🌉 Hello, It’s Tuesday. The Francis Scott Key Bridge over Baltimore Harbor was struck by a barge and collapsed early this morning.

PA Weather
☂️ Saegertown | Showers, 53
☁️ Bedford | Mostly Cloudy, 53
⛅ Saylorsburg | Becoming Cloudy, 48

PA Sports
🏀 Sixers (39-33) | Sacramento 96-108 | Wed vs. LA Clippers
🏒 Flyers (36-27-9) | Tue vs. NY Rangers
🏒 Penguins (30-30-10) | Tue vs. Carolina

What We’re Hearing
The Forward Party will announce Eric Settle and Chris Foster as its candidates for PA Attorney General and State Treasurer this morning.

Pennsylvania Political Headlines In Your Inbox Daily
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Top Story

1. Who is Jeff Yass, Pennsylvania’s Republican Megadonor and TikTok Investor?

“Philly-area billionaire Jeff Yass is again making headlines. This time, the deep-pocketed GOP donor has drawn attention for his investment in a company that merged with Truth Social, and his financial interest in TikTok.

Jeff Yass, 65, is the richest man in Pennsylvania. He lives in the Philly suburbs and has been a prominent local and national campaign donor, often to Republicans in recent years. He pours money into politics in Philadelphia and across the country, and while his candidates of choice have often been unsuccessful, his spending power could have implications in this year’s presidential election.

Yass was an early investor in the China-based start-up that created and runs TikTok, giving him a big stake in what’s now one of the world’s most valuable social media apps — and in Congress’ attempt to either ban TikTok or end its ties to China.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Related

Biden’s Climate Law Is Fueling A Quiet Competition Among Democratic Governors. “Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is pitching a plan to cut industrial pollution without relying on his Republican-controlled state Senate. Ambitious Democratic governors across the country are rolling out climate plans under a little-known program in the Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s signature climate law.” (POLITICO)

McCormick Hits The Mat With First Ad In Pennsylvania Senate Race. “Republican David McCormick is launching one of the first general election Senate ads of 2024, with a biographical spot that focuses on the glory and grit of high school wrestling in Pennsylvania.” (Axios)

PA-10: ​​Democratic Congressional Candidates Sell Electability, Contrasts With Perry In Latest Forum. “With one month left before election day and mail-in balloting starting, the six candidates for the Democratic nomination in Pennsylvania’s 10th congressional district worked overtime Monday to win the electability argument.” (PennLive)

Republicans Take On Ballot Harvesting, Drop Boxes But Legally Using Them In 2024 Election Cycle. “As Alabama has banned ballot harvesting and Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania are fighting ballot drop boxes, GOP campaign efforts are using those same tools where legal.” (JustTheNews)

State

2. PA Lawmakers Want State-Owned Devices Kept Free Of TikTok

“The state House on Monday advanced a bill that would ban the Chinese-owned video app TikTok from state-owned devices, but expanded its wording to cover not just TikTok but any app controlled by a “foreign adversary.”

More than 30 states already have banned the placement on state devices of TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. In Pennsylvania, the bill calling for a ban — only affecting state devices, and not those used by the general public — was introduced by Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill and was approved unanimously in the Senate more than a year ago.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Related

House To Utilize Discharge Resolution Process to Advance Voter ID Amendment. “With the inability to get a bill out of the State Government Committee as the minority party, House Republicans will play another card in hopes of advancing a voter ID constitutional amendment.” (PoliticsPA)

Two of Shapiro’s Clean Energy Sources In New Power Plan Unlikely To Arrive By 2035 Deadline. “Two of those sources — small modular nuclear reactors, and fusion reactors — still appear to be struggling to become commercially viable, raising serious questions as to whether those technologies could play a legitimate role in the state by the 2035 goal — a mere eleven years away.” (Broad + Liberty)

PA Election 2024: Your Guide To The Primary Candidates For Treasurer. “The state treasurer is one of three elected row officers in the commonwealth, and plays a crucial role in managing state dollars. They can serve a maximum of two four-year terms.” (Spotlight PA)

Forward Party To Announce Attorney General, State Treasurer Candidates Tuesday. “The Pennsylvania Forward Party has a big day scheduled for Tuesday with events around the Commonwealth to introduce its candidates for Attorney General and State Treasurer.” (PoliticsPA)

The 2024 PA Primary Voters Guide. “This guide provides key points for contested races in the Philadelphia region.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Around The Commonwealth

3. ‘Many Jewish Voters Will Be Impacted’ As PA Primary Falls On Passover

“Many of Pittsburgh Jewish residents may need to take advantage of mail-in ballots because the April 23 primary is also the first day of Passover.

There are nearly 50,000 Jews in Allegheny County. The holiday falls on Election Day, and will prevent some of them from going to the polls, according to Laura Cherner, director of community relations for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.” (Tribune-Review)

Related

The Unusual Primary Election In Northeast Philly Will Decide Who Controls The PA House. “Two politically powerful families — the Doughertys and the Boyles — clash in a race to represent the Far Northeast.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

HD-92: State House GOP Primary In Northern York Focuses On School Choice. ““A lot of parents are upset about what they believe is being taught in the schools and they want the ability to move their kids based on that,” says Chris Wyatt, one of five Republicans running to replace Rep. Dawn Keefer in the 92nd District.” (PennLive)

Feds Send $90M For Largest Pennsylvania Solar Project Yet. “The project, in Clearfield County, will be almost twice as big as the large solar project in operation, estimated to produce more than 400 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 70,000 homes.” (The Center Square)

Pennsylvania Sports Betting Handle, Revenue, Tax Bill Down Substantially in February. “Pennsylvania is a competitive sports betting state, and the relatively new operators have to face not just the giants of FanDuel and DraftKings but also a handful of lesser known sportsbooks who have built a reliable customer base. That being said, in the quieter sports betting months (like February), everyone deals with a weaker market.” (Covers)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• We’ve Got The Funding For Public Schools The State Constitution Requires. (Laura Boyce)
• Why Chuck Todd’s Scorcher Against NBC Matters. (Jack Shafer)
• Some Ancient Greek Wisdom On Why America Shouldn’t Ban Tiktok. (David Ottlinger)
• The Administrative State Faces a Reckoning. (Jerry Shenk)
• Shapiro’s Senseless Expansion of Alternative Energy. (Gordon Tomb)
• Elephant In The Room — Pittsburgh’s ‘Big 5’ Nonprofits Pay $0 In Property Taxes. (Alex Wallach-Hanson and Dr. Stephen Herzenberg)

1 Thing

5. Is This Kiss More Than Just A Kiss?

“The Hershey’s Kiss is the original individually wrapped and portion-controlled chocolate confection. More than 70 million of them are produced daily in Pennsylvania. And the tiny sweet treat has been around for more than 125 years and is sold in a variety of flavors and sizes.

That’s why state Rep. Tom Mehaffie, whose Dauphin County district includes Hershey’s corporate headquarters, said the iconic Kiss deserves the distinction of being named the commonwealth’s official state candy.” (PennLive)

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