AG Shapiro announced he has $10M on hand, and Summer Lee said she raised $124K on day one of her congressional campaign. Here is the Playbook.

News

‘Shapiro reports $10M in campaign cash for gubernatorial run’: The Associated Press reports that “the Democratic candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, has just over $10 million on hand in his campaign account ahead of next year’s election, his campaign said Wednesday.”

Lee Raises $124K in 24 hours: In the 24 hours following her Tuesday campaign launch, state Rep. Summer Lee announced that her congressional campaign raised $124,000. 

‘In downtown Scranton speech, Biden predicts prosperity if his agenda passes’: The Scranton Times-Tribune reports that “President Joe Biden returned to his native city for the first time as commander in chief Wednesday, predicting his agenda will create 2 million more jobs a year for the next two decades.”

‘Fight over Pa. school mask mandate gets a day in court’: PennLive reports that “a panel of judges on Wednesday heard arguments over Pennsylvania’s mandate that students and staff at all schools and daycares must wear faces masks intended to limit spread of COVID-19.”

‘Pa. Supreme Court allows lawsuits over local gun ordinances to move forward’: The Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports that “gun owners do not have to violate a local gun law to have legal standing to challenge its constitutionality in court, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.”

‘Pa. GOP lawmaker vowed transparency, but negotiations for election probe are private’: The Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports that “the Republican state senator leading the Pennsylvania election investigation promised a transparent process, but negotiations with potential vendors are happening behind closed doors.”

‘Sen. Jay Costa says he sees room for bipartisanship on some issues in the General Assembly’: WESA reports that “State Senator Jay Costa says legislative priorities include suite of hate crime bills, campaign finance reform and more.”

‘Pa. Senate panel vets proposed charter school regulations’: PennLive reports that “the Senate Education Committee has begun vetting Gov. Tom Wolf’s plans for more accountability and transparency in Pennsylvania’s charter schools.”

‘Pennsylvania school boards leave national group after it asks Biden for help with threats’: WESA reports that “the governing board of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association has voted unanimously to withdraw from its national counterpart, after the larger group requested federal help to address increasing harassment and threats of violence against school board members.”

‘Are you mailing your ballot? Here’s what to know about postage in Pennsylvania’: WESA reports on what Pennsylvania voters need to know about postage if they are mailing their ballot in for the upcoming election. 

‘PA Congress members join Shut Down Berks in letter demanding end to ICE contract at detention center’: AL DÍA reports that “On Friday, Oct. 1, a group of Pennsylvania Congress members sent a letter to President Biden and the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, urging them to immediately terminate the ICE contract held with the Berks County Residential Center.”

‘Rep. Scott Perry named in subpoena at center of Bannon’s contempt battle’: The Carlisle Sentinel reports that “Rep. Scott Perry is one of a handful of individuals mentioned by name in a subpoena of Stephen Bannon, who is expected to be held in contempt following a session Tuesday of the U.S. House of Representatives committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.”

‘Harrisburg hasn’t elected a Republican mayor in 40 years, but nontraditional candidate says it’s time’: PennLive reports that “the narrative for the Harrisburg mayor’s race this fall has been that it’s a rematch of the Democratic primary, with primary winner and City Council President Wanda Williams trying to stave off incumbent Mayor Eric Papenfuse’s write-in bid for a third-term. But there is another name on the ballot and candidate in the race, Republican Timothy Rowbottom and, armed with a Facebook page and a passion for door-to-campaigning, he is doing what he can to give the city’s voters a third choice.”

‘Pittsburgh General Election Guide 2021’: Pittsburgh City Paper provides an “Election Guide” that  “has side-by-side comparison charts for important challenges throughout the region.”

‘What are the statewide impacts of a plastic bag ban?’: City & State PA reports that “as Philadelphia begins to grapple with a plastic bag ban and other areas are gearing up toward having one in place, City & State spoke to some experts from a variety of sectors on the potential effects.”

‘Why Pa. representative’s retirement could change congressional maps’: KYW Newsradio reports that “a longtime western Pennsylvania congressman is retiring, a move that could affect the redrawing of congressional maps.”

