Former VP Joe Biden leads in the most recent Morning Call/Muhlenberg College Poll in Pennsylvania, while Sen. Bernie Sanders holds a rally in Pittsburgh over the weekend. Here is the Playbook.

April 12th Ups & Downs: The Allentown Morning Call is recognized for its coverage of the city’s federal corruption trial, Gov. Tom Wolf removes a board member on the Allegheny County Port Authority, and the new secretary of the state’s Board of Pardons captures headlines. All of that and more are in this week’s Ups and Downs.

Morning Call/Muhlenberg College Poll: Biden Holds Sizable Lead, Sanders in Second in PA Dem Primary: The former VP leads the next closest Democratic 2020 hopeful by 12 points, although 20% polled remain unsure of who to support in the primary.

Harrisburg & DC  
Washington Post: These women were elected as democratic socialists. Now they’re trying to figure out what that means.
Politico: When the GOP tried — and failed — to tag Democrats as socialists
AP: Sanders pitches a tougher line than Trump on GM closures
AP: Sanders promises to win back Midwest states Trump captured
AP: Prosecutor blocks gun law charges against Pittsburgh mayor
Morning Call: Joe Biden early top pick for Pennsylvania Democrats, Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll shows
Morning Call: Pennsylvania Democrats ready to back candidate who’ll beat Trump over one sharing their ideology, poll shows
WITF: Pa. Auditor General praises dwindling rape kit backlog
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: In Pa. Legislature, outlier gun bills attract outsized attention
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: How the Pa. General Assembly is trying to expand rights for crime victims
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Pa. AG Josh Shapiro and Sen. Lindsey Williams: ‘We’re trying to deliver concrete results’ on student loan debt
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Pa.’s congressional Dems don’t fare well on conservatives’ new legislative report card
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Centre County lawmaker calls for Pennsylvania to regulate herbal supplement kratom
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Advisory committee approves controversial emissions regulation offered by Wolf administration
Inquirer: At Wharton, ex-Fed boss Alan Greenspan, 93, urges more immigration and less Social Security, and laughs at Trump-style tariffs
PLSReporter: 5 bills to watch for the week of April 15  
PLSReporter: Did You Get The Memo? Proposals for a ban on kratom, school self-defense training and Right-to-Know reforms 
PLSReporter: Tweets of the Week – April 8, 2019
Patriot News: Pennsylvania plans to begin testing drinking water for PFAS toxins
StateImpactPA: DEP to begin statewide sampling for six PFAS chemicals
Beaver County Times: U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey pushing bills on Chinese fentanyl sanctions, small business investment

Philadelphia  
Billy Penn: Democratic party won’t endorse embattled sheriff, but your ward leader might
Inquirer: The Clintons visit The Met: A look back, with nods to the future
Inquirer: One year later: A timeline of controversy and progress since the Starbucks arrests seen ’round the world
Inquirer: At Wharton, ex-Fed boss Alan Greenspan, 93, urges more immigration and less Social Security, and laughs at Trump-style tariffs
KYW Newsradio: Judge denies DA’s motion for common pleas court judge to recuse himself from cases  
KYW Newsradio: Kenney calls WH plan to send immigrant detainees to sanctuary cities ‘mean-spirited’  
KYW Newsradio: Campaign finance reports for Philly’s primary election show incumbents with commanding fundraising lead  
PLSReporter: Philly Council hearing on medical marijuana dispensaries highlights needs for community involvement

SEPA
Bucks County Courier Times: Stephens bill targets gun suicide prevention
Daily Local News: Pa. Lt. Gov. Fetterman brings marijuana listening tour to Chester County
Daily Local News: Rep. Shusterman appointed to chair tourism committee
Daily Local News: Area reps vote to require insurers to cover treatment for Lyme disease
Delco Daily Times: State senators weigh in on latest push to expand help for victims of childhood sex abuse

Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette: Bernie Sanders caps battleground tour with criticism of Trump, vow to ‘bring people together’
Post-Gazette: Some Democrats beginning state campaigns for president
Post-Gazette: Pittsburgh controller launches comprehensive city spending website
Post-Gazette: Mayor working on nonprofit fund, but deal still out of reach for now
Post-Gazette: Gun-rights activists push for criminal charges against Pittsburgh officials
Post-Gazette: A key labor moment arrives at the University of Pittsburgh. Will grad assistants vote to join a union?
Tribune Review: Bernie Sanders brings his presidential campaign to Pittsburgh
Tribune Review: Hampton council set to rule on Windmont Farms Development
Tribune Review: Candidate night set for Murrysville, Franklin Regional primary races
Pittsburgh Business Times: UPMC fights back against attorney general’s attempt to extend consent decree
AP: Prosecutor blocks gun law charges against Pittsburgh mayor
WESA: Sen. Bernie Sanders Offers Familiar Message To Enthusiastic Supporters
KDKA: Gun Advocates Attempt To File Private Criminal Complaints Over New Gun Legislation
KDKA: Bernie Sanders Holds Campaign Rally In Schenley Plaza
KDKA: ‘$4 Billion Worth Of Extra Costs On The Backs Of Students’: AG Shapiro Talks Student Debt Crisis
KDKA: VIDEO: Second Body Cam Footage Released From Allegheny Co. Controller Chelsa Wagner Incident

