Though he once swore to a swooning Dublin crowd that he returned to Ireland “to find the apostrophe we lost somewhere along the way,” President Obama apparently isn’t too fond of Congressman Mike Kelly’s (Pa-3) alleged Knute Rockne-esque moment this week.

Pennsylvanians engaged in the battle to ban bath salts scored another victory on Thursday, as the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Combating Dangerous Synthetic Drugs Act and the Dangerous Synthetic Drug Control Act, both of which were co-sponsored by Senator Bob Casey.

A seesaw week for many Keystone State politicos this time around — from the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission to liquor privatization…not to mention PoliticsPA co-owner Larry Ceisler’s inner turmoil over choosing between the Phillies and the Pirates this weekend.

We continue our regular feature at PoliticsPA, Chief of Staff Spotlight. This week, we sit down with Rep. Mike Kelly’s Chief of Staff Karen Czarnecki.

Sens. Casey & Toomey came together to support judicial nominees, Turzai defends his liquor store plan, State Rep. Santarsiero hosts a Marcellus Shale hearing and Phillies or Pirates?

On Wednesday, Pennsylvania House Majority Leader Turzai testified at a public hearing on his proposed liquor store privatization bill.

At issue during the hearing, held in Newtown, Bucks County, was the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission report released last week. The hearing hosted a plethora of attendees, including state representatives from Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware and Lancaster counties and roughly 30 public attendees.

PoliticsPA co-owner and longtime public affairs strategist Larry Ceisler — a Western Pennsylvania native living and working in Philadelphia — contemplates the issue that is suddenly defining a busy summer. Who to root for this weekend, the Phillies or the Pirates?

The Senate Judiciary Committee has unanimously approved three U.S. district judge nominees from western Pa. These nominees were first nominated last year by the president and were then re-nominated in January. The names are: Robert D. Mariani, nominee for U.S. district judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, and Cathy Bissoon and Mark R. Hornack.

Rep. Pitts donated some campaign contributions, bonusgate is back in the news and the UFCW is rallying opposition to Turzai’s liquor store plan.