Pennsylvania lawmakers passed the state's 2026-27 budget within two weeks of the deadline June 30th. 

That might be late. But it's closer to on-time than usual in recent decades – including last year, when the process dragged on for 135 days and Pennsylvania ended up being the last state to adopt a budget.

We don’t have to go through that again this summer, although negotiations did conclude with a bit of a marathon involving late nights and working through the weekend – with Gov. Josh Shapiro signing it on the evening of Sunday, July 12. 

Now that the dust has settled, the Capital-Star team sat down together to compare notes, talk about future coverage, swap behind-the-scenes stories and more. 

Folo PA features Pennsylvania-focused audio journalism that emphasizes context, accountability and community impact. 

The podcast is hosted and produced by the Capital-Star's Audio Reporter Emily Previti, with editing by Editor-in-Chief Tim Lambert. Episodes feature the work of Tim, Emily and the rest of the team as well as media partners throughout the commonwealth. Listeners also can expect content from States Newsroom's Stories from the States podcast and sister outlets across the country.

Our theme music is Dusk by Mr Smith, courtesy of the Free Music Archive licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License. 

Learn more at penncapital-star.com. You can subscribe to our newsletter, The Morning Guide, there – and support our work. 

Every week, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star recaps our top stories with Natalie Bencivenga's The Week in Focus. 

It’s a way to get caught up on some news you might’ve missed in just a few minutes as you head into your weekend.

Folo PA features Pennsylvania-focused audio journalism that emphasizes context, accountability and community impact. 

The podcast is hosted and produced by the Capital-Star's Audio Reporter Emily Previti, with editing by Editor-in-Chief Tim Lambert. Episodes feature the work of Tim, Emily and the rest of the team as well as media partners throughout the commonwealth. Listeners also can expect content from States Newsroom's Stories from the States podcast and sister outlets across the country

Our theme music is Dusk by Mr Smith, courtesy of the Free Music Archive licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License. 

Learn more at penncapital-star.com. You can subscribe to our newsletter, The Morning Guide, there – and support our work. 

With Pennsylvania’s state budget through the legislature and signed by the governor last weekend, it’s official: the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is increasing tuition. 

Emily Scolnick, a 2026 Dow Jones News Fund intern at the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, has more details on that as well as a new initiative to mitigate costs for eligible students announced by PASSHE at the same time as next year’s tuition.  

Folo PA features Pennsylvania-focused audio journalism that emphasizes context, accountability and community impact. 

The podcast is hosted and produced by the Capital-Star's Audio Reporter Emily Previti, with editing by Editor-in-Chief Tim Lambert. Episodes feature the work of Tim, Emily and the rest of the team as well as media partners throughout the commonwealth. Listeners also can expect content from States Newsroom's Stories from the States podcast and sister outlets across the country

Our theme music is Dusk by Mr Smith, courtesy of the Free Music Archive licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License. 

Learn more at penncapital-star.com. You can subscribe to our newsletter, The Morning Guide, there – and support our work. 

With Immigration and Customs Enforcement pivoting from plans to convert some of its new warehouses to detention facilities, one lingering issue is that local governments have lost millions of dollars in annual revenue because the properties are tax-exempt. 

Some officials had been pushing for payments in lieu of taxes from the federal government.  

But now, it looks like that won’t happen because, as the Pennsylvania Capital-Star’s Emily Previti found out, the sites don't qualify for a PILT or comparable agreement. 

Emily sat down with the Capital-Star's Editor-in-Chief Tim Lambert to talk all about it. 

Folo PA features Pennsylvania-focused audio journalism that emphasizes context, accountability and community impact. 

The podcast is hosted and produced by the Capital-Star's Audio Reporter Emily Previti, with editing by Editor-in-Chief Tim Lambert. Episodes feature the work of Tim, Emily and the rest of the team as well as media partners throughout the commonwealth. Listeners also can expect content from States Newsroom's Stories from the States podcast and sister outlets across the country

Our theme music is Dusk by Mr Smith, courtesy of the Free Music Archive licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License. 

Learn more at penncapital-star.com. You can subscribe to our newsletter, The Morning Guide, there – and support our work. 

Every week, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star recaps our top stories with Natalie Bencivenga's The Week in Focus. 

It’s a way to get caught up on some news you might’ve missed in just a few minutes as you head into your weekend.

Folo PA features Pennsylvania-focused audio journalism that emphasizes context, accountability and community impact. 

The podcast is hosted and produced by the Capital-Star's Audio Reporter Emily Previti, with editing by Editor-in-Chief Tim Lambert. Episodes feature the work of Tim, Emily and the rest of the team as well as media partners throughout the commonwealth. Listeners also can expect content from States Newsroom's Stories from the States podcast and sister outlets across the country

Our theme music is Dusk by Mr Smith, courtesy of the Free Music Archive licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License. 

