This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity made history this summer, with the first-term treasurer announcing that the department returned more than $273 million in unclaimed property in the 2022-23 fiscal year – more than the state has ever returned in a single fiscal year. Garrity announced the news from the state’s historic vault, which probably has a bit less cash on hand thanks to the unclaimed property returns.

The years-long public school funding lawsuit is finally over, we think. The deadline to appeal a Commonwealth Court decision declaring the state’s school funding system unconstitutional has passed, meaning those fighting for fair funding can celebrate another step in the right direction. The big remaining question is how – and when – the General Assembly will decide to sufficiently fund the state’s education system going forward.

The chase to expand the state’s internet access is picking up with more than $1 billion in federal funding on the way to Pennsylvania. The state’s Broadband Development Authority is working on a five-year action plan to submit to federal leaders to outline how it will expand broadband access to underserved communities.

Spotted lanternflies are known for their colorful exteriors – and for the threat they pose to Pennsylvania agriculture. They’ve been a bit less prevalent in certain parts of the state this year, with south-central Pennsylvania seeing fewer lanternflies than normal. Researchers say fluctuations are likely occurring, however, and that we’re likely to see more of them in the future. So keep stomping! 

The commercial real estate industry in Pennsylvania’s population centers is facing a troubling task: what to do with all those vacant spaces. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review recently wrote that office real estate is “having its moment wrestling with this truth” as Pittsburgh experiences rising vacancy rates. That’s also a very relevant problem in Philadelphia, which has prompted some to explore converting vacant office space to housing.

You get your kicks on Route 66, but you’ll take your fair share of licks on Route 6. According to a survey of 3,000 drivers, the commonwealth’s Route 6 – the state’s longest numbered highway – is the most feared route in the state and among the most feared in the country. The road came in as the 42nd-most-feared route in the nation and the road most drivers in the state would hate to be stuck on.