First Read – Jan. 5, 2024

WEATHER: Philadelphia: sunny, high of 38; Harrisburg: sunny, high of 37; Pittsburgh: mostly sunny, high of 36.

FROM CITY & STATE:

* In this week’s Winners & Losers, Allegheny County workers get a pay increase, porch pirates face steeper penalties under new law – and more.

NEW THIS MORNING:

* Education funding advocates who won a landmark school funding case last year are hoping to see a $2 billion allocation from the state, and said they’re ready to go back to court if lawmakers fail to adequately address education funding, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports.

* Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s inauguration included a high-profile shoutout to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who wasn’t in attendance, and the day also featured a scuffle involving the grandson of a former mayor, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. 

* Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said at his swearing in ceremony this week that he still plans to investigate the City of Pittsburgh’s contracting procedures, WESA reports. 

* The butter sculpture for the 2024 Pennsylvania Farm Show was revealed yesterday, and the 1,000-pound structure aims to depict how agriculture can connect communities, LNP reports.

* The annual Pennsylvania Farm Show is here, and the beloved “Farm Show Milkshake” name is at the center of a new legal battle, with the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association, the state Department of Agriculture and a former subcontractor all battling it out in court over the rights to the milkshake’s name, Lancaster Farming reports. 

* Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that Pennsylvania has one of the highest overdose death rates in the nation involving xylazine, an animal tranquilizer that is also known as “tranq,” CBS Pittsburgh reports.

* Democrat Nate Davidson, who has worked in the state House as floor manager for the House Democratic Caucus and an adviser to the House Appropriations Committee, will join the race for state representative in House District 103 later this month, Politics PA reports. 

* Ahead of the third anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol, former D.C. Metro police officer Michael Fanone visited Harrisburg this week to recall his experiences on Jan. 6 and urge people to “steer clear” of conspiracy theories, ABC 27 reports.

* A new bill from GOP state Rep. Ryan Warner would prevent municipalities from establishing themselves as sanctuary cities for undocumented immigrants, with Warner arguing that sanctuary cities undermine efforts to combat illegal immigration, PennLive reports.

 * Homicides in Philadelphia dropped by 20% in 2023, a decrease that Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner attributed, at least in part, to the end of pandemic restrictions and the city’s COVID-19 recovery, WHYY reports. 

EDITORIAL PAGES:

* The Inquirer has an op-ed from Sister Mary Scullion, co-founder and executive director of Project HOME, who writes that with winter weather on its way, Parker should make increasing the number of emergency shelter beds in Philadelphia a top priority.

NATIONAL POLITICS:

* During back-to-back CNN town halls in Iowa, GOP presidential contenders Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis launched verbal attacks against former President Donald Trump, while Haley added that the country won’t survive “four more years of chaos,” Axios reports.

 * Three years following the attack on the U.S. Capitol, hundreds of participants have been convicted, and law enforcement officials are still working to identify more than 80 people wanted for acts of violence at the Capitol, The Associated Press reports.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: To former Gov. Ed Rendell … to John Gordner, counsel to the Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore … to Jill Murray, president of Lackawanna College … on Sunday: to John Perzel, former speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives … and on Monday: to Kirstin Cornnell, social services director at the PA Prison Society … and to Shohin Vance, associate at Kleinbard LLC … Want to wish someone a happy birthday in our newsletter? Email their name, job title and upcoming birthday to editor@cityandstatepa.com.

MOVING ON: Former Pennsylvania Senate Secretary-Parliamentarian Megan Martin has joined the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry as vice president and general counsel … Have a career change or life event to announce? Email us: editor@cityandstatepa.com.

TODAY’S SKED:

10 a.m. – Shapiro, legislative leaders, and Chester County Chamber of Commerce to highlight expanded child care tax credit for Pennsylvania families, Upper Main Line YMCA, 1416 Berwyn Paoli Road, Berwyn. Watch here.

11 a.m. – State Rep. Ryan Bizzarro holds Defend Our Democracy press conference, Capitol Steps, state Capitol, Harrisburg.  

KICKER: 

“What you saw unfold before your very eyes on television is what happened … and as a result, I suffered a heart attack and a traumatic brain injury.” – Fanone on the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, via ABC 27