With the legislature out of session for (probably) the entire summer, it’s time to turn our attention to some other reporting projects outside the daily grind of Harrisburg. Paula Knudsen of The Caucus and Sam Janesch of L&P and The Caucus have spent the last couple weeks reporting on a ubiquitous, little-discussed feature of Capitol … Continue reading "Episode 57: Food and water"

It’s a brave new world for the commonwealth’s budget process—at least compared to the last decade or so. For the first time in many years, lawmakers are poised to pass a budget ahead of the June 30th deadline, and Wolf is likely to sign it after letting the previous three plans pass without a signature. … Continue reading "Episode 56: The art of the “get out of town” budget"

This week had everything: major bills moving, last-minute amendments, a little back-room plotting, and a lot of yelling on the Senate floor. A bill to create a citizen’s commission on redistricting has passed the Senate and is now awaiting House action—but it looks very different than it did just a few weeks ago. Now, a … Continue reading "Episode 55: Amendments for all"

It’s crunch time for the House and Senate to get a redistricting overhaul passed in time for congressional reapportionment in 2021. But you wouldn’t be able to tell there’s a month to the deadline by spending time in the Capitol. No less than seven (at least) bills on the subject are floating around both chambers. … Continue reading "Episode 54: Too many redistricting bills, not enough time"

This week, Pennsylvania had an election. If you’re a person who noticed this happened, you may have also noticed that some of the outcomes were expected, others were not, and various partisans and pundits still seem pretty divided about whether Democrats can expect a proverbial “blue wave” come November. Lots to take in! So, Steve … Continue reading "Episode 53: Election retrospective, medical marijuana transparency"

Pennsylvania’s primary elections are this coming Tuesday, and there’s a lot to pay attention to. Three GOP candidates for governor are facing off to see who will take on Tom Wolf in November. York County Senator Scott Wagner, who also owns a trash-hauling company, is seen as an apparent frontrunner after clinching the important state … Continue reading "Episode 52: Primary primer"

Marc Levy of the Associated Press and Liz Navratil of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette join us for a roundup of a whole bunch of initiatives kicking around the Capitol That includes a move to expand background checks for gun purchases, and a hearing on creating an independent citizens’ commission for redistricting. Plus, we’ll recap a recent debate between the … Continue reading "Episode 51: Meek Mill and more"

When Philadelphia wanted to combat obesity and reduce its impact on health care early last year, it turned to a controversial measure: the soda tax. Since then, the 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax has inspired equally passionate support and opposition. Detractors of additional food, beverage and container taxes say they result in job loss, harm communities … Continue reading "Episode 50: Philly soda tax / Capitol roundup"

On this week’s podcast, we catch up on a slew of nasty ads that have been circulating on TV—a sign the GOP gubernatorial primary is heating up. Paul Mango and Scott Wagner are taking turns calling each other liberal and (in Mango’s case) “violent,” a slumlord,” and a “deadbeat dad.” Paula Knudsen and Brad Bumsted … Continue reading "Episode 49: TV ad-pocalypse"

Pennsylvania’s not a state that changes course easily. But over the past few months of redistricting chaos, not to mention wider, national unrest over guns and sexual assault, the commonwealth has seemed on the brink of some major shifts. That’s what John Baer is hypothesizing, anyway. The longtime columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News and … Continue reading "Episode 48: A perfect storm for change"