Media Mentions
New Pa. program will send millions to Philly area for home repairs and weatherization
The Philadelphia area will receive nearly $40 million from the state to help residents and landlords repair and weatherize their properties. The new funding comes courtesy of the Whole-Home Repairs Program, the result of bipartisan legislation financed by the current...
Longtime Pittsburgh homeowners hit by rising taxes in gentrifying neighborhoods could get relief
State lawmakers representing Pittsburgh unveiled new legislation Thursday that would let the city offer tax relief to longtime homeowners in neighborhoods where property values have skyrocketed. If the legislation were enacted in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh would be...
Pa. Senate Democrat proposes series of bills to increase housing accessibility
A Pennsylvania senator has announced plans for a series of proposals to increase housing accessibility and make finding affordable housing easier by removing some barriers to renters and low-income homeowners in Pennsylvania. The three bills sponsored by Sen. Nikil...
Costa legislation could keep some homeowners in growing areas from being taxed out of homes
State Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa has introduced legislation that he said would protect longtime homeowners from being taxed out of their homes. Costa, D-Forest Hills, said the Longtime Owner-Occupant Tax Exemption Program, or LOOP, would allow first- and...
DEP Offers 10 Point Plan To Improve Permit Reviews; Climate/Energy Work Group Co-Chairs Announced; Work Group Formed To Prevent New Oil & Gas Well Abandonments
On March 22, DEP presented a 10 point plan for improving DEP permit reviews to the Senate Appropriations Committee as part of Acting Secretary Richard Negrin’s presentation on DEP’s FY 2023-24 budget request. The Plan is aimed at concerns many legislators have about...
A guide to the gatekeepers: Here’s who’s running the most powerful committees in Harrisburg
The leaders of state legislative committees have the power to determine whether a bill ultimately makes it to the governor’s desk or languishes in committee until the end of the term. And while rule changes in one chamber will limit the ability of committee chairs to...
Temple grad students overwhelmingly ratify agreement, ending their six-week strike
After the union rejected a proposal last month, an agreement between Temple and its striking graduate students this time was approved by a vast majority of members, officially ending the six-week strike that has disrupted operations at the 33,600-student university....
Temple graduate students ratify new pact, end 6-week strike
Temple University graduate students who are teaching and research assistants have overwhelmingly ratified a new contract, ending their six-week-long walkout. The Temple University Graduate Students Association, which said Monday evening that the vote was 344 to 8 in...
Larry Shifflet, Tony Williams and others talk infrastructure, transportation and the built environment
City & State’s 2023 Rebuilding PA Summit brought together nearly 100 of Pennsylvania’s brightest minds at the Hilton Harrisburg on Tuesday for a full-day event that examined how state and local leaders, businesses and other power players can band together to solve...
Politics In Focus Full Show 2/19/2023
On Politics In Focus airing Saturday, February 18, 2023 at 6:30 a.m. and Sunday, February 19, 2023 at 1 p.m. with Jennifer Lewis-Hall we begin today’s show with a recap of a widely followed ruling. We hear about a judge’s decision that...
Bipartisan Bill Makes “Diwali” A State Holiday
HARRISBURG – Bipartisan legislation is being proposed by Republican Sen. Greg Rothman of Cumberland, Dauphin, & Perry Counties and Democrat Sen. Nikil Saval of Philadelphia County which would make Diwali an official state holiday in the Commonwealth. PA is home to...
Pennsylvania lawmakers propose making Diwali a state holiday
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — State Senator Greg Rothman (R-34) and Senator Nikil Saval (D-1) introduced legislation to make Diwali an official state holiday in Pennsylvania. Nearly 200,000 South Asian residents reside in Pennsylvania, many of whom participate in Diwali as...
A change of heart
Earlier this month, a piece of paper came across Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk that if signed would have set an execution date for Rahmael Sal Holt. In 2017, Holt was convicted of murdering New Kensington police officer Brian Shaw. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the...
Pennsylvania Governor Does a 180 on Death Penalty
Josh Shapiro was once a supporter of the death penalty, including for the suspected gunman in the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Philadelphia in 2018. Now, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania says his views on capital punishment have shifted, and...
Shapiro calls on General Assembly to abolish death penalty, refuses to sign executions
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) —Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday he will not allow Pennsylvania to execute any inmates while he is in office and called for the state's lawmakers to repeal the death penalty. “When my son asked me why it was okay to kill someone...
Governor Vows Not to Sign Execution Warrants, Wants Lawmakers to Abolish the Death Penalty
Governor Josh Shapiro said he will not issue any execution warrants during his term and called on the General Assembly to abolish the death penalty. Governor Shapiro was joined by elected leaders – including Sen. Vince Hughes, Sen. Nikil Saval, and Rep. Rick Krajewski...
Gov. Shapiro calls for abolition of death penalty in PA
Governor Josh Shapiro has called on the General Assembly to abolish the death penalty once and for all in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. On Thursday, when speaking in front of the Mosaic Community Church in West Philadelphia, Governor Shapiro stated he will not...
Shapiro refuses to sign execution warrants, calls on lawmakers to abolish capital punishment
A moratorium on executions will continue in Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Thursday. Continuing the precedent set by his predecessor, Shapiro has refused to sign execution warrants and plans to use his executive authority to issue a reprieve to anyone whose...
Josh Shapiro calls on General Assembly to abolish the death penalty
Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to bring an end to capital punishment in the commonwealth. During a press conference Thursday in West Philadelphia, the Democratic governor committed to grant a reprieve to any execution warrant that comes across his desk and called upon...
Shapiro says he will not sign death warrants, calls for end to capital punishment in Pa.
Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Thursday he would continue his predecessor’s practice of not signing death warrants and is “calling on the general assembly to work with me to abolish the death penalty once and for all in Pennsylvania.” The move represents a more liberal...
Gov. Shapiro Reverses Course, Urges State To Abolish Death Penalty
PHILADELPHIA, PA — As Pennsylvania's attorney general, Gov. Josh Shapiro supported the death penalty for years. On Thursday he announced he'd changed his mind. Speaking to criminal justice reform advocates at Mosaic Community Church in West Philadelphia, Shapiro...
Gov. Shapiro won’t enforce capital punishment in PA, calls for its abolishment
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro followed in the footsteps of his predecessor Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday morning, Feb. 16, by announcing that any instance of capital punishment will not occur under his governorship. He also called on the General Assembly to abolish...
Shapiro announces shift on death penalty, won’t sign execution orders
Gov. Josh Shapiro vowed Thursday not to sign any execution orders over the next four years, continuing the death penalty moratorium that his predecessor Tom Wolf formally signed eight years ago, and urged state lawmakers to abolish the death penalty "once and for...
Governor Shapiro Announces He Will Not Issue Any Execution Warrants During His Term, Calls on General Assembly to Abolish the Death Penalty
HARRISBURG, PA – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro announced that he will not issue any execution warrants during his term and called on the General Assembly to join nearly half of the country in abolishing the death penalty for good. Governor Shapiro was...
Pennsylvania governor blocks death penalty, calls for repeal
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday he will not allow Pennsylvania to execute any inmates while he is in office and called for the state’s lawmakers to repeal the death penalty. Shapiro, inaugurated last month, said he will refuse to sign...
These New York Times Contributors Say The Paper’s Coverage Of Gender Issues Is Hurting Trans People
A group of more than 170 trans, nonbinary, and cisgender contributors to the New York Times published an open letter on Wednesday, condemning the paper’s coverage of trans issues — particularly its reporting around trans youth and gender-affirming...
Over 200 New York Times Contributors Condemn Paper’s Anti-Trans Coverage in Open Letter
Over 200 New York Times contributors have signed an open letter addressed to the paper of record, critiquing its biased coverage of trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people. The letter was published Wednesday morning at the...
New York Times Blasted for Harmful Transgender Coverage
A coalition of community leaders, journalists, LGBTQ organizations, and celebrities called out The New York Times for its flawed and biased coverage of issues affecting the transgender community, and for spreading misinformation about the topic in order to...
Pa. state senators propose William Still Week in February
There was a news conference at the former home of Philadelphia abolitionist William Still Tuesday morning. Pennsylvania State Senators Art Haywood and Nikil Saval announced a new legislation recognizing the second week in February as William Still...
Black abolitionist William Still honored by Pennsylvania lawmakers in Center City
As part of Black History Month, several Pennsylvania State Senators announced an effort to recognize the contributions of a Black abolitionist. Senator Art Haywood, Senator Nikil Saval, State Representative Donna Bullock and State Representative Ben Waxman, along with...
Temple University Administrators Have Declared War on Striking Grad Workers
On February 8, striking graduate workers at Temple University, a public institution on Philadelphia’s North Side, received notices that their tuition remission for the spring semester would be removed, “as a result of your participation in the TUGSA strike.”...
What you need to know about Temple’s graduate workers strike
Since January 2022 Temple University Graduate Student’s Association (TUGSA) has been negotiating with the university administration for improvements in healthcare, wages and overall working conditions. No agreements have been reached, and things just...
Students who participated in a strike at Temple University are being told they will lose their tuition and health care benefits
Temple University, a public school in Philadelphia with roughly 40,000 students, confirmed Wednesday that teaching and research assistants who take part in a strike over low pay will have their health coverage suspended and be forced to cover the full cost of tuition,...
48 Pa. elected officials say U.S. Supreme Court should be expanded with four new justices
In the wake of a series of U.S. Supreme Court rulings that have alarmed Democrats concerned about the justices’ rightward shift, dozens of elected officials in Pennsylvania have endorsed expanding the court in an effort to restore balance. Eight members of...
Museum for Art in Wood in Philadelphia
On January 30, the organization officially rebranded as the Museum for Art in Wood after undergoing an intensive and diligent planning process. The move allows the Museum to be further recognized by an international community of artists, scholars, and...
Temple U graduate students go on strike for a living wage
The Temple University Graduate Students’ Association (TUGSA) went on strike early Tuesday morning for the first time in the union’s history since it was founded in 1979 and continues to show their support for a living wage through ongoing rallies...
Temple University graduate workers on strike
Holding signs proclaiming “Respect TUGSA, Respect Students” and “Temple Works because TUGSA Does” on a lively picket line loud with chants and brass horns, Temple University Graduate Students’ Association members went on strike Jan. 31. They are demanding a fair...
Grad students’ strike continues as Temple U. remains steadfast
Elected officials, Temple University students and local community leaders came together Thursday to show support for the ongoing strike being held by the Temple University Graduate Students’ Association (TUGSA) following over a year of failed negotiations on a new...
Bernie Sanders supports Temple’s graduate worker strike
The Vermont senator Bernie Sanders wrote a message on his social media supporting the indefinite strike the Temple University graduate workers announced yesterday. The Temple University Graduate Students’ Association (TUGSA) called the strike after a year of non...
Bernie Sanders tweets support for TUGSA strike
United States Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders voiced his support for Temple University Graduate Students’ Association’s strike in a tweet Wednesday evening. “If Temple can afford to pay its football coach $2 million per year, it can afford to pay its grad...