‘Comcast deal takes center stage at Dougherty-Henon federal corruption trial’: KYW Newsradio reports that “Comcast’s 2015 franchise agreement with the City of Philadelphia took the spotlight Wednesday in the federal corruption trial of City Councilmember Bobby Henon and labor leader John Dougherty.”

‘Bettigole: Despite NYC’s move, Philadelphia not considering strict Covid-19 vaccine mandate for city workers’: The Philadelphia Business Journal reports that “the City of Philadelphia does not plan to follow New York’s lead in implementing a universal Covid-19 vaccine mandate for municipal workers, Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Cheryl Bettigole said Wednesday.”

‘SEPTA transit union tells members to be ready for a strike vote’: The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that “Transport Workers Union leader Willie Brown warned local members to stand by for a strike authorization vote Sunday in a videotaped update of contract negotiations with SEPTA as talks enter the final stretch.”

‘Philly principals demand more robust response to gun violence near schools’: WHYY reports that “the group urged city leaders to establish school safety zones in communities where violence is most concentrated, with a focus on protecting students during arrival and dismissal.”

‘Experts question the science of police union’s challenge to Allegheny County’s vaccine mandate’: WESA reports that “medical experts say a complaint filed last week by the union representing Allegheny County’s police force is full of false statements and gross misinterpretations of data.”

‘Peduto touts pension ‘milestone’ as City Council looks to improve benefits for nonunion employees’: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that “Mayor Bill Peduto’s term is in its final months, but his office is touting years of work that have delivered an “historic milestone” for the city’s pension fund — and this has City Council eyeing the progress as a step toward improving benefits payouts for some employees who don’t receive them in full.”

‘Pittsburgh City Council advances proposal to allow campaign funds to be used for some childcare’: The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that “a measure that would allow people running for elected office in the City of Pittsburgh to use campaign funds for certain childcare expenses was advanced by City Council on Wednesday.”

‘Inaugural Eradicate Hate summit ends with eyes toward the future’: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that “the inaugural Eradicate Hate Global Summit ended Wednesday after three days of forums that included more than 100 experts in extremism, speeches from leaders in a variety of fields and research presentations at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Downtown.”

‘Republicans, third party candidate challenge Democrats dominance of Lancaster city council’: LNP | LancasterOnline reports that “three Republicans and one independent candidate are running for Lancaster city council this year. Theirs are longshot bids in the county’s most populous municipality, where Democrats dominate the city’s elected offices thanks to an overwhelming voter registration margin.”

‘Pittsburgh City Council proposal would provide oversight of Stop the Violence Fund’: The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that “Pittsburgh’s Stop the Violence Fund would be required to spend at least 80% of its money on community-based, non-government organizations under a proposal discussed Wednesday by City Council.”

‘Proposal requiring Pittsburgh police to share race, gender data for incidents moves forward’: The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that “Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday advanced legislation that would require Pittsburgh police to improve their data collection and publicly share how certain incidents are handled, with demographic breakdowns.”

‘Allegheny County residents can participate in upcoming Board of Elections meeting’: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that “a Board of Elections meeting to discuss preparations for the upcoming Nov. 2 election will take place on Friday, Oct. 22, according to an announcement Wednesday by Allegheny County.”

‘Population losses force Windber, Jenner Township out of federal funding program’: The Johnstown Tribune-Democrat reports that “two Somerset County communities that receive federal funds annually to upgrade infrastructure and level blighted structures will drop out of the nationwide program next year.”

‘Raises key focus in Luzerne County Council budget review’: The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader reports that “although no tax hike is requested next year, Luzerne County Council still spent two hours reviewing its first two proposed 2022 budget division requests Tuesday night.”

‘Pa.’s Acting Secretary of State discusses efforts to make the state’s voting process smooth, secure this November’: WFMZ reports that “with all the talk about election security lately, we asked Acting Pennsylvania Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid about voting integrity measures in our state.”

‘Berks County voters received Spanish instructions for mail-in ballots with incorrect date for Election Day’: The Allentown Morning Call reports that “Berks County election officials say they will send a letter to about 17,000 voters who received mail-in ballot materials listing the wrong deadline in Spanish instructions.”