Learn more at penncapital-star.com. You can subscribe to our newsletter, The Morning Guide, there – and support our work. 

Hazing is a crime in Pennsylvania. It wasn't always that way, but elected officials changed state law after a Penn State student died in 2017 of injuries he suffered at a fraternity party. 

Now, the state Attorney General’s Office has used the law for the first time to charge a former Bucknell University football coach in the death of 18-year-old freshman recruit Calvin “C.J.” Dickey Jr. 

The Pennsylvania Capital-Star's Peter Hall reports athletes later told investigators they were being forced to exercise as a form of punishment when Dickey collapsed. 

Folo PA features Pennsylvania-focused audio journalism that emphasizes context, accountability and community impact. 

The podcast is hosted and produced by Pennsylvania Capital-Star Audio Reporter Emily Previti, with editing by PCS Editor-in-Chief Tim Lambert. Episodes feature the work of Tim, Emily and the rest of the PCS team as well as media partners throughout the commonwealth. Listeners also can expect content from States Newsroom's Stories from the States podcast and sister outlets across the country

Our theme music is Dusk by Mr Smith, courtesy of the Free Music Archive licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License. 

Learn more at penncapital-star.com. You can subscribe to our newsletter, The Morning Guide, there – and support our work. 

Data center development recently provoked finger-pointing in the state’s gubernatorial race, with incumbent Democrat Josh Shapiro and challenger Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity each accusing the other of flip-flopping on the issue. 

The Capital-Star’s Ian Karbal did a deep dive into that dynamic and sat down to talk about it alongside Peter Hall, who’s done extensive reporting on data centers (including the photo in this episode badge). 

Folo PA features Pennsylvania-focused audio journalism that emphasizes context, accountability and community impact. 

The podcast is hosted and produced by Pennsylvania Capital-Star Audio Reporter Emily Previti, with editing by PCS Editor-in-Chief Tim Lambert. Episodes feature the work of Tim, Emily and the rest of the PCS team as well as media partners throughout the commonwealth. Listeners also can expect content from States Newsroom's Stories from the States podcast and sister outlets across the country

Our theme music is Dusk by Mr Smith, courtesy of the Free Music Archive licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License. 

Learn more at penncapital-star.com. You can subscribe to our newsletter, The Morning Guide, there – and support our work. 

Folo PA features Pennsylvania-focused audio journalism that emphasizes context, accountability and community impact. 

The podcast is hosted and produced by Pennsylvania Capital-Star Audio Reporter Emily Previti, with editing by PCS Editor-in-Chief Tim Lambert. Episodes are reported by Emily, Tim and their colleagues Peter Hall, Ian Karbal and Whitney Downard. 

Listeners also will hear content from States Newsroom's Stories from the States podcast and sister outlets across the country, as well as media partners throughout the commonwealth. 

Our theme music is Dusk by Mr Smith, courtesy of the Free Music Archive licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License. 

Learn more at penncapital-star.com. You can subscribe to our newsletter, The Morning Guide, there – and support our work. 

As with any reporting project, some information gets left on the cutting room floor. 

So, what we'd like to do is pull back the curtain a bit on what went into the ICEd Out limited series from Folo PA, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star’s podcast, produced by Emily Previti and edited by Tim Lambert. 

Tim and Emily's conversation also provides more context for the immigration detention facility proposed in Schuylkill County and how it's landing with the community. 

Jessica Kourkounis is our photographer for this project. 

Our music is from the Free Music Archive licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License. Opening: His Last Share of the Stars by Doctor Turtle. End credits: Dusk by Mr Smith. 

If you are new to the Capital-Star, we are a statewide nonprofit news organization that focuses on breaking down how policy decisions in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., affect Pennsylvanians.

Check us out at penncapital-star.com. You can subscribe to our newsletter, The Morning Guide, there – and support our work. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement coming into Schuylkill County seems familiar to some people there – and not in a good way. 

They say it continues a pattern that dates back hundreds of years – to the beginning of the coal mining industry – of outsiders exploiting the community.

ICEd Out is a limited series from Folo PA, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star’s podcast, produced by Emily Previti and edited by Tim Lambert. 

Special thanks to WITF for the use of their studios. 

Jessica Kourkounis is our photographer for this project. 

Our music is from the Free Music Archive licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License. Opening: His Last Share of the Stars by Doctor Turtle. End credits: Dusk by Mr Smith. 

If you are new to the Capital-Star, we are a statewide nonprofit news organization that focuses on breaking down how policy decisions in Harrisburg and Washington, D.C., affect Pennsylvanians.

Check us out at penncapital-star.com. You can subscribe to our newsletter, The Morning Guide, there – and support our work.