First Read – Aug. 7, 2024

WEATHER: Philadelphia: heavy rain, high of 79; Harrisburg: thunderstorms likely, high of 78; Pittsburgh: chance of thunderstorms, high of 79.

FROM CITY & STATE:

* Just hours before the Democrats debuted their newly minted ticket yesterday, Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance appeared at a rally in South Philadelphia to hammer presidential nominee Kamala Harris and vice presidential nominee Tim Walz. 

* The Kamala Harris-Tim Walz ticket made its first public appearance at an event last night  in Philadelphia just hours after the vice president announced she had tapped the Minnesota governor as her running mate.

* The long-awaited announcement of Harris’ VP nom, and subsequent reactions, reminded us of other times when Pennsylvanians came up just short – here are a few of those “oooohhhh, so close” moments in commonwealth history.

NEW THIS MORNING:

* Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has not been tapped to run for vice president on the Democratic ticket with Kamala Harris – but Pennsylvania is still at the center of her campaign’s new chapter, Spotlight PA reports.

* Republican officials across the state, once worried about Shapiro becoming the VP pick citing his across-the-aisle appeal, spent yesterday celebrating Harris’ running mate choice, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

* While Shapiro might not have gotten the prestigious pick, it seems he earned a lot of political capital through this process. Some say that capital might set him up for his own presidential run, WITF reports.

* Facing the need to win battleground Pennsylvania, Harris is swearing off any prior assertion that she opposed fracking, which many Pennsylvanians believe would devastate the economy in the nation’s No. 2 natural gas state, The Times Herald reports.

* Fewer teachers are getting certified in Pennsylvania – and more are leaving the profession entirely – after the attrition rate reached 7.7% of Pennsylvania teachers last year, WESA reports. 

* The turf war between Pennsylvania’s 17 casinos and roughly 67,000 unregulated skill game terminals in social clubs, convenience stores, gas stations and bars has grown more heated in recent years, The Center Square reports.

* Leaders at Pittsburgh’s housing authority boast that a renewed Section 8 department is addressing problems with the Housing Choice Voucher program, but some housing activists and landlords continue to question the extent of these improvements, Public Source reports.

* The number of super commuters, people who drive more than 90 minutes to work, in the Philly region increased by about 23.4% from 2021 to 2022, a significant increase but still below pre-pandemic numbers, the Inquirer reports.

EDITORIAL PAGES:

* The Washington Post has an op-ed by Adam Lashinsky, who writes that in its resounding victory over Google, the Justice Department may well be slamming the proverbial antitrust barn door after the monopolistic horses already have fled.

* The Delaware Valley Journal has an op-ed by Stephen Gambescia, who writes that our public officials at the national and county levels need to march upstream to prevent, not just mitigate, the root causes of our opioid crisis.  

NATIONAL POLITICS:

* U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden urged billionaire GOP donor Harlan Crow’s attorney to provide details on exactly when Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas stepped foot on Crow’s private jet and yacht, and whether the donor deducted the trips on his taxes, The Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports.

* Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, one of the most outspoken progressives in the House, lost her primary yesterday, falling to a campaign by powerful pro-Israel political groups intent on ousting a fierce critic of the nation’s war in Gaza, the Times reports.

* Hamas on Tuesday named Yahya Sinwar as its new leader in a dramatic sign of the power of the militant group’s hardline wing after his predecessor was killed in a presumed Israeli strike in Iran, The Associated Press reports.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: to former Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney … and to former Rep. Harry Readshaw … 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. – House Republican Policy Committee meets, Mechanicsburg Area School District, Administration Building, 600 South Norway St., Mechanicsburg.  

KICKER: 

“I think everybody would agree that Pennsylvania is probably the most vital state for Democrats to have in this election cycle if they want to hold the White House.” – Berwood Yost, director of the Floyd Institute for Public Policy at Franklin & Marshall College, via WITF