‘Carlisle Borough Council moves ahead on rental ordinance amendment despite requests to slow the process’: The Carlisle Sentinel reports that “property owners urged the Carlisle Borough Council to slow down on its efforts to enact an amendment to its rental housing ordinance that would set up an inspection cycle for rental properties.”

‘Lehigh Valley school board elections could see an uptick in voter turnout this year. Here’s why residents might be awake for these generally ‘sleepy’ elections’: The Allentown Morning Call reports that “experts anticipate an uptick in voter turnout for school board races across the country, pointing to increased division over party politics and a slew of issues that might pique voters’ interest, from debates over in-person and virtual learning, to how educators navigate the country’s racial reckoning.”

‘Northampton County Council may balk at final $100K for IronPigs effort to upgrade stadium’: WFMZ reports that “Northampton County has given the Lehigh Valley IronPigs $200,000 for renovations, but may balk at the final $100,000.”

‘Meadville City Council to vote on marijuana ordinance’: WJET reports that “Meadville City Council is set to reduce the charges for a small amount of marijuana.”

‘Hello Neighbor Prepares To Welcome Hundreds Of Refugees To Allegheny County’: KDKA reports that “a local organization is preparing to welcome hundreds of refugees to Allegheny County. Hello Neighbor recently received federal approval to resettle the newcomers.”

‘Lycoming County Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians prepare for Nov. 2 election’: The Williamsport Sun-Gazette reports that “leadership of the Lycoming County Republican, Democratic and Libertarian parties say they are doing what they can to invigorate voters to head to the polls on Nov. 2 and to submit their mail-in ballots.”

‘Rural broadband one step closer as Lycoming County commissioners OK internet service provider’: The Williamsport Sun-Gazette reports that “rural broadband service is one step closer to reality following a vote by the Lycoming County commissioners to award a request for proposal for rural broadband deployment to Windstream LLC, an internet service provider.”

‘Clean Water Action Plan aims to address flooding, pollution across Lycoming County’: The Williamsport Sun-Gazette reports that “with an upfront price tag of $36.7 million, the county’s Clean Water Action Plan offers a way to proactively address flooding and pollution that affects county farms and homes with increasing occurrences.”

‘North Wales: Mayor’s race features rematch from 2017’: Montgomery Media reports that “Democrat Neil McDevitt is running against incumbent Republican Greg D’Angelo for Mayor of North Wales, a rematch of a 2017 race in which D’Angelo prevailed by just seven votes for his second term.”

‘Pa. Health Dept.: 3,500 new COVID-19 cases; More than 3K hospitalized’: The Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports that “The Pennsylvania Department of Health confirmed 3,584 new cases of COVID-19 in the commonwealth on Wednesday, bringing the statewide total to more than 1.5 million cases since the start of the pandemic.”
Opinion  
Derek Green, Nora Lichtash, and Thomas Earle: Funding for affordable housing needs budget mandate 
Jennifer Stefano: Three Pa. bills to give parents more control over their kids’ education 
Kevin Sunday: Let’s clear the air: Pennsylvania’s air quality has gotten much better
Christopher S. Fowler: Make your voice heard in congressional reapportionment
John L. Micek: Five Questions with Sen. Nikil Saval: From community organizing to the Capitol | Wednesday Coffee
George W. Miller III: Move Cheyney University to the Navy Yard 
Paul Muschick: Eight shot, six dead in the Lehigh Valley area in the past week. The lesson from this mayhem
Post-Gazette Editorial Board: YouTube finally takes aim at anti-vaxxers
LNP | LancasterOnline Editorial Board: On a looming ‘twin-demic,’ COVID-19 misinformation and the late Colin Powell 
Cristina E. Ciocirlan: Would you trust Tucker Carlson with fixing your car? Then why trust him with medical advice?
Inga Saffron: Blighted luxury houses facing Fishtown’s Penn Treaty Park will be demolished. Now what? 
Kristin Smith: GOP posturing over debt ceiling puts small-business owners in peril 
Chris Kelly: Kellie Barrett is not the Antichrist. And Biden won.