SWPA  
Observer-Reporter: Vittone, Wolf, discuss efforts to combat opioid epidemic
Observer-Reporter: Area lawmakers still in listening mode as debate over legalizing recreational cannabis continues
Observer-Reporter: Legalizing adult recreational marijuana faces uphill battle
Observer-Reporter: Local recovery community weighs in on legalizing recreational cannabis
Beaver County Times: U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb releases report on first 100 days representing 17th District
Beaver County Times: Bernstine takes the baton from Christiana on reforming Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act
Beaver County Times: Teachers get $44,000 workplace grant
Altoona Mirror: Joyce heading to southern border  
Altoona Mirror: Panel passes Ward bill on wedding venues  
Altoona Mirror: City exploring options for septic system woes  
Altoona Mirror: Trump threats draw rebuke
Altoona Mirror: Council asked to match spay/neuter donation  
Altoona Mirror: HUD-funded projects proposed
Johnstown Tribune-Democrat: Chip Minemyer | Courting Pennsylvania: Presidential wannabes play political ‘Game of Thrones’   
Johnstown Tribune-Democrat: Burns introduces new military legislation   
Johnstown Tribune-Democrat: Commissioners OK tax appeals for cogen plants

NEPA
The Times Leader: AG highlights efforts to keep prescription drug costs under control
The Times Leader: Rep. Mullery takes his One.19 outreach to Newport Township
Times-Tribune: Voter registration deadline for primary April 22
Citizens Voice: Residency not a big issue for city union

South Central  
Patriot News: Candidates in contested central Pa. primary elections urged to fill out Voters Guide information
Patriot News: Harrisburg School District refuses to provide financial information to state auditors, education department says
Patriot News: Lt. Gov. John Fetterman toured Steelton
York Dispatch: Rep. Perry opens district office, moving in with familiar GOP face
York Dispatch: York College, Bar Association to host judicial candidate forum
Lehigh Valley   
Morning Call: Joe Biden early top pick for Pennsylvania Democrats, Morning Call/Muhlenberg College poll shows
Morning Call: Pennsylvania Democrats ready to back candidate who’ll beat Trump over one sharing their ideology, poll shows
Reading Eagle: Commissioner candidates discuss sustainable jobs, infrastructure, Berks County Residential Center
Reading Eagle: Campaign for free trade hits Reading, pushes for new international trade deal
Reading Eagle: Pa. ag secretary visits Oley Valley High School
Reading Eagle: Gov. Wolf names international student to Kutztown University Council of Trustees
Reading Eagle: Berks pro-life advocates gather for protest against Planned Parenthood
Express Times: It’s ranked as the nation’s biggest industrial project this year, and it’s happening in the Lehigh Valley

North by Northwest
Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Candidates talk issues at forum
Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Roundtable tackles business, rural broadband
Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Council hears update on East Third ‘Gateway’
Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Commissioners mull over $5.4 million landfill contract
Centre Daily Times: A Boalsburg woman died last year after taking kratom. Should it be banned in Pa.?
Centre Daily Times: What are the biggest hurdles to providing rural broadband? Regional leaders weigh in
Erie Times-News: Roll Call: How Erie-area legislators voted on key issues last week
Erie Times-News: Democratic Party recommends 6 City Council candidates
Erie Times-News: Lawyers rate Ridge, Smith highest in Erie judicial poll
Erie Times-News: Erie contingent heads to sister city Zibo in China
Erie Times-News: Curt Smith joins race for Harborcreek supervisor
Erie Times-News: Government meetings in Erie County, week of April 15

Opinion  
Inquirer Editorial Board: What’s at stake in judicial elections
Inquirer Editorial Board: Glen Mills lawsuit indicts many
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Illegal gun control: By flouting state law, city is helping the NRA
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Mayor Peduto, why the silence on UPMC?
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Take him to court: Chicago should force Jussie Smollett to cover police costs
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Promote transparency: Close loopholes in open records law
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Discrimination or elitism?: Retailers should be required to accept paper money
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: Scott Gottlieb’s good work: The new FDA chief must continue vaping vigilance
Madeleine Dean, Chrissy Houlahan, Mary Gay Scanlon, and Susan Wild: 100 Days into the new Congress, we’re bringing change to Washington
Jason Altmire: Medicare for all? Democrats need to focus on protecting Obamacare
John L. Micek: Bad news, Pa. Dems: The 2020 primary could be wrapped up way early | Friday Morning Coffee
John Baer: As the Democratic race for president cranks up, its moving parts could cause real angst
Trudy Rubin: Trump immigration disgrace: Not just at the border, but blocking legal arrivals, too
Brian O’Neill: Tapping into 21st-century populism
Colin McNickle: Sure, gambling’s a winner for the state. For Pennsylvanians? That’s money they could be spending elsewhere
Joel L. Naroff: Let’s talk about tariffs — who’s really paying and are they narrowing the trade gap?
12 of Pennsylvania’s large, urban school superintendents: We are 12 urban school superintendents: We need Harrisburg’s help to build the Pa. of the future
Tim Hartman: Mayor Peduto should have seen this one coming | Editorial Cartoon
Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad: A year after Starbucks arrests, Philly still needs a better response to racist surveillance
David M. Shribman: A profile in courage
Signe Wilkinson: Political cartoon: Big Weed weeds out the little guy
Aaron Renn: Philadelphia’s revival may not provide a playbook for other cities
Ashley Montague and Michael Row: Penn Book Center owners: We’re closing, and it’s a hard goodbye | Perspective
Paul Muschick: Here’s how to vote using Lehigh and Northampton county’s new machines
Marcella Lipski: Affordable summer camp a lifesaver for working parents
Maria Panaritis: King of Prussia Town Center is hip new city within a suburb. But with a parking problem. Oops!
Signe Wilkinson: Political Cartoon: Glen Mills clean up
Paul Muschick: What I saw yesterday should motivate everyone to vote
Tony Norman: Nipsey Hussle’s last hustle for peace
Keith C. Burris: Ernest “Fritz” Hollings was a geographic politician