News & Brews January 18 2022

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Corman has almost $3M in gubernatorial bid

Whoops, I missed including this one yesterday. Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, who’s running for the GOP nomination for governor, recently revealed in a campaign email that he has “close to $3 million on hand” in his campaign account, the LNP reported. The story notes, “Giving a preview of his fundraising is intended to convince donors Corman is the best GOP candidate to ‘go toe-to-toe’ with Democrat Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the email says.” Candidates are required to file campaign finance reports on January 31, which will reveal their fundraising totals through December 31, 2021.

PA’s U.S. Senate candidates trade barbs in heated primary

It’s no surprise that the GOP primary for U.S. Senate is heating up. Fox News reports that two of the major candidates, celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund CEO David McCormick, are going at it over China. Read more here on the battle of words. And for more on spending-to-date in the race, check out this story.

Pittsburgh might gain $200M from GOP convention … or, it might not

As Pittsburgh is a contender to host the 2024 Republican National Convention, WESA looks at the potential economic impact on the city, noting it could be “upwards of $200 million. But estimates of how much the city could bring in and at what cost depend on who you ask.” As one economics professor advises, “I usually tell people that if you want a good estimate of the actual economic impact of a big event, take whatever the biggest boosters are telling you, move the decimal place one point to the left, and that’s probably a pretty good estimate….” (This might be a good approach for politicians’ rosy promises, too.) Read more here.

Guess who has the highest gas prices east of the Rockies?

If you said Pennsylvania, you win! Per AAA, our average price per gallon today, at $3.518, is higher than any state in the eastern half of the U.S. and higher than the national average of $3.314. The highest in the nation is California, at $4.650. On the good side, at least we don’t have potholes…… 🙄 🙄

Take a listen! Covid context missing from Wolf administration

Did you miss our recent op-ed on the context on Covid hospitalizations that the Wolf administration isn’t giving? Not to worry! Read it here, or listen to the audio version here! (6-minute listen)

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