📖 Today’s PolitykiPA Guide. Big Democratic donors are adding to Governor Shapiro’s war chest. Temporary blocking of data centers is gaining more attention. PA power load buckling. Saving the ‘Brady Bunch’ House.
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The most crucial story
1. Big Democratic donors are adding to Shapiro’s war chest ahead of his 2026 re-election bid.
“For years Josh Shapiro He rose through the ranks of Democratic politicians, becoming the party’s potential candidate for president in 2028.
Now another factor has emerged that may strengthen its position as a force on the largest political stage in the country.
As his profile has grown since becoming governor in 2023, Mr. Shapiro’s massive war chest has been bolstered by donors from every state in the country and from Puerto Rico, according to a Post-Gazette analysis of campaign records. | Pittsburgh Postal Newspaper
Elsewhere
The gap between John Fetterman and Democrats is widening. “One of the staunchest supporters of President Trump’s Iran strike was a Democrat.” | Wall Street Journal
Artificial intelligence causes a enormous expansion of high-voltage lines. Landowners and locals are resisting. “For John Zola, these 40 acres were like paradise: apple orchards in the rolling hills of northern Pennsylvania, a barn, meadows and enough land for four houses: one for him, his wife and each of their three adult children. But it has been “hell” since a contractor hired by the local utility knocked on Zola’s door in late 2024 and informed him that he planned to build a 500 power line running through his property. kilovolts. | AP
Ken Martin’s dysfunctional DNC alarms Democrats. “Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin faces a growing crisis of confidence within his party, more than two dozen Democrats tell Axios. Donors, operatives and some DNC members are questioning his leadership, fundraising ability and how the party conducted a still-secret ‘autopsy’ of its 2024 election defeat.” | Axles
PA-03: Pro-Israel Muslim Democrat walks a political tightrope at a Philadelphia elementary school. “State Senator Sharif Street Supports Continued U.S. Aid to Israel, But Calls Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu a War Criminal.” | Jewish insider
Country
2. The momentary ban on data centers is of greater concern to state and local officials
“As community concerns grow over rising electricity prices and the environmental impact of data centers, some local and state officials want to halt development of the facilities.
Lawmakers in at least 11 states have introduced legislation this session that would temporarily ban data centers. Over the past month, state lawmakers in Pennsylvania and Minnesota also announced plans to impose moratoriums on data center development. | Penn Capital Star
Elsewhere
Shapiro wants to encourage data centers to be better neighbors. Will this work? “Governor Josh Shapiro wants to encourage data center developers to adhere to Pennsylvania’s more stringent environmental protection and transparency standards by offering them an expedited permitting process.” | PA reflector
Pennsylvania lawmakers are proposing a bill to aid cities set guidelines for building data centers. “A House committee is developing measures to protect Pennsylvanians from the negative impacts of new data centers. One measure would require centers to report annual water and energy use. The other would create a model law that cities could adopt to set guidelines on how and where data centers can be built. ” | THAT’S ALL
Congressional Committee Presses Shapiro Administration Over Medicaid Fraud in Pennsylvania. “A U.S. House committee is pressing the Shapiro administration on Medicaid fraud in the commonwealth, asking the governor and his human resources secretary to explain what steps have been taken in recent years to combat fraud, which Shapiro himself estimated at about $3 billion annually.” | Wide + Freedom
Pennsylvania lawmakers are calling for an investigation into gas price hikes amid war with Iran. “State Reps. Joe Ciresi and Jim Haddock issued a statement late last week in response to rapidly rising gas prices across the Commonwealth, saying that gas stations began raising prices “as soon as the first bomb hit Iran.” | CBS Pittsburgh
Around the Republic of Poland
3. Reduce Pennsylvania’s power load under adjacent renewable energy goals
“As Mid-Atlantic states adopt aggressive renewable energy goals, most are looking to Pennsylvania gas and nuclear plants for support.
But when there is not enough energy, no amount of generation in the commonwealth will be enough to prevent rolling blackouts or drastic bill increases.” | Central Square
Elsewhere
Can tech companies supply electricity to data centers in Pennsylvania? “Pennsylvania, which provides the most electricity to the PJM interconnection network for more than a dozen other mid-Atlantic states, is proving to be fertile ground for data centers. The state’s location helps control temperatures at the centers because it has fewer hot months than states like Arizona and Texas. ” | USA Today Network
PA Center for Rural Affairs Finds State’s Maternity Health Desert Growing as 23 Counties Are Short of Labor and Maternity Hospital Departments. The Chartis Center for Rural Health publishes its annual State of the State Report on the nation’s rural health. This year’s report shows that between 2011 and 2024, Pennsylvania lost 42% of its rural maternity wards, the third-highest rate in the nation. | WVIA
For newborn political candidates, winning a seat means making their voices heard. “In the Democratic primary for the 3rd Congressional District in Pennsylvania, Jahmiel Jackson will face many candidates with many years of experience. For the 24-year-old, this is a race that is not only about representing the district in which he grew up. It is about upsetting the electoral system, which in his opinion is not designed with young people in mind to make their voices heard. ” | Voice of Philadelphia
The Allegheny County Democratic Committee is endorsing Catena, Altemara and Ferderber in House races. “The Allegheny County Democratic Committee endorsed candidates in several competitive state legislative races on Sunday, giving a potential advantage to candidates in three contested state House primaries and backing a veteran state senator against an upstart challenger.” | THAT’S ALL
Editorial
4. What do you think about it?
- Dave McCormick’s First Year – Pennsylvania Leadership Blueprint | Łukasz Bernstein
- Latinos are turning away from Trump’s GOP. This doesn’t mean Democrats have the right to vote | Luis F. Carrasco
- Republicans, give Trump the power to impose tariffs | Bruce Ledewitz
- How Israel bought consent for its war | Adriana E. Ramírez
- The paradox of republican rule | Jon A. Shields
- What Texas tells us about the 2026 midterm exams | Baltimore Sun
- A ‘cure’ for despair in the data center | Chris Kelly
1 item
5. Los Angeles City Council approves historic status for ‘Brady Bunch’ house.
“The Studio City house used for exterior filming of the comedy series “The Brady Bunch” was designated a historic and cultural landmark by the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday.
The house was used for exterior shots of a comedy series that aired from 1969 to 1974, which gained a second life in syndication. Most of the interior shots of “The Brady Bunch” were done on a sound stage. | NBC Los Angeles
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