Friday PA Capitol & Coronavirus NewsClips 5.29.20

CHANGE: Senate canceled voting session June 1, 2, 3; returns to voting session June 8, 9, 10 [Call Of President Pro Tempore]

House returns to voting session June 8, 9, 10 [Call Of House Speaker]

AP-Marc Levy: PA Lawmakers Deliver $25.8 Billion Budget, $2.6 billion In Emergency Aid To Governor’s Desk

Spotlight PA: Legislature Sends $26 Billion Short-Term Budget To Gov. Wolf

Cap-Star: Senate Sends Wolf Stopgap $25.8 Billion Budget, Wolf Expected To Sign It

Wolf Wants Feds To Provide Aid For Property Tax Relief

Lawmakers Beef Up School Safety Grant Fund To Pay For Masks, Gloves In Pandemic

John Baer: Finally, Gov. Wolf Wlil (Literally) Face The Media Again

1.26 Million Democrats, 520,000 Republicans Apply To Vote By Mail In PA

AP-Marc Levy: Flood Of Mail-In Ballots Spurs Fight To Change Deadlines

Bucks County Goes To Court To Extend Mail-In Ballot Deadline

Emily Previti: Judge Orders PA To Launch New Voting Method For Visually Impaired Voters

Dept. Of State Offers Accessible Write-In Ballots For Voters With Disabilities For Primary

Some Polling Site, Entrance Changes Made In Erie County

Editorial: Yin And Yang Of Mail-In Ballots And Our Elections

Editorial: Primary Election Our Only Run Before Nov, Can We Protect Democracy And Health?

Virus Complicates Census Efforts To Reach Latino Households In Central PA

AP: Unemployment Claims Backlog Persists; PA State Park Beaches To Reopen

Spotlight PA: Massive Unemployment Scam Strikes Up To 58,000 People In PA, Far More Than Previously Known

Rep. Delozier Wonders Why She Got $7,000 In Unemployment Compensation She Never Requested

You May Get Unemployment Check Now Instead Of Direct Deposit As PA Protects Against Fraud

Report Of Racial Slurs Ends Retired Erie Judge’s Job

After Right-To-Know Request, Meet The Northern PA Regional College’s Erie County Advisory Committee, Finally

Jan Murphy: PHEAA Grants For College Students To Remain Unchanged For 2020-21

Cap-Star: PA Scholarships Capped Again, But There’s Good News For Online Students

Allegheny, Westminster Colleges Announces Plans For In-Person Classes In Fall

Moravian College Plans To Have Students Back This Fall, With Precautions

California U. Student From Greensburg Sues Over Online Learning

Op-Ed: 2 PA College Presidents Face Tough Choices In Dealing With COVID-19

Philly School Reopening In The Fall May Vary Across The City

Despite Uncertainty, Philadelphia Passes $3.5 Billion Budget, But Trouble Looms

Other States/National/International

Laura Olson: Potential Republican Opponents To Cong. Wild Clash Over Who’s More Conservative

Newcomers Vie For Democratic Nomination In One Midstate Congressional Primary

John Micek: Rebel Republican Group Calls On Moderate Republicans To Vote Biden

The Guardian: Twitter Hides Trump’s Tweet For Glorifying Violence Related To Minneapolis Riots

Coronavirus

House Passes House Concurrent Resolution 836 To End Treating Essential, Non-Essential Businesses Differently Under COVID-19 Emergency By Vote Of 119 to 83 [10 Democrats Voting Yes].  It Now Moves To Senate For Action. Republicans believe if passed by the Senate it will go into effect.  The Wolf Administration disagrees, pointing to a provision in the state constitution requiring presentment of all concurrent resolutions to the Governor for his action. [Note: The Resolution is sponsored by Rep. Diamond (R-Lebanon) who is self-quarantining due to a potential exposure to someone with COVID-19.  He is one of two House members in the middle of the political storm over whether he should have disclosed that fact to other members of the House for their safety.]

Ed Mahon: House Passes Resolution To Limit Wolf’s COVID-19 Emergency Declaration, Senate Action Needed

Editorial: By Not Disclosing COVID-19 Diagnosis, PA Republicans Betrayed Our Trust, Risked Our Lives

AP-Mark Scolforo: Secrecy On Legislator’s COVID-19 Illness Roils PA House

Stephen Caruso: Speaker Turzai Says He Didn’t Know About Positive COVID-19 Test, Calls For Future Transparency By Members

Deb Erdley: House Member Virus Notification Dispute Mirrors Growing Divide In State Politics

Jan Murphy: Delayed Notice Of Republican Lawmaker’s COVID-19 Diagnosis Spurs Outrage, Calls For Investigation

Rep. Sims Says House Speaker Should Be In Jail, Claims Republicans Withheld Knowledge Of Virus Exposure

Rep. Sims Rips Republican Members For Silence After Testing Positive For COVID-19

Attorney General Upset Lawmakers Didn’t Disclose COVID-19 Cases, But Won’t Investigate

Spotlight PA: PA Democrats Want To Know Why They Weren’t Told When A Republican Member Tested Positive For Virus

Democrats Say Republicans Failed To Reveal Virus Case

Ed Mahon: House Republicans Say They Followed Health Guidelines, But Democrats Remain Unsatisfied

NBC: PA Lawmaker Goes On Epic Rant After Republican Colleague Admits Hiding Positive COVID-19 Test

Wolf Updates Orders For Counties Going Into Yellow Phase Of Reopening May 29

Lehigh Valley Business Groups Say Too Many Places Are Closed Under Yellow Phase

Dept. Of Health Reports 108 Additional Deaths From COVID-19 In PA [PaCN]  5.28.20

Dept. Of Health Distributes Testing Supplies To Hospitals, More Than 67,000 Patient Tested

Wolf’s Push To Move Philly To Yellow Phase Despite Data Met With Skepticism Among City Officials

Delaware County Lawmakers Petition Wolf To Allow Personal Service Businesses To Reopen

Op-Ed: In Defense Of PA Health Secretary Levine

Editorial: House Proposal Would Direct Funds To Nursing Homes

60 More PA Liquor Stores Resuming In-Store Public Access

Other States/National/International

Federal HHS Secretary To Visit Western PA Friday Citing Health Benefits Of Reopening U.S.

Click Here For This Week’s PA Coronavirus NewsClips

Friday PA Environment & Energy NewsClips 5.29.20 -- Click Here

Helpful Resources:

Click Here for latest PA Capitol NewsClips & News (Daily Subscriber Email 2:00)

Like PA Capitol News on Facebook

Follow PA Capitol News on Twitter

Click Here for latest Environmental NewsClips & News (Daily Subscriber Email 2:00)

Like PA Environment Digest on Facebook

Follow PA Environment Digest on Twitter

Read Weekly PA Environment Digest

FairDistrictsPA: Fix Our Broken Redistricting Process 

[Posted: May 29, 2020]