👋 Hello, Tuesday! Old enough to remember WKRP? See below.
PA Weather
🌧️ Erie | Showers Likely, Windy, 51
🌧️ Harrisburg | Rain/Sleet, Breezy, 46
☂️ Allentown | Rain Arriving, 45
PA Sports
🏈 Eagles (9-1) | Kansas City 21-17 | Sun vs. Buffalo
🏀 Sixers (10-3) | Brooklyn 121-99 | Tue vs. Cleveland
🏒 Penguins (9-8-0) | Vegas, 3-0 | Wed vs. NY Rangers
🏒 Flyers (10-7-1) | Columbus 5-2 | Wed vs. NY Islanders
The Pennsylvania Society
Do you have a reception scheduled during PA Society weekend on Dec. 1-2? Let us know at steve@politicspa.com so we can add it to our list to be published later today.
Happy Birthday
Cake and candles for Rep. Carol Hill-Evans and Emilia Winter Rowland in Rep. Summer Lee’s office.
Start Your Day Smart
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Top Story
1. Shapiro Says Unfinished Business Includes Vouchers, More School Funding And Higher Minimum Wage
“Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Monday that his list of unfinished business for the state Legislature includes passing a private school voucher program, increasing the minimum wage and approving bills to curb gun violence.
Shapiro also said he wants lawmakers to lift limits that prevent adult victims of childhood sexual assault from suing their assailants and institutions.
“I consider this to be unfinished business, along with making sure we raise the minimum wage, along with passing statute of limitations reform, along with making sure that we do something about gun violence in our communities,” Shapiro said.” (AP)
Related
Shapiro Claims He ‘Got Stuff Done’ In Year One, But His Critics Want More. “Gov. Josh Shapiro on Monday reflected on his first year in office as one where he “got stuff done” — raising the minimum wage and scholarships for students to attend private schools — but acknowledges there’s still some unfinished business he hopes to tackle.” (PennLive)
- Shapiro Touts His Administration’s ‘GSD’ Attitude At Press Club Luncheon. (Penn Capital-Star)
- Shapiro Says He’s Putting ‘Points On The Board’ After 10 Months In Office. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
- Shapiro Touts First Year’s Work, Has No Plans For ‘Another Trip’ To New Hampshire. (CNHI News)
Lafayette College Selected to Host 2024 Vice Presidential Debate. “The Commission on Presidential Debates announced today that Lafayette College has been selected to host the 2024 vice presidential debate on Wednesday, Sept. 25, the first time the College has been chosen as the site for this tradition in American politics.” (PoliticsPA)
Sen. Bob Casey’s Talking Turkey (Prices) As Democrats Struggle With Messaging On The Economy. “Casey’s “Greedflation” report says corporations are price gouging even in the face of record profits. His approach on economic messaging comes as he runs for reelection.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)
State
2. PA Lawmakers To Get Early Holiday Gift: A Pay Increase Will Bump Base Salary To $106K
“Base salaries for lawmakers will soon top $106,000 a year, establishing Pennsylvania again as the third highest paid state legislature in the nation.
The 3.5% pay raise starting Dec. 1, pushes yearly salaries to $106,422 — or $8.869 a month — up from the $102,844 received last December when lawmakers’ pay cracked into six figures for the first time. Only state lawmakers in California and New York earn a higher base pay.” (PennLive)
Related
Copeland Announces Candidacy For Attorney General. “The Republican field for state Attorney General just doubled as Katyoun “Kat” Copeland announced her candidacy for the position on Monday.” (PoliticsPA)
- Former Delaware County DA ‘Kat’ Copeland Opens Campaign For PA Attorney General. (Delco Times)
HD-140: Galloway Announces Plans To Resign House Seat. “State Rep. John Galloway (D-Bucks) has announced that he plans to resign from his seat in Harrisburg on December 15.” (PoliticsPA)
HD-140: Bidlingmaier Enters Race To Succeed Galloway. “Melanie Bidlingmaier, chief of staff to Rep. John Galloway (D-Bucks), has announced her plans to run for his soon-to-be-vacated seat in the Pennsylvania House.” (PoliticsPA)
HD-14: Kozak Launches Bid For 14th House District As Marshall Plans 2024 Exit. “An established figure in Beaver County Republican politics will run for outgoing state Rep. Jim Marshall’s Pennsylvania House seat next year.” (Beaver County Times)
PA Lawmakers To Consider Increasing Domestic Abuse Protections. “Amendments to the Pennsylvania Landlord and Tenant Act that hope to provide housing protections to victims of domestic abuse passed the House judiciary committee last week and now await action — and possible changes — by the full House.” (WESA)
Around The Commonwealth
3. Philadelphia Planning For Its Big Year In 2026
“Philadelphia anticipates a landmark events calendar in 2026 as the city prepares for both the FIFA World Cup and America’s 250th anniversary celebration.
Kathryn Ott Lovell, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Visitor Center Corporation, said the organization has partnered other tourism groups – including Visit Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Convention Center – to create Coalition 2026 to manage the festivities and “ensure that Philadelphia is able to meet this unprecedented moment.”
That’s going to take a lot more money, however.” (The Center Square)
Related
PA Families Call On Josh Shapiro To Fulfill Recommendations Of Fracking Grand Jury. “Families that live near fracking in Washington County are disappointed in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s recent partnership with a major gas driller, saying it doesn’t do enough to bring accountability to the industry.” (NPR)
The State Of The Pro-Life Movement In Pennsylvania: An Interview With Maria Gallagher. “Governor Josh Shapiro, says the Legislative Director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, “would like to turn Pennsylvania into a sanctuary for abortion. Advocates for life are working hard to counteract his dangerous pro-abortion policies, which take the lives of innocent children and cause grave harm to women.” (Catholic World Report)
Grassroots Spotlight: Pennsylvania State Conference Held in Pittsburgh. “The National Rifle Association (NRA) recently held its first-ever Pennsylvania State Conference in Pittsburgh. Attendees had the privilege of hearing from such stalwarts as Senate President Kim Ward and State Representative Eric Nelson.” (NRA-ILA)
Editorial
4. What They’re Saying
1 Thanksgiving Thing
5. “As God Is My Witness, I Thought Turkeys Could Fly”
“This year is the 45th anniversary of the classic “WKRP in Cincinnati” episode that showed turkeys do not, in fact, fly.
The sitcom follows the trials and tribulations of a fictional radio station in Cincinnati. In the seventh episode of the first season, aptly titled “Turkeys Away,” released on Oct. 30, 1978, the struggling station puts on a well-intended but poorly executed Thanksgiving promotion, dropping live turkeys from a helicopter outside a busy shopping center.
In the episode, reporter Les Nessman (Richard Sanders) delivers a dramatic on-the-scene recount of the incident, mimicking journalist Herbert Morrison’s broadcast of the 1937 Hindenburg disaster, “One just went through the windshield of a parked car. This is terrible. Oh, the humanity!” (Cincinnati.com)
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