News & Brews July 31, 2025
Get News & Brews in your inbox each day: Subscribe here!
Payments delayed as budget impasse persists
The AP reports that Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration has said “billions of dollars in aid to Pennsylvania’s schools and human services will be delayed, as he[Shapiro] and the politically divided Legislature struggle to end what is now a monthlong budget stalemate.” Yes, as Shapiro has been posting Instagram videos about Uncrustables, traveling to New York to appear on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, and heading to Nantucket to fundraise, Pennsylvania still doesn’t have a state budget.
DHS orders workers back to office (sort of)
PennLive reports that the state Department of Human Services “recently informed its employees — the veritable army of workers who handle Medicaid programs, child care, disability services, and myriad other forms of social assistance — that they would be transitioning over the next six months to schedules with at least two days per week of in-office work.” The change affects about 4,500 workers. Here’s what got me: The story says the largest change “is expected at County Assistance Offices — the nearly 100 locations throughout the state where residents can go to sign up for various DHS programs. In many cases, employees at these offices with more seniority were moved to full-time telework….” So the state offices where people go in person for help were staffed in part by … teleworkers?
Dem governors ‘angling for 2028’
A POLITICO column looks at the crowded field of governors potentially “angling” for the Democrat presidential nomination for 2028. The story focuses particularly on Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, with a sub-focus on Gov. Josh Shapiro. He “hasn’t worked the national scene as much as Moore, or other 2028 contenders, but he may luck into a springboard of a re-election if Republicans nominate the abysmal Doug Mastriano again next year.” But “the eventual Democratic nominee,” the author contends, “will emerge because they can do (at least) two things: plausibly run against the political status quo as a changemaker and can claim the attention-economy crown that has reshaped politics.”
Fetterman to release memoir
Sen. John Fetterman will release his memoir, Unfettered, on November 11, per Penguin Random House. In the book, “Fetterman reveals, for the first time, the full story of a life and career marked by battles, from his work with community leaders to revitalize Braddock to his recovery from the stroke that nearly ended his political career, to his lifelong struggles with the depression that landed him in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and nearly ended his life.” Penguin describes the memoir as “an unapologetic account of [Fetterman’s] unconventional life, a reminder that public service comes in many forms, and a vision for fighting the battles that matter in a divided country.”
Lawmakers propose training program to alleviate child care crisis
Republican state Reps. Joe Hogan and Shelby Labs, both of Bucks County, plan to introduce legislation that would create “a pilot program that would allow high school students to earn an associate degree and professional certifications in early childhood education through career and technical education (CTE) schools,” the Delaware Valley Journal reports. “The goal is to create a pipeline of qualified childcare workers, reduce credentialing costs, and help students avoid burdensome college debt.” Addressing the child care crisis was the topic of a House Republican Policy Committee hearing this week in Bucks County, “where lawmakers heard firsthand from educators, childcare providers, business leaders, and policy experts about the acute workforce shortage gripping the state’s early childhood education sector.”