News & Brews October 13, 2025
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Hostages released as PGH Jewish community remembers Oct. 7
Without a doubt, the biggest news of the morning is the release of the final living Israeli hostages after more than two years in captivity. Last evening, on the eve of the release, the Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh held an event commemorating the lives lost two years ago in the Hamas terror attack on Israel. The Post-Gazette reports that Jeff Finkelstein, CEO of the Federation, said of the surviving hostages, “Their resilience is astounding and at the same time, I hope people don’t lose sight of the fact that innocent civilians were swept up from their homes in the early morning, from a dance festival, from the roads and dragged into the Gaza Strip. You can’t forget what happened on Oct. 7.”
Why parents choose Pa.’s fastest-growing charter
As Gov. Shapiro and Democrat lawmakers seek to slash funding for cyber charter students, PennLive looks at why thousands of parents are flocking to Pennsylvania’s fastest-growing cyber charter school. While the specific reasons are as varied as the families, there is one overarching commonality: “they are not happy with something about their local public schools.”
IFO: Pa. population set to decline & get older
A new report from the state’s Independent Fiscal Office should be a flashing warning sign to policymakers. Fox43 explains, “The report projects the commonwealth’s total population will actually decline by 0.5% from 2025 to 2030, then drop another 1% through 2035.” Further, “By 2035, there will be 906,000 Pennsylvanians over 80 — up from 626,000 in 2025. Meanwhile, the school-age population will drop nearly 10% over the next decade, according to the report’s projections.” The Commonwealth Foundation’s Nathan Benefield noted, “This is THE problem facing state lawmakers–how to make Pa. more attractive to working age families. Deficit spending and energy taxes aren’t the solution.”
Dems target Garrity’s loan program
Ah, politics. As Pennsylvania is now more than 100 days into a budget impasse, you’d think lawmakers would welcome state Treasurer Stacy Garrity’s loan program to help counties through the impasse. But you’d think wrong. Instead, Democrats are criticizing it—all because Garrity is also running for governor against their own Gov. Josh Shapiro. Senate Democrat Leader Jay Costa argued Garrity doesn’t have the authority to offer loans, although Republican Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office said the program passes legal muster.
Pa. Turnpike: Bye bye toll booths, hello higher tolls
Big changes are coming to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, but lower tolls aren’t among them. PennLive reports that as part of Open Roads Tolling, toll booths are being demolished, and the Turnpike is giving drivers a before-and-after glimpse into what that will look like. “The Turnpike said it expects to save $25 million a year in interchange maintenance and operations costs and $50 million in yearly operational savings vs. traditional collection methods.” But as for tolls? Well, they’re still going up, and the story notes that “tolls will increase by 4% on Jan. 4, 2026, as part of Act 44 of 2007 which requires the Turnpike Commission ‘to contribute $450 million annually to fund statewide transportation in lieu of raising taxes.’”