News & Brews August 30, 2023
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Pa. Senate to convene today on state budget
The Pa. Senate will convene today at 1:00 pm to work on the unfinished state budget. The session will be live-streamed here. Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman said, “My hope is that we’ll advance issues that need to be addressed … that are areas of bipartisan agreement. And I also expect that we’ll advance those areas of priority concern that our Senate Republican majority has that have yet to be fully addressed.”
DeSantis to hold 3 fundraisers in Pa. next week
The Inquirer thinks it’s “rare” that Fl. Gov. Ron DeSantis would be coming to a non-early-voting state—even though he’s already been in Pa. several times this year. But that said, the Inky reports that DeSantis will hold three fundraisers in one day in Pa. on Tuesday. “He is scheduled to attend a breakfast in Harrisburg, a lunch in Altoona, and an evening reception in Pittsburgh, all ticketed events with high-dollar donations.” Although our primary is currently late (April 23), lawmakers are set to consider legislation to move it up as early as March 19.
Pa. businesses ‘drowning in red tape’
The Delaware Valley Journal reports on frustrations among business leaders in dealing with government-induced permitting delays and red tape. PA Chamber of Business & Industry President and CEO Luke Bernstein pointed to U.S. Steel as an example. “U.S. Steel built a $3 billion investment, which was 900 good-paying jobs with an average salary over $100,000 a year in Arkansas,” he said. Bernstein added that U.S. Steel moved into its new Arkansas facilities in less time than it would have taken to even get permits in Pa.
Philly to spend $150K on athlete promotion app
The Center Square reports that “Philadelphia’s public school system earmarked $150,000 to promote its high school athletes in hopes the added exposure will lead to college scholarships.” The spending is part of a one-year contract with Agile Sports Technologies, Inc.
WESA: Trust but [don’t] verify
It would have been tough to resist clicking on a WESA story on “how to spot misinformation during political turmoil.” I mean, who wouldn’t want the media to tell us how to find truth? The story, expectedly, takes aim at Trump. (And if you are a regular reader of our material, you know we believe the GOP needs to move on from Trump.) But WESA’s solution to spotting falsehoods? Trust the experts in the mainstream media. You know, kind of like when the Inquirer claimed the state budget is done? (It’s not). This was a telling quote from University of Pittsburgh researcher Laura Putnam: “Look out at that broader panorama of: What are the basic views? What are mainstream newspapers saying, mainstream television reporting? What interpretations are they offering on the basis of the consensus opinion among experts? And if someone is telling you, ‘Oh, but, you know, do your own research,’ that could be a red flag.” Ha. Got it.