🌬️  Good Morning, Thursday. Who turned on the wind machine?

🗞️  The PoliticsPA Playbook is written by Steve Ulrich. To read in your browser, click here. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe for free.

PA Weather
☃️ Meadville | Lake Effect Snow, 27
❄️ Bedford | Snow Showers, 26
🌤️ Lansdale | Becoming Sunny, 37

PA Sports
🏀 Sixers (5-15) | Orlando 102-106 | Fri vs. Orlando
🏒 Penguins (11-12-4) | Fri vs. NY Rangers
🏒 Flyers (12-10-3) | Thu vs. Florida

🔉  What We’re Hearing. Amtrak ridership for the Keystone and Pennsylvanian trains are up 13.7% and 21.4%, respectively, in FY24.

📅  What’s Happening. Here is an updated list of events happening at the 2024 Pennsylvania Society this weekend in New York City.

🎂  Happy (Belated) Birthday. Cake and candles for Sen. Camera Bartolotta.

📱  Social Media. PoliticsPA has a number of social media outlets for you to get the latest political news from around the Commonwealth: Twitter | Bluesky | Facebook | LinkedIn

Top Story

1. PA’s Political Elite Are Going to the Same Hotel Where UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Was Killed

“Pennsylvania’s political elite, including Gov. Josh Shapiro, are flocking to New York City this weekend to the same hotel where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot.

This weekend is the 126th Pennsylvania Society dinner at the Hilton Midtown in Manhattan, the annual getaway to New York City for Pennsylvania politicians and policymakers from both parties to spend time outside the politically divided state, where no one has home-field advantage.

Saturday’s Pennsylvania Society dinner will be held as planned, Heather Greenleaf said. The event already had heightened security measures announced earlier this year, including bag restrictions.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Elsewhere

Schmidt Certifies Results of 2024 Election in Pennsylvania. “According to the DOS, statewide turnout for the election was nearly 77%, with more than 7 million Pennsylvania registered voters casting a ballot.” (Penn Capital-Star)

Freshman Focus: Republican Rob Bresnahan, Who Ousted Six-Term House Democrat, Reveals How He Did It. “Voters in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District gave six-term incumbent Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., the boot last month in favor of a young, energetic and successful businessman who says he’s ready to defend their interests in the nation’s capital.” (Fox News)

Trump Picks Lehigh Valley’s Jared Isaacman to Lead NASA. “Isaacman, the 41-year-old CEO and founder of Upper Saucon Township-based credit card processing company Shift4, has been a close collaborator with Elon Musk ever since buying his first chartered flight with Musk’s SpaceX.” (LehighValleyNews.com)

State

2. Incoming PA Attorney General Dave Sunday Says He Wants to ‘Make Pittsburgh Safer’

“As Dave Sunday moves through his transition from York County district attorney to Pennsylvania attorney general, Pittsburgh’s issues with violent crime, overdoses and homelessness occupy a spot on his radar screen.

That much was evident in a Post-Gazette interview Monday with Mr. Sunday, a Republican who is a father, Navy veteran, and longtime prosecutor. Mr. Sunday spoke on a half-dozen or so topics — including illegal immigration, a meeting with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, and artificial intelligence — but made clear he is not yet privy to details on the operations of the office. He will be sworn in Jan. 21.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Elsewhere

SEPTA Bailout Approved by Commission. “Signed, sealed and delivered. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) approved the transfer of $153 million in federal highway capital funds to Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) on Wednesday.” (PoliticsPA)

Weilheimer Confirmed as U.S. District Court Judge for Eastern District of PA. “Gail Weilheimer has been a judge on the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas in Norristown, Pennsylvania since 2014.” (PoliticsPA)

PA Politicos Are Flocking to Bluesky – Here’s Who to Follow. “Following the general election, Democratic lawmakers and other left-leaning posters have left X for the social media app Bluesky.” (City & State)

PA House Rep. Dan Miller Announces Bid For Allegheny County Judge. “With the 2024 presidential election out of the way, voters in Allegheny County can finally focus on the races that really draw the public’s attention: Common Pleas Court judgeships.” (WESA)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Mayor Parker Faces Pressure to Reassert Philly’s Sanctuary Status as Trump Threatens Democratic Cities

“Days after a presidential election in which immigration became a flashpoint, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker passed on a chance to reassert Philadelphia’s status as a sanctuary city, a place that resists federal pressure to help deport immigrants.

And this week, her staff offered tepid answers to questions about her position on sanctuary policies.

That cautiousness has leaders in the city’s immigrant communities concerned.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Elsewhere

Pennsylvania Gun-Reform Group Hopes Takes Aim, Again, at ‘Glock Switch’ “When a suspect killed Brackenridge Police Chief Justin McIntire in January 2023, authorities said he used a converted pistol that could spray bullets at a rate of several hundred per second. That didn’t stop the state House from voting down a bill in May 2024 to ban the device that made the conversion possible.” (WESA)

Allentown City Council Votes to Temporarily Suspend Lawsuit Against Mayor Over Investigation Contract. “City Council in September sued Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk and finance director Bina Patel, alleging that the two city leaders were attempting to block an independent investigation into allegations of racism and discrimination among City Hall employees.” (Allentown Morning Call)

Delaware County Council Gets Earful From Residents on Proposed Nearly 24% Tax Increase. “The majority of public comments were about how council should reverse course on the tax increase. “You’ve created a fiscal mess,” she said. “The buck stops here and in council’s case, the buck stops with you.”” (Delco Times)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• Josh Shapiro for President? Don’t Forget PA’s Political Curse. (John Baer)
• What Bob Casey’s Departure Means for Pennsylvania’s Future. (Mustafa Rashad)
• McCormick Has Big Shoes to Fill. (Pete Sirianni)
• County Tax and Budget Compromise Heralds a New Era in Allegheny Government. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• The Trump Administration and Congress Will Consider Massive School Funding Cuts. Pennsylvanians Must Stop Them. (Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg)
• Joe Biden Failed the Nation. (David Mills)
• Why is Trump’s Opposition to U.S. Steel Sale a ‘Gut Punch?’ (Greensburg Tribune-Review)
• Swarthmore and the Urban Politics of SEPTA. (Daniel Perrin)

1 Thing

5. Think ‘Brain Rot’ Summed Up 2024? Oxford Agrees It Was the Word of the Year

“Many of us have felt it, and now it’s official: “Brain rot” is the Oxford dictionaries’ word of the year.

Oxford University Press said Monday that the evocative phrase “gained new prominence in 2024,” with its frequency of use increasing 230% from the year before.

Oxford defines brain rot as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.” (AP)

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