Let’s Start a New Week. Thanks March. It’s been fun.

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Your Morning Pick-Me-Up. What I Like About You. The Romantics. This one will get you started on a Monday

PA Weather
Tire Hill | Showers, 69
Troy | Afternoon Showers, 71
Trumbauersville | Afternoon Showers, 71

PA Sports
Phillies (2-1) | Washington 11-6, 1-5 | Mon vs. Colorado
Pirates (1-3) | Miami 4-3, 4-5, 2-3 | Mon vs. Tampa Bay
Flyers (30-36-9) | Buffalo 7-4 | Mon vs. Nashville
Penguins (30-34-11) | Ottawa 1-0 (OT) | Thu vs. St. Louis
Sixers (23-52) | Miami 95-118 | Toronto 109-127 | Tue vs. New York
Union (4-0-2) | Inter Miami 1-2 | Sat vs. Orlando City

What’s Happening Today. The Senate convenes at 1 p.m.

What We’re Hearing. “We have chased them around town, moved this event each time they moved the event and they finally canceled,” Tracy Baton, director of Indivisible Pittsburgh, said about the postponed Fetterman-McCormick joint gathering. “And they canceled because they aren’t willing to stand up to their constituents. … You can hear the people behind us chanting, ‘Liar, liar.’ They know when they’ve been lied to.”

Happy Birthday. Cake and candles for Sen. Joe Pittman and Rep. Bridget Kosierowski. 

Social Media. Join us on Twitter and Bluesky at @PoliticsPA

Top Story

1. Voter Discontent Hits Home as Fetterman and McCormick Face Calls For More Accessibility

“Mozart. Handel. Schubert. Beethoven. For almost 10 minutes the classical hits kept coming. Then a click.

“Sen. Fetterman’s office.”

This marked the first time Pittsburgher Maya Fischhoff had gotten through to a human.

She told the Post-Gazette she’s been calling her federal representatives regularly “because of the chaos in Washington,” with almost no one ever picking up for Democratic Sen. John Fetterman or Republican Sen. Dave McCormick. Staffers for Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, consistently answer the phone and address her concerns, she said.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Elsewhere

PA Rep. Chrissy Houlahan Calls Signal Chat Leak “A Violation of Security Protocol,” Urges Investigation. “Representative is sounding the alarm over a leaked chats involving senior Trump administration officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and VP J.D. Vance.” (WHYY)

McCormick Emerges As Vocal Advocate For Jewish Voters in the Senate. “Sen. Dave McCormick is planning to visit Israel as part of a congressional delegation sometime in late May, he revealed to Jewish Insider. The freshman senator announced his plans when he sat down with JI in his Senate office late last week for a wide-ranging discussion about his first few months in office.” (Jewish Insider)

How Will Switch to All-Digital Social Security Payments Affect Pennsylvanians? “The order, Modernizing Payments To and From America’s Bank Account, states that the government by Sept. 30 will no longer mail out paper checks to Social Security recipients.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

State

2. GOP Jitters? Democrats Seek Glimmer of Hope in Special Elections: 5 Takeaways

“What’s there to be nervous about?

Donald Trump and his Republican allies have largely had their way since returning to power, but there are reported jitters as Democrats are hoping to find a chink or two in his armor through a handful of upcoming special elections across the country that could either extend or halt the president’s winning streak.

Part of what has cheered Democrats up as of late were a pair of March victories in two Pennsylvania state legislative races that restored their majority in the statehouse and delivered a major upset in a district Trump won comfortably last fall.” (USA Today)

Elsewhere

PA’s Unemployment Rate Remains Steady at 3.8 Percent in February. “Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was unchanged over the month at 3.8 percent in February. The Commonwealth’s rate remained below the U.S. unemployment rate which rose one-tenth of a percentage point over the month to 4.1 percent.” (PoliticsPA)

Trial Will Determine Who Will Pay $600 Million Settlement in Disastrous Norfolk Southern Derailment. “Norfolk Southern wants two other companies to help pay for the $600 million class-action settlement it agreed to over its disastrous 2023 train derailment near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border and the toxic chemicals that were released and burned.” (AP)

Warehouses Have Become PA’s Biggest Cash Crop – For Better and Worse. “In a state known for its dense forests and abundant farmland, another topographical feature is increasingly visible nowadays: warehouses.” (City & State)

How Stressed is PA? A Study Found Out. “WalletHub researchers were able to determine the general stress levels of each state by grading them across four key categories: “Work-Related Stress,” “Money-Related Stress;” “Family-Related Stress” and “Health- & Safety-Related Stress.”” (PennLive)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Erie County Council, In Override Vote, Reaffirms That County Resources Be Free of Politics

“Erie County Council has reaffirmed that official county resources, including social media accounts, cannot be used for political purposes or partisan attacks.

In a 7-0 vote Tuesday, council overrode Executive Brenton Davis’s veto of an ordinance that limits the use of county resources to official government business, public service announcements and community information.” (Erie Times-News)

Elsewhere

How Much Could Philly Lose If Trump Cuts Funding to Cities? “Philadelphia received $2.2 billion from the federal government in the last full budget year, and a vast majority of the aid funded health and social services programs for the city’s most vulnerable residents, illustrating the stakes as President Donald Trump has threatened to cut aid to cities.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Pittsburgh Mayor Gainey Seeks to Enhance Anti-Discrimination Housing Protections. “Executive orders are more typically associated with the federal government — and recently, with the extensive changes being made to it by President Donald Trump. But on Friday, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey signed two executive orders of his own — which he says will enshrine housing discrimination protections in city policy. Part of the goal is to blunt the impact of Trump’s own actions.” (WESA)

Democrats Are Only Ones on Ballot For Allentown Mayor in Primary Election. “The primary election has taken on greater stakes in the city mayor’s race. Republican Solomon Tembo withdrew his nomination petition this week, leaving Democrats Ed Zucal and Matt Tuerk as the only ones on the ballot.” (LehighValleyNews)

Editorial

4. Speak Your Mind

• Focus! Trump World’s Distractions Are Accelerating Democracy’s Demise. (Helen Ubiñas) 
• Donald Trump Loves the Melting Pot, and Doesn’t Like Diversity. (Jay Wissot)
• Recreational Marijuana Is Not the Answer to PA’s Long-Term Budget Woes. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Driving Home the Impact of Auto Tariffs. (Greensburg Tribune-Review)
• Americans May Reject Trump’s Chaos Sooner Than You Think. (Mark S. Singel)
• Congress Must Investigate How National Security Officials Got Their Signals Crossed. (John A. Tures)
• Pennsylvania’s Nursing Homes Will Not Survive Without Medicaid. (Matthew Yarnell)
• Lessons to Learn From the Seismic Pennsylvania Senate 36th District Special Election. (LNP)
• Lessons from the Lancaster Co. Special Election. (Guy Ciarrocchi)
• Really Want to Make DOGE Last? Ban Government Employee Unions, Collective Bargaining. (David Mastio)
• Larry Krasner Breaks Godwin’s Law. (Seth Higgins)

1 Jobs Thing

5. QVC Group layoffs hit 900 employees ahead of HSN consolidation in West Chester

“QVC Group is laying off roughly 900 employees as part of a broader reorganization that includes the relocation of its HSN operations from Florida to the company’s West Chester headquarters campus.

The layoffs will include employees at HSN, QVC U.S. and the company’s global shared services division. Based on the companywide headcount of roughly 17,000 reported in QVC Group’s 2024 annual report, the job cuts represent about a 5% reduction in workforce.” (Philadelphia Business Journal)

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