News & Brews August 13, 2026
Get News & Brews in your inbox each day: Subscribe here!
Garrity’s work ethic v. Shapiro’s money
Spotlight PA takes a new look at State Treasurer Stacy Garrity’s career—military, private sector, and political—and considers her “underdog” status when up against Gov. Shapiro’s significant political war chest. For her part, Garrity says, “Of course I’m an underdog. That’s OK, I’m used to being the underdog.” She’s referring to her 2020 campaign for state treasurer, when she “took on a better-known, better-funded incumbent Democrat and won.” Beyond determining who sits in the governor’s office, the top of the ticket contest could also impact down ballot races as Democrats seek to flip the Senate and gain a trifecta in Harrisburg.
The big gap in Pa.’s RTK law
If you’ve ever tried to file a Right-to-Know (RTK) request and been stonewalled by a state agency, you’re not alone. Broad + Liberty investigative reporter Todd Shepherd exposes a gap in the state’s RTK law that pretty much let’s government agencies get away with simply claiming no records exist based on what someone says, rather than actually conducting a search for records. And this happens even though the state Supreme Court has said that such a response is insufficient. Still, the governor’s office spanning at least two administrations has used this gap to block transparency.
Quantum computing takes the mic at hearing
The progressive Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports that “Pennsylvania is well positioned to be a leader in the development of the next major breakthrough in computing, state lawmakers heard Tuesday in an informational hearing on quantum technology.” At the hearing before the House Committee on Communications and Technology, the Shapiro administration said, “Quantum computing has the potential to transform industries that we care about: life sciences, advanced manufacturing, energy, ag, logistics, and national security.” Quantum computing is based on quantum physics, which is “the branch of science used to describe the properties of atoms and subatomic particles.”
A partisan fight that won’t happen?
The friendship between Democrat Sen. John Fetterman and Repubican Sen. Dave McCormick has repeatedly made headlines. Now, that friendship has taken a new step as Fetterman recently said he would not campaign against McCormick when the latter is set to stand for re-election in 2030. “Well, I would absolutely never move against my friend,” Fetterman stated. PennLive notes, “Fetterman’s admission that he would not oppose a GOP candidate for Senate is rare.”
Company to get Pa. land, gas rights for data center
Alpha Compute, a technology company headquartered in the British Virgin Islands, “has signed a binding term sheet to buy land and natural gas rights in Pennsylvania for $55 million to support a 200-megawatt data center campus.” The campus will be in northern Pennsylvania, although a specific location has not been disclosed. “The planned … data center campus aims for third-quarter 2027 operations, scalable to one gigawatt of gas-fired power, with total build-out costs around $500 million.”
