First Read

First Read PA – Sept. 25, 2023

Fetterman calls on Menendez to resign … Fitzpatrick says bipartisan caucus will do ‘whatever it takes’ to avoid shutdown … Pitt weighs in on tuition rates … and more.

City & State PA First Read

City & State PA First Read City & State

WEATHER: Philadelphia: cloudy, with rain likely between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., high of 66; Harrisburg: cloudy, with a chance of light rain, high of 63; Pittsburgh: cloudy, with patchy drizzle before 9 a.m., high of 71.

FROM CITY & STATE:

* Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration announced Friday that it has finalized an agreement with Norfolk Southern Corp. to increase the number of daily passenger rail trips offered between Pittsburgh and New York City.* City & State’s 2023 Greater Philadelphia Healthcare Summit welcomed the region’s top experts and officials for panels focused on elder care, innovations in primary care delivery and more.

NEW THIS MORNING:

* U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick says the House Problem Solvers Caucus will do “whatever it takes” to pass a bipartisan bill to fund the government and avoid a shutdown, CNN reports.

* U.S. Sen. John Fetterman is the first Democratic senator to call for the resignation of Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat who has been indicted on bribery charges, CNBC reports. 

* GOP congressional candidate and state Rep. Rob Mercuri picked up an endorsement from Americans for Prosperity Action – an organization funded by the conservative Koch brothers, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star reports.

* Adam Kidan, a leader in the temporary-staffing industry who has served time in federal prison for fraud and conspiracy, has emerged as one of U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker’s top political donors, LNP reports. * As members of Congress and President Joe Biden’s administration work to avoid a government shutdown, such a shutdown could result in disruptions for federal employees and facilities, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports. 

* Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson announced her intent to leave PennWest University in February, but in the seven months that followed, the state-owned university has yet to begin the search for the university president’s successor, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

* A new statewide grant program is aimed at helping nonprofit organizations develop opioid prevention strategies for Black and Indigenous residents in the state, WHYY reports. 

* Philadelphia Democratic Party Chair Bob Brady has expressed frustration over the rise of Working Families Party candidates in Philadelphia’s City Council races, the Inquirer reports.

* Reporter Jon Levine recently traveled through New York City dressed in shorts and a hoodie to see how far he could get into the city’s finest restaurants donning Fetterman’s signature apparel, the New York Post reports. * Leaders at the University of Pittsburgh say they are willing to freeze in-state tuition for the 2024-25 academic year if lawmakers agree to a 9.25% increase in state funding, the Tribune-Review reports.

EDITORIAL PAGES:

* Politics PA has an op-ed from state Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, who writes that it is “past time for the House to come back to session” and work with Senate lawmakers. 

* The Daily Item writes that efforts to implement automatic voter registration and establish open primaries in the state would be beneficial to democracy. 

NATIONAL POLITICS:

* Menendez faces growing calls for his resignation after being indicted alongside his wife for allegedly accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in cash, gold bars and gifts, Axios reports. * House lawmakers believe the use of a discharge petition could help them bring a government funding bill to a vote and help the nation avert a lapse in funding, Semafor reports.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: To state Sen. Jim Brewster … to Nancy Gephart, partner and president of Capital Markets, Shift Capital … and to Medina Rashid, CEO, MECCA Early Child Care Center … Want to wish someone a happy birthday in our newsletter? Email their name, job title and upcoming birthday to editor@cityandstatepa.com.

MOVING ON: Have a career change or life event to announce? Email us: editor@cityandstatepa.com.

TODAY’S SKED:

11 a.m. – Shapiro administration to remind motorists about the dangers of flooding, PEMA Media Briefing Room, 1310 Elmerton Ave, Harrisburg. 

3:15 p.m. – The Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing meets, remotely. Watch here. 

To have your events included in Today’s sked, please email the information to editor@cityandstatepa.com.

KICKER: 

“I hope he chooses an honorable exit and focuses on his trial.” – Fetterman on charges against Menendez, via CNBC

NEXT STORY: First Read PA – Sept. 22, 2023

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.