News & Brews May 22, 2023
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Mastriano to reveal if he’ll run for Senate
On Saturday, the Inquirer reported that former gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano plans to announce on Facebook Live in the coming week whether he’ll run for U.S. Senate next year. The prospect of another Mastriano candidacy is concerning to Republicans who are interested in winning in November. Mastriano has shown he can win a statewide GOP primary. But his drastic loss to Gov. Josh Shapiro does not bode well for a general. Unfortunately, in 2022, Mastriano chose not to campaign beyond his base. And to win a general election in Pa., a Republican must go beyond Republican voters and reach swing voters.
Microschools, hybrid schools give parents options
The Cato Institute’s Colleen Hroncich and PA Families for Education Choice’s Sharon Sedlar explain in RealClear Pennsylvania how microschools and hybrid schools work. Hroncich and Sedlar highlight how the flexibility of these models allows them to “adapt as their students’ needs change.” As enrollment in district schools has fallen since the start of. the pandemic, these flexible options have become “increasingly popular.”
A look at Fetterman’s return to the Senate
The AP reports that U.S. Sen. John Fetterman is back to wearing his trademark hoodies and gym shorts as he returned to the Senate. “He votes from the doorway of the Democratic cloakroom or the side entrance,” the story notes. And he “mak[es] sure his ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ is recorded before ducking back out.”
Oil/natural gas industry supports >400K jobs in Pa.
A new study by PwC, commissioned by the American Petroleum Institute, found that the fossil fuel industry has an “exceptionally large direct impact” on the commonwealth’s economy. About 93,000 Pa. jobs are “directly attributable to the oil and gas industry.” But factoring in “direct, indirect, and induced impacts,” that number rises to 424,000 jobs.
Pa.’s low unemployment rate hides nuances
Preliminary Dept of Labor & Industry numbers show that in April, Pa. may have matched a record low 4.1% unemployment rate. But the figure hides some important caveats. PennLive reports that the Commonwealth Foundation notes the figure is “not as robust as other states are seeing.” What’s more, there’s “the fact that fewer people are in the labor force or seeking work.” This is “why hiring signs are plentiful as employers struggle to find workers.”