre city council handles packed agenda
South Central
LNP | LancasterOnline: Legislators in State Capitol spend $10 million for communications, ‘news’ broadcasts
Patriot News: Could Pa. be the next state to raise the age to buy tobacco products to 21?
Patriot News: Prisoners go without air conditioning in Camp Hill during central Pa. heat wave
Patriot News: Opioid pills flowed into Pa. by the billions as deaths rose — which communities received the most?
Patriot News: Gov. Tom Wolf orders flags lowered in tribute to retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens
Lehigh Valley
Express Times: How they voted: Lehigh Valley lawmakers back $15 minimum wage
Reading Eagle: Reading mayor reverses course, will allow pride flag to fly at City Hall
Reading Eagle: Congresswomen make surprise visit to Berks County Residential Center
Reading Eagle: Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and City Council lend their voices to Reading Pride Celebration
Reading Eagle: The Rundown: Sen. Judy Schwank seeks to give municipalities clear authority to regulate use of fireworks
Reading Eagle: The Briefing: New number brings foster care crisis into focus
Morning Call: As pensions fail, Congress ponders, and career savings evaporate
Morning Call: Preserve farmland, but which kind? Lehigh County commissioners exchange ideas during planning session
Morning Call: David Howells, a ‘larger than life’ former Allentown councilman and police chief, dies on 85th birthday
Morning Call: EPA raises concern about elevated cancer risk for people living around B. Braun plant near Allentown
North by Northwest
Erie Times-News: How Erie-area legislators voted, week ending July 19
Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Poor 2020 census response would hurt county
Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Everett talks education
Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Funding secured for wastewater work
PLSReporter: Following appropriation increase, Penn State freezes tuition for second-straight year
Opinion
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Background check flops: Acosta, Shanahan cases reflect poor vetting
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: One-man show: Why does county council give Fitzgerald free rein?
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Tackle the crime: A civic leader’s plea requires immediate attention
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Help small parks, too
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Slow it down
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: East End champion
Inquirer Editorial Board: Study on gentrification’s benefits for long-time residents is surprising and useful
Inquirer Staff: Should Pennsylvania trade the Keystone Exams for the SAT? Pro/Con
Keith C. Burris: How Trump splits the right
John L. Micek: Beyond ‘Send her back:’ How the Dems are tying the GOP to other hurtful Trump policies | Friday Morning Coffee
Tony Norman: Calvin Hall: An officer, a gentleman and a peacemaker
Kristen A. Graham: Busing made my Philly public school diverse, which made me a better person | Perspective
Ira Bedzow & Stacy Gallin: Why it’s more important than ever to teach Holocaust education in our schools
Tim Hartman: So about those enormous gambling profits … | Editorial Cartoon
Trudy Rubin: A free press can never be taken for granted, even under democratic rule
Nick Anspach: What Trump really means when he says ‘America First’
Karen Kane: Nothing to correct, Mr. Mayor
JD Mullane: America has grown soft since Apollo
David M. Shribman: Why walking on the moon meant so much
Abby Schrader: Most of my family was wiped out by the Nazis. There’s no ‘first place’ in persecution
Will Bunch: I can’t stop thinking about the little girl behind Trump and the hate she’s being taught
Signe Wilkinson: Political Cartoon: Mars Border Control
Maria Panaritis: On Apollo 11 moon landing anniversary, an astronaut and a farmer meet on a Pa. cornfield of dreams
Stephen K. Medvic: Trump’s tweets belong to a vile American tradition
William K. Marimow: Apollo 11 anniversary: A small step for man, and a giant leap for patriotism | Perspective
Ruth Ann Dailey: Holding the tension
Bill O’Boyle: Beyond the Byline: Should we storm the DPW?
Chip Minemyer: As Trump rages, local GOP reps duck and Cambria chief searches for ‘middle ground’
Chris Kelly: Tick talk
One Response
Congrats to Cong Dean and Cong Scanlon for keeping the bureaucracy on its toes with their inspection. This is needed for democracy.