First Read – July 25, 2024

WEATHER: Philadelphia: patchy fog, chance of showers, high of 87; Harrisburg: partly sunny, chance of thunderstorms, high of 86; Pittsburgh: chance of showers and patchy fog, high of 82.

FROM CITY & STATE:

* Ahead of his appearance at the Greater Pittsburgh Healthcare Summit, state Sen. Frank Farry spoke with City & State about the work of the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee, the challenges around the housing crisis and what we can expect from next week’s Affordable Housing in Pennsylvania Summit.

NEW THIS MORNING:

* Erin McClelland, Democratic candidate for state treasurer, posted an endorsement on social media of North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, while taking a not-so-veiled jab at Gov. Josh Shapiro in the process, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports.

* Big rail companies’ obsession with increased profits is leaving a trail of carnage in American communities as well as in rail yards, lawmakers heard at a hearing yesterday, Union Progress reports.

*  A flurry of recent bipartisan agreements by state lawmakers on energy projects and policies is sending a clear message: Pennsylvania is slowly moving toward clean energy but fossil fuels aren’t going anywhere, Spotlight PA reports.

* In a long-shot effort, Rep. Susan Wild launched a discharge petition in hopes of forcing the House to vote on a bill to codify the right to in vitro fertilization services nationwide, PoliticsPA reports.

* Affordable housing is in more demand than ever in Pennsylvania, but the real question is on the shifting definition of the term in an area that’s seen a 90% increase in prices in the last decade, PennLive reports.

* Amid a Philadelphia legal battle over turf plans for FDR Park, experts say PFAS-free fake grass claims by leading contractors are misleading, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

* As approved yesterday by the Indiana County Commissioners, an effort to provide “safe and sober recovery housing” for women with children has received a $200,000 boost from Indiana County’s portion of the opioid settlement plan, Indiana Gazette reports. 

* Lt. Gov. Austin Davis visited Lancaster yesterday to talk with local officials and those whose work in one form or another deals with gun violence, LancasterOnline reports.

EDITORIAL PAGES:

* GoErie has an op-ed by Gabriella Romeo, public policy director for Pennsylvania Coalition to Advance Respect, who writes that sexual violence is a public health crisis and with the passing of the 2024-25 state budget the Pennsylvania Legislature has, yet again, failed to support victims of sexual assault. 

* PennLive has an op-ed by Joyce M. Davis, who writes that if Vice President Kamala Harris picks Shapiro as her running mate, monumental changes could come to the Pennsylvania legislature and succession plan. 

NATIONAL POLITICS:

* A defiant Benjamin Netanyahu, in an address to a joint meeting of Congress yesterday, dismissed criticisms by the United Nations, human rights groups and the International Criminal Court as “utter nonsense,” The Washington Post reports. 

* In an address from the Oval Office, President Joe Biden said it was time to “pass the torch to a new generation” and praised Harris,  The New York Times reports. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: to Kia Ghee, executive director at the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations … and to Sofia Nicot, VP, Bank of America …  Want to wish someone a happy birthday in our newsletter? Email their name, job title and upcoming birthday to editor@cityandstatepa.com.

MOVING ON: Montgomery County Controller Karen Sanchez is now president of the Pennsylvania State Association of Controllers … Have a career change or life event to announce? Email us: editor@cityandstatepa.com.

TODAY’S SKED

10 a.m. – House Republican Policy Committee meets, Drake Well Museum & Park, 202 Museum Lane, Titusville. 

10:30 a.m. – Senate Education Committee meets, Hearing Room 1, North Office Building, Harrisburg. 

KICKER: 

“I refuse to let my constituents be treated like collateral damage.” – U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio on the continued fallout to PA residents from the Norfolk Southern train derailment of 2023, via Union Progress