Author Archive
Campaigns & Elections
Politics
Brooks bests Mackenzie to flip PA-7 back to Democrats
In a decisive victory over first-term Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, Democrat and firefighters’ union chief Bob Brooks won a hotly contested Lehigh Valley race, notching Democrats a critical House seat on a very good night for the party
Philadelphia
Politics
‘These Zionist establishments must go!’ Organizers of upcoming Philly ‘Boycott Ride’ target Jewish-owned eateries
A coalition of pro-Palestinian activists plans to intimidate Jewish-owned businesses on the eve of the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Nazi night of terror that destroyed thousands of Jewish homes and businesses.
Campaigns & Elections
Politics
Immigrant advocates take action against ‘elections-related shenanigans’
With federal monitors expected at some polls and reports of a nationwide uptick in ICE activity, advocates for the commonwealth’s newer arrivals are strategizing to protect voters’ rights and safety
Campaigns & Elections
Politics
Commonwealth officials and immigration advocates buckling in for whatever Election Day throws their way
At a nonpartisan online forum sponsored by Keep Our Republic, a national democracy organization, current and former officials shared their concerns, strategies and expectations around an increasingly complex and fraught voting landscape.
Honors
Power Lists
The CSPA 2026 Fifty Over 50
Meet the veteran entrepreneurs, educators and advocates whose decades of effort have kept the commonwealth humming.
Politics
The colonial DNA behind Pennsylvania’s purple complexion
At Philadelphia’s Carpenters' Hall, the birthplace of the commonwealth, historian Colin Woodard explained how a pluralistic legacy birthed a perpetual swing state
Campaigns & Elections
Politics
Touting domestic accomplishments, Ryan Mackenzie fights for a second term repping PA-7
The first-term Republican is considered extremely vulnerable in polls that show a toss-up race against Democrat Bob Brooks, the state firefighters’ union chief, in a Lehigh Valley swing district
Campaigns & Elections
Politics
No argument here: Bob Brooks pull out of PA-7 debate
Citing false and “defamatory” attacks by his rival, incumbent U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, the Democrat and union chief abruptly pulled out of the lone planned debate in the race for Pennsylvania’s tightly contested Lehigh Valley district.
Campaigns & Elections
Politics
Catching fire: Bob Brooks makes his case for beating Ryan Mackenzie in PA-7
The Democratic candidate – and the head of the firefighters union – is touting his cost-of-living agenda, including Medicare for All and a higher minimum wage, to convince Lehigh Valley voters to send him to Congress.
Policy
Policy
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick’s red tape-cutting efforts take center stage in Philadelphia
The senator convened politicians and industry stakeholders at Temple University to brainstorm ways to improve Pennsylvania’s business climate.
Philadelphia
Policy
New report details the impact immigrants have on Philadelphia’s population and economy
Philadelphia’s Welcoming Center examines the critical economic contributions of the region’s immigrants – and the effects of current federal immigration policies.
MagazineShow All
Education
Policy
Ages of uncertainty
How the state, and its stakeholders, are strategizing around the slow-motion fallout of a rapidly aging population, a shrinking workforce pool and decreasing birth rates.
Capitol Beat
Policy
State health officials pause disease-control strategy proposal
The move, allowing consideration of some 10,000 public comments, comes as the commonwealth battles a historic measles outbreak that now surpasses 900 cases.
Trailblazers
Power Lists
The City & State Trailblazers in Healthcare 2026
Meet the physicians, advocates and visionaries keeping Pennsylvania, and its mighty healthcare sector, healthy.
Healthcare
Policy
New ACA rates pinching Pennie’s users
On the heels of historic 2026 rate increases for state health insurance marketplace plans, the Pennsylvania Insurance Department announced sharply higher rates for 2027 coverage
health policy
Politics
As PA measles cases skyrocket, Shapiro-RFK Jr. beef expands
As Pennsylvania’s measles outbreak hit disturbing new milestones this week – including the country’s largest reported measles death total since the 1990s – tensions flared again between Gov. Josh Shapiro and federal health czar Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over death counts and declining American vaccine confidence.
Agriculture
Policy
PA farmers, plagued by bumper crop of crises, turn to legislators for help
Legislators aim to ease the challenges facing commonwealth farmers, from soaring fertilizer and diesel prices to a freakish freeze and a shortage of immigrant labor.
health policy
Health Policy
PA measles outbreak continues to roil pols, policymakers, physicians
The virus's spread has metastasized into a rapidly expanding partisan controversy.
Who's Who
Power Lists
The City & State Who's Who in Labor 2026
Meet the organizers, educators and advocates powering Pennsylvania’s workforce.
health policy
Policy
As PA measles outbreak intensifies, so does the political polarization around it
Following the very public spat between Gov. Josh Shapiro and federal health czar RFK Jr., conservatives and public-health experts are fighting over the veracity of the state’s reported measles deaths
