First Read – Dec. 19, 2023

WEATHER: Philadelphia: mostly sunny, high of 41; Harrisburg: partly sunny, with isolated morning snow showers, high of 38; Pittsburgh: cloudy, with scattered snow showers in the morning, low of 34.

FROM CITY & STATE:

* There’s no Ben Simmons or James Harden, but Philadelphia just got a glimpse of its next “Big Three,” as Philadelphia Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker announced three key staff selections for her administration. 

* Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators yesterday raised concerns with an agreement between U.S. Steel and the Nippon Steel Corporation that will see Nippon Steel acquire the Pittsburgh-based steel company in a $14.9 billion sale. 

NEW THIS MORNING:

* The year 2023 was marked by a divided, deadlocked General Assembly in Harrisburg that sent the governor fewer than 80 bills, though lawmakers are hoping the dynamic will change next year, Spotlight PA reports.

 * Members of Pittsburgh City Council last night approved an $845 million budget plan for 2024, which includes a $2.3 million increase from Mayor Ed Gainey’s initial budget proposal, WESA reports.

 * The Pennsylvania State Police broke ground yesterday on a new training facility that totals 366,000 square feet and will feature tactical training villages to simulate real-world environments, WITF reports.

* NBC News has unveiled a new seven-county reporting project that will focus on counties that could decide the 2024 presidential election, and Erie County has been named one of seven counties that could determine the presidential race, Politics PA reports.

 * Gov. Josh Shapiro has grown increasingly vocal about the war in Gaza, saying during a recent virtual event that Israel “has a responsibility to combat Hamas head-on and to defeat Hamas,” Jewish Insider reports.

* Officials in Delaware County said roughly 20 residents were displaced yesterday due to flooding around Darby Creek, with residents being evacuated from 12 homes and others from their vehicles, WHYY reports. 

* CNX Resources Corp. is now reporting real-time air quality data at two of its well sites as part of a collaboration with the Shapiro administration announced earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports.

* The Philadelphia 76ers presented a draft plan of their proposed $1.55 billion Center City arena to a panel of architects and planning experts yesterday, prompting hours of questions in the city’s first official review of the proposal, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. 

 * The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County yesterday ordered more than 56,000 customers to reduce water use by 10% as the authority looked to identify and repair leaks in its water system, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

* Leaders in Harrisburg are divided over a plan to raise the city’s trash collection fee, though Harrisburg Treasurer Dan Miller says that the city should do more to collect outstanding balances before raising rates, PennLive reports.

EDITORIAL PAGES:

* The Inquirer has a new column from Stephanie Farr, who tells the story of two descendents of Benjamin Franklin and their efforts to sell a 1834 portrait of Franklin painted by Philadelphia portrait artist Thomas Sully.

* The Delaware Valley Journal has an op-ed from Gordon Tomb and David Wojick, who offer several ways the commonwealth can prepare for and prevent blackouts. 

NATIONAL POLITICS:

* A new poll from The New York Times and Siena College found that 57% of voters disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, with younger voters more likely to be critical of Biden’s handling of the conflict, the Times reports.

* Republican U.S. senators are distancing themselves from former President Donald Trump’s recent remarks in which he said immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country” – language that has drawn comparisons to rhetoric used by Adolf Hitler, Politico reports.

TODAY’S SKED:

9:45 a.m. – City of Philadelphia to unveil Chinatown Stitch design selection and visioning report, Crane Community Center, second floor atrium, 1001 Vine St., Philadelphia. 

10 a.m. – House Appropriations Committee Majority Chair Jordan Harris to discuss expanded Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, Keystone Early Learning Center, Keystone Building, Capitol Complex, Harrisburg. Watch here. 

11:30 a.m. – Pennsylvania’s adjutant general to visit veterans home during the holiday season, Delaware Valley Veterans’ Home, 2701 Southampton Road, Philadelphia. 

KICKER: 

“When it’s all said and done, you’re going to have an indoor town for the rest of the week – a hotel, or a bank, or a gas station … Everything you need to simulate a real-world environment where we serve and protect every day.” – Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Adam Reed on the agency’s new academy, via WITF