News & Brews October 18, 2024
Get News & Brews in your inbox each day: Subscribe here!
Musk holds first pro-Trump event in Pa.
Yesterday, Elon Musk held his first of several planned town-hall events in Pa. in support of former President Trump. In addition to taking questions, Musk encouraged folks to vote early, highlighting that the importance of this election spurred him to get involved in politics, although he hadn’t been politically active before.
Dems worry Harris has a problem with Latino men in Pa.
POLITICO reports that VP Kamala Harris’ “performance with Latino voters in Pennsylvania, home to about 580,000 registered Latino voters, could tip the entire election.” Yet, “Latino political and business leaders in Pennsylvania have privately warned the Kamala Harris campaign that it is not doing enough to engage Latino voters and elected officials in the state, imperiling her chances of defeating Donald Trump here.”
Revenue sec’t appeals to state Supreme Court to avoid testifying before Senate
The plot thickens. After the Commonwealth Court rejected state Revenue Secretary Pat Browne’s request for help to avoid testifying before the Senate over his refusal to provide certain tax documents related to Allentown’s Neighborhood Improvement Zone, Browne has appealed to the state Supreme Court. PennLive reports, “The Senate GOP insists the records are necessary for a performance audit of this one-of-a-kind program that has funneled more than $700 million into transforming that city’s downtown.” Meanwhile, “Browne maintains he is not legally permitted to disclose those records.”
What’s it mean to be middle class in Pa.?
Some things are unchanging. The definition of “middle class” in Pa. is not one of them. In 2023 the income considered “middle class” in Pa. reached the range of $53,213 to $159,640, per Census estimates reported by CNBC. Typically, middle class is “defined as earning between two-thirds and double the household median income.” Meanwhile, the Pocono Record recently reported that from 2012 to 2022, the amount of income needed in Pa. to be considered middle class rose by almost 40%.
The other Pittsburgh foreign sale?
As the potential sale of U.S. Steel to Japan-based Nippon Steel has drawn national attention, another pending foreign sale has not. The Tribune-Review reports that Pittsburgh-based “PPG Industries plans to lay off about 1,800 employees amid efforts to cut costs….” The layoffs include 800 people in Downtown Pittsburgh and 425 in Cranberry. Additionally, “PPG announced it has agreed to sell all of its U.S. and Canadian architectural coatings business … to private equity firm American Industrial Partners.” And, “In August, PPG agreed to sell its silicas products business to Poland-based QEMETICA S.A. for about $310 million. That transaction is also pending.”