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Today: Pa. lawmakers travel and fundraise amid budget impasse, cashing in on Trump's deportation campaign, and taking judicial retention to the streets. |
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Business as Usual
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Amanda Berg / For Spotlight PA
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NEED TO KNOW: As consequences of the state budget delay mount for counties, school districts, nonprofits, and contractors, it's been business as usual for state lawmakers who have held at least 133 fundraisers in the 115 days since the June 30 deadline, with another 39 planned for next week. Read Spotlight PA’s full report →
GOOD TO KNOW: Public officials have also taken at least two international trips during the impasse. A bipartisan group of lawmakers and staffers went to Ireland for a trade mission capped off by a Steelers game, while Gov. Josh Shapiro traveled to Quebec for a conference of regional officials.
IN THE KNOW: Lawmakers, including a top Republican in the state Senate, defended the fundraisers and trips, saying legislating and politicking are unrelated and can coexist. But two good-government watchdogs said they represent dysfunction that has fed a costly budget delay now nearing the four-month mark. Continue reading. |
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Power Briefs
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- Judge says time running out for Pa. water co.'s voluntary sale, via Spotlight PA
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DNC ups off-year election spending, including on Pa. court races, via The Hill
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What does Dominion Voting sale mean? For now, not much, via Votebeat
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Clock ticking for ACA tax credit extension, Pa. official warns, via WITF
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U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s fundraising woes continue, via Capital-Star
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Bradford Co. judge to be suspended for alleged misconduct, via NCPA.com
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🗳️ Election Essentials
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Our 2025 Election Center is live with all the information you need to be prepared to vote this year, including guides to the big races, key dates, and more.
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White House border czar Tom Homan. (Alex Brandon / AP photo)
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WORK ETHICS: In 2021, a Harrisburg businessman named Charles Sowell reached out to former ICE official Tom Homan on LinkedIn for advice about border contracting work. Two years later, ProPublica reports the men were in business together, advising companies seeking contracts at the federal agencies where Homan once worked. Since then, Homan was elevated to border czar by President Trump, and the outlet reports Sowell was quickly hired by a slew of companies looking to leverage his Homan connection for a slice of an exploding immigration enforcement budget.
LIHEAP IN LIMBO: With cold weather coming, a program that helps low-income Pennsylvania households heat their homes is set to become the latest casualty of a federal government shutdown that's now the second longest on record, with no end in sight. Echoing language about a looming food aid pause impacting millions here, the Shapiro administration says Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program grants relied on by 300,000 Pennsylvanians are federally funded — costs they say can't be backfilled by the commonwealth, which doesn't have a spending deal either.
MISSING PAY: Today, federal employees were set to miss their first full paychecks of this U.S. government shutdown. If you're one of them, the AFL-CIO has resources here. Competing proposals around restarting payments went nowhere in D.C. on Thursday. Pennsylvania is home to 100,000-plus federal employees, per Gov. Shapiro, and 7,800 state employees who are paid with federal dollars. WITF said tens of thousands of federal employees were set to be furloughed in this state alone.
POLITICAL SPENDING: U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser's campaign and the Pennsylvania GOP are among the Republican groups that have collectively spent $1 million at Trump-owned properties so far this year, our partners at NOTUS report. For Meuser, that included $4,500 spent on “fundraising” at Mar-a-Lago, disclosed days before Trump said he would endorse Meuser in the latter's since-scrapped bid for Pennsylvania governor. The Meuser campaign also spent more than $25,000 at Mar-a-Lago in March. |
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🤔 PA News Quiz
Are you on top of the news? Prove it with the latest edition of the Great PA News Quiz. Only seven questions stand between you and statewide bragging rights. Start playing here » |
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Post It
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A hot air balloon flight over an orchard in York County, submitted by reader Lynn Baker, who just so happened to be flying the balloon on the top left. Send us your photos by email, use #PAGems on Instagram, or tag @spotlightpennsylvania.
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Scrambler
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Unscramble and send your answer to scrambler@spotlightpa.org. We'll shout out winners here, and one each week will get some Spotlight PA swag. Answers submitted by 5:30 p.m. on issue date will be counted. Please include first name and last initial.
H E V E C E E N M
Yesterday's answer: Silverware
Congrats to our daily winners: Annette I., Barbara F., Beth H., Betty B., Bob C., Claudia C., Dallas D., Dan E., Diane B., Don H., Eliz D., Jeffrey F., Jill C., Joanna C., John M., Jon W., Neal N., Perry H., Richard A., Sharon B., Stacy S., Susan N.-Z., Tom M., Vicki D., and Wendy A. |
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