🥳 The weekend is coming.
🗞️ In today’s PoliticsPA Guide. Fetterman was hospitalized after the fall. PA budget winners and losers. The top 1% pay over one-third of PA personal income taxes. Pitt hosts ‘Game Day’
🎶 Your morning pick-me-up. About the weekend. Jellybricks
Weather in Pennsylvania
🌥️Pittsburgh | Rising Clouds, 54
🌥️Harriburg | Rising Clouds, 54
🌤️Scranton | Partly shining, 49
Sports PA
🏈 Eagles (7-2) | Sun vs. Detroit
🏈 Steelers (5-4) | Sun vs. Cincinnati
🏈 Pitt (7-2) | Saturday versus Our Lady
🏈 Temple (5-5) | November 22 vs. Tulane
🏈 Penn State (3-6) | I was based in Michigan
🏀 Sixes (7-4) | Friday in Detroit
🏒 Flyers (8-5-3) | Friday in St. Louis | I was based in Dallas
🏒 Penguins (9-5-3) | Friday in Nashville | Sun vs. Nashville
📰 PoliticsPA Guide was developed by Steve Ulrich. To read in your browser click here. Has this email been sent to you? Subscribe for free.
The most significant story
1. Fetterman hospitalized after fall
“Pennsylvania U.S. Senator John Fetterman was hospitalized after falling on Thursday.
His office said he suffered from “recurrence of ventricular fibrillation,” a type of irregular heartbeat, that caused dizziness and he collapsed during a morning walk near his home.
Fetterman, who suffered a stroke in May 2022, revealed that he had been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and a heart condition called atrial fibrillation. He suffered minor facial injuries and was under “routine observation” at a Pittsburgh hospital. | PoliticsPA
Elsewhere
Fetterman was hospitalized in Pittsburgh after suffering a cardiac episode and collapsed outside his home in Braddock. “The first-term senator and former lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania collapsed while walking and suffered an episode of ventricular fibrillation, a spokesman said in a statement.” | WESA
Pennsylvania Inadvertently Shares Driver’s License Information with ICE. “In a letter to Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Democratic lawmakers tell the Commonwealth and other states that a poorly understood digital loophole could result in driver data being shared with U.S. immigration authorities.” | PoliticsPA
Congressional Stock Trading Hearing Delayed to Closing. “Supporters of the effort to stop members of Congress from trading stocks are cautiously optimistic that it could gain momentum now that the government shutdown has ended.” | Roll call
Country
2. Once the PA state budget is signed, who are the winners and losers in the final deal?
“After 19 weeks on a knife’s edge, Pennsylvania finally has a budget. Short-term policy problems were resolved through a series of give-and-take compromises, but long-term policy problems remain.
The tiny version of this year’s budget impasse is one that Democrats have proposed withdrawing from Governor Josh Shapiro original budget request – which called for $51.5 billion in overall spending – but were concerned about going too far below the $50 billion mark and cutting themselves off from the programs they were pursuing.
Republicans were adamant that Shapiro’s budget framework was excessively deficit and would result in uncontrolled spending, so they repeatedly passed a $47-48 billion eternal funding bill to underscore this point. | PennLive
Elsewhere
What does Pennsylvania’s fresh budget mean for elementary and middle schools? “The new state budget includes new funding and policies for public schools.” | Penn Capital Star
The state budget does not see any fresh money for public transport. “Pennsylvanians woke up Thursday to a $50.1 billion state budget that makes additional investments in public schools and creates a new tax credit for lower-income people, but does not provide an increase in funding for public transportation.” | Trib LIVE
Why Elon Musk should ‘buy’ Harrisburg: Analyst favors tech-driven renewal. “The article, titled “Elon Musk Should Buy Some Small City Centers,” explores the conundrum of why “dry mid-sized cities” that boast good affordable housing stock cannot be ground zero for the next large tech startup, unlike enormous urban centers like San Francisco that have “ridiculous home prices, high crime, and terrible social policies.” PennLive
Around the Republic of Poland
3. The top 1% pays more than one-third of Pennsylvania’s personal income tax
“Pennsylvania’s wealthiest households bear more than one-third of the state’s individual income tax burden, according to a fresh study.
The top 1% now pays 35.09% of all personal income taxes collected in the Keystone State, according to a study by financial firm SmartAsset, which analyzed the latest IRS data for the 2022 tax year. | Trib LIVE
Elsewhere
Chester County is seeking an explanation for an error at the ballot box when examining provisional ballots. “Chester County has inspected more than two-thirds of provisional ballots cast on Election Day and confirmed that it has begun counting eligible ballots, although officials are still unable to explain what caused the polling error that forced independent and third-party voters to use provisional ballots.” | Let him vote
‘More need and less money’: Philly’s Collar counties brace for tight budgets and tax hikes. “In Philadelphia’s suburbs, county leaders are tightening their budgets and looking at potential tax increases. The law requires counties to complete next year’s budget by December 31. But they entered this year’s budget season facing uncertainty about federal funding and a lack of clarity about state dollars. ” | Questioner from Philadelphia
A second Democrat from Carlisle is entering the primary for the 199th House District. “TaWanda Stallworth, 47, is joining fellow Carlisle Democrat Rick Christie in the primary to unseat Republican state Rep. Barb Gleim of Middlesex Township.” | PennLive
Shubilla is stepping down as chairman of the Luzerne County Democratic Party following a vote of no confidence. “Luzerne County Democratic Party Chairman Thom Shubilla resigned Thursday, a day after the party’s executive committee voted almost unanimously to not give him a vote of confidence.” | WVIA
Editorial
4. What do you think about it?
- Trump has taken over the purse. Congress should reverse this | New York Times
- What was the point of all this? | Wide + Freedom
- Politics, elections and not listening | Lori Falce
- I didn’t vote for Trump because of his character. But we deserve the truth about his past. | Nicole Russell
- MAHA makes America defenseless again | Lisa Jarvis
1 item
5. What College Gameday means for Pitt – economically, culturally and institutionally
“Saturday’s Top 25 game between No. 23 Pitt and No. 9 Notre Dame is already a game-changer. Add in ESPN’s flagship college football programming, and Acrisure Stadium – home to both Pitt and the Steelers – turns into a national showcase for a city, a university and a fan base still fighting for lasting relevance in today’s college football landscape.
“This game is the epicenter of college football right now,” Pitt athletic director Allen Greene he said. “All eyes will be on this match.” | Pittsburgh Postal Newspaper
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Have a nice weekend.
