First Read PA – Nov. 27, 2023

WEATHER: Philadelphia: mostly sunny, high of 48; Harrisburg: mostly sunny, high of 45; Pittsburgh: mostly cloudy, high of 36.

FROM CITY & STATE:

* A courageous canine, the Satanic Temple and two mayors on the wrong side of the law are just some of the subjects of the latest edition of Winners & Losers. 

* An op-ed from Madison Marino and Giana DePaul of the Heritage Foundation uses a new report from the organization to call for improving school choice in the commonwealth.

NEW THIS MORNING:

* The seven Democratic candidates vying for the chance to beat incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Perry in next year’s PA-10 race underscores how the Freedom Caucus chair is seen as more vulnerable than ever before, the Daily Beast reports. 

* A state law that delivers automatic pay raises for state officials will pay dividends next year for lawmakers, judges and top executive branch officials, giving more than 1,300 officials – including Gov. Josh Shapiro, 253 lawmakers and seven state Supreme Court justices – a pay raise of 3.5% in 2024, matching the latest year-over-year increase in consumer prices for mid-Atlantic urban areas, as determined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Associated Press reports.

* Jack Stollsteimer, the top prosecutor in heavily populated Delaware County, will run for Pennsylvania attorney general in 2024, he announced Monday, seeking an office that played a critical role in court defending Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the presidential battleground, the AP reports.

* Former federal prosecutor Katayoun “Kat” Copeland is also running for attorney general of Pennsylvania in 2024, she said this week. Copeland, a Republican, recently left her job in the U.S. attorney’s office in Philadelphia ahead of announcing her candidacy, the AP reports.

* In the wake of what he now calls election “failures,” Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure late Friday afternoon announced the resignation of his director of administration, Charles M. Dertinger, PennLive reports.

* Harrisburg was named the best place in the country to retire in the latest rankings by U.S. News & World Report, while six other Pennsylvania locales broke into the Top Ten. Reading, Lancaster, Scranton and Allentown joined Harrisburg in the Top Five, while York landed at No. 7 and Pittsburgh was ranked No. 10, Philly Voice reports.

* The Democrats who swept Moms For Liberty off of the Central Bucks School District board are fighting to overturn the outgoing board’s approval of the district superintendent’s $700,000 exit deal, the AP reports.

* Pennsylvania ranks seventh on the Greenhouse 100 Suppliers List from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, which adds up how much companies are contributing to the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by producing coal, oil and natural gas. The state’s top suppliers are coal company Consol Energy; Delta Air Lines, which owns an oil refinery outside Philadelphia; and UGI, a gas utility, StateImpact Pennsylvania reports.

* All Pennsylvania medical providers will soon be required to get consent before conducting any pelvic, rectal or prostate exams on patients under anesthesia, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

* The commonwealth is investing millions in projects and advisory boards to ensure all Pennsylvanians enjoy the state’s more than 3 million acres of public lands and numerous outdoor recreation opportunities, Spotlight PA reports.

EDITORIAL PAGES:

* The Tribune-Review takes on state legislators’ most recent automatic pay raise, writing that “when legislators are making double the average Pennsylvanian’s income, it seems grotesque that the percentage of their pay raise should be higher as well.”

* The Inquirer has an op-ed from Rafael Álvarez Febo, vice president for advocacy and community development at Esperanza, who writes that Democrats, who will need a strong turnout from Latino voters in 2024 to have any chance of victory, ignore the needs and positions of this key group at their own peril.

NATIONAL POLITICS:

* President Joe Biden will not attend a major United Nations climate summit that begins Thursday in Dubai, skipping an event expected to be attended by King Charles III, Pope Francis and leaders from nearly 200 countries, a White House official said Sunday, The New York Times reports. 

* For the first time in roughly a decade, Congress isn’t facing a Christmastime shutdown threat. But the 2024 fight is going to be even worse than usual, Politico reports.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: To Zach Wilcha, executive director of the Independence Business Alliance … Want to wish someone a happy birthday in our newsletter? Email their name, job title and upcoming birthday to editor@cityandstatepa.com.

TODAY’S SKED:

10 a.m. – The Pittsburgh City Council Committee on Hearings will meet. City-County Building, Pittsburgh.

10 a.m. – The Philadelphia City Council Committee on Housing, Neighborhood Development and The Homeless will meet. Watch here or view on Xfinity Channel 64, Fios Channel 40.

1 p.m. – The Philadelphia City Council Committee on Public Safety will meet. Watch here or view on Xfinity Channel 64, Fios Channel 40.

1 p.m. – The Pittsburgh City Council Committee on Hearings will meet. City-County Building, Pittsburgh.

KICKER: 

“It’s what I consider a ‘Duh’ piece of legislation, where people are like, ‘How is this not already law?’” – State Rep. Liz Hanbidgeco, author of a bill requiring consent for certain medical procedures, via the Inquirer.